How many of you would agree that we live in a thankless society? The majority of our culture lives with an attitude of entitlement. We feel we are entitled to better pay, better benefits and more stuff. We feel if we cannot afford it, the government should pick up the check. We have basically evolved into a society made up of a bunch of spoiled brats. The majority never stops to give thanks for what they have, but loudly voices their desire to have more. The bottom line is that we have enjoyed so many blessings we have come to expect it. We even have begun to display these same attitudes when it comes to God. People don’t acknowledge God anymore or give Him the credit He deserves as Creator of the universe. Scientists would rather believe that we evolved from monkeys than to be thankful to God for creating us. People are no longer thankful that Christ died on the cross for their sins. They feel that they can save themselves or make it to heaven on their own terms. People don’t give God honor and glory for their success in business. They will tell you it’s because of their own hard work that they have accomplished these things. Henry Ward Beecher wrote, "The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!" In our text the apostle Paul seems to tell us that a thankful heart shows that we are a healthy Christian. In fact in verse 18 Paul writes, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. So God expects us to be a thankful people. So once again as a Christian we are called to live counter to our culture. So with the approach of Thanksgiving, let’s discover how to have a thankful heart in an unthankful world.
I. Realize that we are not entitled to what we have, but understand they are a blessing from God.
A. Despite the economic instability we have so much wealth in the United States we take for granted the simple blessings.
1. What we consider to be poverty today far exceeds the standard of living that most people enjoyed a century ago.
2. Americans are fascinated by technology and gadgets. We have gained more possessions for ourselves today than at any other time in history.
3. We have reached the point in history where things such as food, clothing and shelter are no longer seen as blessings but as our right.
4. While a great portion of the world looks at the United States and sees great wealth, we tend to view it as what we are entitled to for being an American.
5. If we encounter a situation that causes us to have to tighten things and our standard of living has to change, we are upset because we feel we are being denied what is rightfully ours.
6. Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15—NIV)
7. The person who thinks the world owes him a living is never thankful for anything. He thinks he is doing others a favor by permitting them to serve him. The thankful heart is usually humble; a heart that gladly acknowledges God.
B. When we understand that God is the source of all blessings our natural response should be gratitude.
1. On Thursday it will not only be our families who stop to give thanks. Millions of Americans will focus on the occasion. Most businesses and shops will not be open in honor of the important day.
2. Thanksgiving allows us the opportunity to put everything in proper perspective and thank God for that He has blessed us with.
3. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17—NIV)
4. For every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. (Psalm 50:10—NIV)
5. God is the owner of everything, He is the source of all that we have and everything we have He has chosen to bless us with.
6. A truly thankful heart will truly change your life. It will keep you from becoming over critical or constantly complaining. It will draw you closer to your Heavenly Father and it will make you more conscious of His presence.
II. Realize that a thankful heart is not an option but a requirement.
A. Being joyful, praying continually and always giving thanks many times goes against our natural inclinations.
1. In our text Paul presents three commands for believers to be joyful, to be prayerful and to be thankful.
2. Paul states that we are to give thanks in every circumstance, how can we give thanks when everything seems to be falling apart?
3. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28—NIV)
4. Paul realized that God uses difficult times to forge our characters and strengthen our faith and that includes those situations that are painful or do not make any sense.
5. Learning to give thanks in everything means learning to trust God in everything. Even in those situations that are painful or do not make any sense.
6. The words in Christ Jesus remind us that He taught us these things during His earthly ministry and He was the living embodiment of what He taught. By teaching and example, He revealed to us God’s will concerning joy, prayer, and thanksgiving.
7. These three commands have been called the standing orders of the church. They represent the will of God in Christ Jesus for each of us.
B. Joy is a pleasure in experiencing the good gifts of God, which gives rise to thankful acknowledgement that God is the giver of all things.
1. Our joy, prayers and thanksgiving should not be determined by our circumstances or feelings.
2. Sometimes our thanks is to God for Him being there through the difficult times; we don’t thank Him for the situation, but we thank Him in it, or we thank Him for how He is growing us through it.
3. Paul’s prayers of thanks for his churches were frequently expressed in his letters (not just in private devotion) and were clearly intended as public affirmations encouraging continued praiseworthy behavior.
4. Public thanksgivings also serve as an example of gratitude toward others, which all Christians should follow, for ingratitude is characteristic of ungodliness.
5. The fact is all of us are grateful for some things at some special occasions; but Paul commanded his readers to be thankful for all things at all times. This exhortation in itself proves our need of the Spirit of God, because in our own strength we could never obey this commandment.
III. Realize the importance of counting each and every blessing, even those that may seem small.
A. God does not need us. Everything we have comes from God, so can we give Him anything? Yes and that one thing is a grateful heart.
1. Thomas Merton who was a Catholic monk wrote, Gratitude takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder, and to praise of the goodness of God.
2. Gratitude makes us alive! When we are grateful we realize that God is the source of all our blessings which keeps us from complaining or taking those blessings for granted.
3. The word gratitude comes from the same root word as grace. If we have experienced the grace of God, then we ought to be grateful for what God brings to us.
4. Thank and think also come from the same root word. If we would think more, we would thank more.
5. It is so easy to give God thanks for all the blessings, the difficulty is when we try to give God thanks for those blessings in disguise.
B. Where the Spirit reigns, there is gratitude to God, a deep sense of appreciation, and a spontaneous expression of it. It is not occasional, but continual.
1. Believers can be thankful because they have the confident hope that God will make even tragedy and disaster an occasion for later blessing.
2. Take some time and think about everything that you have, realize that it was God that gave it to you. If this is true what are the implications for your life?
3. When we line up our lives with God’s will; we will discover that it will become a little easier to be joyful and a little easier to be thankful.
4. The sincerely grateful person realizes that not only has he been blessed by God but that he is enriched because of others, which is a mark of humility.
5. Christians have access to God because of what Christ has done and that is exactly the reason for which we can be thankful.
The story is told of two old friends who bumped into one another on the street one day. One of them looked unhappy, almost on the verge of tears. His friend asked, "What has the world done to you, my old friend?"
The sad fellow said, "Let me tell you. Three weeks ago, an uncle died and left me forty thousand dollars."
"That’s a lot of money."
"But, two weeks ago, a cousin I never even knew died, and left me eighty-five thousand free and clear."
"Sounds like you’ve been blessed...."
"You don’t understand!" he interrupted. "Last week my great-aunt passed away. I inherited almost a quarter of a million."
Now he was really confused. "Then, why do you look so glum?"
"This week...nothing!"
That’s the trouble with receiving something on a regular basis. Even if it is a gift, we eventually come to expect it. This is the “entitlement mindset” that has permeated American society at almost every level. We have been blessed to live in a land of plenty and as a result we become complacent and many times we are completely unwilling to give thanks to anyone for anything.
