Sermon – “The Festival”

107 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His [a]mercy endures forever. 2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, 3 And gathered out of the lands, From the east and from the west, From the north and from the south. 4 They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; They found no city to dwell in. 5 Hungry and thirsty, Their soul fainted in them. 6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He delivered them out of their distresses. 7 And He led them forth by the right way, That they might go to a city for a dwelling place. 8 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! 9 For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness. 10 Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, Bound[b] in affliction and irons— 11 Because they rebelled against the words of God, And [c]despised the counsel of the Most High, 12 Therefore He brought down their heart with labor; They fell down, and there was none to help. 13 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. 14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, And broke their chains in pieces. 15 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

8 Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! 9 Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works! 10 Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! 11 Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore! 12 Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

You know we’ve kind of I guess I could say I’ve kind of made it a tradition on Thanksgiving or the Sabbath before Thanksgiving to we always will have a time for you all to share something you’re thankful for and that’s going to be later on in the message but I’m just giving fair warning for those that may be watching over the the web if you have something you’re thankful for that the Lord did for you this year send a little note to our technicians over there that when we get to that point in the service they’ll be able to share what you have sent in so that’s why I’m giving you a little bit of pre-warning to give those times so I don’t want to be totally distracted thinking about what you is type of for not paying attention to we get there so yeah I think these are so talented you could do a couple things at one time so but we will have a time for you all to share because we do have so much to be thankful for we should be grateful as believers as sons and daughters we have so much to be grateful for because of God’s goodness because of his mercy Amen. Let’s just go ahead and begin with prayer Heavenly Father we thank you and praise you for your presence we thank you for your goodness son to mankind we thank you father that you are always with us that you are our strength that your shield that you are our protector that you are the giver of life follow your the God of truth we thank you for so many things and father just thank you father that your spirit is upon us and may your spirit be present today to touch our hearts to open our ears that we might hear what you have foreseen over our eyes that we might see father your glory and Father help us just to receive all that you have forced to day father with Thanksgiving in Jesus’ name amen title my message the festival and you think a festival yeah festival the Israelites had feast of festivals right so we’re going to have a festival this week we call it Thanksgiving. So this Thursday I hope that we will all pause and take some time to thank God for the many blessings of the past year has anyone ever wondered or being curious as this Thanksgiving that we celebrate does it have any Jewish roots to it well I think the answer is probably yes and I hope to show some of these links or roots that we have with the some Jewish festivals mushy Sokolow professor of Jewish education as that he at the as rarely did say I write as Riley I would never graduate school of yes Shiva University says this fleeing from persecution in England the Pilgrim passengers on the Mayflower brought along their principle source of religious inspiration and comfort as anybody you know what that is the Bible yes one particular edition of the Bible published in 1618 is known to have been into possession of none other than William Bradford who would later serve as governor of the Plymouth Colony this addition was still sup supplemented I hope I’ll do better talking is like I don’t know what I did with my tongue this morning this addition was supplemented by an annotation of a Puritan named Henry and is worth shortly after the landfall in November of 1620 Bradford led the new arrivals in thanking God for the safe journey that brought them to America and he reciting some verses from Psalms one of 7 curiously ans were these annotations included verse 32 and I’m going to read it from this version I like a little bit better than that verse of their songs one of 7 or 32. Because I have marked I did says let them exult him also in the assembly of the people and praise him in the company of the elders and it contained the following remarks about that verse the Hebrews have this canon for we must confess unto God the sick when he is healed the prisoner when he is released out of bonds away ferrying men when they come into the inhabitant of the land and they that go down to the sea when they are come up upon the land earlier this week I had to travel for work I was gone Monday and Tuesday and while I found myself away I didn’t have the advantage of having my computer to do all my research so I have as my Bible and my topical Bible that I just received in a notepad so I was doing a little bit research and I was looking up awkward on Thanksgiving and I landed on Psalms one of 7 to be my scripture for today before I actually got that further information about Anne’s worthies annotations in the Bible so that’s what I decided to use so Psalms one of 7 verse one through 15 is our scripture for today oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good we could probably just stop there because we should give thanks to the Lord our main reason is because he is good. A man for his mercy endorsed forever let the redeemed of the Lord say so whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy and gathered out of the lands from the east and from the west from the north and from the south they wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way they found those city to dwell in hungry and thirsty their soul fainted in them then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them out of their distresses and he led them forth by the right way that they might go to a city for a dwelling place that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men for he satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with goodness my friends there are so many souls out there longing for something and it is NEVER they are never going to find fulfillment in till they find the Lord because He is the only thing that can truly satisfy a longing sold those who sat in the door in darkness and in the shadow of death bound in affliction and irons because they rebelled against the words of God and despise the counsel of the most high therefore he brought down their heart with labor they fell down and there was no there was none to health then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble and he saved them out of their distress he brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke their chains and pieces. That men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men we know that the Israelites were set free from their captivity he came to set the captives free we have much to be thankful for the 1st pilgrims they were cited immediately upon their arrival in the New World a prayer of thanks and we do believe that they are. Offered this up because of the Jewish influence that they experienced according to scholars before coming to the new world America as we know it many of the pilgrims lived in exile for a decade among the Serfaty Jews in Holland and since Holland was considered a safe haven from religious persecution that’s where many of them want to free to flee religious persecution we had they had Israelites there and many others there for religious freedom that’s why they went there people my friends just want the freedom to worship God in the room home or in their own community the way they want to people want the freedom to worship God I hope we never take that for granted could you imagine all these pilgrims I forget how many there were on that ship 500 some Could you imagine packing up all that you could surely you couldn’t take everything because there wouldn’t be enough room on the ship to haul with everything Jew and but leaving everything leaving everything behind everything that you knew to go to an uncertain future but they had the hopes of being able to freely worship God and serve Him Now I know that not all who came to America were devout Christians I know that they weren’t all seeking freedom many were seeking to build businesses and become wealthy but many were devout Calvinist and devout Puritans whose religious idealism led them to regard themselves as the new Israel that’s how they looked at themselves as the new Israel so it is very likely that while they were living in Holland that they observed their Jewish neighbors celebrating the festival of Cicotte. Which is the Israelite festival or holiday whichever you want to cause to commemorate Israel’s deliverance from persecution in Egypt you see in the connection here they were delivered from bondage in Egypt those that came to America freedom freedom from persecution so there is a connection the pilgrims fought freedom or sought freedom this relates wanted freedom from bondage and slavery during super hot which is observed in the fall from the 15th to the 22nd of Tishri many Jewish families will construct a souped up a small hastily built hut in which meals were eaten throughout the festival. Going to turn to Leviticus. Chapter 23 verses 39 through 43 David don’t have this woman scream because I didn’t send that 1 am also in the 15th day of the 7th month when you have gathered in the fruit of the land so when they have brought in the fruits of the land you shall keep the Feast of the Lord for 7 days on the 1st day there should be a Sabbath rest and on the 8th day a Sabbath rest so it was a Sabbath at the beginning and the Sabbath at the end and you shall take for yourselves on the 1st day of the fruit of the beautiful trees branches and palm trees the bows of leafy trees in the Willows of the brook and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for 7 days so they had a festival they celebrated for 7 full days I think we maybe need to adjust ours a little bit. You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord for 7 days in the year and it shall be a statute for ever in your generations you shall celebrate it in the 7th month you shall dwell in booze for 7 days all who are native is a relates shall dwell in boose that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in blues when I brought them out of the land of Egypt I am the LORD your God a 7 day celebration. In America the very 1st Thanksgiving the very 1st festival was at the end of the growing season in Plymouth Massachusetts the Puritans through a harvest festival to celebrate God’s blessings and you know when you think about that they arrived in the fall so they had a very very hard time and that 1st winter nearly half of them lost their lives but when the next fall rolled around those that survived they thanked God for the blessings even those that lost loved ones they thanked God for the blessings and in that celebration the men went filing for hunting wild birds and a large group of Wampanoag native Indians or Native Americans I should say showed up with deer not tied on a rope for dinner everyone had a party and it lasted 3 days they ate they shot guns for fun now guys don’t that sound like fun the men all you know they brought their guns and had fun I’m a poor little tag in there I found out after the fact that the men’s retreat up at Camp joy they took targets and guns and they had a good old time if we don’t know now that you women might have been by yourself during the weekend of the men’s retreat. But it was a great party was a great time a great celebration. And you know what it’s stuck President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1963 it took quite some time but it was very important you know I believe this is just me personally that the concept of celebrating and giving thanks unto God for the harvest is lost on many people today non though it’s probably not lost on anybody here we all live in a rural area and we probably