Ephesians 5:19-20

“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Not only should our thanksgiving be expressed but it should be:

• Extensive

How far does your thanksgiving reach? As our thanksgiving expands it should include the blessings of God. Let me ask a question, how many of us give thanks to God for a sink full of dirty dishes, my guess not many. We see a mess but a sink full of dirty dishes usually means that we have been blessed with food to eat. Over two thirds of this world goes to bed hungry every night, yet we complain because after eating a great meal we have a few dishes to do. It’s easy to get caught up in the complaining were the only thing we can see is the mess and we miss the blessing. Often we prayer general even generic prayers, “God thanks for the blessings” but what are the specific blessings that we are thankful for? The old Hymn, “count your blessings” reminds us to name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done” Not only should our thankfulness include the blessings of life but also the burdens. This is a tough one and if we struggle to give thanks for the blessings we will most likely fail to thank in the burdens. Ephesians 5:20 says, “always giving thanks.” It would be easy to think that Paul as he peened these words made a mistake, or that this was easy for him to say. But Paul experienced many difficult burdens, he was run out of town, beaten, whipped, imprisoned, betrayed by friends, left naked, cold, hungry, shipwrecked, and stoned because of his faith. Yet he never stopped giving thanks. When it came to the burdens of this life Paul had a proper perspective. In Romans 8:18 he said, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us” In 2 Corinthians, “That is why for Christ’s sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecution, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” In Philippians 1:12 “Now I want you to know brothers that what has happened to me has really served to advance the Gospel” Do you have a proper perspective when it comes to the pain and the problems of this life? When we do, we like Paul will be able to give thanks in all circumstances, even the difficult and dark days that we will face. Now we don’t have to be thankful for them but thankful in them, you see Paul is not calling us to be thankful for our problems but rather in them. We need to give thanks for the blessings and the burdens but also for the benefits. When the Israelites focused on what they didn’t have, they failed to see all that they did have. It amazes me that most Christians are constantly adding to their prayer list but rarely to their praise list. One of the reasons we are not thankful is that we focus on the problems of prayer more than the praise. Now I am not saying that we should not talk to God about our problems, I am saying that in reality we more to praise over than petition over. When you look at what He has done and what we have it far out ways what we don’t. As Christians we have more to cheer about than complain about. Not only should our thanksgiving be expressed and extensive but it is also:

• Expected

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” Do you really want to know what God’s Will is for your life? Well here it is in the Armstrong paraphrase “God’s will for you is to live life as a winner, so stop whining and start worshipping,” God calls us to focus not on the challenging circumstances but on our conqueror Christ, because He knows that if we will that it will change our lives. You may not like to hear this but being thankful in all circumstances is the mark of a growing Christian. A baby is ungrateful, when they don’t feel well you can rock them and hold them for hours and when you put that baby down rather than appreciation and gratitude they tend to just cry and wail a little louder. Children have to be taught to be thankful. The mark of maturity isn’t so much about what you know but what happens to your worship when the winter winds blow and things go from bad to worse. What about you are you a fair weather worshipper or a fearless one? Mature Christians don’t waste there energy moaning and groaning they give God the glory. When we realize how blessed we are and express it in praise we will be growing and moving towards maturity. Not only is thankfulness a mark of a growing Christian but also of a giving Christian. When you truly comprehend all that God has done for you and how much he continues to do, it should move you to give back. Thanks giving should involve our time, talents and our treasures. The Wise men who came to worship baby Jesus used their talents not for gain but for God. They willingly sacrificed their time, in a grueling journey to glorify God, and they came prepared to present the King with their presents of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. It amazes me how many Christians willingly give a good waitress a 15% tip yet struggle to give a good God 10% despite all the good gifts He has blessed us with. A growing Christian is not a moaner and a giving Christian is not a miser. If we are truly thankful then why would we hold back, after all “God loves a cheerful giver” Corinthians 9:7. Not only is thanksgiving the mark of a growing Christian and a giving Christian but it’s also the mark of a glowing Christian. Paul reminds us 2 Corinthians 4:8-18, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed…13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” 14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory… For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen.” Paul doesn’t deny or dismiss the problems and the pressures of this life but he says that they don’t have to dominate us. What if Christians would stop getting so worked up over worry and start getting worked up over worship? When we talk about Moses coming down from Mount Sinai we tend to focus more on the ten commands he carried in stone than the change in his countenance. After spending time with God there was a glow. One of the reasons we don’t glow is that we don’t go to God and spend time with Him in worship. What kind of countenance do you have, is it a glowing one or a groaning one, do you glow or growl? It’s easy to get caught up in the complaining and end up with a critical spirit. Are you caught up in the pessimism or the praise? Why not take some time today to count your blessings and reflect on what the Lord has done.

