“WITH THANKSGIVING” Phil. 4:6-7
FBCF – 11/21/21
Jon Daniels
INTRO – We have so much to be thankful for.
- Family – both those who’ve gone on before us & those still w/ us
- Friends who stand w/ us in good times & bad. Laugh w/ them. Cry w/ them. Rejoice w/ them. Grieve w/ them. Where would we be w/out our friends?
- Church – the FAMILY of God w/ whom we worship & serve God. Brothers & sisters in Christ who strengthen us, challenge us, support & encourage us, sometimes correct us.
- The Bible – The Word of God – Our guidebook for life, God’s owner’s manual for our lives, His love letter to us.
- The Holy Spirit living in us
- Jesus, our Savior
- Heaven & eternal life
- And the list goes on & on.
But sometimes we have to be reminded to be thankful. Our lives can get so busy – our minds can get so jumbled up – our hearts can get so broken – we can experience so much disappointment, so much grief, so much pain, so much bitterness & disillusionment that we forget to be thankful. Or we may even deliberately choose to be unthankful – maybe to try & get even w/ someone who has hurt us. Or to intentionally try to hurt someone who has hurt us. Or to somehow let God know how badly we feel He has let us down. Our hearts are so deceitful & our enemy is so cunning & conniving that we can fall into these toxic ways of thinking & living if we aren’t careful & diligent & vigilant against the enemy’s attacks against our mind.
So, today, let’s take this time to choose t’giving. Let’s choose gratitude. Not talking about some sort of pop psychology or power of positive thinking stuff. Not talking about some sort of shallow pattern of thinking that attempts to ignore the realities of pain & struggles & gloss over them or sweep them under the carpet. I’m talking about letting the Word of God & the Spirit of God transform our minds as we look at what HE says about being thankful.
If we want to live w/ t’giving, it’s so important to:
- Saturate our minds w/ Scripture
- Surround ourselves w/ those who build us up & encourage us
- Strengthen our prayer life
- Sit still long enough to let God work His enduring love, His perfect peace, & His true joy into our hearts.
EXPLANATION – Philippians 4:6-7
Philippians – one of Paul’s prison letters. Very tender letter to a group of believers he loved & who loved him & had supported him in many ways, including financially.
Strong doctrinal substance in this letter. Paul reminds the Philippians to stand strong in their suffering. And the only way to do that is through Christ in us – in our life, in our mind, as our goal, & as our strength in our suffering. Major theme – JOY! Several verses talk about “joy” & “rejoicing” – “Rejoice in the Lord… (3:1); “Rejoice in the Lord always…” (4:4); Paul also expressed his thankfulness for these believers & their support for him.
T’giving was a major part of many of Paul’s writings:
- Philippians 1:3 – “I thank my God every time…”
- Colossians 1:3 – “We always thank God…when we pray for you.”
- 2 Corinthians 9:15 – “…thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:18 – “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
- Colossians 3:15 – “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…& be thankful.”
Paul constantly reminding the believers to be thankful in all circumstances. And the reason he was constantly doing that is b/c he was constantly reminding them of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
APPLICATION – Because of the Gospel, we can always live w/ thanksgiving.
Easy way to remember Phil. 4:6-7 – “Don’t worry about anything. Pray about everything.” Easy to say that. Hard to do that sometimes. I think that’s why Paul put those 2 key words right in the middle of the verse – “with t’giving.” Reminds us that no matter what is causing your worry & anxiety, we can still live w/ thanksgiving in our hearts. No matter how deep our pain is, the Gospel gives us reason to live w/ t’giving.
When we live w/ t’giving, we have:
GOD’S POWER FOR LIFE – “Be anxious for nothing” – Only someone who truly knows Jesus knows that you really don’t have to worry about anything b/c we have God’s power – ALL of God’s power – available to us.
- Power to sustain us
- Power to comfort us
- Power to strengthen us
- Power to care for us
Living w/ t’giving means we are thankful for the Gospel & our salvation. That means that the very moment we gave our lives to Christ, the Holy Spirit took up residence in our lives, giving us all the power we need to face every circumstance in life.
GOD’S PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE – “…in everything by prayer & supplication w/ thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” – We can bring anything & everything to God w/ thankful hearts, trusting that He is at work in ways that we cannot even see or comprehend. His perspective tells us:
- Be thankful for Romans 8:28
- Be thankful for Jeremiah 29:11-13 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
- Be thankful for Isaiah 30:21 – “Whether you turn…”
- Be thankful for Proverbs 3:5-6
- Be thankful for Isaiah 55:8-9 - “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
GOD’S PEACE IN LIFE – “And the peace of God…” – So many people are living without peace in life, & so many people are looking for peace in life. There’s only 1 place that it can be found – in a personal relationship w/ Jesus Christ. Living w/ t’giving in all that God has done for us brings that perfect peace.
- Can’t comprehend it – “surpasses all understanding”
- Can completely trust it to “guard your heart & mind”
- Can count on Jesus to give it to you – “IN Christ Jesus”
