971123……True Thanksgiving to God…I Sam.15
by Ronald E. George Jr. At the Sand Fork Baptist Church.
Scripture Text: I Sam. 15:17-23. And Psalms 95:1-7
I. What I am Thankful for :
A. For our Country.
Governor Bradford of Massachusetts made this first Thanksgiving Proclamation three years after the Pilgrims settled at Plymouth:
"Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as He has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience. Now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday, November 29th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty three and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings." -- William Bradford
A prominent American who was visiting Argentina was asked by the president of the republic, "Why has South America gotten on so poorly and North America so well; What do you think is the reason?" The visitor replied, "I think the reason is found in the fact that the Spaniards came to South America seeking gold, while the Pilgrim Fathers came to North America seeking God."
Psal 95:1 (KJS) O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. 3 For the LORD [is] a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4 In his hand [are] the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills [is] his also. 5 The sea [is] his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry [land]. 6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. 7 For he [is] our God; and we [are] the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,
For our God is the rock of our salvation. He is our everything. He is our peace. He is our lives. He is our love. He is our song. He is our victory. He is our King. He is our creator. He is our shepherd. He is our Father. He is our Joy. He is our Hope. He is our everything. He is our only living and true God. He is the only God. He has given us victory over death, hell, and the grave. Without Him we are nothing and we have nothing. He is worth our worship and our praise.
II. How should we give thanks to the only true and Living God? How can we make God Happy?
Read I Sam. 15:17-23 (KJS) And Samuel said, When thou [wast] little in thine own sight, [wast] thou not [made] the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? 18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. {they...: Heb. they consume them} 19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD? 20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. 22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion [is as] the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness [is as] iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from [being] king. {witchcraft: Heb. divination}
Since He has given us victory over our enemies now how should we give thanks to Him. Let’s learn from the mistakes of another so that we don’t fall victim to the same problems.
A. We must listen completely to the voice of the Lord and Obey Him.
How did Saul give thanks to God?
He saved the sheep and the King, but he killed the rest.
7 For he [is] our God; and we [are] the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,
This honors Him as our King and our God. We must never get to big for our britches.
1The 5:18 (KJS) In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Ephe 5:20 (KJS) Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Recognize Him, Acknowledge Him, Listen to Him, Obey Him, Sacrifice to Him, and Praise Him today with our lives.
There is only one way to come to the Father. And that is through Jesus the Son. John 14:6.
Will we come to give Him thanksgiving today? Is it Turkey day? Is it a time to give thanks to the Indians or to God?