Thanksgiving: More than a Meal

Go ahead and take your Bibles this morning, and before you turn to the book of Mark, go to Colossians.

We'll change things up a little bit this morning. We'll continue back in our series there in the book of Mark next week.

But we're going to take a look here for a few moments here this morning.

In the book of Colossians, chapter 3, here this morning, we're going to be talking about Thanksgiving

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

and thankfulness for a moment here this morning, and just this understanding that, you know,

it's really, it's more than a meal. Have you ever noticed that Thanksgiving, as you go through,

oftentimes becomes focused around just the meal? The preparations, all the things involved with it,

and, you know, it is a great day, what we celebrate this week. I think it's a wonderful holiday,

because holidays are something that are there for us to remember, and to pay attention to. And I think

it's great that we have a day that we actually stop, or at least supposed to stop, and consider

thankfulness. To consider what that means, and what's surrounded around it, because the idea of a day

of giving thanks is rooted really very firmly even in our nation. From the very beginning, it was a

concept that many practiced, and on December 4th, 1619, was the first time that they said that they had

a declaration that they can find in our nation, in America, in these shores, when 38 British settlers

reached Berkeley on the bank of the Virginia's James River, and the first thing they did was

proclaiming a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God. You know, they arrive, and what do they do?

They proclaim a day of thanksgiving, a day to honor and just to thank the Lord. But often our roots of

thanksgiving is placed around a meal celebrated in November of 1621, you know, when William Bradford

declared a day of thanksgiving, inviting the Native American allies and those that would come,

and they had a meal together. Actually, it was about a three-day meal. And when you read history,

you know, it's something I think we would have had a good time at. You know, they did all sorts of

things. They had games, and they had shooting events. They had all sorts of stuff that they did

in the course of three days. They even went hunting. You know, when you read the accounts, they went

hunting and got some deer, you know. It's like there's a lot of people who say, hey, that's my kind of a

three-day event, you know, to get together and to do those things. But we know those things from

history that often get promoted, but you know, the origins of thanksgiving go farther. They go a lot

farther back in time. The idea of being thankful, you know, we find even those at the early settlers

and later celebrations, they understood that what they were celebrating was not a current idea.

It wasn't just about a meal. It wasn't about the activity. It was about what was it for?

Because you find even in the Psalms, you'll find that many times, thanks, thanksgiving, thankfulness,

you know, those terms, you know, Psalm 75 starts off, it says,

unto thee, O God, do we give thanks. Unto thee do we give thanks.

For that thy name is near, thy wondrous works declare.

You know, you think about what the Word of God tells us in the focus upon thankfulness.

And when you begin looking at thankfulness and this idea of gratitude, you'll find it recorded

throughout Scripture. You know, the first time you really see the phrase is in Leviticus.

But you know, if you go back and you read before that, you'll find that there's,

it might not be phrased that way, it might not be called thankfulness or thanksgiving,

but you see actions that demonstrate it.

You know, because thankfulness is not just something we say.

Thankfulness is something that involves what we do.

How we handle those things.

How do we walk through those things in life?

And you can find that concept from the beginning.

And we find that thankfulness is something that represents more than just a day or a meal

that we often associate it with today.

But I think we need to be encouraged to say it's not about the meal.

The meal is a function that surrounds and lets us slow down

and really consider what's important.

And what is important is how we are thinking,

how are we processing the things that we have?

The things in life that go on around us.

And it's a frame of mind, you might say,

of how you interpret the world around you.

You know, thankfulness goes beyond just words

because it is a whole lens in which we see.

And we're going to look at that this morning

because Colossians brings out some of those things here this morning for us.

It's something that doesn't just happen,

but thankfulness needs to be a part of us.

It needs to be part of who we are as an individual,

to be thankful in that.

And so if you found Colossians here this morning,

chapter 3, let's stand together

in honor of the reading of the Word of God.

And we'll pick up here in verse 15

as you follow along.

And you see here, and it says,

let the peace of God rule in your hearts,

to the which also ye are called in one body.

And be ye thankful.

Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom,

teaching and admonishing one another

in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,

singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed,

do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,

giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Fathers, we come before you today.

