Greg Laurie - Thankful (09/07/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie reminds us to be truly thankful like Noah, who walked with God, worked for God, witnessed for God, and worshipped Him even amid wickedness and coming judgment in the last days. Drawing from Genesis 6 and parallels to our times, he shows Noah found grace, obeyed God by building the ark, preached righteousness, and built an altar first upon leaving it—giving thanks despite hardship. Jesus gave thanks at the Last Supper before the cross, so we remember Him in communion with grateful hearts.
Thankful – Living Like Noah in the Last Days
We will see what you are thankful for in a little bit. But let's grab our Bibles and turn to two passages. Genesis 6 and 1 Corinthians 11. Genesis 6 and 1 Corinthians 11. And the title of my message is simply, "Thankful".
I think it is pretty obvious to almost anyone right now that we are living in the last days. How many of you would agree with that? I mean, come on. It used to be like we would wait for a cycle of news to happen maybe weekly or sometimes daily. But it seems with this crazy, topsy-turvy world we are in, it is happening hourly.
And there are all kinds of things reminding us that Christ is coming back again. Again, terrorism seems to be stronger than it has ever been. It is Islamic terrorism. It is not going to go away because we have to understand the ideology of those that are committing these acts of terror, such as we just saw in Paris, France.
They want to establish a caliphate. A caliphate is basically Islamic rule where you live by their rules. That is their objective. So really when you get down to this, this is an ideological war. Effectively, it is two worldviews. One is an Islamic worldview. The other is what we might describe as a Judeo-Christian worldview.
In effect, it is the battle of the gods. It is not unlike what Elijah faced up on Mount Carmel, but it is a little different. It is still the Lord God, but other gods that people are substituting for Him.
Understanding the Ideological Battle Today
And you know, some will say, well, these Islamic terrorists or these jihadists or whatever they want to call them, these acts of workplace violence, depending on who is talking, you know, they are doing this because they resent our freedom. They resent the fact that women can vote or drive cars.
Well, there is some truth to that, but when you really get down to it, there is a hatred here for Christianity, and there is a hatred for Judaism. And this is expressed in a statement from Isis, the group that has really been in the forefront lately.
And Isis gave this statement after their attack on Paris. And I quote, In this blessed attack for which Allah facilitated the cause for success, a faithful group of the soldiers of the caliphate, may Allah dignify to make it victorious, launched out targeting the capital of prostitution and obscenity, they are referring to Paris there, the carrier of the banner of the cross in Europe, Paris. Paris.
So they perceived Paris as the carrier of the cross, and they often referred to America in the same way, and they call us the Crusaders. And you are saying, What does this verbiage mean? It is a very important verbiage that you understand.
We are talking about an ideological battle that goes back a thousand years, people. You have heard of the Crusaders, right? And you know that the Crusaders came to liberate the city of Jerusalem from Muslims that had taken control of it. That is how far back this battle goes. That is where this rhetoric is coming from, so you understand the kind of mentality that we are dealing with.
Meanwhile, in the Middle East, we see a lot of changes. We see Syria and all the turmoil that they are having. And then, of course, that has been a hotbed for the development of Isis. And despite the fact that we continue to hit them with their strikes, they continue to spread their tentacles out inexplicably to some.
And now we have Russia stepping in. Russia stepping in. And even more interesting, Russia closely aligning herself with Iran. Do you know that this is a recent phenomena that has not been in place until very recently?
Bible Prophecy and Current Alignments
And we are hearing about thousands of Russian troops potentially pouring into Syria and thousands of Iranian troops. And we say, yeah, so what? Let them clean the mess up. Wait a second. Bible student, pay attention.
There is a scenario in the book of Ezekiel 37, 38, and 39 that talks about a massive force from the north of Israel marching on her and the forces identified as Magog. And most prophecy teachers and experts believe that Magog is modern-day Russia.
Here is where it really gets interesting. One of the allies that marches with Magog is Persia. Guess who Persia is? It is Iran. And you will even meet Iranian people today and they will say, well, I am Persian. They will still use the verbiage. It was only fairly recently that Persia became what we now call Iran.
So here we see this alignment. An ally of Magog. If Magog is Russia and we know that Iran or Persia is Iran, then when we hear about the buildup of troops in that part of the area, this is of great interest to the Bible study.
Now I am going to get into this later in another message. It is another message for another time. But let's just suffice it to say, we are living in the last days.
Okay, so Jesus came... Excuse me. The disciples of Jesus came to Him with this question. What is the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? In other words, Lord, how will we know that we are in the end times?
And here is what Jesus said in Matthew 24. As the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. As in the days that were before the flood, there was eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark and knew not until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
As in the Days of Noah – Parallels Today
Now in giving this statement, Christ was, for starters, confirming the historicity of the story of the great flood. That there was a great flood. That there actually was an ark. There really was a guy named Noah. And it was filled with the animals, two of every kind.
And so He is telling us this is not a fable. This is not a fairy tale. This is not a myth. This is an actual story that is true. But He is also encouraging us to look carefully at the way things were before the flood came. Because they would characterize the days before His return.
