2022-11-20 Sacrifice of Thanksgiving – Psalm 116
Thank you all for being with us here today dear brothers and sisters – Thank you for allowing me to speak to you this morning. Today, the Lord’s Word will be proclaimed, Jesus Christ will be worshiped, and God will be Glorified. Are ya with me? Our sermon today is entitled Sacrifice of Thanksgiving.
Please turn in your Bibles to Psalm 116 (Page 537 in the pew bibles), in what I call the Inspired, Infallible and Living Word of God,
But let us first start with prayer.. Our Father who art in heaven,..
Funny Ode to Thanksgiving – May your stuffing be tasty. May your turkey be plump. May your potatoes and gravy, Have nary a lump. May your yams be delicious, and your pies take the prize. And may your Thanksgiving dinner, Stay off your thighs!
To get us in the mood for Thanksgiving, let me start off by proclaiming to you that I am soo Thankful. Are you thankful? If you are thankful say “I am Thankful”. Although Thanksgiving isn’t really a part of our Christian heritage, it is a annual event where we recognize the blessings of the Lord and we come together as families and friends of this great nation. The bible does say in Romans 12:15-16 “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another”. Isn’t that really Thanksgiving in a nutshell? In this Psalm 116 of King David’s, you should know that David felt that God was protecting him. He recalled how the Lord delivered him from certain death on several occasions. Psalm 116 is a personal song of thanksgiving and therefore most appropriate for us to reflect upon today.
Psalm 116 – Thanks to God for Deliverance
1 I love the Lord because he has heard my appeal for mercy.
2 Because he has turned his ear to me, I will call out to him as long as I live.
3 The ropes of death were wrapped around me, and the torments of Sheol overcame me; I encountered trouble and sorrow. 4 Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save me!” [SLIDE]
5 The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is compassionate.
6 The Lord guards the inexperienced; I was helpless, and he saved me.
7 Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. 8 For you, Lord, rescued me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
9 I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
10 I believed, even when I said, “I am severely oppressed.”
11 In my alarm I said, “Everyone is a liar.” [SLIDE]
12 How can I repay the Lord for all the good he has done for me?
13 I will take the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.
15 The death of his faithful ones is valuable in the Lord’s sight.
16 Lord, I am indeed your servant; I am your servant, the son of your female servant. You have loosened my bonds. [SLIDE]
17 I will offer you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, 19 in the courts of the Lord’s house—within you, Jerusalem. Halle lu jah!
Why am I thankful, you might ask. Well because like David, I know God loves me, and I know that I am going to Heaven. How blessed am I, a sinner that is born again. As sinner that is saved for all of eternity. Halle lu jah!
The King James translation says, “I will offer to thee the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving”, and that again is the title of this sermon message today.
Those two words “Sacrifice” and “Thanksgiving” don’t normally go together in our American English language that we use today. But I will attempt to show you how relevant and ideal those words can work in our Christian walk, and what they mean when they are rightfully married together.
The word “sacrifice” is mentioned in the King James Version of the Bible about 218 times. Most of those are written in the Old Testament. However, there are several instances of sacrifices in the New Testament as well.
The true meaning of a sacrifice is the act of making an offering to God. A modern-day definition of a sacrifice is an act of giving-up something, especially for the sake of someone or something else. For example, a person could sacrifice valuable time to help a friend in need, or give away something that they otherwise would want to keep for themselves. It is all about the heart. When I think of sacrifice I think of the soldier in the field.. or my mother and my wife how they sacrifice in so many ways, of which I am very thankful.
It is a true sacrifice when it is given willingly and freely, not by compulsion or guilt. A sacrifice loses value when it is given grudgingly, out of guilt, or given to get something in return. Sadly these days, so many organizations try to guilt people into giving. That is not God’s desire. As scripture says, “God loves a cheerful giver”. But it’s hard to be cheerful when your guilted into giving. Each week we in this church are blessed to receive the tithes, offerings or “sacrifices” from the members of this church family. It is a blessing to give and a blessing to receive. We cannot operate without them and I thank you. We post the amounts received in our bulletins for full transparency, and we meet regularly together to discuss how best to use those blessings to further the ministry and to bless others with. I hope you can agree with me, that is a worthy cause and that is a blessing to be a part of.
