Sometimes it is hard to draw out thanksgiving and praise
As Christians we are slow to be thankful to God
Consider Ephesians - giving thanks, always for all things
We need to grow in giving thanks
The Christian life is a growing faith
Example of a personal testimony - Dr Martin
Start with a Warning
We give thanks - by definition we are giving something
I am not self-reliant, I am giving something over to God
God is sovereign in all aspects of my life
I have a debt to God and I am giving thanks
In one sense, it is going to cost us
The more we give thanks the more we acknowledge our dependence on Him
Consider the 10 Lepers - only one came back to give thanks
We have been forgiven and made right with God
We should not be full of ingratitude
Watch Out
In every one of us there is a Pharisee
The Pharisee was a thankful man
In one sense he is thankful
Due to his Pharisaical spirit he went out unaffected by a spiritual encounter with God
Be careful to say: I am better than those, I am better than that
Christian Thankfulness
"Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" Eph 5:20
Always and in all things
There are times and seasons - do we find it difficult to always and in all things give thanks?
The context in Eph 5 is Christian living and walking before God (v2, 8, 15)
Paul is concerned for our Christians witness and testimony
Immediate context: is the Holy Spirit - "be not filled with wine ... but the Holy Spirit" (v18)
The Holy Spirit helps us in our worship (v19)
The Holy Spirit give thanks
The Holy Spirit to submit to one another before God (v21)
Our responsibility and duty is to be "giving thanks always for all things"
No let out clause
Totally comprehensive
Some things to be thankful for:
God will supply all our needs (Phil 4:19)
God always causes us to triumph in Christ (2 Cor 2:14)
His unspeakable [indescribable] gift (2 Cor 9:15)
In all things we can always thank God for His boundless and incredible mercy in the Lord Jesus Christ
We are born into trouble
Our life is not easy
It is always a battle against the flesh and the world
Example from Old Testament
Jonah 2:9 - "But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord."
'My heart is full of thanksgiving and praise'
Jonah is still in the belly of the fish when he prays this prayer
Daniel 2:23 - "I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of You, for You have made known to us the king’s demand."
The context: a death sentence
"So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them" (Dan 2:13)
Daniel could still praise God
Daniel 6:10 - "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days."
The context: anyway who prayed to God would be thrown into the den of lions
Daniel was still praying, worshiping and giving thanks to God
In difficult circumstances God is still sovereign and requires praise and thanks
Consider the life of the Lord Jesus Christ: He gave thanks to His Father
Luke 10:21 - "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight"
The context: the disciple returning from a mission
Jesus speaks to them about judgement and refusing the word of God
Things are revealed to His disciples but not to learned scholars
John 11:41 - "Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me."
The context: the death of Lazarus (and the delay of Jesus coming)
Jesus did this so that we might have increased faith and trust in God
How are we in thankfulness to God?
All the above examples are prayers
Are we a thankful person, are we a prayerful person?
Is your life described as a prayerful life?
We meet God exclusively in prayer
Two fundamentals: listening to the word of God and prayer
Do we trust the word of God?
Is our life characterised by prayer?
Are we more prayerful now that we were a year ago?
Is our prayer life intermittent?
Luke 22:19-20 - "And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Likewise He also took the cup"
The wrath of God is about to be poured out on Jesus for our sins
Yet hours before, Jesus is breaks bread (which is His body) and give thanks to God
Jesus is giving thanks to God for the wine, which is His blood
What an amazing Christ we have
In the midst of unbelievable suffering on the cross Jesus give thanks to God
What an amazing Saviour we have
Is He worth following, trusting, loving and thanking?
There is no-one like Jesus
Refuse to believe the truth at your peril
Not being thankful is a sign that we are not following God
He will not turn anyone away, He will welcome you
In everything and all the time be thankful to God
He is worthy of all our praise, offering thankfulness and worship
