Thanksgivers

Johnston, Dan

Holidays and Special Events • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18

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Introduction

Reconize everyone on the mowing team/flower power

Today I want to talk about becoming “thanksgivers”

We always seem to focus on the act - ThanksGIVING...

But I think there’s value in understanding more about the person who gives thanks

YouVersion: Thanksgivers

We’re starting in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 (ESV)

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

This example shows us what a “thanksgiver” looks like

This morning I want to measure this by tables

How many with family this Thanksgiving?

For family, you will definitely see one of these: card table

Anyone the youngest in their family? You remember being the one that gets stuck here: the kids table

We got 8 seats - 9 adults, 3 kids… Billy’s stuck at the kids table!

That wasn’t me, but it was my brother Kevin

I’m the oldest - first one to graduate to adult table

The kids table feels 2nd class because you’re too young, too immature, haven’t grown enough

But when it comes to giving thanks, even the kids get to share

Family tradition: go around to everyone and give thanks

Me and my brother laugh at my dad who always cries

Then we do and say gross things and try to get him to throw up - it’s too easy

Things get very simple at the kids table

Thank you God for my trucks, my mom and dad, bike...

Those are good things to be thankful for

And that gives us a starting point

1. All thanksgivers praise God when things are good

It’s important to intentionally look for the good things we have

But church, today’s message is about more than just being thankful at dinner one day a year

JFK “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”

Being a thanksgiver is a way of life

That only happens when you look for good things

2 men travelled to find new market for their shoe brand

One visited East African region, one visited West African region

One wrote the director and said, “There’s no market here, no one wears shoes.”

The other said, “There’s a HUGE market here! No one wears shoes!”

Sometimes the only thing that changes whether we have something good, is our ability to see it!

That brings me back to the kids table

You hear “I’m thankful for my dolls and my skateboard...

Know what you won’t hear?

Thanks for daddy going to work so he can pay the electric bill

Thanks for the dentist drilling out my cavities

Thanks for my teacher giving me an education

Why? Kids are simple: if it brings me instant gratification with no cost to me, I’m thankful!

It’s harder to look past that

Let’s shift and look at the grown up table for a second

You’re much more apt to hear something like this:

I’m thankful that even though I lost my job, we were able to keep the house

Even though my spouse left me, I still have my kids

Even though my dad passed away, my friends are still here to love me

2. Mature thanksgivers express thankfulness “even though”

This is a lot harder to do

In essence, this goes against how you want to feel!

When the pain you feel is overwhelming, this is a choice to remember good

Our verse tells us to be thankful only when things are good...

No, actually it says “give thanks in ALL circumstances.”

When Tash and I were in NC, we struggled for this constantly

A culture we didn’t understand, expectations we couldn’t meet, direction we didn’t agree with

It was very hard, and yet there was so much to be thankful for

Did we always do a good job of focusing on that? No we didn’t…

But we always knew there was reason to

God was growing us, preparing us for this season

James 1:2–4 (ESV)

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Why did Matt Nagy start the season with Andy Dalton?

He didn’t think Justin Fields was ready...

You may or may not agree, but you probably understand how that goes

I’m sure most of you would say Nagy is not the greatest coach in the NFL...

However, when it comes to our lives, God definitely knows what He’s doing!

Sometimes He challenges us ahead of time to so we’ll be prepared for the real trials

For me, I found out shepherding is quite a bit more challenging than I thought

I LOVE it! But it is challenging...

Had I not faced those trials in NC, I don’t know I would have been ready for this

To sit at the adult table of thanksgivers, you praise God when things are good

AND you express gratitude “even though”

But there is yet another level I want to talk about

Better than sitting at the kids table, better than sitting at the grown up table, is sitting down at Jesus’ feet

If you want to understand gratitude, that’s where you want to be

3. Jesus-following thanksgivers live their gratitude

More than just saying, “Hey! Thanks for that!” is living a life of gratitude

Let me show you what I mean:

Colossians 2:6–7 (ESV)

6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Explain that the gospel changes everything

Being a thanksgiver requires more than words

Having a relationship with Jesus inspires action

It inspires us to live lives of love, kindness and sacrifice!

