Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful -NIV
If you’ve been a member of New Beginning Church for any amount of time, you know that I’m real eager to jump upon the latest “Christian Fad,” but am in fact, what many would call an old school preacher and pastor. So old school that you know that I am fond of and often quote the theologians of the past more than I do the present. You have often heard me quote great expositors of the bible of times gone by like, Charles Hadden Spurgeon, Albert Barnes, Adam Clark, Alexander McClaren, Oswald Chambers, John Gill, Matthew Henry and the like. Well today I would like to begin this Thanksgiving Week message with an excerpt from a 18th-century classic devotional called, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, by William Law. Listen to how challenging and appropriate this devotional thought is for this occassion:
A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, by William Law -“Would you know who is the greatest saint in the world? It is not he who prays most or fasts most; it is not he who gives most alms or is most eminent for temperance, chastity, or justice; but it is he who is always thankful to God, who wills everything that God wills, who receives everything as an instance of God’s goodness and has a heart always ready to praise God for it. Could you therefore work miracles, you could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit, for it turns all that it touches into happiness.”
In other words, what Characterizes a Christian more than ANYTHING ELSE? It is a THANKFUL SPIRIT, they live a thankful life! That is the most distinguishing characteristic of an authentic Christian more than anything else!
They live a thank-filled life! Could that be true? Could that be right? Well let’s test it with scripture. Let’s start out by what CHARACTERIZES A NON-CHRISTIAN. What does the bible say is the earmark of an unregenerate man or woman?
2 Timothy 3:1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.-NIV
Look at that right at the heart of what characterizes a last and condemned man, it they are, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal! What is at the heart of lostness? Ingratitude!!!
Romans takes this thought even further….
Romans 1: 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. 24a Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts
Therefore God gave them over to their THANKLESS hearts! Wow! Ok lets flip the theological coin over, and see what are the earmarks of a “Spirit-filled” Christian?
Ephesians 5:17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. -NIV
Someone WHO ALWAYS GIVE THANK TO GOD – FOR EVERYTHING!!!
Q: WOULD THAT DESCRIBE YOU? THEN ACCORDING TO THIS PASSAGE YOU ARE NOT SPIRIT FILLED!
IT IS THEREFORE NO WONDER TO ME THAT THE PASSAGE THAT I OPENED WITH COMMANDS US TO…
Be - ????µa? -ginomai -Pronunciation -ge'-no-mi
To become, to be made, to come into existence
Thankful - e?????st?? -eucharistos
To be mindful of favors, grateful, thankful, appreciative
It is a constant state of being, a way of life, in fact, I WILL GO AS FAR TO SAY THAT LIVING A THANKFULNESS IS THE CHRISTIAN LIFE, BECAUSE IT APPEARS THAT EVERYTHING SEEMS TO FLOW OUT OF THAT ATTITUDE, AND STATE OF MIND OR CONDITION!
As Law said – “Who is the greatest saint that one that is ALWAYS THANKFUL! THE ONE THAT…
1 Thessalonians 5: 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not quench the Spirit -NIV
Does not quench or grieve the Spirit, or dishonor’s Christ with a grumbling, complaining, ungrateful attitude!
And so I’ve simply entitled this message with these two words…
BE THANKFUL!
Colossians 3:15b be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].- AMPC
Colossians 3:15b become thankful. -Young's Literal Translation
Q: How? Well…
An honest, open minded, and open-hearted examination of the command to be thankful, and the concept of being thankful as it is set forth in Scripture, will provide us with an abundance of reasons as to why, how, to whom, we are to be thankful, as well as provide us with a clear definition of what it means to be thankful, and the where, when of being thankful!
Let’s start out with first of all…
I. To WHOM are we to be grateful?
I’ve often thought about who an atheist thanks on Thanksgiving Day as they sit before a Thanksgiving feast!
A) Who do they (atheist) thank?
1. Thank “goodness?”
2. Thank “their lucky stars?”
3. There is a turkey, “all dressed up” but no one to thank!
4. The person who prepared the meal?
B) Where did the meal ultimately come from?
1. Grocery store?
2. Who provided the produce, meats, products in the grocery store?
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.-NIV
Genesis 1:11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. NIV
Genesis 1:24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.- NIV
Genesis 1:31b God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. – NIV
C) Who do we thank?
