Bless the Lord [Part 2]

Pastor, author and Bible teacher Alan Wright, it is not just that we say that we are thankful ultimately to God because he created all of this, but we are thankful to God because his providential thinking we should thank anybody and everybody we can. But even when were thanking people, thanking them because of God's providence that brought them. That's Pastor Alan Wright welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life for the whole I'm being excited for you to hear the teaching today. In a special Thanksgiving spirit. I just want to think Jesus as presented at Minolta church in North Carolina and we wish you a very happy thing if you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program today to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. They can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright ministry as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at pastoralan.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860. More on that later in the program but now let's get started with today's special Thanksgiving teaching here is Alan Wright. Psalm 136 is probably one of those Psalms, like so many that were probably used in the worship life of Israel and is a Psalm of Thanksgiving and praise and so you'll see the refrain that is worded in the English standard version. The refrain is for his steadfast love endures forever. Would you say that with me for his steadfast love endures forever. So I'll read the text, but you you read out that refrain.

Each time with me, let's just say it together like we remember and how it would've been maybe chanted our song in the life of Israel. Give thanks to the Lord for he is God for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords for his steadfast love endures forever. To him who alone does great wonders for his steadfast love endures forever.

To him who by understanding made the heavens for his steadfast love endures forever. Dam was spread out the earth above the waters for his steadfast love endures forever. To him who made the great lights for his steadfast love endures forever. The sun to rule over the day for his steadfast love endures forever, moon and stars to rule over the night for his steadfast love endures forever.

Tim was struck down the firstborn of Egypt for his steadfast love endures forever, and brought Israel out from among them, for his steadfast love endures forever with a strong hand and outstretched arm for his steadfast love endures forever. To him who divided the red sea into for his steadfast love endures forever.

And made Israel pass through the midst of it for his steadfast love Hindu is forever. But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea for his steadfast love endures forever led his people through the wilderness for his steadfast love endures forever. Dan was struck down great kings, his steadfast love endures forever and killed mighty king for his steadfast love endures forever. So I hung king of the Amorites for his steadfast love endures forever, and King of bash and for his steadfast love endures forever and gave their land as a heritage for his steadfast love endures forever. I heritage to Israel his servant for his steadfast love endures forever.

It is he who remembered us in our low estate for his steadfast love endures forever, and rescued us from our foes for his steadfast love endures forever. He who gives food to all flesh for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of heaven for his steadfast love in yours for ever. So you guys are going.

The Psalm is going on forever. I we don't really say this over and over and over again. That's part of the teaching that part of the message that is that everything that you say of the goodness of God is a cause for inward celebration of gratitude. It is the Christians giant secret pathway to abundant living. I went to the mainland for liberal seminary and it was challenging because so some of the professors.

The they believed it was their responsibility to tear down the overly simplistic pietistic faith of some of the evangelical students and I I remember the day I remember were sitting. I remember the words coming out of professors mouth because it was a tough day for me when one of my theology. Professors was belittling the simple piety of a personal relationship with Jesus in the way that we talk and he reset I'm referring to the ones that go around saying I just want to thank you Jesus and I was bothered by that because I am one of the ones that says I just want to thank you Jesus and I know what he was trying to communicate. He was trying to move us towards a more sophisticated way of speaking it was okay to speak of gratitude to the Christ or or to bring praises to the most high God that I just want to thank you Jesus just sounded a little too simple and it bothered me that day and and that here I am 25 years later. Now titling this message in honor of that day. The title of today's message.

I just want to thank you Jesus. What Thanksgiving is all about. It's a lot more than eating turkey and watching football and we know something about the original Thanksgiving celebration of grateful pilgrims for the provisions of God is lesser known all the proclamations for Thanksgiving the first Thanksgiving proclamation issued was by the revolutionary Continental Congress on November 1, 1777. It was authored by Samuel Adams. It was one sentence of 360 words which read in part, for as much as it is the indispensable duty of all men to adore the superintending providence of Almighty God, to acknowledge with gratitude, their obligation to him for benefits received together with the penitent confession of their sins, whereby they had forfeited every favor and their humble and earnest supplications that it may please God through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully different. Give them block them out of remembrance. It is therefore recommended to set apart Thursday the 18th day of December next for solemn thanksgiving and praise that will one heart and one voice, the good people may express the grateful feeling of their hearts and consecrate themselves to the service of their divine benefactor acknowledging with gratitude to their obligations to him for benefits received to prosper the means of religion for the promotion and enlargement of that kingdom which consisted in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. In other words, Samuel Adams was saying. I just want to thank you Jesus and George Washington. Not much later, in 1789 by the president of the United States of America proclamation, whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and whereas both houses of Congress have, by their joint committee requested me to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

You would have a great time just going and googling all the presidential proclamations over the years they continue to this very day Abraham Lincoln 1863 in a nation that was in trouble, issued the proclamation, the year that is drawing towards its close is been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies.

