THANKSGIVING 2023
Text: Ephesians 5:20
You know it’s pretty sad, that a lot of folks don’t hear the story of Thanksgiving that I told our kids this morning. Now days it’s all revisionist history and deconstructionist critical theory. But the historical documents bear out the facts, and the truth will win in the end.
I remember when I first heard that story – it was my kindergarten teacher who told it to me. And I remember my mom coming to pick me up and I was retelling it to her, and my mom asked me, “What did they eat at that first thanksgiving?” And I said, “I don’t remember, but you can ask my teacher, she was there.” For some reason, everything changed for me in school after that – I don’t know why.
But in all seriousness, Thanksgiving is a great CHRISTIAN holiday, and yes I say Christian! It’s so much more than just saying, “Thanks for the food.” 1 Thess. 5:18 tells us that we should give thanks in all things for that is the will of God in Christ Jesus.
Those Pilgrims had so much to be thankful for, but in truth – so do we.
So this morning, please take your Bibles and open them up to Ephesians 5:20 (READ).
Now let me give you a little bit of context to this passage before we dig into it. Paul has told his readers to be imitators of God as beloved children. He’s told them to walk in love, even as Christ loved. Then he gave them several warnings about how they should flee sexual immorality, how they should not be partnered with non-believers or false teachers, or those who are in darkness. He tells them not to be foolish, or to engage in debauchery, but rather to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And that was to be an ongoing, perpetual thing. And the result of this being filled with the Holy Spirit – verses 19 and 20 is that we “address one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. We sing and make melody to the Lord in our hearts, and we give thanks always for everything to God.”
So basically; what Paul is doing here is, he’s encouraging these believers in Ephesus to… when they come together as THE CHURCH, they should be filled with, and express gratitude. They should express thanksgiving. Christians of all people should be the most thankful people in the world.
And often times, what Paul does, when he gives lists… and he does that quite often… but when he gives lists of those signs of the end times, and things that will mark the end times… he always includes that people will be lovers of self, lovers of pleasure, and that they will be unthankful, ungrateful. They will not be thankful.
He does that when he writes to Timothy, he says, “In the last days people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, lovers of pleasure, and will be ungrateful… incapable of showing gratitude and giving thanks.” In Romans chapter one, Paul says that “People did not acknowledge God, NOR DID THEY GIVE THANKS. And so God gives them over.”
And so throughout the New Testament, we see that people who have been redeemed, who have been saved by the grace of God, rescued from the power, the presence, and the penalty of their sin… people who know that they are justified before God – they can, and should give thanks.
But unfortunately; what happens is – people don’t acknowledge God, they forget God, they become self-centered, and self-absorbed, and instead of having a heart, and attitude of gratitude, they feel that they are deserving of every good gift. They think – of course I deserve this raise, of course I deserve this praise, of course I deserve only good things to happen to me.
And let me just tell you, that’s not Biblical thinking, and that should not characterize the thinking of a Christian. That’s more like Nebuchadnezzar’s thinking than Christian thinking. You all remember the story of Nebuchadnezzar right? One day he’s sitting there, and he’s all puffed up, and he’s looking out over the city of Babylon, and he says to himself, “Is not this great Babylon which I have built by MY mighty power, for the glory of MY majesty.” I – ME – MINE.
NOPE!
And what happens to Nebuchadnezzar? God humbles him. Makes him like a wild animal. He’s out in the fields, and all dirty, and long fingernails, and wild – unkempt hair, and he’s eating grass and bugs, and his mind is totally incapable of logic and reason, and rational thinking. Which is the state of humanity without God. The question is asked, “Why do the nations rage?” And the answer to that is that: They rage because that is the natural state of humanity without God. Human beings are created to be the image bearers of God. We are created in His image and after His likeness, and when a person does not acknowledge God, or retain God in his knowledge, and rejects God, God gives them over, and as they are given over they bear His image less and less, and become more and more like animals and beasts. That’s how you get groups like Hamas. People who just want to cause chaos, and violence, and destruction.
Any time we put ourselves on the throne, and we start thinking, “I deserve more. I’m worth more.” Again, this is where we get the idea that the minimum wage should be $20 an hour. Every single economist who’s not a full-blown Marxist knows that when they raise the minimum wage that much, it never, and I mean NEVER helps the lower class… all it does is destroys the middle class and puts more people into poverty.
