Thanksgiving for Wandering Arameans

THANKSGIVING IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER AND I FIND MYSELF THINKING ABOUT WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT AND WHAT WE LEARN ABOUT GOD AND OURSELVES IN THIS SEASON OF THANKSGIVING.

 WHAT I LOVE IS WHAT THANKSGIVING DOES TO ME.

I CAN’T READ THE SCRIPTURE WITHOUT READING THE WORDS “THANKS” AND “THANKSGIVING”, “GRATITUDE”, ETC…OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

Psalm 69:30
³⁰  I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 100:4
⁴  Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

Philippians 4:4-6
⁴  Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
⁵  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
⁶  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

AND JUST IN CASE YOU FEEL GUILTY FOR EATING ALL OF THAT FOOD ON THANKSGIVING DAY:

1 Timothy 4:4
⁴  For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,

WE’VE BEEN LOOKING AT FAITH OVER THE LAST TWO MONTHS, AND GOD ASKS US TO WALK IN FAITH…TO TRUST …BUT CLOSE BEHIND THAT IS OUR ABILITY TO BE THANKFUL.  

I THINK MOST EVERYONE WANTS TO LIVE THAT WAY.

THE QUESTION IS HOW?  HOW CAN WE DO THAT?

THANKSGIVING IS ROOTED IN HUMILITY 

SOMETIMES THIS IS FORGOTTEN.  REMEMBER ONE OF JESUS’ PARABLES:

Luke 18:10-11
¹⁰  "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
¹¹  The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector.

THE PHARISEE IS GUILTY OF COMPARISON…HE BASED HIS WELL BEING IN THAT HE WAS BLESSED OF GOD OVER AGAINST OTHERS.

Luke 18:13-14
¹³  But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
¹⁴  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

WE CAN DO THIS SORT OF THING A LOT… “BOY, I’M GLAD I’M NOT LIKE THAT…”  THERE ARE WAYS OF COMPARING OURSELVES WITH OTHERS AND CONVINCING OURSELVES OF THE GOOD THINGS HAPPENING TO US ON THOSE EXTERNALS.

REMEMBER THE STORY TOLD IN THE GOSPEL OF THE TEN LEPERS THAT CRIED OUT TO JESUS FOR HEALING.

Luke 17:11-19
¹¹  Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.
¹²  As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance
¹³  and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"
¹⁴  When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.
¹⁵  One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.
¹⁶  He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him--and he was a Samaritan.
¹⁷  Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?
¹⁸  Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
¹⁹  And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

YOU NOTE THAT JESUS SEES IN HIS THANKFULNESS, FAITH.

“THANKSGIVING” FOR US TOWARDS GOD IS RECOGNIZING WHAT HE’S DONE FOR US.  DO WE SEE THAT THANKSGIVING IS GROUNDED IN HUMILITY TOWARDS GOD?

HUMILITY IS NOT SOMETHING WE WORK ON…IT’S AN ATTITUDE THAT IS WITHIN US BECAUSE WE DON’T THINK WE DESERVE THINGS.

WHEN WE THINK WE DESERVE, WE FALL VICTIM TO THE 2^ND THING: 

 A CULTURE OF COMPLAINING LEADS TO THANKLESSNESS.

Numbers 11:1
¹  And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled...

NOT GOOD SETTING…  SKIP TO VERSE 4

Numbers 11:4-6
⁴  Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat!
⁵  We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.
⁶  But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”

PEOPLE ARE COMPLAINING, UNHAPPY, AND MOSES IS THE LEADER WHO HAS TO STAND IN BETWEEN THEM!

WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?

·        CHANGE IS HAPPENING…AND,

·         THEIR EXPECTATIONS ARE NOT BEING FULFILLED…

·         THEY’VE FALLEN INTO A CULTURE OF COMPLAINING, WHINING, GRIPING AND MOANING THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES

THAT’S THE KEY - THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES.

THE ISSUE ISN’T THAT WE WON’T HAVE THINGS HAPPEN IN OUR LIVES THAT BOTHER US… WE WILL… BUT RATHER WHAT DO WE DO WITH THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES?

