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[0:00] Take your Bibles, turn over to Psalm 100. Psalm 100 this morning is where we're going to find our text this morning as we're going to begin a series here for the next few weeks. And thinking of thankfulness, you know, thinking of thankfulness, because thankfulness is something that needs to be thought of, needs to be considered.

[0:25] You know, because just over a week, we're going to set aside a day that we have on our calendar that's to say thanks. You know, we have a holiday called Thanksgiving, you know, and it's a great holiday to remind us to stop.

[0:41] And it's oftentimes when families gather and, you know, one of the good traditions that are often associated with it is somebody will ask a question there as a family.

[0:51] You know, what are you thankful for? You know, and we'll take time to talk about that. And, you know, that's really a good tradition to take time and just to consider how to be thankful.

[1:04] But, you know, I noticed something in the last few years. Thanksgiving seems to be putting, the holiday itself seems to be putting on the side. People have placed it on the side.

[1:14] They've kind of skipped over it. You know, we go from as you get into the fall, you know, you got a lot of people who will celebrate Halloween and then they jump right to Christmas.

[1:25] It's like what a contrast. And they miss one of the most important holidays that I think we've set aside as a culture, as a nation, is to remember to be thankful.

[1:39] Because, you know, thankfulness is something we need to be reminded of. Because it's real easy to go on and not stop to really consider God's blessing. To move right past it when God has blessed us.

[1:53] And Thanksgiving seems to be becoming less popular and less thankful. You know, even those who observe Thanksgiving as a day, often it becomes just a day on the calendar and not a habit in our heart.

[2:10] You know, because Thanksgiving for a believer ought not to be something that just happens once a year. It ought not to happen on a set day. It ought to happen each day. Because it considers how our heart is before God.

[2:25] Because it's a habit of a heart that's thankful for God and what He's done for us. And when we remember, it's important that we do that because we understand and all know that we ought to be thankful.

[2:38] But knowing it and living it are not the same thing. You know, you think about it. We know that thankfulness is important because parents will spend a lot of time teaching their kids to say thank you.

[2:51] You know, tell them thank you. Tell them thank you. Tell them thank you. You know, we spend time doing that. Yet as adults, we often forget to say it. And we often forget to say it to the one to whom we live, what we move, and have our being.

[3:10] You know, the Scripture doesn't present thankfulness as an option. You know, for those that feel blessed, you know, it's a command. So we're going to look at these things here.

[3:21] We're going to talk today about be thankful. We're going to talk about giving thanks always and in everything give thanks. You know, because thankfulness is not just a thought and it's not just words.

[3:34] It's a consideration of all that happens in our life. All that God has provided for us. The challenges, the good things, the wonderful blessings, the great things that you didn't see coming that are a challenge.

[3:50] We understand those things, but God says we should still be thankful. Because thankfulness will show up in how you live. You know, this morning in our text, we're going to find a very simple instruction from the Lord.

[4:04] A simple command. Be thankful unto Him. So if you found Psalm 100, let's stand together this morning. And we'll read responsibly here today.

[4:15] I'll read verse 1. You guys will read verse... Oh, you guys are sharp this morning. I'll read verse 3 and then you'll read what? Verse... Alright, man.

[4:26] I'm looking forward to this, man. The crowd is on top of things today. So let's read this together here. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness.

[4:38] Come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord, He is God. And it is He that hath made us. And not we ourselves, for we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

[4:52] 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.

[5:12] Let's pray. Heavenly Fathers, we take a few moments this morning to consider our need to be thankful. Lord, I pray that You'd just help each of us to really not just walk away today thinking on just the message, but Lord, that it might become part of how we live and what we do.

[5:31] Lord, as we understand those things of thankfulness. Lord, that we need to be consistent, and it affects what we do. It affects our conviction of things.

[5:42] And Lord, we pray that You just would help us today to understand this command to be thankful. The attitude that will help us walk through this life, keeping our focus upon You.

