Giving Thanks

The title for the sermon today is Giving Thanks. Giving thanks. You might think, because Thanksgiving's right around the corner, that it's just an odd coincidence. But specifically giving thanks this time of year is something that does come to our mind, as it is a national holiday of Thanksgiving that we're approaching.

And so I guess my question for us today would be, how thankful are we? How thankful are we? And yet, even beyond that, how diligent are we to express that Thanksgiving to God on a regular basis? As I've mentioned, the holiday is coming up of Thanksgiving. A national holiday is not a holy day, biblical holy day in that sense, but it is a holiday that's been established to give recognition to God for His blessings, for His care, for His provision.

If you go back and you read from many of the founding fathers what they wrote in regard to the recognition of God, they understood that many of the blessings that were being poured out on this country were a result of God's promises to Abraham. And they looked to Him as the one to whom that thanks should be given.

So on Thursday, now of this next week, we're going to be gathering together at one another's homes with family, friends. Maybe there'll be a football game on TV. Maybe others will be out in the yard throwing the football around. You're going to have food, you're going to have fellowship, you're going to have drink, all these things that we come together with and enjoy on that day.

But also, we do not want to forget, brethren, the purpose of Thanksgiving, which is to give thanks unto God. And the point of my message today is that that thanks should not come just simply out one day of the year or be reminded of it over one day of the year, but it should be a constant frame of mind that we find ourselves in. The right thing about Thanksgiving, again, you think of food and drink and fellowship and fun.

In our family, there's been a movie that's sort of been a traditional movie that seems like we pull out not every year, but often during Thanksgiving, and sometimes it's just playing in the background, and that's Raiders of the Lost Ark with, I was going to say with Indiana Jones, with Harrison Ford.

And for whatever reason, that's just sort of become one of those traditional movies that we've played over time. But as I mentioned, Thanksgiving's not a biblical holy day. But I do come back to the question of how thankful are we, and then an extension from that is how diligent are we to give thanks, not just one day a year, but on an ongoing basis.

The book of 2 Timothy describes for us the general mindset of mankind at the end of the age, just prior to the return of Jesus Christ. And then it's a mindset that is in opposition to God. And I want to look at at least one of the descriptors as it pertains to the subject of thanks. Let's go to 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 1 to begin with. 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 1, the Apostle Paul writing, he says, But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful.

It says they will be unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And Paul says, And from such people turn away. So one of the detestable attitudes that we see that will be dominant at the age just prior to the return of Jesus Christ will be an unthankful attitude. It will be an attitude of people who are not willing to give thanks, not willing to recognize the blessing in their life or the source of that blessing and to express it as it should be.

Paul tells us to have nothing to do with those people, but by extension it would be have nothing to do with that unthankful attitude as well. The Greek word here translated unthankful essentially is a refusal to acknowledge indebtedness to another. So you owe somebody a level of debt and it's a refusal to even acknowledge that. We have blessings which come from God. An unthankful attitude would fail to acknowledge, number one, the source of that blessing or perhaps even the fact that the blessing is a blessing in the first place. The unthankful attitude kind of wrapped into the definition of that as well is the concept of, well, this is my right.

This is what I would expect. Why would I give thanks for something that is my right? Why would I be thankful? It is what I have come to expect. An unthankful attitude, brethren, is a proud attitude. It is self-focused. It is self-serving. And it is absolutely detrimental to our relationship with God. God wants His people to be people who are thankful. And even beyond that, He wants His people to be those who express that thanks to Him and others on an ongoing basis.

Let's go to Colossians chapter 3 and verse 14. See what this expectation looks like. Colossians chapter 3 and verse 14.

It says, But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts to which you also were called in one body, and be thankful. Be thankful. Be appreciative. Be grateful. Appreciate the blessings in your life. Acknowledge them for what they are. But beyond that as well, be grateful to the source from which they come.

Verse 16. Let the word of Christ dwell richly in you in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making grace in your heart to the Lord.

