WE171122/Don't Forget to Say Thank You

Harvest messages are brought to you by harvest partners receive free email daily devotions were to become a harvest partner, please visit us online@harvest.org well it's it's fair game on Thanksgiving is upon us and the court. That means Christmas is right on its heels and we gotta pull those declarations out of the garage and we have to get all those Christmas lights unwound that the how they get so tied up together.

There is a giant not get the old tree out. No, I have to admit I've a fig tree now. I've had one for quite a few years to really get the week tree out and plug it in to the wall and all the rest that goes with it and it's all a great time of the year and ending sometimes as were focusing on Christmas we forget about what a blessing. Thanksgiving really is fact of the matter is, every day should be Thanksgiving or the Christian, minus the turkey. Hopefully, otherwise you're going to be pretty big okay but Thanksgiving is great because there's not pressure to buy anything for anyone.

It is getting together with family and friends, and sometimes it's hard to get your family together. If they live in different parts of the country heard about a guy named Bill who lived in Dallas and his kids lived in other states. So he called up his son Joshua lives in New York City and he says Josh I have some really bad news for you son I'm divorcing your mother to Take her nagging anymore were getting a divorce and I'm telling you first because you're the eldest and I need you to this message to your sister so we hung up and Josh calls a sister and tells of the horrible news and the sister calls dad and she says dad there's no way you can divorce, mom Josh and I will be there Thanksgiving promise you will not do anything until we get there and Thanksgiving. That's okay I will do anything and then he hung up the phone walked in the kitchen where his wife was making dinner and he said honey good news.

The kids are coming home for Thanksgiving and they're paying their own way. You might try that will really this is a time when we give thanks to the Lord. We live in a country where we have such great freedoms that we never want to take for granite, but you might be listening to this message right now you thinking you know what you don't know what I'm going through. I'm so stressed out. I'm facing a problem or a difficulty. I don't want to give thanks Paul. How many of you are stressed out right now razor in that's right well listen we don't give thanks to the Lord because we feel good. The Bible says we should give thanks to the Lord because he is good in Hebrews 1315 says this offer the sacrifice of praise continually to the Lord. That is the fruit of your lives. Giving thanks to his name. Sometimes praising the Lord as a sacrifice we should always do when something good happens. Do you remember to say thank you coming back to an earlier point we teach our children to have respect to have manners and to say thank you when someone gives something to them in and sometimes we forget to think one another, I think, especially if you're married and I'll get up in the morning, LLC Kathy can you make me breakfast and I love this omelette.

She makes me and she says okay and eventual serving this beautiful omelette, and sometimes I won't say anything.

I'll just grunt and just eat it just arrogant of thinking. Yes. Sorry. Thank you. You know, we take people for granted and we do that with the Lord doesn't want something good happens in your life.

Give God the glory you just got a raise something great just happened to you.

You heard good news say thank you Jesus yeah you say that's okay when things are going well, what about when things are going bad. Listen, you still need to say thank you Jesus.

Here's what I believe. I think the things that we call bad in this life may not actually be as bad as we think they are and we really need a little time to pass until we can look back with some 2020 hindsight and get the big picture, but I know this when I get to heaven, and I look back to my life. I think that some of the things I thought were bad things may actually turn out to have been very good things because those so-called bad things produce something in me that was necessary. I don't think Joseph thought it was a good thing when he was sitting in a prison because he was charged falsely, but the Bible tells us that iron entered his soul and God was getting him ready for something that was there, and in his case he was going to be the second most powerful man on the face of the earth. Only under the Pharaoh himself, so maybe you're going through what seems like a bad thing, but it may be a good thing when I was a kid I lived for a number of years with my grandparents Charles and Stella McDaniel will they were from Arkansas from all another generation in a trust me, if I if I spoke back to disrespectfully to my grandfather. He applied the Board of Education to my seat of understanding but I have to say that my grandmother was the greatest cook of all time and it was all southern food. You know what I see my friends in the South. In places like Texas and North Carolina were surprised to know that I am a Southern California boy know little bit about Southern cooking will I was raised on it. My grandmother would make everything from scratch. She wouldn't even consider serving a TV dinner or something like that so every night we would have something along the lines of fresh cut green beans ride okra, black-eyed peas, by the way, something good name for a band, fried okra norm. But that fresh mashed potatoes. But here's the big one fried chicken was incredible, but her crowning achievement.