You see; once upon a time, everyone understood the difference between transitory jobs and a career. Transitory jobs were those jobs like fast food restaurants, and being a stock boy or cashier at Walmart.
Those are jobs that are designed to be temporary, created for teens and those just entering the workforce.
They aren’t meant to be career jobs – now managers and corporate – that’s different, but those jobs like cashier, or flipping burgers at a fast-food joint are transitory… they weren’t meant for someone to work in and make that their career. And they were never meant to be the kind of job that was going to provide a living wage.
But we’ve got people now who have entitlement mentalities and they say, “I don’t want to go to college and study something that’s going to lead to a career that’s going to provide a living wage. I want to go and study gender studies, or get a degree in community and social activism. I don’t want to go to Vo-Tech and learn a trade, or apprentice under someone and learn a skilled trade. I don’t want to actually sweat while I’m working, or have to think too terribly hard… deep thinking is hard. But at the same time, I want to make what the electrician or welder, or lawyer and doctor makes.”
That’s the mindset today. Entitlement. Unthankful. Ungrateful. And I get inflation is making it hard. That’s their goal. That’s their plan. To destroy the economy and reset it with a new global currency. But the reason they’re able to do that is because of the entitlement mentality, and the unthankful and ungrateful attitudes of society. The world system fosters within us a feeling of discontentment. But Paul the Apostle says we must learn to be content. That’s what he did. He learned to be content. Content with plenty, and content with little. We have to learn it. And you do that by learning who God is, and how God is, and what God’s like. By learning about Him through His Word. How he operates, and moves and acts within His creation and human history. You learn about His providence, and sovereign might, and care and provision. And you learn that He alone is good and worthy, and we in reality… all we deserve is death and hell, and eternal punishment. And you start to see… and say to yourself “WOW!” “Why do I even have anything good? Why am I still alive? Why do I have a home, and clothes, and food to eat? I don’t deserve any of those things, but God has given them to me.” I don’t deserve salvation and forgiveness, but God has given them to me through Jesus. Maybe I don’t have as much as the next guy, but I have eternal life waiting for me around the bend. One of these days. I get to be with Jesus forever and ever!
So what do we do?
Well, go back to our text, Ephesians 5:20… What do we do? We give thanks. When do we do it? Always. For what? Everything! To Whom? To God the Father – in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because He, and He alone is worthy!
And please understand me, if you’re watching this online, or you young people who are entering the work force. I’m not saying don’t go to work flipping burgers, or stocking shelves, or at a quick stop running a cash register. Those are all great first jobs, or even part time jobs, but they’re transitory jobs. Use them get some work experience, and some extra money, but you should never think that they are worthy of the same pay that a teacher makes, or a police officer, or a plumber, or roofer. And certainly not what a nurse or derrick hand makes. They’re not. Now our culture might say they are, but deep down inside, we all know they aren’t.
I’ll probably get some hate mail.
So let me conclude with this question: How do I develop this kind of attitude of gratitude? How do I become a thankful person, a person who gives thanks always for everything?
Well the secret is in knowing to Whom you should give thanks to.
We’re not called to give thanks at all times, and for all things to the President. We’re not called to give thanks at all times, and for all things to our favorite NFL Quarterback. Or our favorite actor or actress. We’re not even called to do that with our parents, or your pastor, or your spouse. We give thanks always, for all things to God the Father, and we do that in the Name of Jesus. Because it’s Jesus who has made it all possible for us.
You want to rightly give thanks to God? You have to know Jesus. You have to know Him and be known BY Him, in a salvific way.
And people say, “Well how do I know Him? I’ve never seen Him.” And I would say look at John 1:17-19, “For the Law was given through Moses; but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (CATCH THIS… VERSE 18) No one has ever seen God; the only God, WHO IS AT THE FATHER’S SIDE – He has made Him known.”
God the Son makes God the Father known.
John 14:6-11, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. From now on you do know Him, and have seen Him.’ Philip said to Him, ‘Lord show us the Father and it is enough for us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me Philip? Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own authority, but the Father who dwells in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.’”
Or John 10:30, Jesus said, “The Father and I are One.”
You want to know the Father, you’ve got to know the Son, and once you know the Son, and you spend time with Him, and focus your heart upon Him… thanksgiving is easy.
Let’s Pray