[5:58] And Lord, we just love You and thank You. In Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated. You know, Psalm 100, we find, is one of the shortest psalms in the Bible. And the heading reads, A Psalm of Praise.

[6:14] Now, just for a little Bible information, when you read those headings in the book of Psalms, they're actually part of the text, okay? In other words, those little headings in Psalms were not added by somebody.

[6:28] They were actually part of the Scripture. And it's a heading given for a reason, because David here is writing this, and he's telling us it's a psalm of praise.

[6:41] That praise is important. And the word praise here is the same word for thanksgiving. You know, it's the same word that was used in Leviticus chapter 7 in verse 12, when God instructed Israel about bringing offerings unto him.

[6:57] He says this, if he offer it for thanksgiving, he shall offer it with the sacrifice of thanksgiving. That word thanksgiving in the Hebrew is the same term that David uses here for praise.

[7:10] It's the same thing. Praise and thankfulness are interconnected. To praise the Lord and to be thankful are connected.

[7:23] There's no separation between them. And when we understand that picture, because it was written for God's people here, David writes a psalm. You know, psalms were the Jewish hymn book.

[7:37] They would actually sing these when they would enter in. This is one of the psalms that they said people would sing as they came to worship. And while we understand it was written first to Israel, the instruction goes out, because notice at the end of verse 1, it says what?

[7:56] Pray, make a joyful noise unto the Lord, who? All ye lands. You know, what's he talking about there? He says, everybody, no matter where you are, who you are, what you think you are, you ought to be thankful.

[8:16] To understand all the land. And it carries even on to us today. You know, thankfulness is not a holiday to observe. It's a command to obey.

[8:28] It's an instruction God gives us. So let's take a moment and look at the command that's given to us. Notice how David starts the psalm here. He says, make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

[8:43] Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before his presence with singing. You know, notice who's called, all ye lands. Thankfulness is just that.

[8:55] It's for the time of David. It's for the time in between. And it's for us today. It includes us right here this morning to be thankful.

[9:07] Because if God made you, you owe him thanks. We'll look at this in just a moment. But look down in verse 3. It tells us here, it is he that hath what?

[9:18] Made us. Wow. You know, think about that. We exist because God. You exist because God spoke creation.

[9:32] Because God formed Adam out of the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of lives. We are a descendant of Adam. We are the reality of God's creation.

[9:43] He made us. And when we count these commands in the first four verses, you know, think as we look down through here. Notice it says, make a joyful noise unto the Lord.

[9:57] Verse 2, serve the Lord. 3, know ye that the Lord, he is God. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving. And then be thankful.

[10:09] And then bless. You know, when we understand those pictures, these commands that God gives to us, God doesn't say to be thankful if you feel like it. You know, oftentimes we operate by how we feel.

[10:24] Now, understand your feelings are inputs, but it ought not to command your outputs. How you respond should not be based on your feeling.

[10:37] Feelings will lead you astray. We need to understand that. We live in a generation. People want to live by their feelings. But thankfulness is not a feeling.

[10:47] It's a thought process and a way that we perceive the world around us and perceive the Lord. It's not something that we can say, well, I feel thankful.

[10:58] Thankfulness is a matter of obedience. You know, think what it tells us here. The first one here, to make a joyful noise. You know, I believe if you're saved, you ought to be easy to open your mouth and thank the Lord.

[11:16] Think about what he's done for you at salvation. The reality of him taking his sin upon you and offering that paid in full for your sin.

[11:29] When you consider what he does, it's something you ought to be thankful for. It changes your destination. It changes your eternity. It changes your present. Because salvation isn't just about now.

[11:43] It's about eternity. It's the reality of eternity. And we notice here that joyful noise. The word here is to all this make a joyful noise is one word in the Hebrew.

[11:54] It's this. Shout so others know. Shout. Now the word here in the scriptures used many different ways. But what the emphasis of it is?

[12:05] Because it's used in places for a call to notice a battle. It's used to just notify. That word shout means others to know.

