1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,600 Those two words, thank you, can bring needed refreshment to one who has worn himself or 2 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:14,480 herself out in doing good deeds. 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:17,920 Thank you. 4 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:24,980 Someone has said a grateful life is both great and full. 5 00:00:24,980 --> 00:00:33,440 The one, however, who rarely expresses gratitude is both small and shriveled in its arrogance. 6 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:41,480 Henry Ward Beecher, a preacher of another century, said, Pride slays thanksgiving, but 7 00:00:41,480 --> 00:00:48,480 a humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow. 8 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:57,760 A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves. 9 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:06,440 I'm glad we have a day in our nation for thanksgiving. 10 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:13,760 It began with Abraham Lincoln over a hundred years ago as he announced that there would 11 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:18,200 be a day of thanksgiving in this nation. 12 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:24,760 Most presidents since then have followed his example. 13 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:31,680 We who know Jesus Christ as Savior, however, understand that every day is Thanksgiving 14 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:33,900 Day. 15 00:01:33,900 --> 00:01:39,320 The very fact that we have something to be thankful for implies someone to be thankful 16 00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:43,960 too. 17 00:01:43,960 --> 00:01:51,880 Even though we observe every day as Thanksgiving Day, it doesn't come naturally. 18 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:59,840 As we heard sung earlier, what is more natural is a human nature that takes for granted the 19 00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:03,920 blessings that we enjoy. 20 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:11,600 The Apostle Paul understood that as he wrote to the Ephesians, and so he tells them to 21 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:14,480 be thankful. 22 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:21,440 I invite you to turn with me to Ephesians 5 and to our text for today in verse 20. 23 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:28,760 It is a parallel passage with Colossians 3.15 which says, And let the peace of Christ rule 24 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:36,920 in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful. 25 00:02:36,920 --> 00:02:41,240 You see, he's talking to us as a body of people. 26 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:49,200 And he says to us, as he said to the Colossians, you're called in one body, be thankful. 27 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:56,600 Now in Ephesians 5 and verse 20, he says, Always giving thanks for all things in the 28 00:02:56,600 --> 00:03:04,120 name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God, even the Father. 29 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:13,120 A community of obedient and healthy saints is one of joyful thanksgiving. 30 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:22,240 For we have come to know and to understand that all of life is a gift from God to us. 31 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:30,600 Thankfulness in a community of saints tells you something about that community. 32 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:40,120 In the first place it says that their thankfulness defines them as a spiritual community. 33 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:46,040 Thankfulness defines a spiritual community. 34 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:53,280 The context of the verse that we have read is a paragraph that deals with the fullness 35 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:57,360 of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit. 36 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:03,040 Do not get drunk with wine, he says, for that is dissipation. 37 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:09,240 But be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual 38 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:20,120 songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks. 39 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:28,840 When the Holy Spirit is in control in a community of believers, there is a thankfulness that 40 00:04:28,840 --> 00:04:31,880 is present. 41 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:36,680 When we talk about being filled with the Spirit, we're not talking about increasing our volume 42 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:38,720 of the Spirit. 43 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:43,480 For we have as much of the Holy Spirit as we ever can receive. 44 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:50,600 But being filled with the Spirit actually deals with how much the Spirit has of us, 45 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:54,440 how much control He has in our lives. 46 00:04:54,440 --> 00:05:00,360 What he says here is that when the Spirit is in control, when the Spirit of God dominates 47 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:04,160 us, then there is a gratitude about us. 48 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:10,960 He contrasts it to drunkenness. 49 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:15,240 Paul may well have had in mind a festival that was observed at that time in the pagan 50 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:20,080 world called the Festival of Dionysus. 51 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:33,760 Dionysus or Dionysius was the wine god of the pagan panthology. 52 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:40,760 When people gathered to worship Dionysus, they would get drunk and revel. 53 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:48,680 In the mythology of that day, it was the revels of this wine god with his nymphs and satyrs 54 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:57,440 that gave birth to activity out of which our word orgy arises. 