Are you grateful?

A series on the complete Christian community

Psalm 121, NIV

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord,  the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber;  indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you—  the Lord is your shade at your right hand;  the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life;   the Lord will watch over your coming and going  both now and forevermore.

Over the next several weeks I hope to dream about….talk about and share…. what a true Christian community should look like if we followed all the teachings of Jesus and the authors of the New Testament.  You might not like some of the things discussed, but I hope that if I  faithfully preach the Word, you will find that you have a to take your disagreement up with God, not me.  A lot of things that I share have nothing to do with what I would call “common sense” or “human wisdom”.  It’s the inspired word of God, and it’s stood the test against men that wanted to eliminate it since it was first put on stone, leather, or paper.  I say this is a warning: Some of you will not like God’s final word on what a Christian community should be!

And today it’s simply this:  Those within a Christian village…community…church…should be people that are grateful.

But are you?  Would the people beside you this morning call you a gracious and thankful person?Gratitude looks to the past and…. love looks to the present.  But fear, hate, lust, and ambition look ahead and are never fully satisfied.  Gratitude exclaims, very properly, 'How good of God to give me what He has!

In the Christian community, thankfulness  establishes an attitude that carries us through the day, through the trials and even through our lost battles. Do you give thanks—in all things, all day long?  I’ve noticed that only the ones who give thanks for little things are the ones that receive the big things later. We, not Satan,  stand in the way God of doing more, and blessing us more abundantly in all matters —-because we are not grateful in our hearts and we do not give thanks to Him for His daily provisions, surprises and gifts.

My mother was raised on a small farm. Because of her upbringing, she demanded that we always give God thanks at every meal—no mater where we were. And she commented to us that most farm animals and pets look up to you when you feed them, except for the pig. That might not be 100% true, but that analogy rings true.  God smiles upon us when He give Him thanks.

And yet ost of us are always eager for more…for bigger and better things—even if we have far more than we need.   One of the richest men to ever live, John D. Rockefeller, was worth about $400,000,000,000 in 2024 dollars. He was once asked, “How much is enough?”  And he famously responded, “Just a little more.”.  He represents most of mankind. We pray for the big things in life—and even  within our churches— and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small things He gives every day. How can God entrust great things to one who will not thankfully receive from Him the little things?  “If we only keep complaining to God that everything is too small, to unnoticed, too unimpressive, and far from what we expected, then we hinder God from letting our fellowship grow according to the measure and riches which are there for us all in Jesus Christ.”   ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer

According to Colossians 3:17, we're to thank God in every word and action we take!  "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."   Well, are you?  “Whatever” emphasizes a lack of restriction in referring to any thing or amount, no matter what. For the Christian, “whatever” especially refers to the bad things that happen….when insults are thrown our way….when we think our plate is too full and we’re about to explode!  Give thanks!  But, you might say. “thanks for what?”  That He is in control and not me—-or you! Thankful that we can take  all things to Him and let Him sort it out and bring about a solution that glories Him, lifts us up and sets our feet upon a higher plateau!  Giving thanks reminds us that things could be a whole lot  worse…. and absolutely would be worse were His angels not attending us!

So, we’re supposed to “speak every word in gratitude, and do everything with a thankful heart.”  It’s hard! I know!!! I am thanking Him now, as I type this message, while all three of my sons are angry at me for not doing the things that they want me to do.  And because I am not following their dictates and demands, they don’t like me very much. It’s hard to thank God for that!   How to thank God when people break your heart or betray you???  But I do thank Him (!) because I know that He sees my affliction and loves me when perhaps no one else does!  In fact, I feel most certain of His love when now one else appears to care about me.  Now, to be truthful

I thank Him that I don’t live every day with the disapproval of those I love and I am grateful that puberty will pass!   Some days—-some very special… holy days… all things do apparently go well!  I thank Him for the sadness of heart that will be replaced by gladness—-in His time.

I thank Him that He does not waste suffering upon me or anyone else that trusts Him!  There is a reason for the dry and desperate season some of us experience of late—perhaps this very morning!  Praise God!  Whatever heartache you’re through is not  going to last forever!  I thank God that could not have shared this message today if some of those “bad things” were not occurring this very morning, this afternoon and this evening in my life.  I understand, perhaps a bit more than some, about rejection,  being misunderstood, and yet finding favor in His eyes.

