IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS
1 Thess. 5:18
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Josh: Why did the farmer run a steamroller over his potato field on Thanksgiving Day? Phil: Why? Josh: He wanted to raise mashed potatoes.
2. Biff: Why did the turkey cross the road? Bob: I don’t know. Biff: It was Thanksgiving Day, and he wanted people to think he was a chicken!
3. Danny: Why did the cranberries turn red? Jake: Beats me. Danny: Because they saw the turkey dressing!
B. TEXT
“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” 1 Thess. 5:18.
C. THESIS
1. As we all approach the Thanksgiving holiday, it seems appropriate that we think for a few moments about why Thanksgiving is a distinctively Christian holiday.
2. We know people who perhaps are not saved, but are people we would characterize as thankful people. They are appreciative of their families and seem cheerful in the face of difficult circumstances.
3. So what is different about a Christian’s giving of thanks? – is it the joyful and thankful attitude the Scriptures encourage us to have? 1 Thess. 5:18 outlines 3 ways a Christian’s thanks-giving is different from a non-Christian’s.
4. Paul here tells us WHAT WE NEED TO DO: “In everything give thanks.” WHY WE NEED TO DO IT: “For this is the will of God for you.” Then he tells us HOW (WHAT GIVES US THE ABILITY) TO DO IT: “In Christ Jesus.”
I. WHAT WE NEED TO DO: ALWAYS GIVE THANKS
A. EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE? IMPOSSIBLE!
1. Paul tells us that in every circumstance of life, we’re to be thankful! I can hear someone saying, “Well, that sounds nice, Pastor John, to say that we ought to be thankful in everything, but that just can’t be done.”
2. Thanksgiving is easy to do when the blessings are flowing, but it’s very difficult when troubles are cascading all around us.
3. The key point is: if our thanksgiving is derived only from good circumstances, then it will be impossible to ‘always’ give thanks. Therefore, our thanksgiving must be derived from some other source than circumstances, in order that we might be able to give thanks in every circumstance, whether they be good ones or even tragic ones!
B. NOT “FOR,” BUT “IN” EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE
1. Notice that Paul does not say we’re thankful “for” everything, but be “in” everything. There are some circumstances in our lives for which it would be improper to give thanks. If evil befalls us, God is not asking you to give thanks for the evil.
2. Paul is not saying to the people who lost loved ones on 9/11 say, “Thank God that your loved one was murdered.” But Paul is saying that IN every circumstance, no matter how catastrophic, you are to give thanks.
C. ILLUS. OF HELEN KELLER
1. Many of you know the story of Helen Keller. She was born in 1882, and when she was 19 months old – a beautiful, precocious little girl – she caught a fever that so ravaged her and that left her without sight and without the ability to hear.
2. She was locked into a world of darkness and silence; but she was determined and she was extremely smart. When she wanted a piece of bread she would make a hand motion as if she were cutting a piece of bread to let her family know.
3. When she wanted ice cream, she would wrap her arms around herself and she would shiver. And she developed about 60 different motions to communicate, but it took years of feeling in the dark before she could communicate and find God.
4. Helen Keller once said, “For three things I thank God every day of my life. Thanks that He has vouchsafed me knowledge of His works; deep thanks that He has set in my darkness the light of faith; deepest thanks that I have another life to look forward to—a life joyous with light and flowers and heavenly song.”
5. Helen Keller may not have been thankful FOR the circumstance that God had dealt to her, but she was thankful IN that circumstance.
II. WHY WE SHOULD GIVE THANKS
A. REASONS TO BE THANKFUL
1. Now, why in every circumstance are we to give thanks? The Bible gives many reasons we're to be thankful to God;
a. Because God is good. He’s not a tyrant with a bad sense of humor. He's a loving God that is good and cares for us.
b. Because He watches over us; He protects us; He spares us. The Psalms thank God because He redeems us, and because He loves us.
c. Thank God because He gives us good gifts, and He establishes justice, and He shows mercy.
2. So the Bible has a whole catalog of things for which we ought to give thanks, but here’s the main reason:
B. MAIN REASON? IT’S GOD’S WILL
1. I think it means, first of all, that God wants you to give thanks in everything, because it’s God’ grand design to create a joyful, rejoicing people. His purpose is not to create shriveled up, ungrateful, grudging, miserable people.
2. His purpose is to enlarge our hearts through Hope now, and in the future. Our Hope is that ultimately we have and will have victory over sin, it’s consequences, and over the world, through God.
