How to Have the Greatest Thanksgiving That Continues
Good afternoon, Georgia. My name is John Otis, and I’m with Gospel Triumphant Ministries. Today I want to talk about how you can have the greatest Thanksgiving that continues. I’m not talking about turkey, dressing, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, peas, and all the food that might make you hungry—especially around lunchtime. I’m talking about becoming spiritually hungry, and learning how to live with a continual spirit of thanksgiving.
The reason you would want that is simple: we don’t want to live life grumpy, complaining, and constantly frustrated. We all have a tendency to complain, but that is not the best way to live. It is possible to live with a thankful heart—one that lasts beyond a holiday meal—and I want to explain how.
Why We Must Understand the Bad News First
To explain how to have a lasting spirit of thanksgiving, I need to share both bad news and good news. The reason is that we only appreciate the good news when we understand how serious the bad news really is. Only when we understand how desperate our situation is will we see how precious the good news is.
Living in God’s World Under God’s Authority
One of the first things we must recognize is that we are made by the living God. God is in control of this universe, and we live in God’s world under His guidelines. Some people believe they can define reality for themselves and decide what they want to be, but we do not have the authority to create reality. God defines reality, and He defines what man is.
To illustrate, a person could claim, “I’m a bird,” climb to the top of a stadium, jump off, and quickly discover the truth. Reality is not something we invent. We live in God’s universe on God’s terms.
God’s Holiness and the Ten Commandments
The Bible reveals that God is holy. Holiness means separation—God is separate from His creation and separate from the creature. Scripture says God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
God has revealed His character and His expectations through the Ten Commandments, which reflect His holiness. They show what God is like and what He requires from those He created.
How We Break God’s Law in Heart and Attitude
Consider the first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.” Many people say they don’t worship idols because they don’t bow to statues, but an idol can be anything you put first in your life—what you live for, what controls you, what you value most.
The speaker gives the example of the rich young ruler who asked Jesus how to inherit eternal life. When Jesus told him to sell his wealth, give to the poor, and follow Him, the man walked away sorrowful. His wealth had become his god—not because having wealth is automatically wrong, but because he would not surrender it.
Jesus also explained that the commandments go deeper than outward actions. The sixth commandment says, “You shall not murder,” but Jesus taught that sinful anger and contempt toward someone can make a person guilty before God. The seventh commandment says, “You shall not commit adultery,” but Jesus taught that lust in the heart breaks that commandment as well.
This shows that sin is not merely external behavior; it is also internal—attitudes, desires, and the condition of the heart.
Perfect Obedience and Our Inability to Meet God’s Standard
God expects perfect obedience to His law. Scripture says that anyone who does not obey everything written in the law is under a curse. The standard is so high that none of us can uphold it.
The Bible also teaches that we are not just slightly wounded—we are dead in our sin. Isaiah describes humanity as unclean and says even our righteous deeds are like filthy rags. Scripture describes sinners as being carried along by iniquity and unable to awaken themselves to seek God.
Sin, Satan, and the Human Condition
The message also speaks about spiritual realities. It describes people walking according to the world and under the influence of “the prince of the power of the air,” identified as Satan. Satan is described as a liar and a murderer whose goal is to destroy souls. Those who do not belong to Christ are described as slaves to sin and under the influence of the devil’s will.
The Origin of Sin and the Separation from God
Sin is traced back to the beginning—Adam and Eve in the garden. God allowed them to eat from every tree except one: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They disobeyed, and sin entered the world. That sin has passed down through generations.
Sin creates a great chasm between sinful humanity and a holy God. The speaker compares it to trying to jump from one side of a stadium to the other—impossible. Isaiah says our sins have created separation between us and God, affecting even the hearing of prayers.
Because we are dead in sin, we cannot earn salvation through our own effort.
Why Good Works Cannot Save Us
Many people believe that if their good works outweigh their bad works, they will go to heaven. But the message argues that this is false according to Scripture. Our works do not meet God’s standard, and attempts to earn salvation are futile—like the rich young ruler who believed he had kept the commandments but had already broken the first.
Any attempt to earn salvation by works is described as an impossible effort.
The Consequences of Sin and the Reality of Hell
The Bible says, “The soul that sins shall die,” and “The wages of sin is death”—not only physical death but spiritual death. The worst consequence of sin is eternal separation from God, described as hell.
Jesus spoke about hell seriously, using strong imagery: it is better to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have both eyes and be cast into hell, where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched, a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Heaven is real, and hell is real, because Jesus and Scripture teach it. Again, the message emphasizes that we live in God’s world on His terms.
The Path to a Thanksgiving That Lasts
At this point, the message returns to the original theme: how to have the best Thanksgiving that continues. Many people feel they have plenty to complain about—family problems, relationship struggles, grades, pressure at home, and even sports disappointments. But even if a football team loses, it is not the end of the world. Life goes on, and a thankful heart is still possible.
