Be Thankful

Our first pastorate that Norm and I pastored was in an area that would be considered Appalachia. It was in West Virginia, Virginia, and Eastern Kentucky. We pastored in that area for four or five years. We visited with a number of people in those areas that would be considered by today's standard living below the poverty line. I'd like to discuss a few of them with you. One of them was a couple in West Virginia. I remember very vividly our first visit with them. They lived in a small house up a hollow. Now, for those of you who have never been to West Virginia, you may not know what a hollow is. It's also called a holler. But you drive down the main road, you get off the main road, and you go down a back road, and you get off the back road, and you go down a dirt road. You get off the dirt road, and you go up a holler somewhere. And somewhere towards the end of it, it seemed to always be where our members lived. They had a dirt floor on their house, but their dirt floor was spotless. She swept her house every day. Get a broom and, you know, sweep it out. The door was left open for ventilation, although it didn't really need the door open for ventilation. The walls were pretty well ventilated. But they would leave the doors open. The animals would wander through the dogs, the cats, the chickens, any animal on a regular basis. It was uncommon to have a chicken on the table. Not one that was cooked, but one that was sort of roaming around on the table. And they were learning God's truth, God's way of life, and they were extremely excited about it. And they later on, you became a member of the church. Their understanding was open. And they knew that there were neighbors around them who were much worse off than they were, who were poor, as they would say. Well, we visited a number of people like this, and it would always be, well, you just go down to such and such a place, turn at this barn, look for the big oak tree, and you go back up. A lot of these were, you would have to cross the creek. And the only way across the creek was to wait it or go across the log. And so, you know, you would you would cross the log, you'd go to the other side, and then you'd wander back up through the wood somewhere, and finally there would be a house. You'd hear noises, and, you know, that would be your signal, and you'd be going back in that way. In the early 60s, most of the people who lived in these surroundings had very little physical goods. They would not be what we would call the rich of the world. And yet, many of them were very happy. They realized they wanted more, needed more, but they were content with the blessings that God had given to them.

On the other side of the coin, if you wanted to flip a coin up and back down, on the other side were people and couples that we've known over the years who've lived in beautiful homes, what we would call almost mansions. They would have two or three cars in the garage, and maybe a boat that they would be pulling, a cabin on the lake.

They possessed all the gadgets, all the toys, all of the things that, you know, money could buy. They would travel to exotic places, go to the feast, and promote places around the world. And they were in relative good health, had children who were bright and the best of schools. And yet, they were always, in many cases, talking about how bad things were, how bad things were doing, how their investments weren't really doing as well as they would have liked them to have done.

And some cases were dissatisfied. I'm not saying all were that way, but so often we notice that. The one couple had the American dream. The other only dreamed about the American dream. And what you find sometimes is that all of the blessings of money in the world don't make a person happy. That's not the bottom line of what makes an individual happy.

Now, don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with physical blessings. And, you know, as most people would say, try me. You'll let me have the sun. And let me see what I can do with them. Nothing wrong with having physical blessing. Nothing wrong with working hard to achieve that either. But sometimes, the more we have, the less we appreciate what we do have. And it's a lesson, I think, we have to learn. One of the greatest sins that we find in our nation today, and one that God constantly indicts our nation over and society over, is a lack of gratitude, a lack of thanksgiving, a lack of appreciation, being unthankful for the things that God has given to us.

Why do we see such an attitude in the Western world? All you have to do is to travel around the world. You know, I recently went to Africa, to Ghana, and the average person in Ghana would change places overnight with anyone living in almost the most desperate straits in this country and being much better off. Nothing wrong with the physical blessings and nice things, and we know that the country we live in, we're blessed because of the blessings poured out by God.

Ephraim and Manasseh, the countries of Ephraim and Manasseh, have been blessed with good things, and so we have been able as a nation as a whole to be blessed in that way. And God wants us to be grateful for the good things that He gives to us and the gifts that He gives to us. Now, we know that thanksgiving is coming up this Thursday, and as such, it's a day that's been set aside in this nation to be a day of appreciation, a day of thanksgiving, to thank God for all that He's done for us to show appreciation to God. But we know that most people will be focused on what? On thanksgiving. Two things. Food and football.

