Give Thanks Always

Scripture: Ephesians 5:14-20

Ephesians 5:14–20 KJV 1900

14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. 15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Introduction

So many came around Jesus because they knew Him to be the one that could perform miracles in their lives. They knew Him as the Miracle worker. And for this reason people of all sorts grouped around Jesus. Acts 10:38 records this "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him."

Acts 10:38 KJV 1900

38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Jesus was loved by a lot of people and they could not get enough of Jesus. He always healed those who had faith and in this midst the sick will be healed, the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will walk away healed, the dead will rise and people would hear the good news from Him.

Jesus was standing at the tomb of Lazarus who had died for four days and He lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank you that You have heard Me."

In this place Jesus started His prayers by giving God thanks in the midst of all the people and the dead man came out whole.

The book of Acts 16: 16-26

Acts 16:16–26 KJV 1900

16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: 17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. 18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. 19 And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, 20 And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, 21 And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. 22 And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. 23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: 24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. 25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.

The disciples gave thanks to God by praising Him in their pain.

Jesus is giving us an example to follow and that is to give thanks in all things. And as we do that He will bless us with more than we can imagine.

Give thanks!!

God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us - Ephesians 3:20

His power within us will rise up in us to be able to give thanks in our time of pain.

Luke 17

Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village , there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!". So when He saw them , He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priest." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? "Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?" And He said to him, "Arise, go your way Your faith has made you well,"

The apostle Paul had learned to give “thanks always for all things,” even in the most unpropitious circumstances. This man who, with his companion, sang hymns to God at midnight in the cramped discomfort of a Philippian jail, had earned the right to recommend the same attitude of heart to others. So in his letter to the Ephesians he says, “Be filled with the Spirit…giving thanks always for all things unto God” (5:18-20)

I. The Standard of Thanksgiving

II. The Substance of Thanksgiving

III. The Secret of Thanksgiving

I. The Standard of Thanksgiving

“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (5:20). This standard of thanksgiving for all things is a uniquely Christian concept. In fact, the very work “thanksgiving” has as its heart the idea of “grace.” By nature we are devoid of the grace of God, and therefore know nothing of true thankfulness Romans 1:21 “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

But when we turn to God in repentance, receive Christ Jesus our Lord as Savior and experience the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit in our human personalities, we become possessed of the grace of gratitude which gives thanks always for all things to God. Our standard of thanksgiving from this point onwards becomes:

1) God-Exalting– Paul conceived of God as the giver of every good gift. Addressing the Athenians on Mars hill, he could says: Acts 17:24 “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;” and James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” True gratitude flows from contemplating all that God is in Himself, and all that He has done on behalf of the human race.

2) Christ-Revealing– Thanksgiving is properly rendered to God in the name of Christ, not only because He is the One through whom we approach God, but also because He Himself constitutes the crowning subject of our thanksgiving. In other words, true thanksgiving is confessional. Hebrews 13:17 “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.”

3) Time-Investing– Paul has already said, “See that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil…giving thanks always for all things” (5:15-16, 20). The implication is obvious: when we do not “redeem” or wisely invest our time, our minutes, hours, days, weeks, and years, we are not living lives of thanksgiving—a solemn thought, when we reflect on the proportion of time we spend in grumbling or complaining.

A young Vietnamese woman who fled the communist regime and brought her four children to the United States carries on day after day, year after year, continuing to hope and pray that her husband, a prisoner of the communists, will ultimately be freed. In the meantime, in addition to the responsibility for their children, she cares for other Vietnamese children, sharing her meager income with them, takes courses at a junior college, and works part time. It is not only what she manages to accomplish, however, it is the attitude of thankfulness she exhibits to God and to those who try to help her—even in the face of staggering disappointments and seeming setbacks. She has not allowed her personal sadness to interfere with her thankfulness or her concern for others.

When the New England colonies were first planted, the settlers endured many privations and difficulties. Being piously disposed, they laid their distresses before God in frequent days of fasting and prayer. Constant meditation upon their distress kept their minds gloomy and discontented and even made them disposed to return to their Fatherland, with all its persecutions. When it was proposed once again to appoint a day of fasting and prayer, a plain old common-sensed man arose in the meeting, saying he thought that they had brooded long enough over their difficulties and that it was high time they should consider their mercies. After all, the colony was growing strong, the fields were increasing in harvest, the rivers with fish, the woods with game, and the air with sweetness; but beyond all this, he pointed out, their wives were healthful, their children were dutiful, and now they possessed what they had come for, namely, full civil and religious liberty. So he recommended an amendment to the resolution for a fast and proposed in its place a day of thanksgiving. As we all know, that day has now become part of the very life and culture of the American people. But for the Christian, one day a year is not sufficient!

