Still Grateful

 It's Thanksgiving time again and we talk about this every year - but can you ever be too thankful? Can you ever be too aware of or too grateful for God's blessings? So we're focusing again on being thankful to God for His many blessings!

Now I don't claim to be the 'smartest guy in the room', but occasionally I do figure a few things out. And through my different experiences I've learned that when being 'thankful' gets really hard to do - that's when it becomes essential. Think about it - the times in your life when it was the hardest to be 'thankful' - those were the times you most needed to search out God's blessings and express thanks.

I'm not denying that there's a lot going on in our larger world and in some of our 'personal worlds' right now that may not be so great. But we do have many legitimate blessings, and I want us to take the time today to look again at how thankful we can be. God blesses us everyday with things we simply take for granted. And God can bless us…

I. In ways we don't expect

I want to start by looking again at a passage from Ephesians ch. 3. The Apostle Paul was in chains for preaching the Gospel when he wrote this passage. And he was attempting to explain the extent of God's incredible plan to the believers in Ephesus. He was trying to explain how God's Church was to take the message to the whole world despite his persecution. Paul was in prison in Rome, and he wrote this in Ephesians 3:14-21 (NIV)...

For this reason I kneel before the Father, (15) from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. (16) I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, (17) so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, (18) may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, (19) and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (20) Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, (21) to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Paul was in chains - but he was focusing on his blessings in Christ and how his fellow believers could be a blessing to others despite his circumstances. And think about that phrase - 'more than all we ask or imagine'. God can do things that simply do not fit into our ability to even comprehend. God can bring about blessings from places and circumstances that we can't imagine even if we tried!

- When we pray, we sometimes ask God for 'His blessing'. We're asking Him to 'watch over us and give us good things in our lives'. We pray these things, but are we sometimes surprised with His answers?

We know that God can bring 'good' things from bad situations. And we don't have to pretend that bad things aren't bad - they are bad; sometimes awful. But God is not even remotely limited by 'awful'.

In the Old Testament - Job lost his livestock, his wealth, his children and his health - all awful things. But in the end God blessed Job with many more material possessions than he had before, God gave him more sons and daughters and gave him a nice long life - wonderful blessings. I'm sure in the midst of Job's loss he wasn't feeling very blessed at all - but God was faithful and blessed him despite of all of the bad things.

Does God 'cause' bad things or does God 'allow' bad things? There is a difference - and I don't have all the answers. But we can see in scripture examples of perhaps both. But I think there's enough 'bad things' in this world that happen by mankind's poor choices without God having to do anything. And God can shape ALL of those bad things for His purposes!

Again, the Old Testament story of Joseph - his own brothers sold him into slavery, only to then run into him much later as a high ranking official in Egypt. And Joseph told them…

Genesis 50:20 (NIV)

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

Why are we surprised when God answers our prayers in amazing ways? I think it's because our mental picture of God is too small. We ask for 'blessing' - but then bad things happen and do we then think somehow that derails God's ability to care for us...? Do you think God is on Hs throne saying, "Well, I was going to bless Ron, but then that happened. Boy, I don't know what to do now… My hands are tied."? No! God is so much bigger than any circumstances! Don't forget how BIG God is and what he can do!

A woman once asked a British preacher, G. Campbell Morgan, "Do you think we should pray for even the little things in our lives, or just for the big things?" He paused and then replied, "Madam, can you think of anything in your life that is big to God?"

Don't be guilty of just praying 'small prayers'. Pray "big" prayers! It's impossible to ask God for too much - assuming that it is in line with His will and for His glory! One preacher wrote, "Pray the largest prayers! You cannot think a prayer so large that God, in answering it, will not wish you had made it larger. Pray not for crutches but for wings!" That's the kind of faith I desperately want to have!

Romans 8:26-28 (NIV)

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. (27) And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God. (28) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

When you follow God and His ways, He will bless you - many times in ways and through circumstances you never would have imagined! And God isn't sitting there just waiting to take blessings away from you if you step one foot out of line. God wants to bless you! But sometimes, getting to the blessing isn't always a 'straight line'. Many times, there are plenty of twists and turns until you get to that blessing. That's where I struggle, but that's where faith comes in.

Before I was hired here at Deep River - I had no idea where God was taking me. I had just quit what I thought was my dream job at the time and wasn't sure how I was even going to pay the bills. I'd been 'burned' a bit and was a little 'gun shy' and wasn't sure how long 'this' could possibly work. When I came here, over 18 years ago, I didn't have any kids - now I have six. I couldn't have imagined this being the Church home for my children back then!

