Learning to Give Thanks Pt 2

Today we are looking at / / Learning to Give Thanks Part 2. Like I said last week, I think it is crucially important to take time on a consistent basis to remind ourselves of certain things. This whole idea of giving thanks being one of them. The more I think about the Christian life, the more I realize that there is a movement to it, almost like a dance. It’s not a system that you simply recycle the rules over and over again, but it has a rhythm to it.

And the more you engage in the dance the more you learn and grow comfortable with the dance moves. The more you move with the rhythm, the more you, as a musician might say, fit “in the pocket”.

When a musician says, “Man, we were just in the pocket there!” what they mean is it just felt right, it hit right. The grove, the timing, the rhythm the notes, all the musicians just gelling together - everyone is perfectly on beat, not missing any notes. We’re in sync. Not N’Sync, JT and the boys, but in that pocket together.

And a great musician isn’t always doing crazy runs, or big moves. A great musician knows when it’s their time to just sit back and hold the beat, or support another musician. A great musician knows how to stay simple when needed, and be truly complex when it’s warranted.

I’ll be honest with you, this is the difference between someone like Kelley and myself.

Kelley was dedicated to being a professional musician, she was playing flute in symphonies, marching band and was practicing hours a day. Rehearsal after rehearsal. And she got really good. And she was sought after for 2 reasons. Yes, because she was really good. But also, because she had feel. She has God gifted anointing which she matched with a tenacity to be great.

I was a different story. I also have God gifted anointing, but not nearly as much tenacity. In fact, I’ve never liked practicing, and as such, I never really have.

Now, during our time in Toronto that God given part, the feel and anointing on my life got me put into some pretty amazing scenarios playing for some pretty amazing musicians. Musicians far greater than I was. Honestly. But,, and here’s my point, the more I was around people greater than myself, and the more I played, the better I got. Seems simple, but it’s true.

And because we were at a church that was experiencing a world-wide phenomenon where thousands and thousands of people were showing up and we were conducting 7 church services a week, Not 7 services on a Sunday because our congregation was so big, but Monday was the only day we did NOT have a service, and Sunday we had a morning and evening service. Then once every other month, and sometimes even more, we would have a major conference where thousands of people would come, and we would have 3 services a day for 4 or 5 days in a row.

So, you can imagine, we were on stage a lot. And because I was playing a lot, even though I wasn’t practicing, I was getting better.

Here’s why this is important and here’s how it connects to this dance of our Christian life. The more proficient you are at an instrument, the more you can do when the time comes for you to be spontaneous or expressive.

We had one worship leader, Jeremy Sinnott. An absolute champion in the faith and one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. He was one of, if not the most encouraging person Kelley or I had in our lives when it came to our own worship leading. And I would often play bass for him - unless his son was available who can absolutely put me to shame! But, there would be certain songs where he would just love to turn around and point at a musician and basically without saying anything, he was saying, “Ok, go for it, play your heart out for the Lord, give us a nice big solo!” I remember the dread that came over me the first time he did that. I didn’t know what to play. I didn’t know where to go. I couldn’t riff. I couldn’t improvise. I wanted to hide. Why? Because I was never practicing. My ability and skill didn’t match the anointing God had given me. So I just kind of fumbled through. Played a little bit harder and a little bit louder for a minute...

But the more I played, the more I could do, so when that next time came, the more I was able to express my own heart to God through playing my instrument.

Here’s my point in all of this.

Christianity, like that dance, or like that movement of music, has a rhythm, and it has these ebbs and flows to it, and in many ways, it is what we have put time and practice into that we are able to express ourselves in more in our walk with God.

If I never take time to read the bible, how am I supposed to utilize what it says to know how to live my life? God could even directly drop scripture into my heart, but if I haven’t read it, I won’t even know...

If I never spend time in the presence of God, or learning to hear his voice, or spending time worshipping, how will I know when it’s him talking to me to lead me in a particular direction in my life?

Again, the reason I’m saying this is because the Christian life is as much an unending journey down a road of new discover as it is a rhythm and cycle of the same and important things over and over again. / / It is often in the repetition of the seemingly mundane that we discover the supernatural in our lives.