Lord, we pray just would have your hand upon each one here today.

Lord, you know each soul.

You know each individual.

Lord, you know those who have called upon you.

Lord, if there's one here today that's unsure

or does not know what you've done, Lord, for them,

or that we could truly be thankful.

Lord, those that you've redeemed,

that have called upon you, Lord,

we have nothing but reason to be thankful

for what you've done for us.

But Lord, we pray just would stir our minds

towards this idea of thankfulness here today

and how it ought to not just be something

that we say or do,

even, but Lord, something that is a part

of who we are in our daily life.

And Lord, we just give you all the praise

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

Because as we see here,

to be thankful doesn't begin outwardly,

but begins inwardly.

You want something that's within an individual

that comes out.

And we can see it clearly.

You know, Ephesians chapter 1 in verse 16

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

tells us this.

It says,

Cease not to give thanks for you,

making mention of you in my prayers.

That was the Apostle Paul.

He wasn't just thankful for what God had given to him.

He was thankful for others

that God put in his life.

He was thankful even in the midst

of trials and struggles.

When things didn't go well,

he says we need to be thankful.

When things go well,

we need to remember to be thankful.

He says,

no matter where you're at,

you need to be thankful.

To have an attitude,

a spirit of thankfulness,

because, you know,

we can be thankful for others.

Thankful begins with our attitude,

though,

towards God,

because, you know,

oftentimes we forget that God is the one,

his provider.

He is the one that gives everything,

including our very life,

to us.

He is the giver of life.

And we understand that thanksgiving

is not centered in the words that are said,

but in the spirit behind it.

You know,

when we understand what's happening,

when we're instructed to be thankful,

it is centered upon the fact

that we have the peace of God

in our heart.

Now, take a look there in verse 15.

Notice what it tells us here in our text.

It says,

and let the peace of God rule in your hearts.

You know,

one of the things,

that if you're at peace with God

and understand what God has done for you,

it's going to change your perspective.

It's going to change the way you think.

It's going to change the way you see

the things around us

and the things going on.

And when the peace of God,

when we're at peace with God

and experience the peace of God,

because we're not going to get into detail

about the difference between the two,

but there is a difference.

Because you can never have the peace of God

in your life

if you're not first at peace with God.

And peace with God

is when you recognize Him as your Savior

and call upon Him.

And the Bible says that we're no longer His enemy,

but we're become part of His family.

I mean, it's a totally transformational setting

and dynamic that's represented.

It's totally different.

But to be thankful is centered upon that

when we understand who God is

and His presence and His peace

that comes when you trust Christ

and you know that your sins are forgiven

and the guilt and shame is no longer upon you.

And without the peace of God,

we need to understand

you can't have peace with God.

And that's how we truly,

the perspective and the lens

that we understand thankfulness or gratitude.

To understand what God has done for us

and to understand to experience.

Now I want you to understand,

we need a lot of things about experience today,

but I want you to understand

when you get saved,

there is an element of experience to it.

You've been transformed.

You've been changed.

That's something you experience.

Now not like people try to blow it up

like any, you know,

a lot of people blow things out of perspective,

but you know,

an experience just means something

that happened to you.

And when you get saved,

there's something happened to you.

The Bible says that you were dead in your sins

and your trespasses

and you were made alive in Christ.

That's a big change.

You experienced a new life in Christ.

You know,

you understand the reality

of what's being said

that is available to us

and thankfulness

and this disposition of gratitude

are something that we ought to have

when we understand

what God has done for us.

You know,

because when we understand

what God has done for us,

it changes our perspective.

It changes our understanding.

It ought to change the lens

through which we see things happening.

Because thankfulness is that.

It's almost a lens

through which we see

what's going on around us.

To understand,

he says,

tells us to be ye thankful.

Thankfulness

and the importance of it,

this disposition,

extends to those around us

and the situations of life.

you know,

when we know

what's happening in life,

I mean,

life can be rough,

but when we understand

that God is the one

that gives peace,

he is the one

that helps us to know

and to understand

those things in life

to put them

in the right perspective

that we might be thankful.