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. And so what you'll notice as we read through this passage is there is actually a transition from first being grateful, acknowledging the blessing, but then going beyond that to express thanksgiving, giving thanks to God for the blessing. And there is a difference.

There is a difference between being thankful and giving thanks. Being thankful is where the process starts. The acknowledgement of the blessing, the understanding that it has come from God, but giving thanks takes our gratitude one step further, and it's the action that comes as a result of the grateful attitude that we have. Because, you see, being grateful can be passive. Somebody can do something kind for you, and you can be thankful and grateful for what they've done, but maybe you have even expressed to them your gratitude. So being grateful and thankful can be passive. Giving thanks, and thanksgiving is active. It's the expressing of that which is in our heart, and that which God desires to hear. It's interesting as you go through the scriptures, if you do a Bible search to pull up e-sword or go online and Google the scriptures, and you're looking for scriptures pertaining to being thankful, there's actually very few. A lot fewer scriptures than I actually thought when you look for just scriptures that says, be thankful. But there are far more scriptures that are in the category of giving thanks. Giving thanks to God's name, praising His name, expressing thanksgiving to God. Because thankfulness is an important part of the aspect of this, but where does it go from there? It must lead to thanksgiving.

Giving thanks is outwardly focused. It gives credit where credit is due.

It acknowledges what the source of the blessing is. So again, being thankful and giving thanks is not the same thing. Let's look at Luke chapter 17, an example in the ministry of Jesus Christ.

Luke chapter 17 verse 11.

Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

And as He entered a certain village, there He met 10 men who were lepers who stood afar off.

And they lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

And so when He saw them, He said to them, Go and show yourselves to the priest.

You know, it wasn't like He did some dramatic thing and they were healed right there. He said, Go show yourselves to the priests. And as they go then and leave to show themselves to the priests, they are made whole. He said, Go show yourselves to the priests. And so it was, as they went, they were cleansed. And it says, And one of them, when He saw that He was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God. And He fell down on His face at His feet, giving Him thanks, and He was a Samaritan. So there were 10 lepers, all seeking healing. Jesus Christ intervened. They were healed. And it says, only one of them returned to give this outward expression of thanks. Verse 17, it says, So Jesus answered and said, We're not 10 cleansed, but where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner? And He said to Him, Arise, go your way, your faith has made you well.

So again, 10 healed, but only one returning to give thanks.

Now, if you think about those other nine, let's think about it for a moment. What their life would have been like living with leprosy, being separated, quarantined for the general population. They weren't likely living in their homes with their family. They weren't out holding down a job, walking through the day-to-day routine. They weren't out doing business in the marketplace.

It was a very difficult life to be a leper. And so this miracle that Jesus Christ performed, it wasn't just somebody who walked with a limp that was a little bit of a disability, but they could go about their day anyway. This was a life-changing miracle in their life.

Only one returned to give thanks. But do you think if you ran down the road, and you caught up with the other nine lepers along the way, and you asked them, are you thankful to be healed? Are you grateful? What do you think their response would have been?

Well, I'm sure they would have said, of course! I'm grateful to be healed. I'm thankful. But the point was, they didn't express that. They didn't return to give praise and glory to God for the miracle that had been done in their life. And Jesus says here marveled about the fact that there's 10 cleansed. Only one returned to give this outward expression of thanksgiving.

Giving thanks to God for the blessings He's extended to us in our lives is an important part of our worship before Him. When we get down on our knees before God's throne of grace, and we direct our prayers to Him, He desires to hear thanksgiving for the blessings that He's extended in our lives. The question is, brethren, how often do we acknowledge those things before God? There's something that should be on our mind continually. It's a good idea and a good time of the year, I suppose, to stop and evaluate our prayers. How much of our prayer is, you know, given to thanks, and how much of our prayer is given to making requests? God does want to hear our requests. God wants to hear what's going on in our life, you know, knock and seek after these things, lay these things before God. But if we sort of are viewing God as like a spiritual ATM, and we can just go and make withdrawals and withdrawals and things that we want, then I think we're missing the point.

