Counting Your blessings

Introduction: Have you ever gotten a present that you didn’t like but you didn’t want to be rude, so you faked gratitude.

Still the voice of our parents probably still on repeat in our heads: “What do you say?”

Thank you. Even thought it’s a fruit cake. (Unless you are like my wife and you actually like Fruitcake)

But let’s be authentic: On the one hand thanksgiving and gratitude is a choice. But it’s easier to fake thanksgiving than to be truly grateful.

True gratitude doesn’t need to be faked because it wells up inside of you and overflows. Sometimes it’s a gift. Other times it’s a kind word in the midst of a storm of life.

And let’s be honest some things that we aren’t initially grateful for wind up being lifesavers in the end.

You may have wanted the GI Joe aircraft carried that took up the entire room and took hours to put together, but those gloves and winter jacket comes in handy when the temperature takes a plunge.

Now, it’s one thing to be fake your gratitude, but how often do we simply ignore those we have to be grateful for.

How often do we thank our parents for loving and caring for us and making sure we have the things we need to be successful.

And let’s not forget to be grateful to God.

I was thinking recently about how often God steps in and saves us and we don’t even know it. God is at work all around us and so often our eyes are closed to what He’s doing.

Someone once told me that God protects babies and idiots. And I’m not baby anymore.

Sometimes we can look back over our lives and see, in hindsight, where God may have protected us.

If there is anyone we ought to be thanking, it’s the God of the universe. And perhaps no one in the whole Bible is truly grateful as the Apostle Paul.

Transition to the Text: Turn with me in your Bibles to Ephesians 1:3-10. Paul was someone who was truly grateful to God. Paul knew that he didn’t deserve God’s blessings.

Remember Paul said in

1 Timothy 1:12–14 ESV

12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Paul talks more about this in Ephesians 1:3-10.

Introduce:

Authentic Principle: Authentic Principle: Be truly grateful to God for His Blessings.

Read:

Ephesians 1:3–10 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Authentic Principle: Be truly grateful to God for His Blessings.

1. For choosing us. (Ephesians 1:3-6)

Explanation:

We’ve talked about on many occasions Paul’s reaction to God choosing him. Or as Paul talked about in 1 Timothy 1:12, he was appointed to “his service.”

He knew he didn’t deserve it, so his response to God’s grace in choosing a sinner like him was true and authentic gratitude that crescendoed into praise.

He again to the Ephesian church, we see it again:

Ephesians 1:3 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

Illustration: This idea of choosing brings back those memories from middle school when the kids on the playground are picking teams for basketball. And, when you aren’t good at basketball like me, there is the fear that you’ll won’t get picked. The team with the last pick doesn’t choose you.

They are stuck with you. And you’re probably not getting the ball.

Some of us, for whatever reason, feel like God is stuck with us because we prayed a prayer. Maybe we think of it as a magical formula.

But how does it change our attitude when we accept that God chose us....willingly....without compulsion…because He wanted us.

Application: When you are chosen, you act differently. Get into the school you apply to. Get that job you apply for. Ask of lovely girl to marry you and she says yes. Or on the other side of that where a handsome young man pops the question.

I’ve always been grateful to have been chosen. Especially to God.

2. For saving us. (Ephesians 1:7-8)

Explanation: Now Ephesians says God chose us before the foundation of the world. One problem. we were still going to have sin in our lives.

Sin separates us from a holy and righteous God. So even if He chose us, He still needed to save us from our sin. Now that wasn’t going to be easy.

Sin had drastically messed up our world and our humanity.

To make up for the mess Adam and Eve got us into was not going to be easy. If it were we could do it on our own. But we can’t.

Only a man could take our place.

Only a perfect man could take our place.

Only God is perfect.

Therefore, God would have to become man, live a perfect life, and willingly give himself for sinful people.

You might ask, why would God do that? Especially when he didn’t have to?

Well simple. He chose us and was determined to make it so we could be with him forever.

Titus 3:5 ESV

5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

Illustration: There is perhaps nothing more distressing than being in need of saving. Being in a situation that you can’t get out of on your own. Needing help. That’s a fearful situation. Desperate and discouraging.

But perhaps even more we are told in this life to never depend on someone else. We are told to rely on #1.

And many of us have are especially afraid to rely on a God who we can’t see.

For some reason we are predisposed to believe that God isn’t going to come through for us.

It’s true that God doesn’t always say yes to our requests.

