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[no audio] [no audio] Just a minute here. Our family-- [no audio]

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[no audio] [MUSIC PLAYING] (upbeat music) (orchestral music)

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(upbeat music) ♪ Every day is a day of thanksgiving ♪ ♪ God's been so good to me ♪ ♪ Every day he's blessing me ♪

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♪ Every day is a day of thanksgiving ♪ ♪ Take the time to glorify the Lord ♪ ♪ Today ♪ Every day

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♪ Is a day of thanksgiving ♪ God's been so good to me ♪ And every day ♪ Every day he's blessed me

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♪ Every day ♪ It is a day of thanksgiving ♪ ♪ Take the time to glorify the Lord today ♪ ♪ Now I thank God for the moments ♪

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♪ When I worship in his name ♪ ♪ I thank him for the sacrifice of praise ♪ ♪ Praise ♪ ♪ Now it's no mystery to say ♪

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♪ How my God is every day ♪ ♪ Making my way through clouds so dark ♪ ♪ Bringing his light into my heart ♪ ♪ Every day is a day of thanksgiving ♪

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♪ Is our day of thanksgiving ♪ ♪ God's been ♪ ♪ God's been so good to me ♪ ♪ And every day ♪

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♪ Every day he's blessing me ♪ ♪ Oh every day ♪ ♪ Is our day of thanksgiving ♪ ♪ And we have to glorify the Lord ♪

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♪ I thank God for this moment ♪ ♪ That I worship Him in His name ♪ ♪ Now I thank Him for the sacrifice of praise ♪ ♪ It's no mystery to me ♪

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♪ How my God is every day ♪ ♪ Is every day ♪ ♪ Making my way through clouds so dark ♪ ♪ Bringing his light into my heart ♪

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♪ Every day ♪ ♪ Is a day of thanksgiving ♪ ♪ God's been ♪ ♪ God's been so good to me ♪

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♪ And every day ♪ ♪ And today he's blessing me ♪ ♪ Every day is a day of thanksgiving ♪ ♪ Take the time to glorify the Lord today ♪

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♪ Oh, he's gone blessing me ♪ ♪ Over and over and over ♪ ♪ He's blessing me ♪ ♪ He's opened the door that I may see ♪

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♪ He's blessing me ♪ ♪ He's blessing me ♪ ♪ Blessing me ♪ ♪ Take the time to glorify the Lord today ♪

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♪ He's the blessing in me ♪ ♪ Over and over ♪ ♪ He's the blessing in me ♪ ♪ Over and over ♪

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♪ He's opened the door ♪ ♪ That I might see ♪ ♪ He's the blessing in me ♪ ♪ He's the blessing in me ♪

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♪ Over and over ♪ ♪ He's the blessing in me ♪ ♪ Take the time to glorify the Lord ♪ ♪ Glorify the Lord ♪

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♪ Glorify the Lord ♪ ♪ Today ♪ - Amen, amen. Let's all say amen again.

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- Amen. [music] Hear this word, recorded in the Gospel according to St. Luke, the 18th chapter, verses 9 through 14.

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And Jesus spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus within himself, "God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers,

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or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all I possess. And the publican, standing afar off,

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would not lift up so much as his eyes under heaven, but smote his breast saying, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." I tell you, this man went down to his house justified

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rather than the other. For everyone that exalted himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. The subject of the message,

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the Pharisees' thanksgiving. The Pharisees' thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a holy and holy act of religious worship. I say holy, that's H-O-L-Y, and then W-H-O-L-L-Y.

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It is a holy and holy act of religious worship. Where thanks with every gift expressed, each day would be thanksgiving. Where gratitude its very best,

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each life would be thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is more than a celebration once a year. Thanksgiving is more than a holiday, day off, day to visit with family and friends.

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Thanksgiving is an act of gratitude. an attitude of gratitude. It's a way of life. Jesus illustrates this way of life in the story of the Pharisee and the Publican.

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One young person listening to this thought it was the Pharisee and the Republican. But it's not the Pharisee and the Republican. It's the Pharisee and the Publican. The story here reflects two lifestyles

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that are in contrast. Two worshipers representing two lifestyles. Both the Pharisee and the publican go up to the temple to worship.

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Both the Pharisee and the publican make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Both the Pharisee and the publican recognize the need to pray.

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Now the Pharisee has a reputation for piety. He's known for being identified with those who live the godly, righteous, and sober life. By community and national standards,

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the Pharisee is known as an okay kind of guy. Probably this man is commonly referred to by neighbors as the pious Pharisee. His dress, his robes set him apart.