And that will be their main concern. Now, again, I enjoy a good football game, and I enjoy eating. But do we take the time to stop and thank God also for the many blessings that He gives to us? Why should our praise, our gratitude, and our thankfulness be directed toward God? Well, let's notice in James chapter 1 and verse 17 a living principle. In James 1 verse 17, this verse gives us a blueprint for being thankful to God. It shows us why we should be thankful. As we find here in verse 17, James 1, we find that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of light with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

We need to have the proper perspective and approach and attitude when it comes to counting our blessings. I want you to notice it says every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. Giving is part of God's nature. It comes from His love, His grace, His mercy, and His goodness. We tend to, if we're not careful, to just equate blessings with righteousness. We tend to think, well, the more righteous I am, the more God will bless me. If I'm being blessed, I must be righteous. We tend to go on circular reasoning there for not careful.

That's not always true. Some of the biggest crooks are wealthy today. You find CEOs of corporations who are worth millions of dollars, and they've suffered it, and they've stolen it. Spiritual gifts are gifts that God gives to us. Stop and think about what this verse implies here, that every good gift and every perfect gift comes from God. We tend to equate that with physical blessings, and that's part of it. But what about the spiritual blessings that God gives to us?

Every one of us here has at least one spiritual talent that God has given us.

Are we thankful for the gifts that God gives to us? Are we thankful for the fruit of God's Holy Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, and so on? Are we thankful for the gift of God's calling? See, God has called us into His Church, our understanding, the fact that God has opened our minds, and that we are converted, that we have His Spirit. What would you trade for God's Holy Spirit? Is there anything that you would give for God's Spirit? Or isn't that the most precious thing that we can have? To have a connection to the Almighty God where His very nature flows into us? For the opportunity to be a part of the first fruits now. We each are a gift from God to one another. I don't know if you stop and think of yourself as a gift. You look around this room, and you look at the person sitting next to you. They are a part of a family. We are all a part of a family. We are a gift. We are God's family in development. We have fellowship with one another, and we have the opportunity as a gift to be able to help other members of the family.

We don't want to forget that we understand the truth. We understand God's plan. God has called us ahead of time, and we have all of these wonderful opportunities. Notice Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians 1. I guess what I'm saying, if you want to summarize it, is that we need to stop and think about the spiritual gifts that God gives to us, because truly those are the most important. Those are the true blessings. And here in Ephesians 1, beginning in verse 3, we find where clearly Paul articulates that we have been blessed with the spiritual blessings. Let's just read a few verses here. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. So we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy without blame before Him in love, having predestinated us to adoptions as Son by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace by which He has made us acceptable in the beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace. What kind of peace of mind do we have when we know that God has forgiven us our sins? That all of the evil things, the filthy thoughts, the wrong approaches, the misdeeds that we've done in the past, those have been blotted out. They've been forgiven.

Verse 9, He's made known to us the mystery of His will, and God has set before us an inheritance that, verse 12 says, that we should first trust in Christ. And then verses 13 and 14 show that God has given us a guarantee, a down payment, on eternal life. So we should be extremely thankful. We know the true God, we know His nature, we know what is life. You see, out of all of the billions of people on the face of the earth, there's only a small handful, and we are among that group, who know who God is, who truly have that relationship with Him. People drop names all of the time. If you ever notice somebody who's met someone famous will say, well, you know, I know Elvis, or, you know, I knew Elvis, or there are some who say they know Elvis, or, you know, I know so-and-so people will drop names, and wow, you know them. Who do we know?

