Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Amen. I'd like to welcome you to our service. If you'd like to find your place in Psalms, chapter 103. Psalms, chapter 103. And I'd like to preach a message on the subject of thank you. Thank you. And these are words that you learn at a very young age if you're raised in a certain way, especially here in America. I don't know much about all across the world, but I think that worldwide, children are taught to be thankful. And at a very young age, you teach your children how to say thank you when someone does something for them. And saying thank you is a part of being a Christian. It's a part of the Christian life, is being grateful and being thankful. And here in the United States, November marks the month of Thanksgiving. And we have our Thanksgiving that's coming up in a few weeks. But we ought to be thankful all the time for all that God has done for us, for all His benefits, for salvation. Boy, I could list a thousand things and go on after that of things that we ought to say thank you for every day. You know, a lot of times we wouldn't be so depressed. We wouldn't be so caught up in ourselves if we'd just be thankful. And God's made no mistake in His Word, and He said that we ought to give thanks in all things. And may the Lord help us to do that, because if you have a grateful heart, you won't have a complaining heart. You see, when the children of Israel become unthankful, that's when they started complaining. And any time you find yourself complaining, that ought to be a red flag that you're not thankful enough for all that God has done for you and done for me And this Sunday, coming up here at our church, we're going to be observing the Lord's Supper. And may the Lord help us to come before Him and to come and to enter His gates, enter into His presence this Sunday morning with a grateful heart filled with thanksgiving. We observe the Lord's Supper because He commanded us to do it in remembrance of Him. And as we remember His death and His burial and His resurrection even, we ought to be thankful for the life that we have in Him. We ought to be thankful for the price that was paid for our redemption. We ought to be thankful for the sacrifice that was given. We ought to be thankful for the forgiveness of sins that we have in Jesus Christ, and we ought to be thankful for the love of God that's been shed abroad in our hearts. Because if you think about it, before you were saved, you had no concern for the souls of other people. You weren't even concerned about your own soul. but we only cared about ourselves. Oh, but now that you've trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, God has put His love in you and me, and now we have a love for others. That's why we witness. That's why we give out tracts. That's why we mail out gospel mailers. That's why we run buses here at our church. That's why we support missionaries and send them around the world. so that they can tell others about Christ. Why? It's because of God's love that's been shed abroad in our hearts. Hey, I'd like to give you a list as a way of introduction. I'd like to give you a list of things that you could be thankful for. And for some of you, you're going to find this very unusual list. You may even find this to be a difficult list of things that you and I can be thankful for. Hey, you ought to be thankful that you don't have everything that you want. DOES NOT MEAN THAT IT'S GOOD FOR US OR THAT IT'S NEEDFUL FOR US. I REMEMBER AS A YOUNG CHILD MY MOM AND DAD WERE MISSIONARIES AND WE LIVED IN THE COUNTRY OF FRANCE AND WE SAW A CASSETTE PLAYER. FOR MANY PEOPLE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT IS, BUT IT WAS A RADIO SLASH CASSETTE PLAYER AND IT WAS A BIG ONE THERE. AND MAN, I HAD MY EYES SET ON THAT THING AND I'D BEEN SAVING MY MONEY AND IT WENT ON SALE. And I just knew that, man, that was just the right time and, you know, that had to be of the Lord. You know, I had the right amount of money for it. I had a desire for it. It was on sale. I mean, I just thought that, man, I just had to have that. And then my mom, she told me when I went to buy it, she said, won't you wait another week? and just make sure that that's really what you want. Well, I got mad, and you know, and I started pouting about it, but you know, I'm glad that my mom told me that. Hey, I wanted that, I thought I wanted that cassette player, but you know, a week later, I'd already changed my mind, and there was something else that caught my eye. You know, we ought to be thankful when we don't know something. Why is that? Because it'll give you an opportunity to learn. You ought to be thankful for difficult times because it's in those times that you grow. We ought to be thankful for our limitations because that's when that gives us opportunities to improve. We ought to be thankful for each new challenge that comes our way. You know, many times we don't want to be challenged. We just want everything to go smooth and we don't want no wrinkles or ruffles. We don't want no waves in our life, if you would. But we ought to be thankful for every new challenge because it'll help us to build strength character. We ought to be thankful for our mistakes. Why? Because they'll teach you a valuable lesson if you'll learn from them. We ought to be thankful when you're tired because that means that you've made a difference. You know it's easy to be thankful for the good things and we ought to be, but you know we can also be thankful for the setbacks in life. You know, there's another one we ought to be thankful for, is we ought to be thankful for our troubles, because many