Our faithfulness to the bible, prayer, serving, coming to church, being a part of a community, joining men’s group or women’s group. What might seem like little things, over time, produce wonderful results. And so the cycle or dance of maybe the same moves over and over again, lead us into deeper expressions and moments of those very things.

So, let’s bring that back to giving thanks. Look at the amount of times Paul talks to us in scripture about giving thanks. It was important to him to make this a consistent teaching in the life of the early church. Why? Because it was an important part of religious culture and tradition in the Jewish faith, and the faith and life of Jesus, that he knew would need to be a constant reminder for us in our walk with Christ.

Christianity is not built like school. It’s not grade levels. We don’t learn thanksgiving in grade three and then we move on from it. Or healing in grade 8. Prophecy in grade 10. Christianity is a constant learning and relearning, working and reworking, visiting and revisiting. And in our relationship with God and our relationship with the body of Christ, other believers, other christians, those we are walking with in life, we use these things, and grow in these things together.

This is the reason I love that here, and in Canada as well, although it’s in October, but we have a set time of year where we have this holiday, Thanksgiving. I know it doesn’t mean the whole nation is giving thanks to God, but as Christians it does remind us to do this, and hopefully there are those who turn their face to heaven and remember why we started this in the first place.

And the origins, although clouded in sometimes historical inaccuracies and sometimes ignorance of some of the tragedy and negative aspects of our past, has these moments of beauty and hope. And that’s how we need to look at history full stop. / / Our approach to history must not deny the wrong that was done, but learn from it so that it doesn’t happen again. And we must learning from the good and embrace it for the future. Winston Churchill, most likely quoting the Spanish philosopher George Santayana, said, / / “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” The good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful.

I did not know this until this year, and the amount of thanksgiving things I’ve read over the years, I’m surprised I hadn’t read this until this year. But originally thanksgiving was not a feast, or a meal, or a party. Thanksgiving was, in some accounts, a 3-day fast with prayer, meditation and sincere supplication [begging] toward God. / / Thanksgiving did not start out as a feast. It was a call to prayer & fasting. And at the center of it was repentance with the hope of redemption. And not hope as in, I hope it happens, but the confident expectation of our redemption in Christ Jesus. The early Puritan theology always left room for “sinners” by way of saying, / / “If a sinner would only repent, he might return to grace.”

This was a public expression of humility before God.

Which I find so fascinating, that at the center of what some consider to be some of our most horrific atrocities, we find the desire to humble ourselves before God and repent for our wrong doing and misguided ways.

Can I just say this to you this morning. / / Don’t ever let the misguided and dysfunctional actions of those who say they believe the same thing as you ruin what you believe.

The bible warns against false teachers, false prophets, those who would use the gospel message for their own gain. Those who would intentionally lead people astray. Why? Because human nature doesn’t always get it right. There’s warning because it happens. Don’t let that pull you away from Jesus Christ, the one we are truly following!

So, somehow they got some things right here - We could learn something from these pilgrims 400 years ago who turned to God in thanks for the redemption of Jesus Christ, and in fasting, meditation and prayer they sought God to both heal and restore, and provide for the future. And it was in the coming together of these early settlers and the Native Americans who helped them through some of their roughest times - as messy a road as that may have been, that the traditions of harvest feast from the Native Americans joined with the celebration of giving thanks to God and through years of story a tradition was born. And then perfected finally in 1934 when we added football!

Like I said, there’s a beauty in there. A humbling of ourselves before God and a joining together to celebrate His faithfulness. I can’t think of anything greater. But I like both. Not just feasting, but fasting. Ok, I don’t like fasting - and if we are honest - the modern church is missing a very real and very powerful spiritual principle in that. Matthew Henry, a 17th century author and biblical commentator said, / / “Fasting is a laudable [deserving praise and commendation] practice and we have reason to lament that it is generally neglected among Christians.” And he said that more than 300 years ago. So, our history in this wonderful week is one of fasting, repentance, prayer and giving thanks.

All part of a practice that leads us BACK to God, rather than building ourselves up. It’s a humbling process.

