There’s a supposedly true story about a family was seated around their Thanksgiving table. As was their custom everyone shared what they were thankful for. From the oldest to the youngest, they each took their turn to express their praise.
When they came to the 5 year old in the family, he began by looking at the turkey and expressing his thanks for the turkey, saying although he had not tasted it he knew it would be good.
Then he thanked his mother for cooking the turkey.
And his father for buying the turkey.
Then he said he was thankful for the grocery store for stocking the turkey, and the workers there who put it in the refrigerated section for his dad to find.
Then he said he was thankful for the checker at the grocery store who checked it out
And he was thankful for the farmer who made raised it.
And for the man who made the feed.
And for those who brought the turkey to the store.
Having said all this, he looked up solemnly and said “Did I leave anybody out?”
His older brother rolled his eyes and said: “God.”
Without batting an eye, the 5 yr old turned to his brother and said “I was about to get to Him.”
(Joel Gregory, The Unlikely Thinker)
APPLY: Thanksgiving is a time to be… thankful.
There are many people aren’t really thankful. They believe that they deserve what they have and – what they don’t have – they should.
And there are others who ARE thankful, but they’re very quiet and discreet about it.
Then there are still others who are so thankful they just can’t hardly contain themselves.
ILLUS: For example, the great classical composer Joseph Hayden, was criticized because his church music was too cheerful (and you thought "contemporary music" was a tough sell).
He replied: “I cannot help it. I give forth what is in me. When I think of the Divine Being, my heart is so full of joy that the notes fly off as from a spindle. And as I have a cheerful heart, He will pardon me if I serve Him cheerfully.”
There are people who are so excited about their blessings that they can hardly contain themselves. And I’ve found that the more a person loves Jesus… the more excited they get about being thankful. That was particularly true of Paul.
Here in Romans 7:25 Paul says “THANKS BE TO GOD— through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
You can sense the excitement in how he says it.
But this isn’t the only time he wrote something like this. Earlier in Romans he writes:
“But THANKS BE TO GOD that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.” Romans 6:17
In another letter, Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth and again he says:
“But THANKS BE TO GOD, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.” 2 Corinthians 2:14
And (speaking of the change God had brought about in the Corinthian Christians) “THANKS BE TO GOD for his indescribable gift!” 2 Corinthians 9:15
But Paul’s most powerful statement of praise shows up in I Corinthians 15
“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But THANKS BE TO GOD! He gives us the victory (over death and the grave) through our Lord Jesus Christ. I Corinthians 15:51-57
There’s no mistaking the fact that Paul was excited about giving thanks to God. And this truth was so obvious that a legend grew up around Paul and his love for Jesus.
ILLUS: This legend tells of a wealthy merchant who had traveled to Rome to find this preacher he’d heard so much about. In his search, the merchant found Timothy… and Timothy arranged a visit.
At the time, Paul was a prisoner in Rome. Stepping inside the cell, the merchant was surprised to find a rather old man, physically frail, but whose serenity and magnetism challenged the visitor. They talked for hours.
Finally the merchant left and outside the prison, he asked Timothy "What is the secret of this man’s power? I have never seen anything like it before."
Did you not guess?" replied Timothy. "Paul is in love."
The merchant looked bewildered. "In Love?"
"Yes," the missionary answered, "Paul is in love with Jesus Christ."
The merchant looked even more bewildered. "That’s it. That’s all?"
Timothy smiled and then replied, "Sir, that is everything."
Paul was in love with Jesus. It was obvious in every thing he did and every letter he wrote.
But why?
What was it that led him to get so excited about his savior?
I want you to hold that question in the back of your mind for a few minutes while I tell you a story.
In Luke 7 we’re told of the time Jesus had been invited to a Pharisee named Simon’s house. No Simon didn’t really like Jesus. He didn’t go out of his way to make Him feel welcome. He didn’t even bother to show the traditional courtesy of having Jesus’ feet washed by one of his servants. But I suspect that Simon invited Jesus anyway because of the prestige of having this great teacher in his home. Simon gave a great banquet, and they all reclined at the table to eat.
I get the impression that there were a great many others who were present, gathered around the table to get close to this famous Rabbi. Because that’s the only thing that could explain how a woman got into the room who Simon would never have allowed in otherwise. She wasn’t a nice a woman. She was a prostitute My guess is that originally she had only wanted to get close to Jesus and see for herself what kind of man this teacher was.