times the troubles become a blessing. Two of the most gracious words in the English language is this, thank you. Good parents, I say good parents, will teach their children to say thank you as soon as they learn how to speak. to say thank you when they're helped or thank you when something is given to them. We had a missionary couple here that are going to Zambia as missionaries and they just started deputation. It's a young couple. They had two small children, a two-year-old and almost a one-year-old. And I noticed, I watched these parents, they taught their children how to say thank you. We gave some gifts to that young little girl and she was two years old. But you know what? She immediately said thank you. Thank you for what was given to her. And how important it is for us to teach our children to say thank you when something is given to us. You know, as a child of God, we ought to constantly be thanking our Heavenly Father for all that He's done for us. Here in Psalms, chapter 103, in verse 1, it says, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, who redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies, who satisfieth thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles." Hey, if you'd turn back just a page maybe there to Psalms 100 and look at verse 4. The Bible says, enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto him and bless his holy name. Hey, our thank you list to God should be endless and so should be our praise for him. As we begin this month of Thanksgiving, I would like to challenge you to give thanks at least for one thing every day this month. I made a sheet here that I'm going to hand out here to our church and to everyone here that says 30 days of Thanksgiving. And I've put 30 slots here that each day we ought to be thankful for at least one thing. And there's plenty of room to write many things. But for each day this month, why don't we be thankful? Why don't we find something that we can thank God for? The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5, 18, and everything, give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Hey, you know what? If you'll do take the time to be thankful and list at least 30 things that you're thankful for, you may just realize that you don't need anything for Christmas. Maybe you'll come to the point and say, hey, I don't need a Christmas list this year. Why? Because God has been so good to me. Maybe instead, and I put this on the opposite side of the page here, maybe instead of making a list of things that you want for Christmas, maybe because you're so thankful for all that God has done for you, you could make a list of things that you could give to the Lord. How about doing 25 days of giving? instead of 25 days of wanting. And oh my, how we ought, our thankfulness ought to result in praise to our Lord and Savior. Turn with me to Psalms 116. Psalms 116. You say, well, why should I list things I ought to give to the Lord? Well, because it's biblical. In Psalms 116, 12, it says, You know, you could read this verse and never meditate on this verse. You could read this verse and say, what shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits unto me? And never take the time to list some things that you ought to render unto Him because He has been so good TO YOU. MAY YOU TAKE THE TIME. MAY WE TAKE THE TIME THIS YEAR TO NOT MISS THIS SEASON. DON'T MISS WHAT GOD HAS FOR US. HEY, BECAUSE THIS THANKSGIVING SEASON IS GOING TO COME AND GO. THIS YEAR HAS COME AND GONE. AND BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, WE'LL BE GOING RIGHT INTO ANOTHER SEASON, INTO ANOTHER TIME. AND MAY THE LORD HELP US NOT TO MISS THIS MOMENT, TO NOT MISS BEING THANKFUL, TO NOT MISS HAVING THAT WANT TO GIVE UNTO THE LORD and these things that I mentioned here that you can render unto the Lord, some things that you could get the Lord. I'm not talking necessarily about finances. Maybe it is for you. Maybe it is something that you feel like you could do for the Lord that way. But I'm talking about just maybe more time that you could spend with Him. Maybe you want to witness more, or maybe you want to be a blessing to someone else. I don't know. Whatever God puts on your heart there. But would you take the time to meditate on that verse, Psalms 116.12, What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me? You know, James 1 17 says, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Aren't you glad that there's no variableness with Him and no shadow of turning with Him? Paul said in 2 Corinthians 9 15, Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift. What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits? toward me." You know, if we're going to consider the words, thank you, and the fact that we ought to be given thanks and we need to look to Jesus. Jesus, the creator of this world, the one that paid the price for our sins, our Savior said, thank you. And so should we. