1 Thessalonians 5. Yesterday morning, I heard about a situation that involved, I believe, the greatest advice that I have ever heard anyone give to anybody. The greatest advice that I have ever heard anyone give to anybody. A man was talking to his pastor and the man was not complaining. He was not complaining.

But the man was at a place in life where he was so overwhelmed. because of a few different circumstances, job and sickness in his family and a few other things. They all just piled up on him at once. You can handle things as they come, but sometimes they all pile up at once. And this man told his pastor that he felt he was so barely able to keep his head above water He said that he didn't even feel that he was in a frame of mind where he could properly pray. He said he felt like he was barely hanging on in every aspect of his life. Everything piled up at once.

And this very wise older pastor said to him, here is what you need to do. He said, as soon as you get off of this phone, they were on a phone call. He said, as soon as you get off of this phone, you need to thank God for each and every one of those things. He said, go down the list, you need to make a list of every single one of them and give God thanks and glory for each one of them. because each one of those things are of the Lord. He said, in everything, give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

When I heard that, I thought, I believe that's the greatest advice I've ever heard anyone give in all of my life. And it made me immediately want to go down my list of stresses and anxieties and worries and burdens. It immediately made me want to take my burden to the Lord and give him thanks for it. Not only leave it there, it made me want to leave it there, but it actually made me want to give thanks for it first before I leave it there.

Everything is of the Lord. Everything is of the Lord. Everything is of His sovereign providence for each person, for each individual person, each one of His own. Everything is of His all-wise counsel. Everything is of the Lord. Everything. Everything is of the Lord.

After hearing that, I knew that this would be our text tonight. First Thessalonians 5 verse 18, it says, in everything, give thanks. In everything, give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. In everything, give thanks. Because everything is of the Lord. Everything. Everything is of the Lord. I want us to give thanks tonight in light of the fact that everything is of the Lord. Everything. Look with me at a few scriptures here. Go to Proverbs 16. Proverbs 16. Verse 33, Proverbs 16, verse 33, it says, The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.

Do you know why we become overwhelmed? Anybody ever become overwhelmed? Do you know why we become overwhelmed? It's because we get it in our minds that the whole disposing is of us. The whole disposing is of us. Our Lord casts his will and his purpose concerning us in our lap. He lets us hold His will and purpose concerning us for a little while sometimes. It's His will and His purpose. And He lets us hold it. We sit right there and He lets us hold it in our lap just for a little while sometimes. But He's the one who ordains it. And He's the one who carries it out. And He's the one who finishes it. The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. In everything give thanks, because the whole disposing is of the Lord. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

That last word in our text there really, really hit me. You. We can read that and understand that two ways. Number one, what it's saying is, what our text is saying is, whatever it is, give thanks for it. because that is what the Lord your God wants you to do. Give thanks for it. That's what he wants you to do. Rejoice evermore. This is how we are to conduct ourselves. Rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks.

That's the first way to read it. The second way to read it and understand it is, whatever it is, give thanks for it, Because you are going through exactly what the Lord your God wants you to go through right now. This is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. And then this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. This is God's will for you. Everything. Everything that our Lord does concerning us is wise.

You know, we do not need him until he puts us in a place where we need him. It is amazing to me how much men and women, and I'm going to put myself at the top of the list. I am a man. And it amazes me how much we men and women don't need him. It's amazing.

We go, we wake up in the morning and go through a day and we don't need him. We just don't need him. And then we'll eat and think, oh yeah, I'm supposed to pray. Maybe we'll, you know, get in the bed at the end of the day and think, oh, oh wait, wait, I think I'm supposed to pray. And then something will come along, and all of a sudden, we need him. We really need him.

Everything that he does concerning us, everything that he does, period, including everything that he does concerning us, is wise, it's profitable, and it's good. Everything. Oh, give thanks. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good. Turn with me to Proverbs 20. It's a good verse. Proverbs 20. Verse 24.

Man's goings are of the Lord. How can a man then understand his own way? Man's goings are of the Lord. It's of the Lord. The goings of his people are not of his people. It's of the Lord. We hear this and we think of the Lord. How could what I'm going through be of the Lord? How could this be good? You say it's good. How could this be good? He's leading me through this. I don't understand what he's leading me through. I don't understand why he's leading me through it. No, you're right. We don't. But he does. He does.

Look at Proverbs 21 right here. Verse 31, Proverbs 21, verse 31, it says, the horse is prepared against the day of battle, but safety is of the Lord. That word safety means victory. That's of the Lord. We make all of our preparations. We go out and get us a horse or the current equivalent thereof. And we try to prepare ourselves and set up a guard for ourselves. But everything is in the hands of the Lord. Everything's in the hands of the Lord. Most importantly, this is in the hands of the Lord.

This right here, turn over to Lamentations 3. After Jeremiah, Lamentations 3. Verse 21, it says, this I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not. Mercy is of the Lord. It's of the Lord Jesus Christ. Mercy is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning his people.

