As a young couple was strolling down the street, the fellow said to his traveling companion,
I'm going over and pick up my unemployment check. Then I drop in at the university to
see what's holding up my check for my federal education grant. After that I'll pick up our
food stamps. Meanwhile, you go over to the free clinic and check your tests, pick up
my new glasses at the health center, and then go to the welfare department and apply for
an increase in our eligibility limit. Then I'll meet you at 5 o'clock at the federal
building for the mass demonstration against the rotten establishment. I like that. I
think that summarizes the typical feeling these days of the average person in America
as we approach this national holiday of Thanksgiving. Sometimes I wonder if we wouldn't be better
off reversing the custom and having one day a year for griping and having the rest of
them for Thanksgiving. Someone has wrote the poem, too many a discontented mourner is spending
his days on Grumble Corner, sour and sad, whom I long to entreat to get a house on Thanksgiving
Street. A lot of us would better off building a home on Thanksgiving Street and staying
right there. All of the believer's life should abound with gratitude to our God. The world
may be guilty of ingratitude, but never let one of us who has trusted Jesus Christ be
guilty of such a sin. If you have nothing for which to be thankful, make up your mind
right now that there's something wrong with you because God is so abundant in his goodness
toward us. Charles Spurgeon said, so long as we are receivers of mercy, we must be givers
of thanks. That's essentially what Colossians chapter 2 verses 6 and 7 say. We're not going
to expand upon these verses, but we'll use them tonight as a jumping off place into our
subject Thanksgiving times. Colossians chapter 2 verses 6 and 7. So then, just as you have
received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened
in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. His believers should have
hearts that are flooded to overflowing with thankfulness to our God. As I was thinking
about this subject, I began to consider those activities mentioned in the Bible, which are
said should be accompanied by Thanksgiving. Hence the title for tonight's message, Thanksgiving
times. What are the times, the activities in our lives that should be accompanied with
Thanksgiving? Well, let's note several of them. We begin by turning to the song book,
the hymn book of the Bible, the book of Psalms, to Psalm 100. This of course is one of the
favorite of the Psalms, especially at Thanksgiving. I think it's the only one that's titled for
Thanksgiving. Now it says in verse 4, enter his gates with Thanksgiving and his courts
with praise. The first activity that I see in the Bible that should be accompanied by
Thanksgiving is going to church. We should go to church with Thanksgiving. Now obviously
there is not a direct corollary between the temple of the Old Testament and the building
that we call the church today. For this structure does not house God as did the temple in the
Old Testament. Our bodies now are the temples of the Holy Spirit, and when we meet together
corporately like this, the Holy Spirit dwells here in this, his holy temple. Nonetheless,
I think it is a legitimate application to say that we are to come to our services in
this church with Thanksgiving. Psalm 100 is supposed to have been sung as a part of the
piece or fellowship offerings described in the seventh chapter of Leviticus. Those offerings,
it is said, were to be offered up with Thanksgiving. Tradition says that it was this psalm that
was a part of that ritual of worship when the offering, the peace offering or the fellowship
offering, whichever you want to call it, was offered unto the Lord. It was with the words
of this psalm, enter his gates with Thanksgiving and his courts with praise. We today as believers
in Jesus Christ do not bring animal sacrifices or sacrifices of cakes or flour or other things
like that as did the Jews in the Old Testament. Those sacrifices have all been fulfilled in
one sacrifice of Jesus Christ for all time. All of those many sacrifices pointed toward
his coming. It is no longer necessary for us to offer up thanks to offer up sacrifices
as did they. We, however, do have sacrifices that we are to offer up as believer priests
in the New Testament. And tonight we've already had one suggested to us, and that's the one
that's in my mind too, in Hebrews 13.15 it says that we should offer up the fruit of our
lips giving thanks to his name. One of the sacrifices that you and I as believer priests
in this age offer up is the sacrifice of Thanksgiving to God. As we come to church together, our
heart should be filled with thanksgiving to the Lord. Our attitude, of course, regarding
any service makes a real difference as to how that service impacts us. There have been
times when I have gone to church in the past and I've gone away saying, well, I got nothing
out of that service. And I must confess that as many times as not, the reason I got nothing
out of it was because my own heart was not properly prepared to receive anything. As
we come together to the Lord's house, it is important that we come with hearts prepared
and ready to receive what God has to give us. One of the ways that we can prepare our
hearts is to cause them to be filled with thanksgiving to the Lord. In the Old Testament
and the Tabernacle and later the Temple, there was incense used in part of the worship.
