Instructions for the Believer
1 Thessalonians 5:16-22
* Turn with me to 1 Thessalonians 5:16. On this the last Sunday evening before we celebrate Thanksgiving, let us center on God’s word for instruction. Through His word He gives us instruction for life.
* When we consider the culture in which we find ourselves, we discover as society which is largely ungrateful and unthankful. The “I” syndrome has reached an epidemic proportion with the belief that it is, in fact, ALL ABOUT ME. This attitude is fertile breeding ground for the attitude of being unthankful, ungrateful, and even ungracious.
* The results of these unhealthy attitudes are hatefulness, bitterness, selfishness, carelessness, and many others which cause pain and heartache.
* In ending his first letter to the church at Thessalonica, Paul gives us, in rapid fire succession, several key thoughts which keep us walking as spiritual believers.
* Let’s read these and then pull one verse on which to mediate and glean our instructions. (Read)
* Personally, I love verses that answer the 5 basic questions which a reporter asks in the writing of a story. Look at verse 18 with me and let’s pull out the answers to the what, when, why, who, and how questions.
1) What? In other words what should you and I, as believers, in Jesus fill our time with? What attitude should exude from us? The text says we should “Give Thanks.” The Psalmist tells us to give thanks to the Lord “for His faithful love,” “for He is good,” and even for His righteousness.” In the New Testament we are told to give thanks to God “because of God’s grace”, “His victory,” and even for His “character” (who was, is, and is to come). Think about this; when we truly give thanks, it is not about us, it’s about Him. All the reasons we are told to give thanks for are pointed Him and what He does. Now don’t get me wrong, we should be thankful for life, health, and the like, but I submit that should be 2nd in our reasoning. The highlight reel of our lives should be a “thankful spirit” because of who He is and what He does.
2) When? The real question is when are we to be thankful? Are you only to be thankful when things go our way or when life treats us good? Paul tells us to be thankful, “In Everything.” How exactly can this work? I mean, even in tough difficulties? Lanny Wolfe wrote one of my favorite songs on the subject of thankfulness. The words are “In everything give Him thanks, give Him thanks. In everything, give Him thanks. In the good times, praise His name, in the bad times, do the same. In everything, give the King of Kings all the thanks. Keep this in mind: If we only are thankful for things that we have or that happen to us (like job, family, income, cars, even health) we will never find a way to be “thankful in everything.” We will only be thankful in the good things. And we are called to be thankful in all things in everything.
3) Why? Because (Paul says) “This is God’s will.” Please consider this; have you ever been around a complainer, a gripper, a mulli-grubber? Sure you have. Did you want to remain their presence? Sure you did. (I just want to experience the atmosphere around someone who is “telling like “they think” it is all the time.” Most of the time all they want to do is to pull you down and if we are honest with ourselves, most of us bid a hasty exit when we encounter someone like this. If we don’t like it, how do you think it makes God feel? I’ll tell you, it breaks His heart. He has done so much for every one of us and has offered so much of Himself to us, I wonder if He sees us as a truly ungrateful lot. For those first century believers, they were marked with hearts of thanksgiving just for who He was. Thanks be to God is a common phrase in the Bible. How about from our mouths?
4) Who? The text says, this is God’s will for “YOU!” Candidly, much of the Bible is an “in your face” type of teaching. Here’s why: we will generally choose the road of least resistance, and most of the time this is not God’s road. We cry “everyone else is doing it” to justify our actions and attitude. Scripture says, “If you are a true child of God, you have been born again, changed from the inside out.” We cannot pass off this command.
* This is very personal. Remember the spiritual: “it’s not my brother, not my sister, but it ME, O Lord…” Here’s the payoff; You (and me) are told, even commanded to “Give thanks in ALL things. This is God will for ME (YOU).”
* But what about all this junk I have in my life. My wife and I argue, I can’t pay my bills, I can’t get my life on track, or the harder I try the behinder I get. How can I do it?
* That is the last and greatest part.
5) How? In Christ Jesus. Please don’t miss this; Outside of Christ you will never become a truly, deeply, and completely thankful person. Outside of Christ there will always be an internal twinge of hopeless, helpless, and even lack of security. In Christ, we become connected to the God of the universe, the God who created the world, sent the flood, sent the fire on Sodom, who held the sun in place; shut the mouth of Lions, and who walked in the fire with those 3 Hebrew boys. He is the God that has such love for us accompanied by such power that He raised Jesus from the dead so that you and I don’t have to face the punishment for our sin. He is the God that is big enough to make right whatever is going wrong in your life. And only IN CHRIST can be access all this support, strength, and sufficiency. IN Christ, we find that God is sufficient and when we discover this truth, life will never be that same. And we’ll be forever Thankful.
Thanksgiving Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class a fun assignment -- to draw a picture of something for which they were thankful.
Most of the class might be considered economically disadvantaged, but still many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other traditional goodies of the season. These, the teacher thought, would be the subjects of most of her student’s art. And they were.
But Douglas made a different kind of picture. Douglas was a different kind of boy. He was the teacher’s true child of misery, frail and unhappy. As other children played at recess, Douglas was likely to stand close by her side. One could only guess at the pain Douglas felt behind those sad eyes. Yes, his picture was different. When asked to draw a picture of something for which he was thankful, he drew a hand. Nothing else. Just an empty hand. His abstract image captured the imagination of his peers. Whose hand could it be? One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer, because farmers raise turkeys. Another suggested a police officer, because the police protect and care for people. Still others guessed it was the hand of God, for God feeds us. And so the discussion went -- until the teacher almost forgot the young artist himself.
When the children had gone on to other assignments, she paused at Douglas’ desk, bent down, and asked him whose hand it was.
The little boy looked away and murmured, “It’s yours, teacher.”
She recalled the times she had taken his hand and walked with him here or there, as she had the other students. How often had she said, “Take my hand, Douglas, we’ll go outside.” Or, “Let me show you how to hold your pencil.” Or, “Let’s do this together.” Douglas was most thankful for his teacher’s hand. Brushing aside a tear, she went on with her work.
God extends His hand to us, are we “thankful?”
