Thanksgiving

This week we have the opportunity to celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite hollidays. I love the food, the time with family, the football, and taking a nap. Whether you have your annual traditions or not, I want you to think: “What if everyday were Thanksgiving.”

Imagine waking up everyday and having to prepare a meal or having to travel to see family, or having to eat all the good food including Turkey, sweet potato cassarol, pecan pie, etc.

Imagine your crazy uncle coming over or getting to watch NFL on TV everyday.

Imagine being able to take that glorious Thanksgiving nap every single day, you know, the one where you are in a turkey coma and you find a comfortable spot on the couch to snooze for a while.

If we think about celebrating Thanksgiving everyday, there would also be some problems. First off, we would all be huge, Second, it would probably get old after a while.

We experience Thanksgiving once a year and that is probably enough for some of you.

There is another aspect of Thanksgiving though besides the tradition, the food, and the family time that we take time for this time of year.

That is a spirit of thankfulness. We tend to take this season every year to reflect on what we are truly thankful for. If you have Facebook or other social media, people take time and list what they are thankful for.

In fact, some people take the challenge to post something they are thankful for everyday for the month of November.

That’s great, in fact I think it is important that we take time to remain in a spirit of Thanksgiving around this time. But what about the rest of the year?

The Bible talks about being thankful quite frequently. Taking a look at the OT and the NT, we see the idea of being thankful and showing gratitude multiple times.

I want to look practically at how we can take everyday to thank the Lord and rejoice in Him no matter what we are going through.

Although Thanksgiving is a joyful time, it can also be a very hard time for some.

You may be here this morning and you’re thinking “I don’t really have much to be thankful for this morning”

You may not be looking forward to Thanksgiving this year because you’re having a rough time at work or you might be dealing with an illness, or this might be the first Thanksgiving holiday you are celebrating without a loved one.

Whether you are excited about celebrating Thanksgiving or you are just not feeling it this year, God’s desire is for us to remain in a constant spirit of Thanksgiving.

This morning, I want us to look at a passage in 1 Thessalonians and discover how we remain in a spirit of Thanksgiving at all times.

1 Thessalonians 5:12–22 ESV

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

Background

The author of 1 Thessalonians is the Apostle Paul and it’s interesting to study the background and purpose for Paul writing to the church at Thessalonica.

Paul had been ministering to this area and he had to leave the area quickly because Christians were being accused of rebelling against Caesar, so Paul had to flee.

He had a heart for the church and sent Timothy to check on the church to see how it was doing. Timothy reported back that the church was remaining stable but that the church had experienced several sudden deaths and the church was afraid that those that died wouldn’t experience the second coming of Christ.

They had also suffered persecution and they were having a hard time dealing with it. The church was struggling that Paul who had originally shared the Gospel with them was no longer with them.

Paul wrote this letter under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to address some of the problems the church was going through.

We come to the end of his letter and read his final instructions.

He touches on respecting the ministers that are with them and remaining at peace with one another in the trials and difficulties.

I want to specifically focus on three verses this morning to show us how we can remain in a constant state of Thanksgiving as a believer.

I hope you’re taking notes this morning, you can find a pen in the pew in front of you and there is space for you to take notes on the back of your worship guide.

1. A spirit of Thanksgiving is joyful (v. 16)

After Paul encourages the church to do good to one another and to everyone, he moves straight into three basic principles for belivers’

The first one is to Rejoice always.

I want to be very careful with this idea because I think we can mistake it to look like a person who is always smiling and always happy. Maybe those people annoy you.

Joy is not necessarily being in a state of happiness. Joy has a much deeper meaning and a much deeper implication.

Take the Apostle Paul for example. Paul lived a life of hardship and struggle. He was constantly being persecuted because of his faithfulness in preaching salvation in Christ alone.

We read in the NT where Paul had to learn to rejoice in the hard times.

Being joyful always is rooted in the truth that no matter what our circumstance or situation in life may be, Christ loves us and is with us every step of our journey with him.

Joy is not something we somehow muster up ourselves but rather is being produced in us as we walk in the spirit daily. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit and is produced in us as we remain faithful to keep in step with the Spirit.