[12:17] To understand who and what's going on. You know, just like it's a blast of a trumpet. It's not a quiet whisper, but a hearty shout that everyone can hear.

[12:30] You know, when we understand the word goes from battle to praise. It's just making sure everybody knows. You know, people ought not to have to guess if you're thankful. Now we've probably all met people you say, that's a pretty unthankful person.

[12:43] Then you've got some people that, well, I'm not sure. Then you'll come across some people that's like, you know, that person is genuinely thankful. How do you tell that?

[12:54] It's by what they do and how they respond. That dynamic is important as we look here in this. Because notice that manner of service.

[13:05] Because we're to serve the Lord with gladness. Serving the Lord is a matter of obedience. But God is also concerned with the attitude of your heart when we serve.

[13:15] You know, if you serve with gladness, you're serving with thankfulness. You're serving, understanding what God has done. What God has accomplished for you and what you're doing it for.

[13:28] Because God doesn't just want outward actions. He wants your heart, not just your duty. You know, sometimes people as believers will do things out of duty.

[13:39] It's what's expected. Now, I want you to understand, duty is important. Because sometimes to get our minds straight, we have to do duty. You have to do it because you need to do it because it's going to benefit me.

[13:54] You know, when you come to church, it's a duty that's going to benefit you. The Bible tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. When we understand why is that, because we need one another.

[14:06] We need the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. We need to come together in that central focus of who God is. It's that attitude in our heart. And a thankful heart serves gladly.

[14:20] An unthankful heart serves grudgingly. You know, sometimes, well, I've got to go do this. Instead of saying, it's my privilege and thankful that God has allowed me to do this.

[14:33] You know, God allowed you to wake up this morning. To be able to come and to be a part. He wants your heart. You know, the Lord even dealt with this with Israel.

[14:45] I want you to understand, this is not our generational problem. It's a people problem. It's a person problem. Because in Deuteronomy chapter 28, the scripture says this.

[14:56] It says, because thou servest not the Lord thy God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart for the abundance of all things. You know, here the Lord is correcting Israel because they served not with gladness.

[15:11] They were not thankful for the abundance God had given to them. We are directed to serve and we are charged to be glad about it. You know, this is not just an Old Testament principle, but a New Testament principle.

[15:24] Think about Colossians chapter 3. Paul tells them here and he says, Whatsoever you do, do it heartily as unto the Lord and not unto men. You know, our attitude of what we do is built on how thankful we are.

[15:38] Are we thankful for what God has given to us? But let me point something out. What happens to unthankful people? Unthankfulness is a hinge point that leads a direction.

[15:53] Look over to Romans chapter 1 for a moment. Romans chapter 1, look down here in verse 21. Notice what it tells us here.

[16:03] Because, because, now, because has that cause and effect thing. This happens, so therefore this.

[16:14] Notice what? Because that when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were what? Thankful. Now, notice the contrast, but became what?

[16:27] Vain in their what? Imaginations. In other words, what they were thinking, it changes the way you perceive. When you're unthankful to God, it changes the way you see the world.

[16:38] You know, I believe we're seeing the dynamics and the effects of an unthankful people. Because you know what happens when you're unthankful? You become selfish.

[16:48] Instead of it being about God and others, it becomes solely about you. What's in it for me? How do I gain? What's my benefit? When we understand, it says, became vain in their imaginations.

[17:03] Now, look at this. And their foolish heart was darkened. Unthankfulness is the beginning stages of creating a dark heart.

[17:14] You know, we live in a generation that's pretty dark. They refuse to acknowledge God. You know, why do you think they go from a holiday of spiritual darkness like Halloween, and they can jump with no problem to a holiday that celebrates a spiritual light?

[17:34] Because both has something for them to gain. You know, the one thing I've learned over the years, it's hard to market thankfulness. The profit margin on thankfulness is pretty slim. I want you to understand, thankfulness doesn't create something in your pocket, but thankfulness creates something in your heart.

