Unthankful

“Thank You for This Food Which I am About to Receive”

An atheist was walking through the woods, admiring all the “accidents” that evolution had created. “What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!” he said.

Suddenly he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. Turning to look, he saw a seven-foot grizzly bear charging toward him. He ran as fast as he could up the path.

He looked over his shoulder and saw the grizzly was closing in on him. He was so scared that tears came to his eyes. His heart was pounding. He tried to run faster but then tripped and fell to the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up, but the bear was over him, raising its right paw to strike him.

At that moment, for the first time in his life, the atheist cried out to God.

Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent. Even the river stopped moving.

As a bright light shone on the man, a voice came out of the sky, “You deny my existence for all these years, teach others that I don’t exist, and even credit creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?”

The atheist looked directly into the light and said, “I would feel like a hypocrite to become a Christian after all these years, but perhaps you could make the bear a Christian?”

“Very well,” said the voice.

The light went out. The river ran. The sounds of the forest resumed. Then the bear dropped its right paw, brought both paws together, bowed its head, and spoke: “Lord, for this food which I am about to receive, I am truly thankful.”

In his book Gratitude Works, Robert Emmons talks about the importance of being thankful. He said, “Gratitude is about remembering. If there is a crisis of gratitude in contemporary life, as some have claimed, it is because we are collectively forgetful. We have lost a strong sense of gratitude about the freedoms we enjoy, a lack of gratitude toward those who lost their lives in the fight for freedom, and a lack of gratitude for all the material advantages we have. Furthermore, we don’t even realize that we have become forgetful because we can’t ever remember being different.”

It is to this table of remembrance that God calls us this morning. He teaches us through these elements to remember. Do you remember? Do you remember what happened to God’s Anointed King? Do you remember how He was crowned? Do you remember how we was honored? Do you remember that sinful hands crucified the Lord of Glory?

LORD’S TABLE:

the table appeals to our sense of touch

I John 1:1-3: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”

taste

hear the story- the gospel of Jesus Christ

smell

see

Romans 1:21—

So, “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.”

εὐχαριστέω- eucharisto- and the word means to “give thanks.” “to say grace at a meal.”

Did you know that Jesus did that?

Matthew 15:36: “And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.”

Matthew 26:27: “And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;”

I Corinthians 11:24: “And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.”

This glorious pattern of Jesus is so telling. When he fed the multitudes, he gave thanks. When He picked up the bread from the table, he gave thanks. There is just something about the bread that helps us remember to remember— TO GIVE THANKS!

Luke 6:35: “But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.”

II Timothy 3:1-6: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,”

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE WORLD CEASED TO BE GRATEFUL???

Romans chapter one is the seed bed of all Gentile sins. Like Genesis 1, where all of human history finds all origins, Romans 1 provides root reasons for the reprobrate rebellion of mankind.

Ephesians 5:3-4: “But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.”

tense of the verbs- all aorist tense- an action in the past; not sure when it began; not sure when it concluded; not sure of all the implications— we only know that it happened

we only know of the Gentiles that at some point, they ceased to be thankful.

have you ceased to be thankful?

what is the conclusion of unthankfulness?

covetousness-

wanting more than what God has provided

They Stopped Being Thankful for the Revelation of God

-God revealed as our Creator (1:18-20)

-God revealed as our superior (1:21) ton theon- THE GOD

There is a very good reason that human beings by nature do not want to magnify God with glory and adoration— because the glory of God detracts from our own glory! We love to have the preeminence!

3 John 9: “I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.” DESIRE TO BE FIRST!

It was John Piper who said, “We are cripples leaning on the cross-shaped crutch of Jesus Christ. We are paralytics living minute by minute in the iron lung of God’s mercy. We are children asleep in heaven’s stroller.”

They Ceased Being Thankful for the Gift of Marriage & Family

God revealed in human relationships...

1 Corinthians 11:25 KJV 1900

After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.