November 20, 2022
Morning Service

Time is flying by and we find ourselves at the end of the fall season preparing to celebrate another Thanksgiving holiday.  This is certainly one of my favorite times of the year.  I love the fall colors, the cooler weather, and the beautiful sunrises and sunsets.  Thanksgiving is also one of my favorite holidays as well.  It doesn’t have the pressure that Christmas has in regards to presents and the overall busyness.  We simply get to enjoy some time off to spend with family and share a meal together.  Hopefully, we get to slow down a bit and reflect on all that God has done and is doing in our lives.

Thanksgiving was established as a national holiday by Abraham Lincoln in 1863, though history reminds us that it was the pilgrims that began the celebration back in 1621.  We can actually trace the origin of setting aside time to be thankful to the Bible at the time of Moses and the children of Israel in Leviticus 23. 

Thanksgiving-An acknowledging and confessing with gladness, the benefits and mercies, which God bestows either upon ourselves or others.

            When I think of being thankful, the old hymn “Count Your Blessings” comes to my mind.  The writer of the song encourages us at the times of trouble to “count your many blessings name them one by one, count your many blessings and see what God has done!”  To focus on the “blessings” of our life rather than the hardships, trials, and conflicts we are facing gives us a much better perspective.  Our lists of blessings would certainly vary for each one of us.  We may mention the health God gives us, the material things God has blessed us with, a job that we enjoy, or it may be the family and friends we have to surround us.   I hope your list is long and full as you reflect upon all the things God has blessed you with in this life that we often take for granted.

As we just read in our Colossian study and the “new you” series, we are to take on a new perspective of things.   We are encouraged to “Set our minds on things above, not on things of the earth.” So I want to apply that vision to our thankfulness this morning, let’s acknowledge all the many blessings we have on this earth and then fix our view upon the source of all these good things in our lives.  James tells us where they all come from.

Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

            Our list of the many things that we are thankful for all have one thing in common.  They are given to us by Our Heavenly Father above.  I want to challenge you this Thanksgiving to “set you mind on things above” by shifting your thanksgiving not towards only the blessings, but to the One who gives them to us.  “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.”  The entire list of the blessings we are thankful for come from God.  There is not one that we cannot tie directly back to Him and His generosity.  As I mentioned before our health, material things, career, or the loved ones that surround us all are given to us by our Heavenly Father.  He does not “owe” them to us or we are not “entitled” to any of them, but through His Grace He blesses us more than we deserve.

            Through our study in Colossians, we first saw the Divinity of Jesus and then added to that how that knowledge and the understanding of that changes us.  Thankfulness is one of the new attributes we are commanded to put into practice as Paul wrote:

 

 Col 3:15-17 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.  (16)  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  (17)  And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

            Our Heavenly Father should be the One we are looking to as we are thankful this holiday season.  Paul here tells us that with “the peace of God” ruling in our hearts we are to be thankful.  This thankfulness is to play a part of all that we do (verse 17) making Him the focus of our thankfulness.  It is not only the blessings He gives us but it is God Himself who has given us access to a relationship with Him through Jesus.  He calls us His children and we are able to “come boldly” into His presence as we would our earthly fathers.  John explained it this way:

 

1Jn 3:1-3 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.  (2)  Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.  (3)  And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

            One of the wonderful things that we can be thankful for is that we are adopted into the family of God, not as bondservants or slaves, but as children.  We are blessed to be able to have a relationship with our Heavenly Father through Jesus. This is something we often take for granted, but shouldn’t.  To be adopted into the family of God is the greatest blessing He offers to us.  As His children we are also given a hope that one day “we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”  We can’t help but to be thankful for this hope that we have been promised.  To me I am most thankful for the hope we have in Jesus.   Hope and faith believing that He is, He cares for me, and He is in control of all things in my life.  He has a plan for me giving me value and purpose.  Hope is priceless, it is what carries me through many tough times.  In fact, the Roman letter tells us that it is the process of going through tough times that builds our hope into what it is

 

Rom 5:1-5 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (2) through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  (3)  And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; (4) and perseverance, character; and character, hope.  (5)  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

            Hope has a name and that Name is Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God who takes away the sins of the world including mine!  Hope/Jesus will not disappoint, but through His love gives us the true reason for Thanksgiving.  We are to be thankful for Jesus, the Author and Finisher or our faith who gave to us a gift we do not deserve.  Let our hearts cry out every day with thanksgiving that He chose us to follow Him. Let our hearts and mind be thankful not necessarily in all that He gives us, but mainly on who He is; the Lord of Lords and King of Kings and we are given the privilege to know Him and be known by Him!  King David was described as a “man after the heart of God” and you can see that in this psalm of thanksgiving he wrote:

 

Psalms 100:1-5   A Psalm of Thanksgiving. Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you land!  (2)  Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.  (3)  Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.  (4)  Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.  (5)  For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.

            This is where I would like us to be this Thanksgiving; not focused on the things we are thankful for but being focused and thankful to the One who gives them to us.  “Be thankful to Him, and bless His name! For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures generations!”  May you take time this holiday season to rejoice and thankful for His presence in your life.

 

Heavenly Father, we come to You this morning a grateful people; thankful that You are part of our lives.  May we realize that it is YOU that we need to be the most thankful for.