Responding With Thanks to God

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Responding With Thanks to God</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id430.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="This Changes Everything"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id390.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Thoughts For Graduates 2003"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org"><U>stan@stanbaker.org</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>"Responding With Thanks to God"</B></div> <div> <B>Berean Bible Church, November 23, 2003am</B></div> <bR> <div>      "Last year, freshman representatives to the US Congress participated in a lottery to determine who got which offices. The better you do in the lottery, the better your office space will be. Katherine Harris of Florida won the top spot. "Lawmakers seemed determined to avoid the dreaded 5th floor of the Cannon Building, where the initiated know to avoid elevators that only go to the 4th floor. Rep.-elect John Carter, R-Texas said, "I think I'll be able to avoid the 5th floor of Cannon, which supposedly is where everyone says is Never-Never Land." But New Hampshire Republican Rep.-elect Jeb Bradley, who drew 40th place in the lottery,  welcomed the chance to rough it in Cannon's wilderness. "It's nice up there; I like it. But I like climbing mountains so I don't have a problem being on the top of things," Bradley said. Despite how geographically lost some members got, most managed to preserve their sense of perspective. "There are no bad offices. I mean, if you have an office in either of these buildings, you're still a member of Congress, and how great is that?"" asked Rep.-elect Michael Burgess, R-Texas." (Foxnews.com, 11-22-02).</div> <div>      We have so much, yet we are so rarely thankful. It is easier to think about what we need or don't have or would like to have, than to be grateful and thankful for what we have been blessed with. The more we have, the more we seem to want even more. In fact, advertising is in business to see that we are never satisfied. </div> <div>      We have been overwhelmed with blessings, yet with offer an "underwhelming" response.  We have so much, but one thing we do not have is greater joy and happiness and satisfaction. Thanksgiving as a holiday calls us back to the habit of praise and thanksgiving to God. But our thanksgiving is far more than a <I>generic</I> sense of appreciation to "someone out there." </div> <div>      Christian praise and thanksgiving is always ultimately a response to God for who he is and for what he has done and will do.</div> <bR> <div> <B>I. God's actions deserve our praise (Psalm 145:1-21).</B></div> <div> A. Reasons for praise: God's character and actions (who he is, what he does).</div> <div> 1. Vss. 3-6, 11-12 - His greatness.</div> <div> 2. Vss. 7-9 - His grace and compassion (Exodus 34:6).</div> <div> 3. Vs. 13a - His kingdom.</div> <div> 4. Vs. 13b, His faithfulness to his promises.</div> <div> 5. Vss. 14-20, His loving care for his people and his creation.</div> <div> "In the early 1900s, there was a woman named Hettie Green who was known for her miserly ways. So much so, that she was called America's greatest miser. But Hettie Green was worth a lot of money. When she died in 1916, she left an estate valued at $100 million. Still, Hettie Green lived as through she were poverty-stricken. She would eat cold oatmeal every day to save the expense of heating water. When her son suffered a severe leg injury, she took so long trying to find a free clinic to treat him that his leg had to be amputated because of advanced infection. She even hastened her own death by not taking proper care of herself. She lived like a pauper when, in reality, she was a multimillionaire" [Greg Laurie, "Our Spiritual Wealth", 11-03 article]. I can't imagine that she was a very grateful woman. Many of us have the attitude of paupers. We feel like we have so little, that we always need more. But we fail to realize the greatness of what God has already done for us.</div> <div> B. Responses of praise: </div> <div> Notice three categories: speaking to God (<U>upward</U>), speaking to others (<U>outward</U>), meditating (<U>inward</U>).</div> <div> 1. Vss. 1-2 - Exalt, praise, extol.</div> <div> 2. Vs. 4 - Commend, tell.</div> <div> 3. Vss. 5-7 - Speak, meditate, tell, proclaim, celebrate, joyfully sing.</div> <div> 4. Vss. 10-12 - Praise, extol, tell, speak, know.</div> <div> 5. Vs. 21 - "<I><U>My </U></I><U>mouth will speak</U> in praise of the Lord. <U>Let </U><I><U>every</U></I><U> creature</U> praise his holy name for ever and ever."</div> <bR> <div> <B>II. Make praise and thanksgiving a never-ending habit in your life.</B></div> <div> A. Spend time in the Word for yourself, reviewing and reflecting on the goodness of God. Your view of God matters: little God, little response. Great God, great response (vss. 1-3, 21). We possess: salvation and the forgiveness of sins; new life; hope for the future; help for the present; families and friends; brothers and sisters in Christ.</div> <div> B. Commit to a lifestyle of thankfulness. Lead your family to be thankful together. Bring back the meaning of praying in thanks over meals and other blessings. Don't use anything without expressing thanks for it. Be more intentional about thanking people who serve you. Thank the people that you might typically overlook, including your spouse.</div> <div> C. Choose praise, even in difficult times. We all have days when we don't feel grateful. Sometimes thankfulness is a discipline, a choice that we do not feel like making, but we must make nonetheless. 1 Thess 5:16-18 says, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Thanksgiving is a response to God for who he is, not just for our circumstances. </div> <bR> <div>      A group of students were asked to list what they thought were the present "Seven Wonders of the World." Though there were some disagreements, the following received the most votes: 1. Egypt's Great Pyramids; 2. Taj Mahal; 3. Grand Canyon; 4. Panama Canal; 5. Empire State Building; 6. St. Peter's Basilica; 7. China's Great Wall.  /   </div> <div>      While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that one quiet student hadn't turned in her paper yet. So she asked the girl if she was having trouble with her list. The girl replied, "Yes, a little. I couldn't quite make up my mind because there were so many." The teacher said, "Well, tell us what you have, and maybe we can help."</div> <div>      The girl hesitated, then read, "I think the 'Seven Wonders of the World' are: 1. to see; 2. to hear; 3. to touch; 4. to taste; 5. to feel; 6. to laugh; 7. and to love." That's the attitude of person who offers never-ending praise.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2003, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>