Well, we know God, or else, as the Bible says, God knows us, and therefore He has revealed Himself to us, and so we can know Him. The only true God is our Father. What if your Father were the President? You know, I walk up to you, and you're a stranger here, and I say, hi, my name's Roy Holiday, who are you? Well, I'm Bush. Oh, are you kin to the George Bush? Yes, he's my dad. Now, you know, someone who would have a person like that that's really famous, you'd say, wow, you know, look at who his dad is. Well, look at who our dad is, the great God of the universe, the one who created everything, the one who has all power, the one who is creating a family. You and I have a special relationship with Him. We have a bond with Him, and with Jesus Christ as our elder brother. So we should be thankful for all of the spiritual blessings and gifts that God gives to us. Now, let's notice also in Matthew 5 and verse 43, Matthew chapter 5, that God likewise not only gives us spiritual gifts, but He also gives us physical blessings. In verse 43, Matthew 5 43, says, You've heard that it was said you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I say to you, love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be the sons of your Father in heaven. For He makes His Son to rise on the evil and on the good. So God causes the Son to shine on both the good and the evil. Now, would it not be funny if the Son only shone on the good?

We're all walking around, and there's a ray of sun coming down on us, and everybody else would be in darkness. Now, God allows the blessings to be on both the good and the evil. And then it says, And he sends rain on the just and the unjust. When it rains, the just get the rain, the unjust likewise receive the rain. So we are all the recipients of the blessings of Abraham. And when you look at this nation, you see why we have been blessed so much.

You find that people who are unconverted are blessed. People who are converted are blessed simply because of the blessings that God has passed on from Abraham.

In Genesis 49, to just refresh your memory, this is what God promised to do for us. Genesis 49 and verse 22.

We find that Joseph is a fruitful vow, a fruitful vow by a well. His branches run over the wall. So he spreads out, and his branches run over the wall. Verse 25. By the God of your Father, who will help you, and by the Almighty, who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, and blessings of the deep that lie beneath, blessings of the breast and of the womb, the blessings of your Father have excelled the blessings of my ancestors. And so he goes on to talk about how these would be poured out upon the head of Joseph.

So you and I should be thankful, brethren. We could have been born in any number of countries that have not been blessed in the same way to the same degree. And it's nothing that we have done. It's not because we're better than anybody else. It's simply that we have been born here. So we should be thankful for the crop that we have, for the wealth that we have, for the rain, for the sunshine, the industry. All of these are gifts that God gives to us. God even gives us the power to get wealth, as we find back in the book of Deuteronomy.

It's been said—let me just quote something to you—that even though we can't have all that we want—is there anybody here who has everything that he wants?—we ought to be thankful we don't get everything we deserve. So if you don't have anything to be thankful for, there's one. You can be thankful that we don't get everything that we deserve. Another thought to ponder, we should be thankful for the good things that we have and also for the bad things we don't have.

So we can always think of things that could be much worse and be thankful that we don't have them. Humanly speaking, human beings tend to never be satisfied the way they should be.

God wants to see an attitude of thankfulness in us. Nothing wrong with trying to better ourselves if that's not our whole motivation in life. For some people, wealth becomes their God. They make an idol out of just striving to have more, more, and more, and they're never satisfied with what they do have. But we certainly try to improve ourselves, but God wants to see an attitude where we are thankful for what He has given us at this point. Notice in Matthew 6, 19.

Here's the attitude that God shows that we should have. And I think that we strive to do this. Chapter 6 of the book of Matthew, beginning in verse 19. We're told here, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So this shows the approach that we should have. That God can bless us, but we don't set our heart on that. Our heart is on His kingdom, supporting His work, being involved in that way. And verse 33, we're told, Seek you first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. So God promises to bless us. What God wants us to avoid is lust and greed. Lust and greed, and you find those are basic motivations that motivate human beings.

In Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 18, we find a basic principle outlined here that I'd like to build this sermon on. And let's notice it here, beginning in Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 18.

It says, Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. So God wants us to be filled with His Spirit and motivated by it. And then He says, Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

Now, you and I are to be thankful for all things that God gives us. And I want you to notice here, it talks about singing. If you notice a lot of times that people who are content and happy sing, they hum, they're just always doing that. And they feel good. And when you don't, or you think you're not being blessed, what happens? Well, you never sing. You're always going around with this long pouty puss, so to speak, and you're just always dejected. But notice what God says here in verse 20. Giving thanks always. So you and I should always, not sometimes, not occasionally, not whenever you think of it, but always giving thanks for all things, for everything to God, the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now that's not an easy thing to do, to always be giving thanks for all things to God.

