Commitment to Thanksgiving

One man wrote, the day before Christmas became a Thanksgiving day for my family.

The station wagon was packed with kids and travel stuff for a 400-mile trip

to grandma's house over the river and through the—no, that was not in there.

As is our custom, before leaving, we asked God to protect us on the road.

God did protect them and in an unusual way.

As he goes on, as we were cruising down I-75 in Ohio We ran over some debris

in the road It made a lot of noise but did not do any damage Or so we thought

With every passing mile We figured that the crisis had passed,

When we pulled off the interstate For gas a few miles later though We were in

for a sickening surprise.

I felt a sickening, sloppy feeling in the front of the car.

Both tires had blown and gone flat.

We weren't happy with having to replace the tires, but we were thankful for God's care.

We were thankful that we didn't have an accident. We were thankful that the

tires stayed inflated long enough for us to get off the interstate.

We were thankful for the tow truck Sitting at the gas station We were thankful

that a repair shop was open We were thankful for God's answer to prayer,

I got to tell you, and this is not in

the notes But I can tell you another situation when I was in high school.

We're traveling with our cross-country coach to Ohio State University to watch

the NCAA Indoor Track Championship.

We were on the way out there in his little VW station wagon,

hatchback, and I was in the back with one of the other guys in the team.

We got the privilege of basically laying down the whole trip.

We got into, this was during the early 70s During the gas fashions, you remember those?

Some of you old enough We got into the middle of Indiana And he said,

Tim, are you a praying kind of guy?

I said, well, I go to church, yeah, I think I can pray He says,

well, you better pray I said, why is that?

And he said, well, we're running out of gas And I don't know of any gas station

available on the way So I said, okay, I'll pray Well, so we drove on and drove

on and drove on Came up over a rise,

And just over the rise He saw a light for a gas station The only one that had been open for.

Tens of miles Pulled in, the car quit As he was coasting into the pump And,

You know, so God, we could be thankful that God provides in many ways.

I'm going to ask Sharon to read for us from Philippians and also from Thessalonians.

Philippians 4, 4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again.

Rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all.

The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation,

by prayer and petition, With thanksgiving, present your request to God,

and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5, 16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all

circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

You know, sometimes we think of what Paul was going through during these times,

being imprisoned and all that, and it doesn't really register in our mind.

But here he is, imprisoned, having been beaten, having been shipwrecked,

having all kinds of things happen to him.

And then he says, give thanks in all circumstances. I guess if anybody who can

say that, like Paul said that, there's got to be something in them that's of God.

And so sometimes the circumstances of our lives are not always the best.

In fact, they may be downright bad, but still we are to look for something to be thankful for.

And there is always something positive for which we could be thankful.

I'm reminded of one man who did a funeral for a guy and his brother.

Guy's brother came to him, and this was a scoundrel of a guy that had passed

away, and he came to him, and he said, This is what I want you to do for my brother's funeral.

And he said, I want you to tell everybody that he was a saint.

And the preacher's thinking, Oh, man, how am I supposed to do that?

And, well, I'll listen to it.

Anyway, he got to the funeral, and he got up to speak, and he said,

compared to his brother, this guy was a saint.

Anyway, one morning, I haven't done that at a funeral.

One morning, after a terrible snowstorm, Susan was outside shoveling her driveway.

She stopped to wave hello to her neighbor, and he asked why her husband wasn't

out there helping her with the chore.

She explained that one of them had to stay inside to take care of the children,

so they drew straws to see who would go out and shovel.

He said, oh, I am so sorry for your bad luck.

She replied, oh no, I won.

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Dr. Dale Robbins writes, I used to think people complained because they had

a lot of problems, but I have come to realize that they have problems because they complain.

Complaining doesn't change anything. Have you ever noticed that?

Misery doesn't change anything.

Change happens when we choose to change, and complaining only amplifies the frustration.

It spreads discontent and discord, and it can invoke an invitation for the devil

to cause havoc with our lives.

Complaining makes us miserable. It turns our face downcast.

Psalm 77.3 says, I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed.

Yeah, not in a good way like the song, overwhelmed.

Philippians 2, verse 13 says, Do everything without complaining or arguing,

Philippians 2:13

so that you may become blameless and pure children of God without fault in a

crooked and depraved generation in which you shine like stars in the universe.

A positive, thankful person is a great witness in this dark world.

When we speak with positivity and with a thanksgiving to God in all circumstances

we shine a light to those around us who are in misery seemingly all the time.

We only shine when we are thankful. Our light shines for the Lord when we're

thankful, when we live it and we express it.

Instead of looking at the negatives in our lives and complaining,

we need to look at and for the positives and give thanks.

