More Than A Drive-Thru Thank You!
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Faith Country Chapel
November 22, 2009
Read 1 Thessalonians 5:18
By now, I am sure many of you know this Thursday is Thanksgiving day. Planning and preparation is underway for a day of food, football and family. Students know that they have a break from school and hunters are looking beyond the holiday to a weekend in the woods getting ready for deer hunting. It also marks a time when Christmas shopping and preparation is in full swing. Thanksgiving marks the beginning of several weeks of celebration and tradition. There is no other time like the Thanksgiving to New Year’s stretch in our calendar. It is truly a wonderful time of year.
When I think of Thanksgiving, I remember the smell of turkey and gravy filling the house when I woke up in the morning; my mother eating the gizzard for breakfast which no one fought her for and then the meal at 1pm followed by watching football, playing board games and eating more turkey and leftovers which continued throughout the weekend. In later years, it was alternating between Thanksgivings here with Lori’s family or in Harrisburg with my family. Now, its annual treks a few feet across the yard to enjoy the great feast with my in-laws. I hope Thanksgiving is full of wonderful memories for you.
There is much debate and controversy surrounding the origins and traditions of Thanksgiving. I’ve read many differing accounts of when and where the first Thanksgiving was celebrated in the colonies, who came, for what purpose and whether certain proclamations were made and not made. While we may be dismayed at the secularization of yet another holiday, the celebration of Thanksgiving will always be what we make it regardless of how others celebrate it past, present or future.
To that end, I would like us to examine the meaning of Thanksgiving-not the holiday but the action and attitude of giving thanks. It is obvious to all of us for me to say that giving thanks to God is very much what we are to be about as Christians. It is more than just a day. Just as we wish the joy of Christmas to be something we share all year round. Thanksgiving is more than just a holiday and something you offer up before overloading your belly with platefuls of food.
Better yet, I want us to be reminded this morning that “giving thanks” or “saying thanks” is more than a “drive-thru thank you”!
Now, what do I mean by that? Well you know what it’s like when you go through the drive-thru. You place your order, pull up to the window, get your food, give your money, get your change and then the person says “Thank You, have a nice day!” and you say “Thank You and same to you!” or something like that. At least I do, because if I don’t my wife will scold me for being rude! However, do you really notice what usually doesn’t happen in that exchange? Eye contact or a smile! The exchange happens because we are trained to do it. It’s good business etiquette. It’s the good manners our mother taught us. We do it because it’s expected. But the sincerity isn’t there. We’re ready to move on. We want our food and to get on the road to our destination. The cashier wants to take care of the next customer or to take a break. So we have a quick exchange with minimal interaction while we are busy doing something else.
Now, I am not trying to be critical of those who work fast food or in any other retail position or critical of us for how we respond. The point that I want to make here is that as Christians thanksgiving is an attitude and a way of life. At least it should be. It is more than just a “drive-thru thank you” where we casually look at God while we are caught up in the busyness of our life and give Him a half-hearted thank you. It’s so much more than that.
This morning, I’d like us to get deeper into the meaning of thanksgiving because it can make a huge difference in our life.
Sincere life-altering thanksgiving takes place for the believer at the intersection of 3 actions:
1. When we behold the face of our Father.
2. When we see who we really are in Him versus what we were without Him.
3. When we see the circumstances of our life.
Behold The Father
When we behold the face of God our Father and see a Holy, Righteous and Amazing God, thanksgiving fills our heart.
Read 1 Chronicles 16: 8-13 & 23-36
When we look in Scripture and behold the God of Creation, the God of Noah, Moses, Abraham, Issac and Jacob; the God of King David and King Solomon and His miracles and judgments upon Israel that preserved them until His plan was fulfilled in the coming of Jesus Christ. When we receive and proclaim the salvation we have in Christ Jesus; a salvation that gives us an abundant and eternal life. When we see the work of The Holy Spirit that raised up The Early Church and continues to expand it thousands of years later. When we stand here today knowing that we join millions upon millions of believers today and down through the ages who love their Lord. When we see the hand of God continuing to raise up men and women to carry on His work from John Wesley to Billy Graham to DL Moody to the person sitting next to you whose efforts may only be recorded in the history of Faith Country Chapel if even then. When we see the hand of God at work in our very own lives in the salvation of a loved one, or a healing that takes place, or a provision made, or comfort given or strength to persevere when times are challenging. When we see the future that await all who believe upon His Son Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior—a place where there is no more sorrow, no more pain, no more weeping and no more suffering. “A city of pure gold, as pure as glass” (Rev. 21:18);
a place where there is no darkness and the sun and the moon need not shine because God’s glory will light the way; a place of eternal feasting and worship as we celebrate God and His miracles as we never have before. When we see God in all His Holiness, Righteousness and Sovereignty. . . .
When we truly behold the face of our Father that is what we will see and thanksgiving will fill our soul!
The Reality of You
This is key to salvation. Acknowledging that apart from God we are nothing. That we were sinners and that the just punishment for our sinfulness is eternal separation from a Righteous and Holy God. There can be no relationship between One who is without sin and one who is corrupted by sin. We understand that without faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, that penalty could not be removed. There is nothing we can ever do to earn our salvation not before and certainly not after. It is a free gift from God given in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In Christ, we acknowledge that we are saved and that we are being sanctified and changed by the power of The Holy Spirit as we live faithfully to Him. We testify to the eternal hope and joy that we have and the victory over sin and the spiritual forces of evil led by Satan.
As believers we stand here today saved, sanctified and redeemed by the Grace and Love of God and we know that gift given to us is not limited to just us but is freely given to all who dare to receive and therefore, we commit ourselves to spreading that Good News in word and deed.
