Thankful People Are Happy People | Special Thanksgiving Message

Hey there, thanks for listening to the Greg Laurie Podcast, a ministry supported by Harvest Partners. I'm Greg Laurie encouraging you.

If you want to find out more about Harvest Ministries and learn more about how to become a Harvest Partner, just go to harvest.org. Thankful people are happy people. So before we talk about what the Bible says about giving thanks to the Lord in Acts chapter 16, why don't we give thanks in prayer? Father, we ask you to bless this time of Bible study. We're so thankful for all that you've done for us. We're so thankful for all that you're doing for us. And we're thankful for what is yet in our future. So speak to us from your word we pray.

In Jesus' name we ask this, Amen. I don't know about you, but I love Thanksgiving. You know Christmas, there's so much pressure attached to it and trying to find the right gift for the right person. But Thanksgiving is so great because it's a little more relaxed. It's about getting together with family and with friends and of course eating.

I asked my granddaughter Stella the other day what her favorite part of the holidays is and she didn't pick Christmas, she picked Thanksgiving. I said why? Just one word, food. She's a teenager.

She doesn't say as much as she used to. Food. And I have to agree. Now I don't know what you have in your home for Thanksgiving, but here's what our Thanksgiving food looks like and here's some little videos that I shot from last Thanksgiving. Now I know that looks strange. That's the turkey before it's going into the oven. Here we have sweet potatoes and green beans with sliced almonds on top of them. And that's stuffing. Cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, and of course gravy. And there's a turkey and some ham. Everything is better with gravy, but we can't forget the pumpkin pie. So those are some of the things we have in our home around the Thanksgiving time. I don't know what your favorite part of the turkey is. Some people like the white meat, some people like the dark meat, some people like the drumstick, and of course there's only two. I did hear about an industrious turkey farmer that decided he could come up with a solution so he managed to breed a special turkey that had six legs. One of his friends said that's amazing. How did the meat taste?

He said I don't know, I could never catch the thing. But here's the problem. We all overeat on Thanksgiving, right? And then we say I don't want to even see turkey again.

But what happens a little bit later? You're having a turkey sandwich, right? So there are telltale signs that you've had too much to eat on Thanksgiving Day.

What are they? Number one, you know you've had too much to eat on Thanksgiving when your doctor tells you your weight would be perfect for a man who is 17 feet tall. You know you've had too much to eat on Thanksgiving when you're responsible for a slight but measurable shift in the Earth's axis. You know that you've had too much to eat for Thanksgiving when you decide to take a little nap and you wake up in mid-July. You know you've had too much to eat for Thanksgiving when getting off the couch requires help from the fire department.

And finally, you know you've had too much to eat for Thanksgiving when you're sweating gravy. Well, listen, Thanksgiving's a great time, it's a great celebration, but for the Christian, every day should be Thanksgiving minus the turkey. We should always be giving thanks to the Lord because the Bible says, and everything give thanks for this is the will of God and Jesus Christ concerning you.

Now sometimes that's easier than other times. It's easy to give thanks when a new baby is born. It's not as easy to give thanks when a loved one dies. It's easy to give thanks when things are going well. It's not as easy to give thanks when things are not going so well. It's one thing to give thanks when the bills are paid and the sky is blue and the sun is shining. It's another thing to give thanks when you're sick, you're facing financial troubles, and you have other challenges looming. But here's what the Bible says, that we should give thanks to the Lord, for He is good and His mercy endures forever. Notice, Everest does not say give thanks to the Lord when you feel good.

You see, you don't always feel good. I give thanks to the Lord because He is good. Now listen, if God ceases to be good, then I suppose you can stop giving thanks. But since He will never cease to be good, you should continue to give thanks to Him. Paul writes in Philippians 4, rejoice and the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. By the way, when Paul wrote those words, he was not kicking back on some beach, eating a falafel, he was in a prison.