55 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:02,580 The worship of Dionysus practiced in Ephesus and in other major cities of that day was 56 00:06:02,580 --> 00:06:06,240 actually the worship of demons. 57 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:15,600 For behind these gods and goddesses of their pantheon were demons who accepted the worship 58 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:18,440 and promoted it. 59 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:24,840 They were involved in the drunkenness and the orgies that went along with it. 60 00:06:24,840 --> 00:06:33,920 These frenzied orgies are why Paul calls drunkenness dissipation. 61 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:45,720 The word means to act out of profligacy, to act out a debased kind of life, to live according 62 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:51,480 to your Lord lusts, to hold nothing back. 63 00:06:51,480 --> 00:07:00,880 Paul says, do not be drunk with wine in the festivals of Dionysus, for that is waste. 64 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:03,760 It amounts to nothing. 65 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:13,400 It is debased activity, but rather, he says, be under the control of the spirit. 66 00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:21,460 Just as wine can take over the control of a person and cause him to be something that 67 00:07:21,460 --> 00:07:32,600 he is not naturally, so the Holy Spirit likewise can control us and cause us to act unnaturally 68 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:37,280 and to live supernaturally. 69 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:42,880 Part of that supernatural living is thankfulness. 70 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:49,220 Thankfulness defines a spiritual community, one that is filled with the spirit. 71 00:07:49,220 --> 00:07:57,960 When you find a church that is dominated by the spirit of God, then you find a people 72 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:01,200 that is filled with gratitude. 73 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:09,400 Not only gratitude, but also with speaking to one another, as he says, and singing and 74 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:11,640 making melody in your hearts. 75 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:14,520 You notice the one another's and the heart. 76 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:19,400 There is a certain balance here that the fullness of the spirit brings. 77 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:24,040 There is ministry to others that arises out of what is going on inside. 78 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:30,520 He says that when we are filled with the spirit of God, we will speak to one another. 79 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:33,760 The word there means to speak, to talk. 80 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:40,440 Undoubtedly it means to encourage, to share your own life's journey with others, to share 81 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:47,480 the word of God with others, speaking to one another and singing. 82 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:49,920 What this word really means is to sing. 83 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:53,120 Is that tough? 84 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:54,480 There is no hidden meaning here. 85 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:57,600 There is nothing you can't figure out from the English word. 86 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:04,840 It means that when the spirit of God is dominating us, there is music in our lives that has to 87 00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:09,040 be expressed some way by singing and making melody. 88 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:15,760 Obviously the word there means to pluck the strings as you would play a harp. 89 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:20,720 So the spirit of God plucks the strings of our hearts inside and the result of that is 90 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:23,160 music in our lives. 91 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:26,200 That doesn't mean we are all great musicians. 92 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:27,200 I wish that were true. 93 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:31,040 I wish I had practiced harder when I was taking my piano lessons. 94 00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:34,960 I might be a better musician than I am. 95 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:40,840 The fact is that all of us will have music in our lives when the spirit of God is in 96 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:41,840 control. 97 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:48,240 Out of that speaking to one another and that music that arises from within the heart, there 98 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:52,360 is also gratitude that takes place. 99 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:56,880 That is why thankfulness defines a spiritual community. 100 00:09:56,880 --> 00:10:04,280 Because thanksgiving inevitably accompanies the control of the Holy Spirit. 101 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:07,720 When you see a church that is a thankful church, you know something about it. 102 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:11,040 It is a spiritual church. 103 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:18,760 Secondly, thanksgiving denotes a faithful community. 104 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:21,080 Thanksgiving denotes a faithful community. 105 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:26,040 There are two all-inclusive expressions in this verse. 106 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:34,960 Always giving thanks for all things. 107 00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:41,160 In order to do that, you have to trust the Lord. 108 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:48,320 When you find a group of people that are always giving thanks for all things, you find a community 109 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:50,240 of saints that is faithful. 