As it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be when the Son of Man returns. And there is a lot of striking parallels between the times of Noah and our times today.
In effect, Noah is what we might describe as a last days believer. He was in the last days of planet earth, as it was known then, before the great flood, as we are last days believers living in that time before the great tribulation period comes to planet earth and the judgment of God and so forth.
So here is what we see straight away. Here is a man that was living in the shadow of an impending judgment. But here is a man, despite the wickedness of the culture, who managed to live a godly life in an ungodly world.
And no, those things were super wicked at this particular time historically. That brings us to Genesis 6, which is a description of the days in which Noah lived.
So look at verse 5. Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every intent of the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry he made man on the earth. And he was grieved in his heart.
So the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry I made them.
It is interesting that it says, every intent of the thoughts of his heart was evil continually. This was bad. Actually a better translation to verse 5, where God says their wickedness is great, could better be translated, their wickedness has reached a high degree or the highest pitch. It was full to the brim.
Think of an overflowing trash can. Worse yet, think of an overflowing septic tank. That's what earth was looking like at this time. It was as though earth was stinking to high heaven. God took notice of it.
God's Grief and Just Judgment
And sometimes when wickedness is rampant, we wonder why God doesn't stop it. We look around at our world today and we would say, why would God allow those terrorists to do what they did? Why would God allow this injustice over here? Why does God permit these things to happen?
Well listen, God's fully aware of what is happening. And first he reveals his grace before he brings his judgment.
There is a number of things that strike us about God's assessment of the problem. Things have gone dramatically downhill. Now remember that Genesis of course begins with the story of the Garden of Eden. where everything was just perfect. I mean it was fantastic.
Here is Adam. Here is Eve. Here is this beautiful garden with these incredible things that God made to look at and the animal kingdom. And best of all, the Lord Himself showed up as the sun was setting and Adam was able to take a personal walk with God each and every day.
But you know the story. The serpent enters the scene. He deceives Eve. Adam disobeys. Sin enters the world. And man, things go downhill so rapidly.
And now as we get to Genesis 6, God is saying in verse 6, He's sorry He made man. Or a better translation, God was grieved in His heart. Listen, you only grieve for those you love.
You know if someone dies that you deeply love, you grieve deeply. If someone dies, you say, oh really? Huh, whatever. What's for lunch? Clearly you didn't love that person much.
But if it's someone you care about, then you grieve. And God is grieving. He takes no pleasure in this. Understand that. God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Ezekiel 33:11 says.
So you say, well then why does God send judgment? Because God is just. Abraham rightly said, Shall not the judge of the earth do right? Over in Genesis 18:25.
Listen, if man can flagrantly and continually break the laws, of God, and murder, and pervert everything that God has made, pervert everything that is right and good, is it appropriate for the Lord to turn a blind eye?
Isn't it appropriate if God is just to take action? But you might say, but that's not very loving, man. Okay, well, hold on now.
Let's just say that your sweet little toddler child was playing in your backyard. And suddenly you saw a wolf climb over the fence and it was rapidly moving toward your child. Now what are you going to do? I'm going to talk with the wolf and try to... No, you're not going to talk with the wolf.
Maybe if I hug him? No, that won't work either. Maybe if you shoot him or hit him with something that will kill him, that would be the solution.
Listen, why do you do that? Because you love your children. And if you love something, you're also going to hate something. Hate is part of love. See, if I love someone, I hate anything that would harm that person that I love.
And if there's a threat to someone I love, I will step in with a hatred, saying, don't you dare try to hurt this person. So God loves his creation. God loves mankind, but this sin is coming in.
So God says, you know what, man? There's just a point where my spirit is not always going to strive with man. And I wonder if the Lord has reached that point right now.
He knows about every act of wickedness and perversion and terrorism. He knows stuff that you and I don't even know. In this day of instant information and social media and everything else, we hear everything practically in real time.
And I think that's one of the reasons we're so stressed out. Because, you know, you don't wait till tomorrow to pick up the morning newspaper. You know, you get it on your Twitter feed. Or in your phone, it probably vibrates. Oh, whoa, what's going on?
And now you're getting all this information in real time as it's unfolding. You can click and watch the live video feed. See it as it's actually unfolding. That's the world we're living in today.
So God says, okay, that's it. In the days of Noah, I'm gonna bring judgment. But here's what's interesting. Against this very dark background was a man who walked with God.
Noah Found Grace – A Man Who Walked with God
Noah was that man. And Genesis 6:8 says, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
You know, sometimes when a jeweler wants to display a beautiful ring or a piece of jewelry they want you to buy, they'll put it on black velvet or against a black background and they'll have a special light that will pick that beautiful item up so you can appreciate it.
Sometimes we can better appreciate someone who lives a pure life when they're put against the backdrop of a very impure world. And against this very dark spiritual backdrop shines Noah, a rare Jewel indeed.
And Genesis 6:8 says, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. What does that mean? Does that mean that God had grace on Noah because he had a righteous, lived a righteous life? No, it's actually the opposite.