Some things we might be willing to give thanks for, but all things, well, that's what it says that we should be doing. You see, the word thankful and the great means to be grateful, to be grateful, that we're grateful for what God does for us. One of the things that we need to stop and realize is that we don't always know what is best for us, do we? Do you always know what's best for you? Would you always choose the trial you have to go through, the tests that you're faced with, the difficulties that you might have? Well, God knows what's best for us. Sometimes that can be in the form of a trial or a test or a lack or a need. That we might have. I don't think Daniel thought it was the greatest thing in the world when he was throwing the lions down. You know, when he heard, well, you're going to go in the lions den. Oh, goody! You know, I was praying that God would throw me in the lions den today. No, I'm not saying that God did that. God didn't stop it either. What about his three friends in the fiery furnace? Did God know what he was doing there? Was there not a lesson that God was teaching a whole empire? The leaders of that empire, the ruler of that empire, that was the greatest nation at that time. That God showed forth to them who the true God was and showed his power. Only God has the overall picture of what we need in our character so that we can be in his kingdom. He will do what is best for us in our lives. In order to give thanks for all things, you know what we have to have? It's a quality of character, or two qualities of character, that so often it's difficult to have. In order for us to give thanks to God, number one, we need to have humility.

You say, why humility? Well, humility is the ability to recognize that we're not always smart enough to know what is best for us, what is good for us. Our spiritual, spiritually mature enough to really want it. We might say, well, yeah, maybe I need that in my character, but we're not spiritually mature enough to really want it. So we need humility. We need to recognize that God is far superior to us, and we look to him. And then, secondarily, faith. Faith to believe that things are in God's hands, that he knows what is best, that he does all things because he loves us and he wants us in his kingdom. God wants us in his kingdom. And I think the fact that God gives us a family relationship and gives his children is partially to help us to learn that lesson.

Do you do things to your children to hurt them, to harm them, to do them evil? Now, sometimes when you have to correct your children, they may go off pouting and think, well, dad or mom don't love me. But are you not trying to help them to develop character, to do what is right, to always measure up to a certain standard, to learn certain values? Well, certainly. And so God does the same with us. I mentioned in James 1 and verse 17, I won't go back and read that, but you remember that God is the Father of all lights.

We have light, we have truth, we have the proper approach. God doesn't change. We can rely upon him for everything. We can totally trust in God.

Now, I think the reason why that's important is because when God says something, then we know that he will do it. What if God were not dependable? What if God went on a strike every once in a while?

I have a little poem here. It's titled, If God Would Go On a Strike.

Let me read it to you because I think it illustrates what I'm talking about.

It's just a good thing God's above or God above has never gone on a strike because he wasn't treated fair or things he didn't like.

If he had ever once sat down and said, That's it, I'm through, I've had enough of those on earth, so this is what I'll do. I'll give my orders to the sun and cut off your heat supply, and to the moon give no more light and run your oceans dry. Then, just to really make it tough and put the pressure on, turn off the air and oxygen till every breath is gone.

Do you know he'd be justified if fairness were the game? For no one has ever been more abused or treated with disdain than God, and yet he carries on supplying you and me with all the favors of his grace and everything for free. Men say they want a better deal, and so on strike they go. But what a deal we've given God, whom everything we owe. We don't care who we hurt or harm to gain the things we like, but what a mess we'd all be in if God should go on strike.

If God happened to say, Okay, that's it, I'm fed up, and we couldn't trust him, we couldn't trust his word, we couldn't trust his law, we couldn't depend upon him and rely upon him for everything, we would be truly in a pickle. And so one of the blessings that we have is to know the true God and know that we can totally rely upon him. See, Thanksgiving is the expression of joy toward God and is therefore one of the fruits of the Spirit. When we show thanks to God, you realize that the term thankfulness, a lot of times people say, Well, I'm thankful.

