Our message series in November is called “Share Your Faith.” Last week Pastor David spoke on the supreme task of the church. Regardless of how elections turn out, the task of the church remains the same, to make disciples of Jesus Christ. This week, we have Thanksgiving coming up this Thursday. God wants to teach us to use special holidays and events as opportunities to share our faith with those around us. So, today, my message is entitled “Share Your Faith with Thanksgiving.”
What I’m going to talk about today will apply to this Thanksgiving week as well as the rest of the year. What is Thanksgiving all about? Our country was founded on biblical principles. Giving thanks to God is found throughout the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments. Let’s look at one passage from the Psalms.
Psalm 105:1-2 (NIV) Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.
This passage commands us to first of all give thanks to the Lord. Thanksgiving is not optional for a believer. We have so much to give thanks for. Then we are to pray and finally make known among the nations what God has done. So you see, a heart of thanksgiving leads one to tell others what we are thankful to God for. A heart of thanksgiving leads to sharing your faith. The things we are thankful to God for are the kinds of things we can tell others about.
Verse 2 tells us to sing praise to God and then what? We are to tell of God’s wonderful acts. A whole lot of people today in America have great difficulty in sharing their faith. Why is this? Maybe it stems from not having hearts of thanksgiving to God. Maybe it stems from not thanking God for his wonderful acts. If we don’t thank God for what He has done, how will we have the motivation and courage to tell others what He has done?
So, what keeps us from giving thanks to the Lord, from morning through evening? Do we forget? Or perhaps we’re too busy? Or maybe we can’t think of anything to be thankful for? Maybe, deep down, we feel that we have so many problems, there isn’t much to be thankful for. Our prayers are filled with help me with this and that and very little thanksgiving is found.
Should we only give thanks when things are going well? When we don’t have many problems? Or is it possible to give thanks no matter what our circumstances are? Let’s look at what the Bible has to say about giving thanks in difficult circumstances. In giving thanks even when we don’t feel like it.
Listen to or watch my November 18, 2012 message Share Your Faith with Thanksgiving.