Introduction:
I am an absolute pushover when it comes to puppy dog eyes. I am not talking about the look my wife gives me when she wants me to do the dishes or vacuum the living room. I am talking about real puppy dog eyes. My dogs have figured it out already. When they look at me with their sad little faces, they're pretty sure that I will give them a treat or throw the tennis ball again or let them slobber all over me. I am pushover for those puppy dog eyes.

When I read these words from Psalm 145, "The eyes of all look to you," I immediately thought of the relationship I have with my dogs. My dogs get what they need from me. As far as I know, they have never driven to the store, pulled out their wallets and bought their own food and chew toys. All they know is that I give them food and water. All they know is that I throw the tennis ball for their fun. All they know is that when I hold my hand up, they are going to get something that they want. They focus their attention on my hand until I open it and give them something.

In a similar kind of way, we look to God's open hand for all that we have, and for good reason. He is the one who saved us and he is the one who provides for us. As we celebrate this special harvest festival, thanking God for all his wonderful blessings, let us continue to look to his open hand.

I. He saved us.
Let us look first at verse Psalm 145:17. "The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made." The Lord is righteous and because he is righteous he has set very high standards for us as his creation. He tells us to be perfect just as he is perfect. Yet not one person here can claim perfection. For that matter, no human being, besides Jesus, could ever claim perfection, not you, not me, not Jesus' mother, or Gandhi, or the pope. We are all sinners from birth. And God is not a push over. He will not look the other way at our sin because we give him puppy dog eyes. He demanded that punishment be paid for sin. We cannot make that payment.

But God could and he did. When he sent his perfect and holy Son, Jesus, to this earth, he was giving him up for the payment of our sin. When Jesus willingly bled for us on the cross, he was paying the price for the sin of the entire world. Why would God do this? Why would he stand by as his only Son, Jesus, was crucified? He did it because he loves us. Jesus died because he loves us. In fact, to lay down one's life for another is the greatest act of love.

And with Jesus' resurrection from the dead, we have a sure confidence that we too will rise to be in heaven with God. Now some may say, "That sounds pretty good, but what's the catch?" What do we have to do to earn this great gift from the hand of God? Do we have to do silly tricks and jump through hoops like trained dogs? Nope! There is no catch. Our ticket to heaven is faith in Christ Jesus as our savior. That's it, plain and simple. In fact, God even gives us the faith. We don't even have to come up with that on our own, but without faith in Jesus we are doomed to hell.

So on this harvest festival, let us praise God and thank him for saving us. For salvation by grace alone, through faith in Christ Jesus is the only blessing we really need. Let us look to God's open hand for forgiveness. Let us look to the hand that picks us up when we fall, the hand that brushes the dirt and grime of sin off of us, the hand that leads us to heaven. Let us look to that hand and be eternally grateful because God saved us.

2. He provides for us.
As I said before the only blessing we absolutely need is eternal life. If God would have given us that and then closed his hand, we would have been truly blessed. But our awesome God gives us so much more! Psalm 145:15-16 tells us this: The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

God provides for us in every way. Count your blessings. I mean it. Stop whatever your thinking about right now, close your eyes and count your blessings. Everything we have is from God. He gives us our food at the proper time and satisfies the desires of every living thing. Nobody here is starving. In fact God has blessed us so richly that we are going to sit down after family Bible hour and eat turkey and mashed potatoes and pie. How great is God! He takes care of his people by giving them whatever they need for body and life.

And not only does God give us food, clothing, shelter, family, friends, but he listens to our prayers and promises to answer them. Jesus tells us in the gospels, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." But that does not mean that God is a pushover like I am with my dogs. If we give God the puppy dog eyes, he won't just drop million dollars in our bank account, a hot tub in our backyard, and new car in the garage. No God opens his hand gives us what we need when we need it.

I pray that you truly appreciate the great things God has given you. Let us all fight the temptation to be ungrateful for these blessings. Let us lift our hearts and voices to God in thanksgiving this day and everyday as we celebrate the bountiful harvest in our lives. It is so easy to grumble and complain about what we wish we had. So we need to stop ourselves and realize that God's hand is open and from that hand blessings are piling up all around us.

Conclusion:
And as always, when we look to the open hand of God, let us never forget that through the open hands of Jesus, our greatest blessing came. As the open hands of Jesus bled on the cross, our sins were being washed away forever. As the open hands of Jesus came back to life on Easter Sunday, our resurrection on the last day was guaranteed. And as Jesus open and outstretched hands ascended to heaven, we were guaranteed our eternal home in heaven also. Let us give thanks in thought, words, and actions as we reflect on the love shown us by an open-handed God. AMEN.