Morning and night, the priest would offer incense upon the altar of incense. And then
when the high priest would enter into the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, he
would first fill that Hall of Holies, the inner sanctuary, with the sweet perfume and
the fog, as it were, the shroud of incense. The purpose was so that he would not accidentally
look upon the very shekinah, the very glory of God. Incense was a part of the worship
today. We offer up no incense. But could I suggest to all of us tonight that the incense
we do offer up is a spiritual incense of thanks to God. As we come together for worship and
fellowship in God's house, we should be offering up from our lives incense, the sweet perfume
of thanksgiving to God. Spiritually, we are encouraged to draw near to God. No longer
do we have to have a veil between us and God. No longer is there incense necessary so that
we will not look upon the essence of God. God has opened the way into his own presence
through the offering up of Jesus Christ for our sins. And now instead of saying, stay
away, God says draw near. That very fact alone, that we may come and draw near to God, is
reason enough for thoughtful things. And so we ought to go to church with thanksgiving.
And then as long as we're in the Psalms, turn over to Psalm 147. Psalm 147, verse 7. And
then we find a second activity that should be accompanied with thanksgiving in our lives.
It says sing to the Lord with thanksgiving. Make music to our God on the harp. Now the
word for thanksgiving here is the same as the one that we saw in Psalm 100. Literally
it means a song of liturgical worship. And it says that we ought to sing to the Lord
with songs of liturgical worship giving thanks to God. I feel sorry for the individual who
does not enjoy music. I had a friend in another church that I pastor, a dear friend a pastor
never had. He was a deacon for a period of time. We had disagreements and sometimes they
would come up. But honestly he was one of my best friends. But George hated music. And
I never could understand that. He did not like our music director, maybe because our
music director dealt with music. And when it was time to sing, George would stand there
with the most awful scowl on his face. And he used the excuse, I can't sing. Now I know
better than that because occasionally he would sing a song that was apparently one of his
favorites and his face would light up and he would sing. Just a month ago George went
to heaven. And I'm just wondering if he's still standing around with a scowl on his
face with the music up there. Because you know music is a part of worship. And that's
why we believe strongly in music here. It's an integral part of our whole worship experience.
And our music, our singing should be with thanksgiving. Our singing is one way that
we can allow our souls to express themselves as a body. Singing with thanksgiving is evidence
that the Holy Spirit is in control in our lives. Let me remind you of these verses from
the New Testament. Be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with spirit. Be filled
with the Spirit. Speak to one another with songs, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and
make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. So music, the soul expressing itself to God with thanksgiving
is simply the outflow of the Holy Spirit filling the heart, controlling the life. It doesn't
mean that we necessarily sing as well as some people do. But nonetheless opening our mouths
and allowing our tongues to express thanks to God in songs. Have you ever created a song?
Composed a song? You say, well I've never taken music lessons. I don't know how to
compose anything. I didn't ask that. Have you ever, by yourself probably, to start with,
ever just begun singing and created your own hymn? You ought to try that sometime. Make
up your own tune, your own words, and just sing a song of praise to the Lord. I tell
you, that's a lot of fun. Like I say, you want to do it by yourself, perhaps the first
time. Then you will enjoy that. It will be good for you. Don't worry about rhymes, words
sounding alike and everything. But just allow your heart to express to God how you feel
and sing it. Have you ever gone to the book of Psalms in the Bible and sung one of the
Psalms? I'm glad that there are a number of contemporary Psalms that are based upon the
Psalms. Some verbatim write from the Psalm book. A cassette of music, a great way to
memorize the scripture by the way. Why don't you turn to Psalm 100 before this week is
over and make up your own tune to Psalm 100 and sing it to the Lord. Sing with thanksgiving.
