Sermon:
IT IS A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS (Thanksgiving Sermon)Psalm 92:1–15
“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD. and to sing praises unto thy name. O most High: Introduction: Notice, our text begins, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord...” As we preach this message we would like to show you why it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord. We usually think of being thankful as being connected with good manners. I. IT IS A GOOD THING TO DO. In Psalm 92:1 we read, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD. and to sing praises unto thy name. O most High:” One of the most worthwhile things you and I can do is take time to give thanks to the Lord. We could never thank Him enough for what
He has done. There is nothing you and I could do as Christians that reveals to the world that Christ is in our lives than having a THANKFUL SPIRIT! Illustration: This reminds me of an ungodly man who came to know Christ. Before he was saved he was known for his temper and the foul language he would frequently use. However, he was gloriously saved and the news of his conversion spread among his many coworkers at his job. A group of men decided to “test” his religion. They hid his lunch box. Lunch time came and they all waited to hear the profanity that would usually come from his lips. To their surprise he said, “Praise the Lord! At least I still have an appetite.” All of us are guilty of not thanking God the way we should. There is nothing better we can do. Why is it A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS unto the Lord? A. It is good to give thanks to the Lord because giving thanks lightens life’s burdens. We look around and se two kinds of people.
1. First we see people whose lives are full of trouble. That is; there lives are like dumping grounds. Everything that is bad that could be dumped on them seems to have dumped on them. 2. Second, we see people whose lives are full of blessings. Their lives are like a flower garden. Everything beautiful that could be planted in one has been “planted” in their lives. We see these two kinds of people, but actually there is only ONE KIND. Job said, Job 5:7, “Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.” Every person alive has his load of problems to take care of in this life. Some do a good job of concealing their problems. Others do not do well, but everyone has trouble according to God’s Word. We see these two kinds of people, but actually there is only ONE KIND. Job said, Job 5:7, “Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.” Every person alive has his load of problems to take care of in this life.
Some do a good job of concealing their problems to take care of in this life. Some do a good job of concealing their problems. Others do not do well, but everyone has trouble according to God’s Word. What makes some people DIFFERENT from others is the way they react to those problems. - Some choose to MURMUR constantly. They cannot see that there is anything good in life. All they can se is that life is full of sorrow. They are quick to tell you that everyone else has something to be grateful for, but they do not have anything. Illustration: They have things to be grateful for also, but they are like the man who cannot see the forest because their nose is up against a tree.Listen, it doesn’t matter how bad things may be at times, you can always be thankful because things could be worse! SOME CHOOSE TO LIVE CONSTANTLY MURMURING! Also… - Some choose to constantly be GIVING THANKS. Do they have problems? Sure they do. They have as
may problems and the next person, but they have discovered that life is too short to live on the DARK SIDE. They prefer to live on the BRIGHT SIDE and be thankful for all the good things. A thankful attitude, more than anything else, helps us keep our eyes fixed on the brighter side of life. Illustration: Anyone who has dealt with people who suffer with chronic depression will tell you that all of those people THINK ON THE NEGATIVE and TALK ONLY OF THE NEGATIVE. - You can tell them it is a beautiful day and they will say, “Yes, but it is suppose to rain tomorrow.” - You can tell them that a glass is half full and they will say, “Yes, but it is also half empty.” - The pessimist expects nothing on a silver platter except tarnish. Someone said, “The pessimist is a person who absorbs sunshine and radiates gloom.” He cannot find a thing to be thankful about because all he can see are the bad things that happen to him. And
the reason he cannot see the good things is because all he looks for are the bad things.The Psalmist said, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord…” Why? BECAUSE THANKFULLNESS LIGHTENS LIFE’S BURDENS. It keeps us focused on the POSITIVE. If we are focused on the positive then we will not have time to dwell on the NEGATIVE. Next… B. It is good to give thanks to the Lord because thankfulness quickens our spiritual perception. Illustration: How many children do you know that perceives that their mother is a loving and caring person? That is; every day that precious mother watches over her child from the time he gets up until he goes to sleep. The mother: - Feeds the child. - Washes his clothes. - Iron his clothes. - Mends his clothes. Yet to hear the ungrateful child talk about his mother you would perceive his mother has ruined his life by placing demands upon him when she
requires him to take baths, wear clean clothes and eat the right kinds of food. To hear him talk you would think his parents were his enemies. Every day an ungrateful child is thinking his mother is only fulfilling her obligation when she serves him. He has the wrong PERCEPTION of his mother. Yet another child, that perceives his mother to be a loving and caring individual, will fly into her arms and say, “Mom, I appreciate all that you do for me and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.” The same principal applies to us, spiritually: - We have some who soak up the blessings of God and they are not grateful. They see God, the Father, showering His blessings on them and they feel He is fulfilling His obligation to them by serving them. Why should they be thankful to God? He is only doing what He is supposed to be doing. Their PERCEPTION of God is wrong! - We have others who receive the blessings of God, and every time God blesses
them their SPIRITUAL PERCEPTION is this -- GOD IS A GOOD GOD! He does not have to bless them, but He has blessed and their GRATITUDE reveals that they PERCEIVE God to be a good God Who is gracious to them. The Bible says, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord...” Why? - BECAUSE THANKFULNESS LIGHTENS LIFE’S BURDENS. - BECAUSE THANKFULNESS QUICKENS OUR SPIRITUAL PERCEPTION. The Psalmist is absolutely right! IT IS A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD. IT IS A GOOD THING TO DO and also... II. IT IS A DA1LY THING TO DO. Look at Psalm 92:2. We read, “To show forth thy loving-kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night.”Notice, the Psalmist mentions two times to “show forth” our gratitude. A. In the morning. This is one of the best times to offer up thanksgiving to the Lord. Why? Every day that God allows us to open our eyes and live another day on this earth should never be taken
lightly. Illustration: Someone said, “Every day is like a resurrection.” From the depths of sleep, we rise up to serve the Lord. One day the sun will rise and we will not be here, but for now, every day that God allows us to open our eyes and enjoy another day with our FAMILY and FRIENDS we should start the day off with THANKSGIVING. Another reason it is such a good time is because our mind and heart are cleaner from the world before we get involved in the day’s activities. IT IS GOOD TO GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD IN THE MORNING. It is good also to give thanks unto the Lord... B. In the evening. Every evening it should be a set thing that we do before we close our eyes to take a few minutes to do a little self¬ examination and “Count Our Blessings and Name Them One By One” and give thanks unto the Lord. If we counted all the blessings of God on our lives at the end of each day before we went to sleep we would see that they far
out number the trials we have had to face.The Bible says, “IT IS A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS UNT THE LORD...” and IT IS A “DAILY THING” WE SHOULD DO. Conclusion/Summary: IT IS A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD. Everyone would not agree with that. Look at verse 6. We read, “A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.” The psalmist says that some people live as if they were dumb, “brute” beasts. Illustration: He may have had in mind the fact that you can buy the best quality hog feed available, but the hog will show no gratitude whatsoever for your having gone to the trouble and expense of providing that for him. God has given people six days to do the things they have to get done yet today, as the Lord’s day dawned, it never crossed their minds that they should go to church and thank the Lord. It should have, but they live like the dumb, “brute,” beasts. Saints HAVE THANKFUL HEARTS unto the
Lord. I. IT IS A GOOD THING TO DO.
II. IT IS A DAILY THING TO DO. Preached by Dr. James E. Hollingsworth Jr. | 