IN ALMOST ALL AREAS OF CHANGE, WE CREATE EXPECTATIONS OF WHAT WE THINK SHOULD HAPPEN. 

THEY THOUGHT GOD’S SALVATION MEANT EVERYTHING WAS GOING TO BE GOOD.  AND WHEN IT WASN’T THEY COMPLAINED.

THE ISRAELITES IN THE DESERT DIDN’T LIKE THEIR PRESENT, AND THEY WERE AFRAID OF THEIR FUTURE…SO THEY LOOKED BACK TO THE PAST.  PRETTY SOON THEY IDEALIZED THE PAST… GRAB AT IT IN A SORT OF A “GRAND OLD DAYS”

REMEMBER THEIR PAST?  THEY WERE SLAVES!

SOMETIMES WE OLDER FOLKS SAY THINGS ABOUT HOW GOOD THINGS USE TO BE, BUT IT WASN’T THAT GOOD.

THE BIBLICAL IDEA OF THANKSGIVING IS NOT BASED ON IMAGINING, OR EXPECTING LIFE WITHOUT DIFFICULTIES.

OUR FAITH IS A TEST OF WHETHER OR NOT WE BELIEVE IN GOD’S FAITHFULNESS THANKSGIVING IS A CHOICE…NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES.

LASTLY,

THERE IS IN THANKSGIVING A FREEDOM THAT SEES GOD’S FAITHFULNESS IN OUR LIVES.

Deuteronomy 26:1-2
1  “When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it,
2  you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there.

DUETERONOMTY WAS WRITTEN AFTER THAT COMPLAINING GENERATION DIED OFF

IT’S A NEW GENERATION AND THEY ARE ABOUT TO GO INTO THE PROMISED LAND.

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT RELATED TO THEIR WORSHIP WHEN THEY CAME INTO THE LAND THAT GOD HAD PROMISED, AND THEY HARVESTED THEIR CROPS…

THEY SAID 3 THINGS THAT I WANT TO RELATE BACK TO OUR OWN THANKSGIVING – 3 THINGS GOD WANTED THEM TO RECOGNIZE:

1.     WE’RE THANKFUL BECAUSE WE’VE BEEN BLESSED BY GOD IN ALL WE’VE RECEIVED

Deuteronomy 26:3
3  And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare today to the LORD our God that I have come into the land that the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.’

WE HAVE RECEIVED GOD’S BLESSING…OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

DON’T FOCUS ON WHAT YOU DON’T HAVE…FOCUS ON WHAT YOU DO HAVE.

THINK ABOUT WHAT HAS MADE YOU BECOME! 

THAT INCLUDES THINGS THAT WERE HARD ON YOU…THINGS THAT MADE IT TOUGH.

REMEMBER THE MOVIE:  SHENANDOAH?

JIMMY STEWART PLAYS A CRUSTY, CRANKY FARMER AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CIVIL WAR… HE HAS A FAMILY, BUT HIS WIFE DIED, AND HE’S BITTER ABOUT LIFE.

AT THE OPENING OF THE MOVIE, HE PRAYS AT A MEAL…(HE PROMISED HIS WIFE HE WOULD PRAY)

“LORD, WE CLEARED THIS LAND, WE PLOWED IT, WE PLANTED IT, WE HARVESTED THE CROPS AND FIXED THIS FOOD.  WE’VE WORKED UNTIL WE DOG-BONED TIRED.  NONE OF THIS WOULD BE HERE IF IT WEREN’T FOR US.  BUT THANKS ANYWAY.”  J

AS THE MOVIE UNFOLDS, THE WAR COMES TO HIS FAMILY AND HIS LAND.  TWO OF HIS SONS GO OFF – DIFFERENT SIDES,  HIS DAUGHTER HAS A CHILD AND NAMES HER AFTER HIS WIFE, BUT DIES; ANOTHER SON IS KILLED BY A SOLDIER ON THE FARM

AND HIS YOUNGEST IS TAKEN AWAY AS A P.O.W.

