Thanksgiving

SERMON

INI

Text: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

In Christ Jesus, whose saving work lays the solid foundation of our present lives and our futures, dear fellow redeemed:

As I am sure you have noticed life is not always easy, nor do things always go as you might expect them to go or as you might want them to go. That is certainly the case in each of our lives, even as it was the case for the Christians in Thessalonica in the first century after Christ. The apostle Paul spent perhaps as long as three months preaching in Thessalonica with good success, but then individuals opposed to Paul’s gospel message began stirring up trouble for the newly formed Christian congregation, and in fact forced the apostle Paul to leave the community. At one point, near riots took place. One particular Christian, a man named Jason, was hauled into court because of his new-found faith and was forced to pay a fine for something he had not even done. After Paul’s departure those persecutions continued. In addition, false prophets arose disturbing these new Christians and misinforming them concerning the second coming of Christ, filling them with uncertainty and fear. All in all, those early Christians in Thessalonica faced a pretty rocky road.

How did the apostle Paul respond? First and foremost, he pointed the eyes of the Thessalonian Christians to the grace of God revealed through the work of Jesus Christ. They were God’s children by grace through faith in Jesus. That being the case, all in the end would be well! He then reminded them of the truths of the gospel they had shared. Finally, as he approached the end of his epistle, he addressed the issue of attitude, for if the Thessalonians were to persevere in the face of life’s difficulties and remain confident in the face of life’s seeming uncertainties, they needed both to understand and embrace God’s will for their attitudes. The same holds true for you and me today. DEAR CHRISTIANS—GOD’S DESIRE IS THAT WE LIVE WITH AN ATTITUDE OF “THANKSLIVING” IN CONNECTION WITH CHRIST JESUS!

Thanksliving—what is that? You will not find it in the dictionary, but the words of the apostle Paul in our text provide a practical definition. Thanksliving involves rejoicing always in the Lord—even when things are not going so well. Thanksliving involves praying to the Lord without ceasing—which does not mean that you constantly have your hands folded, but it does mean that your communication with your God is so regular and natural that you feel free to talk to God about anything at any time. Thanksliving involves giving thanks to the Lord in everything—once again, even in connection with things that may not bring us much joy. All of these things reflect the will of God for us in connection with our Savior Jesus Christ, which is certainly not an afterthought in our text. Rather the work of our Savior—His life and death as our substitute—provides the very basis for our status as God’s children and heirs. Our Savior’s presence and promises give us the comfort and certainty we need, which in turn profoundly affects our attitudes and enables us to practice thanksliving—a life of ongoing joy, prayer, and thankfulness in the Lord.

I would like to share with you some observations concerning the things I have learned from my recent accident, which resulted in several broken bones, a brief hospitalization, and now an ongoing recovery. When I fell off my bicycle and hit the guardrail in Split Rock Light House State Park back in late September, I was initially completely unaware of the extent of my injuries. I felt very little pain and was aware only that I could not catch my breath. I remember praying almost immediately to the Lord asking Him to help me relax and regain my breath. After Sara went to find help, I continued my conversation with the Lord and suggested to Him that in my opinion this was not a very good time for an accident. We were, after all, only on day two of our seven day planned vacation and there was that wonderful dinner theater we had scheduled with my in-laws and our children later that week. I remember asking the Lord not to allow this matter to interfere with our remaining plans.

When the nature of my injuries became apparent, as the medics examined me and discussed the case, my prayers continued. I was very thankful that my lung had not collapsed, but still very concerned that it remained a definite possibility. Consequently, numerous petitions were offered to the Lord as I traveled by ambulance first to Silver Bay and then on to Duluth, asking Him to prevent such an emergency. I was very thankful and rejoiced in the fact that the Lord had graciously preserved me from even greater injury since I have forgotten my bike helmet.

I knew that indeed “all things work together for good to those who love God” (Romans 8:28) and took great comfort in that verse of Scripture. Consequently, I asked God to help me maintain a cheerful and confidence spirit, while striving to learn what He wanted me to learn from this accident. After all, God had not prevented the accident from happening, so I was sure He had a purpose for it also in my life. That purpose was soon to become evident as first the days and then the weeks passed by.

The first and greatest blessing to come out of my accident for me, its that I have learned how important it is to be thankful for the little things in life, which we can so easily take for granted. For instance, how thankful one can be to be able simply to stand up without thought and at any time you wish. During those first days in St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth, I recall the effort required just to sit up, first of all, and then to hang my legs over the edge of the hospital bed. Then it required all of my concentration to get my breathing regular and the muscles of my legs prepared simply to stand up. Beyond that, how thankful one can be to do all of those little things, we do without thinking, to take care of ourselves—shaving, washing one’s hair, using the bathroom, putting on one’s socks, tying one’s shoes. Whoa—often we take all of those things for granted. Yes, God has taught me through this accident to appreciate the little things that enable us to carry on with our lives in a somewhat independent fashion in this world.

Secondly, God taught me to focus not on those things which I may not have or so deeply want, but rather truly to appreciate those things He has given and continues to give me. How thankful one can be for a good night’s sleep in a warm and comfortable bed. How thankful one can be for a new day brimming with possibilities and God’s richest blessings. How thankful one can be for the ability to walk out into the cold, fresh morning air, to see the stars of His heaven, and to watch the gorgeous colors of the day’s sunrise. How thankful one can be to return to a heated home, to cold and hot running water, to a full range of appliances to make meals, and to an automobile for transportation—even though it may not be the latest make or model. The vast majority of the citizens of this world do not enjoy those blessings—how thankful you and I can be.

Thirdly, God has taught me not to take my health for granted. Before my accident I did not pay any attention to my diet. Not that I had serious dietary problems, but I simply never gave it much thought. Since the accident, I have taken steps to adopt healthier eating habits. In the same way, I did not think about exercise. Now, more thought is given to the vital part of good health. As I traveled by ambulance to Duluth, I remember thinking about how easily life can be lost, and how every day God gives us should be considered a gift to be enjoyed and used to bring glory to God and blessing to others.

Fourthly, God has taught me that people are much more important than things. We can be so thankful for the people God has placed in our lives—our husbands and wives, our sons and our daughters, our other family members and our friends. God weaves our lives together so that we might support one another in the difficult times, and enrich one another emotionally and spiritually. It is after all our words and our actions, which have such an impact on each other, as opposed to the things that we can buy, or the things we can use.

All of these lessons, in the end, return us to the attitude with which God would have us live our lives. He wants to us develop a joyous attitude, based on the knowledge of the certainty of God’s love and blessing in view of our status as His children through Jesus. He wants us to connect with Him regularly in prayer, knowing that He will hear and respond in the very best of possible ways, for He has promised to do so for Jesus’ sake. Finally He wants us to remember with thanksgiving His many gifts. Yes, DEAR CHRISTIANS—GOD’S DESIRE IS THAT WE LIVE WITH AN ATTITUDE OF "THANKSLIVING" IN CONNECTION WITH CHRIST JESUS! Amen.

Soli Dei Gloria!

—Pastor Paul D. Nolting