What Are You Thankful For?

Scripture

Philippians 1:3–11 (KJV 1900)

3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,

5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;

6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.

8 For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.

9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;

10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;

11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

A Christian can experience joy and thank God even under the most difficult and extreme circumstance.

My purpose is to challenge people to be thankful even under the most difficult circumstance in life.

INTRODUCTION:

G. W. Target wrote a short story titled "The Window," which tells of two men, both seriously ill, who occupied the same small hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from£ his lungs. His bed was next to the only window in the room. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, and where they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the outside world. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake, the man said. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Lovers walked arm in arm amid flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon, the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn’t hear the band, he could see it in his mind’s eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Unexpectedly, an alien thought entered his head: Why should he have all the pleasure of seeing everything while I never get to see anything? It didn’t seem fair. As the thought fermented, the man felt ashamed at first. But as the days passed and he missed seeing more sights, his envy eroded into resentment and soon turned him sour. He began to brood and he found himself unable to sleep. He should be by that window--that thought now controlled his life. Late one night as he lay staring at the ceiling, the man by the window began to cough. He was choking on the fluid in his lungs. The other man watched in the dimly lit room as the struggling man by the window groped for the button to call for help. Listening from across the room, he never moved, never pushed his own button which would have brought the nurse running. In less than five minutes the coughing and choking stopped, along with the sound of breathing. Now there was only silence--deathly silence. The following morning the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths. When she found the lifeless body of the man by the window, she was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take it away--no words, no fuss. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it all himself. He strained to look out the window beside the bed. IT FACED A BLANK WALL.

This story illustrates that our contentment in life should be based on our relationship to Christ and never solely based on circumstances. Here in our text we find the Apostle Paul in a prison jail cell. We might ask, “Paul, you are in prison for preaching the Gospel and waiting to have a hearing before Nero. What could you be thankful for?” “Look at all the years you have been in there. You were unable to have any family or family life. All this happened to you since you are preaching about Jesus Christ. Is this fair? Even now, you are waiting to have a hearing before Nero. What could you be thankful for?” I believe Paul might say something like this, “That’s right what you have said. I know that I am here because of my commitment to Christ and my love for Him. But let me tell you I still remember how the Lord has blessed me and how He is working it out so I can share with Nero about my precious Lord. Besides that I have a captive audience while a prisoner of Rome.

This morning I want to speak on three aspects of being Thankful

I. THANKFUL FOR CHRISTIAN FRIENDSHIPS (vvs. 3-4)

II. THANKFUL FOR SPIRITUAL FELLOWHIP (v. 5)

III. THANKFUL FOR GOD’S FAITHFULNESS (v. 6)

I. THANKFUL FOR CHRISTIAN FRIENDSHIPS (vvs. 3-4) “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you”—A proper approach--In this instance Paul gives thanks for his spiritual brothers and sisters in Philippi who, over the years, had brought him such abundant blessing and joy.

1. The reverence (v. 3a) “I thank my God”-- Almost all the Epistles open with thanksgiving. How glorious a faith that which led him always, even in the darkest hour, to see the hand of God present in blessing! With the Philippians Paul had a warm relationship, and this tone is established at the outset of the letter. By stating his thanks to "my God," the author reveals his personal devotion. This was no stereotyped formula, but the natural outflow from the heart of a deeply spiritual man. Paul is always thankful for God’s people at Philippi, thankful for their faithfulness to the Lord and to him.

2. The recollection (v. 3b) “every remembrance of you—

Recollection of blessing brings joy, recollection of blessing brings joy. So in the remembrance of the Philippians there was much to cheer his heart. The thanksgiving was prompted by the joyous memory Paul had of his Philippian friends.

3. The repetition (v. 4a) “Always in every prayer of mine”—

This means that he was in the attitude of prayer all the time, as we all should be - but as much as he could he brought the specific names of these Philippian believers before God on a continual basis. He didn’t come and say: ’Lord, bless the Philippians. Lord, bless the Ephesians, bless the Colossians, bless the Thessalonians’. He didn’t do that, he could have done it, but he took their names and he brought them individually and their specific needs before God--every one of them! These happy memories were reflected in Paul’s prayers for the Philippians. Joy permeated his prayers.

4. The request (v. 4b) “Making request for you all”- He didn’t come and say: ’Lord, bless the Philippians. Lord, bless the Ephesians, bless the Colossians, bless the Thessalonians’. He didn’t do that, he could have done it, but he took their names and he brought them individually and their specific needs before God. More than praying for them, the amazing thing to me is he could thank God for them - every one of them!

II. THANKFUL FOR SPIRITUAL FELLOWHIP (v. 5) “Your fellowship in the gospel”—A proper action—This means sharing, participating in, or possessing something in common.

1. The satisfaction (v. 5a) “For your fellowship” By far the

most important thing all believers share is their spiritual oneness, their participation in the gospel of Jesus Christ. “God is faithful,” Paul explained, “through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Cor. 1:9).

1 Corinthians 1:9 “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”

2. The source (v. 5b) “in the Gospel”-- Fellowship includes

3. The sharing (v. 5c) “from the first day until now”—Their

III. THANKFUL FOR GOD’S FAITHFULNESS (v. 6) “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it”—Perform means "to finish, to bring through to an end." He knew that God could be counted to finish what He begins.

1. The confidence (v. 6a) “Being confident of this very thing”-- So faithful have they been that he is confident that they will be faithful to the end. There shall be nothing lacking on God’s part to support you; and to make you wise, holy and happy; and bring you at last to His kingdom and glory.

2. The commencement (v. 6b) “He who has begun a good work”-- God, who sent Paul to them with the gospel, began the good work. He will sustain them by His grace.

3. The continuation (v. 6c) “will complete it”-- God began and God will consummate it, but not without their cooperation and partnership. God will finish what he began.

4. The consummation (v. 6c) “until the day of Jesus

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?

I. Thankful for the "Andrews and Philips" in our lives. Go back to the day you were saved and be thankful for the one(s) who brought you to Christ. "Andrew found first his own brother, Simon, and said to him: ’We have found the Messiah…and he brought him to Jesus…" John 1:41-42a. "Philip found Nathanael and said to him: ’We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets wrote." John 1:45

II. Thankful for the "Jonathans" in our lives. Think of the times when you were discouraged and distressed and someone shared God’s love and compassion with you giving you strength and faith to go on.

"Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God." I Samuel 23:16

III. Thankful for the "Aarons and Hurs" in our lives. As a servant of God, think of the times when your physical strength failed you and someone shared his or her strength with you enabling you to complete your mission. "And so it was , when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and Moses’ hands were steady until the going down of the sun." Exodus 17:11-12.

IV. Thankful for the "Barnabuses" in our lives. Think of the times when you were misunderstood and "left out" of fellowship and someone stood up for you and changed the attitude of the group. "But Barnabus took hold of Saul and brought him to the apostles and described to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how at Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus. And he was with them moving about freely in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord." Acts 9:27-28.

Pastor 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."