110 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:54,120 It is full of faith. 111 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:57,760 We are to thank the Lord on every occasion. 112 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:00,640 It is all-inclusive. 113 00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:07,360 Whether we are alone or with others, whether it is morning or night, every day of the week, 114 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:13,880 not just once a year, always we are to be giving thanks to God. 115 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:18,360 We are to do that for all things. 116 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:21,160 All-inclusive in circumstances we see. 117 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:30,440 Peace or health, poverty or wealth, demotion or promotion, life or death, whatever our 118 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:35,800 circumstance, in all things we are to give thanks. 119 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:39,240 When we do, it says something about us. 120 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:45,000 It not only says that we are full of the Holy Spirit, but it says that we are full of faith. 121 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:48,840 I will tell you why. 122 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:56,440 Because you have to be full of faith to give thanks to God for everything. 123 00:11:56,440 --> 00:12:01,800 I say that to those of you who are in pain this morning as you sit here in the chairs, 124 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:09,960 hopefully not because the chairs are uncomfortable, but some of you are here in pain because of 125 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:18,240 your physical bodies and disease or problems that you have. 126 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:22,680 I say this also for those of you who are here today with tears in your heart because of 127 00:12:22,680 --> 00:12:30,240 wounds that you bear in relationships that are uncertain or fractured, of marriage that 128 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:39,100 is in trouble, problems between you and someone you love. 129 00:12:39,100 --> 00:12:49,280 You have to be full of faith to give thanks to God for everything. 130 00:12:49,280 --> 00:12:54,560 Just a moment, we will see what we have to believe in order to give thanks to God, to 131 00:12:54,560 --> 00:12:58,080 be a faithful community. 132 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:04,560 Let's remember that when we observe a community of saints, we are called to one body. 133 00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:07,520 We are to be thankful. 134 00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:12,200 When we see a group of saints that is thankful, it tells us something about them. 135 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:15,280 It tells us they are filled with the Holy Spirit. 136 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:25,480 It is always a sad spectacle to find a saint who is a whiner, a complainer, a griper, because 137 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:27,200 that tells you something too. 138 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:31,720 It tells you they are not filled with the Spirit. 139 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:40,120 How wonderful to be around people who are filled with the Spirit and who are grateful. 140 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:46,960 When you see a group of people who are trusting the Lord in all things, giving thanks for 141 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:53,120 every circumstance of life on every occasion, it is fun to be around people like that. 142 00:13:53,120 --> 00:14:00,000 It tells you that they are full of faith as well as the Spirit. 143 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:07,160 Thirdly, I notice that thankfulness describes a worshipful community. 144 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:16,320 He says, giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father. 145 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:23,040 Those phrases seem to me to be rather liturgical. 146 00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:33,840 They express to us a spiritual duty, an acting out, a carrying out of religious function, 147 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:42,680 giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father. 148 00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:46,880 Our thanks are presented to God, the Father. 149 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:48,720 He is sovereign. 150 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:54,640 That's why on every occasion and for everything, you and I can, if we are filled with faith, 151 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:57,160 give thanks. 152 00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:05,160 However much we hurt, we can still give thanks to God, and there is nothing that strengthens 153 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:13,080 us more than praise when we are hurting. 154 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:20,040 We can give praise to God because He is our Father and He is the sovereign one, overseeing 155 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:26,820 all of the circumstances of our lives, every one of them. 156 00:15:26,820 --> 00:15:32,880 There is nothing that occurs in our lives but that God does not approve it and allow 157 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:34,560 it. 158 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:42,620 Even things that we cannot understand or explain, even those things that seem to be inconsistent 159 00:15:42,620 --> 00:15:47,640 with who we know God to be. 160 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:56,120 He is still shepherding, superintending all of those affairs, and we can give thanks because 161 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:58,920 He is in control. 162 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:02,640 Not only is He the sovereign God, but we call upon Him as Father. 163 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:09,240 That tells us that we have a relationship with Him, that we are His children. 