- November 25, 2020
To the beloved saints of Grace Baptist Church,
Blessings on you in the gracious and generous name of Jesus!
Thanksgiving is here and I think that we should focus on that. We have SOOO MUCH to be thankful for. Yes this year has been a challenge. It is not what we were used to or hoping for—but God has gotten us through it. Thanksgiving Day ought to be a declaration of our “Thanks” to God! Nothing less! Even if it wasn’t like last year, and you were limited to just a few family members or no family members—let’s give thanks!
Do you remember back in January and February when Covid first appeared in the news? The medical professionals were warning that this Pandemic could easily kill 2.2 to 2.5 million Americans. As we saw growing numbers of people die around the country last March, and eventually the shutdown take place, the country was bracing for an overwhelming loss of life. We shut everything down in order to slow the spread and flatten the curve so that our hospitals would not be overwhelmed with patients. We wanted to save lives. And save lives we did. Instead of the 2.2 to 2.5 million we thought would die, roughly 1 tenth, 250,000 people have died. And most of those people had underlying conditions who were not in good health to begin with. Sad as it is, we lament the 250,000 people, but can we not rejoice that 2,500,000 didn’t die as originally projected? And instead of taking the usual 2-3 years to come up with a vaccine, operation Warp-Speed has developed one in just 8 months. That is amazing. We can give thanks that this vaccine is now being manufactured, and we will get through this. I especially give thanks that of all the people at Grace Baptist, we have not lost any of our loved ones to Covid. We can give our Great God great thanks for that. Amen!?
The first “Thanksgiving Dinner” took place on Thursday, November 26, 1621 and it lasted for 3 days. It included 50 Pilgrims, 90 Wanpanoag Indians, and it is believed that only five women were present. They were thankful for a bountiful harvest that year. While no records exist of the exact menu, the Pilgrim chronicler, Edward Winslow, noted in his journal that the colony’s governor, William Bradford, sent four men on a “flowing” mission in preparation for the three-day event: He writes: “Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together, after we had gathered the fruits of our labors; they four in one day killed as much fowl, as with a little help beside, served the Company almost a week.” Bradford remarked that there was a great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc.” It’s possible that at that first Thanksgiving Feast, the fowling party returned with other birds as well including ducks, geese and swans. No doubt there was great rejoicing! They survived a challenging year.
But it is the back-story that I find intriguing. The Mayflower had left England September 6, 1620 with 102 passengers on board. It was a difficult 66-day crossing—landing at Plymouth on November 11, 1620. That is 400 years ago this month. They wintered on the ship and the Mayflower colonists suffered greatly. Many died from lack of shelter, scurvy, and general conditions on board ship. Forty-five of those 102 passengers died. These were loved ones, family members and the loss were felt deeply by the survivors, but they determined to stay in the new land. It was in March of 1621 that the Pilgrims moved from the ship to the land to start a new colony guided by the Mayflower Compact. Now that was a year like no other—and we think 2020 was bad? These Pilgrims were fighting for their life and they had buried a lot of their friends and family. Even so, when November of 1621 came around—they gave thanks to Almighty God for getting them through that difficult year. The greater the difficulty the greater the thanks!
King David was no stranger to adversity. He was anointed to be king by Samuel, and yet King Saul spent years seeking his life. David had to leave his home, family, and countrymen—and at one point lived in exile from the king he pledged to protect. He was a warrior and fought many battles and life was hard. Yet David was a man of gratitude who gave thanks to God in his many circumstances. Listen to Psalm 100:
“1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
This psalm isn’t inscribed to David, but it surely reflects his heart. The opening call is for all the earth to shout for joy to the Lord. Our Lord is the Lord of all the earth—not just Jewish people. In fact, the Jewish people had a responsibility to introduce the Gentiles to the true and living God. Even so now, the church of the Living God is commissioned to proclaim the good news of Jesus to the world. That is something to shout about! Yea God! You have redeemed us and have given us new life in Christ. What a glorious day it will be when God’s people gather at His throne from every nation, tribe, people, and language. I know there will be great rejoicing that day—but it needs to begin today.
In verse 2 we are told to “Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” God certainly doesn’t need our worship—yet He certainly deserves or our worship. So when we come before God we should worship with the appropriate attitude. Cultivate a joyful heart for all that God has done. Then, our worship will lead us to service, and our true service is worship. Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” If you are feeling a little down today, I want encourage you to take a moment and go vertical with your thoughts. Begin to recount the many blessings that you have received this year and be thankful for that. Don’t focus on your disappointments and what you hoped to get but didn’t—because that tends to lead to despair. In Christ we have received far more already than what we deserve.