And yet he says, rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. Think of poor Job. This is a man that literally lost everything that was dear to him, including his seven sons and his three daughters. It's really unimaginable what happened in a small space of time to the man called Job. Yet the Bible tells us that despite these horrific circumstances, Job gave thanks. Job 1 21 says, Job said to the Lord, naked came I into this world.

Naked will I leave. The Lord gives and the Lord is taken away. Blessed is the name of the Lord. So it comes down to this, we need an attitude of gratitude. Not just because the Bible tells us we should have it, but here's another reason why you want to give thanks to the Lord, because thankful people are happy people. There have been a lot of studies that have been done on this topic. Research shows that grateful people actually have fewer aches and pains than non-grateful people. They also report feeling healthier than other people. One expert said, and I quote, the expression of gratitude is a kind of meta strategy for achieving happiness.

Isn't that interesting? Robert Ammons, a PhD and leading gratitude researcher, I didn't even know they existed, but this is what he does. He said this quote, gratitude reduces toxic emotions ranging from envy and frustration and reduces depression and actually increases happiness. I mean gratitude can actually change your very mood. You can just start by smiling. Did you know it takes 17 muscles to smile, but it takes 43 muscles to frown?

So it's less work and it's better for you. Just smile. You say, well I don't feel like smiling, but the idea is I develop an attitude of gratitude if I feel like it or not, and we have so much to be thankful for. Really it comes down to this, we discover why we exist. The two most important moments in a person's life is when they are born and then when they realize what they're born for. Let me tell you what you're born for. You are born, you're here in this earth to bring glory to God. And when you seek to glorify God with your life and your actions and your words and your decisions, you are fulfilling the purpose that God created you for. The Bible says in Colossians 3 17, whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him. You might say, well Greg, what if I'm not feeling it?

What if my heart's not in it? Do you think Job felt like giving praise to God after such tremendous loss? I doubt he did, but he offered what the Bible calls a sacrifice of praise. In Hebrews 13 15 it says let's offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually.

That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. See it's really important to verbalize your praise, not just think it, not even just feel it. Actually verbalize it and sometimes that's a sacrifice.

Take marriage as an example. Maybe there's a husband that just loves his wife so much but he never tells her he loves her. He never compliments her. He never verbalizes his love toward her.

He needs to start doing it and the wife needs to do it for the husband as well. But in the case of our relationship with God we should verbalize our praise. Oh sure God knows we love him but he wants to hear it from us. Again as that verse says the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. See far too often we fail to give God the glory that is due to his name. Psalm 29 2 says give thanks unto the Lord and bring the glory due his name.

Worship the Lord and the beauty of holiness. So often we ask God for things. We pray for his intervention. He graciously answers. He does that thing we asked him to do. Maybe he even does above and beyond that thing we asked him to do. And then what do we do? We just move on. Thanks God.

See you next crisis. Have you ever just stopped to say Lord thank you for answering that prayer. I prayed for your provision and it came. I prayed for that healing and you gave it. I prayed for this person's life to turn around and it did.

Lord I want to thank you for that. The Bible tells the story of 10 lepers who came to Jesus asking for healing. Leprosy was incurable.

These men were the outcasts of society. Jesus touches them and heals them. And then we read that only one came back to give thanks for the healing. And Jesus asked this poignant question.

Where are the other nine? And it is interesting that one that came back really offered great thanks to the Lord. In fact the phrase that is used in the scripture is he fell down on his face and gave thanks and said it loudly.

And it comes from a root word that is translated to megaphone. This guy let the Lord know he was thankful for being healed of leprosy. Once the last time you let the Lord know you are thankful for what he has done for you. Alright so here are some takeaway principles about giving thanks.

If you are taking notes here is point number one. To give thanks I must first realize that God is in control of my life. Let me say that again.

To give thanks I must first realize that God is in control of my life. Now look we make our plans but God will have his way. We are not in control of our lives though we think we are sometimes.