Isaiah, who saw the coming destruction of his country, said, ”Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; make them remember that His name is exalted."  Isaiah 12:4-5 (NASB)  Thank God is song, in prayer, in testimony, in front of fellow Christians and the non-believers despite the confusion, chaos and rebellion that surrounds you!!   Regardless of what the other guy says or think, let it be known, proclaim it from the housetop—-“thank you God for your goodness, your faithfulness, your patience, your love—regardless of the mess we have made of things!”

If I can be thankful…. I’m  a blessing to be around! But if I am  ungrateful, I become a pariah—one that no one wants to be around—I’m a clanging cymbal—a song sung out of tune! We’re ungrateful because we think we deserve better, or because we don’t think we deserve the tough time we’re experiencing.   But as we mature in Jesus Christ, we know that both of these gripes are childish and the devil’s lie!  Most of the good things that come my way are because of his grace—not my merits, brilliance or skills. Truly, the air I breathe and the laws of physics that keep me alive are gifts from God!  And when I fail to give God thanks, even for the evil that comes my way, do I really want to pout and curse and  ask God to give me what I really deserve!  NOT ME!  The worse things that have happened to me pale on comparison to what should have happened to me!

Shame on us, who have received so much, to not take time throughout the day to thank Him more.  Shame on us for always wanting a lot more—or just a little more— and for being envious or greedy for those that do have more.  Do you know what goes through the minds of most of us when we see a man with an expensive car, fancy clothes, a beautiful wife and well-behaved children?  Well, most of us are not happy for him—-we wish we had the same…. and might even hope that he loses some of the good things he’s attained. We’re jealous!  And deep within our depraved hearts we kind of wish that folks were jealous of us! It’s absurd—and yet it is in the fallen hearts of men and women.

Are you greedy….selfish….one that is never satisfied with what God gives you?  If you are, then heaven’s not for you.  I really mean it. Something is fundamentally wrong with any person that thinks that they are heaven bound, but cannot give thanks to God—-and to others—for the gifts and good things that are given.   If you are thirsty and cannot gratefully receive a cup of water from a stranger, you probably aren’t grateful enough to receive the precious blood of Christ either—-in that dead heart of your’s, you think you deserve something “better”!

But, let me close with this thought: Is there a place in our lives where we should be,  at the same time,  grateful and  greedy? Yes! I think there is. Paul said this:   “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.”   Are you greedy, that is wanting much more than you already have, when it comes to being filled up with the Holy Spirit and the associated gifts of the Spirit?  Then good….and oh that God would bring that desire for more and more in Christians today!

So it’s okay to be quite grateful for the gifts of the Holy Spirit—and to desire them more!  But why? So that you may more effectively love God, show His abundant love to others, and soon find yourself loving the people that no one else loves!  And that love, that capacity to love the ones the world has forgotten, may be the spark that ignites, within that person, a quest for God—the author and sustainer of love.

Be very grateful for all the good things He gives, and even the tests and challenges,  but the best gifts, those of the Holy Spirit—-well  don’t be ashamed to ask for more! Especially the gift of prophecy—which means, “use my mouth, my letter, my text and chats for the your purposes!  Use me as your mouthpiece MORE, heavenly Father!”

“Once a friend asked Stonewall Jackson how he understood the Bible’s command to “pray without ceasing.”

Jackson said that the habit of prayer had become like breathing with him: “I have so fixed the habit in my own mind that I never raise a glass of water to my lips without lifting my heart to God in thanks and prayer for the water of life.

Then, when we take our meals, there is grace. Whenever I drop a letter in the post-office, I send a petition along with it for God’s blessing upon its mission and the person to whom it is sent. When I break the seal of a letter just received, I stop to ask God to prepare me for its contents, and make it a messenger of good.

When I go to my class-room and await the arrangement of the cadets in their places, that is my time to intercede with God for them. And so in every act of the day I have made the practice of prayer habitual.”

People saw how Stonewall Jackson prayed—-and how he thanked God in all situations. Though totally defeated, it’s reported that a revival broke out in the Confederate Army because of the humble and grateful prayers of leaders like General Jackson. In Lee’s army, alone, it was reported that 150,000 men gave their lives to Jesus Christ.  In many ways, the “Bible-Belt” of the South is a result of the revival that took place right before the fall of the southern states in the Civil War.  And men who learned to thank God, in all situations, planted the seeds of the revival.

What seeds are you planting right now?