Giving thanks to God is God's will for our lives. Giving thanks to God and others

is what pleases the Lord.

There are three things we're gonna look at this morning as we think about Thanksgiving,

and that is we have it so good and we enjoy it so much. but we express it so little.

Think about that. We have it so good.

1 Timothy 6.17 says, Command those who are rich in this present world not to

be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, but it's so uncertain,

but to put their hope in God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

Remember the old yo mama jokes? I don't know if you guys ever did those around

here Someone who said Yo mama is so poor She goes to Kentucky Fried Chicken

To lick other people's fingers,

Yo mama is so poor I walked into her house And asked to use the bathroom And

she said third tree on the right.

Where did you come from? How poor were you when you were little?

What do you have now compared to what you had then?

Many of you grow up with a whole lot less than what we have now.

In fact, I hear so many complaints about the economy that it makes me sick.

The news media bombards us with suggestion that this is the first generation

that will have less than their parents. That's just plain baloney.

Each generation here in America receives more and more and gets it faster and

faster for less and less effort than the generation before.

During the government shutdown that just ended,

I saw a video of one guy complaining that his food stamps were being cut from

$2,800 per month to only $600 per month.

And that the government was expecting him to go out and get a job.

We have so much in America that we've become arrogant about our demands.

Our poorest are richer than 90% of the world's people.

1 Timothy 6, 17, command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant.

We are the rich of this world and we should not be arrogant about it.

Have you counted up your blessings lately?

There's a song, that song on the radio, the guy counting all of his blessings,

one, two, three, up to infinity.

We have so many.

Don't believe me? Then go with me to the restaurants each day and to our homes

and look at how much food is thrown away.

Don't believe me? Then go with me to the food banks and the clothing giveaway

shops and look at the junk that is given away, quote, junk.

That was another story. When we were in Peoria, I was visiting somebody who

was in need, walked in their house, and in the corner of the living room was

piled high with clothes,

and they were wanting food and clothing. I said, what are those?

Well, those are clothes that we've gone down to the agency and gotten clothes.

I said, well, what are those? Well, they're dirty.

They're going to take those back To the place they were getting Get new ones

Instead of washing what they'd had We are so unbelievable in America The waste Don't believe me?

Then go and stand with me At the gas station like I have When

those receiving food stamps And government assistance Are purchasing $50 worth

of lottery tickets Then follow them As they go to the churches Like ours And

shelters and demand that someone help them feed their children while they go

and spend $150 on new hairdos and tattoos.

Don't believe me about our arrogance? Then go with me to dinners as people are

popping down 8 to 10 drinks per meal at $6 to $12 a piece.

Don't believe me about our arrogance? Then watch with me as the elite in the

media demand that we force mandatory use of hybrid and electric automobiles

that cost $60,000 to $100,000 on the middle class in the middle of America knowing

that their media salaries can easily pay for them.

I wonder, have we counted up our blessings yet?

The average household income in Honduras, where I have been on mission trips,

the average household income, household income, is about $4,000 a year.

The average household income in the Philippines is about $6,500 per year.

The average household income in Mexico, where I've also been on mission trips,

is an astonishing $13,000 per year.

And yet everyone in their families must work to provide food and shelter and

yet get this, they're content to be with their family.

I remember visiting in both Mexico and Honduras at the end of the workday after

we were doing our mission work, we'd come back and we'd be invited to somebody's

house and we would sit out under the veranda,

the porch, and they would cook tortillas and whatever and we'd have a feast, to them a feast.

To us, a few tortillas with some carne, some meat.

They would come home in the middle of the day. The whole family would go in the morning to work.

They would come home in the middle of the day and have lunch together as a family,

and then go back and work until it was dark.

Also, they could make a little bit of a living.

Brother Ruben Casas is a Hispanic preacher in East Los Angeles, California.

He preaches for the American Baptist Church. Ruben, of course,

was born and raised in Mexico.

Here's a part of a letter that he wrote. I remember the time in my homeland

when I was working for less than a dollar a day.

I came to this country looking for a better future and I found it.

I went to school for a few years while I was working, sometimes part-time, sometimes full-time.

When the Lord called me to minister, he opened many doors.

I was able to go to college and then to seminary to get my master's of divinity degree.

For many years, I served the Lord in the barrio in the heart of Northeast Los

Angeles where gang activity,

drive-by shootings, drug trafficking and other criminal activities were rampant

we preached on the streets in the parks in the parking lots and everywhere we

could besides the church we were trying to make an impact in our community during

those years i received a very small salary from the church.

I used to get today's equivalent of $800 a month.

It was not very much, but it was a whole lot better than what I had ever earned back in my country.

I went through a lot of financial struggles. I had to drive a 1973 Ford Pinto.

How many have been there?