In the Old Testament, singing and music are inevitably linked with worship. For example,
when the ark was placed in Jerusalem, there was a great deal of music by command of the
king, read about it in 1 Chronicles chapter 15. By the way, there was emphasis placed
upon the fact that it should be done well by skilled people and it should be done with
joy. Now there is a place I would grant you for people to get experience singing. But
I don't think the place for that is in the worship service of a church. I believe that
when we gather together for worship as a church body, what is done needs to be done as well
as we can possibly do it. And that skilled singing done well and with joy as it says
in 1 Chronicles 15 is what pleases God. Then David appointed 288 musicians who were to
serve the Lord according to 1 Chronicles chapter 23 verses 1 through 7. That was their job.
They were musicians full time serving the Lord in the tabernacle, in the temple, in
the worship of Israel. And then you find in the national revivals of Israel when the Spirit
of God was moving among his people. For example, under Jehoiada, the high priest who served
as high priest with Jerosh. In that great revival that came under his leadership, there
was singing and music connected with it. And then again when revival came under the reign
of Hezekiah, 2 Chronicles 29, there was music and singing with thanksgiving to God. You
cannot separate thanksgiving and music. The two just go together and that's the way that
God's ordained it as it ought to be. Now let's go to the New Testament and look at Philippians
chapter 4. Notice another activity that should be connected with music in our lives. Philippians
chapter 4 verse 6. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and
petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God. So here we see that we should pray
with thanksgiving. Now in the verse there are three kinds of communication with God
mentioned. There is prayer mentioned. That is a word that is a general word for praying.
It includes devotion, worship, adoration. And then he uses the specific word petition.
Those are our requests. Those things are in our hearts. We ought to offer those unto God.
But they ought to be mingled with, notice, thanksgiving, praise, giving of thanks to
God. Have you ever noticed the prayer life of the Lord Jesus Christ? It would do you
well to go through the gospels and to look at the times that Jesus prayed. More times
not, the gospels record Jesus giving thanks to the Father as he prays. Thanksgiving was
a part of his praying. Look at the example of Paul the apostle. As by the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit he pins his epistles to the churches. In every single case except
the Galatians. He gave thanks to God as he began to pin the epistle. Normally it was
thanks to God for the church he was writing to. Giving of thanks is a part of praying.
We have the example of the word. And as we pray it is so easy to fall into the routine
of just asking God for things. Let us also add to that giving of thanks in prayer.
And now turn to 1 Timothy chapter 4. 1 Timothy chapter 4 verses 3 and 4. As the apostle looks
to the future and the events that will come and the characteristics of the last days.
He says in verse 3, 1 Timothy 4, they forbid people to marry, that is the false teachers,
and order them to abstain from certain foods. Have you noticed what he says? Which God created
to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything
God created is good and nothing is to be rejected even if it is received with thanksgiving.
And so we ought to eat with thanksgiving. I enjoy a good ham, a good pork chop, as well
as a good steak now and then. And whatever we eat it is to be received with thanksgiving.
I know that there are some men who feel that their wives offer up burnt offerings and reward
continually. We can even give thanks for those. We should eat with thanksgiving. God is the
creator of our food and all that he has created is intended for our good. Not our gluttony,
but our good. And again you will notice the example of the Lord Jesus Christ in this.
As he sits at a meal with his disciples he offers thanks to God and then he breaks the
bread and shares the cup with them. And on other occasions when he performed the miracles
of feeding the 4,000 and the 5,000 the clergy says that first he gave thanks for that food.