I’m not saying you have to fast. I ate my fill of turkey and ham and ribs last night and I am quite sure I will do so again on Thursday while watching my football. 100%. But, in this week of Thanksgiving. In this time of tradition, my hope and prayer is that we find the traditions worth truly holding on to. I think this is why Paul reminds the early church so often to give thanks. Don’t forget. Give thanks. Give thanks always and in everything and in every situation. Give thanks. Humble yourself. Don’t think you did it. Don’t get cocky. Don’t get full of yourself. Don’t think this was you and you alone. Always turn back to God. Always have right perspective.

It’s also why he warns us in what happens when we don’t do these things. We read two scriptures last week that were part of Paul’s warning when it came to living a life of giving thanks, or forgetting to, and I want to read them again this week as we continue to look at learning to give thanks, because in the warning is really an encouragement to be faithful in it.

First, in his second letter to Timothy, who he had worked with for many years, was training in the ways of Christian leadership and pastoral work, who he had led closely so that Timothy would be confident and well equipped to lead these churches as well. He warns him in 2 Timothy 3:1-5, / / You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will be tray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that! (vs 10) But you, Timothy, certainly know what I teach… (vs 14) you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught.

When I read this list again, which seems so encouraging, doesn’t it? But, I look at all of those things and I can’t help but think, truly being grateful, truly understanding the power of giving thanks in our lives in the right direction, wards off many of these things. And we’ll look at that in a minute.

Listen to what Paul writes to the church in Rome, again, understanding that Timothy was with him when he wrote this letter. It’s believed Timothy actually wrote some of the letters as Paul’s scribe. Romans 16:22 says that a man named Tertius actually wrote the letter to the Roman church for Paul as he probably dictated the content to him. So, it’s possible Timothy was there in the room listening to him. And this is part of that “teaching” that Paul is reminding him in 2 Timothy to remember and live by.

Romans 1:21-23 Paul gives a warning, or an explanation as to what’s going on with some people who have been led astray and working at actually hiding the truth from others. He says, / / Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols...

They knew God, but they just couldn’t get themselves to give him thanks.

They couldn’t humble themselves to give God honor for being God.

They couldn’t respect God as being God. They couldn’t give Him recognition in their lives.

And what was the result? They decided to cast God in their own image. Instead of thanking Him for WHO he is, they started to come up with what they wanted him to be like. Instead of doubling down on the truth of God, they became confused, and like someone wandering in darkness.

See, / / When you turn away from the truth you lose the foundation you are meant to stand on.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:24-27, / / “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

Can you see the connection here?

/ / Giving thanks is literally a gift to keep us on track.

Giving thanks is a way to remind us of what God has done and about what Jesus has said. As I said earlier, even the idea of Thanksgiving 400 years ago in the colonies was a returning to God. Humbling, repentance.

/ / Thanksgiving is defined as the expression of gratitude.

And / / gratitude is defined as the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

This is why Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, / / Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

So, I want to go back to that first warning that we read. The one Paul writes to Timothy. Because I think that in that list of things that will happen in the “last days” we see a lot of what is happening today. And whether we are in the last days or not, the warning is true, and the solution is also true. And I truly think that if we look at each of those things, we can actually ward them off, or keep ourselves on the right path through this idea of giving thanks, of being thankful in all circumstances.

/ / What does that mean? Thankful in ALL circumstances.

First, I think it means through whatever it is you are going through, doesn’t matter what it is - you can give thanks to God because part of giving thanks is humbling ourselves to His plans and purposes.

Second, I think this is a heads up. What circumstances? All the stuff he’s been talking about. All the warnings he’s given. The things that can go wrong. The ways we can be side tracked. Paul’s writings, over and over again are warnings against what can go wrong. He’s constantly encouraging people to make sure they don’t get led astray by bad teaching or bad theology. He’s constantly trying to bring people back to a place of holiness and dedication to the teachings he has given and the leading of Jesus Christ. And so in ALL circumstances is really all encompassing of what he’s been warning them about, or against.

When you are pinned against the wall… give thanks.

When you are poor and feel beat down… give thanks.

When you are shipwrecked and in prison… give thanks.

When you are hurt, wounded, angry… give thanks.

When you’ve been betrayed by close friends… give thanks.

Not for those things, but in spite of those things to right yourself and get yourself back on track from focusing on those things.