He is. And that comes as a revelation to some people. Proverbs 16 says we can make our plans but the Lord determines our steps. Jeremiah 10 23 says I know Lord that a person's life is not his own.

No one is able to plan his own course. That is true. God is sovereign. And when we say God is sovereign it means that God is in control. Listen God is able to do what he pleases with whomever he chooses whenever he wishes. Psalm 115 verse 3 says our God is in heaven and he does whatever he pleases. So listen even when bad things happen God is ultimately in control. God either did it or God has allowed it in our life. And when he has allowed it we know ultimately God can bring good despite the bad because Romans 8 28 says we know that all things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to his purpose.

Number two. I must realize that God loves me and is always looking out for my eternal benefit. So again number one was to give thanks I must realize that God is in control of my life. But I can misunderstand that and think of God as harsh and angry and austere.

But let's remember the second point I brought up. He loves me and he is looking out for my eternal benefit. Even if what I am going through in the moment is difficult. Listen to this passage from 2 Corinthians 4 17. Paul writes our present troubles are quite small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurable great glory that will last forever. So we don't look at the troubles we see right now. Rather we look forward to what we have not yet seen for the troubles we have seen now will soon be over.

But the joys to come will last forever. A perfect illustration of this is a biscuit. You are saying a biscuit?

Oh yeah. I don't know if you love biscuits. I love them so much. And I was spending part of my childhood with my grandparents. My grandmother and my grandfather Stella and Charles McDaniel.

They were from Arkansas so we called them Mama Stella and Daddy Charles. And my grandmother made everything from scratch. She never served leftovers and so we had a lot of that great southern cooking. You know fried chicken of course. Black eyed peas. Okra. Collard greens.

Fresh mashed potatoes. But the crowning achievement of what my grandmother made was the biscuit. And as my grandmother was getting older I had my wife Kathy watch Mama Stella make the biscuit. I said Kathy watch Mama Stella. We can't let this recipe die with her.

We need to be able to carry it on. So Kathy would watch Mama Stella make the biscuit and it seemed so simple. Because what did she use? She used vegetable oil. She used self-rising flour and buttermilk.

Now none of those things are appealing in and of themselves. You don't have a glass of vegetable oil. Some people like to drink buttermilk.

I don't. But put them together in expert hands. And that's what Mama Stella did. She mixed them in a certain way. She had a certain finesse.

And then she put them into a very hot oven. And we all agreed this is very good. So in the same way in our lives God takes the event of our lives. The good things. This is called bad things.

He puts them in the oven of adversity. And ultimately we say this is good. See God is in control and He loves us.

And third point. To give thanks I must realize that God is far wiser than I am. I am always thinking of my temporal good. God is always thinking of my eternal good. And sometimes what immediately good is not always eternally good.

But what is eternally good is not always immediately good. And sometimes it's painful. It's like going to the dentist. Does anyone like to go to the dentist?

So I have not met them. I think we all have a sense of dread. I just went to my dentist for a cleaning. And they are always looking for trouble you know. And maybe the person is cleaning away and then she will say, Doctor could you come and take a look at this? I am like oh no. Oh no.

What now? But maybe they will find that you have a cavity and you need a filling. Or maybe one of your crowns is broken and they need to replace it.

And even worse maybe you need a root canal. None of these things are appealing. But they are far better than the alternative right. So they do those things for your good. And sometimes there are things happening in our life that we are not enjoying.

But they are far better than the alternative. God is at work working all things together for His glory and for your good. Alright so let's look at Acts chapter 16. This is a powerful story of two men Paul and Silas. Remember last time we saw how Saul of Tarsus came to Christ on the road to Damascus.

And ultimately becomes the great apostle Paul. So we are looking at how Paul and Silas who had been preaching the gospel. Reacted when they went through a time of suffering. How they were able to praise the Lord.

Starting with verse 23 from the New Living Translation. They were severely beaten. This would be Paul and Silas. And they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn't escape.

