Thankful for…in spite of…regardless…

Good morning everyone. Take your Bibles with you, and turn to First Thessalonians chapter five. We'll be there in just a second. Grab one in front of you if you need to. First Thessalonians chapter five.

I don't know how many of you have spent time with young people, like 16, 17, 18 years old, as I've had the privilege of doing off and on for the last thirty years, teaching a Bible class at a local Christian high school. And one thing about spending time with young people that age, maybe just a little bit older as well, is that there are concerned, if they're walking with God, they're really concerned with one particular question, maybe more than any other. And that question is this: what is God's will for my life? And if you have spent time with young people in that age group, you know that specifically they they are targeting three issues in their life. What college should I go to? What career does God want me to have? And the most important one? Who does God want me to marry?

What is God's will for my life? I think all of us would recognize those three because of their import in our lives are crucial questions to ask. The young people shouldn't be the only ones concerned about God's will. All of us who follow Jesus should be concerned about God's will for our lives. Yet, when we begin to seek that will, we recognize that there aren't easy or quick answers to those specific questions. Who God wants you to marry, what career you should choose, and what college you should go to is not embedded in some Bible code. We recognize that.

We recognize that God has a much more majestic way of discovering His will. It's intimacy with the Father, walking with Him daily and spending time in prayer. Well, we recognize that there are times when God is in his word very specific about what his will is for our lives. And when he is so specific, we ought to sit up and pay attention to those things.

I want to draw your attention to a statement that Paul makes in first Thessalonians five, in which God is very specific about what his will is. Let's look together. "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Obviously, an appropriate and timely message, given that in four short days, we will be, most of us, if not all of us, gathered around the table, sharing a meal and hopefully giving thanks. So it is appropriate to talk about thanksgiving. And so it's appropriate to turn to a passage like this that says, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

But before I even begin to unpack and application as to how we do that, I want you to see that there are three things that just jump off this page for me, and maybe they did for you as well. The first is this. The statement, give thanks, is a command. It's an imperative. We need to get rid of right away the mindset, the Christian mindset, sometimes we have, that obeying Christ is almost like choosing the accessories in your car. I want this in my car, but I don't need this. And so I'll take this commandment because I think I can do this, but this particular commandment that Christ has made, I'm going to ignore. No, its not like that at all. When I give my life to Christ, I place myself under his authority. That means every command including this one. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Said a different way, if I am not thankful, then I'm being disobedient to this command. So that just jumped right off the page for me.

There's a second thing that jumped right off the page for me. And that is, that this is a habit of the soul. Give thanks is present active, meaning that it is a continuous activity. I am to continually give thanks. Now, that shouldn't surprise us, because that's the context in which Paul is speaking. You back up a couple verses, and he says, rejoice always. The next verse. Pray continually. The next verse, give thanks in all circumstances. He is talking about a habit of the soul.

That's not how we often see Thanksgiving. It's almost like we see Thanksgiving as a category in Family Feud. And the category is "Thanksgiving". The top answers are on the board. Fourth Thursday in November. Turkey. Pilgrims and Indians. Macy's parade. And football. That's not what Paul is saying here. He is saying, I want you to see thanksgiving as a habit of your soul, meaning that is something you do continually, not perfectly, but consistently. And I would ask you that question. Is it? Can you say.. maybe more important.. can the people around you say that as they observe your life, thanksgiving is a habit of your soul? Maybe we would see the answer to that in either the presence or absence of certain attitudes that are contrary to thanksgiving, like discontentment and greed. Is there something lodged in your heart this morning that says that there is something or someone out there, that if you had that something or that someone, you would be content and you would be thankful? It would be almost impossible if that were true, for you to see thanksgiving as a habit of your soul.

But there's a third thing that jumps out in this verse that's probably the most difficult. And that is, that thanksgiving is pervasive. He says give thanks in all circumstances. Now we get being thankful with the good stuff. We're blessed with a promotion. We look around the table this Thursday, and we have a great family or lots of good friends. Maybe in a couple weeks you'll get a bonus for Christmas, and you'll respond in gratitude. Good for you. But maybe when your life begins to parallel Job's, and you see a lot of things leaving or being taken from your life, and you're thankful. Let's be honest. That's a stretch.

And yet Paul says, give thanks in all circumstances. That means that if you and I are going to be fully obedient to this passage of Scripture, then we we need the Spirit of God to work in our hearts. We also need to see a higher purpose for the events in our lives, for what God is doing in our lives. And I want to help you get there. Here's where I want to take you. Gratitude, the best gratitude, is grounded in Jesus, not our circumstances. The best gratitude is grounded in Jesus, not our circumstances.