Will you be pinned against the wall? Quite possibly, but don’t live in the anger or frustration of it, turn back to God, give thanks for what He has done in your life. David doesn’t say thank God for the valley of the shadow of death, he says even when I am walking through it, I don’t have to fear the evil all around me, BECAUSE you are with me. So we aren’t thankful for the surroundings, we are thankful that God is with us no matter what the surroundings are.

Thank you for the trial? No, Thank you that YOU are with me in trial.

Thank you for being poor? NO, thank you that no matter what I have, you are still my provider.

Thank you for the heartache? No, absolutely not. Thank you that in my brokenness and hurt, you are here with me, and you are my comfort, my healer, my savior and my friend.

/ / Right perspective brings correction to our thought life and our movement!

/ / Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. (Philippians 4:6)

Big point this morning. I need you to hear this...

/ / Thanksgiving invites us to prayer, and I think in a way that is a right perspective on prayer.

Sometimes it’s easy to think of prayer as this big spiritual thing that we do when it’s all quiet and we have the time to reflect on God. Or it’s something we do in church. Or it’s what we do before we eat dinner. But prayer is simply talking to God, directing our attention to God and sharing our heart with him. Sometimes it’s just talking, sometimes it’s a bit complaining, and sometimes it’s directly asking for something. But it’s not complicated, and it’s not formal in a way that you have to get it right. Just start talking to God and you are praying.

And giving thanks draws us into that. Paul often connects the two:

Colossians 4:2 says, / / Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.

1 Thessalonians 5 says the same, / / Pray without ceasing, giving thanks...

Philippians 4:6 says the same, / / ...pray about everything. Tell God what you need, giving thanks...

In the beginning of his letters you’ll often see Paul say something to the effect of, “I remember you in my prayers...” and “I give thanks to God for you...” and in that way he’s modeling this for them as well. “Look, do you see the connection. When I pray, I give thanks...”

1 Thessalonians 1:2 is a great example of that, / / We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly.

Ephesians 1:16, / / I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly...

And if we read again Paul’s warning in Romans 1:21-23, what was the issue? / / They knew God, but they no longer worshiped him as God or gave him thanks.

The opposite of thanking God is turning away. And when we turn away, that’s when the problems start. Giving thanks turns us back. You can’t thank someone unless you’re looking at them. Hard to thank someone without telling them. Thanksgiving automatically brings us back to prayer, brings us back to facing God, brings us back to humility and honor of who He is.

So, if we look through this first warning that Paul writes to Timothy, all of the things that Paul says will happen in the last days, I think, can be corrected, or warded off by maintaining an attitude of giving thanks toward God.

Look at the list he makes:

/ / People will only love themselves...

If you are grateful for the people around you. If you are grateful to God. This won’t happen. / / You won’t prioritize yourself in every moment when you are thankful and praying for others. But sometimes you gotta make yourself do that, right?

/ / …and their money.

When we understand that everything comes from God, and take the posture of thanking Him for it, we won’t hold on to our money so tightly. Again, Jesus didn’t talk against money or against being rich, but he definitely spoke to the place it has in our hearts. / / Giving thanks to God for what we have reminds us that it is because of God that we have what we have.

/ / They will be boastful and proud...

Both of those mean / / to have a self-satisfaction in our own achievements, possessions or abilities.

Again, this is the difference between thinking we made it all happen, or remembering God in it.

Here’s a thought for you. You do not have to deny your own part in accepting that God is in your life. I can thank God for the grace He provides while also understanding he didn’t make me wake up and make me walk around the block. Remember that dance I was talking about earlier? The Christian life is a dance, and if you watch a couple dance, you know there is someone who leads, but the one who follows can’t just not do the dance, they dance WITH the one who leads. / / You aren’t being unfaithful by recognizing you’re dancing too. Just give God thanks for being the lead!

/ / scoffing at God...

The ESV actually says arrogant and abusive.

It’s in the context of our speech, speaking evil, slanderous, reproachful, railing, abusive talk, against people or God.

This one takes work. It’s not always our first response to give thanks for someone. It’s not always our first response to be grateful for the people in our lives. Sometimes, and dare I say, most of the time, it’s a whole lot easier to see and speak the negative about people.

