Sermon Tone Analysis

The Bible teaches that God gives some good gifts to every human being.

Jesus said that God /maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust/ (Matt.

5:45).

Being the sovereign of the universe, he can dispense his gifts as he pleases.

No mere man has a just claim to anything.

But there is a huge difference in the way that men receive God’s gifts.

Unbelievers, no doubt, enjoy the ones that they find to their liking.

A successful career, financial security, a quiet and peaceful home are always welcome.

Yet, they do not and cannot give God thanks for these things because they do not believe that he gave them.

And if they cannot thank God for the good things in their lives, the thought of thanking him for those providences that we might call calamitous is entirely out of the question.

Believers, on the other hand, consider God’s gifts in a completely different spirit.

The Word of God summons us to give thanks.

In our text this is a command (εὐχαριστεῖτε).

Sometimes we need to be reminded that should be spontaneous are also required.

In this verse, the apostle encouraged the brethren in Thessalonica to continue doing what they were already doing.

His word encourages us to do the same.

Now, here is the challenge.

Note that Paul’s command to give thanks is not limited to thanking God in those circumstances that we find agreeable and pleasant.

The phrase /in everything/ permits no exceptions.

God expects us to acknowledge all of his gifts with a full appreciation for the fact that they come from a God who loves us and meets all of our needs through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Everything is Fine

To show how this works out, this evening I’ll present three scenarios to you for your consideration.

In the first scenario everything is going well.

The second is a mixed bag —some things are okay and others are not.

In the third things couldn’t possibly get worse.

Here’s the first.

You have all the temporal blessings you could ever want.

Your spouse loves you dearly, and your children are the most well behaved kids in the whole town.

Your in-laws think you’re the best thing since sliced cheese.

You really like your job.

Your home and car are the envy of all your neighbors, and your income is more than sufficient to live comfortably.

But even more importantly, you have spiritual blessings without number.

Your devotional life is great.

Everything at church is wonderful.

You and your family are growing in the Lord by leaps and bounds.

You’re happier, more content and more at peace with God and man than you’ve ever been before.

Nothing whatsoever is wrong in your life.

As a Christian, you understand that God is sovereign and that all these wonderful blessings come from him.

James wrote,/ 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/ (Jas.

1:17).

So, Paul’s command to give thanks to God in everything definitely applies here.

The problem is that this scenario is not very common and perhaps never occurs at all.

We have no examples of it in the Bible.

There is not one single person in Scripture whose life can be described like this — not Abraham, not Moses, not David, not Jeremiah, not Peter and not Paul.

The Word of God says unequivocally that /all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution/ (II Tim.

3:12).

Jesus even warned those who do not experience opposition.

He said, /Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets/ (Luke 6:26).

Think about it this way.

When you come to church on Sunday, how many people ask you how you’re doing or how your week has been?

Probably quite a few.

I’ll bet that most of the time you respond by saying something like “Everything is great” or “Couldn’t be better.”

But how is that really true?

Even as you’re saying that you have no problems, you’re thinking about a sick parent, a wayward child, the impending loss of your job or the fact that you haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in the last three weeks?

Are you really giving thanks to God /in everything/ if you’re denying some of his providences?

Now, please don’t misunderstand what I’m saying.

I’m not suggesting that you pour out all your soul’s anguish every time someone asks you how things are going.

Not only are there some things that should not be made public, but most people have trouble being around chronic whiners.

Rather, I am encouraging you to adopt a different perspective.

You can still say that everything is great IF you welcome “disaster” into your life and give thanks to God for the blessings that will inevitably come out of it, even though you may not know at the time what those blessings might be.

Do you rejoice in the fact that it is by God’s wise and good decree that your mother or father is sick or that you haven’t slept well in several weeks?

Having a sovereign God in control means that all things, including bad things, must work together for your good (Rom.

8:28).

The question is, Do you really appreciate what this means?

Do you live it?

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Some Good, Some Bad

In the second scenario, some major problems arise.

Perhaps you discover that one of your children has been using illegal drugs or maybe your company is on the verge of bankruptcy.

To make matters a little worse, let’s say that two or three such problems slap you in the face instead of just one.

Are you still required to give thanks?

After thinking about this over a period of time, you realize some very important things.

First, you come to understand that what you are experiencing is not unique to you.

In fact, most Christians struggle with problems that are not too much different than yours.

So, if your problems free you from the obligation to give thanks to God, then so do the problems of everyone else.

Paul’s words, then, would apply only to those who have no problems at all, but this cannot be correct since they were written for every believer.

All Scripture is profitable not only for doctrine, but also for instruction in righteousness so that you might be equipped for every good work.

One of those good works is giving thanks to God for every blessing that he brings into your life.

Second, as you think about your situation a little more you come to realize that the blessings God has given you far outnumber your trials.

Look at all the blessings you have in Christ — full redemption, the forgiveness of all your sins, the imputation of his perfect obedience as if it were your own, perfect peace with God, access to the throne of grace in prayer, and the hope of everlasting life.

He also sends his Holy Spirit to dwell in you.

You have the Word of God as a lamp to your feet and light to your path.

And further you still have numerous temporal blessings.

Two or three problems, however devastating they may be, cannot nullify all the favor that God has shown you.

You have so many good things for which you must be thankful, even when major problems arise.

There’s a lot said about depression nowadays.

Do you know what depression is?

It is an extreme self-centeredness.

You can literally have more blessing than 99 percent of the people on the face of the earth and still be depressed if you do not have the one thing you want more than everything else.

That one thing could be anything — a certain level of success in your work or a home in a particular neighborhood.

You’ve made that one thing an idol.

But it’s out of your reach.

So, you wallow in self-pity.

Instead of thanking God for all the blessings you have, you loathe your life because of the blessings you do not have.

The funny thing is that, if God gave the thing you want, you would soon discover that it is not really a blessing at all.

Why would I say that?

It’s because idols by definition will drive you away from the true God.

After all, what use would you have for the true God if you can put your trust in something else?

In this case, the real blessing is not to have the thing that you so desperately crave.

And finally, as you contemplate whether God requires you to give things when a few things are not going well for you, you remember how all things work together for your good.

Harsh providences redirect you to the cross of Jesus Christ and reinforce the need to cultivate godly virtue in your lives — things like patience, faith, hope, kindness, joy and so much more.

Every time you find yourselves challenged by your trials, God has a new lesson for you to learn.

The lessons vary from affliction to affliction, but they will always be for your good.

A good illustration of this second scenario comes from the 16th chapter of the book of Acts.

Paul and Silas had been beaten with rods and imprisoned on a false charge of inciting the Philippians against the Roman government.