The Grace of Gratitude

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Waiting for the latest movie / or book. Always part of a series. What happens the moment you finish movie 2 or book 1. The ending credits roll or you turn the last page, what is your instant desire? When the next one going to come out?
The heart problem behind any sin the a greedy heart, we always want more!
In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians God teaches us just how powerful the grace of gratitude can be in overcoming sin.
What our walk should look like.
Ephesians 5:1–2 ESV
1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Imitators: mimetes, imitator
Who are we to imitate? God!
We are to walk in love- as or just as Christ loved us. This is a sacrificial love for others, offered up to God as a spiritual act of worship.
In contrast to that:
Ephesians 5:3 ESV
3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.
Three things God forbids:
1. Sexual Immorality- Πορνεία / we get our English word for what? this is the idea of sexual immorality of any kind.
How easy is it in our culture to access Πορνεία? How much temptation is there in the life of a young person to watch that 30 second TickTock video or Instagram post? Sexual orientation is now front and center in our world- it is part of most people’s core identity! The religion of much of the world is individualism. Whatever makes me as an individual most happy, that is my pursuit. Much of the time Πορνεία is at the center of what makes human beings corrupted by sin happy.
If we become imitators of God how far away should we stay from fornication? it must not even be named among you / it should not even be heard of among you / there should be “even a hint” of this kind of sexual immorality in the lives of saints.
2. All impurity- this is any kind of impurity. This is a strengthening of the previous command to avoid sexual immorality. Not just sexually immoral acts, but any kind of uncleaness or impurity we are to avoid. This command is especially relevant for those who want to push out the boundary lines of purity as far as they can. Sometimes we try to get as close to the line as we can without crossing over.
What are some ways we are tempted to push the boundary lines of purity?
God wants Christians to instead cultivate a love for purity in every area of life! For those of you who have a desire in your heart to push the line, getting as close as you can to sin, God urges you to turn around and head in the opposite direction- to get as far away as possible!
3. Covetousness- This is the idea of greed. Again God strengthens his command. This is an even stronger command than fornication and all uncleaness.
This might seem a little confusing at first. How does covetousness or greed fit with fornication and uncleaness? We usually associate greed with money. But greed is more that an excessive and immoderate desire for acquiring more money.
What else can we be greedy for? food, power, or like in our context sexually immorality.
How does the idea of covetousness or greed strengthen the commands that Paul has already addressed? By forbidding greed, God is directly addressing the kind of heart that drives all of these immoral and impure behaviors.
Not only should we avoid fornication and all uncleaness, we must avoid the kind of heart that is greedy for them.
Matthew 5:27–28 ESV
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Paul then addresses a few more negative things that should be absent from the life of a Christian in v. 4
Ephesians 5:4 ESV
4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.
Filthiness- obscenities, coarse or vulgar speech
Foolish talking- stupid or rash conversation; like the conversation of a drunk man
Crude Joking- dirty jokes
At the center of this kind of speech is also a greedy heart! How so? Why do we usually engage in obscenities, foolish silly talk, or dirty jokes? We want to be at the center of attention! There is a greedy desire to fit in, or to be most liked person.
God prohibits this kind of behavior in the life of a believer. But notice that verses 3-4 do not just prohibit behavior. There is a certain kind of behavior that God commends instead. What is it?
BUT instead let there be thanksgiving!
Don’t skip past this small part of the passage!
If you are struggling with these kinds of sins in your life- pornography, pushing the boundary lines of purity, a greedy heart, vulgar speech, foolish talking, or dirty joking— you need to apply the power of the grace of thanksgiving to your life!
If the heart problem of all these sins is greed, then the opposite of greed is what? Thanksgiving or gratitude. One of the weapons of God’s grace that you can use to fight against the greed in your heart is the grace of gratitude.
We need to think more clearly about the how greed lies at the heart of all kinds of sins.
James 1:14–15 ESV
14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Greedy lusts wants what it does not have.
Is it always wrong to want things you don’t have? Examples? If you are hungry is it wrong to want a sandwich? If you are thirsty is it wrong to want some water? It you are tired is it wrong to want a good night’s sleep?
Greedy lusts perverts desire either in DEGREE or DIRECTION.
How does greedy lusts pervert desire in DEGREE? When you want a good thing too much! What can happen when we want something too much? You really want to win that soccer game or that volley ball game and you want it so badly that you will do anything to win! What could happen?
How does greedy lusts pervert desire in DIRECTION? When you want things you shouldn’t want or you want to satisfy your desire in the wrong way. What are some ways we are tempted to pervert desires in DIRECTION? Especially true in the area of sexual immorality and impurity. We want want we should not or we want to satisfy our desires in the wrong way. This comes from greedy desires!
In contrast, what is thanksgiving or gratitude?
Gratitude is the attitude of a heart that is thankful for anything and everything the Lord gives.
How do you become a grateful person? When you are glad and content with what you already have.
Thankfulness is the opposite of lust! How so?
Because the thankful heart has stopped prowling around for everything it doesn’t have and is overwhelmed with appreciation for all the good things it already possess.
When you have a lustful greedy heart what is the attention of your heart on? The things you don’t have. When you only focus on what you don’t have what happens to your spirit? You become discontent!
When you have a thankful heart what is the attention of your heart on? What you already have received. When you focus on what you have already received what happens to your spirit? You become overwhelmed with thanks! Therefore, gratitude is the opposite of greed.
God wants us to use the grace of gratitude to fight sin. Stop being greedy and start being grateful.
So we have to learn to be thankful! How do we learn to become thankful people? How do we grow in the grace of gratitude?
It requires a grateful consideration of God’s good gifts to you!
John 1:16 ESV
16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
Grace upon grace, grace upon the heels of grace, like waves crashing up on shore one after the other- so we have all received grace upon grace from the fulness of Jesus Christ.
How many of you woke up this morning and took a breath? Whose air did you breathe? Why should God allow you to take even on more breathe of His air? Every lung full of air you breathe is God’s grace on the heels of grace!
Hebrews 1:3 ESV
3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Colossians 1:17 ESV
17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
How many of you opened your eyes this morning? How many of you thanked God for restoring your soul? For holding your atoms together for one more day so you don’t simply dissolve into dust?
Example:
Genesis 3:1 ESV
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
What was Satan’s strategy for deceiving Eve? To get her to focus on the one thing that God had forbidden them.
What would have happened if Eve would have focused on everything that she already had?
Genesis 1:27–31 ESV
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Genesis 2:7–10 ESV
7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.
Genesis 2:15–17 ESV
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 3:1–5 ESV
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Now, Eve should have first of all submitted to her husband Adam and made this decision together (I Tim. 2). But what would have happened if Eve paused for a moment and thanked God for all she already had. And what if she pondered this long enough and thought deeply enough that she became overwhelmed with God’s goodness to her? What if her heart had been filled with gratitude for the Lord?
But, what did she focus on instead?
Genesis 3:6–7 ESV
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
Ephesians 5:3–4 ESV
3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.
How do we become thankful people? How do we become grateful people? We have to become overwhelmed with God’s goodness. On a constant basis! How?
We must learn to fight sin in our lives with the power of grace. One of the graces available to us to fight sin is the grace of gratitude.
Application: This week for your devotions take some time and come up with at least ten things for which you can thank God and others. Then spend time praying through that list and thanking God for those things. And revisit that list the next time you are tempted to indulge your lustful greedy heart!
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