Thank God for Everything.

Steve Gentry

[0:06] We’ll go ahead and have a seat. [0:07] Welcome to Village Church. [0:08] If this is your first time here. [0:09] My name is Steve, one of the pastors here at Village Church. [0:11] And as always, I am thankful and grateful to see each and every one of you. [0:15] If you have a Bible, go ahead and open it to 1st Thessalonians.

[0:18] We’re going to be in chapter 5 and verse 18 this morning. [0:21] That’s where we’re going to start. [0:22] We’ll be in other texts as well. [0:24] But as we head into the holiday season, I wanted to take a few weeks to talk about Thanksgiving. [0:31] I actually wrote these sermons a year ago, but then the sickness that shall not be named came upon me very quickly. [0:38] So I was unable to preach them.

[0:40] I had to sub some other guys in for a couple of weeks, but I did not want another holiday season to pass by where we did not talk about Thanksgiving and the vitality of Thanksgiving. [0:51] While it really, if you look culturally, it’s quickly becoming a forgotten holiday. [0:57] We’re so excited about Halloween, Satan’s birthday. [1:00] And then we move directly into focus on Christmas, Jesus’s birthday. [1:05] And so often what you see is it’s almost an overnight transition where we go from Halloween to Christmas. [1:12] And then Thanksgiving sometimes gets either reduced to a meal or the expectation of good deals online or in person on Black Friday.

[1:20] But really, I think Thanksgiving being lost as a culture on us, taking really time to rather than just eat, to really reflect on what God has done for us, what God will do for us in the future is a detriment to our souls. [1:37] I think this is a vital holiday, especially for the Christian faith. [1:41] It gives us an opportunity to showcase our thankfulness to God for all that he’s done. [1:46] And it really serves as an apologetic for the faith. [1:52] Thanksgiving is undeniable for the follower of Jesus Christ because it demands someone to whom we give thanks. [1:59] It demands that in life that if we’re going to thank anything or anyone, ultimately, it must go beyond all that is on this earth to one whom it is all dependent on, to one it is all indebted towards.

[2:14] And thankfulness really becomes the cure for much that ails us. [2:19] I think rising generations are experiencing a pandemic of ingratitude. [2:25] Instead of being grateful, instead of being thankful for life and all that we have, there’s more of a focus on what we don’t have that we wish we had. [2:34] There’s more of a focus on trauma that has happened to you. [2:37] How hard your life is, how incapable you are of dealing with reality. [2:44] And ultimately that leaves you looking for an opiate for your anxiety.

[2:49] The numbers do not lie. [2:51] We have the most prescribed generation where antidepressants are concerned than we’ve ever had before. [2:58] And the age keeps getting younger and younger and younger as the years go by. [3:03] Now, there’s no denying that in the margin, at least, that there are many, many people that medically this is necessary and there are many people with chemical imbalances that must be dealt with. [3:14] But we must also look at the median, at the average, and the average tells us that there are many people that are just incapable of coping with life. [3:21] And the answer is not to prescribe something for the rest of their lives.

[3:26] Oftentimes, the answer is the God who is there. [3:29] The answer must be, and I think we will find in the eschaton that the answer is thankfulness to the God who created us in a reality being sewn into our everyday lives that life is beautiful, life is good, life is wonderful. [3:44] And every single day of our lives is a gift from God. [3:47] Twelve year olds don’t know that they’re supposed to be unthankful. [3:51] They have to be taught that. [3:53] So I don’t look at the rising generations and place blame.

[3:56] If you want to know who I blame, it’s the same people I always blame. [3:59] It’s the parents. [4:01] If you have an ungrateful eight year old, well, you did that. [4:04] You’re causing that. [4:06] How do you uncause it? [4:08] How do you undo the damage that is necessarily being done to a generation that’s being told that when they are in an adolescent stage, that this is the fixed state that they will be in for the rest of their lives, that they were either born in the wrong state.