To have that right spirit

of thankfulness.

You know,

1 Corinthians 14.33

tells us this,

it says,

for God is not the author

of confusion,

but of peace

as in all the churches

of the saints.

I want you to understand

God's the author of peace

and when we have peace

with God

and we experience his peace,

we can have peace

about things

that are happening in life

which makes it

a lot different perspective

to be thankful

for the things of life.

To understand

what's happening.

So,

we might say,

how do we get

and understand

this thing

called thankfulness?

How do we live

thankfully?

Well,

that's a great question

because you have to move it

from concept

to application.

You know,

have you ever noticed

that concepts are easy?

You know,

they look good on paper,

they sound good,

but application

is where the tough part comes.

How do I take

what I know

and put it to use?

How does it impact me?

How does what I know

impact what I do

or how I live

or what I say?

And so,

we're going to look at that

because the first thing

this morning

is we need to change

our thinking.

We need to think

thankfully.

To have an idea

and this gratitude

begins

in how

we think.

You know,

look here

at verse 15 here.

It says,

let the peace of God

rule in your hearts

and we need to understand

if something's ruling

in your heart,

it has to do

with how you're thinking,

how you're processing

those things.

Our perspective

should be one

of appreciation

and humility

or it'll be one

that's wholly opposite.

Have you ever thought

about this concept

for a moment?

If you're not thankful,

what are you?

Because there's

a dichotomy here.

You're either thankful

and have gratitude

or you're complaining

or you're arguing.

You might maybe

it presents itself.

If you're not thankful,

you have a sense

of entitlement.

Thankfulness

contrasts victimhood.

Our thinking

is important,

isn't it?

And we see this

playing out

of how we think

and how we process

these things.

To be thankful

is something

that's tied

to letting the peace

of God

rule in your heart.

Now this word

rule here,

the concept here

is that when we know

and are governed

by the peace of God

in our heart,

you know,

one person,

as I was preparing

this,

made a comment

I was reading

I thought was interesting.

He put the word rule

as being the umpire

of things going on

in your life.

Let the peace of God

be the umpire,

the determining factor

in how you perceive

the things happening.

I'm like,

you know,

that word rule

kind of plays into that,

doesn't it?

It's the one

who has control

because whenever

things happen in life,

we have some choices

to make.

Are we going to complain

and be miserable about it

or are we going to say,

God,

I'm going to trust you

and I'm thankful

for the things

that I do have.

I'm thankful

for what you've given

to me that we have

that we can experience

your peace

even in the midst

of chaos.

You know,

that we can be saved,

that we can be redeemed,

that we can know

we have eternal life,

but you know,

the reality is this,

you can be saved

and still be unthankful

because that word rule

implies something.

It implies what's in charge.

All of us allow something

to be in charge

in our decision making.

Something is in charge

of how we see

or perceive the things

going on around us.

We know what we ought to do.

Now, most people would agree,

you know,

it's a good thing

to be thankful.

I think you'd have

a hard time

finding somebody

who says,

I don't think it's a good thing

to be thankful.

And I say that

because there's always

that one in the crowd

that's just antagonist.

You know,

if you tell them

the sky is blue,

they'll say it was red.

You know,

let's argue

for the sake of arguing.

But generally speaking,

you won't find anybody

that says thankfulness

and this idea of thankfulness

and the application

of thankfulness

is a bad thing.

Because everybody

knows that thankfulness

is tied to appreciation.

And who doesn't like

to see somebody

be appreciative?

You know,

we all like our labors

to be appreciated.

To be recognized

and, you know,

oftentimes,

oh, I don't want

to do it for you.

But we still like people

to recognize

that it was done.

It's an innate part

within us

to say,

hey,

somebody's paying attention,

but I want you to know

part of our thankfulness

and our spirit

is understanding

God's paying attention.

Whether men

or women

or anybody else

gives you recognition,

if you do

what you ought to do,

God's paying attention.

God's paying attention

to those things

to be thankful

and to let that rule

in our life

allow it to drive

our response.

When we let the peace

of God rule,

we'll let the word

of God dwell within us.