And he took no chances and put them in the inner dungeon. And clamped their feet into the stocks. And around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. And the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly there was a great earthquake and the prison was shaken to its very foundations. And all the doors flew open and the chains of every prisoner fell off. The jailer woke up. He could see that the prison doors were wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped. So he drew his sword to kill himself. Paul shouts to him don't do it we are still here.

Trembling with fear. The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said sirs what must I do to be saved. And they replied believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved along with you and your entire household. Then they shared the word of the Lord with him and all who lived in his household. And the same hour the jailer washed their wounds. And he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. And then he brought them into his house and sent a meal before them. And he and his entire household believed because of what God had done.

Powerful story isn't it. So let's think about what happened. Here are Paul and Silas who are thrown into a prison. And next thing you know they are leading the jailer to the Lord. How did this all come about.

Simple answer. It came about because Paul and Silas gave thanks despite their circumstances. They didn't wait for the deliverance. They didn't give thanks after they got out of prison. They gave thanks when they were in prison. And notice they took them into the inner part of the prison and their legs were in chains. This was like a dungeon.

This was a hell hole. This was a horrible place to be which makes it even more remarkable that they were able to give praise to God. You know the midnight hour is not the easiest time to give thanks to God. But I love how Paul and Silas brought their songs in the night.

Psalm 42 verse 8 says, Through each night the Lord pours His unfailing love upon me and through each night I sing His songs praying to God who gives me life. Have you ever woke up in the middle of the night like three in the morning and your troubles and your worries encroach upon you. They close in on you like a vice. Your mind is flooded with anxiety. This is where the Bible says don't worry about anything. Pray about everything. And the peace of God that passes all human understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. So here is Paul and Silas in prison.

They start singing praises to God. Were they doing a little two part harmony? You know Everly Brothers? Lennon McCartney?

I don't know. But I don't think they had ever heard anyone sing in that prison before. And it is interesting because we read in verse 25 the other prisoners were listening to them. It doesn't just mean they were listening.

It can be translated they were listening with pleasure. You know in this world that we are living in when a Christian can bring praise and glory to God that is a powerful testimony. Nonbelievers would love to write us all off as a bunch of nuts. Christians are crazy. They are fanatical.

They are out of touch with reality they will say of us. But when they see a Christian going through a time of suffering. Maybe facing a cancer diagnosis. Maybe dealing with the death of a loved one.

Maybe dealing with some other difficulty. And they see that our faith is intact and we are giving praise to God. Listen that is a powerful testimony.

You can be sure that Roman jailer was paying attention and he was being moved by what he was hearing. It was actually seeing Christians worship that initially got my attention. I was raised in Southern California in an area called Newport Beach. I went to a high school called Corona Del Mar High School. And I transferred to another high school called Harbor High School. Now when I was at Corona Del Mar High I was kind of into the party scene. Hanging around with football players.

Going out on the weekends and drinking etc. And the whole drug culture was coming along and I decided I wanted to become a different person. I didn't want to be the person I was.

The partying drinking guy. I thought I think drugs have the answer. I think I will discover what life is all about by using drugs. And I transferred to this other school called Harbor High School with the intention of being a different person than I was.

And that is exactly what happened but not in the way I expected. When I enrolled and I was now going to that school some of my friends that I knew said Greg be really careful. There is a lot of Jesus freaks here at Harbor High.

I said what do you mean? All these very out front overt Christians that carry Bibles around and talk about Jesus. And I remember saying to my friend the last thing I will ever become is a Jesus freak.

Don't worry about me. And sure enough there were the Jesus freaks. They would march to the campus singing songs. Sometimes we would throw our food at them. We would laugh at them.

What a bunch of morons. But then I saw this cute girl one day talking to a friend of mine. And I thought whoa look at that cute girl.