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 15. Matthew chapter 15 in your Bible. Here we're going to read that Jesus gave thanks for food. For food. You know, it bothers me when I see Christians that won't even take the time to thank the Lord for the food that they have. And you say, well, I thank Him for the food when I go to the grocery store and when I'm buying my food. That's when I give thanks. Well, that's okay. That's wonderful. That's a good thing to do. But you know, before you sit down, before you eat, you ought to take the time to thank God for His provisions in your life. Hey, morning, noon, and at night, will I sing? Will I praise? Will I pray unto the Lord? Will I give thanks unto Him? Look, there's never a bad time to say thank you. Morning, noon, and at night, will I cry aloud? The Bible says. How many times are you thankful during the day? Are you too busy that you can't say thank you? In Matthew 15 and verse 35 it says, And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and break them, and gave to his disciples and disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled. And they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full." I remember one time I was in a teenage Sunday school class. That was a long time ago. And I was a teenager there. One of the older teenagers in the class, the Sunday school teacher said, hey, how about opening us up in prayer if you would? And he bowed his head and he started praying. He said, dear Lord, I want to thank you for the food that I'm about to eat. And before he knew it, he failed to realize I wasn't sitting at the table, I was in Sunday school. But at least he had a good habit that he would thank the Lord. Maybe that's the only time he prayed. Maybe for some people that's the only time they do pray. Shouldn't be that way, but maybe it is. But he realized, and boy, we had a good laugh about it, you know. But you know, when you think about it, at least he had a habit of praying and saying thank you for his food. You know, how many of you have had something to eat today? How many of you were able to eat a meal or eat something to be able to satisfy your hunger and there was still something left in your pantry. Even after your meal was fixed, even after you ate, there was still food items in the pantry. Can I just say, God has been good to us. God is faithful. Hey, have you thanked Him lately for your food? In Ecclesiastes 5.19 it says, Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor, this is the gift of God. The food that you have is a gift. If we teach our children to say thank you when something is given to them, then we ought to say thank you when we eat our food because it's God that gave us that food. He gives us the strength to labor and enjoy the fruit of our labor. Many of you are retired and thank God that you've made it that long and you've been able to enjoy your retirement for some time. And can I just say that God is still faithful to His Word. You're still rejoicing in your labors and that is a gift from God. And because it's a gift, we ought to say thank you. Jesus gave thanks before eating. And so should we. Everything you and I are and all that we have comes from Him." It reminds me of the story of a farmer that was asked to come eat at the mayor's house and as they joined, they went to the table there and this old farmer noticed that people were going to start eating and he immediately started praying and thanking God for the food and everybody kind of just stopped and waited for him to get done. The mayor spoke up and said, you know, that's kind of old-fashioned what you're doing there. And, you know, it's not customary nowadays to, you know, for well-educated people to pray before they eat. And the farmers responded and said, well, it's customary for me to do that, but there are some on my farm that they never prayed over food at all. And the mayor kind of lighted up and said, ah, they must be sensible and enlightened people. Who are they? And he said, they're my pigs. My pigs. They don't give thanks for food. They just dive right in. Jesus gave thanks for food. Jesus gave thanks for prayers that were heard. Turn with me to John chapter 11. John chapter 11. Hey, when's the last time you thanked God for just hearing your prayers? You know, it'll keep you from getting discouraged if you'll just thank Him that He heard your prayer. When the answer don't come as soon as you think it should, when things don't change as soon as you think they should, or maybe you don't get what you asked for, if you would just thank Him for the fact that He heard your prayer, I'm telling you, it'll keep you from getting discouraged. You know, how many times have you thanked someone else for just listening to your conversation? How many times have you thanked someone, like a doctor? Thank you, doctor. You're paying him to listen to you, but yet you still thanked him for taking the time to listen to your problems and trying to do something about your case. But yet, how many times have you said thank you to the Lord for just hearing your prayer? In verse 38 of John 11, you know the story. It says, "...Jesus therefore again, groaning in himself, cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he hath been dead four days." Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always. But because of the people which stand by, I said it, that they may believe that thou has sent me." You see, prayer is between you and God. And what will prayer do? Prayer will cause you to look to Him. Jesus lifted up His eyes and He said, Hey, when's the last time that you lifted up your eyes and thanked the Lord for hearing your prayer? You see, prayer will cause you to look above the circumstances. Prayer will cause you to look above the difficulties. Prayer will cause you to look above the unbelief of others. Prayer will give you hope. Prayer will give you peace. Prayer will give you a different perspective than everyone else. Martha said, it's too late. All earthly hope is gone. Lord, it's been four days. He stinketh. Oh, but after Jesus prayed and he gave thanks, he said, Lazarus, come forth. I'll tell you prayer puts whatever situation that you're facing in the hands of God. No wonder Jesus thanked the Father for hearing His prayer. Prayer will strengthen your faith. It will also have an effect on