THE EXPANSE OF THANKSGIVING

TEXT: PSALM 136:1-26

A devout Christian woman was out doing her shopping for Thanksgiving. Making her way through th Mall, she noticed a fine looking parrot in the pet store and decided to buy it. But the store keeper wouldn’t sell her the parrot. "Lady," he said "I couldn’t possibly sell you the parrot. It was owned by a sailor and he cusses a blur streak." However, the woman would not be dissuaded. She believed that the parrot, with Christian love and firm discipline, could be retrained . . . The moment she got the parrot home it started cussing and swearing. Undeterred, the woman warned it that if it didn’t stop cussing and swearing she’d put it in the freezer for ten minutes to teach it to hold its tongue. The parrot ignored the threat and continued to swear. So the woman put the parrot in the freezer. Ten minutes later she took it out. The shivering parrot looked remorseful. "Pppplease, lllady," the parrot said through a chattering beak, "Wwwould yyou ttell mme jjust oone tthing? Wwhat ddid tthe tturkey ddo?"

Happy Thanksgiving. We have much to be thankful for - don’t we? Thanks be to God! We’re not in the freezer!

Psalm 136:1-26 (NLT)
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods. His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords. His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles. His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully. His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to him who placed the earth on the water. His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights - His faithful love endures forever. The sun to rule the day, His faithful love endures forever. And the moon and stars to rule the night. His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to him who killed the firstborn of Egypt. His faithful love endures forever. He brought Israel out of Egypt. His faithful love endures forever. He acted with a strong hand and powerful arm. His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to him who parted the Red Sea. His faithful love endures forever. He led Israel safely through, His faithful love endures forever. But he hurled Pharaoh and his army into the sea. His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to him who led his people through the wilderness. His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to him who struck down mighty kings. His faithful love endures forever. He killed powerful kings - His faithful love endures forever. Sihon king of the Amorites, His faithful love endures forever. And Og king of Bashan. His faithful love endures forever. God gave the land of these kings as an inheritance - His faithful love endures forever. A special possession to his servant Israel. His faithful love endures forever. He remembered our utter weakness. His faithful love endures forever. He saved us from our enemies. His faithful love endures forever. He gives food to every living thing. His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of heaven. His faithful love endures forever.

The expanse of Thanksgiving . . .

God wants us to be thankful. But how do we do that? How do we cultivate an attitude of gratitude? Here are three things you can do:

1. Look up.
A wine company advertisement in Newsweek magazine said: "The earth gives us wonderful grapes. The grapes give us wonderful wine. The wine wins us lots of new friends. Thank you, earth." "Thank you earth!" They missed the point - they didn’t give thanks where thanks are due. The earth isn’t the real source of our blessings. First and foremost we should give thanks to God. It’s God who made the earth. It’s God who sends the rain to make the vines grow. And it’s God who holds the earth in its orbit so the grapes get just enough sunlight to ripen. "Thank you earth." Phooey! It’s thank you God! It’s God who’s good.

The psalmist was well aware of this. In Psalm 136:1_4 he says, "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods. His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords. His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles. His faithful love endures forever" (NLT). The primary focus of our thanksgiving should be vertical. Where are you looking? Our thanks to God should be more important than our thankfulness for friends, family, roast turkey or pumpkin pie. Remember, God’s the One who made the pumpkin in the pumpkin pie. He’s the One who put the ‘gobble’ in the turkey. And He’s the One who gives us family and friends. God is our Provider. "He gives food to every living thing" Psalm 136:25 (NLT). "Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God above . . ." James 1:17 (NLT). Praise the Lord! "For in him we live and move and exist . . ." Acts 17:28 (NLT).

So look up. Give thanks to God. The most important prayer in the world is only two words long . . . "Thank you." Thank you Lord. Thank you Lord for every gift You send, for every special friend, for supplying every need, for everything that’s good in word or deed. Thank you Lord.

2. Look in.
The second thing you can do to cultivate an attitude of gratitude is to look in. In Psalm 103:1-2 David says, "Praise the Lord, I tell myself; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, I tell myself, and never forget the good things he does for me" (NLT). Plutarch said, "The worship most acceptable to God comes from a thankful and cheerful heart." How’s your heart doing? When you look in, are you truly thankful? Only a heart overflowing with gratitude can say, "I will never forget the good things He does for me."

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, "No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus" (NLT). ". . . always be thankful . . ." Does that mean I shouldn’t be a grumbler or a whiner? Does that mean I should find the good in every hour of every day? Probably . . . But that’s not easy, is it? Life isn’t always a bed of roses. In fact life sometimes stinks! So what should you do when life stinks? You choose to be thankful anyway.

Someone once said, "He who thanks but with the lips, thanks but in part; the full, the true thanksgiving, comes from the heart." Look in. Give thanks from the heart. Not in your own strength. You can never be truly thankful in the flesh. True thankfulness is a God thing - not a man thing. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a heart of thanksgiving . . .

3. Look out.
In order to cultivate an attitude of gratitude you must look up, look in, and thirdly, you must look out. Thanksgiving should lead to ‘Thanks-living.’ Collosians 2:7 says, "Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done" (NLT). ". . . overflow . . ." Thanksgiving has to move beyond us. It should overflow to others. Have you told your pastor that you’re grateful for his ministry? October is pastor appreciation month . . . Have you told your wife/husband that you’re thankful for the wonderful part she/he plays in your life? Have you told your parents how grateful you are for their love and the many ways in which they express it? Have you told your employer/employees that they are appreciated for the contribution they make? Have you told a friend how much you’ve appreciated his/her friendship? Don’t leave it until it’s too late. Reach out and say thank you. Don’t let ingratitude break someone’s heart. Make a difference . . . help make this world a happier, sunnier place.

In his heyday, it is said that every word Rudyard Kipling wrote was worth twenty-five shillings. Hearing this, a group of college students got together and wrote him a letter that said, "We understand that every word you write is worth twenty-five shillings. Enclosed is twenty-five shillings; please send us your best word." A couple of days later, the college students received a telegram from Mr. Kipling. The telegram consisted of one word. That one word, his best word, was "Thanks!"

Look up, look in, look out . . . Three ways in which you can cultivate an attitude of gratitude.

The Masai tribe in East Africa have an unusual way of saying thank you: They bow, put their foreheads on the ground, and say, "My head is in the dirt." Another tribe in West Africa also have an unusual way of saying thank you: They sit for a long time in front of the hut of the person who did the favour. Through their action they are literally saying, "I sit on the ground before you." Maybe these Africans know something about thanksgiving that we may have overlooked. At it’s core thanksgiving is an act of humility. It’s admitting our need - recognising that we need help - That’s sometimes difficult for us, isn’t it? We like to hold our heads up. We’re proud of our accomplishments . . . proud of the fact that we can stand on our own two feet. But pride is the antithesis of thanksgiving. To be truly thankful we have to humble ourselves. We have to recognise that everything, absolutely everything comes our way because of the grace of God.

So sit on the ground before the Lord. Put yourself down instead of puffing yourself up. And give thanks . . . "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever" Psalm 136:1 (NLT). Amen.

(L. Murray 2006)