I think I will step up there and maybe enter into the conversation when there is a break. And as I am waiting I notice she has her notebook for class. She has a couple of textbooks. And then I notice she had a book like this with gold pages and ribbons. I thought oh no she is a Jesus freak. And then I thought what a waste of a perfectly cute girl. But then I thought why would she be a Jesus freak. So fast forward a day or so I am walking across the campus kind of looking for this girl. Where is she? And I find her sitting in a circle of Christians on the front lawn of the campus at lunch time singing songs about God.

And I sat at a distance where I could kind of eavesdrop on what they were doing but not so close that people would think I was becoming one of them. And as I watched them sing these songs about the Lord. Simple choruses. Three chords.

G, C, D, maybe E minor. That's it. But as I watched them I thought they do seem to be happy people. They do seem to have something that is real. And I knew for a fact they didn't use drugs because one of the guys there, his name was Bill, used to be a buddy I partied with and now he is a Jesus freak. So it messed with my narrative. I wanted to write them off as crazy people but this guy was a normal guy.

And I am thinking he is one of them and that girl is one of them. And it opened my heart up. And then I heard the gospel for the first time and that is the day I became a Christian. But my point is their worship of God was something that moved me. And I think when we can worship God it is a powerful testimony to a lost world. And that is what was happening here with Paul and Silas. But here is another good thing about worship. It is something that God has given to us as a gift. It is something we are going to be doing a lot of when we get to heaven.

So get in practice. Because we read in Revelation 5.12, They sang in a mighty chorus. The Lamb is worthy to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.

Hey let's be honest. Christians have the best music. And that is because we have something to sing about.

Take Easter. Take Christmas as an example. We have the best songs. Oh there is a lot of good songs I like around Christmas time. But the best songs are those great songs that have stood the test of time. Hark the herald angels sing.

Silent night. Joy to the world. Even nonbelievers listen to and appreciate these songs. Because we have a God that is worth singing to. But here is a great thing about worship. It can put your problems into perspective. You know you can be overwhelmed by what you are facing.

And maybe I am talking to somebody right now that is facing great difficulties. But when you take time to pray. And you take time to worship. You get a different view of what you are going through. You are seeing God in His glory. God in His greatness. And thus you are seeing your problems or your challenges and their relative smallness.

I am not saying you don't have big problems. But I am simply saying your God is bigger. And this is why the Bible says magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together. Magnify. See God in His greatness.

So that is exactly what they were doing. So in the Old Testament Asaph was grappling with the age old question. Why do the wicked prosper? Have you ever wondered that?

Why do nonbelievers get away with what they get away with? And he says in Psalm 73 16, When I tried to figure this out. This is from a modern translation.

When I tried to figure this out it gave me a splitting headache. Until I entered the sanctuary of God. Then I saw the whole picture.

He writes. I didn't understand why things are the way they are. I came into God's presence to study His word. Then my questions came into a proper perspective. And that is so true isn't it?

Haven't you found that? You know you are really feeling down and then you open the word of God. Or you sing a praise song and suddenly you see things a little differently. You are filled with anxiety but you pray and you commit it to the Lord.

And that pressure is lifted from you. That is what Paul and Silas are doing. They are praising the Lord. They are giving glory to God. And that is because their contentment and joy did not come from what they have.

It came from who they knew. Hebrews 13 5 says, Keep your lives free from the love of money. And be content with such things as you have.

For He has said, I will never leave you or forsake you. You have to get things in perspective. And that is exactly what they did. I want you to notice also they did not pray for deliverance. They just praised the Lord. Verse 25 says, As they were singing the others were listening.

They didn't pray for a way out. They just gave glory to God. Now of course an earthquake came. And they were ultimately delivered. But did they know an earthquake was coming?

I don't know that they did. They just rejoiced on the Lord despite their circumstances. Because sometimes frankly the earthquake does not come. The healing does not come.

The thing you were hoping for does not happen. But God is still with you in your time of adversity. Sometimes He delivers us from our circumstances. Like Daniel in the lion's den.