/ / The more you make the conscious decision to speak life (be thankful), the more you will remove the unconscious negativity that comes out of your mouth!

It’s harder to talk bad about someone when you’re intentionally being thankful for them...

/ / disobedient to their parents...

I think he threw this in here just so that we remember that this is something that has to be taught to our children. They won’t learn it on their own. And the world probably won’t teach them either. OR at least not in the way that they should be taught.

/ / Thanksgiving should have priorities.

Giving thanks to God first and always, which leads to giving thanks to people in our lives.

Be the ones who teach your kids how to thank God and how to be thankful to and for people as well.

Show them by word and action. Honor God with your life so they see it’s worth them honoring God with their lives.

/ / ...and ungrateful.

Obvious one there, right?

But again, being grateful doesn’t mean we won’t be ungrateful. And ungrateful is an issue just as much as it is to NOT be giving thanks.

I know, they sound like the same thing. And they are, but I think it speaks to intention.

/ / Are we being intentionally grateful rather than just being grateful when we feel like it or when it’s easy?

Are we living intentionally?

Kelley and I were out for dinner this last week for our 15th Anniversary and she said something, neither of us can remember what it was, but a few moments later she said, “I said something and you didn’t even comment on it...”

And all I was left with was, “I didn’t even hear it...”

Now, I’m not faulting myself here. I don’t think I did something wrong. It wasn’t that I wasn’t paying attention to her, I simply missed a moment she thought I would comment on something she had said. Which was the point. I walk away from moments like that thinking, “I WANT to catch those moments. I WANT to give thanks when opportunity arises.” or if the opposite is happening, “I WANT to silence the lies when I hear them. I want to bring truth when I have the opportunity.”

So this is asking God to make us more aware.

Jesus says in Matthew 11:15, / / “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!”

what’s that mean? It means you have ears, but are you hearing? And if you’re hearing, are you truly listening with the intent to understand? It’s not as simple as just having ears.

In the same way, it’s not as simple as just giving thanks when it’s easy, but are you making an effort in your life to remove all those moments where you were unthankful, or ungrateful, by becoming more aware of those moments that you can be.

I think this is less about being intentionally displeased, or negative, or unsatisfied and more about intentionally being grateful. / / Don’t miss the opportunities to be grateful. Don’t miss opportunities to give thanks.

/ / They will consider nothing sacred.

Most translations say unholy, with implications they will be unholy...

If / / Holy means to be dedicated or consecrated to God then unholy means the opposite. I am either dedicated to God, or I am actively not.

Now, this has two implications when it comes to thanksgiving.

First, giving thanks keeps us rightly aligned to the truth. / / If I am thankful toward God continually, I am less likely to be sinful, or wicked.

But, this is also something we can directly thank God for.

Holiness speaks of being set apart BY God, but also set apart TO God. So, think of this in the context of righteousness like we’ve been looking at recently.

/ / I am MADE righteous by Jesus Christ, there’s nothing I can do to be made righteous, I can not work hard enough or do enough good things. But, / / in being MADE righteous, I am empowered to BE righteous. Because of the gift of righteousness I can give myself to live a life of righteousness.

In the same way - / / I am Holy, set apart BY God, through the work of Jesus Christ, and therefore I live to BE holy before God.

Peter says in 1 Peter 1:14-16, / / As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “you shall be holy, for I am holy.”

/ / Set apart BY God, to live a life of holiness TO God.

Thank you Jesus for making me holy, for setting me apart to be with you for all eternity… give me the grace and courage to live a life worthy of that holiness… This is what Paul prayed in Ephesians 4, / / [I] beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling...

/ / They will be unloving and unforgiving...

The ESV says heartless and unappeasable.

Again, I think we’re starting to see the point here. In a world where a lot of these things seem to be becoming common place, living a life of intentional gratitude can ward these things off.

Hard to be unloving when I’m grateful for you.

