Nov. 27, 2016 Thanks Be To God by Pastor Josh Sheldon

And of all the occasions that we celebrate, most of us celebrate anyway,

all the occasions that the Bible neither forbids nor commands us, Thanksgiving is my favorite.

Now, many of you know I'm sort of a turkey fanatic, and maybe you know that because I tell it so often, I

just love turkey.

So any occasion that features turkey is gonna be one that I'm going to enjoy, at least in the physical sense.

But Thanksgiving is a very special time of year, a time we set aside

to particularly give thanks.

And despite the efforts of many to secularize Thanksgiving, to try and prove

to us that in the past, when it was first come about,

that it was a holiday that did not have a religious, if you will,

foundation.

And I don't want to digress into a polemic this morning.

And this morning's message is not exegetical or expositional

message so much as you've been accustomed to.

You can see already I'm gonna take this one Sunday break from our series of going through Romans.

Right now we should be in chapter two, verses 12 to 29, if you wanna read ahead, get ready for that when I come back on the

11th of next month.

This morning's message is more of a meditation, more of a devotional sort of message,

more of a remembering why we have cause to give thanks to God, as did the

pilgrims who first sat down at Thanksgiving, as did Abraham Lincoln, who seems to be

the first one to have codified Thanksgiving as a national holiday.

I read some time ago Nathaniel Philbrick's History of the Pilgrims.

It's called Mayflower, A Story of Courage, Community, and War.

If you like history, it's a very, very good book.

He's a fine historian, he's a good author, and he's completely secular, and yet, if you read

his History of the Pilgrims, which he researched very carefully, and he's a very well -regarded historian and

scholar, there's no doubt that they stopped to give thanksgiving to God.

These pilgrims with a reformed Puritan foundation, much like

ours.

So I want this morning for us to just take time

for thanksgiving, to remember that we serve a God who is worthy of our praise,

and we should always be in a mode, in an attitude of

gratitude towards him.

I wanna read just a short couple of paragraphs from Abraham Lincoln's proclamation for us, and then

we will dig in pretty quickly after this.

He said, no human council has divide nor half any mortal hand worked out these great things.

The great things, he means, it's during the Civil War.

That during that time, law and orderliness was actually maintained.

And during the time when the military resources were stretched so thin, they were

still able to defend themselves well enough that foreign powers did not come and take advantage

of a perceived weakness.

Those are the things he's talking about, these great things.

No human council hath divide nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things.

They are the gracious gifts of the most high God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins,

hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

One more paragraph.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as

with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people.

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are

sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as

a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth

in the heavens.

So as we take this morning's service, and I set it aside in, as I

said, a more devotional, sort of a meditative way, remembering the God who is

worthy of all thanks, the God to whom thanks are always appropriate in whatever

circumstance we find ourselves, I think this is a good way to begin.

We just had Thanksgiving, and as I said before, we had fellowship, and

with family, with friends, with loved ones, we had tables full of food, and it's a good time, even

though the holidays passed, and perhaps we should have done it before.

As I said, we're neither commanded nor forbidden from this, so this morning, we're going to

especially take time to remember thanks to God.

Scripture will be our guide, though.

Lord willing, I'm not just gonna ramble out and tell you all these reasons to give thanks to God that come to my head.

Scripture is always our God, and I wanna use Psalm 136 as our core,

as our starting point, so if you wanna turn there to Psalm 136, and

you'll find there 26 verses.

It begins with give thanks to the Lord, and then the rest of it tells us why.

This is not an exhaustive list of the reasons God is worthy to hear our thanks and our gratitude,

but it's a good starting point.

26 verses, each verse saying something about our Lord, which in each case is followed by a

refrain, for his mercy endures forever.

Now, if you open your Pew Bible, that's an ESV, that's the English Standard Version, and it does not

say for his mercy endures forever, it says for his steadfast love endures forever.

Now, steadfast love, as a translation of the word in the original Hebrew, which is chesed,

is a good technical translation.

I still like the New King James or the King James.

That's the one that got in my head.

It's his mercy endures forever, and so that's the way I will read it.

We can make this one exception after each.

And one other thing before I read the psalm is to tell you that this was a communal

psalm.

This was a psalm of corporate worship.

Now, I don't often ask for responsive readings.

I'm not one of these preachers who puts his hand up to his ear and is calling for an amen or

anything like that from you.

We don't do that often here as a matter of style.

I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with it.

And we don't do responsive anything here very often.

You can sit there normally in a very passive sense and be comfortable that nobody's going to put

anybody on the spot.