1. Goodness? NO!
2. The God of all Goodness!!
James 1:16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows,-NIV
3. God is the fountain of all goodness, the giver of all good gifts, the author of all good things!
D) How about when things are going “bad?”
Our Daily Bread - DOUBTING GOD- When Satan tempted Eve, he did so by enticing her to doubt God's character. He told Eve, "God knows that in the day you eat of (the forbidden fruit) your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3:5).
Satan was implying, "God has a hidden agenda, and it is an evil one." The devil knew that once Eve doubted the goodness of God, the temptation would work.
We may not think we doubt God. But when events happen in our lives that make us question Him, that's exactly what we do. We seldom stop believing in Him, but we do stop believing in His goodness. And that is a faith-poisoning idea!
John Greenleaf Whittier knew that at the center of trust is a confidence in God's goodness. He wrote:
I see the wrong that round me lies,
I feel the guilt within,
I hear, with groan and travail cries,
The world confess its sin.
Yet, in the maddening maze of things,
And tossed by storm and flood,
To one fixed trust my spirit clings:
I know that God is good!
Never doubt God's goodness. Even when our trials seem beyond our understanding, we can trust God to give us perfect gifts (Jas. 1:17). - Haddon W Robinson
Don't put a question mark where God has put a period.
Ok , Ok, now this begs us to ask the second question…
II. WHY are we to be grateful?
Psalm 92:1a It is a good and delightful thing to give thanks to the Lord, -AMPC
A) Good!
Charles Hadden Spurgeon -The Treasury of David
It is good ethically, for it is the Lord's right; it is good emotionally, for it is pleasant to the heart; it is good practically, for it leads others to render the same homage. When duty and pleasure combine, who will be backward? To give thanks to God is but a small return for the great benefits wherewith he daily loadeth us….
1. Why?
a) Let’s let into Our Spiritual “Thank -Book” – the Bible to find an abundance of reasons as to why:
Psalm 107:1a Give thanks to the Lord,
b) Thanks –I, ????? -yadah - to throw, shoot, cast
Psalm 107:1b for he is good;
b) Good – ????-towb -Pronunciation -tove - good, pleasant, agreeable, excellent
ii. God is good!
a. In fact Jesus declared:
Luke 18:19b There is no one is good—except God alone.
b. To say that God is good means that God always acts in accordance to what is right, true, and good.
c. Goodness is part of God’s nature, and He can never contradict His nature.
Psalm 107:1b his love endures forever..”
Psalm 107:1b For His mercy endures forever.- NKJV
iii. Mercy – ????? -checed -Pronunciation-kheh'·sed - kindliness, lovingkindness’, merciful kindness , loyal, steadfast, enduring love, endures forever!
a. Mercy, or loyal love, is one of the most prominent attributes of God’s character.
b. By His very nature, He shows unstoppable, limitless, everlasting mercy, even to those who don’t deserve it!
Micah 7:18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.-ESV
Psalm 107:8 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! -NKJV
iv. He Satisfies!
Psalm 107:9 for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.-NIV
Psalm 78: 15 He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them water as abundant as the seas; 16 he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers-NIV
Psalm 78:24 he rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven. 25 Human beings ate the bread of angels; he sent them all the food they could eat.-NIV
2 Corinthians 9:10a Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food..NIV
Psalm 107:9 For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness.-NKJV
Joseph Excell - The "satisfaction" intended seems to be spiritual rather than material. God alone can satisfy the cravings of man's spiritual nature.
Q: How?
v. He Saves!
2 Chronicles 6:41b clothed with salvation, and let Your saints (Your zealous ones) rejoice in good and in Your goodness.-AMPC
vi. Clothes/covers us with salvation!
Isaiah 61:10 I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.- NIV
Jeremiah 33:11b “Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; his love endures forever. “For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,’ says the Lord.-NIV
vii. Restores our fortunes!
Job 42: 10 When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! - NLT
a. And what God did for Job, He can do for you when you put your life in His hands!
Q: Yea, but what if he didn’t? What if God would have let Job die?
1 Corinthians 15: 55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. -NIV
viii. Raises us from the dead!