Hard to be unforgiving when I’m thankful for having you in my life. Love seems to conquer all things in that it continues to work at these things. “How many times should I forgive?”, asks Peter, “70 x 7...” Jesus replied. Jesus wasn’t saying there’s a formula, or that the answer was 490 times, but that as followers of Jesus we continue to forgive, / / we continue to work the problem until the problem is no longer there - and by that I mean, until my heart is free I will intentionally forgive. I prioritize loving and forgiving. Remember the simple prayer we’ve taught before, “God, with your help I choose to forgive...” I don’t always have it in me to forgive, but I know it’s important. And for the sake of our relationship, for the sake of my gratitude and posture of humility before God and man, I am choosing to forgive.

/ / They will slander others and have no self-control...

Interesting to put those two things together. But I think this points to what we say. How we use our words. That’s something we say to our kids, isn’t it? “That’s not how we use our words...” Sometimes I think we need to hear God say that to us. “Ok Pastor Rob, that’s not how we use our words...”

/ / slander - how we talk about people whether we realize it or not.

/ / self-control - how we choose to realize it or not.

/ / self-control is defined as the ability to manage one’s impulses, emotions and behaviors to achieve long-term goals...

/ / The long-term goal is to be more loving, more thankful, more grateful, less slanderous toward people, which means in the short term I have to learn to be intentional with my words, with what and how I say things.

He who has ears to hear.... ok, Jesus, give me ears to hear when I’m out of control so I can choose to regain control of my tongue.

It starts with WANTING to be better in these areas, then inviting God into the process with us, and working to do better.

These things don’t happen over night, and they can sometimes be a lot more complicated than we are getting into this morning in one message, but that is the process. Choosing you want different in your life and allowing God into that dance, leading you, but you have to follow!

/ / They will be cruel and hate what is good.

In Romans 7 Paul talks about his relationship with the law, or let’s say, what is good, what is right to do. And in Romans 7:22 he says, / / I love God’s law with all my heart. He continues to talk through his wrestle with it, that he wants to follow it, but has a hard time doing so. And in the midst of it, he says I never would have known what sin was if the law hadn’t pointed it out to me.

Paul had a healthy relationship with the law, or the instructions of God. He saw that they were intended to lead to life, and that it was sin that was trying to condemn us for not following that law perfectly, but in Jesus Christ we were set free from the burden of failure - not so that we didn’t need to follow the law, but so that we could follow it without fear.

Remember, MADE righteous so we are free to BE righteous.

So really, Romans 7 is this interesting chapter of Thanksgiving for the law that gives direction in our lives and through the leading of the Holy Spirit.

And I would suggest that in this world there is a bit of a rebellion against what the bible says is right and wrong. First, people either don’t know what the bible says about what is right or wrong, or second, they don’t honor God enough to follow it - sounds like Romans 1. And sometimes it is not easy to be grateful for what feels like a rule book, but / / when we truly understand WHY God gives instructions, to lead us to life, the joy of following those instructions includes the gratitude for receiving them.

What would we say to someone who rescues us from something we didn’t see coming? you’re about to step into the street, you don’t see the bus coming and someone grabs your arm and pulls you back..... “Oh my goodness, thank you for saving me...”

The law, or instructions of God are meant to give us direction to live our lives so the busses don’t hit us.

/ / They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride...

Let’s just keep this simple:

You won’t betray your friends if you are intentionally thankful for them.

You won’t be reckless, or as it’s defined, to fall forwards, to make rash decisions, if you are intentionally thankful toward God.

Remember last week we talked about being preemptively grateful. Employ that.

Don’t just think in the context of thanking God for what He has done, but thanking Him for the moments to come. This will keep you from being reckless.

/ / If you thank God for leading you where he hasn’t led you yet, it reminds you to look for his leading rather than running into life headstrong and getting hit by that bus!

Pride and arrogance are the opposite of humility, and gratitude and thanksgiving are at the core of humility.

/ / …love pleasure rather than God.

/ / In a world that would life their lives based on what “feels good”, we have to be a people who live our lives based on what God says is good.

“Feels good” can be a very misleading thing. I’ve had conversations with people that think because it feels good it must be God, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Not because following God doesn’t feel good, but that if our basis for what God has said is simply on what feels good then we couldn’t be further from what Jesus says in Matthew 16:24, / / “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me...”

No one in their right mind would say, “ya, that feels good...”

Denying ourselves doesn’t feel good in the moment. So, your feelings can deceive you.

Forcing myself out of bed to go walk does NOT feel good in the moment. But is part of the instruction I need to follow for a better life.

