It’s time for our Thanksgiving tradition— Pastor Greg’s annual Thanksgiving message. How is it that a holiday centered around giving thanks often leaves us feeling stressed, tired, shopping-obsessed, and even resenting our family? Take a breather with Pastor Greg and learn how to survive the holiday season--the secret to being thankful.

INTRO

This might be one of the most important times for you to be in church. Because today, you can make a decision that’ll not only change your holiday season but maybe even your whole life.

In a couple of weeks, most of you will gather with family and friends and celebrate Thanksgiving. Parts of it will be fun, sentimental, and wonderful.

And then, as soon as you’re done with Thanksgiving, BAM! It’s like a gun goes off, and crazy explodes everywhere. Black Friday starts on Wednesday now! You fight crowds. You trample grandmas to buy doorbusters. Then Cyber Monday hits. Your phone starts smoking because you’re using it so much. Your credit cards are crying out for mercy.

Literally, in the next month, you will likely buy more than you bought in the previous 11 months.

• You’ve got to buy gifts

• You have to decorate your house

• You have to go to parties. So, not only do you buy more, but you eat more.

• Some of you have to work more because this is a busy season.

• And, as if that wasn’t enough stress, they let the kids out of school.

In fact, research shows that we are entering the most stressful time of the year. So, I want to ask you: What do you want the condition of your heart to be at the end of all this? Do you want it to be exhausted, depleted, stressed? Or do you want a sense of wonder and peace, where you can say, “This holiday season, I felt like I did it right.”

Transition

Today, I’m going to talk about the one thing you can do to make a difference. If you decide to do this one thing, it can change your whole holiday season.

I love this sermon because I first heard it 35 years ago from my pastor, Kenton Beshore, and it has stuck with me ever since. It’s fun, it’s got a little attitude, and it even has audience participation. And it’s become a bit of a RiverLife Thanksgiving tradition.

One Thing – The Garden & Satan’s Lies

What’s the one thing that nobody has? Enough

Some of you have more. Some have less. But none of us seem to have enough. We always want more.

• More money

• More success

• More likes

• More stuff

But more does not equal enough. More just makes you want more.

Why is it that we always want more? The Bible answers that in the very first story about creation in Genesis 3. It says that when God created us, the world was perfect. We lived in a world of yes, where God provided everything we needed.

However, at the very center of the Garden, there was one place where God said no… because he wanted us to trust him.

And then the Tempter came and said, “Did God really say…” He wants you to doubt God’s truthfulness. Can you really trust God to tell you the truth?

But the second question was even more hideous: “Is God really good? I mean. He’s withholding something from you. The one thing you don’t have is the one thing you need. And if you could have that one thing, then you would be significant. Then, you would be powerful. Then, you would be like God.”

Then came the third temptation: “You can’t trust God. You should not live in humble dependence on him. Just take it yourself, because then you will become everything you want to be.”

Do you see Satan’s diabolical plot? Satan’s great temptation every day is for you to take your eyes off the many things your loving, heavenly Father has given you and to focus on the one thing that you don’t have.

Nowhere is that more prevalent than during the Christmas season.

Getting What You Want – Israelites

So… What if you got everything you ever wanted? What would it do for you? Well, you’d probably say, “I would be happy. I would finally have enough.” No! You’d have more, but you wouldn’t have enough.

God went out of his way to answer this question, “What would happen if we got everything we wanted?” It’s right there in the Bible, and the answer is terrifying.

God tells the origin story of his people, the Israelites, in the book of Exodus. Around 1,500 BC, they were slaves in Egypt. What do you think they wanted more than anything else? Freedom. “If we could be free, then we would be happy.” So, God freed them. But they weren’t happy; they weren’t content.

They said, “What if we had wealth? We’ve been living in poverty and slavery.” So, God enriched his people with money, livestock, and possessions. Even then, they weren’t satisfied.

They said, “If we could have hope, a promise that good things would come to us, then we’d be happy.” So, God said he would give them a promised land and a promised life. But they still weren’t content.

Then, while wandering the desert, God provided food and water for 2 million people. He gave them manna, which was the perfect traveling food. It was a thin, nutrient-rich wafer that would just show up on the ground every morning.

But they complained about the manna. They prepared it every way they could. They had:

• Baked manna

• Boiled manna

• Fried manna

• They had manna on a stick

• They had manna burgers

• They had manicotti

• They had manna-banana cream pie

With all of that, they still complained to God. They whined. “If you would just give us meat…then we would never want for anything else.” So, God literally had quail fly into the desert. They were knee-deep in quail—a complete miracle. And still, they weren’t grateful, and they complained.

And that complaining attitude resulted in a plague, and it killed them. In numbers 11:33-34, it says,

“33 But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah (which means ‘Graves of Craving’), because there they buried the people who had craved other food.”

What happens to you when you get everything you want? You die in a grave of craving. You may have more, but you never have enough.

The solution - Thankfulness

Do you know how to save yourself from a grave of craving? It’s actually one of the most repeated phrases in Scripture. “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Let’s read it again. Punch it out! “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”

Why is this one of the most repeated phrases in the Bible? The obvious answer is because we need to see it all the time! Look at what it does against Satan’s great three lies.

• “Did God really say that? He’s not telling you the truth.”

  Give thanks to the Lord.