[17:49] Something that's tangible to you. Beneficial for you. Because God instructs us to understand, because it changes our perspective. Because ingratitude is not a small matter.

[18:02] You know, Romans 1 is one of the first steps away from God. When the heart starts giving thanks, it becomes darkened. And we see this today. As a society turns away from God, it turns away from giving thanks.

[18:17] You cannot thank the one that you refuse to acknowledge. You know, I think people have trouble being thankful because they can't acknowledge the one that they've got to give thanks to. To understand God is the one that does all those things.

[18:30] Excuse me. But the day in which we live, we shouldn't be surprised. You know, as a believer, there are certain things that shouldn't surprise us. Because if you read your Bible, you'll find out, you know, it always amazes me.

[18:42] Well, we're going to make the world better and better and better. You know what the Bible tells us? The world's going to wax worse and worse and worse. As people forget God, as they remove God from their memory, they want to step away from Him.

[18:56] Think about 2 Timothy chapter 3. When Paul is charging young Timothy here, he says, Timothy, keep this in mind. He says this, He says, It's not that they don't know there's a God, it's they refuse to acknowledge Him.

[19:38] When we understand that picture, because it involves a conviction that is there. Look at verse 3 this morning. Know ye that the Lord, He is God.

[19:49] It is He that has made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. You know, notice this. Thankfulness begins with knowing.

[19:59] Know ye. You cannot truly thank someone you do not know. You know, there's three things it points out here that we know. Number one is He is God. You know, one of the key things to understand there is a God, and we can know who He is.

[20:16] God is not unknowable. He has revealed Himself to us. He's revealed Himself for us. He's revealed because He loves us.

[20:27] He's not a distant power that is up there and just kind of separated from us. God wants us to know Him, to know His promises, and to know not only His promises, but to know that He keeps them.

[20:43] You know, that's an important thing to understand. When we understand who God is, we understand His promises, it makes a difference when we understand that He doesn't give empty promises, but that He keeps them.

[20:57] That we can trust Him. You know, this is pretty practical. You know, if somebody that you know always keeps their promise, how much trust do you have in them? You know, we all have friends that make a lot of wild promises, and sometimes they don't keep them.

[21:15] You know, and we can be guilty of it too. I don't think anybody in here is exempt from having a promise of good intention and not able to keep it. You know, the difference is God is not just giving good intentions.

[21:29] God has the authority and the power to keep every promise, and He reveals that through the Scripture. That He keeps His promises. He will uphold His covenant.

[21:42] We see that He is God. This term here, we notice Lord. Whenever you see the name Lord in Scripture, when it's all capitalized like that, it's signaling something very important.

[21:53] It's the covenant name of God that He says, I have a covenant available to you. I've made a covenant with the earth. Do you realize we're still living under one of the covenants?

[22:05] The covenant He made with Noah, we still enjoy today. But it doesn't remove the fact He's not going to come and judge. But that covenant He has made.

[22:16] Now notice He made us. And not we ourselves. Boy, now that changes your attitude of thankfulness. Because you know, sometimes we can think pretty highly of ourselves.

[22:27] We can be caught up in ourselves. When we're caught up in ourselves, it's we're not thankful. We want to consume. When we forget who He is, everything we have, our breath that we have, our health, our minds, and even our ability to work come from His hand.

[22:48] You know, one of the worst dynamics we can have, there's a self-made man. You know what? They might have put some effort in, but it's because God allowed them to do it. God's hand was with them.

[23:00] You'll find that in Scripture, it wasn't that they did it themselves. Think about Joseph. One of the things you'll find about Joseph, it says God was with him.

[23:13] Joseph didn't go from a slave to second in Egypt because of who he is. He was there because God was with him. God put him through those things on purpose.

[23:25] He didn't do it himself. He wasn't self-sufficient because when we understand, look over to James chapter 1. James chapter 1 and verse 17, it says, Every good and perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

[23:46] When we understand our need to be thankful, when we understand that it's not about you and me. When we forget about God, it becomes about us instead of about him.