The word grace means God's unmerited favor. See, God had grace on Noah or God extended grace toward Noah and Noah responded to that grace. And that is how we all come to know God.
You see, justice is getting what I deserve. Mercy is not getting what I deserve. Grace is getting what I don't deserve.
So don't ever say to God, I want justice in my life, Lord. Really? God would say, pardon moi? You want me to kill you? No. Why did you say that? You want justice? I would be just.
Okay, I want mercy. Justice, that's getting what you deserve. Mercy, not getting what you deserve. Ah, grace. Getting what you don't deserve.
God extended grace toward Noah. And it's by grace that we are saved through faith, Ephesians says, Not of works lest any man should boast.
See, God did not love Noah because he lived a godly life. Noah lived a godly life because he understood how much God loved him. It's different.
And the Bible says we love him because he first loved us. I mean, why did God choose you? Why did God choose me? No one really knows. But maybe the answer is found on why God chose Israel.
In Deuteronomy 7 we read, The Lord did not set his heart upon Israel or the Jewish people and choose them because they were more numerous than other nations for they were the smallest of all nations. No, it was simply that the Lord loves you.
Why did God choose me? I'm not really sure what the answer is but I know this much. It's because he loves you. So just embrace that. Be thankful for it.
Okay, so now let's look at Noah. He did things that a last days believer ought to do. Things we ought to be doing in the times in which we're living.
Number one, Noah walked with God. Verse nine. He walked with God.
Now he had a great grandfather, Enoch, who also walked with God. In fact, the Bible says, Enoch walked with God and was not for God took it. Really interesting story.
So apparently Enoch was this guy that had this close relationship with the Lord. And one day they went out for a walk and I guess the Lord said at the end, Hey, we're closer to my place than yours. Why don't you come home with me? And he just went to heaven.
It's almost as though Enoch was like a prototype of the raptured believer. Because it says he walked with God and was not for God took him. Or literally, God translated him. He did not die a natural death as most people do. He was just taken to heaven as a generation of people.
And we could be that generation. We'll be going about their business and suddenly in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the trumpet of God they will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. And what we often call the rapture of the church.
But Noah walked with God. What does it mean to walk with God? The prophet Amos gives us a clue. He says, Can two walk together unless they have agreed? Can two walk together unless they have agreed?
Or another way to translate it. Can two walk together unless they have made an appointment?
Let's say you want to go to lunch with someone. Hey, you want to go to lunch? You text them. Yes. Okay, where do you want to go? A few things go back and forth. A few places. Okay, let's go to In-N-Out Burger. I'll see you there at 11.
They send back, smiling emoji. Okay, so you're good, right? Maybe a couple hamburger emojis, whatever. So you set a time and you show up. You have an appointment.
Well, to walk with God means that we keep our appointment. I have a friend named Bob Shank. He has this little saying. It goes along these lines. He says, Early is on time. On time is late. And late is never acceptable.
That's pretty good, isn't it, girls? Did you hear that quote? I'll say it one more time. Early is on time. On time is late. And late, it's never acceptable.
Well, you don't want to be late for your appointment with God. So when you take a walk with someone, you keep in step with them.
If someone says, Let's take a walk together. Well, that means let's talk. You know, my wife sometimes will meet some of her friends from church who are girls. We're going to go take a walk.
I'll say, Why don't you just say what it really is. You're going to go take a talk. It's a talk. It's a talk where you move. Okay? But because these walks last three hours. Like, who takes a three-hour walk? Girls do. And they're talking, right? That's good.
So that actually conveys what it means to walk with God. You're walking with God. You're talking with God. You're hearing from God.
The objective in taking a walk is to keep pace with a person you're with. If you're walking with your wife or your girlfriend, you take her hand, you walk with her. You don't run ahead of her. You don't lag behind her. You don't drag her down. You don't drag her forward.
When I take a walk with my grandchildren, I have to pace myself. If I am with my grandson Christopher, age 3, about this high, I take his little hand and I have to walk a little bit slower.
But then my other grandkids, they want to show me they can beat me in a race. So it becomes a race. And we are sometimes that way with God.
But here is the wonderful thing about God. God will just bring you along. He will wait for you to catch up. And so this is the idea being conveyed.
Noah Worked for God – Building the Ark by Faith
Enoch walked with God. And that brings us to point number two. Enoch and then Noah as well. Noah worked for God.
Number two. Noah worked for God. Verse 14. We read, God told Noah to build an ark.
Now that may not be that big of a deal to you, but you have to understand something. God told Noah to build a boat and there was no water. Do you understand that?
There were no bodies of water as we know them today. It had never rained before. The whole earth was under sort of a water canopy. And creating a greenhouse effect.
And one of the greatest acts of faith in all of human history, Noah cut down that first tree to build this ark. It was so dramatic that he's memorialized on what we call the Hall of Faith.
Hebrews 11:7 says, By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, he prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness, which is according to faith.
He was divinely warned. God said build an ark. Noah obeyed.