And a big part of this, brethren, needs to be that we're actually offering something up in return as well. Our thanks, our praise, our recognition of the glory of God by which these things do, in fact, take place. So an attitude of thanksgiving needs to be a part of our consistent focus, especially as a part of our worship before God.

1 Thessalonians chapter 5 expresses this concept.

1 Thessalonians 5, picking it up in verse 16.

1 Thessalonians 5 verse 16 says, Rejoice always, pray without ceasing.

In everything, give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

And so you have these requirements here that are laid out. It says, Rejoice, not just occasionally, but rejoice always. Pray, not just on occasion, but pray without ceasing. And give thanks, not just when you feel like it or when it's just a really big blessing. It says, give thanks in everything.

Everything's a lot. And we might wonder how we do that. I would say it's a lot like praying without ceasing, which is obviously you can't pray for 24 hours a day, never ceasing. You have to go to work, you have to go to sleep. But the point is, an attitude, a prayerful attitude, is always in our mind and on our lips. And we return to God in that way all throughout the day. We always need to be in that prayerful attitude, and we always need to be in an attitude of thanksgiving before God at all times as well. To give thanks in everything means that we should be in a constant mindset and not forgetting those things, again, openly expressing them before God.

If you're not sure exactly how to express thanks, if you have the concept of the things you want to give God thanks for, but maybe you just say, thanks God, and move on, and it's lacking. If you want some instruction, if you want some examples on how to truly express heartfelt thanks before God, then I would recommend reading through the Psalms. King David was a very passionate man. He experienced many difficulties in his life, but he also experienced many times where he returned to God in repentance. God restored him, and he expressed his thanks clearly and openly throughout many of the Psalms. So let's just take a look at a few of them here, and they'll kind of wrap up in our mind, hopefully, this concept of expressing thanksgiving to God, and how it is we should do such. Let's go to Psalm 118.

Psalm 118, beginning in verse 1.

It says, O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.

Again, you might wonder, well, what do I give God thanks for? If you're having a hard time even starting out, this is a good place to start. God's mercy, God's goodness, the blessing is extended to us by which we can be in relationship with him. That's something we should be thankful for on a daily basis. Never fail to express that thanksgiving before God. Verse 2, he says, Let Israel now say, his mercy endures forever. Let the house of Aaron now say, his mercy endures forever. Let those who fear the Lord now say, his mercy endures forever. David says, I called on the Lord in distress, and the Lord answered me and sent me in a broad place. The Lord is on my side, I will not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord is for me among those who help me, therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me. Again, just kind of this concept of God is there at all times. Verse 8, it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. God is our sustainer. He's the one who gives life. He's the one who guides and directs our steps if we submit ourselves to him. There has to be a willing submission, but in response as well, our thanks should flow back to God in return. Verse 28, it says, you are my God and I will praise you. You are my God and I will exalt you. I'll give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. Psalm 136.

Psalm 136. Brethren, if you're trying to get in a mindset of thanksgiving as you approach God's throne, I'd recommend reading through a number of the Psalms before you begin in prayer.

It'll help to put you in that mindset. It'll help you to understand what it was that David was conveying. These things are recorded for our learning and our admonition. There's blocks of scripture throughout the Psalms that are given to thanksgiving to God. There are whole chapters in the Psalms as well about thanksgiving. So seek those things out and explore them and make them a part of your way of thinking. Psalm 136 and verse 1, I'll give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.

I'll give thanks to the God of gods for his mercy endures forever.

I'll give thanks to the Lord of lords for his mercy endures forever.

To him who alone does great works, for his mercy endures forever.

To him who by wisdom made the heavens, his mercy endures forever. Each of these verses where it says to him, the preface of it is give praise. Give praise to him as the one who does all these things. Verse 6, give praise to him who laid out the earth above the waters, for his mercy endures forever. Give thanks to him who made great lights for his mercy endures forever. The sun to rule the day for his mercy endures forever. The moon and the stars who rule by night, for his mercy endures forever. To him who struck Egypt in their firstborn, for his mercy endures forever and brought out Israel from among them. The chapter walks through giving God thanks and praise for his blessing and deliverance of his people all along the way. Jumping to verse 23, it says, who remembered us in our lowly state, for his mercy endures forever. What lowly state did God find you and I in?