[4:22] Or they have or will experience trauma that will define their lives, or they have to be raised in fear of what could happen to them because bad things happen to so many people. [4:34] And so we have a generation that perpetuates an anxiety, not even on that which is, but that which could be that they have an experience, but they’re afraid of experiencing. [4:45] You have to be taught that. [4:47] And so what is desperate for everyone is to be taught that there is a God to whom we are to live in deep gratitude and submission towards friends. [4:57] It’s my contention that scripture offers us something greater than emotional support. [5:03] Rather, scripture offers us a foundation of gratitude to build a life on that overcomes the curse of pain in our lives.

[5:11] It transcends the suffering that you have, are or will experience. [5:18] So this week and next week, I want to address why Thanksgiving is so vital and so important to the life of the follower of Jesus Christ. [5:26] That this is an opportunity for worship. [5:30] That’s what thankfulness causes. [5:32] Thankfulness is an opportunity for repentance. [5:35] Thankfulness, yes, is even an opportunity for evangelism as a lost world that does not really have a God to whom they are thankful for.

[5:43] We should be the people to be the most thankful and point them towards what a life of thankfulness to God really looks like. [5:51] And so this week I want to take a look at the reality of necessarily being thankful for absolutely everything in life. [5:58] And the next week I want to be a little more specific and talk about Thanksgiving for the gospel of Jesus Christ. [6:05] But in every unthankful moment in our lives, if we would turn to God and see the blessings that he has given to every one of us, [6:14] we must, we should, by faith we will respond with a very thankful heart. [6:22] I want to read 1 Thessalonians 5.18.

[6:24] It’s fascinating text to me because at the end of his first letter to the church at Thessalonica, the apostle Paul gives almost a bullet list. [6:31] It’s like a bullet list of imperatives. [6:33] Do this. [6:34] It’s almost like a thou shout list of imperatives that if you don’t live your life defined by doing these things, you cannot follow Jesus Christ. [6:43] He says in verse 18 very quickly, give thanks in all circumstances. [6:49] For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

[6:52] If you read it in the original language, it says give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. [7:00] It doesn’t change it at all. [7:03] But then the opposite of this text is also true. [7:07] That if you do not give thanks in all circumstances, this isn’t the will of God, not in Christ Jesus, not for you. [7:16] In other words, if you live a life that is defined by unthankfulness, you will never be in the will of God. [7:24] You cannot hope to live a life in Christ Jesus if you will not live a life literally defined in every single circumstance by a heart of thankfulness towards the God who is there and has done all things for us through Jesus Christ.

[7:42] There is a God that I can turn to and trust when times are good, that these good times, these good things, these things that I enjoy, that I find pleasure in, they’re from God. [7:54] But it’s not limited to that. [7:57] That when I do not enjoy it, when I would not call it good, when I’m not taking pleasure in it, when it is unpleasant and I don’t like what is in my life, Paul says exactly the same. [8:10] Be thankful in all circumstances.

[8:16] Number one, I want to build a case for how that’s possible. [8:20] Number one, Thanksgiving assumes a God to whom we are thankful. [8:25] Thanksgiving assumes a God to whom we are thankful. [8:28] Thanksgiving points us to a God who provides. [8:31] Here we find ourselves at the end of Paul’s letters and he’s talking about giving thanks in all circumstances, but he says something fascinating. [8:38] He says this is the will of God for your life.

[8:42] If we are unthankful, then we’re outside of God’s will. [8:45] I don’t know about you, but I grew up thinking about God’s will as these specific choices that I had to make. [8:51] And if I missed his perfect will, that was something to be scared of. [8:55] If I chose the wrong career, chose the wrong spouse, oh no, I’ve missed it. [8:59] I can never be in God’s will. [9:00] And we treated God’s will as though it was some type of mystery that I had to solve through making a bunch of connections and a puzzle throughout my life.

[9:08] And that really is an unhelpful and anxiety causing way to look at God’s will. [9:13] You will never be satisfied if you look at God’s will that way. [9:17] You’re always going to think you’re making the wrong choice. [9:20] But what we must realize is that scripture is abundantly clear as to how we can know we are in God’s will. [9:25] And then all those other things, they just fall into place. [9:29] And here we have one specific instance for our purposes this morning as to how we know we are in the will of God if we’re thankful.

