"In All Things Be Thankful"
Ephesians 5:20
Back during the dark days of 1929 (The Great Depression), a group of ministers in the Northeast, all graduates of the Boston School of Theology, gathered to discuss how they should conduct their Thanksgiving Sunday services.
Things during that time were about as bad as they could get, with no sign of relief...as some of us here can testify too.
The bread lines were depressingly long, the stock market had plummeted, and the term Great Depression seemed an apt description for the mood of the country.
The local ministers thought they should only lightly touch upon the subject Thanksgiving in deference to the human misery all about them.
After all, there was not much for them to be thankful for.
But it was Dr. William L. Stiger, the pastor of a large congregation in the city that rallied the group.
He said, “This was not the time to give mere passing mention to Thanksgiving, but just the opposite. This was the time for the nation to get matters in perspective and thank God for blessings always present, but perhaps suppressed due to intense hardship.”
I believe that these ministers struck upon something important for us that we should never forget.
The most intense moments of thankfulness are not found in times of plenty, but when difficulties abound.
Think of the Pilgrims that first Thanksgiving.
Half their number dead, men without a country, but still there was thanksgiving to God.
Their gratitude was not for something but in something.
It was that same sense of gratitude that lead Abraham Lincoln to formally establish the first Thanksgiving Day in the midst of national civil war, when the list of casualties seemed to have no end and the very nation struggled for survival.
Perhaps in your own life, right now, you are experiencing some intense hardship.
Maybe you are experiencing your own personal Great Depression. And for that reason you ask…Why should I be thankful this day?
I think we would only have to look as far as Scripture to answer that question.
And let’s do that this morning by looking at what the Apostle Paul had to say in his letter to the church in Ephesus.
Read Eph 5:20 and pray.
Background: Like the book of Philippians that we just studied, the Apostle Paul wrote this pastoral letter to the Ephesian church while in a Roman prison…probably around 60-62 AD.
As you recall he was under constant guard, a member of Ceaser’s own guard was chained to him 24/7; and his crime was…well, nothing.
Under the Roman laws you can be arrested without charges and kept until charges we either found or created; and if you died before charges came up…oh well.
So, the Apostle Paul had every reason to argue, fight, fuss and complain…based on human standards, but didn’t.
In fact he did just the opposite as we see in Eph. 5:20 (read again).
Even in the worst of times the Apostle Paul believed there was a reason to thank God and he wanted the Ephesian Christians and the Lewisville, AR Christians to see that also.
So the question we ask is, why should we be thankful no matter what the circumstances?
May I suggest three things you can avoid when you choose to be thankful this morning?
First of all you can...
1. Avoid Bitterness
We must learn to be thankful or we become bitter.
It is real easy for us to become bitter.
In fact for some people, bitterness is a way of life.
You know them; when it comes to church the building is the too hot or too cold (and on good days both at the same time), the music is too loud, the preacher is to long, and his wife is wearing the wrong kind of outfit…and this is what they say when they pull into the parking lot before even going in!
Some people spend so much time being bitter that you would think they were training for an Olympic event in that area…it’s a 24/7 thing to them.
These are the people that will look at a rainbow and complain about the rain and humidity.
Or they will look at a newborn baby and say, “I’m glad I don’t have to change those diapers…or deal with the sleepless nights…or spend the money raising them…etc.
Bitterness is dangerous.
Do you realize that?
The reason bitterness is so dangerous is because it is deadly.
It kills joy, not only in the person who is bitter…but in anyone else.
It’s like the kid who brings home their last report card in Middle School excited about a great last quarter and his or her parents looking at it and saying, “Hmmph…I hope you can handle high school algebra, and don’t look to me for help.”
Have you ever let air out of a balloon?
That is the effects of a bitter person on those around them. (Show with balloon).
One of the saddest cases of what bitterness can do to a person comes from the world of rock music world.
ILLUS: Kurt Cobain ended his life about 14 ½ years ago (4/1994), filled with bitterness and anger.
He was the founder and lead singer of the group "Nirvana”, probably the most successful group of the early 90’s.
It all ended when he put a shotgun into mouth and pulled the trigger.
His violent suicide prompted a lot of questions: "Why? He had it all…a great career, dedicated fans, plenty of money, a beautiful wife and a 19 month old daughter…So why did he kill himself?"