I need to tell you right up front, so that we're all clear, is that is a growth process. That doesn't happen overnight. That happens through discovering what God is actually doing in our circumstances. The circumstances that Paul says elsewhere, that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. So this growth process is when I get to the point where I recognize, after I look at my life and what God's been doing, the best gratitude is grounded in Jesus, not our circumstances.

In fact, you can give thanks in all circumstances, only if your eyes are fixed on Jesus. Why? Because he's the constant. He never changes. He's the same yesterday, today and forever. Your circumstances, it's not like that at all. They're variables. They change all the time. They're on the scale from awful to great, and sometimes in between. And they're unpredictable. You don't know which of those you'll have this week. Great or awful. Or how many of each. And how long they will stay. Circumstances are variables. And if you are going to base your thanksgiving on your circumstances, you are in for one miserable ride. Which might explain where you are right now, or some of the people around you, that just are so miserable, because they're basing their level of thanksgiving on their circumstances.

So how do we get there? Let me start at the lowest level. The lowest level is the expected response. If Paul says to give thanks in all circumstances, let's start here. Thankful for. Now what I'm doing is I'm short handing. What I'm saying is, it is the expected response when you are thankful, when I am thankful, for the good things that happen in our lives.

My brother David and his wife Anna have a much bigger family, and more grandchildren, more children than than we do. So they have a large gathering for Thanksgiving. Need to tell you that my sister-in-law is an awesome cook. And so with this large gathering, I'm sure there is room for more. I'll be out in the atrium, be happy to give you their address. And you can stop by if you like. I'm sure she wouldn't have any problem with that. But before the turkey is sliced. Before the stuffing and mashed potatoes is dove into, Anna has a tradition. You go around the table, and you say what you're thankful for. And it's got to be of substance. It's a great habit. If you don't do it, you just learned something in church. There it is. I've given you your pre-Thanksgiving routine. It's a wonderful habit. But you also recognize that it is expected on Thanksgiving. When good things happen, the expected response is gratitude.

And so you gather this Thursday, you say thanksgiving is appropriate. Because you begin to recognize exactly what James says. It's this. "Every good and every perfect gift comes from above." From God. "Coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows," like your circumstances do. You recognize that God has been incredibly good and generous with you. But it's not just a huge butterball that makes you thankful. And it's not just the fact that you're surrounded by family and friends. It's much deeper, it's spiritual.

It's what Paul was talking about in Romans eight when he said this. "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all. How will he not also along with him graciously give us all things?" In addition to the bounty and the generosity that he has displayed towards us, he has been so rich to our souls. Who else in your life has given you joy for sorrow? Who else in your life has given you comfort for pain? Who else in your life has given you peace for conflict? Who else in your life has given you forgiveness for guilt? The expected response is that you would be thankful for those things, because you recognize just how great and generous and good he has been. And so I would ask you, when you think about all the things that God has done for you and given you, when was the last time you really express thanksgiving for it?

And I guess there would only be a couple reasons why you wouldn't. The expected response would be that we would be thankful unless, unless you think you're entitled. I think maybe you wouldn't be so thankful if you actually thought you were entitled to it. That's the American way, isn't it? Life, our parents, our government. They owe us. I'm entitled to, because whatever. There's no way in the world that you and I are going to have a thankful spirit if we think that God and life owes us.

Do you remember the story in Luke seven about the ten lepers who were healed by Jesus? Of course you do. And only one came back to say thanks. And he was a Samaritan. You never make the Samaritan the hero of a story if you're telling the story to some Jews. But that means that the other nine who did not come back, they were Jews. So why did the nine Jews not come back and give thanks? Is it possible because there was a promise in the Old Testament that when the messiah came there, there would be healing in his wings? That was their messiah. If their messiah is coming with healing, than the people of God, well, they're entitled to that healing. So maybe they didn't come back and give thanks is because they thought they were entitled to it.

You're not gonna have a thankful spirit if you think God owes you. In fact, that's a total violation of the word grace. Everything that we've received from him is because of His goodness. Anything I received more than hell, is much more than I deserve. I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful for his grace.

