An Attitude of Gratitude: A Theology of Thanksgiving

Hey, everybody. You're listening to A New Beginning, which is a podcast made possible by Harvest Partners. If this program has impacted you, I'd love to hear from you. So just send an email to me at gregatharvest.org. Again, it's gregatharvest.org.

You can learn more about becoming a Harvest Partner by going to harvest.org. Every day should be Thanksgiving. Now, let's be honest. It's easy to give thanks when things are going well. But you're in the middle of an experience right now where maybe you're not feeling like giving thanks to the Lord. But I want to encourage you on this Thanksgiving to have an attitude of gratitude. I think we need a theology of Thanksgiving. It's parenting 101 to teach our children to say please and thank you.

It's just good manners. But a mumbled thank you does not an attitude of gratitude make. Today on A New Beginning, to honor the holiday here in the U.S., Pastor Greg Laurie brings us a look at the proper way to show genuine heartfelt gratitude to our God for all the many blessings He's bestowed on us.

If you're hearing this and you're breathing, then you have something to be thankful for. This is the day, the day when life begins. And it seems like for a lot of people, they want to just get through Thanksgiving. In fact, for some, they don't even call it Thanksgiving anymore. They call it Turkey Day. It's not a great day for turkeys, actually, unless you're one of the two turkeys that were pardoned by the president. But this is the day where we get together with family and friends and eat that Thanksgiving feast. You know, I heard an interesting news story about Google searches for side dishes for Thanksgiving.

And they went to different states. For instance, in California, the top Google search for a side dish for Thanksgiving is mac and cheese. So what's on the minds of Californians is how do you make mac and cheese for Thanksgiving as a side dish? In New York, it's cornbread stuffing. In Texas, it's fruit salad, y'all. What's up with that fruit salad? Come on, Texas. I'm thinking barbecue something. No, it's fruit salad. Over in Wyoming, crescent rolls. I like crescent rolls.

Here's the weirdest of all. North Dakota, the top thing that's being Googled there for a side dish for Thanksgiving is keto soup. Keto soup.

I didn't even know there was keto soup. Whatever it is, I don't want it. But my granddaughter Stella told me the other day, you know what, Papa? She said Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday all year long. I said, really?

Why? I thought she would say something like, well, it's a time we get together and give thanks to God. She said, food. One word answer, food.

She's a teenager now, so that's understandable. You know, it's funny. You do have the big feast on Thanksgiving and you vow, I will never eat again, and then about 4 o'clock or 5 o'clock in the evening, you're making a turkey sandwich, right? I still managed to get a little more food in, but Thanksgiving really is not about the turkey. It's not about the cornbread stuffing and the green beans and the mashed potatoes with lots of gravy.

I'm getting distracted here. What it is, it's a day to give thanks. And for the Christian, every day should be Thanksgiving. And why is that true? Because Psalm 136 says to us, give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good and his mercies endure forever. Now, let's be honest.

That's easier said than done. It's easy to give thanks when things are going well. It's easy to give thanks when a baby is born. It's not as easy to give thanks when there is the death of a loved one.

In fact, sometimes things are so hard, you don't want to give thanks at all. But the Bible does not say give thanks to the Lord when you feel good. It says, give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good and his mercy endures forever. Now listen, if God ceases to be good, then you can cease to give thanks. But since God is always going to be good, we should always be giving thanks as we're told in Romans chapter 4. The apostle Paul says, rejoice, and the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice.

And by the way, when Paul wrote that, he was in prison. So he didn't have a lot to rejoice about outwardly, but yet he was able to rejoice despite his circumstances. But you're in the middle of an experience right now where maybe you're not seeing the end game, and you're not feeling like giving thanks to the Lord, but I want to encourage you on this Thanksgiving to have an attitude of gratitude.

I think we need a theology of Thanksgiving. And by the way, if you are a grateful person, if you are a thankful person, you will find you'll be doing better physically than those who are always complaining. Research shows that grateful people experience fewer aches and pains, and they also report feeling healthier than other people. Robert Emmons, a PhD and a leading gratitude researcher, I didn't know there were gratitude researchers, but that's what Robert Emmons does, and he said this, quote, gratitude reduces toxic emotions ranging from envy and frustration and reduces depression and actually increases happiness, end quote. And studies have shown that grateful people sleep better too. So a lot of fringe benefits, but why should I give thanks?

Because the Lord is good. Here's another reason to give thanks. To give thanks as a Christian I must realize that God is in control of my life.