But where I grew up in Mexico, I had to ride a donkey.

I did not enjoy many material things for many years, but I kept faithfully working

for the Lord. I also believe God brought me here to bless me and to prosper

me so that I could help others and bless other people like Janice was.

God has blessed me so much in so many ways. I just cannot thank him enough.

Every day of my life, I gather my family around me, and we thank God for all

of his blessings. By the way, he says, I still drive an old car,

but now it's a 1993 Honda Accord.

Sometimes he says, I feel like I do not deserve so much, but God is good,

and he wants me to enjoy the blessings that he has.

We all have it so good.

So the second thing we see is we also, we enjoy it so much.

1 Timothy 6.17, command those who are rich in this present age not to be arrogant,

nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope

in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Are we having fun yet?

Sometimes we work so hard to have fun in this life.

Someone once said, vacations are two weeks of too much fun and food in which

we spend too much money chasing after too little real meaning in life,

only to return home to too many bills for which we're too tired to go back to work to pay for.

We Americans are a crazy lot We will do almost anything to have fun,

so to speak And then complain And then we can't get out of bed the next day

to go to work or go to church,

Another person said it this way We worship our work We work at our play And we play at our worship,

2 Timothy 3.1 and 4.5 says this But mark this there will be terrible times in the last days.

People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, lovers of pleasure rather

than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power,

have nothing to do with such people.

God richly provides us with everything for enjoyment, and we often enjoy it so much.

In a June 2, 2005 article in a news medical internet magazine, it says,

we have increased sedentary activities for children by 4.5 times since 1950.

Now, this is 2005. Children and adolescents now spend 45 hours each week Watching television,

working on the computer Playing video games or watching movies According to

this medical bulletin It sounds like many children are enjoying too much of

this life They're taking too much television,

too much video games And probably enjoying too much fast food and snacks as

well My step on Untoos, mine too,

It's all right to enjoy the blessings of God, but not to the point where this is our main focus.

We're not to focus on the gifts, but rather the giver of the gifts.

If it's good, it's from God, but let's not forget God.

I've heard it said that moderation is the key. I think it's true when it comes

to enjoying the pleasures of life.

Not too much of anything is just plain too much. Too much of a good thing can destroy a person.

In the past, I've watched the TV reality show survivor. Has anybody ever watched

that? Yeah, wait a minute. We're not a hand-raising church.

If you haven't watched the show, two teams are pitted against each other in

competition, and there's always some kind of reward for the winning team.

One particular week, I happened to see the reward was chocolate, all kinds of chocolate.

One man said, I have never eaten so much chocolate in all of my life.

Of course, you must realize that these people had been living on anything they

could get to eat, berries, grubs, corn mush, anything.

So that chocolate tasted pretty good at least

it did at first too much of

a good thing can be too much i was

telling there was yesterday i did two funerals one one

before janice's yesterday i was in the office working getting

ready for the first one and too much of a good thing is too much well i was

there's some leftover halloween candy in the in the office by the way in case

you didn't know So I was having some of that And as I got ready to go I thought

I need to go to the restroom So I went into the bathroom,

Got up to wash my hands.

And saw that my tongue was absolutely blue I had eaten a blue airhead.

And I thought, oh, this is good, going to a funeral with a blue tongue.

I might think that I have one of those deer diseases.

Anyway, so yeah, so too much of a good thing is still too much.

Brothers and sisters, we have it so good and we enjoy it so much.

Too much, in fact. It seems like we go whole hog when it comes to many things

in life, especially eating and playing and pleasure and trips.

The seasons of Thanksgiving and Christmas are upon us.

I wonder how much focus there will be placed on foods and the gifts and how

much we can get instead of giving thanks for what we already have,

like putting five kernels of corn on a plate and giving thanks for each one.

God has given us so much. Trips are to be enjoyed, but instead they often overwhelm us.

We want more without thanking the Lord for what we already have or whether we

receive any more or not. it seems

like we're never content. We always want more, more and more and more.

The lust for more material things and more pleasure dominates and controls our

lives to the point where God is put on the sidelines or pushed completely out

of the picture of our lives.

Soon our God becomes a credit card or a bank loan or a refinancing agency that

helps us get what we want right now but controls us in the end.

When we lust for more and more things, the things of God go out the window and

our faith is diluted or drained.

And then third, we express it so little.

Some years ago, the cartoon pictured Charlie Brown bringing out Snoopy's dinner

on Thanksgiving Day, but it was just his usual dog food in a bowl.

Snoopy took one look at the dog food and said, this isn't fair.

The rest of the world today is eating turkey with all the trimmings And all

I get is dog food Because I'm a dog,

he said And all I get is dog food He stood there and stared at his dog food

for a moment and then said I guess it could be worse I could be the turkey.