Verse 3 is quite a declaration: “Know that the Lord is God.” The verb to “know” here means “to know by experience.” It also carries the meaning of “acknowledge.” In other words, the things that we have experienced in our hearts about God, we are to meditate on and then declare to others. We are to bear witness of our glorious God. Then we are told something about the reality of God being God… “It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of particular about the things that I make. I want to protect and take care of those things. I believe in the same way, the Father is particular about us. He wants to protect us and take care of us much like any shepherd would take care of his sheep. He created us, and we are His! We have been bought at a price. The Lord Jesus gave Himself up for His sheep—that’s how particular He is. And what a wonderful Shepherd He is! David wrote in Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing,” and then went on to describe all the things that the Good Shepherd did for him. When you remember all of those things—it makes you want to shout to the Lord all over again!
But now, don’t keep all that praise to yourself. It is time to share it with others. When we share our joy it is multiplied to the glory of God. The Father would have us gather with others in thanksgiving. We are to enter His courts with praise. In David’s day they would come before the tabernacle—and this is a corporate event. As the procession of worshipers reaches the gates they would burst out in song. Yes, we are to worship privately; and yes we are to worship publicly with other believers. We are called into a new family of worshipers and our praise and thanksgiving is contagious. We need to hear the testimony of other believers to steady and inform our own hearts. We are not called to be private worshipers, but public worshipers. Worship is contagious.
In verse 5 we have three good reasons for praising and thanking God privately and publicly. Number 1, we are told that God is good. Good meaning that God is inherently good. He is not a wicked God—He is a good God. A number of times the Scriptures tell us this truth about God. See Psalm 106:1; 107:1: 118:1 and 136:1-3. Yes God is good through and through. Not a speck of evil can be found in Him. We have a saying: “God is good—all the time. And all the time—God is good.” So you can know that as He shepherds you, that He will cause all things to work for the good to for those who love him. See Romans 8:28. It is in His nature.
Next we see that God’s love endures forever. His love isn’t something that is based on circumstances, or mood swings—rather it is rock solid because it is based in the reality of who God is. In 1 John 4:16 we are told that “God is love.” And since God cannot change, neither can His love change, because it is anchored in who God is. John goes on to say that “Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” Knowing that God is love and that He is good gives us confidence to come to Him whenever we are in need. We need not fear when we sin, fail, or don’t measure up because our Father is both loving and good.
Finally we can praise God for His faithfulness. His is a steadfast faithfulness that continues through all generations. Faithfulness means to be true to one’s word, promises, vows, etc. Steady in allegiance or affection: loyal; constant: faithful friends, reliable, trusted, or believed. Our Father is all of that toward us, whom He created and purchased. Consider Peter’s testimony: “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world,” 2 Peter 1:3-4. God is faithful to all His great and precious promises to us. This is who God is and we can be thankful for Him. He has delivered us this year.
I want to wrap this up with a Hymn of thanksgiving written by Martin Rinkart during the severe hardships of the 30 Years’ War (1618-1648). Rinkart was a Lutheran Minister in Eilenberg, Germany, which was a walled city. During the war it became overcrowded with refugees. Throughout those war years several waves of deadly pestilence and famine swept the city as the various armies marched through the town leaving death and destruction in its wake. The plague of 1637 was particularly severe, and at its height, Rinkart, the only remaining minister, conducted between 40 and 50 funerals a day. It is said that he performed over 4,000 funerals during that time. It was out of this experience that he penned this hymn.
“Now Thank We All Our God,” by Martin Rinkart, Trans. by Catherine Winkworth
Now thank we all our God With hearts and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things hath done, In whom His world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms Hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, And still is ours today.
O may this bounteous God Thru all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts And blessed peace to cheer us;
And keep us in His grace, And guide us when perplexed,
And free from all ills In this world and the next.
All praise and thanks to God The Father now be given,
The Son and Him who reigns With Them in highest heaven—
The one eternal God Whom earth and heav’n adore—
For thus it was, is now, And shall be evermore.
Indeed for us all, the greater the difficulty the greater the thanks!
Benediction:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 (NIV2011)
Pastor Russ Hilsinger
Grace Baptist Church of Dallas, OR