Listen, no matter what you're going through right now, I want you to know this, God is in control of your life. Sometimes we understand that. Sometimes all the pieces fit together beautifully. And you can look back and say, oh, now I see why that happened, so this could happen, and that other thing happened, so this other thing could happen.

It's all coming together. But then sometimes you're in the middle of it and it makes no sense. But remember, God is in control, not us. Now that comes to a revelation to some of us because we think we're in control. Proverbs 16, 9 says we can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. Jeremiah 10, 23 says, I know, Lord, a person's life is not his own.

No one is able to plan his own course. But thankfully God is in control of your life and God is sovereign. Now we throw that word around a lot and we may not fully understand what it means, but when we say God is sovereign we're simply saying this. God is able to do what he pleases with whomever he chooses whenever he wishes.

Let me say that again. God is able to do what he pleases with whomever he chooses whenever he wishes. Psalm 115, 3 says our God is in heaven and he does whatever he pleases. So if something is happening in your life that does not make sense, just remember God is in control.

Either he did it or he has allowed it for some reason. And we know, of course, that despite the bad thing we're going through, God can bring good out of it. Romans 8, 28, a verse most Christians know. For we know that all things are working together for good to those that love God and are called according to his purpose. Psalm 119, 91 says everything serves your plans.

But let me add this. I don't think we'll see all the good that has come in our life until we get to heaven. Because I think there are things in life that will seem bad to us that when we get to heaven we may realize later we're actually good things. So we have to entrust that to the Lord. So to repeat, number one, to give thanks I need to realize that God is in control of my life. And number two, I must realize God loves me and is always looking out for my eternal benefit.

That's an important thing to add, isn't it? Because I can say, well, God's in control, but what kind of God are we serving? Is he an angry God? Is he an austere God? Well, he's a loving God. He's kind.

He's full of mercy. And so I must realize he loves me and is looking out for my eternal benefit even if I'm going through something at the moment that is quite difficult. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4.17, our present troubles are quite small.

They won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurable great glory that will last forever. So don't look at the troubles you can see right now. Rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen, for the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever. A third point, to give thanks, I must realize that God is wiser than I am. I must realize that God is wiser than I am. I was having a conversation with my granddaughter, Allie.

I think she was around seven at this moment. And she said, you know what, Papa, I'm smarter than you. I said, really, you are? She says, yes, I am.

She was very confident of that. We'll look at God sometimes and say, you know what, Lord, I'm smarter than you. Well, that's simply not true. And God is always dealing with me for my best eternal good. In contrast, I'm usually dealing with what will benefit me temporarily. And that which is immediately good is not always eternally good. And what is eternally good is not always immediately good, but sometimes painful. But in the end, we'll see and understand. And until that day, here's what we're supposed to do. We're supposed to give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good and His mercy endures forever. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment.

Whenever you send us an email, text, or post a comment on social media, we read every word. Hello, Pastor Greg. I don't know if you'll ever see this or not, but I just wanted to say thank you for all you do. I was raised in the church and was saved at a very young age. But like a lot of folks who grew up in church, I fell away. Then one day I heard you on the radio, and your message made me realize that I needed to get my life right with God.

Thank you. We're so grateful to hear of the changed lives through Harvest Ministries. And if you have a story to tell of how these studies have touched your life or that of a family member, I hope you'll contact us today. Email Pastor Greg at gregatharvest.org. Again, that's gregatharvest.org. Well, you've joined us for a timely message from Pastor Greg today called An Attitude of Gratitude.

Let's continue. Well, I told you to turn to Acts 16. And this is a story familiar to many of you of two men who saw the good despite the bad. They definitely had an attitude of gratitude.

Their names are Paul and Silas. And they saw God in the darkest of places and yet gave Him glory. And so this is their story. Now, as our story begins, we find the apostles being thrown into a prison for preaching the gospel.

And this is what happened. Acts 16, verse 23. I'm reading from the New Living Translation. They were severely beaten and then they were thrown into prison. And the jailer was ordered to make sure they didn't escape. So he took no chances and put them in the inner dungeon and clamped their feet with the stalks. And I love this part of the verse.

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 foundations. And the doors flew open and the chains of every prisoner flew off.

So this is not a normal earthquake. This is a supernatural intervention of God where doors are flying open and chains are coming off. Verse 27. The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped so he drew a sword to kill himself. But Paul shouted to him, Don't do it, we're still here. Trembling with fear, the jailer called for light. 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 your entire household. Then they shared the word of the Lord with him and all who lived in his household. And that same hour the jailer washed their wounds and he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. Then he brought them into his house and set a meal before them. And he and his entire household believed in God.