Ephesians 5:19-20

“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

After telling us to live by the power of the Holy Spirit by giving Him control of our lives Paul then reminds us to live a life of praise and thanksgiving. Continual thanksgiving should be the outflow of a life filled with the Spirit of God. Paul doesn’t call us to practice praise periodically but perpetually. The words always giving thanks for everything remind us of Paul’s instruction in I Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” What about your thanksgiving is it continual or contingent? Paul also reminds us what comes out of our mouths is tied to what’s in our hearts, “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart” What leaves your lips is a reflection of your life. Paul is talking about a continual attitude for Christians, an attitude of the heart, one which impacts how we relate to each other. How do you speak to others is it with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, are your words ones of praise or poison? Do you see people as a pain or as a privilege? How much time do you spend complaining and how much complimenting? The issue for many is not that we don’t have an attitude of thankfulness but that our thanks is contingent and conditional not continual. So how do we have a continual attitude of thanks, especially in all circumstances? I think this has to do with our perspective of praise and thanksgiving, for without the proper perspective we will always make praise provisional. There is a great story about perspective by a young lady writing home from college:

“Dear Mom: Sorry I haven’t written sooner. My arm really has been broken. I broke it, and my left leg, when I jumped from the second floor of my dormitory…when we had the fire. We were lucky a young service station attendant saw the blaze and called the Fire Department. They were there in minutes. I was in the hospital for a few days. Paul, the service station attendant, came to see me every day. And because it was taking so long to get our dormitory livable again, I moved in with him. He has been so nice. I must admit that I am pregnant. Paul and I plan to get married just as soon as he can get a divorce. I hope things are fine at home. I’m doing fine, and will write more when I get the chance. Love,

Your daughter, Susie

P.S. None of the above is true. But I did get a “C” in Sociology and flunked Chemistry. I just wanted you to receive this news in its “Proper Perspective!”

If we are going to be thankful in all circumstances, we need a proper perspective of both our circumstances and our Creator. There are many attitudes that can steal our praise and turn our gratitude into grumbling . Probably the biggest attitude that poisons peoples praise is that of pride. This is the attitude that says, “Nobody ever gave me anything, I worked hard for everything I have.” The result of this kind of attitude is that we feel that we have no one to thank but ourselves. Another attitude that keeps us from living a thankful life is a critical spirit. A critical spirit is consumed with constant complaining, instead of being grateful this person is a grump, always finding something to complain about. Another attitude that keeps us from being grateful to God is carelessness. It’s hard to be grateful when you take God for granted. The Israelites grumbled because they had no food so God miraculously sent manna to cover the ground each day except the Sabbath. In order to eat they didn’t have to plant or weed all they had to do was harvest yet they still found a reason to grumble. They went from complaining about having no food to having to eat the same food. Here they were fed and full, with a miracle straight from God every day yet they were no longer satisfied. They went back to their moaning because they wanted more than a miracle. The problem wasn’t God’s gracious provision it was the peoples attitude. Have you gotten carless and caught up in an attitude of complaining, Are you going to live a life of griping or gratefulness?  If there is any nation that ought to be thankful to God and grateful for his goodness it ought to be America. And if any people in America ought to be thankful to God and grateful for his goodness it ought to be Christians. Yet how many Christians are caught up in a life of complaining, how many are living with a critical spirit? Paul as he preaches about praise reminds us that thanksgiving should be:

• Expressed

In Psalms 107 David says “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good His faithful love endures forever” We should express our thanks to God and others. We are quick to express our problems to God but what about our praise? As has been stated before only one of the ten lepers came back to express their praise to God yet all ten expressed their problems.  Living a life of gratitude involves not just grateful thoughts but actions, and attitude directly impact our actions. Are you living with an attitude of gratitude, and how is your gratefulness to God being revealed? Does it show in your speech, if gratitude is not part of your thought life it won’t be part of your talk life. Today many are more prone to outbursts of anger than praise. We live lives filled more with frustration than fulfilment because we are no longer grateful to God. Is it possible that we are more stressed and sicker as a society today because we have stopped singing our song of praise to God for all that He has done? Thanksgiving is the healthiest of all human emotions and it is not only good for the giver but also good for those who receive it. A thankful heart will endear others to us, praise attracts where anger poisons. Just as a thankful life draws people to us it will also draw us closer to God. A closer walk starts with worship, but if we are ungrateful, if we do not express our thanksgiving, then it can have the opposite effect. In Romans 1:21 Paul says, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Gratitude and being ungrateful are like opposite ends of a magnet, depending on which is pointed depends on whether it attracts or repels. Those who are ungrateful to God end up with hearts that are hardened. So how do you say thank you to God, how are you expressing you gratitude?

• One way we can express our gratitude to God is in the time that we give to Him. How much time do you spend with Him outside of a weekly worship service?
• A second and often overlooked way we can say thank you is by forgiving others. In Matthew 18:21-35 we see the parable of the unforgiving servant. Here was a man who wanted the master’s mercy but was unwilling to share that mercy with others. In verse 35 Jesus tells us that we are to forgive others from our heart not our head. Is there anyone you need to forgive?
• We say thanks by serving Him, how and where are you currently serving the Savior?
• When we share His Plan of salvation, who are you sharing His salvation with?
• When we reach out to the hurting and hopeless with the healing power of God’s love. Who are you loving?
• When you give God your best instead of your left overs. Let’s be honest when it comes to left overs we all eat them but we don’t like them as much as we did the fresh meal. What are you giving to God is it your best or are you putting Him on the backburner. This week think about how you are expressing your gratitude to God.