To many it made no sense, but reality is that Kurt Cobain simply lived out his beliefs to their logical conclusion.
He was a professed humanist and nihilist.
He believed that there was no God and there was no meaning or purpose to life.
He was the center of his own universe, and he was bitter so why stick around.
His poetry (music) clearly showed what he believed.
Cobain was very vocal about his bitterness from being a child of divorce and moved from house to house and eventually without a home.
He felt that life was rotten and meaningless and his music often spoke of his anger and disillusionment.
One of his songs was called "Nevermind”; its recurring line was "Oh well, whatever, nevermind."
Another song that he wrote was never released because it was too objectionable.
It was called, "I Hate Myself, And I Want To Die." That’s bitterness.
Friends of Cobain say he often acted without reason.
He was constantly on an emotional roller coaster.
But his dips into despair got deeper and deeper.
Once, a member of his road crew asked him why he was moping around so much.
Cobain replied, "I’m awake, aren’t I?"
Cobain had no idea he was in the midst of a spiritual battle.
He believed the lies of Satan: nihilism.
He had passion, but for nothing.
He had a void in his heart that nothing he pursued could fill, and he believed that nothing could or ever would.
He had no purpose, no meaning, so he played it out to its logical conclusion, death (Edited from Scott Weber, Sermon Central).
Kurt Cobain lived a life of bitterness, and as a result died a bitter death…alone.
We need to be thankful because if we aren’t we will become bitter.
Our 2nd thing we can avoid in being thankful is that we…
2. Avoid Discouragement
We must learn to be thankful or we will become discouraged.
If we don’t keep our eyes on the good in life that comes from God, we are going to be sidetracked by the bad…and the bad will only discourage us and break us down.
It is easy to get discouraged, and it probably happens on a regular basis.
Think about it: Your day may be moving along great, starts with a wonderful quiet time where you really felt God speaking to you…it is what you would consider the best day ever and then you run into traffic: discouragement.
You get to work; manage to get things back up and moving in the right direction and at lunch you drop food on you clothes with a major appointment coming after lunch: discouragement.
You get through that meeting, stain and all, and on the way home traffic is actually being good to you for a change. You pick up your kids who have been immaculate for a change and get home to find dishes in the sink, laundry that needs to be washed and unmade beds: discouragement.
In spite of all the good things that may have happened: A great quiet time, a successful day at work, great kids who are doing great…and all you can focus on is the negative; because you were discouraged.
Discouragement is nothing new.
Jesus advised us concerning discouragement.
Read John 16:33
Losing heart in today’s world can be easy.
We know losing heart better as discouragement.
Discouragement often will come from listening to someone else’s wrong view of reality.
Discouragement can also be brought on by yourself. Discouragement is like a disease that can infest our lives.
The devil is the bug that can most often cause discouragement.
But God speaks into our lives using creation, and resurrection power to dispel discouragement and defeat the devil.
ILLUS: A story from World War I
A young Christian was relating some of his experiences in the Great War. With a company of his comrades he was separated from the main body of troops. Surrounded by the enemy for days, their food ran out and their water was exhausted.
Knowing they were without food and water, the enemy sent a messenger every little while, suggesting that they would be wise to surrender (enter the devil).
One night, with no food and no water, and with only one shell left, they held a consultation as to what steps to take next.
They decided to pray to God for His help, then to fire their last shell into the night as a signal to their comrades. After the shell had exploded, the only thing to do was to wait.
In the morning they heard the hum of a motor overhead. It was a plane from their own headquarters.
Flying over the surrounded boys, it dropped packages of food and canteens of water. On one of the packages was a note,
“Don’t give up. We are coming.”
For some days the planes passed overhead and the bread and water were dropped down. Always accompanied with the message. “Hold on.”
Then there was the roaring of artillery and the march of infantry, and the lost battalion was rescued and taken back to their own lines safely.
The enemy is going to try to discourage us so that we will just give up…But don’t do that.
Do like the song says, “Count your many blessings” and stay in the fight.
By being thankful you can avoid the discouragement that leads to defeat.
And finally when we are thankful we can…
3. Avoid Arrogance
We must learn to be thankful or we shall surly grow arrogant and self-satisfied.
By being thankful you are admitting that you are not the source of what is good in life.
