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Luke
17:11-18 THANKS FOR NOTHING ( Thanks Giving 2000
) I. Holidays can bring out the worst in people. A. A time to be stressed out. Back in 1990, Scott Nelson, age 33, was charged with assaulting his wife. Apparently he became enraged that his Thanksgiving turkey was not defrosted. So he went out in the parking lot of their apartment complex and threw the frozen bird and a pie on the pavement. It gets worse. When his wife, Jackie, gathered up her child to flee, he hurled the frozen bird at the car, breaking the windshield. Scott ended up spending part of Thanksgiving in jail. #1369 Others will violate the spirit of Thanksgiving in a more subtle way. In one episode of the TV cartoon show, "The Simpsons," the young brat, Bart, is asked to say grace. He prays, "Dear God, we paid for all this stuff ourselves, so thanks for nothing." #2312 Who says TV doesn't reflect our culture? B. Ingratitude to God is nothing new. 1) Healing of Ten lepers. Luke 17:11-18 a) Done from a distance. 1) They had enough faith to go. 2) Healing occurred on the way. b) Only one comes back to say, "Thanks." 1) And he was a foreigner, to boot. 2) Many experience God's blessings, but only a few show gratitude. C. We're not like that. 1) I am confident no one here will hurl a frozen turkey. 2) I am certain you won't thank God "for nothing" at the family grace. 3) Pagans don't acknowledge God or give thanks to him. Rom 1:21 a) But are you really going to be thankful? b) In a way that honors God? II. How Jesus showed gratitude. #388 A. For common necessities of life. John 6:11, 23 1) Feeding of 5,000. Thanks emphasized, twice. a) It is easy to take the common things in life for granted. b) We usually don't appreciate them till they're taken away from us. 2) Note that Jesus gave his thanks publicly, not in a corner. a) Thanks should be audible. b) He was not ashamed to acknowledge the Giver of every good and perfect gift. B. For answered prayer. John 11:41 1) At raising of Lazarus. 2) Pray more, and thank God for prayer. C. For his death. Matt 26:27 1) He thanked God for cup that represented his own blood. "All the agonies He was to experience in those awful hours, as He hung a bleeding victim on Calvary, were represented by the cup He held in his blessed hand, and He thanked God." #388 a) He could see beyond the pain to the glory of salvation. 2) Thank God even for hard things. a) [Church family's] home destroyed by fire. b) [Church family's] home destroyed by unfaithfulness. c) [Church family's] home destroyed by death of their daughter on road to NM. d) [Church family's] home destroyed by death of their son in the military. e) [Church ] lost drummer, lost almost half of congregation, lost mom, lost finances, lost friends, 1) One Family's perspective - thank God no one was hurt. others bitter toward everyone, even God. 2) 1 Thessalonians 5:18- "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. b) Be thankful for wasn't happened. Evelyn Bence was asked by a friend to come visit a shelter for homeless women. While Evelyn did the dishes, she thought what it would be like to sleep in a shelter with strangers. These slept there, but each morning they had to carry their meager possessions with them. One of the homeless women has a Ph.D. in art history. Gradually her mind had slipped out of her grasp. Esther, who had talked to herself all evening, was the mother of five children. Evelyn Bence silently prayed to herself, "Lord, thank you. Thank you - that I'm not one of them." Immediately she felt guilty for thinking of it this way. It dawned on her that her own comfortable world, her secure home, was not guaranteed. Instead of thinking, "Thank you I'm not one of them," she now thought up a new prayer - "Thank you for the grace you have shown to me, and help me to mirror your grace to others." #1268 III. The beauty of gratitude. A. Thanksgiving focuses us beyond our own selfishness. Mother Theresa told this story in an address to the National Prayer Breakfast in 1994: One evening Theresa and several sisters went out, and they picked up four people from the street. One of them was in a most terrible condition. Theresa told the sisters, "You take care of the other three; I will take care of the one who looks worst." So she did for the woman everything that her love could do. She put her in bed, and there was such a beautiful smile on the woman's face. She took hold of Theresa's hand as she said two words only: "Thank you." Then she died. Theresa could not help but examine her own conscience. She asked herself: What would I say if I were in her place? And her answer was very simple. She would have tried to draw a little attention to herself. I would have said, "I am hungry, I am dying, I am in pain." But the woman gave her much more; she gave Theresa grateful love. And she died with a smile on her face. Even those with nothing can give the gift of thanks. #3277 B. God expects us to praise him. 1) Last note in Psalms. Ps 150:6 2) It is not only owed to him, but enabled by him. 3) God's grace should flow in a cycle. 2 Cor 4:15 a) God is good to us. b) We show good to others. c) They send praise back to God. IV. Best
way to give gratitude. Fact: Many
are not really thankful for their parents until one of their parents
have died, it is then that they realize how precious having parents are,
but now it is too late, We need to be thankful NOW.
Later may be too late. (give other
ill.) INV.
How will you demonstrate your gratitude this Thanks Giving Have we
not become more GREED-FULL rather than THANKFUL |
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