Like Jesus - Thankful

Thank you to those that give. Year end gifts - We are steady putting money away for a future building/land purchase.

Introduction

Good morning and welcome to Cornerstone. I’m Pastor Brian and today we are going to be doing something a little different. I’m going to speak for a few minutes today, closing out this series Like Jesus with a fitting topic for the week, being thankful.

But my plan is to keep this rather short because at the end of today’s message, I want to allow for testimony time. Specifically, I want to allow you time to get up and share what you are thankful for, maybe something God taught you this year, or testify to something God brought you through, something along those lines.

I’m telling you that now, to get your brain working. What has God done for you. What are you thankful for? What has he shown you or how have you grown with the Lord in the past year?

So lets get out our bibles and turn to John 11. I have a few notes loaded onto the app and the words will be on the screen.

John 11:38–44 ESV

Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Now, for just a little context. This is one of the most beautiful sections of Scripture because we really see the heart of Jesus. One of his close friends, Lazarus has died. He had been dead four days and he is buried in a tomb.

Jesus has traveled to where Lazarus lived with his sisters Mary and Martha. He visits with them and we get one of the most impactful verses in the Bible. John 11:35 “Jesus wept.”

In other words, we see that God cares. He cares deeply and he weeps over death. For those grieving in this holiday season, just know that God grieves with you. Sin caused death to enter the world and even though Jesus has the power over life and death, it still grieves his heart. This evident in this passage.

Today I want to focus mainly on verse 42, which says “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.” In other words, Jesus expressed an attitude of thanksgiving, even in a time of mourning.

So no matter what storms are in your life today, I want you to know that thanksgiving can still spring forth in your heart, in spite of the storm. Jesus was in a major storm. The text starts with the idea that he was deeply moved as he approached the tomb.

With that in mind, I want to talk about the keys to having a thankful heart. The three keys to a thankful heart:

All Thanksgiving Is Offered To God

First, all thanksgiving is offered to God. Jesus prays in verse 41, “Father, I thank you…” This is how he starts his prayer. He lifts up his eyes, so there is no doubt who He was talking to and he starts his prayer with Father. God our Father, I thank you.

Thanksgiving starts and ends with God. Everything we get, everything we have received came from God. Everything we will ever get will come from Him. We receive nothing except what comes through his hand and flows to us.

Jesus models for us, that true thanksgiving has to be seen from this lens. Everything comes from God so all thanksgiving must first be offered to God.

Thanksgiving is not a natural virtue; it is a fruit of the Spirit, given by him.

Jerry Bridges

Now, thankfulness isn’t mentioned as a fruit in Galatians 5, but I agree with Bridges here, the only way we can be thankful is for the Holy Spirit to fill us and put in us a new heart.

The Holy Spirit in you produces the fruit of thanksgiving in your heart. In other words, I believe, you can’t even be thankful without God’s help. Thanksgiving itself comes from God.

Psalm 50:23 ESV

The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”

When we are thankful, it glorifies God. To be like Jesus, we will be people who first offer our thanksgiving to God.

Thankful For Relationship

The second key to thanksgiving is being thankful for relationships. Jesus prays, “Father, I thank you that you heard me.” Relationship is the basis of this prayer. He starts with the word Father. That’s a word that denotes relationship.

He says, I thank you that you heard me. In other words, God isn’t far off. He’s not ignoring us. He hears us when we pray. He’s listening for us. Jesus hear is saying this for our good. He says, I know that you always hear me, but I’m saying this on account of the people listening to me. He’s reiterating this for their sake and for our sake.

Jesus is thankful for God hearing him. He’s thankful that God isn’t like the idols and false gods in this world, that can neither hear you, see you or speak. They are deaf, blind and mute. God, our father, is not like that. He sees you. He hears you and he speaks.

Psalm 118:21 ESV

I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.

I am thankful for my relationship with God. I’m thankful that I can unload my burden on him and he takes it. I’m thankful that God doesn’t ignore my requests, like some of us deleting emails instead of reading them. God doesn’t wait three days to text back. He has “read receipts” turned on. Come on somebody!

You can be assured when you pray to him, just like Jesus, you can say, God I know you always hear me. He loves you and he is listening for you. Now this doesn’t mean he will always give you what you want, but it does mean he will give you what you need.

Which leads us to our third key to thankfulness…

Thankful For Answered Prayers

Another way to look at Jesus saying that God heard him, is that Jesus is saying he responded. He heard him and he did something about it. Jesus was deeply moved by the death of Lazarus and the grief of Mary and Martha.

God moved on their behalf. God was doing something that we couldn’t see. I find it interesting that Jesus says you heard me, past tense, but he had just started his prayer.

I think Jesus was praying silently this whole time. I think he was in a constant state of prayer and God was listening to what was going on in his Spirit and he responded to that.

Some of us have prayers that we have never verbalized. God hears those prayers as well. He is searches your heart. He knows you. He is listening. God answers your prayers.

Now, years ago Garth Brooks made a lot of money off a song that said one of God’s greatest gifts was unanswered prayers. And while I agree with the sentiment in the song, it’s not theologically accurate. God always answers your prayers. The answers might include no, not now or wait, but he always answers.

1 John 5:14 NIV

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

He has most certainly heard my prayers. And I’m thankful for all the prayers He has answered in my life. He has blessed me in amazing ways in just this year alone, but most certainly over the course of my lifetime. How about you?

Conclusion

I want to move into a time of testimony. I want to give you a chance to thank God. I want you to tell us what God has done for you this year. I want you to share what he has spoken to you or how you’ve grown.

Obviously I will ask you to please be mindful of how long you speak, I want everyone here, that would like to share, to have time to share. So be mindful of that. Ok? Who would like to go first?