"GIVING THANKS ALWAYS FOR ALL THINGS UNTO GOD AND THE FATHER IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST."
Shakespeare wrote, "How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!" True! But how much more unnatural and repugnant is ingratitude in those who have become sons and daughters of the living God.
People may have one of three possible attitudes about thanksgiving.
First, SOME PEOPLE THINK GIVING THANKS TO GOD IS UNNECESSARY. They are like the rich farmer in one of Jesus’ parables (Luke 12:16-20). Notice the repetition of the word "I." Because he gave God no credit for his blessings, he saw no reason to give Him thanks.
Second, SOME PEOPLE PRETEND TO BE THANKFUL TO GOD. They are like the self-righteous Pharisee in another one of Jesus’ parables (Luke 18:11-12). In reality his thankfulness was to himself and for himself. Jesus said that the Pharisee prayed "with [to] himself."
Third, SOME PEOPLE ARE TRULY THANKFUL TO GOD. They are like the leper who returned to thank Jesus for healing (Luke 17:11-18). Jesus asked, "Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?" (v. 17). Only one returned to thank Jesus. Few people are truly thankful to God.
The only person who can genuinely give thanks to God is the humble person, the person who knows he deserves nothing and who therefore gives thanks even for the smallest of blessings. Lack of thankfulness comes from pride, from the conviction that we deserve something better than we have.
A medieval legend tells of two angels sent to earth by the Lord to gather the prayers of the saints. One was to gather the petitions and the other the thanksgivings. The angel responsible for petitions was not able to carry them back to heaven in one load, while the angel for thanksgivings carried them back in one hand.
That legend developed from the sad fact that God’s children are more prone to ask than to thank.
1. WE ARE TO GIVE THANKS "ALWAYS."
"Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God CONTINUALLY, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name" (Heb. 13:15).
"I will bless the Lord at ALL TIMES: his praise shall CONTINUALLY be in my mouth" (Ps. 34:1).
1.1 We should give thanks IN PUBLIC. "I will give thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people" (Psalm 35:18).
1.2 We should give thanks IN PRIVATE. ". . . [Daniel] went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime" (Daniel 6:10).
1.3 We should give thanks AT MIDNIGHT. "At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgements" (Psalm 119:62).
1.4 We should give thanks IN THE MORNING. "It is a good think to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: to shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night" (Psalm 92:1-2).
1.5 We should give thanks BEFORE WE EAT. "Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples. . . ." (John 6:11).
1.6 We should give thanks AFTER WE EAT. "When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee" (Deuteronomy 8:10).
1.7 We should give thanks WHEN WE PRAY. "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Philippians 4:6).
THREE LEVELS OF THANKFULNESS
The first level is to be THANKFUL WHEN WE ARE BLESSED.
The second level is to be THANKFUL FOR BLESSINGS YET TO COME.
The third level is to be THANKFUL IN THE MIDST OF DIFFICULTY.
". . . and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, REJOICING THAT THEY WERE COUNTED WORTHY TO SUFFER SHAME FOR HIS NAME. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ" (Acts 5:40-42).
"And when then had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and SANG PRAISES UNTO GOD: and the prisoners heard them" (Acts 16:23-24).
If we can only thank God when things are going well, our thankfulness is on the bottom rung of faithfulness.
2. WE ARE TO GIVE THANKS "FOR ALL THINGS."
"In EVERY THING give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thess. 5:18).
This does not mean that we are to enjoy suffering, but it does mean that we are to rejoice because we know God is going to do something in our lives through suffering.
"We know that ALL THINGS work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28). This promise is only for those who "LOVE GOD."
Ray Stedman wrote,
I have learned to gauge the spiritual life of a Christian by noting the absence or presence of a complaining spirit. When Christians complain they have obviously failed to grasp the great truth that everything has been sent for a purpose. Therefore, in everything give thanks. If all we can do is gripe, grumble, groan, moan, and complain, it shows that we have failed to believe what God says is true" [How to Live What You Believe, p. 190].
Do you remember what Job said after he had lost everything? "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21).
3. WE ARE TO GIVE THANKS "UNTO GOD AND THE FATHER."
"Blessed be the God and Father or our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with ALL SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS in heavenly places in Christ" (Eph. 1:3). We should give Him thanks for all things because He has given us all things.
The Bible declares that GOD IS THE GREATEST GIVER.
3.1 We should thank God because He has given us His Son.
"For God so loved the world, that he GAVE his only begotten Son. . . ." (John 3:16). God’s love is a giving love.
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is GIVEN. . . ." (Isa. 9:6).
"He that SPARED NOT his own Son, but DELIVERED HIM UP for us all, how shall he not with him freely give us all things?" (Rom. 8:32).
"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable GIFT" (2 Cor. 9:15).
3.2 We should thank God because He has given us eternal life.
"The GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 6:23).
"Every good and perfect gift is from above" (James 1:17). The GIVER of "every good and perfect gift" should be the RECEIVER of genuine and heartfelt thanksgiving.
4. WE ARE TO GIVE THANKS "IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST."
All that we have as believers is through Jesus Christ. Without Him we have nothing.
CONCLUSION
A city missionary in London was called to an old building where a woman lay dying in the last stages of a terrible disease. The room was cold and she had nowhere to lie but on the floor. When the missionary asked if there was anything he could do, she replied, "I have all I really need; I have Jesus Christ." Deeply moved, the missionary went home and penned these words:
In the heart of London City,
Mid the dwellings of the poor,
These bright and golden words were uttered,
"I have Christ. What want I more?"
Spoken by a lonely woman dying on a garret floor,
Having not one earthly comfort,
"I have Christ. What want I more?"
(quoted by John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Ephesians, p. 269)
Charles Spurgeon once declared, "Praise is the rent which God requires for the use of His mercies." Will you rob God?
One more question: Do you have reason to be filled with thankfulness to God? Have you accepted God’s gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ?