To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the most high God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins have nevertheless remembered mercy and his seem to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States and also those who are at sea and those are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next is a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwellest in the heavens essentially just a peruse through these proclamations and and I thought I thought was a beautiful proclamation in 1961 John F. Kennedy, who began with the quote of the Scriptures. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord. I hope it's dawning on someone that, to say the word Thanksgiving means that your giving thanks and therefore bias definition given to someone that's Alan Wright will have more teaching moment from today's important series before that to be fruitful before that called Abraham to father nation to address. 10 therefore not release Islam into ministry. He dressed while tossing his secret strategy to empower you to be all humanity to be when others affirm you unless it is proven their worth. You did well in a townhouse accomplished a goal and prove yourself competent information is nice.

It's not the way strategy is to declare your wife before you have anything to prove it is the fuel for your productivity mark. The reward for it will be need your heart to be healed from (constant management holding a blessing for media ready to shatter that invisible ceiling that keeps you from soaring out around the pastor and writes the power of blessing will change your life change as you discover the ancient scale in the Hebrew patriarchs and glassware children learn how to tune your heart to accept blessing and reject her's most evolved drink in the unquenchable blessing of God in Jesus Christ with Alan Wright, sent a message to have on the power messages through digital Dharma is our way of saying for your partners. The gospel is shared when you get Alan Wright Ministries.

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It has been said that the atheist darkest hour is to be really grateful and have no one to thank only love that quote as I decided to search around little bit and wound up reading a blog of an atheist who is responding to that quote and he said in his blog, religious theists and especially Christians often seem to be giving public thanks to their God. For one thing or another and I'm stop here. If I were to respond and say we don't seem to be giving thanks we are given thanks, perhaps it is thus understandable that they would have trouble imagining that you religious atheist who don't believe in any god would have anyone to thank the truth is that we do.

It's just that we can thank the people who are directly responsible for whatever good fortune. We are thankful for. We don't ignore them in favor of any relevant imaginary being perhaps the most obvious humans to whom we might give thanks to would be the farmers responsible for providing us with the food we eat, and then he goes on in the next paragraph does not and more commonly forgotten.

Probably the doctors and researchers that are responsible for modern medicine and he goes on, also to thank those into the scientific fields have been instrumental in improving with the farmers can grow what the doctors can treat and what the engineers can build an all time just kind of smiling at this article. This blog because I just after reading about. We should be thankful to the farmers. I wanted to just wholeheartedly agree we should all find a farmer and thank them. We should all find a doctor and thank them wishes we should be thankful these people but I just had this one question and that is if we think the farmers for the food go to the farmers thank you know my favorite joke. I know I tell it all the time but you know about the scientists who said God we don't need you anymore. We've learned how to do everything I got it all right but before you know I turn it over to could we maybe have a contest just to make sure and the scientists as well. That's bad be great and and and and God says what want have a man making contest in the scientists and that's great. We've learned the human genome. We know how to clone. We know how to get, you know, and so God reached down and said I'll go first. He reached down to grab some dirt, they formed into a man and he blew a living spirit into the man and the scientists reached down to grab some dirt and got interrupted and said go get your own dirt your own dirt has my favorite right there because my question is not whether we should be thankful to the farmer. My question is, who does the farmer. Thank you for the sea and for the soil and for the sun and for the rain, somebody's gotta tell us all this came from and the secret of the Christian is it we had a revelation of who God is and all of his goodness. It is not just that we say that we are thankful ultimately to God because he created all of this, but we are thankful to God because he's providential.

Even when we're thanking other people which we should thank anybody and everybody we can. But even when were thanking people were thanking them because of God's providence that brought them into our life.

Ever hear about the lady that she go out in her front porch in the morning that she pray out loud to God as he had an atheist neighbor who was bothered by all her praying and one day he heard the woman out her front porch and she said lards he said I need some food. She said amount of food in the neighborhood atheist.

He heard and decided to go play a trick on her. So he snuck out the grocery store and got couple bags of groceries and he stuck up and put them on her front porch. So when she came out later on and she sat hollered out.