To rejoice always is not something we just naturally do.

I never had the chance to meet my grandmother on my mom’s side because she passed away of Cancer before I was born. Recently my grandfather handed me a tape of her giving her testimony at Wallace Memorial Baptist Church in 1986.

She had found out she had Ovarian Cancer and knew she didn’t have much longer to live, but she desired to live out her faith and make a difference for the Kingdom of God before the Lord took her home.

She shared the importance of being involved in a ministry the church had called “Evangelism Explosion” I’d say some of you probably have heard of it and maybe even participated in it.

As she was sharing the importance of living for the Lord and not neglecting to serve Him, she made a statement towards the end of her testimony that struck me.

“Because Christ lives, I can face tomorrow.”

That is joy. She knew that because of the good news of Jesus and the salvation she had through Him, no matter what she was going through including Cancer could keep her down.

Her joy was complete in Christ and she chose to put her confidence in Him during that difficult time in her life.

Joy is not only a feeling but Joy is a person. That person is Jesus.

Luke 2: 10 “And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people”

The only reason we can find joy in all circumstances is because joy is found in the steadfast love of Christ.

When joy is rooted in anything else, we will only find hopelessness and emptiness.

Culture will tempt us to find joy in financial status, job status, friends, likes on social media, entertainment, sports, you name it. Those things will not bring everlasting joy like Jesus Christ can.

When we suffer and go through trials and tribulations, the only way we will experience true joy is to remind ourselves of the truth that we are known by God through Christ and our identity is in Him.

As we gather as a church family, joy should be evident. We find joy in knowing we have been redeemed by God through Jesus and we gather to celebrate the joy we have in Christ.

As you go through your week, joy should be evident in the way you respond to stress and difficulties. One of the greatest testimonies we have is when life isn’t going the way we want it to, we decide to rejoice always.

That will point people to a savior who has the power to give new life.

So the first way we can celebrate a spirit of Thanksgiving is by rejoicing always.

2. A spirit of Thanksgiving prays without ceasing. (V. 17)

Paul’s second exhortation to the church at Thessalonica is to pray without ceasing or continually.

I remember being younger and reading this verse and thinking: “How in the world is is possible to pray without ceasing?” How can I spend my entire day in prayer.

This verse can easily be taken out of context and misapplied. Praying without ceasing as Paul writes means to always be in a spirit of prayer and not giving up.

Luke 18:1 ESV

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

The word for prayer as it appears in this passage has the meaning to approach God in a worshipful way.

Paul understood the importance of prayer and modeled a life of prayer for the believers, but he also taught on how essential prayer is for the Christian life.

Paul encourages the church time and time again to remain in a constant state of prayer.

Romans 12:12 ESV

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Prayer is not just something we are called to do in times of need, but prayer is a regularly practiced thing for beleivers’

Listen to what James Montgomery Boice says’ on prayer:

But prayer is even more than conversation. It is a privilege. We place ourselves in the will of God as best we know how. Then, as children approaching our mother or father, we request what we need, knowing that we shall receive it. Prayer is our response to Christ’s promise:

When we pray, we are proclaiming to the God of the Universe “We need you” “We are dependent on you and not ourself”

As we relate praying with a spirit of Thanskgiving, a passage that comes to mind is the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:9-13.

Matthew 6:9–13 ESV

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Praying without ceasing and maintaining a spirit of Thanksgiving is praying for God’s will to be done. Not ours.

We so often pray and ask for God to answer our prayers on our own timing when in all reality the all sovereign Lord who is over all things will answer our prayers on HIS timing.

We can be thankful this morning that God knows what’s best for us and He has a plan even when we doubt He does.

So spend time in prayer this Thanksgiving season because it is a way to communicate with God and thank Him for the many wonderful blessings He has given us.

3. A spirit of Thanksgiving praises God in all seasons. (V. 18)

Paul’s third encouragement for the believers in Thessalonica was to “give thanks in all circumstances.”

It is so easy to be thankful when our lives’ are going smooth. It’s so easy to be in a spirit of Thanksgiving when we are just coasting along and it seems like God is blessing us left and right.

But what about the difficult seasons? Sometimes the last thing we want to do is thank God.