Thankfulness tends to be passive.

Thanksgiving is active. There's a difference between the two. Too often people talk about being thankful, and what they really mean is, I'm happy, I'm pleased, I'm glad.

A person might say, Well, I'm thankful to have a good job. What they mean is, Boy, I'm really glad I've got a good job.

You may even think that you earned the job. You deserve the job. Look at all the work I've done. I've got this education degree and so on.

Too often, though, being glad can even be self-centered. I'm not saying it always is, but it can be. Being thankful is outward.

It's looking outward. It's other-centered. It is oriented outward in this thinking of others, and not the self.

We need to thank God and make a habit of thanking others. See, being thankful or giving thanksgiving is more than just saying, I've got this blessing. I'm glad I got a nice car. I'm glad I got a good wife. I'm glad my children are in good health. Those are things we can be thankful for. But do we express it to God? Do we express thanksgiving to Him? In Colossians 2, notice here in Colossians 2, verses 6 and 7. Verse 6 says, As you have therefore received Christ Jesus, the Lord, so walk in Him. Now, verse 7, rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. So you and I should abound with thanksgiving. Notice some of the alternate translations. Overflowing with thanksgiving.

Last week we were in San Antonio, and the rivers and the streets were overflowing with water. That means they didn't stay in their banks. They overflowed. And that's the way we should be. We shouldn't be stingy with our thanksgiving. So that somebody, you know, if you were compared to a creek, somebody looks down there, oh yeah, I see some water way down there. There's a puddle here and a puddle there. No, we should be overflowing with thanksgiving. Another translation says, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Or abounding in thanksgiving, the New Revised Standard Version, overflowing with gratitude, which is, again, the meaning of the word. The word Thayer's definition, or lexicon, says, means to exist or be at hand in abundance.

A thing which comes in abundance or overflows unto one, something that falls to the lot of one in large measure.

So why should we be grateful to God? Because every good gift and every perfect gift comes from Him. All blessings emanate from Him. Notice the attitude of the psalmist back here in Psalm 136, beginning in verse 1. Psalm 136, and we'll read beginning in verse 1. Notice, O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever.

One of the things that we should be thankful for is that God's mercy endures forever. Not just for a short time. O give thanks to the God of gods, for His mercy endures forever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His mercy endures forever.

Then notice, to Him who alone does great wonders, for His mercy endures forever.

You get the impression that God's mercy endures forever.

It goes on. Every verse actually ends this way. To whom by wisdom made the heavens, His mercy endures forever. To Him who laid out the earth above the waters, for His mercy endures forever. To Him who made great lights, for His mercy endures forever. You could go on and on. Verse 26. O give thanks to the God of heaven, for His mercy endures forever.

Brethren, every time we get down to pray, there should be a part of our prayer that we express to God how much we appreciate His goodness, His love, what He's done for us, His blessings, even the midst of a trial, that we can approach God from this perspective, that we appreciate His goodness and His love. You see, that's active. That's expressing outgoing concern. And so we express that to God. In Leviticus 7, I want you to notice one of the offerings that was offered to God in the Old Testament was called the peace offering. Leviticus 7 verse 11.

And let's just notice here what it has to say. There were three types of peace offerings.

One was an offering that was offered up for thanksgiving. The other two was for the fulfillment of a vow and just a voluntary offering that a person would offer up to God. A peace offering was a fellowship offering. It was an expression here of thanksgiving to God, offered as an expression of gratitude for the blessings received. And let's read it in verse 11. This is the law of the sacrifice of the peace offering, which he shall offer to the Lord, for he offers it for a thanksgiving, or if he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes, mixed with oil, unleavened wafers, anointed with oil, or cakes, a finely blended flour, mixed with oil. Now, what this is showing is that when God has blessed us in the Old Testament, here was an offering that often when they would go to the peace, that they would offer up a peace offering. And it was a thanksgiving offering to thank God for his blessings. And you find that the person who offered it up, and the priest, and God, portook of the offering. So I think there's a valuable lesson that we find that when we have been blessed, that we share those blessings with others. And we go to God and we offer praise to God to show him how much we appreciate his blessings that he's given us. Verse 13 says, besides the cake as his offering, he shall offer leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offering. And verse 15, the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day it is offered. He shall not leave any of it until the morning. Now, the other two types, they could leave some over to the second day and then if any were left to the third day, it had to be destroyed. But here was an offering that was shared with others. And so God expects us not only when we are blessed to thank him, but to share our bounty with others. We share with God the priest, the person, and the family.