4) All-Embracing- If ever there was a man who endured hardships for his Lord and Master is was Paul the apostle. He had been a regular jailbird for Jesus Christ, he had fought with beasts at Ephesus, he had been ragged out of the city of Lystra as already dead, he had suffered shipwreck at sea, he had experienced beating with rod and scourge—and yet he could say, “Giving thanks always for all things unto god.” Like his Master before him, he could lift his heart in gratitude to his God, whatever his circumstances.

“One night, during the Chapman-Alexander meetings, a poor paralytic was wheeled down the aisle and placed just before the platform. In the preliminary part of the service, Mr. Alexander caught sight of him, and said, ‘What is your favorite hymn?’ He immediately answered, ‘Count your blessings!’ There was not wail, no complaint from the poor cripple; just a vivid sense of the goodness of God”

Count your blessings, name them one by one;

Count your blessings, see what God hath done;

Count your blessings, name them one by one;

Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.

II. The Substance of Thanksgiving

“Be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks…unto God” (5:18-20). Paul makes it quite clear in these verses that the giving of thanks is not something abstract or nebulous; on the contrary, it is both an activity and attitude of life which is biblically informed and spiritually specific. In simple language, this life of thanksgiving involves:

1) Speaking the Truth of God – In a corresponding passage in the Epistle to the Colossians, Paul adds the words “teaching and admonishing” (3:16). One of the greatest gifts of God to man is that of conversational fellowship. The ability to communicate our thoughts in language that can be understood is one of the greatest potentials for good or evil.

2) Showing the Joy of God – “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks (5:19-20). Paul obviously has both worship and witness in mind. In describing worship, the apostle categorizes three expressions of praise—psalms, hymns and songs. With the worship there is also the witness of joy, such as David expresses in Psalms 40:3 “And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.”

3) Sharing the Love of God – Only a thankful life can truly express the love of God. Thanklessness and lovelessness are fundamentally synonymous. So Paul presses home the fact that our human relationships should be deepened by our thankful and loving lives. (Show this works out between pastor and people, husband and wife, parents and children, employers and employees.

III. The Secret of Thanksgiving

Paul uses the law of contrast to show his readers that the secret of true thanksgiving and joyfulness is not to be found in physical stimulants, but in the spiritual reality of the fullness of God the Holy Spirit. This fullness of the Holy Spirit implies three things:

1) The Incoming of the Holy Spirit – before the Spirit can fill our lives He must enter our lives by way of that miraculous operation we call regeneration. On the day of Pentecost, Peter described how this would take place. Speaking to men and women who were convicted of their sins he said, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). God’s prerequisite for His fullness is still the same.

2) The Infilling of the Holy Spirit – Dr. Handley Moule’s rendering of this is beautiful. “Be filled with a fullness habitual, normal, always supplied and always received, in the Spirit.” The Bishop then goes on to say that this fullness of the Spirit is “a state wholly unattainable by training, by reasoning, by human wish and will. It is nothing less than God in command and control of man’s whole life, flowing everywhere into it, and out from it to all around.”

3) The Inspiring of the Holy Spirit – Only the Holy Spirit can truly inspire the standard and substance of true Christian thanksgiving. To attempt to work up thanksgiving by own efforts is not only a frustrating experience, but is also totally unacceptable to God and insipid to our fellow man. Nothing is more pathetic than to hear someone trying to be thankful without any motivation or inspiration. But when the Holy Spirit fills and floods the life, thanksgiving becomes both inevitable and irresistible.

Conclusion

Let us reemphasize that for the Christian, Thanksgiving Day is every day. This is why God created us, and it is for this purpose that He has blessed us with His grace and mercy. When we know what it is to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit, we can truly be thankful for everything.

I. Thankful to Jesus for what He has done.

A. That He was born as scripture said. (Isaiah 9:6-7)

B. That He died to save us. (I Corinthians 11:24-25)

C. That He was Resurrected. (Ephesians 1:20; Acts 1:11)

D. That He sent the comforter. (John 14:26)

II. Thankful to Jesus for what He is doing.

A. He will be with us always. (Matthew 28:20)

B. He will never leave us nor forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)

III. Thankful to Jesus for what He will do.

A. That He will rapture the church. (I Thessalonians 4:14-17)

B. His return is a literal, future, and physical return. (Revelation 1:7; Acts 1:11)

C. He will raise us from the dead. (2 Corinthians 4:14)

D. His return will be glorious! (Revelation 19:11-16)