3. The world also gets a glimpse of God through the positive vision of His people. Billy Joel once said, “I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.” Why would he say that? Because he didn’t see God’s overcoming joy and victory in the saints of God. WE should have hope even when no one else has hope because we have the love of God in Jesus Christ!
4. So God wants us to be thankful, in spite of circumstances, so unbelievers will say, “I don't know what they have, but I want it! They have joy and victory even when the world falls in on them!”
C. THANKSGIVING: OPPOSITE OF COMPLAINT
1. I remember hearing the story of a missionary in Africa who encountered much resistance to the Gospel. After several years, his wife died due to sickness. He continued laboring, but his discouragement seemed to overwhelm him.
2. The mission association directors sensed his struggles and asked him to take a sabbatical at the African missionary headquarters. He spent hours complaining about all his troubles to them. One day in the chapel alone, he poured out his complaint to the Lord.
3. As he rose to go, he noticed a picture at the back with the words, “Give thanks.” He turned back to the altar, and for the first time in years, thanked God for the blessings he still had. Amazingly, he felt his burdens lifted.
4. He realized he’d let a spirit of discouragement and complaint dominate his life. Praise and thanks to God broke the hold of his troubles. He was again filled with joy and faith, and returned to the work with new vitality and success.
5. Numbers 14 tells how the 10 spies returned with the evil report. It EXAGERATED THE PROBLEM, SPREAD NEGATIVE THINKING TO OTHERS, CREATED UNREALISTIC FEARS, AND BRED DOUBT – THE OPPOSITE OF FAITH. Such is the heritage of complaining. But praise gets our minds off our troubles and onto the Lord – the answer to our problems!
III. HOW: THE POWER TO BE THANKFUL ALWAYS
A. IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO DO THAT!
1. Some of you may be saying, “How in the world can I be thankful? You don't understand my circumstances.” You’re right. It probably seems impossible to give thanks in what you’re experiencing.
2. But the apostle tells us how in just three words, “In Christ Jesus.” It’s in and only in Jesus Christ that we’re able to give thanks in every circumstance.
3. I've stood with a mother who had her 17 year old daughter die; she looked me in the eye and said, “Pastor, the Lord is good in all He does.”
4. I've seen a mother holding her infant in her arms as he took his last breath, look up at me and say, “Pastor, would you sing, “It Is Well With My Soul?”
5. And I want to tell you that I've wondered how in the world can these people do this?
B. THE KEY TO THIS POWER: IN CHRIST!
1. When Paul felt himself powerless to do God’s will, God spoke to him and said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” 2 Cor. 12:9.
2. This means that when you feel weakest, God’s hand will undergird you; His spirit will enter into you and make you to stand. His grace = His ability, strength, power.
3. Paul put it this way, “I can do ALL things THROUGH CHRIST which strengthens me!” Phip. 4:13.
4. When everything seems the most confusing and out of control, God’s peace, which surpasses all understanding, will come into your soul and mind, and give you a calming assurance that all is well, because your Savior is in control. Not one hair of your head shall be lost (Lk. 21:18).
5. Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world!” Jn. 16:33.
6. OTHER PROMISES: “As your day, so shall your strength be” Deut. 33:25. JUDE 24, “To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy…!” Praise God for His assurances!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. I recently read the story of a young man who went on a short-term missions trip to a leper colony on the island of Tobago, off the South American coastline. On that trip he saw up-close how leprosy destroyed the bodies and lives of the people.
2. On his final day, he led the music during the worship service and asked if anyone had a favorite song they wanted to sing. When he did, a woman raised her hand and he saw the most disfigured face he’d ever seen. She had no ears and no nose. Her lips were gone. Yet she raised a fingerless hand and asked, “Could we sing ‘Count Your Many Blessings’?”
3. The missionary started the song but he couldn’t finish. Later somebody commented, “I suppose you’ll never be able to sing the song again.” He answered, “Oh yes---but I’ll never sing it the same way.”
4. This lady taught that young man the secret of thanksgiving that day—to be content with whatever God puts on your plate.
B. THE CALL
1. How many of you need grace today to hold you up? How many need peace in your heart and mind?
2. The first step is to stop complaining and start praising. Someone said, “Complain and remain, or Praise and be raised!”
3. How many of you will abandon your complaints and begin to thank God for all His blessings?
4. The key to victory & joy is relationship with Jesus. Have you let Him come into your heart and heal you? Let’s do that.
[This is a rewrite of a message by J. Ligon Duncan in 2001.]