But I wanna make an exception this morning because after each half line, we have this

refrain, his mercy endures forever.

And that is actually the assembly's part, to say his mercy endures forever.

So we say something about God, what God has done.

And the response is, for his mercy endures forever.

And I would ask you to do that.

I would ask for this one exception to our usual pattern of not asking for any response,

for you to bear with me.

And after I read that first half of each line, you respond with me, for his mercy

endures forever.

And work with me this morning.

You won't have to worry about it for at least another year.

We don't do this often.

So it is an exception.

And Lord willing, we'll keep it that way.

So Psalm 136, we'll start out with giving thanks to the Lord

and then a whole list of reasons.

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods for his steadfast love.

I'm sorry.

I thought I was so ready for that.

We're not used to doing this, are we?

Give thanks to the Lord of lords for his mercy endures forever.

Thank you.

To him who alone does great wonders, for his mercy endures forever.

To him who by understanding made the heavens, for his mercy endures forever.

To him who spread out the earth above the waters, for his steadfastness endures forever.

To him who made the great lights, for his mercy endures forever.

The sun to rule the day, for his mercy endures forever.

The sun and stars to rule over the night, for his mercy endures forever.

To him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, for his mercy endures forever.

And brought Israel out from among them, for his mercy endures forever.

With a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for his mercy endures forever.

To him who divided the Red Sea in two, for his mercy endures forever.

And made Israel pass through the midst of it, for his mercy endures forever.

But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, for his mercy endures forever.

To him who led his people through the wilderness, for his mercy endures forever.

To him who struck down great kings, for his mercy endures forever.

And killed mighty kings, for his mercy endures forever.

Sihon, king of the Amorites, for his mercy endures forever.

And Og, king of Bashan, for his mercy endures forever.

And gave their land as a heritage, for his mercy endures forever.

A heritage to Israel his servant, for his mercy endures forever.

It is he who remembered us in our lowest state for his mercy endures forever and

Rescued us from our foes for his mercy endures forever.

He who gives food to all flesh for his mercy endures forever.

Give.

Thanks to the God of Heaven for his mercy endures forever.

Thank you for participating with me in that.

The word for to give thanks give thanks to the God of Gods.

Give thanks to the Lord.

Give thanks to the Lord of Lords.

Give thanks to him this word.

Thanks derives from a root word Which means to actually cast or to throw something

it seems and in ancient times there might have been some sort of an action Involved in calling out their thanks

to me.

I don't know how to portray that to you.

It's just the definition you get by going through the lexicons that it had this idea that there was there's something that people did

when They said it where they would cast or throw or toss their praises at God their

thanksgiving to him.

It reminds me of Revelation 4 and verse Verses 10 11 where the elders cast their crowns before the

throne saying worthy Are you our Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power for you

created all things and by your will they?

Existed and were created throwing our Gratitude to God as we

bow down before him.

And the Greek translation of the original Hebrew for this word give thanks.

Uses the word hallelujah.

Hallelujah to God hallelujah to the Lord of Lords.

To the God of gods who has done all these wonderful things.

The first three verses you may have noticed highlight God's name.

They highlight God's name.

Verse 1 is give thanks to Yahweh.

Verse 2 give thanks to the God of gods.

Which is to say the Elohim of all Elohim's.

Verse 3 give thanks to the Lord of Lords, which is the Adonai of all Adonais.

So these three major names of God the ones where we get all the

Constructs as we call them like Yahweh Tzvaot Yahweh the Lord of hosts

the military the martial God who rescues his people.

Yahweh is in the first verse the self -sufficient one the one whose life whose existence

whose Person is in himself who depends on no one depends on nothing for

what he is and for his very Being.

And then verse 2 Elohim.

Well Elohim is the word the name of God that we get in the very first chapter of the Bible

in the beginning God Elohim created the heavens and earth.

So give thanks to the God of gods for a steadfast love for his mercy and urge forever.

Verse 3 the Lord of Lords.

That's Adonai master the sovereign the ultimate authority.

That's in the first three verses giving thanks to God.

Yahweh Elohim Adonai Yahweh I am

who I am self -existent eternal Elohim the God of creation.

Adonai Absolute ruler and master.

That's who we're giving.

Thanks to Verses 4 to 9 sort of follow this pattern.

They enjoin our thanks to him as creator.

To him Who by understanding made the heavens that's creation who spread out the earth above the

waters?

Creation all these verses look at verse 9.