Noah Was a Witness for God – Preacher of Righteousness
Number three. Noah was a witness for God. Noah walked with God. Noah worked for God. Noah was a witness for God.
He's identified in 2 Peter 2:5 as a preacher of righteousness. We often don't think of Noah as a preacher, but according to Hebrews, or excuse me, 2 Peter, he was.
And he faithfully went about that task as well. But did you know that though Noah lived 120 years, he never had a single convert? Not one convert. Not one convert after 120 years of preaching.
Now that would get pretty discouraging, wouldn't it? Noah stands as an example for all those faithful seed sowers out there who can't always measure their success in their sharing of the gospel, at least outwardly.
I read this story about a missionary whose name was George Smith. He was called to Africa. His ministry was short-lived and he felt he was a failure. He had only been there a short time when he was driven from the country, leaving behind one single convert, a poor woman.
This missionary died not long after that on his knees while praying for Africa. So if you looked at his life, you would say, Well, that was a wasted life. What did you accomplish? Where are your converts?
So years later, a group of men stumbled into the place where missionary George Smith had prayed. And they found a copy of the Scriptures he had left behind in Africa. And then they tracked down the one convert that came as a result of his ministry.
And then they looked at other people who were impacted by the one convert. And once their research was completed, it was determined that over the next 100 years, 13,000 people emerged from that one convert as followers of Christ. 13,000 people.
So you say, You know what? I'm a failure, man. I've shared the gospel and I ask people if they want to accept Jesus and they say no. Or they blow me off or they hang up or whatever. Are you a failure?
See, here's what God requires of you. God requires faithfulness, not success. Because sometimes that success may come much later. It may come after you've left this earth.
And it may come from a person that you reach, that reach another person, that reach another person, that reach hundreds, and that person reach thousands. Who knows? It's not over till it's over.
Or as they say, it's not over until the fat lady sings. I don't know who this fat lady is. I don't know what she's singing about. Don't get offended. It's an expression. Oh. Okay.
So what do we do? Well, we're supposed to preach the gospel if people respond or not. You preach the gospel if people respond or not.
I'm told to go into all the world and preach the gospel. The conversion is up to God. It's not up to me.
1 Corinthians 3, Paul says, I planted, Apollos watered, God gave the increase. So neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God gives the increase. So the one who plants and the one who waters are one, and each one will receive his reward.
So God said to Noah, build that boat. And he built it. It was about 450 feet long, 70 feet wide, and 45 feet high.
I just saw a story in the news where some museum, I think it's a creation museum, is actually trying to recreate the ark again. It was massive. Weighing in at about 13,960 tons that would place the ark well within the category of large metal ocean-going vessels today.
And by the way, not until the 1800s was a ship that exceeded the capacity of Noah's ark built. Know this, the ark was no Titanic in beauty, but it was definitely more seaworthy.
It was just a big, floating, sealed box that bombed around on the waters after it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. And Noah and all those critters spent a year at sea. Man, that must have stunk in there after a while.
And then finally, they reached land and they were able to get out of the ark again.
You know, it's an interesting thing because we read that after the ark was built and they were getting ready to leave, Noah left the front door open for seven days.
So it's a little different than the story we saw in the film about Noah where Russell Crowe slash Gladiator slash Noah was killing people who were trying to get on the ark with a sword. Remember that? How many of you saw that Noah film? Okay, that didn't happen.
The door was open. Come on in. You're welcome. No one came. Sort of reminds us of the times in which we're living. The door's open. The door's open for people to believe. The door's open for people to be forgiven of their sins. And it will be open throughout the last days.
But these people were so wicked and twisted they had no interest in it at all until it started raining. But then it was too late.
Notice also, God said to Noah and his family, come into the ark. He didn't say go into the ark. He said come into the ark. What does that imply? God was in the ark. Come on into this ark now with me. Join me here.
Just as Jesus said, come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
Okay, so here's Noah bobbing around out on the sea for a year. They finally come to land and they open that door and here's what we read. God remembered Noah. God remembered Noah.
I bet you Noah was wondering if the Lord was paying attention. Have you ever felt as though the Lord has forgotten about you? Maybe He has not acted in your life in what is perhaps a long time.
But this is a reminder that He will act again. God always finishes what He begins. Philippians 1:6, being confident of this very thing that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it under the day of Jesus Christ. or a better translation would be carry it to completion.
So your job is to faithfully obey the Lord. Just do what He told you to do last and be faithful in that.
Maybe God's called you to ministry and you haven't seen a lot of spiritual fruit. Maybe in your marriage it's pretty hard and you wonder if it's ever gonna get better. Just hang in there.
God remembered Noah and God will remember you as well.
So the Spirit of God blows across the land. The clouds begin to dissipate. The sun appears and the grass and the plants and the trees come back to life.
And you know what Noah knew? Or I almost said knew a no. You know what knew a no? Or what Noah knew? He knew he must give thanks.
Noah Built an Altar – Worship and Thanksgiving
And this, I love this verse. You have to go forward a few pages. Genesis 8:20. Noah built an altar to the Lord.