It was a lowly state of sin leading to death, apart from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

God reached down and rescued us from that. We had to respond, but the point is, give thanks, give praise to God for his direct intervention in your life.

Where did he find you and where has he brought you?

Verse 24, and rescued us from our enemies, for his mercy endures forever, who gives food to all flesh, for his mercy endures forever, who gives thanks to the God of heaven, for his mercy endures forever.

Again, the Psalms are full of expressions of thanksgiving to God, and reading through them on a regular basis will help to put us in that mindset of thanksgiving as well. Psalm 100, Psalm 100, this one actually has a heading in my Bible that says, a Psalm of thanksgiving.

It's a shorter Psalm, but the entire Psalm is dedicated to thanksgiving to God. Psalm 100, verse 1, says, Make a joyful shout to the Lord all you lands, Serve the Lord with gladness, come before his presence with singing. Know that the Lord he is God. It is he who has made us, we, not ourselves, we are his people in the sheep of his pasture. God is our Creator, he's our Sustainer, he's our Shepherd, he's the one that guides our lives along the way as we submit to him.

The point is, give thanks unto him. Verse 4, Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. Be thankful to him and bless his name, for the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting, and his truth endures to all generations.

Expressing thanksgiving is intended to be a part of our regular worship before God.

He is our God, we are his people. He has blessed us abundantly. Let us not become lax or comfortable or just sort of assuming that salvation is our right as opposed to a gift from God. Let us each and every day give our praise and our thanks to God for the incredible blessing he's poured out in our life simply by our calling. Interestingly, under the Old Covenant system, there was actually a means by which somebody could offer an offering, a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God. And it wasn't a sacrifice that was given at an appointed time or at a holy day or, you know, as part of something that had been dedicated to God specifically. This was something that could be given out of a person's heart and desire to express thanksgiving to God. It's called a thank offering. You'll find that in Leviticus chapter 7. Leviticus 7 and verse 11.

It says, this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which he shall offer to the Lord. There's various versions of peace offerings. A thanksgiving offering, an offering of thanks, was considered under the heading of a peace offering.

Verse 12, 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 of blended flour mixed with oil. Verse 13, besides the cakes, as his offering, he shall offer leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offering. And from it he shall offer one cake from each offering as a heave offering to the Lord, lifted up in that way.

It shall be belonged to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offering. 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 morning. And so again, brethren, there was this offering that could be offered to God as an expression of thanksgiving, an appreciation for what God had done for his people and for this individual directly. This was a voluntary offering. It was something that they gave out of the abundance of their heart to God, not as a requirement, but as an offering of thanks.

King David mentions this offering in the book of Psalms as well. Let's go to Psalm 107.

Psalm 107. You could spend all day in the Psalms reading of thanks, and there would not even be enough time in the day. Psalm 107, verse 8, says, Oh, that man would give thanks to the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men. For he satisfies the longing soul, and he fills the hungry soul with goodness. Again, God is the provider. He is the sustainer. Let us give him thanks for that. Verse 21, Oh, that man would give thanks to the Lord for his goodness, for his wonderful works to the children of men. Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving and declare his works with rejoicing. The sacrifice of thanksgiving is the offering of thanks that's given unto God. It's given in acknowledgement of the blessings that God has extended to his people. Now, you and I today don't live under the Old Covenant system of sacrifices and offerings in terms of the animals that were offered up, or the cakes and the leaven, the unleavened products, but we still live under a system of offering and sacrifice to God spiritually.

We live before God. We worship him in spirit and in truth, and there is a means provided by which we can offer our offering of thanks to God each and every day. Let's go to Hebrews 13. Hebrews 13 and verse 15. Let's see how we can offer this free will offering before God.

Hebrews 13 verse 15 says, therefore, by him, by Jesus Christ, that's the context, let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name.

But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices, God is well pleased.