But then… as she got closer to him she became increasingly aware of how holy he was… and how empty and hollow her life was in comparison.
That feeling must have been overwhelming because she began to weep. And her tears fell on Jesus feet.
It helps to remember that Jesus’ feet were dirty from walking through the streets of the city. And if you think about how a dusty window can look after it gets wet from a few drops of rain that streak down it’s glass, you can begin to understand the horror that enters this woman’s mind as she realizes her tears have made this man’s feet look even more grimy than before. Dismayed, she drops to her knees and began to wipe the dirt away with her hair. Then she opened a vial of perfume she had with her and anointed his feet with it liquid.
Now, Simon noticed all this and I suspect… he smiled.
He thought to himself “some Rabbi this guy is! He doesn’t even know this lady’s a prostitute.” And he began to think of a way to embarrass both Jesus and the woman at his feet.
Now Jesus can tolerate people insulting Him.
He’s used to that. It comes with the territory.
But He’s angry that this Pharisee would seek to insult this woman who has humbled herself at His feet. She’s lived a sinful life – she’s sick with sin… and she wants to be healed. And here Simon the Pharisee intends to slap her down.
And Jesus isn’t about to let that happen.
“Simon” says Jesus “let me tell you a story”
“Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
Simon replies “I suppose the one who owed the greater debt.”
”You are correct” says Jesus
Then Jesus turned to the woman and said
"Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven— for she loved much.
But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” Luke 7:36-47
People who have been forgiven little, love little.
People who have been forgiven little, aren’t very thankful.
People who have been forgiven little aren’t really excited about Jesus, because that was the reason Jesus came – to forgive their sins.
But Paul loved Jesus.
Paul was excited about Jesus.
In fact, Paul couldn’t hardly contain his excitement about Christ because Jesus had forgiven him of so much in his life.
Now, I know most of you have heard the story of how Paul became a Christian, but I think it’s worthwhile to revisit it one more time.
Before Paul became a Christian, he was a very devout Jew who went by the name of Saul.
He saw Christianity as a threat to the people of Israel and he was determined to destroy this heresy before it could grow.
When Stephen – the first Christian to die for the faith – was stoned to death by a crowd Saul was unquestionably one of the ringleaders. And he found a special pleasure in the death of this man he viewed as a heretic.
Later, when he heard that Christians had spread as far as the city of Damascus, Saul began “breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest
and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.” Acts 9:1-2.
It was while he was traveling to Damascus to destroy that church there that Jesus paid him a visit
Acts 9 tells us that “As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him,
"Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.
"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied.
"Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."
The encounter left Saul blinded so that he had to be led by the hand to find his way into the city. He went to a home on a street called “Straight” and spent 3 days waiting for God to send someone to him to tell him what he was to do.
For 3 days, he sits in darkness, unable to see.
For 3 days he neither eats nor drinks.
And for 3 days he feverishly prayed that God would forgive him of what he’d done.
Then God sent a man named Ananias to him, and Ananias laid his hands on Saul’s eyes and something like scales fell from them. Then this messenger proceeded to tell Saul that God had chosen him for a special ministry. And then Ananias said to Saul:
“Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.” Ac 22:16
From that time on, Saul knew that his sins had been washed away.
From that time on, Saul (who was later called Paul) was in love with Jesus
From that time on, he would always say “Thanks be to God…”
From that time on, he realized just how much God loved him because God had been merciful to him and had forgiven him a great and terrible burden of sin.
At one point, Paul wrote to Timothy and said: “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners— of whom I am the worst.” 1 Timothy 1:15
But he didn’t stop there, he went on to say “But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.” 1Timothy 1:16
Paul loved much, because he’d been forgiven much.
Now I only have one point in this sermon. And that point is this:
Many people don’t get excited about Thanksgiving like Paul did.
Now, I’m not even talking about just “giving thanks”.
Don’t get me wrong; giving thanks to God is a good thing. Making a list of all the blessings we’ve received is extremely important for you and I.