understand but I think in many parts of our nation the idea of celebrating and thanking God for a harvest I think there are some that are clueless I think there are some that have no idea where all those groceries in the store come from they are clueless they don’t understand what it takes to grow a harvest they don’t even even if they go down the them of the meat section what it takes to raise cattle and chicken and all the other things but you know when you think of the harvest of harvest of fruit you think of the farmer that plants that seed in the early spring that’s just the beginning isn’t it the seed has to be watered you have to weed the fields to keep the weeds from taking over because it was weeds will take over and then you have to till the ground you have to fertilize that you have so much you have to do before the harvest will eventually come but it also takes a lot of faith and a lot of trust to be a farmer to wait on that harvest because you have to trust that you’ll get the right amount of rain not too much rain or not a drought there are so many things that can go wrong you could have that drought you could have too much rain you could have hail you could have an infestation of insects and bugs. It could be because the list would go on and on to the things that can go wrong with the harvest with the produce so it takes a lot of faith a lot of faith a lot of trust and prayer that things will turn out well when the harvest season comes but most importantly though is that we know whom to think when the harvest goes well it is good mediocre we still should know whom to thank and that is the Lord our God 1st Chronicles 168 through 12 says oh give thanks to the Lord call upon His name make known his deeds among the people sing to him sing songs to him talk of all his wonderous works glory in His Holy Name let the hearts of the of those rejoice who seek the Lord my friends you seek in the Lord let your hearts rejoice seek the Lord in His strength seek His face forevermore remember his marvelous works which he has done his wonders in the judgments of his mouth everyone I know that we’re not all farmers but everyone whether you are a business man or woman rather you are a nurse or a doctor whether you are teacher or student whether you’re a farmer or fisherman whether you’re a carbon or a engineer whatever no matter our profession a matter of station in life we all have much to be thankful for because even for all of those things God has provided provisions that we can go out and bring in the harvest from the grocery store right we need to be grateful we ought not to grumble and complain we need to be grateful in all things I found an illustration and the author is unknown says forgive me when I whine. Says today upon a bus I saw a lovely maid with golden hair I envied her she seemed so gay and how I would I were so fair when suddenly she rose to leave I saw her hobble down the aisle she had one foot and wore a crutch but as she passed she smiled and I thought Oh God forgive me when I whine I have 2 feet the world is mine and when I stopped to buy some sweets the lad that served me had such charm he seemed to radiate good cheer his manner was so kind and warm and I said it’s nice to deal with you said courtesy I seldom find he turned and said Oh thank you sir and then I saw that he was blind Oh God forgive me when I won I have 2 eyes the world is mine then I walked down the street I saw a child with eyes of blue he stood and watched the others play it seemed he knew not what to do I stopped for a moment then I said why don’t you join the others dear he looked ahead without a word and then I knew that he could not hear Oh God forgive me when I whine I have 2 ears the world is mine with feet to make take me where I’d go with eyes to see the sunset glow with ears to hear what I would know I am blessed indeed the world is mine Oh God forgive me when I wind God forgive us when we whine how many has ever said that oh I wish I knew what God’s will was for my life and the body ever said that or heard someone say that I wish I knew what God’s will was why I’m going to stand here today and I’m going to tell you assuredly that I know one thing. That is absolutely I can say for certain is God’s will for your life I can point to each one of you and say I know for certain that this is God’s will for your life I can say that with all certainty are you ready for 1st US Oh no names 516 through 18 rejoice always pray without ceasing in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you so I can say that I can say Bob this is God’s will for you that you give thanks in everything Brian this is God’s will for you give thanks in everything Isabel is God’s will for you to give thanks in everything I can say that with certainty does say of the Lord it is God’s will that you give thanks in everything and so with that said there is no better place for me to pause and say What are you thankful for this year it’s your time to share it’s been my tradition and there’s no sense breaking from it now is anybody here thankful John. Fraser. Yes. And I will speak for the rest up and say we are thankful you found us praise the Lord yes I seen another hand. All right let’s sort of an affair of the on line which praise the Lord. Together. So well when years. Every. Prison word phrase or will come back Camden. Praise the Lord. Think you’re thankful for life you know every day that’s what that’s something to be thanked for right Bob. When you look around and see all these pastors. Or you live here safely Yes from Spirit. Yes cars I thank you a man that’s what I meant. By. Men. Praise the Lord another on line with Sheryl says Thank You Lord for giving us the strength and comfort to survive for sewage floods in our home the summer Thank you Lord for our blessings thank you as well for watching over my dad he fell recently and broke my bones and was hospitalized in rehab he’s home now bless the Lord I met Thank you Cheryl May God bless and be with you I think Charles from the Martin Berger area thank you for joining in heaven. They believe the figure of all the people that knew all there is a man a lot and many. Thankful that I know that you are you for. A man I love the next surely. All. My things. And let me. See how many blessings we know. Is a moral I offer to. Help the families great blessing to my. Church. Yes. Barbara