So this is saying that the sacrifice of praise is the fruit of our lips. It's the words that we speak, but even more specifically and directly, it's the prayers that we pray before God. That's the fruit of our lips, the sacrifice of praise, and through that, we offer up our thanks.

It says, let us become continually to offer the sacrifice of praise before God.

It should be always in our mind, always a part of our worship before him, continually and ongoing.

The Bible links praise and thanks very closely together. Many scriptures that you'll walk through will have them actually in the same scripture or the scripture section, and that's because thanksgiving to God leads to praise. They go hand in hand that way. If you acknowledge God's blessing in your life, if you're thankful, if you offer up your thanksgiving to him, the natural course of that continuing thanksgiving is then to praise God, to praise his name, to praise his divine power and authority by which that blessing has come in the first place. When we are thankful to God, we express it to him in a very direct and a very personal way, and it's going to be individual to each and every one of us. What we thank him for, how we do so. But God wants to hear those things directly from your lips and mine. How diligent are we to offer up the sacrifice of praise?

Sacrifice and the offering of thanksgiving before God. Again, it shouldn't be just a reminder that we get one day out of the year that, oh, this is thanksgiving. I should be thankful to God. It should be a part of our Christian life day in and day out. So the question we should ask ourselves personally is, how are we doing? How are we doing expressing our thanksgiving to God? Have we become lax? Are there room places and room for improvement in our lives in doing that? Can we be more effective in expressing our thanks to God? Probably all of us at one point or another can improve on those things. It's constantly a growth process. God desires to hear our thanks directly from our lips. It's interesting as I evaluate my life. I think back from, let's just say, last thanksgiving to this thanksgiving. And I evaluate my life in that way. I have to say I've given more thanks to God in the last year than I think I ever have in my life. And what's interesting about that is, if I look back on my life going back the last year, I would have to say this has been probably the most difficult year of my life and my family's life because of a number of the things that we walk through.

And you know the circumstances. You know the story on a lot of this. June the 1st, we had a mudslide that came and displaced us from our home. And in fact, a number of you have been out there. You walked up the hill when we had the picnic. You kind of took the mudslide tour, as we called it, and you got to see the gaping hole in the ground. But, you know, the point is the house is still standing. The slide just barely missed it, but we can never go back. The geotex have climbed all over the hill and said it's unsafe, it's unstable. The insurance company said, too bad for you.

You're lost. We had a couple of attorneys tear our policy apart. They both said, sorry, you know, earth movement, land movement. That's not covered by most homeowners' policies. In fact, it's something that's beyond even flood insurance. So we're just sort of out of luck on those things. Our son Austin is diagnosed with Lyme disease, and for a year now he's been struggling in quite a difficult way. We've been in and out of the ER and doctor's visits and, you know, this test and that test, just trying to find some avenue where treatment could be successful and we could make some headway in that way. To have with her broke her ankle on, I want to say April 1st. It was the 1st of April, first part of April. She broke her ankle, and she's on crutches today and her foot's wrapped up. And the fact is, she just had surgery a week ago, still trying to fix what didn't get fixed and help aid the healing process, as it should be. Now, what we've gone through, frankly, is small compared to what others have gone through in various ways as well. Sandy Sephora lost her husband. Okay, there's people who are going through great tragedies and great difficulties in life. But the fact is, even with struggles along the way, I have to say the last year, in many respects, I found opportunity to give thanksgiving to God more than I can recollect in the years previous.

Even in the midst of the trial, even in struggle, God provides the opportunity for us to do those things. Thanksgiving, brethren, is a choice. Being thankful is a choice. Because we walk through life's circumstances and we can evaluate it in a couple of different ways. If you're going through a trial, it can be an opportunity to become angry with God, or it can be an opportunity to draw closer to Him and be grateful for the blessings that He pours out even throughout the trial.

I can drive up my driveway to the house, and I can look at the house, kind of still standing there, and I can just say, woe is me. Look at all that we've lost. And I've done that, honestly.

But I can walk around to the backside of the house, and I can see that mud flow that came through and decimated the building right next to the house and turned it into splinters. And I can thank God for what I didn't lose, for the blessing of His hand. My family was there.