other people. In John 11, 42, he says, And I knew that thou hearest me always, but because of the people which stand by, I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. Why do we pray for things around this church? Why do we have prayer requests? It's to show our reliance on God. It's to show our faith in Him, but also to show others how great our God is. I've heard many a testimony of people saying, I heard my grandmother pray for me. Oh, when I was living in sin, I heard a mama pray for me. I heard a daddy pray for me. I heard someone else pray for me when I was away from the Lord and I wasn't living right. I remember my mama praying. Hey, you know what? That prayer did, it affected that person. And now he's given glory to God because someone took the time to pray for him and go before the throne of grace and ask mercy on their behalf. And you know what it did? It had an effect on that person so that they might believe in Jesus. Prayer is a privilege. It's a privilege that's often neglected. Being thankful in our prayers is often neglected. Being thankful for the fact that God hears our prayers is often neglected. But you know, an answered prayer is a blessing. God said in Jeremiah 33, calling to me, and I will answer thee, and I will show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not. Do you know why we're not seeing greater and mighty things right now? It's because we're not asking. When's the last time you thanked the Lord? for just hearing your prayer. You see, Jesus prayed in the will of God. That's why God heard His prayer. That's why He'll hear your prayer. And why was that? How do you know He was praying in the will of God so that others may believe? Many times our prayers are so selfish They're only about us. Help me, Lord. Get me out of this problem. Hey, Lord, provide for me. Hey, when have you prayed or asked God for something that relates to you, but it was because you wanted someone else to believe so that we could give a testimony of God's power to save and God's power to deliver and God's power to provide? When's the last time that you prayed so that it might benefit someone else? Jesus gave thanks for food. Jesus gave thanks for prayers heard. And number three, Jesus gave thanks for Calvary. Turn with me to Luke chapter 22. Luke chapter 22. Luke 22. Luke 22, and we're going to start reading in verse 14. And when the hour was come, he sat down and the twelve apostles with him, and he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and break it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body, which is given for you, this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for you. When Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper, He gave thanks twice. He gave thanks before breaking the bread and He gave thanks before drinking the cup. The bread and the cup symbolized His crucified body and His shed blood. This Sunday, as we remember His death and the price that He paid to give us everlasting life, let's make sure that we come before Him this Sunday morning with a thankful heart for all that He has done for us. I want to remind you that in this Passover bread there was no leaven. You see, leaven is a picture of sin. Can I also remind you that there was no fermentation in the fruit of the vine because fermentation is a picture of corruption. Hey, neither sin or corruption was found in Jesus. His body was broken and His blood was shed for our sins. Oh, we ought to thank Him for the sinless life that He lived. The innocent truly died for the guilty. Oh, we ought to make sure that if we come before Him this Sunday, that we come before Him with thanksgiving and without any unconfessed sin in our life. Turn with me to I Corinthians. I Corinthians chapter 11. I Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 23. It says, For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world." The Lord's Supper is a time to remember His sinless life and His substitutionary death for us. Oh, wouldn't it be sad for a child of God who has been saved and blood-bought, and I tell you, his sins have been forgiven and been scripturally baptized to remember Jesus' sinless life, but yet harbor some sin in our own life. Oh, the Bible calls for us to examine ourselves and to make sure that we are right before the Lord. And you know, don't wait till Sunday morning right before the service to get right. Thank God you can do that. But we ought to be right right now. We ought to make sure that we're right with Him. How can we give thanks for His body being broken and His blood being shed on Calvary if we're not right with Him? How can we truly be thankful and harbor any sin in our life? Let's follow Jesus' example. Jesus gave thanks for food, for provisions. Jesus gave thanks for prayers that were heard. And He gave thanks for His death and resurrection. Thank God that He died on the cross for me. We've been given a great gift. If you're not saved today, then I plead with you to call on the Lord and be saved. Would you cry out to Him in humility and say, Lord, I'm a sinner. I deserve to die and go to hell. But God, I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me, that He was buried and that He rose again for my justification. And my faith in Him is the only way that I can have access to the Father. Would you believe that and cry out to the Lord today and ask Him to save you? Child of God, Christian, are you right with Him? It's hard to be thankful when we're not right. Oh, let's make sure that we keep a very short account when it comes to sin. And oh, if there's anything in our life that's not right, let's get it right with Him.