All you know what I meant to say the crowning achievement.

What was a great thing. My grandmother used to make go.

That's right biscuits. I don't know if there can be a blessing of God and anointing on food. It was on this disc.

In fact, I've spent the rest of my life searching for a biscuit as good as my grandmother's recall her mama Stella. You know what she was getting on in years. I would say to my wife Kathy watch mama Stella make the biscuits so you can discover the secret in a way I'm almost glad she didn't learn because I might be about 500 pounds if she did the only place I've been to that even comes close to the biscuit of my grandmother and the fried chicken and all the other goodies was a restaurant I a that in Texas called babes. In fact, I became a frequent visitor to Dave's and what's great is the owners a Christian and he supported our crusade and had all of the servers were harvest America T-shirts and handed out flyers to folks, but when I went into his restaurant. He was as close as I've ever been to the kind of food I was raised on as a kid. In fact, I think I probably gained around 9 pounds eating at babes when we did harvest America at the AT&T stadium rug to be having a meal very similar to that very soon, but you know I'm coming back out to the biscuit that my grandmother would make and really when you analyze it.

It was made up of ingredients that really had no appeal by themselves or used vegetable oil self rising flour, buttermilk, forgiveness you're looking to sit down and have a cup of self rising flour for lunch and you're not can it drink a little vegetable oil know you may drink buttermilk though I don't know why anyone does.

I like buttermilk pancakes and buttermilk biscuits, but I don't like to drink it, but you put them altogether.

My grandmother would very carefully bring all these elements together and then she would put them in a very hot oven and out came this excellent biscuit is a Greg are you talking about biscuits because God takes the events of our lives, both good and bad and he mixes them together in expert hands and put them in the oven of adversity and when it's all done we say it is good. The Bible reminds us over in second Corinthians 417 that our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but we fix them on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is seen is eternal so let's come back to that verse I had you turned to a few moments ago. First Thessalonians 518.

Here it is Paul the apostle writes in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Jesus Christ concerning you. There we have it up on the screen right now. Let's read it together. Everybody read it out loud and everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Notice it says in everything give thanks.

There are no exceptions, no excuses.

Nothing is outside these parameters. In fact, the phrase in everything in the Greek means in connection with everything that a core occurs. Now this of course would not be our personal sin.

I wouldn't give thanks for a semi-committed or for the repercussions I face as a result, but I would be thankful for the other things I mean, here's a classic example. Think of poor Joe, I mean in a relatively short period of time. He lost everything that was precious to him. He lost his family. He lost his health. He lost his possessions and then his own wife said why don't you just curse God and die. Job said you weren't saying that we were driving the Mercedes yeah so the thing is is that he lost it all yet. Job gave thanks to God.

Job 121 we read he said to the Lord.

Naked came I from my mother's womb naked shall I return there. The Lord is given and the Lord is taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord they might civil great.

My heart's not in it doesn't matter if your heart's not in it is about giving thanks because he's good. It's giving thanks because he's in control of your life giving thanks because he's in control of all the circumstances surrounding your life.

Listen, giving thanks because he promises Romans 828 that he will work all things together for good to those that love him. Another called according to his purposes, and notice that verse tells us that we are to give thanks to him and the other verse I alluded to, says with the fruit of your lips, you need to verbalize it. I talked about saying thank you to my wife and you need to let your wife know you lover.

Tell your husband you love you tell your children you love them, tell your parents you love them, listen, tell your father in heaven. You love him so when were worshiping the Lord, don't just stand there with your mouth closed and just looking around and give verbal praise to God. I think that's a very important thing for all of us to remember at all times, not just at Thanksgiving, but on every single day.