That's the end of that little section the moon and stars to rule over the night.

That's all Genesis 1 Creation give thanks to Elohim.

Simply for his creation give thanks to God that we are not the product of time and chance.

Give thanks to God that we and all else that exists is The result of

his intentional will because Elohim created all

things and therefore we as.

Well as this terrestrial ball upon which we stand as well as the lights in heaven that rule the day and

the night.

They keep the gravitational poles correct.

So we have the right aspect of the Sun so that the tides work to our benefit.

All these things didn't just happen.

Elohim Willed them to be if secularists if scientists

are correct.

We have no cause to give thanks.

It's just time and chance.

It's just good luck that we happen to be here.

Which of course we know as we take this one day aside to remember to give thanks especially to

God.

For who and what he is this is not time and chance.

It's not just good luck.

We don't believe in luck.

We believe in a sovereign God who intentionally?

Does what he does.

Verse 6 speaks of how the waters were over the whole earth.

That's back to Genesis 1 9.

God Elohim God said let the waters under the heavens be gathered to one place and let the

dry land appear and it was so.

Didn't just happen.

God said it and it was so give thanks to that God and The rest of creation is

is there in verses 6 through 9 where?

He focuses our author focuses with Psalms 8 and Psalm 8 and 19 on the heavens

and how God by his word placed lights in the sky if you notice that in those

verses He speaks of God made everything he made the heavens

verse 5.

He spread out the earth above the waters when he told the waters to receive the mountains to come up.

That's verse 6 and 7.

8 and 9 all have to do with the heavens.

All have to do with the lights that God put in the heavens.

The great lights verse 7.

The Sun to rule over the day verse 8.

The moon and stars to rule over the night verse 9.

Obviously all bringing us back to Genesis 1 and the primordial creation.

Why then?

Did God do all this?

All this is a demonstration of the same thing repeated over and over in our song.

It's because of his mercy.

We can look here.

We say why did God create?

Why did God send the waters away?

Why did God raise up the mountains?

Why did God give us a son a moon stars?

And of course the illusion there is to all that God created so we could say also the

creatures in the sea that feed us crops in the earth that again feed us and

Animals trees fruit vegetables all these things.

Why did God do this when he created?

Because of his mercy his in ever -enduring eternal mercy.

Now we know life is not always easy.

God in his providence.

God in his wisdom does give us some things that are hugely difficult.

Relationships health all sorts of trials come but through it all we can say it is because of his mercy.

That we are even here to go through the things that we go through.

Paul prayed three times for a thorn to be removed some affliction that we don't know exactly what it was.

But we know it caused him grief.

We know it was a hard trial.

Christ answered back to him.

My grace is sufficient for my power is made perfect in your weakness.

So why does he allow us trouble?

Because of his mercy.

His grace has made all the more wondrous as his unlimited power is perfected or shown to be perfect

is a better way to say it when we Confess ourselves to be weak we confess

our need to God to Jesus and Sometimes he leaves us weak doesn't he?

He doesn't always cure us.

He doesn't always give us the strength that we think we need and Yet that is because of his

mercy which endures forever.

Because by his mercy we become vehicles by which his grace is

Seen that's his mercy.

That's why he made everything because of his mercy.

Verses 10 through 14 speak of God's redemption of his people.

So it moves very quickly through history, doesn't it?

Well, we have creation and all of a sudden there we are in Egypt and we know that that's the

Exodus this is Exodus chapters 3 through about chapter 12 where Moses is

called and sent to Pharaoh and Warns Pharaoh to release the children of Israel.

We know this story very well.

There's a whole lot of history that the psalm leaves out.

Or at least doesn't give us in detail, but I do believe it was supposed to be we were supposed to have it in our minds.

But verses 10 to 14, let's go with the flow of the psalm as we think of giving.

Thanks to God.

Redemption.

God didn't make us to sin, but he made us knowing we would because of

his mercy.

His steadfast love he redeemed his people from all that blocked them that blocks us from

being able to dwell with him.

If we think of what might be between Creation and redemption in the psalm what's in between those

two?

I would argue Genesis 3 Sin and the need for redemption

becoming manifest on earth.

And so God in his mercy.

Having again, let me say it again He didn't make us to sin, but he knew we would sin and

knowing we would sin.

The plan of redemption was always on his mind because of his mercy, which is eternal

ever living loving mercy.

So verses 10 to 14 speak of this exodus this Redemption this prototype of

the redemption that we have from Jesus Christ on the cross.

Because of his mercy his steadfast love he redeemed his people from all

that kept us from him.