TOWARDS THE END, HE PRAYS:  “LORD, WE CLEARED THE LAND…”  BUT HE CAN’T GO ON, HE CHOKES UP.  SUFFERING AS HUMBLED HIM AND DESTROYED HIS SELF-SUFFICIENCY.  HE IS NO LONGER PROUD, BUT BROKEN, AND INSTEAD OF A SELF-SUFFICIENT PRAYER, HE PRAYS FOR HIS SON TO RETURN.

IN THE END, HE IS IN CHURCH WORSHIPING GOD WHEN HIS SON WALKS IN.  EVERYTHING CHANGES AND HE GENUINELY REJOICES AS THEY STAND TOGETHER TO SING, “PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW.”

IT’S NOT ALWAYS EASY TO SEE THAT EVERYTHING WE'VE RECEIVED IN LIFE IS A GIFT OF GOD…BUT GRATEFULNESS BEGINS WITH THIS SENSE OF GOD’S FAITHFULNESS NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES.

2.     WE’RE THANKFUL BECAUSE GOD IS FAITHFUL IN HIS GRACE & LOVE.

Deuteronomy 26:5
5  Then you shall declare before the LORD your God: "My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous.

NOTE VS. 5: “MY FATHER WAS A WANDERING ARAMEAN… 

WHAT DOES HE MEAN?  THEY ARE HEBREWS, JEWS???  BUT WHAT HE’S DECLARING IS,  “WE ARE NOBODIES…GOD TOOK US FROM NOTHING AND LOOK WHAT HE HAS DONE.  I’M IN THE LAND HE PROMISED US AND THIS IS MY FIRST CROP... LOOK WHAT GOD HAS DONE."

THINK ABOUT IT IN YOUR OWN LIFE.  LOOK BACK, THINK,  LOOK WHAT GOD HAS DONE.  

Deuteronomy 26:6-9
6  But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, putting us to hard labor.
7  Then we cried out to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression.   8  So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with miraculous signs and wonders.   9  He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey;

LOTS OF UPS AND DOWNS…SOME SUFFERING, DIFFICULTIES, BUT GOD HAS BEEN THERE.  THIS IS THANKSGIVING.  WE SHOULD NEVER FORGET OUR STORY...NEVER FORGET OUR PAST.  NEVER FORGET THE LESSONS YOU'VE LEARNED. 

      3.  WE’RE THANKFUL BECAUSE IT RELEASES US TO GIVE GOD THE GIFTS OF OURSELF…

THE LAST THING HE DOES IS IN VS 10…

Deuteronomy 26:10
10  and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, O LORD, have given me." Place the basket before the LORD your God and bow down before him. now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, O LORD, have given me."

PLACE THE BASKET BEFORE THE LORD YOUR GOD AND BOW DOWN BEFORE HIM.  THE BASKET IS CRUCIAL.  THE BASKET REPRESENTS THAT TANGIBLE, PRACTICAL EXPRESSION OF GOD’S GRACE.

THE BASKET MAY BE YOUR MONEY…YOUR TIME…YOUR ENERGY…YOUR SERVICE.  WHY DO THIS?  BECAUSE, THE GREATEST DANGER OF OUR LIVES…

·        IS NOT LOSING ALL OUR POSSESSIONS

·        IS NOT LOSING OUR HEALTH

THE GREATEST DANGER OF OUR LIVES…IS THANKLESSNESS!

THAT WE WILL FORGET THE LORD’S BLESSING OF OUR LIVES – I’VE SAID IT NUMBERS OF TIMES:  “THE GREATEST DANGER IN OUR LIVES HAPPENS WHEN WE GET WHAT WE WANT.”

DON’T LOSE SIGHT OF THE HEART OF THANKSGIVING – IT’S THAT HUMBLE REALIZATION THAT GOD IS GOOD…NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES.

GOD’S ABILITY TO REDEEM ALL THINGS…

DON’T FORGET THE BASKET –  DON'T FORGET WE'RE NOBODIES...WANDERING ARAMEANS!

THE HEART OF THANKSGIVING IS OUR OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO GOD IN WORSHIP.

PEACE