Over the last 18 years I can't count the number of times I've gone on a hospital visit or was sitting with someone who had just lost a loved one when - it was my intention to minister to them - that person was a blessing to me despite their awful circumstances! How does God do that?

I guess at this time of Thanksgiving, I want to take the lead and say 'thank you' again for being such a blessing to me and my family! I am more blessed than I deserve! But sometimes…

II. We forget to say thanks

I knew I had to stop and say 'thanks' before I could ask you to do the same. When life gets busy, we forget to say 'thanks' for all the blessings we have. Giving thanks is not the natural tendency. That's why parents have to teach children to say 'thank you', to be grateful for what they're given.

This past Halloween - Augie, my three year old, had to be reminded to say 'thank you'. When we went 'trick or treating' he started to get in the habit of just holding up his bag, waiting for the candy to be dumped in and then running away without saying a word. I had to keep reminding him, "Say 'thank you'!"

There is a reason in the Old Testament...

A. God commanded 'giving thanks'

Just as parents have to teach an attitude of thanksgiving to their children, so too, God commanded several "thanksgiving" rites to Israel, His children. We read this in Deuteronomy 8:10-18 (NIV)...

When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. (11) Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. (12) Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, (13) and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, (14) then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. (15) He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. (16) He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. (17) You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." (18) But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

The people of Israel needed to be reminded from where their good fortune came. Without God, they would have still been in slavery. The first thing we seem to do in hard times is turn to God. But He wants our attention, and the credit, in the good times as well.

And we also understand that 'being thankful' is more than just saying 'thank you'. It's more than just an attitude…

B. 'Giving thanks' is an action

When the people were told to remember God and be thankful, God wanted action as well. He told the people that they were to have feasts and festivals and to make offerings - all to say 'thank you' to God. If we look back in the book of Leviticus, God thought of a holiday like "Thanksgiving" long before the pilgrims.

In fact, there were quite a few holidays, some lasting weeks – all with the purpose of reminding the Israelites just how much God had blessed them and how they should be thankful. There was "The Feast of Unleavened Bread", "The Day of Atonement", "The Feast of Tabernacles", multiple holidays all commanded to be celebrated for the purpose of thanksgiving.

We need to be reminded how blessed we are for the specific purpose of 'giving thanks' to God. Remember how I spoke earlier of how God can bless us in ways we don't expect? I want to look specifically at one way...

III. No one expected

For us to fully understand this point, we have to go back to the Old Testament again. One of biggest festivals that the children of Israel were commanded to celebrate was the Passover. It commemorated when God's angel of death 'passed over' the Israelite's houses sparing their first born children – but the firstborn of the Egyptians was slain. God used awful circumstances for securing His children's freedom. God wanted them to always remember what He had done for them, and for them to be thankful.

God is big on giving us something to hold onto in order for His truth to be communicated. It only takes one generation to fail in passing on the stories for the message to be lost. It's then that we forget our blessings, and forget about God. It says this in Exodus 12:24-27 (NIV)...

"Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. (25) When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. (26) And when your children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?' (27) then tell them, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.'" Then the people bowed down and worshiped.

The Passover celebration was to remind the people from where their strength, their hope, came. God wanted them to remember and be thankful. God blessed His people in a way they might not have expected in the midst of extremely difficult circumstances.

***Video "Why?"

We see how God instituted several festivals each year to remind His people to be thankful. But He's given us a weekly reminder of what He has done for us. Passover was to remind the people that God's angel had passed over their houses, sparing them from punishment. Our time of communion is a Passover celebration as well, it reminds us of how, through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus – our sins have been passed over; we have been spared the punishment that we deserve.

Jesus was speaking to His disciples…

Luke 22:15-20 (NIV)

And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. (16) For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God." (17) After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. (18) For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."

(19) And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." (20) In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you."

Jesus transformed one of the many festivals, Passover, into a new kind of thanksgiving remembrance. Israel was commanded several times a year to be thankful. We can celebrate a very real thanksgiving time every time we meet for communion. "Do this in remembrance of me."

God took the tragedy of the cross, the death of God's own Son, and turned it into the ultimate blessing for all of humanity in the resurrection! Did anyone really see that coming…?

So What?

Our act of thanksgiving to God has to be action. I am asking you to show your thanks to God by acting, by doing what He asks. What does He ask? - To love one another. When you celebrate this coming Thursday, show genuine love to those around you. Show your family the love of Jesus in your words and actions.

Because of the love that Jesus showed for us, as demonstrated by His death on a cross - because of that love - show your family the love of Christ. May God continue to open our eyes to the many blessings we have!