So Job gave thanks to the Lord and we should do the same. One of my favorite stories is a the one of those lepers who were healed by Jesus. Remember leprosy or leprosy was an incurable disease by and you know if you would leprosy you were going to die. It was only a matter of time and plus you were ostracized from the community fact, if you were a leper and you are approaching someone you had to yell out unclean unclean. No one would want to be with you, so there were 10 lepers and they came to Jesus and they asked him to heal them and he did and only one return and gave thanks. In fact, Luke 17 says one when he saw he was healed, return, and with a loud voice glorified God and fell down thegiving of thanks, of course, Jesus said one of the other not right. See were quick to receive the blessing from God's word out so quick to return thanks to God and that phrase by the way loud voice is will we get our English word megaphone from so this was loud, he prays to God now working to remember the Lord at the communion table a place or we can give thanks for all that God has done for us women read to a passage first Corinthians 11. The apostle Paul writes, Freud To You What I Received from the Lord Himself on the Night He Was Betrayed the Lord Jesus Took Some Bread, Listen, and Gave Thanks to God for It.

Then He Broke It in Pieces and Said This Is My Body Which Is Given for You All Think about That for a Moment in the Night He Was Betrayed, He Took Some Bread, and Give Thanks.

Remember, Jesus Was God, Which Mean He Means He Was Omniscient, Which Means All Knowing Jesus Knew What Was Coming Already Identified Judas Iscariot Is a Must. The Trier He Had Already Spoken on Repeated Occasions about the Fact That He Would Be Betrayed and He Would Be Beaten That He Would Be Crucified. So Jesus Knew What Was Coming yet We Read He Gave Thanks You See That's What We Need to Do No Matter What You're Facing Right Now.

We Can Give Thanks to the Lord.

How Could Jesus Possibly Give Thanks at a Moment like That Because He Knew Though He Was Going to Face the Worst Pain Imaginable, Especially When God's Wrath Was Poured on Him As He Died in Our Place. But He Also Knew What It Was Going to Accomplish Because It Was Going to Bring about Your Salvation and Was Going to Bring about My Salvation. It Was Going to Bring about Our Salvation Hebrews 12 Says for the Joy That Was Set before Him. He Endured the Cross, Despising the Shame, and Now Is Set down on the Right Hand of God. You Might Say Greg, I Don't Really Feel Thankful He You A Lot to Be Thankful for Future Christian Europe Salvation. Which Means Your Sin Is Forgiven. If You're a Christian, You Are the Hope of Heaven, and If You're Christian You Have the Assurance That Whatever You Going through Right Now.

God Is in Control.

So Here's a Way We Can Honor the Lord.

Give Thanks We Need to Do This in Remembrance of Him Do What We Need to Take up Bread As a Symbol of His Broken Body. We Need to Take That Cup Is a Symbol of His Shed Blood. We Partake of Those Elements Remembering What He Did. Jesus Said to Do This in Remembrance of Me and As Often As You Drink It and Eat This Bread You're Announcing the Lord's Death until He Comes Again. So We Do This to Remember Him.

One of the Things the Apostle Paul Says Whoever Partakes of These Elements in an Unworthy Manner. I Will Eat and Drink Judgment to Themselves What Is That Mean It Means When I Hold My Hand up Bread and I Hold My Hand. That Cup. These Are Not Sacred Objects but They Represent Our Holy God Who Sent His Son to Make This Incredible Sacrifice Right so We Want to Do It with Great Reverence and Respect for the Lord As I've Told You Many Times Communion Is for Believers Only and so If You're Not Sure of Christ As Living in Your Heart and Life. I Strongly Urge You to Ask for His Forgiveness Right Now and You Can Receive Communion with Us Is the Family of God. When We Close in Prayer before We All Receive the Elements Together.

Let's Pray Together and for Any of You That Have Joined Us Are Watching This. Whatever You Might Be If You Don't Know Jesus Christ in a Personal Way. If You're Not Sure That Your Sin Is Forgiven.

If You Don't Have the Confidence That You Will Go to Heaven When You Die, Why Don't You Just Pray This Prayer with Me Right Where You Are. This Is a Prayer of Asking Jesus Christ to Come in Your Life so Pray This Prayer with Me. Let's All Pray Just Pray This out Loud, Even Lord Jesus, I Know I'm a Sinner but I Know That You're the Savior Who Made the Ultimate Sacrifice for Me When You Died on the Cross Jesus Come into My Life and Be My Savior and My Lord I Turned for My Sin and I Choose to Follow You from This Moment Forward in Jesus Name I Pray, Amen.

God Bless You