Now look, if I'd been stuck on a boat for a year and I finally reached land and the door of the boat opened, I would probably run around for about two months just happy to be on terra firma.
Have you ever been at a boat for a prolonged period of time and after you get off, you're still kind of moving back and forth a little bit? You know, you're... And so I would have been so happy to be on the dry ground.
But the first thing that Noah does is he built an altar to the Lord. That brings me to my fourth and final point and really the main point of what I want to say before we come to the communion table.
Number one, Noah walked with God. Number two, Noah worked for God. Number three, Noah was a witness for God. And now number four, Noah worshipped God.
He built an altar and he worshipped the Lord. Hebrews 11:7 says, Noah moved with godly fear. And by the way, that word fear means wholesome dread of displeasing him.
He walked and talked with God and he listened as well. He worshipped God and he remembered God. You see, God remembered Noah and Noah remembered God.
Why is that important? Because you know what? Sometimes we forget God. Oh, oh, we're very aware of God when we're in trouble and we have the crisis and we have the problem and we pray and we pray and the Lord comes through.
And then we say, thanks God, see you next crisis.
Remember the story of the 10 lepers? This dreaded, deadly, fatal disease. And Jesus healed them. Healed all of them. One came back and gave thanks. Jesus said, I thought I healed 10. Where's the other nine?
You know, God wants us to give thanks. That's just common courtesy. When someone does something for you, always remember to say, thank you. And we should do the same with God.
If the Lord does something for you, remember to give thanks to him for that. Noah had his priorities straight. Noah was thankful.
And there are many ways we can show our thankfulness to God. But here's just some simple ways you can do it on a regular basis.
Number one, the simple act of saying grace over a meal is a great way to give thanks. I love that. When people pray before a meal.
I love it when I'm in a restaurant and I see a family just pause and they all bow their heads and they pray. And you go, look at that. The family over there is praying. Isn't that great? I think it's a good witness.
By the way, if you are going to pray before a meal, you know, don't pray too long. Okay? It's just giving thanks. It's not intercessory prayer for planet Earth. Okay? So, it's, you know, you can get to that later, but the food's warm. Eat the food while it's still hot.
You know, get to it in your prayer. Don't pray too long. And don't do it in an ostentatious way, you know, in a way to draw unnecessary attention to yourself.
And please, if you pray publicly in a restaurant, don't be a cheapskate. Leave a tip. Because that's a bad witness, isn't it? Yes, we should pray.
Jesus Gave Thanks – Examples for Us
And here's something you may not know. Jesus gave thanks. Did you know that? Jesus would, in prayer, give thanks to the Father.
He did so in the feeding of the 4,000. Not the 5,000. The 4,000. We read in Matthew 15:35, He came out of the multitude to sit down on the ground. He took seven loaves and the fish, listen, and gave thanks and broke them and gave them to His disciples and His disciples gave to the multitude.
I find that amazing that Jesus Christ gave thanks to the Father before they had their meal. And from this, I think we learned that Jesus was giving thanks for the necessities of life like food.
And if Jesus did it, should we not do the same? What did Jesus teach us to pray in the Lord's Prayer? He said, But after this manner, therefore pray, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, what? Our daily bread.
Now why do I pray that? Well, in praying, Give me this day my daily bread, I am acknowledging that everything I have comes to me from God. And when I say daily bread, it means my food.
You say, I am on an Atkins diet, man. All protein. Okay, whatever. Give me this day my daily meat and cheese. Or bacon or whatever works. No, but the idea is give me my daily necessities. Give me the food that I need to eat each and every day.
And we should pray for that. And understand this, God maybe has blessed some of you. Maybe you have great wealth. Maybe you have made some amazing investments or you have worked really hard and been very creative and you have created a successful business. Okay, great. Fantastic.
But just remember one thing. God did that for you. Well, true. But, I kind of worked really hard and I really have an amazing mind. Okay, that may even be true to some degree. But God gave you that mind. God gave you the health to do the job. God gave you the strength and God gave you everything that you have.
Understand that. Everything. Deuteronomy 8:18 says, Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you the ability to produce well.
So when you say, Give me this day my daily bread, I am just saying, Lord, I acknowledge everything I have. It has come from you. And I want to thank you for that.
Thank you, Lord, for food on my table. Thank you, Lord, for clothes on my back. Thank you, Lord, for transportation. Thank you, Lord, for my health. Thank you, Lord, for those things I often take for granted in life.
Give thanks for those things. Thank you, Lord, that we're safe right now. Thank you, Lord, for those things.
Another time that Jesus gave thanks was before he raised Lazarus from the dead. He was there in the city of Bethany. And Lazarus, his friend, had died. Not only had he died, but he actually was in the process of decomposition.
And Jesus said to Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, your brother will live again. And they didn't seem to get that or understand that. In fact, Martha protested and said, Lord, by now he stinketh. That's actually King James. I love that translation.
Lord, by now he stinketh. Which is a really nice way to tell someone they smell bad in a biblical way? You know, bro, you stinketh. Shower would be in order. Yeah. Lord, he's decomposing. Forget about it. Forget about it. No way, Lord.