I think that we should do that not just as a habit but out of sincerity. Whenever we
sit down to a meal to offer thanks unto God it is appropriate that we do so. And not just
at home but in a restaurant too. What a good testimony it is to people around us when they
see us pause before we dig into that food and have prayer giving thanks to God that
they will be able to eat this food. It would mean more to us if we lived in Mali, Central
Africa. We have such an abundance of food and we take it so for granted. How quickly
all of that by the way could be reversed? I was reading recently the statistics that
they are calculating for the population of the earth in the year 2000. They are expecting
that our population will double by the year 2000 from what it is now. And unless there
were some major breakthroughs in agriculture and the raising of food there is going to
be food worldwide by the year 2000. That and the United States included. How we have to
give thanks to God for the abundance that we enjoy now. And the good stewards of that
which he has given to us. It is a good testimony when we do it in a restaurant. I remember
one occasion when our staff, our church staff was eating out of some kind of a steakhouse
for lunch one day. This is in another place, another church. And as we were eating there
were some ladies that came through the line with three or four kids and they sat down
at the table next to us there and before they ate they bowed and prayed. And I thought that
is such a great example. I have to say something to commend them. So as we finished and got
up to leave I stopped at their table and I said ladies I noticed that you gave thanks
before you ate your food and I want to commend you for doing that. The one day they looked
at me and said well we always do that, we are Jehovah's Witnesses. I said well I am
a Christian and left. I got caught on that one. How we have to give thanks to God. As
a genuine expression of our thanks even for our food. For all of us are dependent upon
his providence and his care. And then one final thing that I would like to mention tonight
is from Ephesians chapter 5 verse 20. Ephesians 5 verse 20. I have read this to you, would
you turn there with me. It says that we are always to give thanks to God the Father for
everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Giving thanks to God for everything. How can
we do that? Because we believe that God is sovereign and God is in control. It was 108
years ago tonight, November 22nd 1873, that there was a collision of two ships in the
Atlantic and the four children of Mr. and Mrs. H.G. Stafford went down and drowned there
in the ocean. And you know the story how she was rescued and went on to Europe and wired
back to her husband those words, S.A.W.D. alone. And our Stafford was crossing over
the Atlantic to join his wife in Europe. Being awakened in the middle of the night when they
were over that spot where his children drowned 108 years ago tonight, he began to formulate
in his mind the words to the hymn that we sing, It is well with my soul. And he speaks
of peace like a river that attends his way. Those sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever
my lot, God has taught me to say, It is well with my soul. How could Stafford write those
words? Because he believed in the sovereignty and the goodness of God. He was able to give
thanks to God for everything. The story actually doesn't stop there. That poem remained filed
away I suppose for a number of minutes. Until one day it was given to a man named Philip
Paul Bliss to set to music. And so he worked on it and set it to music. And 105 years ago
this Tuesday, November 24th, 1876, it was sung for the very first time in public at
a meeting in Chicago. Out of a thousand pastors, Bill Moody was preaching and Philip Paul Bliss
sang this song that Stafford had written the words for and he had written the music for.
It is well with my soul, he sang. A month later, on December 29th, 1876, Bliss along
with his wife was traveling back from New York where they had spent Christmas with his
mother and his mother. His wife had left behind their four year old son, their one year old
son. They hardly had to return to Chicago where Bliss was going to participate in a
large meeting with Bill Moody. There were 11 cars in the train, two engines, pulling
it through a blizzard in northern Ohio. And just outside of Arstabula, Ohio, there was
a crossing of a ravine and the train collapsed through that ravine and crashed 75 feet into
icy water below. Bill was amazed for sure how many were on the train that night. There
were very few accounts as to how many died, but within five minutes, because of the crossing
lamps that were on the train, of course, the whole train was in flames and those blizzard
winds fanned the flames to fury. Bliss was able to climb out of a window to escape and
yet his beloved wife was trapped and pinned in the wreckage of that train. He returned
to the area where she was trapped and tried to extricate her from the flames. Both of
them died. Just a month after he had sung in the great meeting in Chicago, it is well
with my soul. And that night, the two of them joined the Stafford children in heaven, singing
praises to God. How can we give thanks for all of life's issues? We can give thanks to
God because God is good and God is in control. We may not always be able to understand what
God is about. The end of the world may be hidden from our vision, but we can trust him.