Application: Perhaps the first thing to acknowledge is that we need saving. Our sin separates us from God. But thanks be to God that He provided a way for us to be saved from our sin…saved from ourselves.

Be truly grateful to the one who saved you. And what is your response to God’s grace?

Faith. Believe Him when He says you are saved.

Ephesians 1:7–8 ESV

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight

That’s something to be truly grateful for.

3. For sharing His plan with us. (Ephesians 9-10)

Explanation: Paul has elsewhere told us that God saved him (and us) for a purpose.

God shared the mystery of his plan those he chose and those he saved. We are not just saved for eternal life in the next life. We are save to become partners in God’s plan for the world.

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

God has planned to unite all things in Jesus. And our invitation is to be a part of God’s great plan to tell the world about how God has chosen us, adopted us, blessed us, redeemed us. This is great news that we should want to be a part of.

When we think about missions in general, not everyone is invited into the inner circle of the know.

Loose lips sink ships.

God has told us his plan. Because nothing can stop his plan. He’s told the world. He is in the business of saving sinners and uniting the peoples of the world in Jesus.

Illustration: Have you ever been watching a movie and catastrophe hits. I love catastrophe movies. They are usually bad, but I can’t help myself.

Armageddon, Deep Impact, The Core, 2012. This new movie coming up called Moonfall…I love those movies. My wife hates, them so I’ll be watching them alone…as usual.

But in the midst of utter despair, there is usually this one person that nobody suspects. Low level tech or aid he comes up with a plan.

And in the really good (or bad depending on your perspective) movies they actually say, “I have a plan.” And the more ridiculous the better right. Because we don’t go to the movies to be entertained by rational arguments. Or by logic. We want ridiculous. And maybe you’ve also heard the movie admit that it’s ridiculous and then say, “That’s why it’s going to work.” Ok, I don’t believe you but I’m in.

Want to know something? God’s plan is pretty ridiculous from a human perspective.

God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. Which means God knew that the fall was inevitable and that Adam and Eve would sin. So before he even created them, he had a plan to save them. So the cross was always plan A. It wasn’t a backup plan.

The jewish people realized just how ridiculous God’s plan was to save mankind which is why most of them rejected it from the outset. The Son of God (which they picked up on as claiming to be God) dying for our sins. God is the one who is offended. Why would He take the penalty for them? Doesn’t make sense. It also doesn’t make sense if you think a group of people made it all up.

In any story, there is a bad guy. Sometimes it’s Thanos, other times it’s a big asteroid racing toward earth. In this story, who do you think is the bad guy? Satan? Sure. Demons sure? That guy who couldn’t figure out while he was waiting in life for the last 5 minutes, but has to take another 5 minutes. In God’s story, we often think of us as the good guys. But that’s not the way it starts. We may be chosen, predestined, adoption, redeemed. But before we are in Christ, we are enemies of Christ.

Romans 5:10 ESV

10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

Perhaps one of the most ridiculous parts of God’s plan, is that he choses his enemies to be His children.

Application: And once you, by faith, join in the family of God, you join the mission. And he shares His plan with you.

Response: How will show that you are truly grateful to God?

Summation:

Authentic Principle: Be TRULY GRATEFUL to God for His BLESSINGS.

1. For CHOOSING us. (Ephesians 1:3-6)

2. For SAVING us. (Ephesians 1:7-8)

3. For SHARING His plan with us. (Ephesians 9-10)

Response: How will you SHOW that you are truly GRATEFUL to God?

Closing Illustration:

Sometimes we just need some perspective. We can get so caught up on things we worry about. discouragement, disrespect. We can feel like God has overlooked us.

While we never want to diminish our own significant problems, but meeting someone who really has it worse than you has a way of bringing perspective.

And let’s face, it when we look at how much God has blessed us, it can help us to bless others.

Don’t just count your blessings to see how great you are.

Be blessed to be a blessing to others.

But let’s not forget to be truly grateful for what God has done for us.

Let us be thankful that God has saved us, predestined us, adopted us, and redeemed us for himself..

Jesus died for your sins and my sins because He loves His own people and will spend eternity with us in heaven. Too often we think of Jesus as a reluctant savior who

For all of us, let us show our gratitude to God for his many blessings in our lives.

If that’s you, today I want to guide you in a prayer of thanksgiving, confession and repentance. There is nothing magical about this prayer. If you don’t believe it, it won’t matter.

But if you are feeling the Holy Spirit calling you to something more, you can use this prayer to start your own prayer.

