Thanksgiving Forever - Part 1 of 2

The Baptist Bible Hour now comes to you under the direction of Elder LeSaire Bradley, Jr. O for a thousand tongues to sing, my great Redeemer's praise! The praise of my God and King, the triumph of His grace!

This is LeSaire Bradley, Jr. inviting you to stay tuned for another message of God's sovereign grace. What shall I render to my God, for all His kindness shown? My peace shall fit in thine abode, my songs address thy throne. Among the saints that fill thy house, my offering shall be paid.

There shall my zipper form the vows, my soul in anguish made. How happy all thy servants are, how great thy praise to be! My life which thou hast made thy care, Lord, I behold to thee. Now I am thine forever thine, let not thy purpose move.

Thy hand hath loosed my bonds of faith, and bound me with thy love. I'm certainly glad that you're with us today for this broadcast, and pray that the message will be a blessing to you. We'd like to hear from you and know that you have listened. Our mailing address is Baptist Bible Hour, Box 17037, Cincinnati, Ohio 45217. And we encourage you to visit our website at BaptistBibleHour.org.

You can make a donation there for the support of the program if you would like. We do desire your prayers that the Lord will supply our needs and bless us to continue sending out the message of God's sovereign grace. Day by day and with each passing moment, strength I find to meet my trials here. Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment, I've no cause for worry or for fear. He whose heart is guide me on no pleasure, gives unto each day what he deems best.

Lovingly is part of pain and pleasure, mingling toil with peace and rest. Every day the Lord himself is near me with a special mercy for each hour. All my cares he fame would bear and cheer me, he whose name is counselor and power.

The protection of his child and treasure is a charge that on himself be laid. As I daze, my strength shall be in venture, this God pledge to me he made. Help me then in every tribulation, so do you trust thy promises, O Lord, that I lose not faith's sweet consolation. Offer me within thy holy Word. Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting. There to take us from the Father's hand.

One by one the days the moment's fleeting, till I reach the Promised Land. Today's message, entitled Thanksgiving Forever, was preached last year on the Sunday before Thanksgiving at Cincinnati Promoted Baptist Church. The headline that I saw on a couple of articles this week said, Thanksgiving Canceled. Now the articles revealed that they were talking about people having to change their plans for travel and for large groups getting together to celebrate Thanksgiving because of the coronavirus, of course.

But the headline was a bit startling. Thanksgiving Canceled. Will some cancel giving thanks because they're frustrated with the many stressful and hurtful situations that have been encountered throughout this year?

What about you? Your plans for Thanksgiving Day may be greatly altered this year, but what about giving thanks? Failure to be thankful leads to murmuring and complaint, resentment and bitterness.

It makes life miserable and it dishonors God. Examples of giving thanks and admonitions to give thanks throughout the Word of God. Now we know that the patriarchs were men of faith and consequently we're sure that they gave thanks, although it's not specifically stated. One of the early accounts does indicate that Abraham's servant gave thanks.

He said, I being in the way, the Lord hath led me to the house of my master's brethren, and he bowed down in worship feeling that his mission was a success. But the first time we find the word thanksgiving is in the book of Leviticus. It says, and the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day it is offered. The priests were able to eat at least portions of the sacrifices that were brought. This was their livelihood since they were devoted to the service of God and were not active in other labors as other people were. So it speaks of bringing an offering for thanksgiving. And on to the rest of the Bible. We find many examples of giving thanks and many admonitions to give thanks. So it's a prominent theme. My subject today is thanksgiving forever.

It's not cancelled. Thanksgiving is forever. Let's go to Psalm 100. Some of you may know this psalm already by heart.

If you don't, this would be a good thanksgiving day project for you and your family to work on memorizing Psalm 100. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness, come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord, he is God. It is he that hath made us and not we ourselves.

We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto him and bless his name. For the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting and his truth endureth to all generations.

What a wonderful song. What a wonderful expression of giving thanks to God. First of all, we want to think about the spirit in which thanks is to be given. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord. It is to be with joy. And we're told that in the original language, the word really conveys the idea of it being a shout. As it was customary in many of the nations back in ancient times that when the king put in an appearance, the people shouted.