there’s so many things which are all right when you mention that Scripture and how those who are dissatisfied are lonely and so real long for something and that he gives us that do we realize he swears he wants to be with us in the freedom in man and that no one can take that from. You know it’s wonderful the devil could destroy this body but it could not take our faith from us if there’s no one to take it from the same era and the other. In breast cancer early in combat this week thankful that all people help these moments so I don’t think. We have such a one family one family. Yet worship fellowship and this week I have question about one quarter Facebook page talking back and forth with you man one song I think you can see me on the set with us. And another and I’m not sure where he’s from I think I think they’re both from like yeah on somewhere around. There just just to talk for these 2 man to share in the. The blessings of the Lord in their Christian man and just a thing were commenting about our dinner in an Honeysett is that you come together as the Lord and. Praise God when you lift one another and it was just a joy this week to be able to talk with people even a little longing about the Lord and His blessings and you know that you know we were in our tiny little hamlet here but your people were clear across the world that worship just like we. Worship the same savior that we worship my head hurts I’m thankful that God has given us the technology and those of understand his technology to help us reach around the world to send us a gospel message to the other saw the world from the one just. Think you were. And yet. You know I don’t want to say to you I’m thinking more. Than. That just was here on what makes the heart was so hot and a lot colder than if I’m just so grateful that the 3rd guy who not only cares about getting a victory but loves the opposition he cares about us then reaching out for him to the one that you know we just defeated you to speak the one we want to victory at 1st he loves so much and he wins us the love that we’re going to reach out to them and that’s just. Shows our father to thank God for being good family no ma’am and thank Him for His goodness if and pray that we understand his goodness and we reflect his goodness that we or he uses us to express his goodness anyone else. Too. I think we all. Yes I’m. Right here in. My Strange. Place where. I. Live just. Down. Right. Now. You’re. Going to be OK. Thank him for his presence because I kind of jumped the gun or a couple weeks ago when I stared on I’m so thankful for all of you each one of you you’re all part of my family we’re brothers and sisters and I do thank God so much for his presence I thank him as of Rizana already said that he wants each one of us to know him to know him in an intimate and personal way he wants our enemies to come to him to reach out to him to receive that wonderful gift that he has for each of us I’m thankful for life I’m thankful for the hope anyone else. Chance to serve Yes a man that’s a fantastic one a chance to serve him so many don’t have that shit for whatever reason be it health or be it location where they are like him for the chance to serve Him anyone else. Family friends and church all wonderful stuff. Yes wrong with. Me and. Me not. Even. Now don’t worry about they have your way you that if you really me. You know some people may tend to feel that God has forgotten about them you may have found yourself in that place in time past where you felt God is kind of forgot about me felt deserted or alone found yourself in hard times but the truth is you know the God never ever forgets about us through the tough times through the good times but there are times where people tend to forget about God and it seems like when times are good when everything’s going our way is often the time that we do forget about God Jesus told a story of a farmer thought he had no need for God In the Loop 1216 through 20 then he spoke a parable to them saying the ground of a certain man a certain rich man yielded plenty fully and he thought within himself saying What shall I do since I have no room to store my crops so he said I will do this I will pull down my barns and build greater and there while I will store all my crops and my goods and I will say to my soul so you have many good things laid up for many years take your easy drink and be merry. But God said to him full this night your soul will be required of you that whose Will those things be which you have provided so so is he who lays up traders’ for himself and is not rich towards God Are you in a time of plenty in your life will be careful be careful if you’re in a time of plenty don’t become like this farmer and think well this rich farmer and think wow this eat drink and be merry to store up all my stuff don’t get to the place where you don’t think you need God because we need God we need desperately an old time preacher once wrote blessedness is the greatest of perils because it tends to dollar keen sense of the pendants on God and make us prone to presumption Lord let not our blessings make us think we don’t need to depend on you we need to pray that there was a sign in a textile mill that read this when your thread becomes tangled call the foreman Well young woman that was a new hire on the job her thread became Tagg when she thought Al just try to straighten it out myself she tried and she tried to try but the situation only grew worse Finally she called the foreman she said I did the best I could he said no you didn’t the best you could have done was to call me My friends let’s just call God let’s don’t try to untangle the messes of our lives let’s just call him that’s the best you can do and he will help you but let’s just be grateful let us be thankful that us be thankful for the strength that he has given us be thankful for even the strength and the ability to get out of bed this morning and get ourselves dressed and fed and get here. Be thankful for life Cameron said I was thankful I was born made to me to everybody here thankful you were born yes thankful for life and more thankful to have a God that is a God of life he is not the God of the dead he is a God of the living so let’s act like the living and let’s give him thanks and must rejoice and be grateful every day in every thing for that is the will of God for your life Amen amen.