[23:59] When we understand what he has done for us, because notice here it says, We are his people, his people and the sheep of his pasture. Now I want to make a note here that's important because in Scripture, context is important.

[24:14] Because remember, who's this being written to? To Israel. To Israel. It's being written to the people of Israel. The people of God.

[24:25] Not everyone is his sheep. You know, it's one of the problems today. Well, everybody's God's child. Or everybody's, you know. That's a lie of the devil. Jesus never said that.

[24:36] Because you have to become part of his family by salvation. You're born again into his family. But we understand that not everyone is called to recognize the Lord as God is actually his.

[24:52] You know, a sheep cannot take care of itself. Because God reminds us here. He says, We are the sheep of his pasture. If you're saved this morning, you are his sheep. His provider.

[25:04] Protector. You know, sheep don't do a very good job of taking care of themselves. Sheep need somebody to watch out for them. That's the reason that picture's used. You know, that's used negatively.

[25:15] Or they're just a sheep. You know, I want you to understand. What you, everybody's following something. The question is, what are you following? Who are you following? When we understand that dynamic, we ought to desire to be his sheep.

[25:30] Because Jesus is the good shepherd. John chapter 10 tells us, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. You know, he proved that reality at the cross.

[25:43] But being provided for is not the same as belonging to him. God provides even for those who oppose him. Do you realize that God gives to everybody?

[25:54] Acts 14 verse 17 tells us this. Nevertheless, he left not himself without witness. In that he did good and gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.

[26:09] You know, the Bible also tells us it rains on the just and unjust alike. You know, there are certain things that God just reveals himself. He says, I am good.

[26:19] And you need to know who I am and what I've done for you. His provision doesn't mean that you are his. It should direct you to the Savior. You know, look over to Romans chapter 2 for a moment.

[26:31] Romans chapter 2 tells us this. It says, or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering. You know, when we realize what God has done for you, it ought to change how you perceive him.

[26:45] That God gives to you when you come with a thankful heart. It changes your perception of who he is. But notice this. Not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.

[26:58] The blessings we have in life ought to direct us back to God. If you're lost, if you don't know the Savior, the goodness of God, the fact that it rains.

[27:10] The fact that the sun comes out. The fact that food grows that you can consume. This is his creation. He's the one that's given this to us. The goodness of God ought to lead thee to repentance.

[27:25] Lead you to understand who he is, who you are, and what he's done to take care of the problem. Because Jesus Christ, he made that provision for us that we might be saved.

[27:37] Thankfulness involves humility. It says, everything I have, I have received. That perspective is important. You know, look down at verse 4 this morning.

[27:50] Because remember, this is David talking about them going in to praise the Lord. And they say that they would sing this song. You know, make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

[28:02] Serve the Lord with gladness. Come into his presence with what? Singing. Singing. Singing. You know, singing sets an atmosphere of how you're thinking.

[28:14] Music is a critical thing. We're not going to get rabbit trailed on that this morning, though. But I just want you to understand. God understands. God designed music, and music impacts you.

[28:25] What you listen to will impact you. The things you choose to put in in music makes a difference.

[28:36] But notice here, it says, enter into his gates with thanksgiving, into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto him and bless his name. Notice this. Thanksgiving at the gate.

[28:48] Praise in the courts. Thanksgiving is how we enter. Before we ask anything of the Lord, before we sing, before we begin to be thankful, we ought to be thankful in what we do.

[29:02] Thankfulness is to be expressed, not just felt. Notice what it tells us here in this. It says at the end of verse 4, bless his name. Bless his name.

[29:14] You know, think on that thought for a moment. What does it mean to bless his name? It's simply this, is to speak well of. To speak well of God.

[29:24] You know, we can be thankful for what God has done in our life. We can be thankful, and we're going to look, because sometimes it involves being thankful when we have to live in a world that's fallen and cursed because of sin, and we have to deal with the consequences of sin.