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set him apart. His prayer shawl, the prophylactery that he wears, all of these

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symbols that he is set apart as someone special in the religious community. He's among those who love to pray

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long prayers in public places. Yes, this Pharisee is known for his piety, his prayers, and his performance. His piety, his prayers, and his performance. When he He prayed out loud. He had certain inflections in his voice, certain intonations that involved the select phrases

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that he had memorized that made a great impression upon his hearers. Undoubtedly, this particular Pharisee had spent many hours cultivating the manner in which he talked with the Lord. He was not only concerned with the posture in prayer,

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but the practice of prayer, and the times that he prayed, and the places where he prayed. He loved to pray in public places

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where he was seen in the presence of many faces. faces. Now this place is the temple. Jesus permits us to enter into the inner sanctum of the Pharisee. He sort of opens the door of his heart, the Pharisee's heart, and lets us in on the Pharisee's inner thoughts. So we enter with the one

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before whom all secrets are known, nothing is hidden. Jesus takes us into the secret closet of this pious Pharisee so that we may know what he is thinking in his heart. The Pharisee's prayer is a prayer of thanksgiving. He begins, "God, I thank you." Now his first words are expressions of thanksgiving, "God, I thank you." His is a

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prayer of thanksgiving, but it is a monologue that he has with himself. He prays with himself. His prayer is self-centered. He does not engage in a dialogue of being the finite talking to the infinite. He doesn't do that. A human communicating with the divine, that would be a good dialogue, but he doesn't engage

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in a dialogue. He doesn't engage in a romance of the transitory with the eternal. He says, "Lord, I thank you that I am not as other men are. I thank you that I am better than others. I thank you that I am not an extortioner. I'm not unjust, I'm not an adulterer, I'm not even like this this publican over here.

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The Pharisee's Thanksgiving is one in which he brags and boasts of who he is in comparison with others. It's a good temptation, do that. I'm better than old so and so.

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I know I'm better than she is. So he congratulates himself to God. And he hardly has room for God in his thanksgiving prayer.

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because he takes all the room for himself. Lord, I thank you that I am not as other men are of it. I'm not an extortioner, I'm not unjust, I'm not an adulterer. I'm not like the publican over there.

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Yes, he takes all the room for himself. His prayer is completely focused on himself, his piety and his performance. He congratulates himself, I said, to God.

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And he takes pride in his numerous virtues. He's better than, you know, I don't like for people to compliment me if they've got to reflect on somebody. Reverend, I think you're the best preacher

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than all these other preachers, you know. You gotta reflect on others to talk about me. You know, this is the Pharisee's prayer. He deserves special consideration.

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He takes pride in his own righteousness and he neglects the righteousness of God. Paul talks about those people who, going about in their own righteousness,

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they have failed to embrace the righteousness of God. So his is a meritorious righteousness. He deserves praise for his deeds. He's eligible for a special merit badge.

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So he decorates himself with honor. You know how the Boy Scouts, you know, you get the merit badge for certain things you do. Do this, do this, do this.

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Well, this is the way the Pharisee looks upon himself. So the list continues. The Pharisee thinks it necessary for him to remind God of his good deeds. He says, "I fast twice a week." This was not a bad fella. A lot of us could profit by fasting.

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You know, a lot of us haven't come to the point where he had come. He was a pretty good fella. He said, "I fast. I do it without food. I don't just stuff my gut day after day. I fast twice a week.

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That's a pretty good schedule, isn't it? Twice a week is enough to do it once. And you see, really, that's just it. He did it twice.

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The law only required that he would do it once. But he put an extra day in there. You know how it is with some students. They're eager beavers.

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You ask them to turn in a five-page paper about midterm, and they turned it in a week or so after you make the announcement and turn in 10 pages. He's this kind of guy, special person.

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and his prayer expresses thanks for what he is not. Did you hear that? - Yes, Lord. - He's giving thanks for what he is not.

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In other words, he's wrapped up in negatives. I am not this, I am not this, I am not that. We don't get a great deal of credit just for the nuts.

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The Lord expects us to do certain things. Sure, we ought to refrain from certain things, but our praise is not to be based altogether on what we are not, but what we are.

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Those things that are positive, we have to be proactive. So, he's thankful to God, that he is not a sinner. He's not like that fellow over there.

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"I never cheat," he says. "I don't commit adultery." "I go without food twice a week and I give

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God a ten." He gets over a lot of us there. He tithes. He just doesn't tithe some of it. Some people only tithe certain portions of their income.

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He said, "I give tithes of all I possess." I tell you, he was a pretty good fella. By our standards. And this Pharisee's Prayer,

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we would sort of analyze this prayer a little more. What about our prayers of Thanksgiving? You know, they're not prayers that should be complimenting us.

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He had it all wrong. Prayers ought to be complimenting God. For what he has done, not for what we have done, but for what he has done.

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What about our prayers of thanksgiving during this season as a nation? Like the Pharisee, do we take pride in being the strongest nation in the world?

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Do we boast of the fact that we have not been invaded by foreign power, we are so good? Do we compliment ourselves for the fact that we are the breadbasket of the world.

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Do we as a church, Ebenezer, pray the Pharisees' prayer and boast of the fact that we are 123 years old, strategically situated in the heart of the inner city,

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What about our Thanksgiving prayers as a city? Oh, sure we take great pride that we are the leading city in the nation. Fortune Magazine said we are the top city in the nation.