[9:39] He says, give thanks. [9:40] That is God’s will for you to be thankful for everything. [9:46] It’s not about being overly concerned about your choices in vocation and marriage. [9:52] Rather, God’s will begins with a foundation of a God to whom you are thankful. [9:59] So if you’re not thankful to God, don’t expect anything else to fall into place either. [10:04] You don’t build your life on a foundation of vocation.

[10:07] You don’t build your life on a foundation of teachings. [10:10] You don’t build your life on a foundation of spouse. [10:13] You build your life on a foundation of gratitude to the God who is there, who has not been silent, but has revealed himself to his people Israel. [10:22] And then ultimately through his son, Jesus Christ, and given us his scriptures and every aspect of life can be looked to that God and said, I am thankful. [10:31] And the apostle Paul treats that as one of the foundational elements to the Christian life, to where if you miss that, you can expect to miss everything else. [10:42] It’s God’s will for you to be thankful for everything that God has given into your life, but also everything that God takes out of your life.

[10:50] This brings with it the glad assumption that everything and every circumstance that you will encounter in this life will be from the hand of God. [11:00] God has designed us to live in that reality and to deny that is very much to deny God.

[11:08] And so if giving thanks does not go beyond creation, it’s meaningless. [11:13] Everything terminates on itself. [11:14] Ultimately, this is the warning that God gave Israel as they were entering into the promised land. [11:19] All the way back in Deuteronomy, Chapter eight, Moses warns Israel that they will experience great success, that God will bless them with. [11:27] He’s the source. [11:29] And in experiencing the success that they would experience, there would be a temptation to eat their fill, to build houses, to gain wealth, to build good lives and then not be thankful to God.

[11:40] Starting in verse 11, God says to Moses, take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which was I command you today, lest when you have eaten and are full, have built good houses and live in them, when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart will be lifted up and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. [12:07] Let me skip down to verse 17. [12:09] Beware lest you say in your heart, my power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth. [12:17] He says there’s going to be a temptation to look at your life and say, look at what I’ve done. [12:22] Ain’t I great? [12:24] Aren’t I wonderful?

[12:26] Look at how talented I am. [12:27] Look at how hard I’ve worked. [12:31] Moses, through the inspiration of God, basically says Thanksgiving to yourself makes no sense.

[12:37] Thanksgiving only makes sense if it goes beyond the blessing to the one providing the blessing. [12:44] And you, of course, may think that you can find the other person from whom the blessing came from. [12:51] Maybe it’s a parent, maybe it’s a teacher, maybe it’s some superior work that gave you a promotion. [12:57] Consider, though, who do they point to in their thankfulness? [13:02] Ultimately, all thankfulness must go beyond human capacity. [13:07] And so if you go on down the line, well, I’m thankful to this person for that and that person for this.

[13:11] Well, then they would look and say, well, I’m thankful to this person for that, for that person, for this thing and for that thing. [13:17] And that must ultimately continue to cascade like a row of dominoes to our ultimately when you reach the end, [13:23] you must find a transcendent God.

[13:28] Thanksgiving must transcend creation or it isn’t really Thanksgiving. [13:34] It’s a perpetual cycle of gratitude for nothing and to no one until it reaches God. [13:45] Then we have an answer. [13:47] Then we have an ultimate. [13:48] Then we know from whom all things flow and to whom all things must flow. [13:56] Says why the very concept of thankfulness is only reasonable if there is a transcendent God to whom gratitude can flow.

[14:04] And from the overflow of human thankfulness, gratitude does flow. [14:10] Everything comes from God, and that’s good news. [14:13] I mean, honestly, I understand that some of you may struggle with phrase in First Thessalonians five there in all circumstances. [14:21] I may say all circumstances. [14:23] Really? Have you seen some of the things I’ve endured in my life? [14:28] Have you seen some of the things that I’m enduring right now?