And I guess you and I would be thankful unless we thought we were entitled, and secondly, unless we forgot that we've received. Maybe you have forgotten that you've received. You look at your life, and you begin to think about all the things that I've obtained. And you look around at the stuff that you have, all the things that you've acquired. You actually think it's because of your hard work that you received those things, rather than the generosity of God. And you forget that in order for you to do all that hard work, you have to have the energy. In order for you to have the energy, you have to have a heart pumping blood through your system, and air coming in and out of your lungs. And God doesn't owe you the next one of either. You've forgotten something.

Something that the Apostle Paul reminds us of in 1st Corinthians. Let me just lift out the middle part. Here's the question, rhetorical question. What do you have that you did not receive? What do you had that you did not receive? The answer, the only answer to that rhetorical question is nothing. Then why do you have an attitude that says otherwise? That's the only reason why you won't be thankful is because you have forgotten that you have received everything from his hand. And if you're not thankful for his generosity, it's because you have forgotten it.

So you recognize that to walk around and see people who have so much and they're not grateful, you don't expect that. The expected response in view of the generosity of God, is that we are thankful. And so if you are complaining, you need to take this first level to heart, and say, God replace that complaining with thanksgiving.

Let me move up a level, to the unusual response. Thankful in spite of. Thankful in spite of. This really does require the Spirit of God. I'm not going to pretend that it doesn't. Because this is thankful when the circumstances of life not only do not warrant thanksgiving, they actually warrant something else. This is the bad doctors report. The lost job. The severed relationship. The death of a loved one. And so it's important that we recognize that Paul does not say be thankful because of, but he says be thankful in. Tremendous difference. Because Paul does say, give thanks in all circumstances. So those things that I just mentioned, and whatever you're going through right now that is bad, require something that only the Spirit of God can produce.

And you and I might be able to pull out an exception clause to this give thanks in all circumstances, except the weight of Scripture leans heavily towards giving thanks in spite of the circumstances. I think of Job. If there's anyone who had a right to be thankful, it was Job, because of all that God blessed them with. And if there's anybody who has a right to complain because of all the things that God took away from him, it was Job. And yet he writes these words, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be praised."

I will praise him in spite of. I will be thankful in spite of the circumstances. And then he writes these words that make absolutely no sense to anybody who does not know God. Job 13:15. "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him." Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. Though he slay me, yet will I be thankful, in spite of the circumstances.

I can also think of Jesus. He called his disciples to have a very contrary response to persecution, when he said these words that are recorded in Matthew five. "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." So here's the response he gives when you're being persecuted. Rejoice and be glad. Give thanks, is what he's saying. For great is your reward in heaven. He has just given the secret of how we can be content and thankful in spite of our circumstances, when he says great is your reward in heaven. He is saying, base your thanksgiving on future grace. What's that? God has something much greater waiting for us then we're experiencing right now. And that's how I can be thankful in spite of circumstances.

Well apparently, the apostles must have been listening. Because just a few short years later, they were arrested by the leaders in Jerusalem in the temple. They were flogged. A violent beating, where often the victims backs were opened wide. They suffered that. And this is their response. "The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they have been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." Thanksgiving in spite of the circumstances.

I think of James. James sits down and writes his short letter to twelve tribes scattered. Not trying to start a political firestorm here. But in many ways, these people that he was writing to were refugees. Think of the emotional toll that is going on in their hearts. And this is the response that he calls them to have. James 1:2. "Count it all joy. Give thanks in all circumstances."

I think of the Apostle Paul. If there's never been anyone who has accomplished anything for the advancement of the gospel, it has been the Apostle Paul. And he tells us towards the end of the book of Acts, that he what he wants to do, is he wants to come to Jerusalem, then he wants to go to Rome and preach the gospel there. And then he wants to go, he tells us in Romans, he wants to go to Spain. He really wants to accomplish stuff for the gospel. Good stuff, right? But when he gets to Jerusalem, he's arrested on a bogus charge. And he's shipped off for his protection in Caesarea, where he will sit, I use the word rot, in a Caesarean prison for two years. Then he'll be carted off to Rome, where he will once again sit, I use the word rot, in a Roman prison for another two years. Four years Paul is out of commission. If it were me, I'd be enraged. I'd be embittered. I'd be pacing back and forth. What does Paul do? He sits down and writes four of the most beautiful letters that we have in the in the New Testament, including Philippians, where he opens on the very first page, and he says, I want you to understand this is how I'm looking at my circumstance.

Philippians one. "I want you know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel." Who says things like that? Someone who has learned to give thanks in all circumstances. So somebody who says something like we just saw, when he tells me to give thanks in all circumstances, he has the moral authority to say it, cause he lived it.