When we see the reality of who we were before Christ and who are in Christ, thanksgiving fills our soul.
The Circumstances of Life
This is tough.
It’s easy to be filled with thanksgiving at the birth of child, or a funny moment with a friend, or at a hug from your spouse, or a raise at work, or the wedding of your son or daughter, or getting your first buck; there are numerous moments, large and small that can easily bring thanksgiving to our soul.
But, can we thank God when are unemployed or we’re working a dead end job just to make ends meet? It was hard for me when I would sit in the warehouse at Wright’s Furniture wondering how I got there after a Master’s Degree and 15 years of ministry. But, I can now looking back on that time and seeing what God was doing.
Can you thank God when you find out that you have an incurable disease that has left many disabled and dependent on others? My wife couldn’t at first but she does now. It’s a powerful part of her testimony of what God has done in her life.
Can you thank God when your family life is in shambles or when a spouse has died and you are lonely? It’s easier said than done, isn’t it?
But our passage today tells us to give thanks in ALL circumstances. That means the good and the bad, the easy and the hard, the ones that put a smile on our face and the ones that bring tears to our eyes.
Now, this is another message that I will leave for Pastor Brian to preach someday on why bad things happen and how we as Christians are to respond. But suffice it to say for us today that, as Christians, we are to give thanks in ALL circumstances. We are to seek God’s Hand at work always and to not ignore His goodness even when we are overwhelmed with sadness or anger. We can give thanks and we will give thanks when we trust in Him alone.
When we surrender the circumstances of our life to God then thanksgiving will fill our soul.
Let us spend a few more moments examining what robs us of our gratefulness.
Lack of Humility or Pride
Pride lies at the heart of man’s struggle with God. The man or woman who rejects God ultimately does so because he sees no need for God. He is completely self-reliant and considers it foolish and beneath him to place his trust in God and therefore sets out to live life in his own way and to his own pleasing and satisfaction or so he thinks.
More subtle to the Christian, is spiritual pride-that somehow we make it easy for God to bless us because we are so good, so obedient to Him. “Of course, God would save me because I was such a good person to begin with. Sure there might have been a few minor shortcomings that had to be dealt with but all in all I am a pretty good person and still am today which is why God can’t help but bless me!” We may not say it but from deep in our conscience that thought creeps out.
Do get me wrong, God will not bless disobedience. Our obedience along with trust is key to God’s blessings. But remember all that we are and all that we have are God’s gift to us. They are not a right or an expected result. In fact, our very ability to be obedient and to trust in God is a work of His Holy Spirit in our lives.
Spiritual pride is subtle; it can be dangerous to the believer and to others. Spiritual pride can rob us of our thanksgiving.
Complaining or Critical Spirit
Always complaining about something leaves no time or opportunity to give thanks. A bitter heart which is at the root of a critical spirit leaves no room for gratefulness and appreciation.
Again, don’t get me wrong on this point. It is good to share our burdens and concerns with others that they may encourage us, pray with us and help us. It is also important for us to hold one another accountable. But here is the difference between concern and accountability and a complaining or critical spirit. A person with a complaining or critical spirit has no desire to improve the situation or make it better. They simply want to trash another person or to make themselves look superior or to vent with little or no intent of seeing the situation change or improve. Jesus gave us principles to follow in Matthew 18 in dealing with an offending brother or sister in Christ with sole purpose of rectifying the matter and to restore the relationship. That should be our intent but when we simply complain or criticize we are accomplishing nothing positive.
Also, a critical spirit focuses on the negative and ignores the positive. Worse yet, the critical spirit treats the positive as something to be expected, as a right and therefore not worthy of any recognition. You cannot be truly grateful for something you already think you deserve or should expect.
This is true for us as parents. We are quick to criticize and reprimand but slow to praise. Of course, we need to discipline and to reprimand but we should also praise our children and catch them doing good. I’m not talking about getting all sappy and jumping up and down and clapping your hands when little Johnny remembers to flush the toilet! But when they do something good, something significant praise them, pat them on the back, just as you would be quick to reprimand if they did something bad. I know I need to do that. (example Sam’s soccer coach)
Carelessness
A third attitude that robs us of our thanksgiving is carelessness. It has been said that is the stars only came out once a year, we would stay out all night to watch them. But they are there every night and we have grown accustomed to them. This past week there were meteor showers. I know from reading Facebook, that some of our college students were staying out late at night to watch them. My wife likes to watch them in mid-August-why because it’s something spectacular that you just don’t see every day. But so are the stars and how often do you look up at night and be amazed at a small part of God’s handiwork?
Listen, we cannot go one step in life without bumping into or experiencing the amazing works of God. And I am not just talking about his handiwork in Creation. I am talking about what He is doing in each of our lives every moment of every day that just zips right past us unnoticed. We are carelessly blind to much of what God is doing and then we wonder why He is not doing enough!
We are not going to notice everything that He does but we can take note of a lot more than what we do and give thanks for a lot more than what we do.
Let me close with this: I’m not here to tell you that thanksgiving is more than just a holiday (you already know that) or that it is more than just being polite or mannerly (you know that too) but it is more than just a “drive-thru thank you”. We need to behold the face of God and say thank you from the depth of our soul, with every fiber of our being and with every moment of our life.
Better yet, thanksgiving is an attitude that stands at the crossroads of God, You and Life and says “Wow, this is an amazing place to be! THANK YOU GOD! “ What blocks us from getting there is pride, criticism and carelessness.
Where are you standing today?
Let’s pray about that before we go.
Closing Prayer