Charles John Ellicott (1819–1905) – Our future is so certain that the Apostle speaks of it as a subject for present thanksgiving; the victory is one which God gives now through Jesus Christ. His resurrection is the pledge of our resurrection!
Matthew Poole- Victory over sin and over death, we have both through the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ; who by his death both delivered us from the guilt of sin, and also from the power of sin; and who through death destroyed him who had the power of death, even the devil.
b. No matter what your going through, you can thank God because your just going through!
ix. Leads us into victory!
2 Corinthians 2:14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.-ESV
a. Thanks be to God, Who always leads us in triumph (present tense - continually) in Christ,
b. Always is a great word, but notice the next word that tells us where he leads us in triumphal procession!
Q: What is the implication?
J Vernon McGee - This is wonderful, friend. You can’t lose when you are in Christ. You cannot lose! Paul says that God always causeth us to triumph.
c. Christian life is a victory march!
Sir Isaac Watts - We’re marching to Zion,
Beautiful, beautiful Zion;
We’re marching upward to Zion,
The beautiful city of God.
x. Gives us this victory/salvation/inheritance as an indescribable gift!
2 Corinthians 9: 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!-NIV
a. Given to us through Christ!
b. Giving to us – Christ!
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; -NKJV
Albert Barnes - Is given - The Messiah is often represented as having been given, or sent; or as the rich gift of God. The Messiah was pre-eminently the gift of the God of love. Man had no claim on him, and God voluntarily gave his Son to be a sacrifice for the sins of the world.
Alexander McClaren - It seems strange that there should ever have been any doubt as to what gift it is which evokes this burst of thanksgiving. There is but one of God’s many mercies which is worthy of being thus singled out. There is one blazing central sun which shines out amidst all the galaxy of lights which fill the heavens. There is one gift of God which, beyond all others, merits the designation of ‘unspeakable.’ The gift of Christ
Chuck Swindoll - Every Christmas, millions of us go in search of the perfect gift for our loved
ones. If the gift is just right, our loved ones open the package and say with a gasp, “It’s wonderful! Thank you!” as we beam with delight.
Chuck Swindoll - On the first Christmas, God gave the ultimate perfect gift to His loved ones—to all of us! He wrapped heaven’s treasure in the tiny, humble frame of a baby and,
beaming with delight, gave us His only Son. On that night, like a proud father,
God sent angels to deliver a heavenly birth announcement to some astonished
shepherds, who rushed to see the baby born in an animal shelter and laid in a
feeding trough as a makeshift crib (Luke 2:7).
Chuck Swindoll - And so, the first Christmas took place not in a cozy home around a brightly lit tree but in a pen with a few farm animals, some shepherds, and two exhausted
parents gazing at the greatest gift anyone has ever received.
Henry G. Bosch (Our Daily Bread) - Someone has said, “The kindest thing that God ever did was to become a man.” What magnificent glory Christ left and what utter humiliation He suffered so that He could offer us the riches of salvation! We will never be able to understand it completely. It’s hard to fathom the truth that when we receive His gift we claim an eternal inheritance as adopted children of God.
Henry G. Bosch (Our Daily Bread) - Who can estimate the preciousness of God’s gift of salvation through His Son the Lord Jesus? All we can do now and throughout eternity is to fall down in adoration before the Lord, praising Him for a salvation so wondrous and so free!
Yes, I know Him as my Savior,
For my sins are washed away;
And I'll never cease to praise Him
For this truth through endless day. —Hallan
Praise is the language of a heart set free.
xi. Placed us in his kingdom!
Hebrews 12:28 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe -NIV
Psalm 136 (NIV)
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.
4 to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever
xii. Name is glorious and holy!
Psalm 106:47b give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.- NIV
xiii. He is righteous in all his ways!
Psalm 7:17 I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.-ESV
Psalm 119:62 At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws.
Psalm 145:17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does.-NIV
Clarence L. Haynes Jr. -Crosswalk Ministries
God is just in all he does.
God is upright in his ways.
God operates with honesty.
God always does the right thing
It is important that you understand that righteousness is not something that God does, it is something that God is. To put it another way, righteousness is part of God’s character. Since he is righteous that means that there is no other way for him to act because he must remain true to who he is. Every action God takes towards you will always be right, just, and honest.
ivx. We are the beneficiaries of God’s righteousness!