I also think outside of Scripture, I think of Matthew Henry. Now Matthew Henry was a 17th century British scholar and minister. He wrote a six volume commentary on the Bible that most pastors have on their shelves. I do. And one day Henry was robbed, he was mugged. And either that night or shortly after, he actually sat down and wrote in his journal as he reflected on what had happened to him. Now, before I show you what he wrote, I want you to think what you would write if you went to the Galleria Mall today and you were robbed. What would you write tonight? Would be anything at all like this? "I am thankful that he never robbed me before. I am thankful that although he took my wallet, he did not take my life. I am thankful that although he took all I had, it was not much. And I am most thankful that it was I who was robbed, not I who did the robbing." Who says things like that? People who have learned to give thanks in all circumstances.

I am not, do not walk out of here and say, he's saying this is easy. I'm not saying this is easy. I'm saying it is necessary. And the reason it is necessary is this: the gospel shines brightest when our response is something only God can produce. The gospel shines brightest when our response is something only God can produce. So, when you're sharing this Wednesday your turkey recipes with everybody and all of your plans, there is no, there is no distinction between a believer or non-believer. But when they walk they see you walk through cancer. When they see walk through hardship. When they see you walk through brokenness. And they see a response that only God can produce, that's when the gospel shines brightest. I need you to know that's exactly what God is doing. And you have to trust his hand, that that's what he's doing. That he is permitting those circumstances in your life, so that you can be a visible demonstration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And the way you are that is by allowing the Spirit of God to produce a response that only He can.

I think of Sue Vandette. Rick and Sue sit behind us in almost every nine o'clock service on Sunday. Probably some of the dearest friends that Pat and I have. This past Wednesday, Rick and Sue celebrated their tenth anniversary. But I remember back on North Forest Road, when The Chapel was there, about twenty-three years ago it was. I was standing next to the soundboard in the balcony, and Sue was standing next to me weeping inconsolably. Her husband had just walked out on her and her nine-year-old son. There were no words that I could give her. No words that were in my head as to how to help this person. But I have watched over these last 23 years God rebuild her life, and then ten years ago as I said, bless her with one of the godliest men I know in this world.

Now, I have seen, and this is not an exaggeration, I have seen her minister to hundreds of women in our divorce care ministry, and help them heal. And the reason God has used her for that, is because if I've heard her say this once, I've heard her say it a hundred times, "I hate my divorce. But I would have never come to know Jesus if it weren't for it." Who says those kinds of things? A person that allows God to work in their hearts, and produce a response that only he can do.

And the simple question is this: Will you, will I, begin to look at the circumstances of my life differently instead of asking, what is happening to me, which almost always produces bitterness and discontentment. And God, what are you trying to do in my life to make me more like Christ, so that people will see Jesus in me? The gospel shines brightest when our response is something only God can do.

But there's a third thing that I want you to see, and this is the best response. Thankful regardless. Thankful regardless. This also requires the work of God in our lives. And I only need one person to demonstrate this habit of the soul that is thankful whatever the circumstances, and it's the Apostle Paul. And I go back to the same book we just looked at, Philippians. Because when Paul writes chapter four, he's just as much in jail as he was when he wrote chapter one. And he writes something very interesting that I hope will draw your attention. Philippians chapter four. "I'm not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."

So, do you hear his language? Contentment sounds an awful lot like thanksgiving. It should. Here's how I see it. Thanksgiving is the activity, contentment is the posture of the soul. I'm content, and what comes out of my lips is thanksgiving. Paul says that he is content whether he is hungry or filled. If Paul says, I am content, whether I'm hungry or whether I'm filled, then he's saying something huge. Contentment has nothing to do with the circumstances. Absolutely nothing to do with the circumstances.

He has learned the secret of being content. Well, for heaven's sakes. Paul, tell us what it is. He does. The very next verse. "I can do all this through Him who gives me strength." Now we see that verse, and what a shame that verse is so often taken out of context. Here's how it sounds sometimes, as a minister, I hear these kinds of things. I'll just use me. So this Thursday, I'm going to go downtown, and I'm going to run in the turkey trot. Now, apparently, you don't know me. Because if you know me, you know that I can't run from here to that exit sign, unless there's a cinnamon roll promised to me at the end. It's actually back there. But I'm going to run the turkey trot, because I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Or, you know what, there's this great job offer. And you know what it's got great benefits, good pay, upward mobility. Great job. I have absolutely zero qualifications for it. But I'm going to apply for it, and I know I'm gonna get that job, because I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Or maybe some of you say, you know what I'm gonna call Brian and Christa Yak, and I'm gonna tell them that I want to sing a solo next Sunday in the praise team. I don't care which campus. I'm just gonna sing a solo. And other people have told you that man, you you offend cats on a fence post by the way you sing. But you're going to sing that solo because you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. That's not what Paul meant.