Stop there. What a story, right? What an amazing turn of events. Paul starts out in prison and ends up leading the jailer to the Lord.

But how did this come about? It came as a result of Paul and Silas giving thanks to God despite their circumstances. We don't read that they had any message from the Lord or an angel telling them that they were going to get sprung from this joint.

We don't read that they had any sense of hope for not dying in this place. But yet they gave praise to God in the night. Psalm 42 says, through each night the Lord pours his unfeeling love upon me and through each night I sing his songs.

Praying to the God who gives me life. It's not easy to sing a song in the night especially when you're flooded with fear and terror and worry. We all know what it's like to wake up in the middle of the night.

I often wake up, I don't know why, it's like two or three o'clock in the morning almost on the dot and then you'll be awake for a moment. And all of a sudden your mind is crowded with all these worries and all this pressure can come on you like a vice. And that is when you need to remind yourself that God is in control.

And that is when you need to literally quote the scripture to yourself. You can pray and let God worry about it. God's not going to worry about it. But you definitely should not worry about it. Worry is overrated. It doesn't accomplish anything.

It just makes things worse. That's why the Bible says don't worry about anything, pray about everything. And the peace of God that passes all understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. You know it's interesting verse 25 says the other prisoners were listening to them. Now prisoners were used to people crying and moaning and all the rest but I don't think they'd ever heard anyone sing before. Now I don't know if Paul and Silas were in a two part you know Everly Brothers harmony or Lennon McCartney kind of vocal.

I doubt it. It's just the fact that they were singing these songs of praise to God. In fact the word that is used here in Acts about the other prisoners listening means to listen with pleasure. It means the other prisoners were listening in on what was being sung. What they were stating by singing hymns to God at midnight. And their bats had been ripped open. They were taken into the deeper part of what we could best describe as a dungeon.

A hell hole. And they were in great pain and their feet and their hands were in stocks. And yet they gave praise to God. You know there's a lost world that's watching you and I as Christians. And when we can glorify God despite difficult circumstances it is a powerful testimony.

Here with Paul and Silas there was a real undeniable authenticity in their faith. And by the way when you sing to the Lord you're in sync with heaven. Because when we get to heaven one day we're going to do a lot of singing. Revelation 5 12 says, they sang in a mighty chorus, the Lamb is worthy, the Lamb who was killed.

He's worthy to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength, honor, glory and blessing. So get in practice now and start singing. And you know what? Christians have the best music.

Come on. No other religion has music that even approaches the beautiful worship we have in the church. And the new songs are being written all the time. And this is really on display at Christmas isn't it? All the great Christmas songs. Honor and glorify God, hark the herald angels sing.

The first Noel. Silent night. Angels we have heard on high. Oh holy night.

And of course I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus. No that's not one of the great songs. But why do we sing? Why do we have these beautiful songs that have stood the test of time? These songs that still resonate to this present day. We sing because we have hope. The Christian life is a happy faith because it is a hopeful faith.

Back to our story. Here's Paul and Silas. They're in prison. They sing songs to the Lord at midnight. Notice they did not pray for deliverance. They just praised the Lord. They didn't even pray for a way out.

They just glorified God and gave thanks. And now a miracle comes. And the earthquake shook up everything and they were free to go. Now that's great when the earthquake comes. That's great when the miracle comes.

But that's not the focus of this story. The focus of this story is that the child of God can rejoice in the most trying of circumstances. Because there are times quite honestly when the earthquake does not come. Deliverance from our circumstances doesn't come. Sometimes the Lord will deliver us from our circumstances like Daniel in the lion's den. And sometimes God will deliver us in our circumstances or walk with us in our circumstances like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

But in this case the earthquake comes. The Roman jailer realizes he's dead. Because if these prisoners escaped he was going to be executed. So he's taking out his Roman short sword. He's ready to plunge it into his chest. And Paul cries out, don't harm yourself we're still here.

Now this is a hard dude. I mean this guy whipped him. He chained him up.

He didn't do anything to wash their wounds. But when he heard them singing he was moved. And you know what Paul knew what it was like to be a hard man. Paul formerly Saul of Tarsus was the hardest of men.