How often do we show appreciation to other people also? You know, children don't know how to show appreciation unless they're taught to show appreciation. How often do children learn, growing up today, to say thank you, thank you, and to express their appreciation? I think one of the defects today in our society is that we have whole generations who are growing up who've not been taught to truly express to others how much they appreciate any gift or anything that is given to them. You see, this is where cards, letters, phone calls, things of this nature, when somebody does something for you, you pick the phone up and you say thank you, or you send them a card, or you express to them verbally our appreciation for each other, and you really truly mean it. This is part of having not just a passive. Well, I'm thankful for what I've been given, but we express and we show appreciation. In Ephesians chapter 1, this notice, the book of Ephesians has a lot about thanksgiving in it, and here in chapter 1, beginning in verse 15, let's notice.

Ephesians 1.15, therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. Now, one of the things that I'm struck by when I go through and read the epistles of Paul, and I teach these classes, is simply that Paul is constantly telling the churches that he raised up and some that he didn't raise up, that he wrote letters to, like the letter to the collagians, that he always prayed for them. Now, if he prayed for them as often as he said, he was a praying man. And you'll notice here that I do not cease to give thanks for you. Do we pray for one another and give thanks for one another? Are you thankful for others in the local congregation? Are we thankful for those that we know in God's church that God has called so many and added them to the body of Christ? Well, you'll find here that Paul did. He goes on to say that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, verse 17, the Father of glory may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation the knowledge of him in the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling. And then he goes on to talk about all of the blessings that he prayed for them. So we need to be praying for one another. If you wonder, you know, I don't have anything to pray about, well, go around, start taking names down. And, you know, each week if you take eight or ten new names down and just pray for those people every week, then next week get another eight or ten names. Now you got 20 to pray for, and you start praying for them. And maybe you can't pray for everybody every day. So you pray for this ten this day and this ten the next day, and you start praying for others. You know, this is one of the blessings that we have when we have names published of people who are sick that you can pray for. You know, God wants us to be concerned for each other. As 1st Timothy chapter 1 and verse 2. Excuse me, 1st Timothy chapter 2 verse 1. 1st Timothy chapter 2 and verse 1. Let's notice.

Therefore I exhort, first of all, that supplications, prayers, and intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men. That the giving of thanks be made for all men. We should pray for all because everyone is potentially a son of God. And he goes on to show why we should pray that we might live a quiet and a peaceful life. But it even shows that we should be thankful. Are we thankful for the country we live in, that God has given us the leaders that we have? And we know they're not perfect. We know they're not converted and in God's church. But still for the blessings that we have that many nations don't have. Ephesians chapter 5, if you back up to Ephesians again, verses 3 and 4. Ephesians 5 verses 3 and 4 says, But fornication in all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you as fitting for the saints, neither filthiness nor foolish talking or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. So our speech should be one of encouragement, of the giving of thanks, and not putting down foolish talking, coarse jesting. Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 15 is a scripture I think we've read. We know that the sacrifices in the scriptures or in the Bible, there's no longer necessary for us to offer up animal sacrifices, but that does not mean that we no longer offer up sacrifices. We are required to offer up sacrifices, but now they are spiritual in nature. In verse 15 says, Therefore by him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God. You and I should constantly be praising God. That is, how do you do this? The fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. That we're constantly giving thanks to his name, but do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices, God is well pleased to do good and to share.

I want you to notice a quote here about thanksgiving, expressing gratitude genuinely and sincerely. Receive gratitude humbly and graciously. For what we should be doing is expressing gratitude generously. That's what you should do as an individual. And you receive gratitude humbly and graciously and expect gratitude rarely, if ever.