Now these verses pick up the exodus saga from the tenth plague to the Red Sea crossing.

Did you see where it started?

To him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt.

So obviously that has to give us our have to bring our thoughts back to the first nine plagues.

Because the firstborn of Egypt and their death is the tenth the final plague the one where Pharaoh finally had enough

and released God's people.

Exodus chapter 2 verse 24 25.

Say that God heard Israel's groaning and God remembered his covenant with Abraham with Isaac and with Jacob.

God saw the people of Israel and God knew.

This sovereign God this Elohim who made everything this Yahweh this self -sufficient one ought and I

master ruler he

saw the the misery of his people he Himself remembered his covenant.

Here is where is these steadfast love actually works a little bit better than mercy because steadfast love

has more the content of God remembering and being faithful to his own

spoken word his own covenant.

He had told Abraham he would rescue his people after 430 years.

He had made this covenant.

He had obligated himself to bringing the people out of Egypt to redeeming them from the slavery to get in.

Bringing them to the land of promise where they would have freedom a land flowing with milk and honey.

God remembered and God because he's a merciful God.

Because he's a faithful God.

Because he's reliable.

Because it is impossible for God to lie.

God remembered and God acted.

You see his covenant with Abraham.

No mere formality it was the word of the eternally merciful God who always keeps his

word.

You know when the church remembers the Exodus.

We go forward very quickly don't we?

To the Lord Jesus Christ.

Because of all the redemptive acts of God in this flow of redemptive history from Genesis 1 to

the end of the Bible in Revelation Exodus stands second only

to the cross.

For this dramatic working of God this intervention of God Into the affairs of men

keeping his own word and by that keeping of his word disturbing even the natural

physical laws in order to accomplish his word

that must take a seat behind the redemption that

that can only point towards that that was only prototypical of.

Which is the cross?

He has redeemed his people from slavery not to Egypt but slavery to sin.

We're freed not from Egyptians.

But from the fear of death.

Because of the cross because of that ultimate Exodus.

When Israel's journey began with the death of the firstborn of Egypt Ours began with the death of God's only

begotten Son.

When the angel of death went through Egypt He looked for the sign of faith for blood on the doorposts of the house, and when he

saw that What did he do?

Then he passed over them.

He moved on to find those who Did not believe the promises of God

to find those who refused to put the signal of faith on their doorposts the blood of the Lamb

and those houses suffered the death of all their firstborn.

Well with Jesus, you know we have we have no actual blood of course.

But it wasn't really the blood that saved Israel back.

Then it was the faith that the blood signified.

And while our Bible speaks of us being saved by the blood of Jesus.

It means faith and what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross.

Cross faith that his death was suffered on our behalf, and it was full it was sufficient

to save us.

Because if we're saved by the actual literal blood then only a few people back then 2 ,000 years ago could possibly

been saved.

The blood simply stands in for our faith in the death of Jesus Christ, and what it accomplished.

Faith that when Jesus said it is finished that at that very moment all God's wrath that our sin was exhausted that

Jesus paid at all.

How much more must the church see in Exodus than did Israel?

How much more must we see in that great saga than the people who actually then

benefited from it.

By his mercy he brought them to the land of promise.

Colossians 1 13 to 14 speak of Jesus cross this way He has delivered us from the

domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son in whom we have redemption

the forgiveness of sins.

All that the Exodus from Egypt prefigured is Completed in Jesus Christ the one we

worship here this day the one we're giving our thanks to especially.

And where is our deliverance to if theirs was to land?

Ours is to heaven if they during their 40 years of wandering had

hope in going to the land of promise.

We during whatever years God keeps us here if we have our faith in Jesus Christ and that cross that

redemption he accomplished.

We know we will be delivered as Israel was.

But will be delivered where?

To the very presence of God.

To where Jesus now is.

Our Exodus away from sin.

Our Exodus from slavery to sin.

From this Terrestrial ball to the throne of grace.

How much more can we proclaim than Israel did for his mercy?

Endures forever and it goes on.

Because God didn't leave Israel any more than he does us to their own devices.

What would they have done had he done?

So well, they would have turned around very quickly.

Those leeks and onions that savory food that they had as slaves.

That comfortable knowing that each day they would be fed.

Well, so they could be worked and abused and all these other things, but they gotten comfortable with it.

They would have turned around immediately left on their own.

Verses 15 and 20 speaks of how God defeated all their enemies along the way.

More than just destroying opposing armies though God not just as it were showing off that he

was more powerful than they were.