Because one of the things

is understanding

his promises.

How can you be thankful

for everything?

But when we understand

God's promises,

and where do we find

God's promises?

In the scripture,

in the Bible.

It allows us to know

God's promises.

When we know

his promises,

when we dwell

on what should

drive our thinking,

you know,

oftentimes it's easier

to dwell on our problems

and woes

more than the promises

of God.

You know,

it's easy to get distracted

by what's going on

instead of saying,

let's slow down

and take a look

at what God

has given to us.

You know,

when we slow down

and think that

and we start processing it,

it begins to change

even how the problems

come about.

How we walk

through the problems,

how we're dealing

with those things.

Because consider

some of God's promises

to us.

You know,

just to name a few

that he'll never leave you

or forsake you.

Is that not a good promise

for when you're

in the midst of problems?

Even when you feel forsaken,

God says,

I haven't.

God says,

you can rest assured

it doesn't depend

on how you feel.

I've said it

and therefore I am.

God declares

he's going to be faithful.

He's going to do his part.

He says he's going to hear us

and answer our prayers.

You know,

consider his process

promise

that he's going to hear us,

that you're not just

speaking up to the air.

Consider that

he promised to give wisdom

when we need it.

You know,

how many of us need wisdom?

I want to be truthful,

you need wisdom every day.

As we walk through the life

and the things that come about,

the things that go on,

you know,

wisdom,

he promises to guide our steps.

That's just,

I mean,

the list could go on,

there's so many more,

but how one thinks

must be centered

on the right things.

Because remember,

Peter says that

in 2 Peter 1,

2 Peter 1:4

verse 4,

whereby we were given unto us

exceedingly great

and precious promises.

You know,

when we find

and look at his promises

and trust them,

it's when his word dwells in us.

And when his word dwells in us,

it changes how we think.

It changes how we process.

It changes our perspective.

You know,

when we have his word dwell in us,

it's an important concept

that we see here

in the scripture.

Look down at verse 17.

Or excuse me,

look at verse 16.

It says,

let the word of Christ

dwell in you richly

in all wisdom.

Thankfulness is tied

to the word of Christ,

the word of God,

the scripture dwelling in us.

You know,

have you ever thought about something

you can't claim a promise

you don't know about?

Something to think about for a moment.

If you don't know what God said,

how can you hold on to it?

Sometimes we struggle

because we don't realize

that God's given us a promise

that covers that area

or situation of life

to help us through.

When we know that our trust

is in his promises,

it's shown when we make requests

known to him in prayer.

You know,

prayer is simple.

It is bringing to him

the things of life,

both good and bad.

You know?

Now,

we're talking about

a specific portion of prayer

because I want you to understand

prayer involves more

than just asking.

But part of our prayer

is asking.

That's an essential part

as much as praising God

and being thankful

to God in prayer.

Our asking is something

he tells us

that not only we have

a ability to do,

that we have a privilege to do.

Matter of fact,

I'll put it a little different.

I believe God has an expectation

from you

for you to come to him.

You know?

That's a different way

of looking.

When was the last time

that you said,

God expects me

to come to him?

God has an expectation

for you to pray.

He's made everything available

because prayer is really

that simple.

It's through his word

we know that we can bring

the things of life

that we carry to him.

You know,

consider what Jesus said,

Matthew chapter 11 verse 28

Matthew 11:28

tells us this.

It says,

Come unto me all ye

that labor and are heavy laden

and I will give you rest.

What's Jesus commanding?

He says,

Come unto me

and what's he want to do?

What are you laboring over?

What's the labor here?

Life.

Think about the things we carry.

You know,

the reality is this.

Sometimes it's easier

to do physical labor

than it is

mental labor.

The labor that says,

how do I walk through situations?

How do I deal with family dynamics?

How do I deal with employers

and the grumpy neighbor?

And, you know,

how do you deal with

all the situations

that come up in life?

That's a heavy labor,

isn't it?

You know what Jesus says?

Come to me

and I will give you rest.

You know,

consider in Philippians 4, 6.

Notice what it says.

Be careful for nothing,

but in everything

by prayer and supplication

with thanksgiving

let your requests

be made known unto God.