And then Jesus responds and says, didn't I tell you you would see God's glory if you believe? So they rolled the stone aside and Jesus looked up to heaven and said, Father, I thank you that you hear me.
He gave thanks. Father, thank you that you hear me. And that's another thing to give thanks for. Give thanks that your prayers are heard by God.
If you pray right now, God will hear your prayer. You say, well, I don't know if he hears my prayers because he never answers them. Well, maybe he just didn't like the answer.
God answers prayer three ways. Yes, no, and wait. Sometimes when God says, wait or no, we say, God didn't answer my prayer. No, he answered. He said, no. You just didn't like the answer.
But he answers your prayers. Yes, Noah remembered the Lord.
Faithful Giving and Daily Devotion as Thanksgiving
Another way we can remember the Lord is in the faithful giving of our finances. In the faithful giving of our finances, Proverbs 3:9 says, honor the Lord with your wealth with the first fruits of your crops and then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine.
See, when you take a percentage of your income, we call it a tithe. A tithe means a tenth. When you take that percentage of your income as God has blessed you and say, this isn't even mine, Lord. I give this to you automatically.
God promises that we will be faithful in that area that He will open up the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that we will not have room enough to receive.
But this is often one of the last areas that some Christians will surrender to God. They'll give everything else to God except their checkbook or except their credit card or except their money. They'll say, this is my money.
Hold on now. Who gave the ability to make wealth? Who gave you the ability to succeed? God gave that to you. So you bring back that offering to Him.
But here's what you're missing. There's a joy in giving. And not only is there a joy in giving but it will result in Thanksgiving to God.
Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 9. He says, remember this, a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. The one who plants generously will get a generous crop.
You must each decide in your own heart how much to give. And don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure for God loves a cheerful giver.
Then he goes on to say, and you'll be enriched in every way and you'll always be generous and you can take those gifts that God has given you and others will thank God.
See, this is the idea. God will bless you as you give. You say, well God loves a cheerful giver. I can't give this cheerfully so I shouldn't give at all. Really? Come on.
No, you should change your heart and learn the joy of giving because it is more blessed to give than to receive. Right? That's what Jesus said.
Now when you're kids it's more blessed to get than to give. Kids fight over toys and I always find out later that my kids find, my grandkids I should say, find the hiding places I think I'm so clever and they already know what they're getting, you know, for Christmas and they look forward to that but you know, I actually really enjoy getting a gift for someone and giving something to someone. There's a joy in all of it.
That's a way to give thanks to God.
Here's another way. We should remember the Lord each day and take time for prayer and Bible study.
Say, well Greg, I'm really busy. Really? You're busy doing what? Why? I work. I work two jobs. Okay. You can't make time for Bible study. Can't make time.
Really? Do you have time for TV? Do you have time for social media? Do you have time for Facebook? Do you have time for other... Well, yeah, I have time for that.
Well, wait. Then you have time for the Bible and you have time for prayer. In fact, we're told in Psalm 5:3, in the morning, Lord, you hear my voice. In the morning, I lay my request before you and I wait expectantly.
I think it's just a great discipline when you get up in the morning to open up the Word of God. And read it. And pray and commit your day to the Lord.
Even before your feet hit the ground, say, Lord, today just fill me with the Holy Spirit. And give me wisdom. And lead me. And guide me. I want to be in the center of your will.
That's how you remember the Lord. You make time to do it.
I appreciate you guys over here. You're just a little more enthusiastic. Maybe it's because I gave you the book. But you kind of get it. You respond. And then they respond. And they come around one minute later, two minutes later. You know. No, it's too late.
But if it's spontaneous, I'll accept it. Okay. But I know spontaneous clapping. And I know... Anyway. Okay. So. I appreciate anything actually.
Here's another one. This one might surprise you. We're almost done. We should also remember to give thanks when things are hard.
Greg, you lost me. I understand giving thanks for His provision. I understand giving thanks with my resources. I understand making time to remember the Lord and getting in the Word. But give thanks when things are hard. That doesn't make sense.
Actually, it makes perfect sense. In the book of Daniel, we'll read the story of a law being passed. And no one could pray anymore. Can you imagine such a law being passed today? New law. You can no longer pray. Period.
What would you do? Well, we know what Daniel did. We read this. Daniel 6:10. Daniel, when he learned the law had been signed, went home, knelt down as usual. In his upstairs room with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he prayed three times a day as he always had done.
But this is the part I don't want you to miss. And he gave thanks to God.
Now, if I would have read, he opened up his windows and prayed, God, why did you let this happen? I would have understood that, wouldn't you? But no, he gave thanks to God because he was in the habit of giving thanks to the Lord.
And that's a good habit to be in. He gave thanks to God. Lord, I don't know what's going on. I don't know why you've allowed this. But hey, I'm giving thanks to you because you're still on the throne.
We can not only give thanks when things seem to be good. We must give thanks because the Lord is good. And because he's working all things together for good.
Let me repeat that. We should not only give thanks when things seem to be good. We should also give thanks because the Lord is good. And he is working all things together for good.