Whenever we think life is unfair to us, we need to think again.

We could be a turkey at Thanksgiving.

We could have been born in some third world country where the people have little

or nothing to eat or to wear.

Instead of thinking about how little we have, we should count our many blessings and give thanks.

In Los Angeles, a parking citation with a $5 bill attached to it arrived at

the traffic fine bureau.

An accompanying note said, I found this ticket on the sidewalk.

Not knowing if the car owner had us ever seen it, I would like to make the remittance

for him in gratitude for the occasions when I have parked over the allotted

time and not received a ticket.

How's that for gratitude? Several years ago,

some German immigrants to America told the story of a woman living on a farm

in Germany who brought to their minister an amount in German money equivalent

in today's money to about $1,000 American money.

As she laid the money before the minister, she said, in former years,

I've had to pay about this amount in medicine.

This year, there's been no sickness in my family.

I want to show my gratitude to God in this way.

Later, this same woman again came to her pastor with about $500 in American

money, in today's money, explaining that many of her neighbors had suffered

some losses in a recent windstorm, but that her farm had been spared.

I bring this, the church, this donation as an offering of thanks to God that my farm was spared.

So for what are you being thankful?

I'm thankful that the tithe, I'm thankful for the tithe that I get to joyfully

pay because it reminds me that God has entrusted me as the steward of his good gifts.

I'm thankful for the taxes I have to pay because it means I'm employed and I can feed my family.

I'm thankful for the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat.

I'm thankful for a lawn that needs to be mowed in the spring and summer,

leaves that need to be raked in the fall, snow that needs to be shoveled in

the winter, and windows that need to be cleaned because it means I have a home, a warm home to live in.

I'm thankful for the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I'm alive.

I'm thankful for the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it

means that I'm able to walk.

I'm thankful for all the complaining I hear about our government because it

means we have freedom of speech.

I'm thankful. I'm thankful for the lady behind me in church who sings off key

because it means I can hear.

I'm thankful for the people at work who despair about their lives because it

means that I get to share the love of Jesus with them.

The young man was feeling very proud of himself as a brand new college graduate.

He had taken the CPA exams and passed with flying colors. Now he is a full-fledged

certified public accountant.

His father had been an immigrant to the United States and now owned his own little business.

Filled with self-importance, this young man began to criticize his father's way of keeping books.

He said, Dad, you don't even know how much profit you've made.

Over here is this drawer. In this drawer are all your accounts receivable.

Over there are your receipts, and you keep all your money in the cash register.

You don't even have any idea how much money you've made. Father answered, Son.

I came to this country, the only thing I owned was a pair of pants.

Now your brother is a doctor, your sister is an art teacher, and you're a CPA.

Your mother and I own our own home. We have a car and we own this little business.

Now add that all up and then subtract the pair of pants I started with and all of that is profit.

It up. That's exactly what we need to do at this time of the year,

in all year, every day of the year, is add it up.

Add up the blessings we have and see how much God has prospered us.

God says to bring the tithe into the storehouse and see if he will not throw

open the floodgates of heaven and pour such a blessing out upon us,

we won't be able to contain it in all of our barns and in all of our silos,

in all of our farms and our storage places.

Add it all up. Naked I came into this world.

Everything else is profit. We came

into this world with nothing except the eternal soul that God gave us.

Everything else is possible and is profit. We can never give too much thanks to God.

Twelve-year-old boy named David was born without an immune system.

He underwent a bone marrow transplant to correct the deficiency.

Up to that point, he had spent his entire life in a plastic bubble to prevent

exposure to common germs, bacteria, and viruses that could kill him.

He lived without ever experiencing what it was like to have a human touch him

or hold him or even kiss him.

When asked what he'd like to do if and when he was released from his protective

bubble, he replied, I want to walk barefoot on grass.

I want to hold my mother's hand.

I want to feel her kiss on my forehead. We have it so good. We enjoy it so much.

And oftentimes we express it so little. 1 Thessalonians 5.18 says this,

give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

I want us to close this service Standing if you would.

We are going to recite together mighty psalm of praise.

Psalm chapter 8. Would you say this with me? O Lord, our Lord,

Psalms 8 · chapter mention

how majestic is your name in all the earth.

You have set your glory in the heavens. Through the praise of children and infants,

you have established a thronghold against your enemies to silence the foe and

the avenger when I consider your heavens.

The work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place.

What is man that you are mindful of him, human beings that you care for them?

You have made them a little lower than the angels, and crowned them with glory and honor.

You made them rulers over the works of your hands.

You put everything under their feet, all flocks and herds, and the animals of

the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth, Heavenly Father.

How majestic is your name in all the earth. And all God's people said, Amen.