[14:31] I mean, some of you are limping into the Thanksgiving holiday. [14:35] I know for some of you, it’s been a hard year. [14:37] For some of you, it may have been a hard couple of years. [14:40] Maybe it’s just been a difficult season that you’ve been walking through where it doesn’t seem like anything can go right, [14:45] where it seems like all that there is is pain and suffering. [14:48] Maybe all that there feels like is that there is loss.

[14:51] And to you, I say, yes, the text says in all circumstances, even if you’re limping into this holiday thinking, I feel like I’m even under the wrath of God right now. [15:04] Romans 11, 36 informs us that there is nothing in existence, though, that does not come from God, through God and to God. [15:15] But if you read the text, it also contains a promise. [15:20] That promises in the phrase, to him be glory forever. [15:24] In other words, even that which we find unpleasant, that which we find exceedingly difficult, [15:31] carries with it the promise that will ultimately be used for the glory of God.

[15:36] And Romans 8 has already qualified this, that the glory of God also works out to my good. [15:44] If I love Christ Jesus, if I have my faith in Christ. [15:48] How can I be assured of that benefit? How? Because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. [15:54] Jesus proves that God is not some far-off being unconcerned with my pain. [16:00] Instead, Jesus gave his life on the cross to redeem you from sin. [16:05] And that is good news because he redeems even our pain to the cross and gives all of it meaning.

[16:13] You can be thankful that you can trust God even in the face of overwhelming pain.

[16:22] But secondly, understand this morning that an unthankful person is an arrogant person. [16:26] An unthankful person is an arrogant person. There’s nothing more arrogant than being unthankful. [16:33] I mean, you’ve all seen the six-year-old in great.

[16:39] Just causing a scene in public because he or she didn’t get what he or she wanted. [16:44] And you’re like, I’ve never seen that. It’s because it’s your children. [16:48] And everyone hates your children.

[16:51] Just letting the cat out of the bag. Full disclosure. [16:54] All right. But what I find fascinating in my life is I’ve met a lot of 45-year-old brats. [17:03] I’ve met a lot of 50-year-old brats. 35, you know, it doesn’t mean age doesn’t mean you’re not a brat.

[17:10] Or you think I deserve better than I have. [17:14] Your life is more defined by what you want than it is defined by thankfulness for what you have. [17:20] Your life is more defined by envy to a neighbor or a celebrity or an influencer [17:25] than it is defined by waking up every morning and thanking God for just the air you breathe. [17:32] Waking up every morning just thankful for another day to experience the grace of God in your life. [17:38] Waking up every day looking to the reality that God has placed around you and said, Lord,

[17:43] what a wondrous life you have given me. [17:47] Because when you begin with Thanksgiving, you end up in obedience. [17:50] And when you’re in obedience, you live the life God has designed for you to live. [17:54] Many of you, the pain that you experience, not all, but many of you, [17:58] the pain that you experience is rooted in ingratitude. [18:01] And when you are ungrateful, you are disobedient.

[18:03] And when you are disobedient, you reap what you sow.

[18:09] An unthankful person is a practical atheist because being unthankful is rooted in pride. [18:19] Pride, of course, is the original sin. [18:21] This is the point of God’s warning in Deuteronomy, Chapter 8. [18:25] The core of who you are is looking for something or someone to delight in. [18:31] And when you are rebellious against God and you want to delight in yourself [18:35] or you want to delight in some part of creation, but not give credit to the creator of all that is,

[18:42] that lands you in a place where you find the wrong purposes for your life. [18:47] But it doesn’t stop you from seeking someone to praise and something to give your thanks to. [18:54] It just lands you in a place where you’re giving those things to the wrong person or thing. [18:59] I mean, friends, this is even true if you are a completely self-righteous person [19:03] and thankful only to yourself. You’re just the most delusional among us. [19:09] This refusal to give thanks to God that he rightly deserves.

[19:16] That is what happened to Adam and Eve in the garden. [19:19] God says, don’t eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. [19:22] And rather than looking around her at all that she was given as a gift, [19:27] Eve looks at all that she was given and says, but I wasn’t given that one thing. [19:32] God has put a limit on me, not realizing that that limit was a limit of love. [19:38] That restriction was a prohibition based on God’s good design for Adam and Eve.

