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! Sermon Pasadena February 26 2000
Thankfulness
 
In one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies, he explores the sin of ingratitude.
You may remember the story of King Lear and his three daughters.
Two daughters flatter their father into giving them a third of his kingdom.
The third daughter realizing that her sisters are lying about how much they love their father in order to gain his possessions refuses to flatter her father.
He interprets this as ingratitude and divides her third between the other two.
Now the story unfolds to the point that King Lear is driven mad by the two daughters’ harsh treatment and ingratitude.
At one point Lear speaks of ingratitude as a marble-hearted devil.
The inability or refusal of human beings to be grateful or thankful is played out every day in destroyed and destroying relationships.
One of the hallmarks of our times is exactly this failing.
*2 Timothy 3:1-2*
* *
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
 
Paul remarked on this sin of ingratitude, when he wrote of the corruption of the human mind in the introduction to the book of Romans.
!! Romans 1:18-21
 
*18**For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown /it/ to them.
20For since the creation of the world His invisible /attributes/ are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, /even/ His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21because, although they knew God, they did not glorify /Him/ as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.*
* *
A lack of appreciation for God and the resulting thankfulness can take us away from Him and increasingly into our own selfish minds.
An example from the time of Jesus demonstrates that it is even possible to be the recipient of a direct and personal blessing from God and still be ungrateful.
In fact this example seems to say that it is uncommon to be thankful.
*Luke 17:11-19*
* *
11 Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.12
Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.13
And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”14
So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”
And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.15
And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God,16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks.
And he was a Samaritan.17
So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed?
But where are the nine?18 “Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”19
And He said to him, “Arise, go your way.
Your faith has made you well.”
We are commanded as followers of Jesus Christ to be people who express thanks, often and for many things.
*1 Thessalonians 5:16-18*
 
16 Rejoice always,17 pray without ceasing,18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
* *
*Hebrews 13:14-15*
 
14 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.15
Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
Colossians 4:2
 
2 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;
 
Philippians 4:6
 
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God…
 
Ephesians 5:15-21
 
15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.17
Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.18
And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.
The attitude of being grateful is one of the characteristics that separates us from the carnal mind.
To the degree that we think about what is we should be thankful for and then express it as the word of God commands, we will be growing.
Paul wrote to the church at Colosse about the nature and character of the converted person.
He said:
 
Colossians 3:12-17
 
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.14
But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.15
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.17
And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Here Paul mentions thankfulness three times in as many verses.
Verse 15: Thankfulness is associated with the peace of God that is to rule or arbitrate or decide every debate that we have with the world around us.
The BKC says at this point:
 
An attitude of gratitude contributes to an enjoyment of spiritual tranquility, whereas grumbling makes for inner agitation.
Verse 16: Thankfulness is associated with having God’s word dwelling in us.
We are to sing with grace in our hearts to God.
This is a phrase that the NIV translates:
 
…with gratitude in your hearts to God.
The phrase in Greek is : en te chariti; lit., “in grace”.
It can mean either (a) God’s grace, (b) graciousness in Christian singing, or (c) Christian thanks.
Verse 17: Thankfulness is toward God the Father through Jesus Christ.
Now Paul practiced what he preached – he was grateful for many things, as we shall see.
And there are many things in the Christian life to be thankful for.
Learning what they are is quite an education, because in ordinary life we are not taught to be grateful for the kind of things that the Bible reveals.
An example from Paul’s life is found in his letters to Timothy.
In the first letter he expresses gratitude for his calling and the ministry that Christ has given him:
 
1 Timothy 1:12
 
12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry…
 
In the second letter he is thankful to God for Timothy’s calling and ministry:
 
2 Timothy 1:3
 
3 I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day…
 
Paul was in prison and remembering with gratitude his helper, Timothy, whose godly characteristics were a joy to Paul.
So here is a question for us as we begin to draw out the lessons for ourselves:
 
Are we grateful to God for our own calling and that of others close to us?
When did we last thank God for someone else’s calling, let alone our own?
We’ve spent some time of late thinking about relationships – and here is another way we can enrich them – by consciously thinking through what it is we should be grateful to God for in other people.
And while the calling of another person is something to be profoundly thankful for, there are aspects of other people in terms of their helpfulness to us that we should not neglect.
For example:
 
If you have a wife who has chosen the role of housewife and mother over a career for a while – that is something to say thank you to her for.
If you have a husband who is willing to work so that you may have security and the ability to live reasonably well -- if he goes to work every day and works hard for you – that is something to be thankful for, and to tell him so.
If you are a child or a young person and you have parents who provide for you – that is something to be thankful to them for.
If you have children who help you and obey you, that is something to say thank you to them for.
It’s often in the expressing of gratitude that we fall down.
But as we have noted, we are commanded to be thankful and that means it has to be expressed.
Paul was grateful for the people of God.
In his ministerial role he did not treat the brethren as if they were his possession.
He knew that they were his to serve, but not to possess.
He was thankful for what God was doing in His people.
To the Romans he said he was grateful for the faith they exhibited everywhere.
Romans 1:8
 
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
When he traveled to Rome, he was met by the brethren along the way and was thankful and encouraged.
Luke records it this way:
 
Acts 28:15
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