[29:41] You know, even if you're saved, there's still consequences of sin in this world. Sickness, disease, death is a consequence of sin. We're dealing with it all the time.

[29:55] A thankful heart that never says so is not really thankful. You know, you can think something, you can feel something, but it makes a big difference when you say something.

[30:07] When we understand that picture that he gives to us, you know, think about Luke chapter 17. Luke 17 is where Jesus met 10 men with leprosy.

[30:18] Now, if you remember there, all 10 got healed. 10 of them got healed. And Jesus told them, he says, go show yourself to the priest, and you need to understand Jewish, what God had instructed them, because if they had leprosy and they were healed, they were supposed to go show themselves to the priest to be declared clean.

[30:38] So Jesus would say, hey, go do what you don't, you're supposed to do, what I've instructed you to do, to follow the scripture. You know, Jesus never superseded what he already said.

[30:52] He was the fulfillment of the law. He was the fulfillment of all those things in the Old Testament. But we notice something here. One returned to give thanks. And we see here in Luke 17, verse 17, says this, And Jesus answering said, were there not 10 cleansed?

[31:11] But where are the nine? They were not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. You know, Jesus gave it as an illustration. He says, I healed 10, but only one.

[31:23] As they went on their way, it dawned on them, I need to be thankful. You know, for us today, leprosy is kind of an abstract thing.

[31:37] But for somebody that had leprosy was to be removed from society, separated from your family, to be segregated, to be amongst other lepers.

[31:48] When Jesus cleansed them of leprosy, you know what it did? It put them back in. Their life changed completely. It transformed their place in society.

[32:00] It transformed, you know, nine of them just went, Hey, man, look at me. But Jesus makes note of the one. Because I want you, if you read that story, it's interesting. They all depart, and one turns around and comes back.

[32:14] I think that's because sometimes it takes us a little while to process. I think as he went and he realized he was cleansed, he's like, I need to go tell him thank you. The same with us.

[32:25] Sometimes we need to process, but we need to come to the point where we say, Thank you, Lord. Thank you. To keep our mind upon the right things.

[32:36] You know, the same command continues. Even here today, we understand Ephesians tells, giving thanks always in all things unto God and the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[32:47] The believers at Thessalonica were challenged in everything. Give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Always for all things in everything.

[33:01] You know, we're going to look at some of that in the weeks to come here, as we lead up into Thanksgiving. Because I want you to understand the purpose of this series of messages isn't just to prepare us for Thanksgiving, it's to prepare us for next year.

[33:14] Because Thanksgiving doesn't end in November. Thanksgiving ought to continue to December and January and February and March. We need to understand that thinking correctly.

[33:24] But notice here in verse 5, the consistency of God, the consistency that we see. Notice verse 5, For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endureth all generations.

[33:42] The constancy that we find with God. God is constant. He does not change. He does not vary. There's a constant nature of God.

[33:57] Notice here in verse 5, For the Lord. For here is the reason we are to be thankful, because of who He is.

[34:08] He does not change. Because of who God is, He's worthy to be praised. He's good. Now I want you to understand, God is good even when things don't go your way.

[34:22] God's still good. You know, how we consider those things, those challenges of life, how we perceive God. You know how easy it is to say, well, I don't think God's good because I didn't get what I want.

[34:34] God's not good because my health isn't what I want. I didn't get what I want, therefore God must not be good. You know what? God is still good. You have to learn to think and to understand who God is.

[34:46] Why is God good? Because notice here, in the next part of this verse, His mercy is everlasting. So God's mercy to us does not stop.

[34:57] His mercy towards us helps us to walk through the challenges. God knows He cares about you. The Bible tells us and reminds us. You know, even in Lamentations, Jeremiah, when he was writing, he was discouraged, and he came to the realization in Lamentations chapter 3, where it says, it is the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed because His compassions fail not.

[35:23] They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. When life is great, God's faithful. When life is crumbling, God's faithful.