Amy Grant back in the early 90’s recorded a song that was on an otherwise secular album that simply stated, “Everything good that happens in life is from Jesus.”
And there is a lot of truth to that.
God has blessed each and every one of us way more than we deserve, it’s just a question of whether or now we want to admit to that truth or not.
When we are not thankful for what we have we begin to assume that what is good comes from our own hands…our own hard work.
And the result of arrogance and being self-satisfied: Pride.
I’m convinced that the vast majority of people who do not accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior reject them as a result of their “pride”.
• I can do it myself
• I don’t need that church telling me what to do or how to live
• I can’t let people see that I have this need
• What will people think if I make that commitment
Whatever the excuse may be, it is all rooted in arrogance and self-satisfaction; or pride.
We live in an “I can do it” society.
You are told early on about making something of ourselves.
And you get a pat on the back if you are a “self made man”.
There is nothing better than something that comes from “scratch”, right?
And if you did it all yourself, who do you have to thank but yourself.
In his book, “The Applause of Heaven”, Max Lucado tells the sad story of a man he came to know through a friend. The man’s name was Anibal.
Anibal was a tough man. Max Lucado said that his tattooed anchor on his forearm symbolized his personality—cast-iron.
His broad chest stretched his shirt. The slightest movement of his arm bulged his biceps. This was no meek man.
This was a man who was tough in every sense of the word. But he was also a man in a prison cell condemned for murder.
As Max spoke with Anibal, they began to talk about becoming a Christian. They talked about guilt, and forgiveness. Max wrote that, “The eyes of the murderer softened at the thought that the one who knows him best loves him most. His heart was touched as we discussed heaven, a hope that no executioner could take from him.”
But as the conversation moved toward the conversion, Anibal’s face began to harden. Anibal didn’t like the statement that the first step in coming to God is an admission of guilt.
He was uneasy with words like “I’ve been wrong” and “forgive me.” Saying “I’m sorry” was out of character for him. He had never backed down before any man, and he wasn’t about to do it now—even if the man were God.
In one final effort to pierce his pride Max said, “I asked him; ‘Don’t you want to go to heaven?’ ‘Sure,’ he grunted. For a moment I thought his stony heart was cracking. For a second, it appeared that burly Anibal would for the first time admit his failures. But I was wrong. The eyes that lifted to meet mine weren’t tear-filled; they were angry. They weren’t the eyes of a repentant prodigal; they were the eyes of an angry prisoner.” (CONT)
“All right,” he shrugged. “I’ll become one of your Christians. But don’t expect me to change the way I live.” The conditional answer left my mouth bitter. “You don’t draw up the rules,” I told him. “It’s not a contract that you negotiate before you sign. It’s a gift—an undeserved gift! But to receive it, you have to admit that you need it.”
“OK.” He ran his thick fingers through his hair and stood up. “But don’t expect to see me at church on Sundays.” As I watched Anibal pace back and forth in the tiny cell, I realized that his true prison was not made of bricks and mortar, but of pride. He was twice imprisoned. Once because of murder, and once because of stubbornness. Once by his country, and once by himself.
The result of arrogance and pride is that it will cause you to fall.
We have all heard the saying, “Pride comes before the fall”, and this is true because it comes from Scripture…Proverbs 16:18
ILLUS: It’s like the story about a CEO of a Fortune 500 company who pulled into a service station to get gas. He went inside to pay, and when he came out he noticed his wife engaged in a deep discussion with the service station attendant. It turned out that she used to date this man back in High school.
The CEO got in the car, and the two drove in silence. He was feeling pretty good about himself when he finally spoke: "I bet I know what you were thinking. I bet you were thinking you’re glad you married me, a Fortune 500 CEO, and not him, a service station attendant." His wife said, "No, I was thinking if I’d married him, he’d be a Fortune 500 CEO and you’d be a service station attendant."
This CEO may have been knocked down a few notches by his wife, but his fall is not the fall he needs to be concerned about.
Read Rom. 3:23…our sin will always cause us to fall.
And by being arrogant and self-sufficient, our fall will get us what we deserve, Read Rom. 6:23.
Close:
So let me ask you, as we look forward to celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday, are you thankful?
When was the last time you counted your blessings and named them one by one?