• “God’s not really good. He’s holding out on you.”

  for he is good

• “You can’t trust him. Trust in yourself.”

  his love endures forever

One of the best things you can say during this season is, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Let’s say it all together again. “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”

SAYING THANK YOU

So today, I want to teach you how to live out that verse and be a thankful person.

First, look at Psalm 100:4,

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.”

We can actually enter into God’s presence using thankfulness. What do I mean by that? Look at this verse in the Message paraphrase Bible, “Enter with the password: Thank you!” You literally enter into God’s presence by saying thank you.

So, we’re gonna practice it right now. I’m gonna give you a scenario, you’re gonna say out loud, “thank you.”

• When you taste something, and it’s delicious. God didn’t have to give you tastebuds, but he did. And you just enjoy it, you say… Thank you [With a little more gusto]

• When you want to do something, and your body reacts and does it. You can’t help but look to God and say… Thank you

• When you go to work, and you can do things and get a paycheck, you say… Thank you

• When your heart beats 100,000 times a day, you say… Thank you

• When you don’t have to live in Wisconsin, you say… Thank you

Complaining

Now, what happens when we don’t thank God? Take a look at this verse in Romans 1:21:

“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

When we are thankful, we walk into the presence of God. But when we complain, when we whine, when we don’t thank God, we literally become dark-hearted fools.

So, how many of you have complained or whined this week? We’re gonna do a mass confession here because it’s good for the soul. How many of you have complained about:

• The weather, your job, or the election?

• Complained about how everything is way more expensive these days?

• Complained about your weight or your in-laws or your in-law’s weight?

• Have you complained about your spouse that you have or don’t have?

• Your kids that you have or don’t have or wish you didn’t have?

When you complain, you move toward hell, and you smell like smoke. And worse than that, you damage everything.

• You damage your family.

• You damage your workplace.

• You damage your church.

• And you damage your own soul.

Definitions

There is an alternative. Let me give you two definitions—for thankfulness and contentment.

First, thankfulness is wanting what you have. Say it out loud: Thankfulness is… wanting what you have.

So, let’s practice this. I’m going to say something, and you’re going to say back to me, “I want my ___________. It couldn’t be better!” Ok, ready?

• When you walk out to your car after church… And it’s a little beat up, something dripping from the bottom, and it has a strange smell.

• You say, “I want my CAR. It couldn’t be better!”

• When you look at your clothes, and they’re old and make you look frumpy, you say, “I want my CLOTHES. They couldn’t be better!”

• Then when you go to your job and get frustrated by your boss & the turkeys you work with, you say, “I want my JOB. It couldn’t be better!”

• When you look at your body in the mirror, the body God gave you, you say, “I want my BODY. It couldn’t be better!” Really? Yes, even that.

When you want what you have, you are living a thankful life. You are rejecting Satan’s lies, and you’re living in God’s presence.

Let me give you another definition: Contentment is not wanting more.

Who’s more content? The person with 5 kids or the person with 5 million dollars? It’s obvious. the one with 5 kids… because they don’t want any more.

The reason contentment is so difficult is because we always want to be there. We think we’ll be happy there. “I’m not content here, but if I could be there… If I could have that job, that income, that house, then I’d be content.”

But you know what? There are people who are there, and they would tell you “I’m not content here. But if I were there, then I’d be happy.” Ya see, if you can’t be content here, you won’t be content there.

So, we’re going to do some contentment training right now. I’m going to say something, and you’re going to say, “I don’t need it!” Are you ready?

• When you see amazing Black Friday deals, you say, “I don’t need it!”

• When you see an ad for the latest iPhone, you say, “I don’t need it!”

• When you want a fifth slice of pumpkin pie, you say, “I don’t need it!”

• When grocery prices are through the roof, you say, “I don’t need it!” Oh no, you totally need that! You need to eat.

Thankfulness is wanting what you have. Contentment is not wanting more.

If I gave my wife, Pang Foua, a day of unlimited shopping at Mall of America, would she be happier, more thankful, more content? Hah! We’ll never know!

Closing: Harvard Study

I want to wrap up by giving you an opportunity to practice thankfulness. A few years back, some smart Harvard people did a study on gratitude, and here’s what they found out.

First, they figured out what makes a person grateful. They discovered one habit that was common to all grateful people. They would sit down twice a day, every day, and write a list of at least three things for which they were thankful. And then they say it out loud. Three things, twice a day, say it out loud.

Here’s the amazing thing they discovered. People who did this were:

• More creative

• More energetic

• More optimistic

• More socially connected

• They earned more money

• They’re more forgiving

• They’re more generous

• And they’re better looking. (Ok, I made that last one up.)

EXERCISE

So, let’s do that right now. You’re going to write something down. So, pull out your phone or a Connection Card in front of you, and write down 3 things you’re thankful for. Do it right now.

Do you have your three? Now, say it out loud to someone next to you. Go ahead.

• I’m thankful for my health. It’s better today than it was a year ago.

• I’m thankful for this church. I love RiverLife.

• I’m thankful for my dad’s health and my sister’s health.

Now, you all are half-way to being more grateful people. And you’re 50% better looking already.

Ending

At the end of December, what do you want the condition of your heart to be?

Practice thankfulness, and God says you enter into his presence and resist Satan’s lies.

Be thankful. Be content. And get ready for a different kind of holiday season.