[19:44] And when they were unthankful to God because of what they thought they lacked, they rebelled against God.

[19:52] In Romans 1, 21, the apostle Paul puts it this way. He says, although they knew God, [19:56] they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened. [20:04] He begins with a threat of logic that points to the obvious nature of God’s existence. [20:09] Before this, he says, look at the world around you. It’s had an intricate designer. [20:12] There is a God. Everyone knows that there is a God. [20:16] And then in verse 21, he says, even though everyone knows that when you don’t honor him and you are unthankful to him,

[20:23] you become futile in your thinking. You know what that means? It means that you can’t think straight. [20:29] It means that even an attempt to think is foolish without thankfulness to God, [20:34] because you may be able to put all the tools that God has given you together and make a life with some semblance of sanity. [20:43] You can’t understand what those tools were even created for. [20:47] And so you become limited. You become futile. You become a fool. [20:52] And even though you may look like the smartest guy in the room, you’re actually lacking the most wisdom.

[20:59] Because wisdom doesn’t just know how to use the tools. It knows where the tools came from and what the tools are for. [21:05] And all the tools are from God. All the tools are for God. And all the thankfulness must go to him.

[21:13] So, friends, if all that you can see is what your life lacks, that’s a revelation of your futility, pointlessness. [21:23] This is what living with a dark heart looks like. [21:25] It is having the obvious reality that you are designed to be thankful to someone, [21:30] yet refusing to give him the thankfulness he and he alone deserves.

[21:37] I can’t believe it’s been almost 13 years since my first child was born. [21:44] And, you know, if you’re a parent, I hope that you experience the grace of joy on the day that your first child was born. [21:52] It’s a joyous occasion. They keep you in the hospital for a while. [21:56] It was very hard on me. Childbirth was rough. [22:00] I don’t think my feet have ever recovered.

[22:05] But after the birth of our first child, we’re getting ready to leave the hospital. [22:10] I think something like 48 hours, they let you go if everything’s okay. And we’re packing up to leave. [22:14] I’m trying to, you know, really, if you don’t have any kids, figure that stupid car seat out before you go to the hospital, [22:20] because it becomes a Rubik’s Cube in the hospital room. And you’re just like, I have no hope of solving this puzzle. [22:25] We’re not going to be able to leave. Can a firefighter come in here and help me put this in the car? [22:30] That’s why I need help. So we’re getting everything together.

[22:36] And then Liam was even in the seat. And then a young doctor comes in. He was my age. [22:41] That concerned me. [22:44] You know, it’s like you look at me and you’re like, he doesn’t have very much gray hair. [22:47] Well, I on that day, I thought the same thing. I was like, I’d rather have a doctor with gray hair than this young guy. [22:51] All right. By the way, redheads rarely go gray. We’re beautiful people.

[22:57] So that’s what you’re waiting for. You’re going to be waiting for a while. [23:00] My mom’s 70, still has red hair. I don’t understand. It’s a gift of God. [23:04] Thanks be to him for all things.

[23:08] I’m limited on time, so I got to go. [23:10] Can’t do this right now. But we’re leaving the hospital. [23:13] Young doctor comes in and he looks at us and said, did anybody talk to you about your son’s heart?

[23:19] And, you know, I’m not a medical doctor. [23:23] And so it just he said that. And immediately my heart went into my gut. [23:27] You ever feel that? Where I knew that he wasn’t going to be like he has the best heart in the world. [23:34] We want to study it so that we can have other hearts like it. [23:38] No, I knew he was going to follow that with a problem. [23:41] And this is great. So I don’t want something to not be great.

[23:45] And he says, there’s a murmur. [23:47] There’s a skip in the step of his heartbeat that shouldn’t be there. [23:50] And, of course, me not knowing anything about that immediately, I was terrified. [23:55] I was very worried. This is my son. I just got him. [24:00] There shouldn’t already be problems. [24:03] And so the doctor tells me this and he just looks at us and this is just made me furious.

