What Are You Thankful For?

3. The assurance (v. 7c) “You all are partakers with me of

grace.” The most important source of our union and communion in Christ is what Paul mentions here that we who are believers in Christ all share in the grace of God. That grace is the undeserved mercy and love of God that saved us. And it unites us to God and to each other.

4. The admission (v. 8) “How greatly I long for you all”—

How can we keep people on our hearts? There is only one way: Deeper love for people comes from the love of Jesus Christ. The non-Christian’s joy must come from the outside; the Christian’s comes from within. Despite the inevitable sorrows, disappointments, and pain of life, believers can always be joyful. Biblical joy is not based on circumstances, because it is the gift of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22).

Illus: Dr. Viktor Frankl, author of the book Man’s Search for Meaning,

was imprisoned by the Nazis in World War II because he was a Jew. His wife, his children, and his parents were all killed in the holocaust. The Gestapo made him strip. He stood there totally naked. As they cut away his wedding band, Viktor said to himself "You can take away my wife, you can take away my children, you can strip me of my clothes and my freedom, but there is one thing no person can ever take away from me--and that is my freedom to choose how I will react to what happens to me!" Even under the most difficult of circumstances, happiness is a choice which transforms our tragedies into triumph.

CONCLUSION: How close Paul must have felt toward those at Philippi!

1. Be thankful that we share God’s grace.

2. Be patient and let God work out what He has worked within you.

3. Be loving in our relationships with others

4. Be thankful in all circumstances. What will you be thankful for on Thanksgiving Day?

Illus: Steve May says: I once served a church in an affluent southern

California city. During one Wednesday morning men’s breakfast, I mentioned that I would be preaching that evening at the community-wide Thanksgiving service. One of the men said, "You’ll have to preach a really good sermon to make my Thanksgiving worthwhile. I don’t have anything to be thankful for." I knew this man well. I knew there were some things in his life that weren’t working out. I also knew he had some blessings that he wasn’t acknowledging. There was another man sitting at our table that morning. He was dying of cancer; it was his last Thanksgiving. He said to the group, "Do you want to hear my thanksgiving sermon?" We all said, "Sure, go ahead." This was his sermon: he said, "Thank you, God, for everything."

Prepared by: Gerald Steffy

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Phone: 309-645-3670 E-Mail: grsteffy@yahoo.com

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