Deuteronomy chapter 8 verses 3 and 4 tell us of God's constant of his merciful care for them

not leaving them to their own devices.

He humbled you says Moses and let you hunger and fed you with manna.

Which you did not know nor did your father's know that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone.

But man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these 40 years

God led them.

God was always in the vanguard for them.

As God leads us now by his Spirit by his Word and That's

not a stretch that's not a strained connection for us to make as We look at them and

their wilderness wanderings and us now being led by Jesus Christ in his Spirit.

Paul makes it very clear to us in 1st Corinthians chapter 10 in the first four verses.

I want you to know brothers that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the

sea and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea and All ate the same

spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink for they drank from the spiritual rock that followed

them and the rock was Christ.

Who leads us today?

The same Christ.

Christ they're prefigured Christ.

They're pre incarnate.

Yes.

But not a different Jesus not a different Christ.

Not a different leader.

Oh we.

We follow him now by his indwelling Spirit in us individually and us all as a body

as a church.

But it's the same Christ the same Lord the same merciful God.

Who leads us now just as he led us led them then?

Can we not say with Israel that his mercy is unending unfailing in a word?

Can we not say that God has shown that his mercy is eternal?

Jesus promised us his spirit to remind us of his words.

The Spirit of God is within all who believe the self same Spirit who went ahead of Israel.

And why?

On this day they were setting aside.

Especially here this morning.

To just give thanks to God.

Why did he do all this?

Because his mercy endures forever.

His mercy endures forever.

That's why he did any of these things.

The psalm reminds us that we're never without cause to give thanks to God.

He made us he made everything that exists just to be alive is because of his mercy.

He's redeemed us by the blood of his son.

He has led us by his word in his spirit.

He has proved himself to be faithful to his word in the Exodus and again when he gave his only begotten son to

die for our sins that we might be redeemed from bondage a bondage far worse a bondage longer

lasting a bonder with greater consequences than anything Israel

experienced.

We released from bondage to sin we released from that servitude.

To the kingdom of heaven.

We have so much more reason than the ancients to cast upon God our thanks our hallelujah choruses.

I mean small wonder that Paul commands the church to what give thanks in all Circumstances

wherever you are, whatever is happening give thanks to God.

Why in everything why in all because God is good.

Because God has done only good for his people and will do only good for his people.

Nowhere does he say it will be easy.

Jesus says in this world you will have tribulations.

It will be hard if we follow Jesus Christ.

He promises as it were that you will be persecuted because of your faith.

Some persecutions are more some persecutions are less dramatic than others.

In all this wherever we are.

Just because we can look at the hard times.

And say God be praised because my weakness is showing off his power his

grace.

Whether it's physical relational.

Give thanks to God now.

You often hear and I actually agree with it.

Do we thank God that I've got some terrible disease?

That I'm losing a spouse that my job is going away that I have to move to another part of the country and leave a Church.

I love know we don't thank God because things are hard.

We thank God because we know that he is the one leading us that we know.

However hard however difficult it seems to us here and now God is going to work

good through it.

That's why we thank God.

Not silly like thank God.

I've got this terrible painful malady.

That'd be silly.

Thank God that through this Jesus Christ's power is made perfect.

Thank God in all our circumstances God does good.

God only does good.

Because God's mercy endures forever.

Whatever's happening our life whether it's bounty or difficulty.

Whatever it is whether it's finances health jobs.

We always have cause to thank God.

Simply because he is worthy of it.

And we know that if he did all these things that the psalm says he did because his mercy endures forever.

Then whatever we are going through we can thank God because we know his mercy will never

end.

Paul said he himself was a blasphemer an insolent man a persecutor of the church, but God

showed mercy to him.

For the glory of God not the glory of man to God's credit not Paul's and no one teaches us that better than

Paul himself does.

But we do have this confidence.

That whatever circumstance we're in wherever we are in our wanderings on this terrestrial ball.

That God is showing us mercy because his mercy never ends.

Psalm or excuse me Proverbs chapter 30 verses 8 and 9.

I think this Says a bit about this.

Says removed from me falsehood and lying give me neither poverty nor riches.

Feed me with the food that is needful for me lest I be full and deny you and say who is the Lord or lest I be

poor and still and profane the name of my God.

Whichever circumstance God has us in be it poverty be it riches.

I think we keep ourselves from the bitterness

that poverty can engender in us or the hubris that riches can bring.

By thanking God and not thank God I'm rolling in the dough right now.