/ / They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly.

Who better than Paul to say this line, who said of himself in Philippians 3:5, / / I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin - a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish Law.

He knew what it meant to act religious, or follow all the rules, and still be missing the point.

We can follow all the rules and still miss Jesus.

/ / Thanksgiving always brings us back to Jesus.

Gratitude always brings us back to not trying to win our salvation through our own works, but because of what Christ has done.

Giving thanks reminds us that by HIS righteousness I am MADE righteous so that I can BE righteous as I am led by Him.

So, let’s get super practical for a moment as we close here.

Paul says in Ephesians 5:15-20, / / So be careful how you live. Don’t live like the fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

That’s the goal - in all circumstances, in all things, we would remember to give thanks to God. To rightly direct our attention, even in the most difficult of times, so that the things we face don’t get the glory and attention of our hearts, but that the God who sees, the God who hears, the God who knows, is the one who gets our attention, our affection and our praise.

So, what does it take to be thankful? Or, practically speaking, how can we simply give thanks? Right? How do we apply this?

Ok, three simply things. Well, simple, not always easy.

/ / Giving Thanks in your personal life

I love James 1:22, even though it’s probably the most challenging scripture in the bible… / / But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

If you are grateful to God for his instructions, then do your best to follow them.

Jesus said in John 14:15, / / If you love me, obey my commandments.

John wrote in 1 John 5:2, / / We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments.

There is a connection between our love and gratitude, and doing what God has said to do. I think we all get that.

Now, I said this is simple but not easy because this is a huge topic that we’re obviously not getting into here, but it can simply start with, “What has God said and what is God saying?”

The two best things you can do for your life is read the history of God and the teachings of Jesus, and develop and practice a relationship with Him in the here and now. Read the bible and pray. Start there. And like I said a few weeks ago, if you’re new to this a great place to start on knowing what it means to follow Jesus is you can read Matthew 5-7 and John 14-17.

/ / Giving Thanks in community

John said in 1 John 4:20, / / If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?

The connection between following Jesus and being in Christian community is undeniable. And more and more there seems to be a decline or a distrust of church, and I get that, the church hasn’t always done a great job at representing God. But that doesn’t mean we stop trying, it simply means we keep moving forward to learn better and represent Him more the way He should, and learn to grow and relate together. Relationship isn’t easy, but it does honor God.

Acts 2 says the early church devoted themselves to gathering around being taught, and fellowship, to communion and prayer. And the writer of Hebrews says it became the habit of some people to stop gathering together and so it says in Hebrews 10:25, / / And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another...

Hard to encourage each other when we’re not with each other.

/ / In community we facilitate active thanksgiving through worship, prayer, and the giving of our time and resources.

/ / Giving thanks through serving our neighbor

Jesus tells a story in Matthew 25 about what it means to serve Him and he says what separates the righteous from the unrighteous will be those who choose to serve those around them. Listen to what he says in Matthew 25:34-40, / / “Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘…I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ Then the righteous ones will reply, ‘When did we do that?” And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’”

Kelley and I have conversations sometimes after food distribution days about whether we continue doing them or not. Not because they aren’t good or effective, but because they can be some of the most challenging days. This last Thursday was one for the books. It was Give Miami day, which meant not all of Bridge to Hope’s team was around, they had volunteers that weren’t able to come, and it took me 6 hours just to get the food to the church, which involved a lot of work in the process. And that was just 2pm and then we had to start what we do here!

And some days I look at it and go, “I am so tired...” but the thought of not doing it so grieves my heart, and I assume that is because it is so near and dear to the heart of God.

I’m not saying you have to be here for food distribution, but if you can, you should. I know not everyone can, and it’s not the only way, but this is something I want to encourage you in, this should be a regular part of your life, thinking of someone else more than yourself. And this is straight from the mouth of Jesus, not my own words, but serving someone else in this way is 100% akin to serving Jesus himself.

Serving those around us is a way to show gratitude to God!

/ / So, the practical of giving thanks.

Give Thanks, or honor God in your own personal life.

Give Thanks, or honor God in the community he’s called you to be a part of.

Give Thanks, or honor God by serving your neighbor.