Thankfulness

“Thankful for Salvation”

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.”

I. Intro

As Thanksgiving is approaching this month, I thought to start a series about different things we ought to be thankful for. We live in a society where we take so many things for granted. We have so many blessings in our lives, that we seem to overlook, that many other countries are without. Upon thinking about this I came up with the number one thing that all Christians should be thankful for. That is our salvation. Because if it were left up to us, we would fail every single time. I’m so thankful that God sent His only Son to the cross to pay the debt for my sins and for your sins. I’m thankful that one day soon, Jesus will come calling and I will meet him in the air, because at one point in my life, I realized my need for a Savior. I have realized that since I was born with a sin nature, without Jesus, there would be no way possible for us to enter into Heaven, because Jesus Himself said in John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Since God the Father can’t be in the presence of anything that is unholy, and our sin nature makes us unholy, without Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross we have no hope of eternal life.

Max Lucado tells about living as an American in Brazil. One day, as he was walking along the street on his way to the University to teach a class, he felt a tug on his pants leg. Turning around, he saw a little boy about 5 or 6 years old with dark beady eyes and a dirty little face. The little boy looked up at the big American and said, "Bread, Sir." He was a little beggar boy and Lucado said, "There are always little beggar boys in the streets of Brazil. Usually I turn away from them because there are so many and you can't feed them all. But there was something so compelling about this little boy that I couldn't turn away.

So, taking his hand, I said, `Come with me' and I took him into a coffee shop." Max told the owner, "I'll have a cup of coffee and give the boy a piece of pastry...whatever he wants." Since the coffee counter was at the other end of the store, Max walked on and got a cup of coffee, forgetting about the little boy because beggar boys usually get the bread and then run back out into the street and disappear. But this one didn't. After he got his pastry, he went over to the big American and just stood there until Lucado felt his staring eyes. Lucado said, "I turned and looked at him. Standing up, his eyes just about hit my belt buckle. Then slowly his eyes came up until they met mine. The little boy, holding his pastry in one hand, looked up and said, 'Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.'"

Lucado said, "I was so touched by the boy's thanks that I would have bought him the store. I sat there for another 30 minutes, late for my class, just thinking about a little beggar boy who came back and said, `Thank you.'"

This young lad had an attitude of thankfulness and it was expressed. If we have this attitude, it will show. We will be expressive, we will be praising God; we will have joy in our hearts. Having an attitude of thankfulness is ultra important in the life of a follower of Jesus.

II. Having a Heart of Thankfulness

When is the last time, or have you ever thanked God for sending His one and only Son to His death, so you wouldn’t have to experience eternal death?

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

God has given us the most precious gift anyone could ever give, and the best news is it is free.

How can we repay God for all that He has done for us?

Ephesians 1:4 “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:”

III. A pure example of thankfulness

We have noted Paul’s repeated thanksgiving in his letters to this church.

He gave thanks for the way they responded to God’s work in their lives. vv.13-14

God loved them-Whatever God does for the lost world springs from His eternal love. We must never conceive of His great plan of salvation as an impersonal machine. His salvation is rooted and grounded in His love. God proved this love at the cross where Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

God chose them-It is not love alone that saves us, for God loves the whole world, and yet the whole world is not saved. Love reveals itself in grace and mercy. God in His grace gives us through Christ what we do not deserve, and God in His mercy does not give what we do deserve—but He gave that to Christ! We dare not explain away God’s election of sinners.

God set them apart-The word sanctify means “to set apart.” There is a progressive sanctification that makes us more like Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

But the sanctification Paul mentioned here refers to the Spirit’s work in leading the unbeliever to faith in Christ. “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit” (1 Peter 1:2).

Though I did not realize it at the time, as I look back I can see how the Spirit led in bringing me to faith in Christ; and this is the experience of every believer.

IV. Conclusion

Davon Huss tells the story of a boy who came home one hot afternoon, anxious to take a cool swim in the pond behind his home. He lived in south Florida, so taking a quick dip was a common way to cool off.

He was so anxious to get in the water, he didn’t even go inside to change clothes. He just raced for the pond, dropping his shoes, shirt, and socks along the way. His mother spotted him diving off the dock, and went outside to check on him.

As she watched her son swim toward the middle of the lake, she also spotted an alligator moving from the far shore, toward her son! She began screaming the warnings, and the boy stopped in mid-swim. He finally understood the danger, and began racing back toward the dock. Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him.

It was a tug-of-war from a mother’s worst nightmare. From the dock, she pulled his arms. From the water, the alligator held his legs. The water was quickly stained with blood.

A farmer driving by heard the screams, and ran to help. He shot the alligator and helped the mother call for help. The boy survived, and after several weeks of hospitalization, was ready to talk with a news reporter.

The reporter asked the child if he could see where the alligator had bitten him. With the typical pride of a boy, he showed off his healing wounds to the interested reporter. “But wait,” said the boy, “look at these!” With that, he showed the reporter the scars on his arms. “I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Mom wouldn’t let go.”