God knows what he is doing. As we face all of life's issues, we should give thanks.
Matthew Henry was robbed. He was mugged. They didn't call it that back in those days. After
that experience when he lost his money, he went back to his room and these are the words
he wrote after his difficult experience. Let me be thankful. First, because I was never
robbed before. Second, although they took my purse, they did not take my life. Third,
because although they took my oil, it was not much. And fourth, because it was I who
robbed who was robbed and not I who robbed. There is always cause for giving thanks.
That's why the Psalmist says, I will extol the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually
be on my lips. Bill Pierce and Dick Anthony used to produce a radio broadcast, I think
it's still here on some stations. The theme song for that was a chorus written by Wendell
Loveless, which said, Keep praising, keep praising when the days are dark and drear.
Keep praising, keep praising. God will guide you, never fear. Keep praising, keep praising
and thankful hearts to him be raising. Has the Lord not said there is glory on a head?
So keep on praising him. The thankful heart can always find some reason for being grateful.
Henry Ward Beecher, a preacher of another generation wrote these words, If one should
give me a dash of sand and tell me there were particles of iron in it, I might look for
them with my eyes and search for them with my clumsy fingers and be unable to detect
them. But let me take a magnet and sweep through it and how would it draw to itself the almost
invisible particles by the more power of attraction? He continued, The unthankful heart like my
finger in the sand discovers no mercies. But let the thankful heart sweep through the day
and as the magnet finds the iron, so will it find in every hour some heavenly blessings
only the iron in God's sand is gold. Let our hearts be that kind of a magnet so that as
we sweep through tomorrow and Tuesday and every day of life, attracted to us will be
those mercies of God. Let's bow together in prayer. Thank you Father. Thank you.
Tonight as we consider those activities that will be accompanied by thanksgiving, we are
reminded of the importance of this act and so we offer unto you our gratefulness. I pray
tonight if there is any of us who is struggling with some issue in his life and is having
a hard time looking into your face and saying thank you, that tonight you would settle that
discomfort. May there be sweet peace as that individual releases the anger perhaps or the
ungratefulness that causes that stirring within his soul. Please allow all of us to rest well
tonight upon a bed of thanksgiving that our souls may be at peace with you. We pray this
in Jesus' name, amen. In just a moment we are going to sing a hymn, but we are first
going to receive this second offering of the evening which is given only for the starving
people of Mali, Africa. We don't want you to feel obligated to have a part in this and
that I know you well enough to know that especially at this time of year you want to do something
to express gratefulness to God for our bounty and to share with those people who are truly
and literally starving to death every day. The incredible hunger we saw pictured for
us during the missions conference and we heard the report and so tonight we share with them
in a tangible way some of our income so that they may live. It is because we are able to
feed them that then our missionaries can preach the gospel to them for hungry bellies have
no ears as a recent film production says. Men would you come please to the room and
give tonight for this purpose and give to only God in it. Let's bow together. And my
father I pray that that which is given right now will be sealed to its intended purpose
and I pray that through the food that is given to these hungry people there will be an openness
in their hearts to receive the bread of life even the word of the gospel of Jesus Christ
that they may be saved eternally. Amen.
Amen.
What an appropriate time of the for an individual here tonight who has never trusted Christ
to give his heart to the Lord. The Bible says that God has given to us an indescribable
gift. How ungrateful it is for God the maker of heaven and earth to offer to an individual
a gift and for that gift to be refused. God's gift is eternal life through his son Jesus
Christ and who so ever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. As we close
our service tonight if you've never trusted Christ as your savior will you at this thanksgiving
time open your heart and receive that gift that God has for you. We're going to sing
the third verse in number 36 as our closing hymn tonight. Before we pray with you and
talk with you about spiritual things answer the questions that are in your heart. I would
love to do so. I encourage you to slip out from where you are and come right to the front
and we'll talk with you personally. Let's now sing the third verse in number 36.
I'm going to sing the third verse in number 36.
Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ rest and abide upon each of his own. Amen.
Good night.