You know,

to be able to be thankful

even in the midst

of struggle

because often

we struggle to be thankful

when we labor

to carry the burdens

that He tells us

that we ought to be

bringing to Him.

You know,

consider some of the

burdens that we carry.

We carry those

emotional burdens.

How we feel

about something,

how we feel

about someone,

how even you feel

about yourself.

You need to understand

God says that He wants us

to bring those to Him.

How about our hurts

and wounds

that happen in life?

You know,

sometimes,

have you ever had

that woe is me moment?

Lord,

why did you let this

happen to me?

And you can fill in the blank.

I mean,

the blank could be

a multitude

of different things

that we measure.

You know,

why did this

or that

or whatever?

But,

you know,

when we understand

that these things

oftentimes we carry,

Lord,

why did you allow

others to do that to me?

Why did you allow

this to happen?

Or,

you have unfulfilled

expectations of somebody

that fall into this category.

Why didn't they?

You know,

God says you can be thankful

when you come

with the right attitude

to say,

God,

I don't understand

but I need the wisdom

and I need to trust You

as I walk through

these things.

To understand

the importance

that knowing

that He's going to

help us walk through it.

You know,

consider 2 Corinthians 12,

9,

where the Apostle Paul,

he's going through

a very difficult season.

You know,

one of the things

that I think we do sometimes,

we read in the Bible

and you read about Paul

and you read about

all the great things

that God did,

but there's a lot of things

also record about

Paul's struggles.

That things didn't go

the way he thought

or hoped they would go.

In this particular case,

we don't know

what he was struggling with

but we know it was

a taxing burden

emotionally

and mentally

upon him

about what was happening.

It was bearing him down,

it was a burden

and he kept going

to the Lord

and Lord,

why aren't you

dealing with it?

And God's response

was this,

it says,

my grace is sufficient

for thee

for my strength

is made perfect

in weakness.

You know,

sometimes we forget

that sometimes God

allows things

into our life

to say,

I want you to understand

more who I am.

That God says,

I want you to draw closer

to know

that you can trust me more,

that you can walk

through those things.

Because those situations

of life are going

to happen.

And a right spirit,

a right attitude,

a right thinking

about thankfulness

is going to happen

when we turn those things

over to him

as he walks with us

through life.

Because the next thing

we'll find

is when thankfulness

and gratitude

in our thinking,

it'll automatically

spill over in praise.

You know,

oftentimes people put praise

at the top.

But have you ever considered

that if your heart

and your mind

isn't right towards God,

praise doesn't mean anything?

You know,

have you ever had somebody

come up and try to flatter you

to get advantage?

Have you considered

that when we go to God

with our wrong thinking

and a wrong attitude

and a wrong connection

with him,

and just come out

and say,

oh, great God is!

Have you ever thought

that maybe God's

sitting up there going,

what do you want?

Because you can kind of

read it as disingenuine.

Somebody going

through the actions.

Somebody doing something

to gain advantage.

True praise to God

isn't to gain

an advantage from God.

It's because of what God

has already done for you.

To consider praise.

You know,

we hear a lot about praise today,

but biblically,

I don't think you can

truly praise the Lord

until you're thankful

for what God has done.

Because thankfulness

is always tied to praise.

This idea,

this thinking of thankfulness

is tied to praise.

You don't show up

and play some music

on Sunday

and sing some songs

and praise the Lord.

Now, I want you to understand,

praise and music

are tied together,

oftentimes in Scripture,

but the function of them

isn't near as important

as what is driving them.

The driving of it

is important

to understand

and to think on

those things properly.

You know?

Consider Philippians 4,

Philippians 4:8

verse 8.

Think about this verse.

It talks about

what we think on,

but notice this.

It says,

Finally, brethren,

whatsoever things are true,

whatsoever things are honest,

whatsoever things are just,

whatsoever things are pure,

whatsoever things are lovely,

whatsoever things are of good report,

if there be any virtue,

if there be any praise,

think on these things.

In other words,

what's virtuous and praiseworthy

is tied to what's right.

And to thinking on the right things,

because praise is that.

