Thankfulness: Show It To God and Others!

Thankfulness: Show It To God and Others!            11-24-13    Kelly Durant

I Thess.5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

2. When we have our mouth is full of thankfulness to the Lord there is no room left to complain! Thankfulness is an attitude we must choose when we wake up!

There was a man that complained that he didn’t have any shoes, until later that day he met a man on the street with no feet and he was happier than him! We have heard that story… but we really need to meditate on it! Are we thankful?

Thanksgiving Day has morphed into a dinner feast and a time with family and friends, or to visit and serve in the homeless shelter. This is enjoyable, but the original intent was to thank God for the fall harvest and for the stored food to be able to survive the winter! God saved our great-great-grandparents from death!

3. Here is a review of the first story of Thanksgiving in one paragraph…

In 1614 the European Pilgrim immigrants colonizing in this country almost died of hunger but due to the generosity of the Native Americans (Indians) they survived. God touched their hearts to feast, make peace and share food before winter. In gratitude to God for and others for this, this became a habitual fall harvest thankfulness event.

Pres. Abraham Lincoln in 1863 made it an official National Holiday so everyone would get time to share with their families and be thankful for the goodness of God and appreciate others! And I would add, we should be thankful for the example of the Tribes and Pilgrims as this was love without discrimination!

4. In the Bible we have many instances of people who had thankfulness. One was Mary Magdalene, the prostitute that had a near death experience by stoning, and we discover in the Bible that in thankful gratitude she followed our Lord unconditionally and ministered to him.   

Mark 15:40-41

40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs.

She, and others, had great thankfulness! Anyone who follows Jesus and serves others shows an active thankfulness! They are humble servants that are thankful to be alive and have one more day to live knowing that we are not guaranteed tomorrow.

5. And what about the thankful leper?  Lk17: 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

Imagine, leprosy, one of the most horrible diseases on earth and only 1 came back?! How many of you think you know what Jesus felt then? Of course Jesus and you and I have thankfulness for the one, but what a frustration that there were 9 others who did not express their thankfulness! Just like people today!

6. How many of you have done things for others, things that cost you time and money, and then they don’t even take time as much to say thank you!? All that was sacrificed and done in love, and then no gratitude!? It can make you furious!

How many of you have ever sacrificed your time to help someone find a job and then they don’t want it? Or you went to the hospital, or took them food and soon they forget about you? Let’s look at the positive side, Jesus made it known that the average of 1 in 10 being thankful still makes the effort worthwhile, right?

But the sad reality of the world is that there are very few thankful people! Even in the churches there is only an average of about 1 in 10 really that are ever thankful enough to become responsible leaders to do the real work needed to make the church run as a shining light to the community! May God bless the faithful 10%!

7. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

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

Many believers and non-believers are guilty of not obeying this command!

Unthankfulness, or not appreciating the investment of God and others in your life is a sin! Unthankful people always end up complaining, and they without giving to others, seem to always be expecting to reap benefits and rewards that they do not deserve.  Since these types are not happy with anything, we can conclude that maybe God doesn’t feel like giving them anything more! People unthankful to God live under the curse of poverty, material and spiritually!

Complainers have an attitude of ingratitude and they never are satisfied with what they gain in the way of wealth or position; they are self-centered and never reach happiness because happiness only results from having a grateful heart!

The spiritually immature conclude that God, or other people, “owe” them something since they have “less” than others. The typical attitude of the worldly carnally minded types is that society, the government, God, the Salvation Army, the Captains, the pastors, their family or relatives ALL owe them something in life.

8. As Christians it is our job to teach others to be thankful! Colossians 3:17

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.

Listen how God despises complainers who are ungrateful.    1 Cor 10:10

10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.

God despises the unthankful and ungrateful! This verse refers to how God let 6 million unthankful Hebrews, who were freed from the slavery of Egypt, die in the desert because they were not thankful; they became complainers! Don’t ever let yourself or a friend get an unthankful complainy attitude or their will be consequences!

They complained about Moses, God’s servant, and complained about the food and everything, so God let them all wander 40 years in the desert until all of that older generation died and only the younger ones entered in the Promised Land!

9. Do you know of someone in a desert in their life going in circles? It could be because they will not be thankful to God and others for the good they have!

Serving people who usually are ungrateful is not very rewarding in this life, but wouldn’t you rather have your thanks, praise, and rewards in heaven than here on earth anyway? When people complain and don’t appreciate things and want more they feel dry in their spirit, it’s not your, nor the Corps nor Captain’s fault, it’s their own fault for not being thankful and doing something good for others!

If you and I truly mean it when we say we are thankful to God for all of what He does through the church Corps and others then we should be showing it by giving service back to Him. God desires and needs our gratitude, loyalty, love, time & devotion to Him!

10. Getting a gift does not imply we have an obligation to return thanks but we should obey what is here: Romans 13:8 Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loves another hath fulfilled the law. We must ask God for discernment to be wise to as much as possible, to always help the needy, not the greedy. Thankfulness is shown by love, and love will do random acts of kindness!

Several times when I have rang the bell and I saw some old men, maybe in their late 70s or 80’s put in a $100 bill and say ‘they support the Salvation Army!’, I always asked why, and many have replied, ‘well you gave me a coffee and a donut when I didn’t have a penny in WWII’.  Giving back is gratefulness! People who survive wars, sickness, and tragedy usually know about gratefulness!

As Christians our first response to someone sharing with us their time, talent, or treasure should be one of thankfulness and we should pay it forward somehow!

There are many more of you I should praise in front of everyone and we will do that over an appreciation meeting sometime soon, but I want people to know I am thankful for each leader here and I appreciate what you do for God’s work!

11. People with grateful hearts just give and serve and they don’t measure what they give, nor do they care about others seeing what they give!

As Christians, most of all we are thankful that our sins are forgiven and that Jesus paid for them on the cross, and we are thankful for the ones who shared with us the gospel in love to convert our hearts! Right? We return the favor by loving and obeying Jesus!

In many cultures culture, if someone saves your life then you must become a volunteer slave of them to serve them until you die.  I am a slave to Jesus in gratitude until I die!  And you?

And for dying on the cross Jesus did not just want us to just say, ‘oh, thank you very much Jesus’, and then keep on living as we please, He wanted us to show our gratitude by changing our lives totally and by obeying His commandments to love God and others and to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15), and to “deny ourselves and take up our cross daily and follow Him!” Christians started Thanksgiving Day so celebrate it appropriately!

Have you been ungrateful or complainy lately? Have you been helped and not properly shown thanks? Do you have enough thankfulness in you to serve God like Mary Magdalene, and do you honor Our Lord like the one healed leper? Holy people are grateful people! Grateful ones get God’s rewards, but ungrateful ones get lost in the desert without the obtaining God’s promises and His blessings!  Choose thankfulness today and live! Celebrate Thanks and giving with God, amen!