They respected him and his role and to honor him they would shout aloud. Well, if we're going to honor the Lord God of heaven, we may not shout aloud, but we ought to shout with joy in our hearts. There is always reason to rejoice if our joy is in the Lord. If we're depending on circumstances and our emotion of the day, we're going to find a lot of times that we're not in a thankful spirit. But if we're rejoicing in the Lord, we can give thanks with joy.

And it says it's to be with singing. 1 Corinthians 16 verse 7. Then on that day, David delivered first this psalm to thank the Lord.

He delivered into the hand of Asaph and his brethren. Give thanks unto the Lord. Call upon his name. Make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him. Sing psalms unto him. Talk ye of all his wondrous works.

Look at the instruction that's being given here. We are to call upon the Lord. What a privilege that is to call upon him. We're to make known his deeds among the people. How diligent are we in talking about his deeds, his mighty acts, his wonderful works.

Talking about those things within our family circle. Talking about those things to others to tell them about the greatness of God. To sing unto him. Singing psalms unto him.

Talking of his wondrous works. Glorify ye his holy name. Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord and his strength.

Seek his face continually. Remember his marvelous works that he hath done, his wonders and the judgments of his mouth. So three times he says they're to seek the Lord. We can get bogged down with our troubles, feel our burdens are terribly heavy and we forgot to seek the Lord. We failed to take the burden to him.

We failed to call upon him. We are to seek his face continually. And in Psalm 69 verse 30, the psalmist says, I will praise the name of God with song and will magnify him with thanksgiving.

Going to praise him by singing his praise and with thanksgiving. Singing then can glorify God and it can edify his people. It can be a source of great encouragement.

It can be a source of instruction. Colossians chapter 3 verse 16 says, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. So if we're singing psalms, we're singing hymns and spiritual songs that convey truth, we're teaching and admonishing one another. And what a blessing it is for God's people to sing, lifting up their voices, joining their hearts in praising God and singing to God's glory. And when we think about the spirit in which this thanks is to be given, it is not only with joy, it is not only with singing, but it is also with service. The psalmist asked, What shall I render to the Lord?

He was thinking of all of the great mercies and blessings that he had received. What can I offer? What can I render to him? God has done so much for me.

What can I do in return? Well, certainly we can't repay God. He blesses us according to his mercy and grace. So we're unworthy and undeserving of the least of his mercies. But we are to serve.

There are various ways in which that can be done. Jesus makes it clear as he speaks in the 25th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, to those on the right hand, the king says, Come inherit the kingdom of my Father. And he enumerates various things that they have done, not that it was the cause of their salvation and the base of it, but the evidence that they had it. So in Matthew 25, 35, he says, For I was unhungred, and ye gave me meat. I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink. I was a stranger, and ye took me in, naked, and ye clothed me. I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee a stranger and took thee in? Or naked and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick or in prison and came to thee?

Then verse 40, And the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. These were surprised. When did we do all this?

Obviously they weren't doing something to be recognized and to be praised. They were doing that which sprang naturally from a heart that had been renewed by divine grace. Here's the things we do. And Jesus said, As much as ye did unto the least of thee, ye did it unto me.

So what can I render? One of the things we can do is to see that we serve him, that we're actively thinking about others and how we can minister to them and how we can help them. Jesus himself says that when you gave clothes to those that needed them, you gave food to those that were hungry, you gave drink to those that were thirsty, you visited those that were in prison, you did it unto me.

How easy it is to become self-centered, focusing on our own desires, our own needs, our own problems and not think of others. But if we're going to have a thankful heart, one of the ways we demonstrate that is by ministering to others about us. Then when we think of that service, Paul deals with part of it in 2 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 6. It says, But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loveth a cheerful giver. As we give, according as God has prospered us, we give willingly, cheerfully, thankfully, we're expressing our thanks to God about what we give. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye always, having all sufficiency in all things, may abound in every good work.

There's one of Paul's favorite expressions. He always wanted God's people to abound. Abound in love, abound in every good work, never to remain at the status quo, but to always be growing, moving forward, and abounding. And so as we give, we express our thanksgiving to God for his abundant blessing upon us. Giving as God has prospered us. And then he speaks of entering into his gates, coming through his gates and into his courts with praise. Of course, all of us individually are to be regularly giving thanks to God. We need to do that personally, individually, as a family, but there's something special about coming into his courts, coming to his church, coming to the assembly of saints with a body of believers, singing together, praying together, giving thanks together. There's just something about that which God honors. It's in harmony with his pattern as to what he determines as far as the effectiveness of his church. We're thankful for a live stream, but that really doesn't take the place of being in the assembly of saints.

