Opening Illustration:
This 85 year-old couple, having been married for almost 60 years, had died in a car crash. They had been in good health the last ten years mainly due to the wife's interest in health food and exercise. When they reached the pearly Gates, St. Peter took them to their mansion which was decked out with a beautiful kitchen and master bath suite and Jacuzzi.
As they, "oohed and aahed," the old man asked Peter how much all this was going to cost. "It's free," Peter replied, "This is Heaven."
Next they went out back to survey the championship golf course that the home backed up to. They would have golfing privileges every day; and each week the course changed to a new one representing the great golf courses on the earth.
The old man asked, "What are the green fees?" Peter replied, "This is Heaven, you play for free!"
Next they went to the clubhouse and saw the lavish buffet lunch with the cuisine's of the world laid out.
"How much to eat?" asked the old man. "Don't you understand yet? This is Heaven, it's free!" Peter replied with some exasperation.
"Well, where are the low fat and low cholesterol tables?" the old man asked timidly. Peter explained, "That's the best part-- you can eat as much as you like of whatever you like and you never get fat and you never get sick. This is Heaven!"
With that the old man went into a fit of anger, throwing his hat and stomping on it, and shrieking wildly. Peter and his wife tried to calm him down, asking him what was wrong.
The old man looked at his wife and said, "This is all your fault! If it weren't for your blasted bran muffins, I could have been here ten years ago!"
Source: Humor section of Desperate Preacher's Page
It doesn't matter what you give them, some people can always find a way to be ungrateful.
There's a danger in thanking God for blessings in life, when those blessings are not specifically spiritual ones. A lot of things that we normally thank God for are things that many people on this earth can not thank Him for, even if they wanted to.
We thank God for a loving marriage. Yet many Christians have been hurt by the painful experience of divorce. What does a divorce person have to thank God for?
We thank God for a healthy child. But there are thousands of parents who are burdened with the reality that their child is very sick. What does a parent who finds out they have a dying child have to thank God for?
We thank God for food, a roof over our heads, and warm clothes. But there are some people who don't have these things. What does a poor person have to thank God for?
We thank God for good health. But there are many people in nursing homes, hospitals, and at home that do not have good health anymore. Think about Ottis as he suffers with bone cancer, or Hazel as she lives with Alzheimer's. What does a dying person have to thank God for?
We thank God for freedom and life itself. But there are many in the international persecuted church who do not have freedom and will be forced to sacrifice their life for the faith. What does someone under persecution have to thank God for?
We have many things we could be thankful for today, but only one thing really matters.
Here's a secure source for thanksgiving, that is not dependent upon our outward circumstances. It's found in a phrase that occurs twice in John's opening vision of Christ the King in the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation portrays a vision of the glory and victory of God in face of the ultimate spiritual battle between good and evil. Pleae turn to Revelation chapter 1
In Revelation 1:4, we find the phrase describing God as He, "who is, who was, and who is to come." Then in Revelation 1:8, Jesus says that He is the one, "who is , who was, and who is to come." That phrase is the last words of the Doxology or Gloria Patri that Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Orthodox use as a simple prayer of praise to God in their worship.
We don't want to spend too much time on the Trinity this morning. Let's remember that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equal, and when we discuss the character of God as a whole we are entitled to be thankful for every nature of God.
Would you forget about all the other problems or blessings in your life and would you join me this morning in just thanking God for being God. Oh, what a tremendous God He is.
I. God is...
We can thank God that He is. He is present with us so that we can have a personal relationship with Him 24 hours a day/365 days a year. We can be thankful that God will always be there.
I remember when I was in 6th grade. I came after school when the playground was completely empty and swung as hard as I could with just God as my audience. I felt God's peace inside me, and I recall the joy of remembering that whatever happened to me in life, and no matter where my feet traveled, I could be assured that God would always be in the audience of my life.
Thank God that He is.
We have the promise of Romans 8:38-39, "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
II. God was...
There are some things that God's already done that each one of us must come to terms with. The Son of God, God Himself, came to earth as a baby born in a manger. Jesus Christ grew up and lived a perfectly sinless life. Then He died on a cross that we might receive redemption, deliverance, and empowerment from our sins. And the grave could not hold Him, for three days later He arose.
Revelation 1:5b-6 says, "To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."
Thank God that God was there on the cross for our sins. And thank God that He's no longer in the grave.
1 Corinthians 15:57, should express our thanks. "But thanks be to God, who gave us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
III. God is to come...
Revelation 1:7 says, "Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen."
Let this truth sink in. God is coming back someday. As the song says, "could be at morning, could be at noon, could be in the evening."
We know the end of the story. GOD WINS! SATAN LOSES! And if we're on God's side, we'll win too. No matter what troubles this world brings us, there is a promise in Romans 8:37. "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."
At the end of time our God will be the only king still standing. Every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Think of that--we are God's children, and our father's coming back to set things straight. That's something we can be thankful for. Don't forget it.
Thank God for who is to come...
Conclusion: Do you hear the message this morning? There are a lot of things we could thank God for, but only God Himself can be a forever source of thanksgiving. Thank God for God. Let the Holy Spirit bless you. Realize that unlike everything else, God's character is sure. When we thank God for God, then truly every day can be Thanksgiving day.