The central issue is this: to have lasting thanksgiving, we must be reconciled to a holy God.
Reconciliation Through Christ Alone
How can we be reconciled to God? The answer given is Jesus Christ. Scripture says God demonstrates His love in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. It also says God loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Propitiation is explained as the satisfaction of divine justice through a blood sacrifice. The message emphasizes that Jesus is the only hope for mankind.
It also rejects the idea that sincerity or any religion is acceptable as long as a person means well. The message points to Jesus’ words: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” Scripture also says salvation is found in no other name. Jesus said anyone who tries to enter another way is like a thief and a robber, but He is the door, and whoever enters through Him will be saved.
One Word to Remember: Substitution
If there is one word the speaker wants you to remember, it is substitution. Jesus saves sinners by being their substitute.
He pays the penalty that we deserve for breaking God’s law. Scripture says Christ died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, to bring us to God. Another passage says He bore our sins in His body on the cross so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, and by His wounds we are healed.
The message also references Colossians, explaining that people accumulate a great debt through sin. Christ cancels the certificate of debt—hostile decrees (the Ten Commandments we have broken)—and nails that debt to the cross. Isaiah prophesied that it pleased the Father to crush the Son and lay on Him the iniquity of us all, showing that Christ paid the penalty in our place.
Forgiveness That Is Total and Forever
Two images of forgiveness are highlighted. God casts our sins into the depths of the sea, never to be found again. He also separates our sins from us as far as the east is from the west—an infinite distance—showing that God’s forgiveness is complete and lasting.
The message asks: would you not be thankful if you knew your sins could be fully forgiven?
A Picture of Thankfulness Through Forgiveness
The speaker describes a well-known story of a sinful woman who came to Jesus while He was eating at a Pharisee’s house. She wept, anointed His feet, and wiped them with her hair while kissing His feet. The Pharisee was offended because she was known for her sinful lifestyle, but Jesus declared that her sins—though many—were forgiven, and He told her, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
Her actions showed deep gratitude because she had been forgiven.
The Second Part of Substitution: Christ’s Perfection in Our Place
The message explains that paying for sin is not the only need. A person must be perfect to enter heaven, and our perfection cannot accomplish that. Scripture says if someone keeps the whole law but stumbles in one point, they are guilty of all. One sin is enough to condemn us.
Only one perfect man ever walked the earth—Jesus Christ. By one man’s disobedience (Adam), sin came to mankind, and by one man’s obedience (Christ), life comes to those united to Him. Christ kept the law perfectly in our place.
Our Response: Repent and Believe
This salvation does not apply automatically. Scripture says Jesus preached: “The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel.”
Repentance begins by agreeing with God that we are sinners deserving condemnation. It includes confession, and Scripture promises that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us. Repentance is more than sorrow—it is a turning away from sin and a desire for a different life, empowered by God.
The message gives an example from Thessalonica, where people turned from idols to the living God and exercised faith. It was a complete change of direction.
Faith means trusting what Christ has done and giving one’s life to Him. Without faith it is impossible to please God, and faith is meant to be living and active.
Jesus’ Invitation to the Weary
Because life is tough, it is easy to complain and hard to remain thankful. The message points to Matthew 11:28–30 where Jesus says to come to Him when weary and burdened, and He will give rest. His yoke is easy and His burden is light because trying to keep God’s law by human strength leads to failure. Jesus calls people to bind themselves to Him and find lasting rest.
Hearing With the Heart and the Role of Preaching
The message emphasizes the need for ears to hear and hearts that embrace Christ. Jesus often said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” A heart of stone must become a heart of flesh, and God must do that work within a person.
It also explains that faith comes by hearing the word of God. Romans is quoted to show that people must hear preaching to believe, and preaching happens because God sends preachers—even weak ones—to proclaim His message.
Personal Testimony and Eternal Hope
The speaker shares that 56 years earlier, at age 18, he was an agnostic college student with no meaning in life. Someone shared the gospel with him, and hearing the testimony of Christians made him realize he needed change. He prayed that if Jesus truly is the Son of God and Savior of sinners, he would give his life to Him—and he did.
Life remained difficult, but through trials he could still live with thanksgiving because of the hope that one day he will be with Christ. He speaks of a future with no more tears and no more pain, where believers will see Jesus face to face. He ends with the promise that anyone in Christ is a new creation—old things pass away and new things come.
A Final Plea and Closing Invitation
The message ends with a plea similar to the Apostle Paul’s: to be reconciled to Christ. It warns that no one knows when they will die—an accident could happen at any moment—and the question is whether a person is ready to face the living God.
If a person is reconciled to God through Christ, they can have a thankful spirit that lasts. The speaker offers to speak with anyone afterward and mentions a small tract he wrote titled “Where Do You Stand?” for those who want one.
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