It honestly sounds crazy to thank God for hard seasons but the good news for us this morning is that we have a God who uses the difficult seasons and times in our life to grow and strengthen our faith in Him.

Romans 8:28 ESV

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

What a glorious truth this morning to know that God is working and orchestrating all things to work together for good for his children.

I look back to some of the trials in my life and at the time when I was going through a difficult season, I was mad and sometimes plain depressed, but I look back on some of those things that God took away from me and praise Him now because I would not be where I am today without those difficult seasons in my life.

We know that the believers at Thessalonica were going through trials and tribulations for the faith in God but Paul encouraged them to be thankful in those trials because God is ultimately working His will in and through them.

You might be here this morning and it took every ounce of energy for you to get here today. You might be suffering from something emotionally or physically that just has you down.

You may be thinking about how you dread Thanksgiving this week because of your dark season. I want to encourage you this morning that God knows exactly what He is doing in your life.

Thank Him for the trials He is allowing you to go through because you may not see it or understand it now, but He is working all things out in your difficult season for His glory.

When we learn to give thanks in “All circumstances,” we point to a savior who is all knowing, and all powerful.

Giving Thanks to God is tied to worship.

Colossians 3:17 ESV

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

We worship God in every aspect of our worship service by giving thanks to Him. Think about when we worship through singing. We worship God by thanking Him for who he is and what he has done for us through His son Jesus.

When we worship through giving our tithes and offerings we are thanking God and giving back to Him what he already owns.

When we open up God’s word on Sunday mornings and everyday, we are thanking Him by worshipping Him through His Word.

When we thank God in “all circumstances,” and at all times, we are pointing to the fact He owns all things and every single blessing he gives us belongs to Him.

James 1:17 ESV

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

So be thankful in “all circumstances.” We will remain in a spirit of Thanksgiving when we learn to thank God not only in the good seasons in our life but also the hard and difficult seasons in our life.

The will of God the Father

Notice the last phrase in V. 18 “For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

That phrase ties all three of those statements together: “Rejoice Always, Pray without ceasing, Give thanks in all circumstances.”

It is so important to read that phrase and apply it because we know that participating in all three are not optional but stand at the center of God’s plan for those that are in Christ Jesus.

I love clear directions and God’s word is so clear that as believers, we are to continuously live the way 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 is telling us to live.

When we take these three verses seriously as a Christian, I would say that our live’s would be affected in so many ways:

We would experience true joy in a way we never have experienced joy before.

We would glorify God in a way that would point others to Him.

We would learn to rely on God rather than ourselves which would prepare us for anything life throws at us.

No matter how you feel this morning, no matter what your circumstances are this morning, God’s plan for our life is rejoice, pray, and give thanks.

The enemy will try and defeat us in our weakest moments. The enemy will put lies in our head like “you won’t make it though this time,” “Just give up” “No one is here for you.” “You are all alone,”

Let me encourage you that God is on His throne and His word tells us that He will never leave nor forsake us.

We can respond to that truth and live in a spirit of Thanksgiving all year.

Don’t limit what you are thankful for once a year, express grattitude to the Lord at all times and in all circumstances.

Christians have the privilege and the joy to celebrate Thanksgiving all year long.

If you have been redeemed by Christ this morning, you have so much to be thankful for even if you are going through a difficult time.

Jesus did something for us that we could never do ourselves. He saved us and gave us new life. We now have assurance of salvation and eternal life.

If that’s all we have good in our life, then that is more than what we need or deserve.

The fact that we can rejoice, pray, and give thanks is a blessing that not all people get to experience. That is why we must share the hope that is in us with others so that they too can worship God and enjoy a relationship with Him.

Take time this week to reflect on what you are thankful for but most importantly take time to worship God through rejoicing, praying, and simply giving thanks.

Don’t keep the joy you have in Jesus to yourself, share it with someone. You never know the power that simply sharing why you are thankful for a difficult season in your life can do in helping someone deal with pain and suffering in their own life and point them to a God who loves them and wants to have a relationship with him.

In closing, we are called to maintain a Spirit of Thanksgiving all year long, not just in November.

We can do this by being joyful, pray without ceasing, and being thankful in all seasons.