It's more than just music or song.

It's really centered

on the substance

of what's rolling off the tongue.

Because that brings us

to the next thing.

We need to think,

but we need to talk thankfully.

To talk thankfully.

Look at verse 17

here with me this morning.

Back in our text,

it says,

Whatsoever you do in word.

Now, the word there

is not the Scripture.

It's not talking here

about the Scripture.

It says,

What you do in word

is talking about you

as an individual

and what you say.

The term used here is speech.

What we do to talk thankfully.

How do we express gratitude

centers on two areas,

and that's God and others.

It's presented when we see

the blessing and benefits of both.

Because remember,

it's what's on the inside already

that comes out

that makes a difference.

To understand,

Mark 7, 15 says this,

There is nothing from

without a man

that enteth into a man

that can defile him,

but the thing

which come out of him,

those are they

that defile the man.

That was Jesus

telling them

that, you know,

what you say,

what those things

that come out,

that what come forth,

is what is a critical

element of what is within.

Because if we have

the right spirit

and the right attitude

about it,

it will impact

what we say.

Because how we talk

is a reflection

of the inside.

Let's look at

another verse.

Look over to James chapter 3

James 3 · chapter mention

for a moment.

Because what we say

can either have

a spirit of thankfulness

or can be destructive.

Have you ever experienced

destructive speech?

somebody saying something

that was destructive?

You know,

think about James chapter 3

James 3 · chapter mention

here.

It says,

The tongue is a fire,

a world of iniquity.

So is the tongue

among our members

that it defileth

the whole body

and setteth on fire

the course of nature

and is set on fire

of hell.

I want you to understand

that we can use

what we say wrongly.

You can use

what you say correctly.

But it's a matter

of what's ruling

because what you're thinking

plays out,

doesn't it?

Those things connect

in our life

and to understand

the importance of it,

gratitude will not

just be something said,

but I want you to see here

it's also something done.

Because we don't want

just a concept

of thankfulness

or just to give

lip service

to thankfulness.

You know,

those two things

are oftentimes

where it gets limited,

isn't it?

When we stop,

we ought to act

thankfully.

To act thankfully.

Look what it says again

in verse 17.

It says this,

Whatsoever ye do

in word,

or what's that next one?

Deed.

Our deeds,

our actions.

You know,

the display of gratitude

is witnessed

in what we do.

You know,

how we do

correlates to how

our words

and our thinking

are expressed.

You know,

have you ever heard

somebody say something

and by their body language

you just say,

I don't believe them?

When it comes to thankfulness,

it's simply this,

when somebody says thank you,

their body language

and the things that they do,

the things associated with it

ought to confirm

what was being said

because it's what's being thought.

There's that connection

that we see.

This display of gratitude

is witnessed

in what we do

and we do it

from thankfulness

especially because

of what Christ

has done for us.

Remember,

to let the peace of God

rule in your heart.

To be truly thankful

for those things.

They're tied together.

We are to do it

in the name

of the Lord Jesus.

Notice here

in verse 17 again.

And what it says,

it says,

Whatsoever ye do

and word or do you do

all in the name

of the Lord Jesus

giving thanks to God

and the Father

by Him.

That's that spirit

of thankfulness

that ought to encompass

us in our life.

The one that is

the giver

of this life

and the one to come

ought to be the focus

of our attitude

of thankfulness.

You know,

you say,

well,

how do we

demonstrate thankfulness?

Well,

one of the things

we do

is we serve

by the choices

we make

and part of our serving

has to do with priority.

How we prioritize.

Because your priorities

speak in those areas.

You know,

we can demonstrate

gratitude by serving.

Thankfulness

is something

that's witnessed

in what we do

both to others

and for others.

You know,

1 John 3.18

says this,

My little children,

let us not love

in word,

neither in tongue,

but in deed

and in truth.

Thankfulness

involves truth.

I want you to understand

that in deed

and in truth

it's not word

or in tongue,

you know,

just to love in word.

Well,

I love you.

You know,

it doesn't really mean anything.

There's not something

to back it up.

We display those things

by what we do.