Romans 5:19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Is that enough reasons to praise and thank the Lord?
Matthew 26: 26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.-NIV
VX. JESUS WAS THANKFUL THAT HE COULD DIE ON A CROSS FOR US TO PROCURE OUR SALVATION!
a) ARE YOU THANKFUL ENOUGH TO EXPRESS GRATITUDE FOR THAT SALVATION AS HE HAS PRESCRIBED US TO?
III. HOW are we to express gratitude?
A) Personally!
Psalm 56:12 I am under vows to you, my God; I will present my thank offerings to you.-NIV
Psalm 9:1a I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;-NIV
B) Corporately!
Psalm 9:1b I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.-NIV
Ephesians 5: 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.-NIV
Psalm 95 (NIV)
1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
3 For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
7 for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
Today, if only you would hear his voice,
8a “Do not harden your hearts….
Psalm 35: 18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among the throngs I will praise you.-NIV
Psalm 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. -NIV
Luke 17: 2 and he entering into a certain village, there met him ten leprous men, who stood afar off, 13 and they lifted up the voice, saying, `Jesus, master, deal kindly with us;' 14 and having seen [them], he said to them, `Having gone on, shew yourselves to the priests;' and it came to pass, in their going, they were cleansed, 15 and one of them having seen that he was healed did turn back, with a loud voice glorifying God, 16 and he fell upon [his] face at his feet, giving thanks to him, and he was a Samaritan. 17 And Jesus answering said, `Were not the ten cleansed, and the nine -- where? 18 There were not found who did turn back to give glory to God, except this alien;' 19 and he said to him, `Having risen, be going on, thy faith hath saved thee.' – Youngs Literal Translation
1. That is what saving faith looks like!
C) Prayerfully
1. Congregationally
1 Timothy 2: 2 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.-KJV
2. Personally
Philippians 4: 6 for nothing be anxious, but in everything by prayer, and by supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God; -YLT
F) Generously!
2 Corinthians 9:11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.-NIV
2 Corinthians 9:13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.- NIV
1. Gratitude and generosity go hand in hand!
G) Evangelistically!
2 Corinthians 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? -NIV
Martin Vincent - The knowledge of Christ is symbolized as an odor communicating its nature and efficacy through the apostle's work, "permeating the world as a cloud of frankincense"
H) Faithfully
Romans 1:21 Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened -AMPC
1. This indicates that mankind made a deliberate choice not to give thanks to God, but rather exercised blatant, willful ingratitude!
Bruce Hurst - The natural creation was intended to lead man to glorify God and to express gratitude to Him. Cessation from praise and thanksgiving to God leads to disastrous consequences, which the apostle now enumerates. When we leave off praising and thanking God, we open the way for every form of evil. Thanklessness toward God is a proof of the alienation of man from Him. Thanksgiving is the expression of gratitude toward, and joy in, God.
Richard Dawkins a member of a rationalist group known as Intelligence Squared in a debate stated- “When I look at the Milky Way or the Grand Canyon, I am overcome by a profound feeling of thankfulness. It’s a feeling of sort of an abstract gratitude that I am alive to appreciate these wonders. When I look down a microscope it’s the same feeling. I am grateful to be alive to appreciate these wonders.” (Grace to You- Joh McCarthur)
2. But to whom does an atheist like Dawkins express such gratitude?
a) Chance, luck, fortune, happenstance, fate, kismet?
IV. The WHAT of gratitude.
A) What am I to do with this concept and command of being thankful?
\
Colossians 3:15b be thankful -NIV
1. Biblical command!
Joni Eareckson Tada – Giving of thanks is not a matter of feeling thankful; it is a matter of obedience.
V. The WHEN of gratitude.
1 Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice evermore. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.-KJV
1 Thessalonians 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. -ESV
1 Thessalonians 5:18 Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks] -AMPC
1. In everything – en panti – in connection with everything that comes along in life.
VI. The WHERE of gratitude.
A) Where?
1. EVEN IF YOU’RE TRAPPED IN THE BELLY OF A WHALE!
Jonah 2:9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!” 10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land. -ESV
VII. The WHY of thanksgiving?
A) Why?