Or it's okay, you may not come your way, but if it does, you're gracious about it, but you are proficient in expressing it towards others. If you have nothing to be thankful for, another quote, make up your mind that there's something wrong with you. Because there is, because we all have something to be thankful for. God responds to a person who is not in great or one who takes things for granted. See, our problem is not that we go around, you know, just all ungrateful all the time. We just take things for granted. We've lived in a country that has been blessed so often and so much, and we have so many blessings, that we just sort of come to expect it. And it's just the rule of thumb, and we don't express to God how much we appreciate things. Thankfulness helps us to have a proper attitude, doesn't it? A proper approach. It helps us to focus on the good and not the bad. It helps us to appreciate what God does for us. Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about. Norm and I very early on in our ministry, I remember this example so well, went out to council with a woman who was having marriage problems. Her husband was not in the church, she was. So I asked her to write down a list of all of the good points of her husband, and then make a list of things that she didn't like. So a few weeks later, we came back to visit.

I asked her, well, could I see her list of all of her husband's good points? She showed it to me there was not a single thing written down on that list. She couldn't think of anything. Could I see your bad list? Okay, there was a page or two of things that she didn't like about her husband. Well, we started discussing about her husband. I asked her, I said, does your husband beat you? No, good point. So write it down. He doesn't beat me. Does your husband work? Yes. Is that a blessing? Well, I never thought of it that way. I guess it is. And we got to talking pretty soon. She had about a half a page, and she said, would you mind coming back a little later? I came back later. She had three or four pages. It was just a matter that she was so focused on the negative that she could not see anything positive about the man. And after she saw that, she changed her attitude entirely toward her husband. She still had things that she would wanted him to change, yes. But she could see him also from a different perspective. Being thankful also helps us to see the good in the bad.

Sometimes things are bad, but then we can see maybe the good. All things, the Bible says, work together for good. We realize that sometimes a test can be a blessing. Another quote, there's always something to be thankful for.

If you can't pay your bills, you can be thankful you're not one of your creditors.

So there's always something you can be thankful for.

You need to pray for your creditors. So, thankfulness helps us to get our eyes on God rather than on ourselves. Just thinking about ourselves. Miserable people are basically not thankful. They're thinking about themselves. How often are our minds just on ourselves?

If we go around, well, how do I look? What are other people thinking about me? How are they treating me? You'll notice what's common in that is me, myself, and I. We've got our mind thinking on ourselves. Too often, it's very difficult to be able to think outwardly and to think of other people and their needs. Philippians 4. Let's notice here in the book of Philippians, beginning in verse 6. Philippians 4. We're told, be anxious for nothing. Or don't be overly anxious. But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. Notice, with thanksgiving, with prayer, supplication, with thanksgiving, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. If we're always thankful in our prayers, it can help us to have peace of mind, soundness of mind. Notice another quote. It says, Not everybody else knows the real you, do they? And many times, we get it wrong.

See, God knows what we're like, but you know what? He still loves us, doesn't he? We're still his children. We're a part of his family. And he wants us in his kingdom. He sent his son to die for us. Frank A. Clark said, if a fellow isn't thankful for what he's got, he isn't likely to be thankful for what he's going to get. So we've got to be thankful for what we have, and we get more that we can be thankful for that likewise. As we're told here in Philippians, verse 4, You realize that the epistle here of Philippians was written by Paul while he was in prison? You think of yourself being in prison, locked up for a couple of years, and you write a letter to others telling them, hey, you rejoice, don't be anxious over anything, you pray with thanksgiving. And he goes on, he also wrote Ephesians, and Colossians, all of these, where he expresses thanksgiving. Greatfulness can increase our own personal happiness, if we are grateful. True happiness is not determined just by our circumstances. Too often we think, well, if I had a bigger house, bigger car, I had more of this, more of that, I'd really be happy. Real happiness is determined by our attitude. Joy is a gift from God. Love is a gift from God. And we need to have more of this.

