Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung, Jr. Along with Rick, we've been examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word. Well, this is the time that we do take a look at the book. And I wanted to invite Paul Scharf back to the program. and ask him to take a look as to why is Thanksgiving so important. Paul, welcome back. Thank you, Jimmy. Great to be here. Yes, sir. I'm so very thankful on this week of Thanksgiving. I learned a lot learning about Psalm 105, 106, 107. And, you know, I wanted to ask you, why is Thanksgiving so important to believers? Well, Jimmy, as we've seen, the Psalms are filled with references to giving thanks to God and the importance of having a grateful heart. And that, of course, was personified by the pilgrims. And they handed down to us this treasure, this legacy of the holiday we call Thanksgiving. It's my favorite holiday. And perhaps, first of all, we could illustrate the principle negatively. This is one of the great signal passages of the New Testament, Romans chapter 1. We all know about it. If we are lovers of Scripture, beginning in verse 16, that great call to be unashamed of the gospel of Christ, those verses that changed the world in the days of the Reformation and the century before the pilgrims. But Paul, of course, goes on from there and he talks about the wrath of God and how it's revealed from heaven. against all ungodliness and unrighteousness, and he paints a picture of mankind in absolute, total depravity, complete devastation, degradation, just disgusting, horrible, awful sin, and the trouble that flows from it. And we might say, Jimmy, Where in the world does all this come from? How is this evil unleashed upon the world? How does a nation, a culture, a society, a people group, how does anyone go down to these depths of the things that the Apostle Paul tells us are worthy of death at the end of the chapter? We might say there must be some horrible, horrible a problem that brings this to pass? Well, let's look at it. Paul describes this unrighteousness, this horrible condition, and he talks about mankind rejecting God and turning away from Him and being without excuse. And here's where it all hinges. It's on verse 21 of Romans 1. because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God. And Jimmy, you know the next phrase, don't you? Nor were, what? Thankful. They weren't thankful. They were unthankful. They were ungrateful. And that's the pivot where all this wickedness is unleashed. unthankfulness is such a simple thing. It's such an innocent thing. No, it's the absolute key that unlocks the door to, I mean, if I can say it this way, the horrors of hell. Ingratitude. What if you were plunged down into the depths of eternal darkness of everlasting hell? That's what this passage is picturing. And what is the broken stair that plunges mankind into those depths, it's thanklessness. They were not thankful. And their foolish heart was darkened. You know, that's so very important. And as you look at the world today, we could see that. Well, Paul, let's look at a positive aspect of why Thanksgiving is so important. Well, Jimmy, this is a passage I need, and I trust that all of our listeners will testify likewise. Philippians 4, 6, and 7. I'm sure, again, all Bible lovers probably know these verses. But the Apostle Paul said, be anxious for nothing. That's kind of hard to do, isn't it? How do we do that? Well, here's the key. But in everything by prayer and supplication. Now, here's the key again in the reverse. With what? With Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving. If you want to put all this in motion in the right direction, to have God energize and empower your life, to take away anxiety, and we all need that. Everyone who's watching the world and watching the setting of the stage for prophecy, as we all are, we all need to have a key to unlock the answer for anxiety, don't we? By prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. So we have the negative and the positive, whether you're thankful or unthankful, that tells us a lot about our hearts, but it also becomes, as I said, the lever that sets things in motion from there as well. Will you be thankful or unthankful? And the answer to that question is gonna determine a whole lot of what's gonna happen next in your life spiritually. Paul, great words, great, great words on this Thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving, we have a lot to be thankful for. It could have gone the other way with the election and different things. Our world is gonna continue to get worse as we, this is what the word of God says. We need to be prepared and the best way to be prepared and be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving, let your request be known unto God. Paul Scharf, thank you so much for being with us today. I wish your family and all of the families that are listening this week to have an enjoyable, happy, blessed Thanksgiving. Thank you, Paul, for being with us. Thank you, Jimmy, as always, and likewise, Happy Thanksgiving. May all who are listening have a meaningful and memorable celebration this year of giving thanks. As our world becomes increasingly secular, the actual giving of thanks to God during our annual Thanksgiving holiday is being overlooked, leaving only the feasting. May God grant that he may find us grateful every day for all of his gifts, spiritual and material. God is good and every good gift comes from him. For those who know Christ, God also works everything together for good, even events we would not necessarily consider good. May he find us to be his grateful children.