Thank you Jesus for bringing manners, food, and he popped out from behind the bushes and he said he said Jesus didn't bring those groceries for you brought up bottom and I put them up there and she said thank you Jesus. All the more.

Not only did you bring me some food, but you may the devil pay for it when you get really, really useful you see me on what other people see and you grateful for something that's much deeper the grace that accompanies a grateful heart is the secret power. There is a relationship between grace and gratitude.

Gratitude where learning even in the secular arena people are learning. It's good for your researchers from the school psychology at the University of Manchester in England have shown that gratitude appears to be the strongest link to health and happiness of any character trait. Researchers Martin Seligman, Robert Emmons, Michael McCulloch, among some of them turn their attention to the study of gratitude and its relationship to health and mental well-being, and according to one University of Massachusetts article. These conclusions have been found by science. People who keep gratitude journals on a weekly basis have been found to exercise more regularly have fewer physical symptoms feel better about their lives as a whole feel more optimistic about their upcoming week as compared to those who keep journals recording the stressors are neutral events of their lives. You tend to be rehearsing in your mind. One of the other daily discussion of gratitude, results in higher reported levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness, energy, and sleep duration and quality grateful people report lower levels of depression and stress. Although they do not deny or ignore the negative aspects of life is another finding that people who think about talk about or write about gratitude daily are more likely to report having helped someone with a personal problem or offered emotional support to another person. Those with a disposition towards gratitude or found a place less importance on material goods and their more generous is also emerging research that suggests that daily gratitude practices may have some preventative benefits and warding off coronary artery artery disease who were finding out that from science. Gratitude makes a big difference, but this is not new information. The anxious ancient words of the song tell the tale. That is, you give thanks to the Lord and you praise his name. You are doing that for which you been ordained to do.

God has ordained for you to give them praise he's ordained it and made us to run on gratitude and therefore the more revelation we have of the grace of God, the more grateful we will be God wants you to have a revelation of his love for you. He wants you to know how much he loves you.

He wants to know how much he's done for you and want to know how much he cares about every detail of your life and the more that you see this grace of God, the more grateful you will become. There's a very beautiful text in second Corinthians 4 were Paul shows this disconnection between grace and gratitude are read-only. This one verse 15 of second Corinthians, for it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more more people. It may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away our inner self is being renewed day by day.

This process he says in verse 15 of grace at work within us, increases Thanksgiving and was so beautiful about this is it is that the words are of the same root.

Grace is the word in Greek Harris and the word for Thanksgiving and that same verse is you Congress.

John that the though the Eucharist is the Thanksgiving and at its core is carless you meaning good or or or or that which is well and so the Eucharist which is one of the names for communion one aims for Lord supper.

The Eucharist means literally the Thanksgiving and at the root. What I'm saying of the word Thanksgiving is grace because unless you discover the deep riches of the grace of God. Your heart will never know through gratitude right in today's teaching. I just want to thank you Jesus. It's a special Thanksgiving message and Alan to the studio back here in a moment with additional insight on this for your life this holiday and our final word pastor and might change when you make a gift this night will send you the power of blessing is our way of saying thanks for your partnership nourishing your self help someone out ministries to send messages check to see with your digital Dharma is our way of saying thanks for your partnership, 877-544-4860 877-544-4860 were in the final days of this special offer being made available to you come to our website Pastor Alan.like Helen on Thanksgiving. Of course believers, we have God that we can think and I think often times of the atheist. I think oftentimes of those that are not believers. On days like today when we set aside to really focus and say you know it's Thanksgiving is a season together with our families be thankful. If you're not believing who you think will do. How can we, if we are dealing with family that maybe your unbelievers.

How can we use this holiday how to use Thanksgiving as a way to point I think the number one thing Daniel really is to let our own lives reflect the strength and joy that comes from living with a thankful attitude we we don't probably pause to think about that enough that a big part of the witness of the Christian life is just simply the joy of having a glad heart that feels thankful when a person has no want to thank or person hasn't cultivated a life of Thanksgiving so much joy that's missed out on and I think that's the first thing I would say is just let your own gratitude evident and I think that is contagious the very least person who has no lien in the Lord that that person is going to be jealous for the opportunity to really build a show so gratitude and how much the life that cultivate daily gratitude is just a life well lived. I think long. Thanks for listening today. Visit us online pastor.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860 if you only caught part of today's teaching. Not only can you listen again online but also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching delivered right to your email inbox free. Find out more about these and other resources@pastor.org that's pastor out.org. Today's good news message is a listener supported production Alan White