Thank you Lord that I am able this day.

Give me this day my daily our daily bread.

Give us this day our daily bread.

Thank you father that in your mercy in your Providence today.

I have enough and if that for you enough is.

Many times more than what is actually needed the humility of thanking God is no different.

And I think thanking God with a full heart is what keeps us from the pride that the proverb warns us against.

Or for that matter the bitterness that the other way the poverty side might

bring and this could be as simple as Remembering that anything we have

is from God's generous hand.

There's a short list of Thanksgivings that Paul gives us that I want to go through.

Romans chapter 6 verses 17 and 18.

Thanks be to God that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart

to the standard of teaching to which you were committed and Having been set free from sin have become slaves

of righteousness.

Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ?

Do you have his spirit dwelling within.

Has he opened your eyes to the wonderful things of his word.

Brought you to a fellowship that gives you Fellowship with other believers

those who will edify you encourage you rebuke you when you have to.

Do you know yourself it's now become Slaves to something better than what was

before Jesus Christ grabbed hold.

Thanks be to God.

It's not something we did to ourselves.

It's not something we yearned for we wanted to be left in that old way.

We were comfortable with it.

Thanks be to God for changed hearts for renewed spirits.

Thanks be to God for his spirit.

By whom we are converted to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank him that by the redemption we have in Christ.

We can be glad that we are slaves to his righteousness.

In 1st Corinthians chapter 15 verses 54 to 57 Paul sets our mind on Christ's ultimate victory.

And here's a great cause for thanks and wherever we find ourselves.

When the perishable puts on the imperishable and the mortal puts on immortality.

Then shall come to pass that saying which is written.

Death is swallowed up in victory.

Oh death.

Where's your victory?

Oh death.

Where's your sting.

The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the power of sin.

But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

If the simple command to thank God because he is good Isn't always enough to elicit from us

a hallelujah.

Then this has to be because of Jesus's death on the cross where he won our salvation.

We have a victory that Israel could only have dreamed of.

An ultimate a final a victory that will stay with us forever and ever and ever.

Victory even over death itself the author of the Hebrews

speaks of.

We who were trapped as it were by our fear of death in

Jesus Christ.

Death has died.

It doesn't mean we won't die and the only ones of us who won't I would imagine are those who are still alive when the Lord

Jesus Christ returns.

Death has no more hold on us.

Death has more and more sting.

It has no more victory.

We don't laugh at it.

I Was at a conference once where Alistair Begg was speaking and he spoke.

I think it was of Quakers who had a funeral service would simply hold their hands together in front of them and look down.

For a long time without saying a word no music.

No words and just look at the casket and pray.

And ponder what an awful thing death is.

How antithetical it is to all that God had in mind when he first created man on this

earth?

And yet knowing how It was

so different from God's original intent understanding that because of Jesus Christ.

Knowing how horrible it is because it was not God's intention or will.

We can still give thanks because we have complete victory over it.

The ultimate fear of it that that is the end Is no longer

our problem.

Because Jesus Christ's victory over death means that we will one day live with him.

This is confirmed also by Paul.

But in fact christ has been raised from the dead he speaks of the resurrection.

Can a moment go by in the christian's life where we cannot stop and give thanks to God for the resurrection.

Which confirms all the promises of the bible?

He has been raised from the dead the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

For as by a man came death by a man also has come the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

But each in his own order.

Christ the firstfruits.

Then it is coming those who belong to Christ.

I'd only hoped this morning to set our mind On some of the reasons we have to give

thanks to God.

In a sunday in a month of sundays as they say we couldn't exhaust the reason to give thanks to God the

courses that we read of in revelation of the elders.

And the seraphim and the angels and the saints and the thousands upon thousands and ten thousands upon ten

thousands.

All calling out.

Thanks and praise to God couldn't satisfy.

The thanks that he actually is worthy of so

This morning.

Is it just a pittance?

I wouldn't denigrate it so far in so far and as long as We have looked to the scripture.

And found scriptural causes to be thankful to God.

So I hope that this morning After we've had a wonderful thanksgiving with friends and family and loved ones.

As we start to anticipate the end of this busy holiday season and perhaps lord willing

soon In less than two months get back into the normal routine the workday world.

Remember that we have great cause to give thanks to God.

A God who created us a God who redeemed us a God who leads us a

God Who raised Jesus Christ from the Christ from the dead?

Who we will one day follow?

Even as we follow him by his spirit in the here and now amen as we

take a few moments Of quiet after the preaching perhaps.