[24:07] He says, you need to follow up with a cardiologist. [24:10] I looked at him and I said, well, isn’t there one in the hospital? [24:15] It’s not like it is on TV shows. [24:17] On TV shows, all the equipment you could ever need for any procedure are like right outside the door. [24:22] In reality, in a whole hospital full of doctors, they’re like, we will see you again in seven weeks. [24:28] And that you. But he looks at me, says, OK.

[24:32] And so I think it was a few days later, we were at a cardiologist in Chippenham Hospital. [24:38] And this amazing machine I’d never seen before, didn’t know existed. [24:42] You know, I’ve never been to medical school, into seminary. [24:44] I didn’t know existed. They put my son, tiny little boy, fit in my hand, put him down. [24:49] And they looked literally into the valves of his heart. [24:52] I mean, you it’s like Superman vision.

[24:55] I mean, you can see down to just every little valve, how everything is beating. [25:00] I mean, it was amazing. And then he says, oh, there it is. [25:04] And when you’re having a procedure like that done, that’s not what you want to hear. [25:08] You want to hear there it isn’t. That other guy was wrong. [25:12] But he said, there it is. And again, oh, my heart sunk. [25:18] He said, there are three holes in your son’s heart.

[25:25] Now, I had a cousin who had a child with a hole in her heart and it killed her when she was a toddler. [25:32] And so for me, not being I mean, I was ignorant. [25:35] And so in that moment, I’m like, my son’s going to die. [25:39] But then the cardiologist looks at me and he again, I say, let’s take him into the O.R. [25:45] Start using language I learned from George Clooney in the 90s. All right. [25:49] It’s all I knew. It’s all I knew.

[25:52] You know, but he looks at us and he says, just come back in six months. It might heal.

[25:58] What? So for six months, I’ve got a pretty good poker face. [26:04] And I want my wife to know the fear I had. [26:10] Just terrified every day. [26:12] Is he OK? I would even sneak out of bed at night just to make sure everything’s OK. [26:18] He’s still breathing. Is everything all right? [26:21] So for six months, I was filled with anxiety, was filled with stress, was filled with fear,

[26:25] filled with prayer, laying awake at night worrying. [26:28] And then in six months, we go back and he looks at this again. [26:31] It’s an amazing machine. I mean, technology is a wonderful thing. [26:34] There are some great fruits of modernism. [26:36] And so he goes into his heart and he says, good news, holes are gone. [26:41] And it healed.

[26:44] Wow. I mean, incredible. [26:47] Looking back, what strikes me [26:51] is both the amazing nature of this body that God has created [26:58] and the capability that God unlocks also in human creativity and science [27:04] to develop understanding and machines that can look into the human heart [27:09] and find even a pinhole of a problem in the human heart.

[27:14] These are amazing capacities that God has sewn into the mind of man [27:20] to be able to discover that. [27:22] And it is all of God. [27:25] And so in that moment, do you know, one, know what my reaction was? [27:28] Literally, I remember the two words I said, thank God. [27:34] I said, thank God.

[27:35] Now consider this.

[27:39] I could have said something else.

[27:43] I could have reacted by going through my entire life [27:48] from that day forward with the attitude. [27:51] How could God let me and my child go through that? [27:57] Oh, if there is a loving God, why did he let me for six months [28:02] despair of my child’s life? [28:05] And how could he let his heart be born underdeveloped with holes in it?

[28:10] How could God do that? [28:14] I could have. [28:16] There was a potential for that. [28:19] Or I can look to God and thank him [28:22] for the endurance to emerge from the other side of that fear.

[28:29] The latter is worship.

[28:33] The former is faithlessness.

[28:38] But, friends, some of you are defining your life by your worst moment.

[28:44] And you are not thanking God for the endurance to go through it. [28:47] You are blaming God because how could he let that happen to you?

[28:56] Thanklessness does not require an ounce of faith.

[29:00] Thankfulness does. [29:03] Thanklessness is rooted in a pride that will ultimately be judged. [29:08] I mean, consider, though, the same scenario happened. [29:11] And my response was simply to be thankful to the doctor

[29:17] who had done nothing more than point to an amazing computer screen [29:21] to reveal that the nature of the murmur and the healing that took place [29:25] within my son’s heart, or I could have thanked my wife. [29:29] He didn’t live in me. [29:31] There’s too much food in here. No room. [29:34] And there’s the wrong plumbing.