164 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:16,680 Just as you tenderly care for your child, and you see for his welfare, looking out for 165 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:23,680 where he is walking, helping him to make decisions as he grows, pointing him in the right direction. 166 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:30,200 So God, the sovereign God, is our Father and we as His children receive His nurturing and 167 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:36,240 His care through the pilgrimage of life. 168 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:40,960 We present our thanks to Him. 169 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:47,880 We present our thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, which means that we come to 170 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:57,680 God with our thanks through Jesus, through Him, because He has been accepted by the Father 171 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:02,040 to His own right hand in the heavenly places. 172 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:09,400 Because He is exalted there, you and I have the privilege to come to Him at the throne 173 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:10,880 of grace. 174 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:16,880 We can enter into His presence in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, not because of who 175 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:23,720 we are in ourselves, but rather because of who we are in Him. 176 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:29,960 We are accepted as priests by God. 177 00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:32,200 The whole language here is very liturgical. 178 00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:36,000 We are priests unto God. 179 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:41,360 The end of the book of Hebrews, it tells us that we are to bring our sacrifice of praise 180 00:17:41,360 --> 00:17:44,880 to Him as priests. 181 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:53,120 And we come clothed in the robe of Christ's righteousness to bring our sacrifice of praise, 182 00:17:53,120 --> 00:17:59,840 our words of thanksgiving to Him to offer them up. 183 00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:04,080 Thanksgiving describes a worshipful community. 184 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:11,120 As the psalmist said, enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. 185 00:18:11,120 --> 00:18:13,160 Give thanks to Him. 186 00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:19,640 Bless His name. 187 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:25,760 So thanksgiving tells you something about a community of saints. 188 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:32,680 The thanksgiving that arises from within that body tells you that they are spiritual, that 189 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:38,880 they are faithful, and they are worshipful. 190 00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:45,080 But there may be someone who would say this morning, what have I got to be thankful for? 191 00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:47,600 Someone has said there's always something to be thankful for. 192 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:53,880 If you can't pay your bills, you can always be thankful you're not one of your creditors. 193 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:58,680 Just looking at it from a positive way. 194 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:06,240 Someone has suggested perhaps we ought to name April 16th as Thanksgiving Day because 195 00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:10,400 a person doesn't realize how much he has to be thankful for until he has to pay taxes 196 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:13,200 on it. 197 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:17,240 All of us have something to be thankful for. 198 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:25,400 Let us be aware of becoming shriveled souls, turning sour, ungrateful, and complaining 199 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:28,240 with age. 200 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:34,320 Let us be aware of our souls atrophying so that there is no gratitude in our hearts to 201 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:36,200 God. 202 00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:45,120 Let us repent of all of our tendency to take things for granted. 203 00:19:45,120 --> 00:19:52,000 Let us repent of our greed that just takes in and doesn't give out. 204 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:58,960 Let us repent of ingratitude to God as well as to man. 205 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:07,460 Let us dare today to lift our hearts to God and to say to Him, thank you, thank you. 206 00:20:07,460 --> 00:20:11,320 Dare to praise Him for what He has done. 207 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:15,200 Dare to praise Him for those things that you find hard. 208 00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:18,280 Dare to praise Him for what distresses you. 209 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:22,640 Dare to praise Him today for your pain. 210 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:28,360 You will find that the load of that trial will be lifted from your shoulders. 211 00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:34,760 It will still be there, but the heaviness of it will be gone. 212 00:20:34,760 --> 00:20:37,300 Put on the garment of praise. 213 00:20:37,300 --> 00:20:42,760 Take off the spirit of heaviness and lift your heart to God. 214 00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:46,440 As He says to us, be thankful. 215 00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:51,440 Be thankful to Him. 216 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:56,160 To whom do you need today to say thank you? 217 00:20:56,160 --> 00:21:02,160 I suppose all of us would agree that God is number one on the list. 218 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:07,040 Surely there is something that we can lift our hearts to God with today and say, Father, 219 00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:09,320 thank you for this. 220 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:11,360 Thank you for this in my life. 221 00:21:11,360 --> 00:21:13,360 Thank you for these people. 