So what makes the life of a thanksgiver stand out?]

Thanksgivers regularly practice giving thanks

Story, infuriating my English teacher

Tapping on the desk

I know how to play before I ever touched my first drumset

I’d sit in front of the CD player and air drum

I’d play along in my head before I went to sleep

I’d drum on my legs while watching TV

That’s how I learned to play the drums - I drummed without ceasing

I still do, it drives Tasha crazy

Our verse tells us to rejoice always, and give thanks in all circumstances

When we are constantly looking for things to be thankful for, we start to get good at it

You remember little things

Breathing through your nose, green lights,

Let me play you a sound: Internet sound

When was the last time you got kicked off the internet because someone picked up a phone in the other room?!

Some of you have no idea what I’m saying...

Maya Angelou: “This is a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this one before.”

Thanksgiver right there - something to be thankful for, even the little things

Thanksgivers see how struggles produce good outcomes

How often do we intentionally remember in our struggle, that we’ll be better in the end?

That takes discipline

I’ll be headed back to school in February

I DO NOT want to write my thesis

There is no part of that I will enjoy

However, in the end, if I’m ever on a plane and someone says, “Is there a doctor on board?!”

I’ll stand up and say, “Yes, right here.”

He’s having a heart attack! Uh, someone should do something...

The point is, most of our challenges make things better when we’re on the other side of them

Romans 8:28 (ESV)

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Notice something there though: according to HIS purpose - not ours

Suppose my school gets discredited or hit by a meteor before I graduate...

Should I be upset that I don’t get a degree, or should I be thankful for how God uses that education?

If our gratitude applies to God’s purposes, that leads us to this next idea

Thanksgivers love God and people

When it comes to taking action in gratitude, Scripture explains what that looks like:

Hebrews 12:28–29 (ESV)

28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.

As Christians we have an outrageous hope in Jesus

We have no business gaining anything that is good

Scripture makes it clear we’re all sinners, we all fall short

And yet, God chose to love us

He does that by offering us an eternity spent with Him

And so we should be thankful, and we respond with worship

How do we worship God? It’s very simple

Explain Jesus was being questioned:

Matthew 22:36–40 (ESV)

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Just like our fill in says, we love God and we love people

And so, thanksgiving leads us to love others

Neal A. Maxwell: “We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count.”

There’s one more thing I want to point out

This is more of a bonus for thanksgivers

Thanksgivers enjoy the benefits of gratitude

Being thankful isn’t only about others, it also helps YOU!

This plays out in many ways

Frank A. Clark: “If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get.”

That’s true! What does that mean?

If you’re thankful for what you’re given, people want to give you more!

A study done at UC Berkeley found the reason people are ungrateful is arrogance!

Not being thankful comes from thoughts like:

“I deserve this”

Or “Life owes me something”

No need to be thankful, I am entitled

Anyone in here a fan of arrogant people? Didn’t think so...

Here’s another one, straight from Scripture:

Paul wrote this to Timothy about early Christians

They were making rules about what people could and couldn’t eat:

1 Timothy 4:4–5 (ESV)

4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

God is saying, if you’re thankful for it, God wants you to eat it and enjoy it!

I should mention this doesn’t apply to everything

You mean I can sleep with my bosses wife as long as I’m thankful for it?

No, but in this specific example of food, being thankful enables you to eat it!

The last one I want to mention is is the effect thankfulness has on your life

Harvard Med School did a study on thankful people

One group kept records of events in their life for 10 weeks

Another group wrote down everything that irritated them for 10 weeks

The last group wrote down everything they were grateful for

The thankful group:

Reported more growth in their relationships

Increased productivity from their employees (if a boss)

Exercised more often, went to the doctor less

Conclusion

In light of that, I thought we could end this morning with a challenge

For the next week, I personally challenge you to do 3 things

Intentionally look for things to be thankful for

Keep a gratitude journal

I’m going to use my notes app

Every time I see something - no matter how small - I’ll type in a word or two

If I’m driving, I’ll try to remember them and put down a few at once

Pray everyday with a focus on thanksgiving

Reflect on everything you’ve written

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