[29:38] No, I could have looked at my wife and said, [29:40] clearly, you know, your body has had something to do with this. [29:45] Or I could have looked at myself and said, [29:47] ah, I passed on my amazing genetics to this child’s heart. [29:52] And even though my wife was unable to develop him fully, [29:56] my healing powers flowed through his body and healed that heart.

[30:01] I could have done any of those things. [30:04] Or if I had just thanked a completely impersonal universe for the good karma, [30:11] because I’ve been sending a lot of good vibes out there. [30:14] And finally, the good vibes came back.

[30:19] I believe that deep down, at least we all know the futility of every one of those responses. [30:24] The only thing that makes sense is to go to the God who gave us the ability to make the machine, [30:31] the God who gave us the capacity to grow in being scientific doctors, [30:36] the God who gave my wife the capacity to carry a child to term, [30:41] the God who gave my child’s heart the ability to fill the holes.

[30:48] That is the only reason, excuse me, reasonable response. [30:53] That is why Isaiah 2, 11 through 12 points to the pride that it takes to not thank God. [30:59] When the text says, the haughty looks of man shall be brought low, [31:02] and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, [31:05] and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day, [31:07] for the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty,

[31:12] against all that is lifted up, and it shall be brought low. [31:15] But also note that God will not accept that rebellion forever. [31:19] Further down in verse 17, the prophet writes that God will humble men of their lofty pride. [31:25] It says, the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, [31:27] and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, [31:30] and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

[31:33] In other words, you have two choices. [31:36] You can either repent for being unthankful, [31:40] or you can face the judgment of God for refusing to give him thanks.

[31:46] Thirdly, this morning, a thankful person is a worshipful person.

[31:52] Gratitude is rooted in submission to God. [31:56] Because of that, thanksgiving is the bedrock of worship of God. [32:01] I mean, 1 Thessalonians 5, 18 is so clear. [32:04] There’s no qualification. [32:06] There’s no caveat. [32:08] He doesn’t say if things aren’t going your way,

[32:10] you can take a break from being thankful. [32:12] He doesn’t say in some circles, [32:13] He doesn’t say in circumstances. [32:14] He doesn’t say in circumstances you enjoy. [32:16] He doesn’t say it’s sometimes the will of God for your life in Christ Jesus. [32:19] No, he says in every circumstance, in all of them,

[32:24] he says they must be looked at through the lens of thankfulness. [32:28] Now, I will admit to you, [32:30] it is an audacious expectation to be thankful in all circumstances [32:36] if you do not trust God completely. [32:40] It’s audacious. [32:40] The only way this makes sense is if you fully trust in God.

[32:44] You are all in on your faith in Christ Jesus. [32:48] But also, if you have less than a sovereign God [32:52] that is not providently turning every single circumstance [32:57] to His glory and our good, [32:59] then it is complete madness to expect thankfulness in all circumstances. [33:06] But if you submit your life to everything that God has revealed to us

[33:11] about Himself in His Word and ultimately through the Gospel of Jesus, [33:18] then it would be madness to consider any alternative [33:22] than thankfulness for all circumstances. [33:26] Psalm 136, 1-6 starts an entire chapter [33:30] of proclaiming the steadfast love of God that endures forever. [33:33] He just says this in repetition.

[33:35] Look, he’s starting in verse 1. [33:36] Give thanks to the Lord. Why? [33:38] Because He’s good, for His steadfast love endures forever. [33:41] Give thanks to the God of gods. Why? [33:43] Because His steadfast love endures forever. [33:45] Give thanks to the Lord of lords. Why?