Many times people will come to me who are struggling with mild depression and they are so frustrated with life that they just don’t know what to do. I’ll often give them an assignment. I’ll tell them to write down 10 things for which they can be thankful and bring that list with them the next time we get together. Often, they have difficulty even listing 10 things to be thankful for. But as they work at building this list, they find that the darkness in their lives begins to lift and they are more filled with hope than ever before.
It’s a good thing to make a list of the blessings that we’ve received.
But there’s a danger in focusing on “things” that make us happy. There’s a danger in keeping a list of items we might build our lives around.
Jesus said "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Mt 6:19-20
When Paul said “Thanks be to God” he wasn’t praising God
When Paul gave thanks, HE DIDN’T SAY
· for the house he lived in
· for the money he had in the bank
· for the possessions he owned.
·
Now – it’s not a bad thing to be thankful for the possessions you have. And it’s not a bad thing to be grateful for the earthly comforts you enjoy. But if it stops there… if that’s the main focus of our thanksgiving, that can create a problem.
What happens when you lose those possessions?
What happens when you no longer have those earthly comforts?
What happens when you lose your home, your car, your family?
What happens when you lose your health?
If you suddenly lost those things… would you also lose your ability to be thankful?
The things of this earth are transitory. They don’t last that long. They break and they get lost and they get stolen and deteriorate… and they die. And there’s not a thing you can do to stop it.
And if those earthly things disappear – and they form the principle basis for your thanksgiving – your joy and hope in this world will disappear as well.
But Paul based his thanksgiving on something else entirely.
Paul based his thanksgiving on the mercy and forgiveness that he had received from God.
ILLUS: Just this week I received a text message from one of the ladies in our congregation. She doesn’t have much in this world, but she wanted me to share with you how thankful she was to have a church family such as this one and all the friends that she enjoys here. But then she wrote: “But most of all I’m so thankful for JESUS giving HIS life so I can have forgiveness of sin and the promise of eternal life with HIM!!!!”
ILLUS: At our Thankspiration last night, Chuck shared a song that he said Roger (a man we’d baptized a few weeks ago) had written the words for. It was a beautiful song, but what struck me was the power in the words. Roger’s poem spoke of the things he was thankful for, but each chorus had these simple words: “But most of all, I’m thankful you forgave me of my sin.”
These people understood the message Paul was trying to get across: true Thanksgiving is more basic than simply a listing of blessings. True thanksgiving is based on how much you really love God. And true love for God starts with realizing how much He’s forgiven you.
ILLUS: In our communion song this morning the chorus said this:
”Lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget Thine agony
Lest I forget Thy love for me – lead me to Calvary.”
That song implied that God’s gift of forgiveness can easily be forgotten if we’re not repeatedly led to Calvary. And, of course, that’s why Jesus instituted His Lord’s Supper.
Every week we gather at this table and are led back to Calvary.
Each week as we eat this bread we remember that it represents the body of Christ that was broken for us. And each week as we drink of the cup, we remember that Jesus shed His blood for our sins to forgive us of the things we’ve done wrong.
When people just go through the motions of Communion without being thankful, it can be a sign that they don’t realize how much they’ve been forgiven of. For he who’s been forgiven little, loves little.
But – by contrast - he who has been forgiven much, loves much.
That’s what drove Paul to serve God so strongly and powerfully in his life.
Here in Romans 7 he writes:
“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
Thanks be to God— through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 7:24 - 8:2
Paul’s thanksgiving began and ended with Jesus Christ because he loved Jesus.
And because he loved Jesus, his thanksgiving was more than just a listing of his possessions and comforts. It was a declaration of how much God had done in his life.
This was so much so that he later wrote:
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:12-13
CLOSE: A man named Jack Hinton was on a short term mission trip at a leper colony on the island of Tobago. One of his duties was to lead singing during the worship times.
One Sunday, there was time for one more song, so he asked if anyone had a request. A woman who had been facing away from the pulpit turned around.
He said “It was the most hideous face I had ever seen. The woman’s nose and ears were entirely gone. The disease had destroyed her lips as well. She lifted a fingerless hand in the air and asked, ‘Can we sing ‘Count Your Many Blessing’”
Overcome with emotion, Hinton left the service.
He was followed by another team member who said,
“Jack, I guess you’ll never be able to sing that song again.”
“Yes I will,” he replied, “but I’ll never sing the same way.”