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Do we take pride in that as the Pharisee boasted? We have our tech center, clean industry, low employment, flagship university, good colleges, Lord, I thank you.

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That we're not as other cities, not as other churches, not as other individuals over there, many who are starving and suffering from malnutrition. Lord, I thank you.

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That's the Pharisees' prayer. What about us personally? Well, sufficient income, good retirement, pension checks comes in every month,

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reasonable portion of health and strength, good house to live in, bread on the table, I'm okay. Better off than most people in the world. Lord, I thank you.

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That's the kind of Pharisee's prayer. The Pharisee's character is spoiled not by what is present, but by what is missing.

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His character is spoiled, not by what is present, but by what is missing. And so his prayer is put on hold. If you ever been talking on the telephone

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and you put somebody on hold, for just a minute, on hold. I called someone the other day, I was trying to check on a bill and I called

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and he said, "Well, if you have a punch phone," better thank him, he said, You punch this for this person. If you have nothing, you punch this.

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And you punch this. And it just kept-- and I punched that, and it kept on going. It just kept on going. And I called one institution here,

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and I never got the man. I said, I always get this recording. Well, it's on hold. It's on hold.

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And let's look here at this publican while this Pharisee's prayer is on hold. The Pharisee is satisfied. He calls on the Lord. He calls on the ultimate, but his prayer is in vain.

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prayer does not leave the temple precepts. But look, look, look at the publicans prayer. The publican is a Jewish officer of the hated Roman authority. The publican longed for a higher life and craved for an inner peace that he was far from possessing. The publican does not recount nor think of reporting

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any good deed he has done. He makes no plea for himself. The publican's prayer consists of a few words, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." The words are uttered from a humble and contrite heart. And he stands afar off. He does not even lift up his eyes to him. He looks down. He doesn't feel worthy even to turn his face heavenward. Pharisee is so satisfied with himself, the publican is

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dissatisfied with himself. The Pharisee is considered in the end group, the publican was considered an outsider. The Pharisee is clothed in his own righteousness. The publican exposes the nudity of his soul. The center of the Pharisees world is himself and the center of the publicans world is God. God, the ground and goal of our

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striving God our help and our hope God our leaning post God our life publican trust in God who comes to be with us and we can give thanks today that God is in Oh give thanks unto the Lord for he is good. He's good. And I think now of another publican. Jesus was passing through the city of Jericho and there

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was a publican despised, rejected. He didn't feel like mingling with the crowd. he knew how he stood with the crowd, he'd rather not be around him. But Jesus was passing by and he'd heard a great deal of talk about this man Jesus and he wanted to see him so he climbed up the sycamore tree and looked down upon him as the crowd is

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mingling around and Jesus comes and he comes and stands right under the tree where Zacchaeus is and says Zacchaeus come down I'm going to your house today and Jesus goes to the house of this publican, this tax collector, this despised and rejected man Zacchaeus had. Zacchaeus has a dinner and you know what kind of

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dinner? It was the Thanksgiving dinner, not the kind of dinner most of us have where we are enjoying ourselves, but it was where they were enjoying Jesus. And oh, what a dinner it was! And they rejoiced, and Zacchaeus had all of his friends to come, and they gave thanks to Jesus Christ, who is a friend of sinners.

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So let's lift up our hearts today and thank God that he has come to us as unworthy as we are, that he has come to be with us, that he has blessed us, that he has led us through dark valleys and up steep hills, that God has been with us, and that we are yet alive to see each other's face, that we are yet alive because of his redeeming

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grace, thanks be to God. That's the publican's thanksgiving and I like to take my place with him. Because I know that I'm unworthy. Don't you want to stand there with the publican today? Say, Lord I'm unworthy but you've been so good to me, much better than I deserve. Thanks be to God. There may be someone here today who can identify with that publican.

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And we invite you to come and unite with the family of God here at Ebeleza. The door of the church is open. You can stand right where you are, giving your testimony that you want to become a part of the family of God by letter, by Christian experience, a profession of faith. We invite you to come.

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I asked the Lord to comfort me when things were going my way. He said to me, I will comfort you and lift your cares away. I asked the Lord to walk with me when darkness was all that I knew. He said to me, "Never be afraid, for I will see you through."

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I didn't ask for riches. He gave me wealth untold. ♪ The sun, the sky, the moon, the stars ♪ ♪ And gave me eyes to behold ♪

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♪ I thank the Lord for everything ♪ I thank you lord for everything. my blessings each day. He'll come to you. if you ask.

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♪ Holy prayer ♪ ♪ Away ♪ Lord God, we thank you for your goodness. And as we celebrate this Thanksgiving season,

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help us to have the spirit of the publican that of a humble and contrite heart. Grace, mercy, peace be with you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

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Amen. ♪ Amen, amen, amen ♪ ♪ Amen, amen ♪ Amen.

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