1. God is good
2. He works out everything for my good!
Romans 8: 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.-KJV
Colossians 2: 6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. -NIV
3. It is meant to be the overflow of the Christian life, because GRATITUDE, AND THANKSGVING IS THE CHRISTIAN LIFE!
Communion:
1 Corinthians 10:16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?
Desiring God Ministries -Ann Voskamp
Gratitude is a virtue most worthy of our cultivation. Indeed, in all the Christian life, gratitude is to be planted, watered, dressed, and harvested. Gratitude gets at the very essence of what it means to be created, finite, fallen, redeemed, and sustained by the God of all grace.
Desiring God Ministries -Ann Voskamp
Ingratitude was at the heart of the fall, and at the heart of what’s fallen about us to this day.
“Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him” (Romans 1:21). Again and again throughout the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms, it is gratitude — giving God thanks — that is the fitting response to his gracious acts of deliverance for his people.
It was gratitude to the Father that Jesus expressed at that first Maundy Thursday table as he held out the bread and cup to his disciples (Matthew 26:27; Mark 14:23; Luke 22:17–19; 1 Corinthians 11:24). It is profound and enduring gratitude, among other things, that his sacrificial death and triumphant resurrection summon in the born-again heart. And in the daily Christian life, it is the genuine giving of thanks for God’s gifts that keeps us from idolatry and sinful asceticism (1 Corinthians 10:30–31; 1 Timothy 4:3–4).
David Mathis -Executive Editor, desiringGod.org
“God created humanity for gratitude. You exist to appreciate God.”
First, God created humanity for gratitude. You exist to appreciate God. He created you to honor him by giving him thanks. Appreciating both who God is and his actions for us — in creating us and sustaining our lives — is fundamental to proper human life in God’s created world.
David Mathis -Executive Editor, desiringGod.org
Ann Voskamp gives memorable expression to the failure of the first man and woman — and the devil before them — to rightly experience and express gratitude. From all of our beginnings, we keep reliving the Garden story.
David Mathis -Executive Editor, desiringGod.org
Satan, he wanted more. More power, more glory. Ultimately, in his essence, Satan is an ingrate. And he sinks his venom into the heart of Eden. Satan’s sin becomes the first sin of all humanity: the sin of ingratitude. Adam and Eve are, simply, painfully ungrateful for what God gave. Isn’t that the catalyst of all my sin?
David Mathis -Executive Editor, desiringGod.org
Redeemed by Thanksgiving
God himself, in the person of his Son, Jesus, entered into our thankless world, lived in flawless appreciation of his Father, and died on our behalf for our chronic ingratitude. It is Jesus, the God-man, who has manifested the perfect life of thankfulness. If you’ve ever tracked the texts where Jesus gives his Father thanks, you’ll know it’s quite an impressive list.
Matthew 11:25 [also Luke 10:21]: “At that time [note the context of unrepentant and unthankful “cities where most of his mighty works had been done,” verse 20] Jesus declared, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.’”
John 11:41: “ . . . they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me.’” [Jesus then raises Lazarus from the dead.]
Matthew 15:36 [also Mark 8:6]: Jesus “took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples . . . ” [See also John 6:11 and John 6:23 which refer to the location as “the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.”]
Luke 22:17–20 [also Matthew 26:27 and Mark 14:23]: “He took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, ‘Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’ And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’”
David Mathis -Executive Editor, desiringGod.org
Freed for Thanksgiving
By faith in Jesus, we are redeemed from ingratitude and its just eternal penalty in hell, and freed to enjoy the pleasure of being doubly thankful for God’s favor toward us — not only as his creatures, but also as his redeemed.
It is fitting for a creature to be in a continuous posture of gratitude toward his Creator. And it is even more fitting for a redeemed rebel to be in an ongoing posture of gratitude toward his Redeemer. The kind of life that flows from such amazing grace is the life of continual thankfulness. This is the kind of life in which the born-again Christian is being continually renewed, progressively being made more like Jesus.
And so the apostle Paul encourages Christians to have lives characterized by thanksgiving.
Colossians 1:11–12: May you be “strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”
1. Does gratitude mark your life?
2. Ingratitude gripped you?
3. Repent and obey the command to give thanks!