Right? Like that expression. It's all good, man. And in a broad sense, it actually is. I don't mean every little thing that's happening is good, because bad things happen. Inexplicable things happen. Hardships and tragedies happen.
I'm not saying those are good things. What I'm saying, it's all good in the sense that God is good, and God will work things together ultimately for His good and for His glory and for our good as well.
That's why Paul says, in everything, give thanks. In everything, by prayer, with Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God that passes all human understanding will keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.
Jesus Gave Thanks at the Last Supper
Well, I'm gonna share one more time when Jesus gave thanks. It was at an event that we often call the Last Supper. That brings us to our text, 1 Corinthians 11.
1 Corinthians 11, go over there with me if you would. Now, this is Paul speaking, but he's telling us what happened in the Last Supper.
And he writes in verse 23, For I pass on to you that which I received from the Lord Himself on the night in which He was betrayed, Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God.
And He broke it in pieces and said, This is my body which is broken for you. This do to remember me.
And the same way He took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant between God and His people, an agreement confirmed with My blood.
Jesus gave thanks. Where was this? In the upper room. What was going on in the upper room? Well, He was about to identify His betrayer, Judas Iscariot. And once He was identified, Jesus said, Whatever you do, do it quickly.
He also identified His denier, Simon Peter, saying to Simon, Before the rooster has crowed twice, You will deny three times that you know Me.
Jesus was now taking the bread and breaking it and drinking from the cup because it symbolized His body that would soon be broken and His blood that would soon be shed.
Jesus, who was God, knew all things. He knew what was about to happen. He knew He was going to be beaten beyond human recognition. He knew they were going to rip the beard out of His face.
He knew that He was going to be scourged with a Roman whip, probably the cat of nine tails. He knew He was going to be nailed to a cross. And He knew He was going to take the sin of the world upon Himself.
But we read, He gave thanks. How could you give thanks at a time like that? He gave thanks because He knew, despite the horrific things that were about to happen, the greatest good in all of the universe was about to take place.
The greatest good being the salvation of all people who would put their faith in Him that He would purchase by His blood on the cross. He gave thanks.
In Hebrews 12, we read, For the joy that was set before Him, Christ endured the cross, despising the shame, and now He has sat down on the right hand of God.
He gave thanks because He knew what it would accomplish.
So, we have a lot to give thanks for, don't we? Let's see what you guys came up with here. What you gave thanks for. Let's put it up on the screen.
Some of the things we're thankful for. I'm thankful for God's mercy, grace, and the privilege to be called a husband and father. Amen, Jeremy.
Thankful for God's mercy. Oh, I read that one. Thankful for my kids, Lorena. I'm thankful for the many volunteers and my camera, Ken. Oh, okay. Ken is the guy actually working this screen right now. And he's one of the camera guys. And so, good.
I'm thankful for God giving me a chance. So true. I'm thankful for my parents. I'm the air in my lungs, but mostly for Jesus saving me.
I'm thankful for my salvation, my sage and Luke, my church. Okay. Paula. I'm thankful for being able to be a disciple. Absolutely.
I'm thankful for the Father in Heaven and the loving husband he blessed me with, Yvette. I'm thankful for salvation and that my advanced cancer did not take my life as doctors had thought it would. Isn't that great? Praise God. Amen. Amen.
I'm thankful God promises to never leave me. Oh, that's true. We should all be thankful for that. I'm thankful for salvation. Oh, we read that one.
I'm thankful God. I read that too. I'm thankful for my children for all the wonderful blessings my Lord has given me. My Lord has never left me and has protected me. Rebecca. That's outstanding.
I'm thankful for God's blessings upon his children and I have so many brothers and sisters at Christ at Harvest OCs too. That's right. Amen.
So that's great, you guys. I'm thankful for this church. I'm thankful for you. I'm thankful for the work God has done.
And we're all thankful for our salvation. And it was all purchased by Christ at the cross.
Remembering Christ in Communion
So let me close with this thought. When Jesus was going to the cross, understand he was thinking of you.
You say, well, Greg, I don't really know if that's technically correct. The Bible says God so loved the world. He gave his only begotten son. I'm just one face in billions. I doubt he was thinking of me.
Well, listen, God, he can think of a lot of people and he can think of an individual. Does not the Bible say, the very hairs of your head are numbered? Now, in my case, that's not a big thing. What is it, eight or nine? On my wife's head, one billion.
But he knows of every bird that falls to the ground. God knows details. But here's why I know he was thinking of you and thinking of me. The apostle Paul said, he loved me and he gave himself for me.
You see? It was personal. He died for you. He bled for you. He suffered for you because he loves you.
So how can we remember him? Jesus said, this do in remembrance of me. God remembered Noah. Noah remembered God.
And we will remember the Lord tonight as we come to the communion table.
You say, what communion table? I don't see it. It's a special one that only those with great faith can see. You see it? Who sees it? You're delusional. It's not here.
No, it's in the back. It's in the back. And we'll bring the elements up and we'll serve them so we can all do what Jesus asked to do this in remembrance of him.