God, I’m so grateful for what Jesus did for me on the cross. I know that he took the penalty of my sin and willingly died so that I didn’t have to.

I confess my sin to you as the one I have offended. Knowing that I deserve your wrath I look to the cross of Jesus as He took my sin and died in my place. Because of this, I know your wrath is satisfied. Thank you God for this and all the other blessings in my life.

Cleanse me of my lingering sinfulness and help me to live for you from this day forward as I follow Jesus and shine His light through words and actions to a desperate world that needs His peace. Thank you God for the life and purpose I have in Christ Jesus.

In Jesus name amen.

If today you are accepting the invitation to follow Jesus, we’d love to hear from you today so we can help you being that journey of faith.

Lord’s Supper:

Invitation: So, my fellow believers, we come together this morning to eat and to drink so as to remember who we are in Christ, strangers in this world. And so I invite all those who are Christians (and only those who are believers in Jesus Christ) to partake of this gracious meal that has been prepared and provided for you, for your growth in grace.

At the heart of the Christian life is active trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and his sacrificial death for sin.

In this symbolic meal, originating from Jesus’s Last Supper with his disciples, we express and strengthen our trust in him, as we eat and drink with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The Lord’s Supper is an outward and visible sign of the grace shown to us in the death of our Saviour. As we share the bread and the wine together, we are invited to feed on him in our hearts by faith with thanksgiving. We are faced again with God’s love for the unworthy and are strengthened by faith in the one whose body was given and whose blood was shed for us.

Come then with heartfelt repentance and genuine trust in the Lord Jesus, recognizing the significance of sharing this way.

If in good conscience it would not be right for you to participate, please use this time to reflect on God’s love for us in Christ.

Prayer: Almighty God, we come to you this morning admitting our unworthiness to partake of this holy meal. And yet, with confidence, sincerity, truth, and joy, we come to this Supper through the sacred blood of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. We praise you for your mercy and grace, and ask you through this bread and cup to commune with us now as we commune with you and one another. Amen.

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 ESV

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Prayer for the Bread: Almighty God, you have written in your Word, “Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor. 5:7b–8). We come to you this morning admitting our unworthiness to partake of this holy meal. And yet with confidence, sincerity, truth, and joy, we come to this Supper through the sacred blood of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

We praise you for your mercy and grace, and we ask you through this bread to commune with us now as we commune with you. Amen.

Taking the Bread: Jesus said: “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Prayer for the Cup: Likewise Jesus prayed for the cup: Our gracious God, we thank you this day for the new covenant, the covenant sealed through the blood of Jesus Christ. And we drink this cup in remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins, asking him even now, through the Spirit, to commune with us as we commune with each other. With grateful hearts, O Christ, we drink to you and of you. Amen.

Taking the Cup: Jesus said: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

R. Kent Hughes, The Pastor’s Book: A Comprehensive and Practical Guide to Pastoral Ministry (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015), 430-440.

Week 11 of 2020-2021 Sermon Series: Authentic

Truly Grateful: Count Your Blessings

Ephesians 1:3-10

Authentic Principle: Be TRULY GRATEFUL to God for His BLESSINGS.

1. For CHOOSING us. (Ephesians 1:3-6)

2. For SAVING us. (Ephesians 1:7-8)

3. For SHARING His plan with us. (Ephesians 9-10)

Response: How will SHOW that you are truly GRATEFUL to God?

Opening Discussion:

How often do you think about things you have to be grateful for? How often is the object of your gratitude God?

Sermon:

Why is it significant that Paul says that God “chose” us? How does this conflict with the idea so often put forth that we “choose” God?

What does it mean to be adopted into the family of a king? How might understanding this help you to live thankful?

Why is it so important to understand that Jesus is not a reluctant savior, but went to the cross willingly according to His great love for us?

What does it mean that God’s will is a mystery? Why is it so difficult for us to be ok not knowing this great mystery?

How do words like “chose,” “predestined,” “adoption,” “redemption,” and “forgiveness” stir in us a grateful heart?

Application:

What is one thing that stood out to you in the sermon that you can begin living out today?

How would your life be different if you focused more on the things you have to be grateful for as opposed to you are upset about?

Take some time and list all of the things from for which you are thankful to God?

Spend time in prayer thanking God for his many blessings in your life.

How might you use November and it’s emphasis on Thanksgiving to create an ongoing habit of counting your blessings in your day to day life?