[33:46] Because His steadfast love endures forever. [33:48] To Him who alone does great wonders, [33:51] for His steadfast love endures forever. [33:52] To Him who by understanding made the heavens, [33:55] for His steadfast love endures forever. [33:57] To Him who spread out the earth above the waters,

[34:00] for His steadfast love endures forever. [34:04] Steadfastness is to have endurance. [34:08] God’s steadfastness though is a trustworthy steadfastness [34:11] that will never fade. [34:15] Rather, it is an attribute that will continue [34:20] because it’s part of who He is.

[34:24] This is a Psalm that uses historic events [34:26] in which God moved and follows it with a continuous refrain [34:31] talking about His steadfast love enduring forever. [34:34] Begins with three rounds of thanksgiving. [34:36] God is good. God has worked. God is working. [34:40] But then it continues to say God will work.

[34:45] Everything in this world points to the trustworthiness [34:49] of God’s love for His children. [34:52] The only thing you can faithfully do in response to that [34:56] is to submit to Him, is to give thanks to Him. [35:02] Because gratitude points you to the work of God. [35:05] The Bible is filled with praise for God’s work.

[35:09] When you consider the world around you and everything in it, [35:12] when you consider the next generation that is following us, [35:15] they need to see hearts of thankfulness. [35:21] The world gives them enough reasons [35:24] to be negative, enough reasons to be anxious, [35:30] enough reasons to be hateful, enough reasons to be angry.

[35:36] We need to show them a God to whom we are thankful for. [35:42] Consider the gift of life itself.

[35:46] I woke up this morning. I didn’t have to. [35:51] I can breathe right now. [35:54] Not as well as some of you, but I can do it. [35:58] I had breakfast this morning. I had to make it. [36:03] But it was there.

[36:06] Psalm 139, starting in verse 14, I think puts it plainly. [36:10] Looks to God and says, I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. [36:16] Wonderful are your works. My soul knows it very well. [36:18] My frame was not hidden from you. When I was being made in secret, [36:23] intricately woven in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed substance. [36:27] In your book were written every one of them, the days that were formed for me.

[36:32] When as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God. [36:37] How vast is the sum of them. If I would count them, [36:40] they are more than the sand I awake. And I am still with you. [36:47] When you wake up in the morning, consider the eternal work that God has done to create, [36:53] to maintain and persevere your life and the life of everything in the universe around you. [37:00] He is not some far off being that is not to be bothered with real life circumstances.

[37:06] Rather, he intricately wove you in the depths of the earth. [37:10] He formed you and has a design that he is calling you to walk into [37:15] for a future that he wants you to join him in. [37:19] And when you consider the design of God, when you realize that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, [37:25] the only option is what he says there in verse 17. [37:28] How precious are your thoughts, O God.

[37:35] Thank God for everything. And then keep giving him thanks.

[37:42] That is the only way you are ever going to make it. [37:45] That is the only way you are ever going to endure in this life. [37:49] Give thanks. A few application points. Every day is a gift from God.

[37:55] Sometimes it doesn’t feel that way, and you just want to go to bed.

[38:01] But friends, that is a lie. That is a lie. [38:05] Every day is a new opportunity to see the work of God in your life in a new and a fresh way. [38:11] I’ve got three kids, so I know it’s hard.

[38:16] But friends, life is good. Life is beautiful. [38:19] That is why number two is vital. Refuse to be unthankful. [38:21] Some of you refuse to be thankful.

[38:25] Flip it, man. Refuse to be unthankful. [38:29] Be thankful for everything God gives into your life. [38:32] Thirdly, when unthankfulness is tempting, go to the Bible for reminders. [38:36] How precious are your thoughts? These are his thoughts. [38:40] When you fill your mind with scripture, I’m telling you, you’ll be thankful. [38:44] When you are unthankful, it’s because you’re filling your mind with something else.

[38:47] And then finally, you can trust God with your pain. [38:52] So be thankful.

[38:54] The alternative is, there is no purpose. It’s just chaos. [38:58] There’s just hurt and no reason for the hurt. [39:02] But because of Christ Jesus, who lowered himself into the deepest depths of suffering [39:06] so that he could redeem a sinner like me, I can look to that and say, [39:11] there was purpose in his pain.

[39:15] So God has purpose for my pain, too.

[39:42] God bless you.