Hunting down Christians and executing them. Saul of Tarsus later to become Paul the Apostle presided over the martyrdom of the first one to lay their life down for their faith, Stephen. So Paul knew a little bit about being the hardened guy. And maybe his heart went out to him and said, hey man don't harm yourself we're all here. How easily he could have said, yeah go ahead and kill yourself you dog.

You whipped us you deserve to die. No he says don't harm yourself we're still here. And the man says, the jailer says, what must I do to be saved? You know maybe you've come to this thanksgiving service with a lot of problems.

With burdens. And I just pray that you get perspective. And if you feel like it or not rejoice in the Lord.

Always. And again I say rejoice. Let me close with this. It's something the jailer said. He asked the question what must I do to be saved? Paul said believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

I wonder if you've done that yet. If you are not sure that your sin is forgiven. If you're not certain that Christ is living inside of you. And you want him to be your Savior and Lord. I want you to pray this prayer with me.

Pray these words Lord Jesus. I know that I'm a sinner. But I know that you're the Savior. Who died on the cross for my sin.

And rose again from the dead. Now I ask you to come into my life. I choose to follow you from this moment forward. In Jesus name I pray.

Amen. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie leading those in prayer who want to make a change in their relationship with the Lord. If you prayed that prayer just now, we want to help you get started in your new relationship with God. Let us send you our New Believers Growth Packet.

It's a free resource collection Pastor Greg has assembled to help you get started off right in your walk of faith. Just write us at A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514. Or call 1-800-821-3300. We can take your call anytime 24-7.

Again dial 1-800-821-3300. Or go online to Harvest.org and click the words Know God. Well Pastor Greg, we're making available a brand new book called The Jesus Music. And it explores the humble beginnings of what we now call contemporary Christian music.

I had a number of friends who were early Jesus music artists. And you know, they would load their gear into an old beat up van and drive all day through the desert to get to the church that was hosting them. They'd play all the songs they knew and the church would take up an offering which they gifted to the band for their efforts. But sometimes it didn't even cover the cost of gas. And then they'd drive that old van all night long back through the desert to get back home. And then several days later they'd do it all again.

It was very humble, but these guys and gals all had willing hearts, didn't they? Yeah, and they were really innovators, I think, in many ways. Doing something that had not been done up to that point. And that is taking the message of the gospel and putting it in contemporary Christian music.

Now, by the way, this has been done historically. Martin Luther took a lot of the old songs they would sing in the bars and put Christian lyrics to them. But this group of young men and women were forming these bands and performing as artists in a language that my generation understood. You know, music is a way to communicate. Music touches the emotions.

It touches the heart. And that's why I've always worked with music over the years, because it opens people up to the message that I have to teach them or to preach to them. And I've known a lot of these artists personally, the early artists that were just starting out, the Guys in Love song. I was friends with Andre Crouch and other artists of the first phase of the Jesus music.

But I'm friends with the artists today that you'll hear on the Christian radio stations. These are great people that love God, and they're artists. And so they're trying to take their art and use it in a way that glorifies God.

But isn't that the best use of art? So this is a book that tells you how it started and how it became what it is today. It's called The Jesus Music. And it's a beautifully done book.

It's hardcover, thick glossy pages with lots of photographs and stories about these individuals that were really trailblazers. And brought us this music we've come to love and music that is so much a part of our life today. So listen, I want to send you a copy of this brand new book titled The Jesus Music, written by my friend Marshall Terrell, and I've written three books with. And I want to give it to you for your gift of any size. So whatever you can send to us here at A New Beginning, we'll use that money to reach more people with the gospel and with the teaching of the Word of God. And we'll send you your copy of The Jesus Music. I hope some of you will be generous because this enables us to do more. But whatever you send, I'll give you a copy of this brand new book that I know you're going to love. Yeah, that's right. And you know, it would make a great Christmas gift for someone who enjoys contemporary Christian music or a great coffee table book for yourself.

But the stories are fascinating. So get in touch today with your investment in the work we do here each day, and we'll be glad to send you The Jesus Music upon request. And we'll only be able to mention this resource a short time longer, so get in touch right away. Write us at A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514. Or call 1-800-821-3300. We can take your call anytime around the clock. Again, dial 1-800-821-3300.

Or go online to harvest.org. Well, next time, we return to Pastor Greg's series called Refresh, with an important look at the way we're refreshed when we share the life-saving message of the gospel. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher, Greg Laurie. This is the day, the day when life begins The preceding podcast was made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God. Learn how to become a Harvest Partner, sign up for daily devotions, and find resources to help you grow in your faith at harvest.org.