My friends, the Mickelson's, were there at the time of the mudslide. I'm thankful for God for the blessing of what we didn't lose. Every time I drive up the driveway, kind of crest this hump on the driveway, and I can see up ahead all these trees that are down on the other side of the road that didn't used to be there, they've just sort of been transplanted. They were on the hill, and they came down in the mudflow, and they're planted in the ground, and now they're growing down below. They didn't used to be there, and every time I drive up that driveway now, I see those trees, because for the last 20 years I haven't seen them there. And it's a reminder to me of what occurred. It reminds me of when I came up the road, the first time I saw them and the feeling I felt, because I couldn't see the house, and I didn't know if my family was dead or alive.

And I would say, as long as I live, I don't think I'll ever forget that feeling that I felt at that moment. So now, every time I come up the driveway, it's a reminder to me of the blessing and the thanksgiving that I can offer to God for His intervention and His mercy in our life.

We've gone up with a number of you again, up around the top of the hill, above the mudslide, and you see this big gaping hole in the ground, and you see the mudflow as it went out, and I could stand there, and I could get upset with God, because He could have stopped it.

You know, God, You had the power. You could have intervened. You could have kept this from happening. I could get upset, but I can also stand there and look at it and recognize the fact that if this slide just came directly down the hill, it would have crushed the house.

The fact that it slid at an angle, and God was there. I can thank Him for the blessing of being there. It was announced in the announcements about Austin's medical improvements. We had a blood test that we ordered here about two weeks ago that went out. They took three vials of blood and sent it off to a lab in California, and they just broke it down and tore it apart. Very extensive blood test, and as was mentioned, what they found was no trace of Lyme disease. But what they did also find was the marker, the antibody, in his system that shows up when you've had Lyme disease, and it's been fought. So his body was fighting it. It's been eradicated, at least momentarily, it would seem. We give God the praise and the thanks. He's still struggling. He still has a hard time even getting out of bed in the morning. It's adrenal exhaustion. It's a compromised immune system, but through all these things, we give thanks to God.

Tabitha was on Friday. I guess that was yesterday. Tabitha was commenting on her ankle because it hurt, and we were talking about the fact I said, you know, there are people in Africa who I see in the village, and they walk with a twisted leg. They walk with a limp. They have various disabilities, and there's people who are so desperately poor that they either don't have access to medical treatment or they can't afford it. If you're in a motorcycle wreck over there and you get dragged into the hospital about to die, it's sort of the question is, what's your ability to pay? And you see a little money up front, or you might just have to take your problem elsewhere. So the fact that, yes, she had to go through a surgery and it hurt and it's difficult, the fact is, hopefully now it will heal in a way that she won't walk with a limp for the rest of her life. And we can be thankful that there are medical procedures and we have access to health care in that way in order to address and fix those things. So the point again, brethren, is that even through struggle and trial and difficulty, it's an opportunity to see the blessings. It doesn't mean that we won't ever struggle with the up and down emotionally along the way as well. I've had my challenges. I've been frustrated about our circumstance.

We came back from, I guess that would have been summer camp in Ghana, and Darla picked me up at the airport and we were heading home and I'm anxious to get home and we turn on our driveway and start up our driveway and then, you know, we turn off short over into the rented mobile home where we're staying. I wanted to continue up the driveway and go home. I've been gone, I've been into Africa, missing my family. I wanted to be home and we turn off short of home. And so that kind of depressed me. I was a little bit upset for a while. Came back from the feast. Darla picked me up again at the airport. We're coming home. Turned on our driveway. I said, don't even stop.

Take me up to the house. I said, I want to go up there. I want to go home. Then we can go back here to the rented place. So she took me up home. I kind of wandered around, looked around while she was feeding the horses, and I started to mope about it again. And I think a couple weeks ago I said, I don't quite understand what's going on, but I said, I think I'm going through the anger stage of grief. You know, when you've had loss, we didn't lose like a life in our family, but we lost something that was big. And I said, I think I'm kind of going through that anger, not in terms of angry towards God, but just frustrated. You know, there's a million things going on. I don't have time for this. You know, look at what an issue this created in our life, and I literally was starting to get frustrated and angry. And I had to stop and say, God has provided so many blessings along the way. And the antidote to being angry was to give thanks.

