The spirit of being thankful for the right reasons
When we read the O. T. we find there are people who had a right to grumble. The most prominent one would have been JOB. He lived a righteous life better than almost any in the O. T. He lost his wealth, his children and health, yet he declared, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. When we turn to the N. T. we can see many reasons why Paul could have been a grumbler. 2 COR 11:16-28 All that happened to him and yet he opens most of his letters with thanksgiving.
1 Cor. 1:4 I can never stop thanking God for all the generous gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus.
1. He thanks God that the church had a reputation for following Christ. If we were to go out into our community and asked people where our church building is located, what would the answer be? If we were to ask what we believe, who would be able to tell us? How easy is it for you to talk about Christ?” "Let me say first of all that your faith in God is becoming known throughout the world. How I thank God through Jesus Christ for each one of you.” RM 1:8. Did you know that Paul did not start a church there? Still he knows about the church in Rome. Now listen to this about a church he did start: 1 TH. 1:8-10 And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Greece, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don't need to tell them about it, for they themselves keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the true and living God. And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God's Son from heaven, Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment.
This thrills me to know that we as Christians have such a great message to give. It says “for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. I know when we get excited about something it is hard to keep us quite. How excited are you about Jesus? A preacher from the past has put out a challenge to me when he said to be strong in the Lord one needs to spend each day with at least 15 minutes reading God’s word, 15 minutes praying and 15 minutes talking about Jesus to someone else. Peter and John were thrown into prison and when they could find no charges to keep them they let them go and told them they were free but they should not speak about Jesus to others any more. They replied they could only speak what they had seen and heard about Jesus. Is Jesus that important to you that you have to speak about Him? You might think people are taking little notice of you and you do not count much. God has His reputation at stake when you proclaim to be one of His children.
“Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don’t unravel.”
2. He thanked God for those who found favor with God. 1 Cor. 1:4-5 I can never stop thanking God for all the generous gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. He has enriched your church with the gifts of eloquence and every kind of knowledge.
PHIL. 1:3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.
COL. 1:3 We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 1 TH. 1:2 We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly.
2 TH. 1:3 Dear brothers and sisters, we always thank God for you, as is right, for we are thankful that your faith is flourishing and you are all growing in love for each other.
2 TM. 1:3 I thank God for you. He is the God I serve with a clear conscience, just as my ancestors did. Night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.
PH. 1:3-6 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. I always pray for you, and I make my requests with a heart full of joy because you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.
Burned Toast
When I was a little girl, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage, and extremely burned toast in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his toast, smile at my mom, and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that toast and eat every bite! When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the toast. And I'll never forget what he said. "Baby, I love burned toast." Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night, and I asked him if he really liked his toast burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Debbie, your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And a little burnt toast never hurts anyone! You know, life is full of imperfect things...and imperfect people. I'm not the best housekeeper or cook." What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each other's faults--and choosing to celebrate each other's differences--is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship. Burnt toast should never be a deal breaker. We could extend this to any relationship in fact--as understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship! Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket--but into your own. "People will always forget what you do, and they will always forget what you say, but they will never ever forget the way you make them feel."
“It is impossible to be miserable and grateful at the same time.” Mark Lowery
“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “THANK YOU LORD” that would suffice.” Meister Eckhart.
“Gratitude is riches, complaint is poverty.” Doris Day This is the month we celebrate Thanksgiving and I wonder are we being thankful enough?
3. He thanked God for Christian Fellowship. “What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms.”
MAL 3:16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said.
LK 24:15 Suddenly, Jesus himself came along and joined them and began walking beside them.
Acts 2:42 They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord's Supper and in prayer.
RM 1:11-12 For I long to visit you so I can share a spiritual blessing with you that will help you grow strong in the Lord. I'm eager to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. In this way, each of us will be a blessing to the other.
1 JN 1:7 But if we are living in the light of God's presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin.
MT 18:20 For where two or three gather together because they are mine, I am there among them."
1 John 1:3 We are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
“The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than those who, nevertheless, set aside a day of Thanksgiving. Wesrermayer
I Refuse To Be Discouraged (Author Unknown)
I refuse to be discouraged, To be sad, or to cry; I refuse to be downhearted, and here's the reason why...
I have a God who's mighty, Who's sovereign and supreme; I have a God who loves me, and I am on His team.
He is all wise and powerful, Jesus is His name; though everything is changeable, My God remains the same.
My God knows all that's happening; Beginning to the end, His presence is my comfort, He is my dearest friend.
When sickness comes to weaken me, to bring my head down low, I call upon my mighty God; Into His arms I go.
When circumstances threaten to rob me from my peace; He draws me close unto His breast, where all my strivings cease.
And when my heart melts within me, and weakness takes control; He gathers me into His arms, He soothes my heart and soul.
The great "I AM" is with me, my life is in His hand, The "Son of God" is my hope, It's in His strength I stand.
I refuse to be defeated, My eyes are on my God; He has promised to be with me, as through this life I trod.
I'm looking past all my circumstances, To Heaven's throne above; My prayers have reached the heart of God, I'm resting in His love.
I give God thanks in everything, My eyes are on His face; The battle's His, the victory is mine; He'll help me win the race.
4. We fall short of being properly thankful to God when we:
A. Only spend time to thank Him for our good health.
B. Only spend time to thank Him for family and friends. D. S. Isaac had a church that numbered up to 800 and he would spend time each week thanking God as he went through his church building and stopping where he knew people sat and thanked God for them. Do you find it easier to grumble about the family of than to give thanks for them?
C. Only spend time to thank God for how well off we are.
“Don’t pray when it rains if you do not pray when the sun shines” Leroy Satchel Paige
I want to challenge us this morning to be giving more thanks than we ever have. We need to thank God for His redeeming love. “He first loved us.” “When He was on the cross I was on His mind. He knew me yet He loved me.” We need to thank God that we can worship Him. How long after you enter this building does it take before you really are worshipping Him? We need to thank God for letting us use these bodies to serve others. You are the only Bible that some will ever see.
“Gratitude unlocks to fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” Melody Beattie