222 00:21:13,360 --> 00:21:17,840 Thank you for what has happened to me. 223 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:22,160 But let's not forget to say thanks to others. 224 00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:27,320 When was the last time that you took your wife's hand or your husband's hand and said, 225 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:28,760 thank you. 226 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:32,280 Thank you for being my spouse. 227 00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:36,680 Thank you for all that you do for me. 228 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:38,840 Thank you for being the mother of our children. 229 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:43,480 Thank you for being the father of our family. 230 00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:49,280 Thank you for the joy that you bring to my life. 231 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:54,120 When was the last time that you wrote a note to a friend of yours, even someone you see 232 00:21:54,120 --> 00:22:01,440 all week long, but you take the time to write a note and you say, I want to express my thanks 233 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:02,440 to you. 234 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:08,280 You've been a friend to me and then explain what that person has meant to you. 235 00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:11,640 Maybe it's someone at work. 236 00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:18,680 Lo and behold, it may even be your boss or it may be your secretary or it may be that 237 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:24,160 person who works across the hall from you. 238 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:29,920 Could it be that some of you who are teachers need to go to your class tomorrow, if you 239 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:35,200 have class tomorrow, and say, students, I want to thank you. 240 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:41,200 Now surely you can find some things to thank your students for. 241 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:45,400 Just think what a great teacher they've made you. 242 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:52,960 Just think how much they've taught you about what it means to be a teacher. 243 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:58,120 Maybe there are some that ought to have a special note. 244 00:22:58,120 --> 00:23:05,440 Let us learn the grace of gratitude and understand that when the Spirit of God is in control 245 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:15,880 in our lives, we're going to find all kinds of occasions to be grateful and to express 246 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:20,320 our thanks to God as well as others. 247 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:31,840 I invite you to bow with me in prayer for a moment as we think about this. 248 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:39,520 What is it that you would like to thank God for today? 249 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:47,080 Would you tell them right now in your own heart, Father, our Father, I am grateful for 250 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:56,440 your power, and then name it. 251 00:23:56,440 --> 00:23:58,840 What you have just done is a sacrifice to God. 252 00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:04,200 You as a priest offer that to Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 253 00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:07,500 It is well pleasing to Him. 254 00:24:07,500 --> 00:24:12,560 He delights in your thanksgiving. 255 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:23,880 Allow Him now to place two or three names on your heart, people that you need to express 256 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:30,520 gratitude to. 257 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:35,800 You may want to take time to jot them down on a piece of paper so you don't forget them. 258 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:46,000 Just in the quietness of this moment, think who it is that needs that word of thanks. 259 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:50,960 Then determine by the grace of God to follow through, whether it's a phone call this afternoon 260 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:56,040 or a note that you mail tomorrow or a word that you give as you see the person the next 261 00:24:56,040 --> 00:24:57,680 time. 262 00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:03,560 Determine by God's grace to follow through. 263 00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:11,800 A community of saints that is healthy is a community of saints that knows something about 264 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:16,200 thanksgiving. 265 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:23,320 Father God, I give thanks to you for the opportunity to be here today and to speak your word to 266 00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:26,240 this great congregation. 267 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:31,400 I thank you that they have come, that they have heard. 268 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:39,360 Now unite our hearts together, for we are called into one body. 269 00:25:39,360 --> 00:25:48,240 Receive from us as a united congregation the thanks that is due to your name. 270 00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:55,960 We have so many pieces to give thanks for, but just now we offer thanks to you for the 271 00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:59,560 total ministry of the body in our lives. 272 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:03,320 Thank you for calling us into a community. 273 00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:06,440 Truly we are so blessed. 274 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:14,280 Today we speak to you this word of gratitude from our hearts as a congregation. 275 00:26:14,280 --> 00:26:29,920 In Jesus' name, amen.