Paul says I have learned the secret of being content. Here it is. The all satisfying presence of Jesus. That's the secret of being content. The all satisfying presence of Jesus. Said another way, when Jesus is all you have, Jesus is enough. But you know what? You're going to have to pray a prayer that says, God, I recognize that sometimes my hands grip on to people and things a little tightly, and I'm too afraid to let go of that for fear that something bad will happen. But you're also not willing to come to the point where you recognized, that until Jesus is all you have, Jesus is enough. That's what Paul teaches, and I'm really glad that he unpacks that for us.

But I want you to understand something. From a personal standpoint, I have seen it played out every single day for the last four years in my home. This past Thursday, my wife had the opportunity to speak to some moms of homeschoolers. They wanted to hear her tell part of her story. I was the only guy in the room, but I was ok with it. Cause I wanted to hear her story. I love hearing her story. The story began on May 21st, 2011, when the police knocked at our door at two o'clock in the morning to tell my wife that her son, my stepson and Jonathan's brother was no longer with us. We were all, as you can imagine shocked. He was only 31 years old. But what shocked me most, and what she began to tell the ladies, is that within one hour of the policemen leaving, my wife had her Bible open, and she was pouring through the Psalms. She told the ladies on Thursday the Psalms but God used to minister to her. Because when you have nothing left, you recognize Jesus is enough.

Do you understand that the most preposterous thing you could ever say to my wife would be are you thankful that your son is gone? Because there isn't a single day that she doesn't wish he would walk through the door. But what she is thankful for, is that Jesus is enough. Jesus is enough. You don't have to clap for that, but I want that to hit your heart. Can you honestly say that? God knows your heart, and God knows my heart. Is there something or someone who stands in the way and is a worse god that you could ever served than the one we already have? But you're not relying on that person or that thing to bring you the satisfaction and therefore the thanksgiving directed at that only God deserves? Have you come to the point where you recognize that Jesus Christ is enough?

That's why we take communion, as we will in just a moment. In just a minute, I'm going to close in prayer, and there are stations up front, also stations in the atrium as well as in the East Worship Center. We just want you to go in just a moment to a station that's closest to you, and take the elements, and then go back to wherever you want to gather, like we've done this before. You gather with four or five or six people, celebrate the communion. Someone take a lead on that. Maybe close in prayer. But there are also at the table where you'll receive the elements, there are also cards. We want you to be thankful and write, express something that you're thankful for, and drop it in that box. Yeah, it's okay to be thankful for the butterball turkey, but I hope you've learned through this this lesson that maybe God wants to take my thanksgiving a little bit deeper.

You see, here's why it's so vital and so relevant for us to take communion right now. Because on that night before Jesus went to the cross, he took the bread, and he broke it and said this is my body which is broken for you. And the one who took the bread and broke it also said to us, I am the bread of life, and I will completely satisfy you. And so in just a moment, when you take that bread, remind yourself that you are connected to the bread of life, and he will completely satisfy. He will be enough. And the one who also took the cup, promised to be the water of life, and if you drink of him, you will never be thirsty again. So as you take that cup, a symbol of the blood that he shed for you, may it remind you that you go to him as the source of water the source of life and he will totally suffice and satisfy you.

My dear friends, Jesus is enough. So when Paul says, give thanks in all circumstances, I can do that for one reason. Jesus is enough. Father, we can give thanks in all circumstances, because in every circumstance, we can see Jesus. May you demonstrate in our lives, even as you have in this hour your presence among us. So that Lord, when things are good and we have so much to be grateful for, we can turn upward and say God, thank you for being so good. And when Lord, those events come and they will that rattle us, that shake us, the drive us to our knees, through that experience as difficult as it will be, we can discover exactly what Paul said, when he wrote that God's grace is sufficient. You see, there is not a circumstance Lord that we will face that ever removes the possibility of us realizing just how generous your grace is. I pray that we would see it this week. And that we would be thankful. And now as we celebrate communion together as a community, may this be a refreshing time of our souls, as we minister encouragement to each other and give you thanks. In Christ's name. Amen.

The ushers can help you, so please come and partake, go back, huddle with each other and take communion together.