But not everything someone gives away is considered a sacrifice. A billionaire buying $35 worth of groceries for a poverty-stricken family is surely a kind gesture, but it is not considered a true sacrifice because it is so little from the compared to what he had available. God is watching brothers and sisters, and He wants us to recognize that all of what we have it is a blessing from Him, and he desires that we use those blessings to also bless others. Jesus said himself, “To whom much is given, much will be expected” (Luke 12:48).
Another good example of this is recorded in Mark 12:41-44. You might recall the time where a poor widow put two small copper coins into the temple treasury. It wasn’t much, but it was a true sacrifice because it was all she had. The Bible says she gave more than the rich people who put in large sums of money. Jesus noticed what she had done, and He taught the disciples that in God’s eye the woman gave more than the rich man. Her story goes down in biblical history as a worthy example of a true sacrifice. God knows what is in our hearts and minds, and He will not be mocked.
And God is pleased with a sacrifice that comes from true love and obedience. In other words, a person’s heart must be in the sacrifice that they offer. Again, a sacrifice is generally described as something that costs us something.
The best example of course is where Jesus sacrificed Himself for me on that cross at Calvary. And God sacrificed His one and only Son so that I might live in eternity with Him in heaven.
And therefore, like King David in this Psalm 116, I now offer myself and all that I have as a Sacrifice of Thanksgiving to Father God for all He as done for me. I hope all this resonates with you all here today. We celebrate Thanksgiving because we are thankful to God for all He has given us. We are Thankful to God for this great nation, and we are thankful to God for His bountiful provision. Therefore, we should be willing to sacrifice to God our agendas, we should be willing to sacrifice to God our time, our talents and our treasures. We should also be willing to sacrifice to God the things that you and I know doesn’t please Him. And we should be cheerfully willing to give to God our Sacrifice of Thanksgiving, because He certainly deserves it. Amen?
Now being that we are celebrating Thanksgiving Day this next Thursday, I hope you realize, that especially in these United States of America, we have been blessed with so much. I have traveled the world around several times, and I promise you that there is nothing like this blessed country. Why God allowed me to be born here is a mystery, but I am truly thankful for it. I am not at all saying America is righteous or perfect. We have experienced several battles, controversies and trials even in my lifetime as a nation, but I am here to tell ya that we still have so much to be thankful to God about. [PAUSE]
In a speech made in 1863, speaking about America, Abraham Lincoln said,
“We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.”
Ouch! That was sadly the case then, and it can be argued it is the same today.
So on March 30, 1863—Lincoln appointed a Day of National Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer. And shortly thereafter Abraham Lincoln committed his life to Christ. And while America was still in the midst of the Civil War, he wrote and recited a Proclamation of Thanksgiving, for which I will read the last paragraph now: [SLIDE]
“It has seemed to me fit and proper that [America’s Prosperity] should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.“
Abraham Lincoln
So, although Thanksgiving Day isn’t a true religious holy-day, it is a day to recognize and even sacrifice for Thanksgiving. Again, I LOVE THANKSGIVING! My Favorite Holiday Indeed. For it provides us an opportunity to pause and reflect a little.. on the bountiful blessings that God has given us.
[SLIDE] 1 Chronicles 16:34 says, O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever.
I am thankful for my family and this beautiful church.
I am thankful for this great nation under God, and for all those that serve to keep us safe. And I am thankful for you all as well, because you helped make this day for me a little more joyous.
Regarding the subject of this message today, Sacrifice of Thanksgiving, I got to ask, what are you thankful for? And what are you willing to sacrifice in the realm of thanksgiving? Are you willing to show your thanksgiving to God by the sacrifice of your time, your talents, your attention, your prayers, your treasures, your home, your job, your family, your friends, your hobbies, and even your sins?… If you are truly thankful, then let your actions show it dear Christ follower. Like King David, who was known as the “Man after God’s Own Heart”, tell others about how blessed you are, and how much you appreciate your Father God in heaven. Make a difference for Him, for He is worthy indeed.
Pass out Daily Bread – Summarize and read the Gospel message at the back.
Question: Are you a Christian? Are you willing to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Are you willing to sacrifice today, your agenda for His, and accept God’s grace and mercy?
Are you willing today to join this church family for the glory and purpose that Jesus offers you?
As we prepare to close, let us stand and sing together one verse of Amazing Grace.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, would you please join with me now in prayer.
“May God bless you and shine His face upon you”