You know,

we also demonstrate it

by acknowledging

who the Lord is.

You know,

consider Proverbs chapter 3.

Proverbs 3 · chapter mention

It should be a familiar verse to you.

You know,

think about this.

It says,

Trust in the Lord

with all thine heart

and lean not on thine own understanding.

In all thy ways

acknowledge Him

and He shall direct thy path.

You know,

it says,

All thy ways do what?

Acknowledge Him.

You know,

when we're acknowledging the Savior,

it impacts how we not only

see ourselves

and the things happening in life,

but it impacts how we see others.

Thankfulness

impacts even how we see others

in our life

as we acknowledge God.

Because Thanksgiving,

I want you to remember

and to maybe jog our thinking

because Thanksgiving

is not just a day

or a meal.

Thanksgiving ought to be something

that encompasses us

throughout the year.

You know,

we get so caught up

in calendar and function sometimes.

I think that

the meal has become Thanksgiving

instead of

why are we slowing down

to do that?

Because thankfulness

and Thanksgiving

is more than just a meal.

Like anything in life,

sometimes we need a reason

to slow down.

It gives us a purpose

to slow down,

to really consider

what's important.

To grab a hold of those things

that are important

to do those things

is a reflection of our life.

You know,

1 Thessalonians chapter 5

1 Thessalonians 5 · chapter mention

in verse 18

tells us,

it says,

in everything give thanks

for this is the will of God

in Christ Jesus

concerning you.

This spirit,

this mindset,

what ought to rule

in our life

is thankfulness.

You'll see it

throughout the Scripture.

it's filled

with this idea,

this concept,

and the application

of thankfulness.

In everything

give thanks

for this is the will of God

for you.

Thankfulness ought to be attached

to what God has done.

You know,

today are you thankful

because it's the season

to be thankful?

You know,

oftentimes it's easy

to do that,

but Thanksgiving

ought not just be a meal

to celebrate.

It ought to be a time

to slow down

and consider

what God has done,

what He's given,

how to be thankful

for all that He has,

all that we have,

all that we enjoy,

that the peace of God

that's available

to everyone.

Because the reality

is this,

when we truly have

in concept,

in understanding

what Christ has done

for us,

it ought to make it

a lot harder

to be unthankful.

It ought to make it easier

for us to be thankful

when we know Him

as Savior.

You know,

this morning it starts,

thankfulness starts

with understanding

what God has done

for you.

To understand

that He is the one

that came

and died

to provide a way

that you might have

the peace

with God,

that you might experience

the peace of God.

This morning it's important

to know,

do you know Him as Savior?

Do you know Him?

Have you ever moved

past the fact

of who He is

to trusting

in what He has done

for you?

You know,

today we live in a nation,

there's a lot of people

even today

that know a lot

about who Jesus is.

But the application

goes beyond who He is

to what He's done,

what He's accomplished

for each one.

You know,

today if you don't know Christ,

I encourage you

to make the day

the day.

If you know Christ

as your Savior,

I think we need

to ask ourselves

a question,

are we living

thankfully?

Are we living?

Do you need to

bring some things

to the Lord today

or even this morning

just to thank Him

for who He is

and what He's done

for you?

To think about

His promises

and the opportunity

we have

to practice

the second part.

We know that He

will hear us,

but to come

and to make requests,

make our requests

known unto Him

because it all

sums up in the fact,

are you thinking,

talking,

and acting

thankfully,

not just

this week,

but every week

as we go through life?

His heads are bowed

and eyes are closed

this morning.

What about you today?

As we take a moment

to consider

and contemplate

on thankfulness,

is it just a meal

or is it part

of who

you are?

Who you are

in Christ.

Heavenly Fathers,

we come before you

today, Lord,

we just thank you

and praise you.

Lord,

we're just stunned

by all that you've

given to us.

Lord,

that we can come

boldly before you

because of your promises

and your provision

for us.

Lord,

you know each heart,

each life here today.

Lord,

we pray that you just

work in each one

in a mighty way.

Lord,

we just ask it all

in your precious name.

Amen.

His heads are bowed

and eyes are closed

this morning.

What about you?