Notice a quote that I found from the Cozlette Publishing Company. It says, Most of the New Testament epistles were written from prison. Bunyan wrote Pilgrim's Progress from jail. Florence Nightingale was too ill to move from her bed, but she reorganized all the hospitals in England. Semi-paralyzed and under constant minutes of apoplexy, Pasteur was tireless in his attack on disease. During the greater part of his life, American historian Francis Parkman suffered so acutely that he could not work more than five minutes at a time. His eyesight was so wretched that he could scroll only a few gigantic words on a manuscript. But he contrived to write 20 magnificent volumes of history. In other words, the point is, here are people who were severely handicapped in many different ways, and yet they didn't allow that to deter them from their gold from accomplishment. Notice the quote from John Maxwell's book on developing the leader within you.

Quote, A study of 300 highly successful people like Delano Franklin Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Winston Churchill, Albert Schweitzer, Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein revealed that one-fourth of them had handicaps such as blindness, deafness, or crippled limbs. Three-quarters had either been born in poverty, came from broken homes, or at least came from exceedingly tense, disturbed situations. And they all went on to make a major impact on the world. You and I have been called to make a major impact on this society. It may not be now, but we are to be examples now. But God is going to use us to change the world. You have human beings who have changed in hundreds, maybe millions of people, in some cases have followed them. But think of the fact that hundreds of millions and billions of people in the future are going to express their gratitude, that you and I hung in there, that we did not quit, that we did not give up, that we were faithful, that we were a part of those first roots that God called, and that we were there to teach and to guide and to direct them in the future. Gratefulness can enhance our relationships with others. If we're careful, if we're not careful, we can begin to take each other for granted over a period of time. This happens in marriages where you begin to take your mate for granted, yet it can happen in every aspect of life. We need to stop and consider what is most important to us and focus on that and be thankful and not take each other or God's way for granted.

You'll find again in the Bible that there is a warning that God gives to us. Let's go back to the book of Deuteronomy. The book of Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verse 7, where God warns us not to forget, not to be in grace. In verse 7, God is talking here to Israel, talking about bringing them into the Promised Land and all of the blessings. It says, For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, fountains, and springs that flow out of the valleys and hills, land of wheat and barley, and so on. Verse 10, When you have eaten and are full, and then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you, beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you this day. And he goes on to say in verse 14, When your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt. God warns us not to forget who gave us all these blessings. Verses 18 and 19, And you shall remember that the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant with which he swore through your fathers, as it is this day. And it shall be if you do by any means forget the Lord your God, then God shows what would happen to them. It's easy for all of us to get caught up in our work, our lives, our living, and to forget God. We need time daily to reflect on the blessings that we have. We need to thank God in good times and bad times. All the time. Notice here another quote that I think illustrates what I'm talking about. It says, I read recently that if you own one Bible, you're abundantly blessed because a third of the people in the world do not have access to a Bible. If you awoke this morning with more than more health and illness, you are more blessed than one million people who will not survive this week, who will die. If you've never experienced the danger of war, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, the pains of starvation, you are more fortunate than 500 million people on earth. If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head, $20 in your pocket, a place to sleep, you are richer than 75 percent of the world. The way to overcome selfishness and ingratitude is to total your blessings every day. Then express to God how much you appreciate His love and His goodness to you. I thought that was striking. You remember the song we used to have in one of our old hymnals? Count your blessings, count them one by one, count your blessings, see what God has done. Well, we need to count our blessings every day. It should be something that we do. Every Sabbath, we need to stop and reflect on the week. We need to ask that God would be with us. Remember the story here in conclusion about the old Scottish minister who was known for his uplifting prayers? He always found something to be thankful for. You could always count on it. One weekend, the weather was terrible, it was dark and stormy, the weather was so horrible that his members knew that he could not think of anything to thank God for on a day like that. He began the service by praying, quote, we thank God that it's not always like this. So I think we can do the same thing. Sometimes, maybe all you can say is, I'm thankful that it's not always like this. Well, we can always be thankful. Surely, we, the true servants of God, can always find something to be thankful for.