[35:36] When we understand it changes those things, when we understand God is good, not only when things go our way, but it's His nature.

[35:51] His mercy is everlasting. It doesn't run out. His truth endureth to all generations. As I was thinking on that statement, His truth endureth. I simply came to this conclusion, what He says He means.

[36:04] I want you to understand, when His truth endureth, what it says God was, what He said here, before you were even known or existed, is going to be the same after you're gone.

[36:19] It doesn't change. He is the same. His truth endureth to all generations. Our circumstances change quickly. You know, some years we have much to be thankful for, and some years we say, Lord, it's hard to find something to be thankful.

[36:37] You know why that is? We're looking at the wrong things. We're looking at circumstances instead of who He is. As God walks us through the challenges, I think it's easier to understand who God is in the midst of challenge than in the midst of blessing.

[36:55] In blessing, it's real easy to look past and say, it's me. When God walks with you in the midst of challenge, and He's there, and His mercies are new every morning as you walk through, it changes our perspective and our thought about who God is, about what He's done.

[37:16] You know, no matter what's taken place, God doesn't ask you to pretend. He gives you something solid to stand on. He says, He is good.

[37:27] His mercy doesn't fail. His word does not change. Our hope is not in this life anyways. Your hope is solely in this life. You miss reality.

[37:40] My hope isn't just about today. Your hope ought not to be just about today. It ought to be about the promise God gives that one day we will walk with Him in paradise.

[37:56] We will be there. We'll have a new heaven and a new earth. Sin will go away. We won't be crying about things because of what's happened. I want you to understand thankfulness that rests upon circumstances is going to come and go.

[38:11] But thankfulness that rests upon who God is will stand. When we keep our eyes upon Him, the greatest proof of His goodness and mercy is the cross.

[38:26] When He came and He died for us, you know, Romans tells us, but God commendeth His love toward us in while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

[38:38] This morning I want you to consider as a world forgets to give thanks, will the people of God forget to give thanks? You're saved. You ought to be a primary person to say, I want to be thankful.

[38:52] I want to have the right attitude towards God. I want to obey. Why? It is I need this. Because this morning is thankfulness. What is it in your life?

[39:03] Is it a habit in your life or is it only a holiday? Know the one that you are to be thanking? The question today can go back right to Luke 17. Who are you going to be?

[39:14] Are you going to be the nine or are you going to be the one? The world's full of the nine. Be the one that comes and thanks the Lord. You can thank Him for all the things that God has given to you.

[39:31] You can thank Him for who He is even when you cannot thank Him for what's happening. You know, tell it not to be thankful for the challenges but be thankful in the challenges.

[39:44] That spirit of thankfulness. You know, maybe you're here this morning and you've never thanked God for the greatest gift of all. You've never come to the place where you know you're a sinner and you've never trusted in what He has done for you, the death that took your sin, the resurrection that offers a new life and victory in Christ.

[40:07] You know, when He saves you, He saves you to the uttermost. A thankful heart begins with knowing who God is. Know that He is the Lord. Will you call upon Him?

[40:21] You know, the Bible makes it clear, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. This morning, maybe you need to come and just spend a few moments and say, Lord, I've been unthankful.

[40:34] Change. I'm thanking my heart but I need to change what I think in concerning you. What about you this morning? Which group are you going to be in?

[40:46] The line or the one? As heads are bowed and eyes are closed this morning, it's you today. Take a moment consider who God is.

[40:58] What He's done for you. If you're not sure 100% where you stand with the Lord, I encourage you today ask. We can help have somebody show you not from what somebody said but from what God said how you can be saved.

[41:16] Important decision, a first step of being thankful for what He did for you. But maybe you're here this morning and God has saved you. There's been that moment in time when you've called upon Him as Savior.

[41:31] Maybe you've lost sight of the need to be thankful. What about you today as the piano plays? What about you? What about you?

[41:42] What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you?

[41:52]  What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you? What about you?