This week, our nation should pause to give thanks for our prosperity. We should think it reasonable that we would be extremely thankful to God. But today, we are finding quite the opposite. We are getting more and more every day, and the more we get, the less thankful we are.

Joseph Kipling was a great writer and poet whose writings many have enjoyed. Such books have been made into movies and musicals like “Captains Courageous”& The Jungle Book. Once a newspaper reporter came up to him and said, “Mr. Kipling, I just read that it has been calculated that the money you make from your writings amounts to over a hundred dollars per word; Mr. Kipling raised his eyebrows and said, ” I certainly wasn’t aware of that.”

The reporter scornfully reached down into his pocket and pulled out a one hundred dollar bill and gave it to Mr. Kipling and said, “Here’s a hundred dollar bill, Mr. Kipling. Now, give me one of your hundred dollar words.” Mr. Kipling looked at that hundred-dollar bill for a moment, took it and folded it up and put it in his pocket and said, “Thanks.”

That is a great word – maybe we should call it the million-dollar word for it is used so rarely in a way that is meaningful and genuine. We can take being thankful for granted because we have so much, and keep gaining more in possession. We always seem to want more and more and never satisfied.

Jesus said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. — Luke 12:15

Do you know that the biggest Thanksgiving killer is the days and weeks after Thanksgiving when Christmas shopping becomes so fervent that we stop thinking about what we have and start thinking about what we want? So instead of rushing to the stores fighting the crowds and folks over those special sale items we should be rejoicing in what blessings we have.

Today, I want to share with you for a few minutes concerning an attitude of gratitude. Too many people today have an attitude of ingratitude and an entitlement mentality. We are living in a nation where the populace has forgotten God who has blessed us with this great land and prosperity. Americans are forsaking God and the humanist is making it hard for others to publicly give thanks. Today’s’ sermon contain three tenets / principles in respects to being thankful. True thanksgiving begins with…

I. Have an Attitude of Gratitude / Psalm 100

1) This Psalm is titled A Psalm of Thanksgiving, and it is the only psalm in the book of psalms to bear this title. It is a psalm that exhorts all people to thank and praise our God. Verse three speaks of God as our creator. However, if we do not need God as our Creator, then we do not need to be thankful. Why should we?

We got here by ourselves, and we have no one but ourselves to thank. This is the source of unthank fullness that men live as if they made themselves; they call themselves ‘self-made men”. Romans 1:20-21 speaks of this origin on ingratitude.

True gratitude comes when we realize where we would be without God’s help. Along life’s way God often sends us a special person, mentor, a comforter, consular, counselor, an adviser. Who knows maybe even an angel? Have you taken God time to thank Him for these special mentor and gifted people?

2. When was the last time you went back and thanked someone from your past? You might want to thank a teacher who helped with your math, or reading. Go back and be thankful. Go back to that person, Sunday school teacher, pastor, or Youth worker who cared enough to lead you to Christ and express your thanks. We all too often think in the realm of tangible things and not the spiritual blessings of God.

3. A biblical review of the national life of Israel provides ample proof of just how costly a lack of thankfulness can be. God send a deliverer a special man, Moses. But Israel was not grateful they murmured against Moses and even sought to stone him at the first sign of trouble. We can show our gratitude by thanking God for providing our needs and we can prove our sincerely by going back and giving thanks to those God sent our way. A good attitude toward life begins with gratitude toward God. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. – Col. 3:15

II Give thanks in Everything (Ephesians 5:20, I Thess. 5:18)

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

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

1. Thankfulness is foundational to the Christian life. Thankfulness is a conscious response that comes from looking beyond our blessings to their source – our God. It is the act of expressing specific gratitude to God for the blessings he has bestowed upon us. Thanksgiving is the outward and inward communication of how grateful we are for all the things God has given us.

Whether they are spiritual, physical, or material as we grow as Christians we should see a spirit of thanksgiving developing in our lives.

2. The reasons we may find it hard to give thanks are as many as the troubles that strike us each day. Difficulties don’t pause for a Thanksgiving break. There is a way, however, to find reasons to be thankful during even the darkest episodes of life. When the curtain of struggles seems to block out all joy, we can choose to be thankful. Despite our trials, we can give thanks for God’s unfailing. We all understand and appreciate the importance of gratitude. It can radically change relationships. It is Gods’ will to give thanks in “everything”. At times we are not much different than the Hebrew people.

Illustration:

This case is made by an illustration: In some parts of Mexico hot springs and cold springs are found side by side — and because of the convenience of this natural phenomenon the women would bring their laundry and wash their clothes in the hot springs and then rinse them in the cold ones. A tourist, who was watching commented to his Mexican guide: “I imagine that they thank old Mother Nature for being generous to supply free clean hot and cold water here side by side to use?” The guide replied, “No senor, there is much grumbling because Mother Nature supplies no soap.”

When we see the same blessings every day, we eventually stop noticing them. When we stop noticing, we quit appreciating. When we quit appreciating, we stop thanking. When we stop thanking, we start complaining. At this point, we will have forgotten the Lord our God, who provided all the things we enjoy (see 1 Tim. 6:17)

III. Practice Thanksgiving as Spiritual Therapy. (Psalms 100: 4-5)

1.) Thankfulness is therapy for your soul. The sooner you can get to being thankful, the sooner you’ll be on the way of knowing what God’s will is! However, we are not very good at saying “Thank you,” are we? We are like a little boy I heard about. On his return from a birthday party, his mother enquired, “Bobby, did you thank the lady for the party?” “Well, I was going to. But a girl ahead of me said, ‘Thank you,’ and the lady told her not to mention it. So I didn’t.” I think it is even worst today per say:

We are much like the little boy who was given an orange by a man. The mother asked, “What do you say to the nice man?” The little boy thought and handed the orange back to the man and said, “Hey, here peel it.” 

2.) In verse 4, we see that we are to enter His presence with a thankful and praise filled heart. I just do not understand how one can be truly thankful or joyful when we do not come to worship and do not have good uplifting words to say or greet to others in the church. I think we have a tendency to sit and become all but emotionless in our traditions of worship.

Remember that God gave of His Son. God sent you a Comforter -His Holy Spirit. God has given unto you special spiritual people. These are the gifted persons Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.

Conclusion:

We are to be thankful – It a choice. It has a powerful influence on our lives. You gain God’s perspective & drawn closer to Him. Luke wrote,” For in him we live, and move, and have our being. We must be thankful unto the God who gave us our being, our salvation and eternal life.