But He still spent a night with the lions didn't He? And sometimes He delivers us in our circumstances. Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But the bottom line is God is with you wherever you are. So give thanks to Him. Not just because thanksgiving is coming. Give thanks to Him because He is good.

And He is worthy of your praise. And it will help you get perspective. And it will change your mood.

Well the earthquake did come in this instance. And the prison guard thought I am dead. Because if you are a guard in charge of two very important people like Paul and Silas. And you are told to make sure they don't escape.

You will be executed for failing to do your duty. He is literally pulling out his sword ready to kill himself. And Paul interrupts him and says don't kill yourself.

We are all still here. And notice that this man immediately says, Sirs what must I do to be saved? Just as Saul of Tarsus was under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Causing him to lash out at the Christians.

Hunting them down and bringing them back to Jerusalem in chains. This man was under the conviction of the Spirit as well. And by the way he was a hard man. Paul used to be a hard man too.

I think Saul now Paul had a particular compassion for this Roman guard. Like man I used to be you. I know what it is like to be cruel like you are. How you whipped us and treated us so badly.

Even worse than you would treat a normal prisoner. I know what that is like. But I know how God changed me. And now when this man says, Sirs what must I do to be saved? Paul could have said, Man I hope you get judged for the way you treated us.

My back still hurts from that whip. No but Paul and Silas graciously offer this man hope. And they tell him to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

And he will be saved. Listen whatever you are going through right now. Give thanks to the Lord. Not because you feel good.

But because he is good. Don't give thanks because things are going well. Give thanks because God is on the throne. Let me close with what the jailer said to Paul and Silas. He said, Sirs.

Notice the politeness there. Sirs what must I do to be saved? And look at Paul's answer. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Are you saved? I like that word saved. Because it really is very descriptive. How would we use the word saved?

We might read it in an article. A fire fighter went into a burning building and saved a person. Or someone is drowning and the lifeguard saved them.

That is exactly what they did. And we need to be saved because we are in something worse than a burning building. We need to be saved because we are in a worse situation than someone who is drowning. We are facing the penalty for our sin and God can save you.

How? The Bible says whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. This man, this jailer, he believed and his family believed.

And everyone came to faith because of a powerful testimony of Paul and Silas giving thanks to God in difficult circumstances. Maybe I'm talking to someone right now that wants to be saved. You want to be confident that when you die you will go to heaven.

That can happen for you right here, right now. Just as surely as God saved this man some 2,000 years ago, he can save you. He can forgive you. He can give you the hope of life beyond the grave and the presence of God.

And then a relationship with the Lord that you can have right here, right now. Listen, 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ, the son of God, died on the cross for your sin. He did that voluntarily because he knew there was no other way that you could be in a relationship with this holy God that we have all offended through our sin. You say, but Greg, I haven't sinned that much. Well, God doesn't grate on the curve. One sin is enough to keep you out of heaven.

The Bible says if you offend in one point of the law, you're guilty of all of it. But listen, Christ died for your sins. And if you'll turn from your sin and ask him to come into your life to be your savior and Lord, you can be saved. Would you like to come into this relationship with God? Would you like to go to heaven when you die?

Would you like to be saved? If so, I'm gonna pray a simple prayer. I would ask that you would pray this prayer with me. You can pray it out loud if you like.

You can pray it in the quietness of your heart. But God will hear as you call out to him. Remember, again, the Bible says whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. That's what you're doing right now in prayer. You're calling on the name of the Lord. So if you want Christ to come into your life, if you want to be forgiven of your sin, if you want to go to heaven when you die, if you want to be saved, pray this after me now. Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, but I know that you're the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I turn now from my sin and I choose to follow you from this moment forward as my Savior and Lord, as my God and friend.

In Jesus' name I pray, amen. Hey everybody, thanks for listening to this podcast. To learn more about Harvest Ministries, follow this show and consider supporting it. Just go to harvest.org. And to find out how to know God personally, go to harvest.org and click on Know God.