You know what? Here's an interesting twist on that. That phrase, do this in remembrance of me, Jesus speaking, it could be better translated. Do this in affectionate remembrance of me.
Not just ritually doing it or legalistically doing it. Affectionately doing it. Oh Lord, thank you. And offering your praise.
But listen, this thing that we're about to do, receive these elements, the broken bread and the cup that symbolize his body and his blood. This is for Christians only.
No, a non-Christian should not receive the elements of communion. In fact, the Apostle Paul said, if you receive these elements while not believing in the one they represent, you can actually eat and drink judgment to yourself. That's scary.
See, the idea being, it would almost be like mocking God to take of the bread and drink of the cup and not believe in the one they represent.
So this is only for Christians, only for believers. If you're not a believer, you should not receive the elements of communion.
You say, well, what if I want to become a believer? Well, then you should. And then you can join us.
You say, well, how do I join you? Well, you become a Christian. You say, well, how do I become a Christian? Through prayer.
When you say to Jesus, I'm sorry for my sin and I want you to forgive me. And I want you to come into my life so as some of these folks said, I don't ever have to be alone in life. I'll know that you're always there with me.
Lord, I want you. And I want to know that when I die, I will go to heaven. That's something we should really be thankful for, that those of us who have trusted in Christ, we're going to heaven. That's the big one. Next to salvation. It really is. That's the big one.
Do you know you're going to heaven? Do you know that your sin is forgiven? Is Christ living inside of you? Are you sure?
If not, would you like him to come into your life right now? We're going to close in prayer and I'm going to extend an invitation to anyone here that wants to believe in Jesus Christ.
Anyone here that wants to be forgiven of their sin. And if you will pray this prayer and really put your faith in him, he will come and live inside of you and you can have the hope also that you will go to heaven when you die.
Let's all bow our heads right now and pray. Father, thank you for loving us so much you sent Jesus. Jesus, thank you for coming to this earth and dying in our place and then rising again from the dead.
Now we pray for any here that do not yet know you, Lord. Help them to come to you. We pray for some who know you but have been prodigal sons and daughters. We pray they'll come back to you tonight.
Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we're praying together, how many of you would say, Greg, pray for me. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life. I want him to forgive me of my sin. I want to know that when I die, I will go to heaven. I want my sin forgiven. Pray for me. I want Jesus.
If that's your desire, if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life and you want him to forgive you of your sin, if you want to go to heaven when you die, Would you raise your hand up wherever you are? Let me pray for you.
God bless you. God bless you. Anybody else? Over there in the back, God bless you. Raise your hand up high where I can see it, please. God bless you, and God bless you as well. Anybody else? Raise your hand up. I'll pray for you.
God bless you. God bless you there in the aisle. Just lift your hand up. God bless you. Anybody else? If you haven't lifted your hand yet, lift it right now. You want Christ in your life. Let me pray for you.
God bless you. God bless you. While our heads are still bowed, maybe some of you would say, you know, I've been a prodigal son. I've been a prodigal daughter. I know it's right. And I haven't been living it. I've been living in two worlds.
And I want to get right with God. I want to come back to Him again. I need to recommit my life to Christ. Pray for me.
If that's your desire, would you raise your hand up right now? Let me pray for you. God bless you. God bless you. You need to make that recommitment. Raise your hand up. God bless you, sir. Yes, I see Him. Anybody else? God bless.
All right. Now I'm going to ask every one of you, if you would, please, that is, raise your hand. If you raise your hand, I want you to stand to your feet. And I'm going to lead you in a prayer of commitment to Christ.
Just stand up. All of you that raised your hand, just stand up. And we're going to pray together. Even if you did not raise your hand, but you want to make this commitment or recommitment to Christ, stand to your feet.
I'm going to lead you in prayer. Stand up. God bless you. That are standing. By the way, if you stand, you won't be alone. Others are already standing.
You want to get right with God. You want your sin forgiven. You want to go to heaven when you die. You want to recommit your life to Christ. Stand to your feet right now. I'm going to lead you in this prayer.
Anybody else? Stand up now. Let me pray with you. God bless you. There might be a few more. God's speaking to your heart right now. The Bible says, harden not your heart if you can hear His voice.
Anybody else? Stand now. Let me pray with you. God bless you. I'll wait one more moment. Anybody else? Stand now. You will not regret this. God bless you. And God bless you. And God bless you. Anybody else? And God bless you too. Yes. Amen.
Anybody else? Stand now. We're going to pray together. One more moment. Then we'll pray. Anybody else? All right. Oh, God bless you. Fantastic. I'm going to wait one more moment. Okay, I'm going to pray this prayer, and I want you to pray it out loud after me.
Right where you stand, as I pray, pray this out loud after me. This is a prayer of asking God to forgive you of your sin. Pray this out loud now:
Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, but I know that you are the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and Rose again from the dead. Jesus, come into my life. Be my Lord. Be my God. Be my Savior. Be my friend. I choose to follow you, Jesus, from this moment forward. Thank you for calling me and accepting me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.