Just to praise God, thank Him for His blessing in His hand that I can see all along the way.

We're living in a mobile home where if I plug two heaters into the same electrical feed, it kicks the breaker off. But I'm grateful that we have a neighbor that's given us a place to live that is just less than a fifth of a mile from our home while we recover, while we get back on our feet. I give thanks to God, and I give thanks to our neighbor as well. But again, God's blessings are there. Do we recognize them? Not only in the good times, but in the times of adversity as well.

Indeed, we should. There is one level of thanks that we should all give that is universal, because we'll each come up with our own list of things specific to our circumstances. But there are things that apply to us all, and I want to look at just the primary example of which we should all give thanks for. We've touched on it along the way. 1 Peter 2, verse 9.

1 Peter 2, verse 9.

It says, But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. You're his own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of him, who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. This is talking about offering the sacrifice of praise because of God's calling, giving him the thanks. Rather than the greatest blessing that can ever occur in our life as a human being is having the light of truth brought to our mind by the calling of God, by responding, receiving the forgiveness, being reconciled in relationship to our heavenly Father, and being called sons of God. That's the greatest blessing that we could ever encounter in this life as a physical human being. Do we express our thanks to that, to God, on a regular basis?

Indeed, we should. Verse 10 says, Who were not a people? We were once not a people.

Where did God find us? Where has he brought us to? But are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Brethren, let us never fail to extend to God the thanksgiving that's owed to him, for his care, for his goodness, for his mercy, for his direct intervention in our life in a most profound way.

Next Thursday is the Thanksgiving holiday. We'll be observing it in this country.

The days of Thanksgiving that have been celebrated, we keep it year by year now, but from the time of the pilgrims until a certain point of time, it was sort of an on and off recognition, celebrated at different times, sometimes not at all. In 1789, President George Washington proclaimed a nationwide day of Thanksgiving. His proclamation made it clear that the day should be dedicated to prayer and giving thanks to the Almighty God. Again, there was a recognition by our forefathers of the blessing of God, of the blessing that he poured out on this nation and where that acknowledgment and thanks should go. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln designated the last Thursday in November as the National Holiday of Thanksgiving, with Congress adapting a joint resolution setting the date on the fourth Thursday of November in 1941. And that's such as we observe it now, year by year. And so what I'd like to do as I conclude my sermon today, I'd like to read to you the Thanksgiving proclamation for President George Washington that was written in 1789. When I think of Thanksgiving, and when I read through this proclamation to me, this conveys the mindset that really we should have in giving thanks to God as we come up on this holiday this next Thursday. It says a Thanksgiving proclamation issued by President George Washington at the request of Congress on October 3rd, 1789. It said, by the President of the United States of America, a proclamation. Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor. And whereas both houses of Congress have by their joint committee requested me to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness. Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November, next, to be devoted by the people of these states to the service of that great and glorious being who is the beneficent author of all that is good, that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation. For the signal and manifold mercies, and the favor, the able interpositions of His providence, and the course and the conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed. For the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been able to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one lately instituted. For the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and defusing useful knowledge, and in general for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to that great Lord and ruler of nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and our other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our civil and relative duties properly and punctually. To render our national government a blessing to all people by constantly being a government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed. To protect and guide all sovereigns and nations, especially such as have shown kindness to us. And to bless them with good government's peace and concord, to promote the knowledge and the practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us, and generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best. Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, 1789, President George Washington.

Brethren, thanksgiving is a foundational principle to our nation. It is also a foundational principle to our worship of God. Let's not just consider thanksgiving once a year as that holiday rolls around, but let you and I be thankful, thankful in our heart, but also offer up that praise and thanksgiving to God each and every day on a continual basis as long as He gives us opportunity to live before Him.