We respect the fact that we're living in difficult times and that we have to cope with the situation as it is. But we look to that day when this virus will be gone and the church as a body can be together, all singing praise and giving thanks to God. Then we are to give thanks for who he is. Verse 3 says he is the creator. Know ye that the Lord, he is God? It is he that hath made us and not we ourselves. Now those who deny that there is a God have no one to whom they might give thanks.

In fact, really the appeal of evolution is that it does away with God. A person comes to the conclusion there is no God. I'm not accountable.

And they prefer that concept. I'm not accountable to anybody. Someone wrote that a self-made man, you know, there are those that like to boast I'm a self-made man. Well, it said the self-made man worships his creator. So he feels like he made himself and then he honors himself. But we are to honor and worship God. It is only when we recognize him as the creator, as the one who has made us, that we are completely and appropriately thankful to him. Not called to a life of isolation, but to join with other saints of God in giving thanks to him. And one way that we can praise God and give thanks is to invite others to come and meet with us and join with us as we give thanks to God. Of course it says in verse 1, make a joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands. It speaks to men in general, to the world at large. Let all join in giving thanks to God.

All ye lands. And then we give thanks to him not only because he's the creator, but because he is good, says the Lord is good. The gods that were invented by the heathen were selfish, temperamental, many times harmful. But the true and living God, the God we worship is good. Psalm 34 verse 8 says, O taste and see that the Lord is good.

Blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Isn't it a wonderful thing to be able to recognize that the God that we worship is good? When he created the heaven and the earth, he said it was good. When he created man, he said it is good. When he reveals his will to us, it is good.

Romans 12 2 says, and be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. And God reveals his will to us. He is a good God and his will for us is good.

And the gospel is good news. So we worship him because he is the creator, because he is good, and because he is our redeemer. Verse 3 says, we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. That would be one thing to say I'm going to praise God who is the creator.

And I envision him as being at a far distance and I think of him in ancient times gone by when in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. But when you get to the point that you recognize he's not just your creator, he is your redeemer, that makes it a very personal matter. Verse 3, we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. John chapter 10 verse 11.

Here are the words of Jesus. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Here then he is identified not just as our creator, but as our redeemer. Jesus came to lay down his life for the sheep.

He gives his life for them. Well, if he gave his life for the sheep and we're the sheep of his pasture, do we really have any reason for worry and anxiety? Can we not commit every day into his hands to say, Lord, yes, I see some challenges and some difficulties all around me, but I'm going to trust you because you are my redeemer. Verse 14 says, I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and am known of mine. He knows who his sheep are and his sheep know him. As the father knoweth me, even so know I the father and I lay down my life for the sheep. What greater comfort and consolation could you have than to know I'm redeemed by him. He laid down his life for me.

He purchased me and he is now my good shepherd, watching over me, caring for me. In the shady green pasture so rich and so sweet, God meets his dear children of all. Where the waters will flow with the weary one's feet, God meets his dear children of all.

Some through the waters, some through the flood, some through the fire, but all through the flood. Some through great sorrow, but God hears a song in the night season and all the day long. Surely we have much to be thankful for, and when Jesus says, I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and am known of mine, oh, what comfort to know he as our shepherd watches over us and cares for us even as we travel through the adversities of life. We rejoice in the greatness of our Savior, the marvels of his grace to redeem us as fallen, ruined sinners.

I hope that you will write us this week, and until next week at this same time, may the Lord richly bless you all. Some through the waters, some through the flood, some through the fire, but all through the flood. Some through great sorrow, but God hears a song in the night season and all the day long. Though our sorrows befall us and stage our foes, God meets his dear children of all. Through grace again, God, with ye feet our foes, God meets his dear children of all. Away from the fire and away from the plague, God meets his dear children of all. Away up in glory, eternity's day, God meets his dear children of all. The Baptist Bible Hour has come to you under the direction of Elder LeSaire Bradley, Jr.

Address all mail to The Baptist Bible Hour, Cincinnati, Ohio 45217. Some through the waters, some through the flood, some through the fire, but all through the flood. Some through great sorrow, but God hears a song in the night season and all the day long. In the night season and all the day long.