Do you know what God's people become more and more convinced of the longer they go through the anxieties of this world? More and more convinced of it. The longer we go through these anxieties, this is what we become convinced of. I need mercy. I need mercy. I need the grace of mercy. I need God's gift of mercy, the mercy that God has provided for me in Christ Jesus, my Savior. I need mercy.

The longer we go through these things, the more we realize I don't need my health, I don't need my wealth, and I don't need my happiness as long as I have Christ's. If I have his health, if I have his wealth, if I have his happiness, then I can be thankful.

Verse 21 says, this I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul. Therefore will I hope in him. If I have Christ, I have everything. If I have Christ, I have the only thing that's needful for this life and for the life to come. Salvation in Him, that's it. Look with me at Jonah chapter 2, if your Bible's like mine, it's page 1151.

Jonah 2 verse 9 says, but I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. Jonah had been swallowed by a whale and dragged to the bottom of the ocean for three days. And through that overwhelming experience of life, he was taught to say, I will sacrifice unto the Lord with the voice of thanksgiving. He was still in the belly of the whale when he said that. I'll give thanks for this.

Because now I realize that salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we give thanks for that, don't we? We give so much thanks for that. But what blesses my heart to no end, this really does. I remember the first time I saw this, heard this, got a hold of this. What truly blesses my heart is realizing that our Lord Jesus Christ gave thanks for it. Salvation is of the Lord and we give thanks for that. But what blesses me immensely is our Lord Jesus Christ gave thanks for it.

Look with me at Luke 22. Luke 22 verse 7, it says, then came the day of unleavened bread when the Passover must be killed. And he sent Peter and John saying, go and prepare us the Passover that we may eat. And they said unto him, where wilt thou that we prepare? And he said unto them, behold, when you are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you bearing a pitcher of water, follow him into the house where he entereth in. And you shall say unto the good man of the house, the master saith unto thee, where is the guest chamber where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples? And he shall show you a large upper room furnished, there make ready. And they went and found as he had said unto them, and they made ready the Passover. And when the hour was come, he sat down and the 12 apostles with him, and he said unto them with desire, I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. Why did he desire to eat that Passover with them? It's because it was the last one. It was the last one. Why was it going to be the last Passover?

Because the lamb was about to be slain. The Passover was given 2,000 years before that moment through Moses, and it was given in order to picture the lamb that would be slain for the sins of God's people. All of those lambs that they slayed for 2,000 years were not the lamb slain. They only pictured the lamb that would be slain. They were a picture promise from God that a lamb would be slain to pay the sin debt of God's people. And Christ was that actual lamb. John the Baptist cried, behold the lamb. And in order for the law to be fulfilled, Christ observed that ordinance picture of the Passover every year. He did it every year first with his, you know, earthly parents. his family and then with his disciples every year. Now on this particular year, this is the last one. This is the last one. No more pictures of redemption. Redemption himself has come.

In verse 15, he said unto them, with desire, I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.' And he took the cup and gave thanks." That cup of wine was a picture of his actual blood that would be spilled out of him, emptied out of him, and he gave thanks. He gave thanks for the fact that that was going to happen for the salvation of his people. He thanked God for that.

Verse 17, he took the cup and gave thanks and said, take this and divide it among yourselves. And what he's saying there is this is going to leave me and all of us going to you. It's all going to you. Verse 18, for I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God shall come.

And he took bread and gave thanks and break it. He gave thanks before he broke it. He broke his body for his people. That broken unleavened bread represented the fact that his body was going to be marred more than any man had ever been marred. To the point his life would be taken from him. And before that happened, before he suffered, he gave thanks for it. Verse 19, he took bread and gave thanks and break it and gave unto them saying, this is my body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me. He took it. He broke it. He said, no man takes my life from me. I lay it down to myself. He broke it. Verse 20, likewise also the cup after supper saying this cup is the New Testament in my blood which is shed for you. What else do we need than that right there to say Lord in everything would you just allow me to give thanks? Would you just allow me to give thanks?

You've caused me to see that you're in sovereign control of everything. You've given me faith that looks to you and trusts you. You've made me to believe that all of this is ordered and sure. Lord, if this is your will in Christ Jesus concerning me, would you please just let me give you thanks?

You do right. We can say that, can't we? You do all things well. Let me just rejoice evermore. Let me just pray without ceasing. And in everything, let me just give you thanks. That's what our Lord did. He was the fulfiller of that. You and I can't fulfill that, but he did for us. Everything that has happened is happening, everything that will happen, happened, happening, will happen, will happen. It's all sovereignly, lovingly, perfectly, up the Lord. Let me see that, Lord, and let me just give you thanks.

Two old preachers of the gospel very long time ago, Josh Gravitt and A.D. Mews, they flipped a Model T4 one night driving home from a conference. Front tire blew out, I think. And the car rolled and it slung Josh Gravitt out of the car. And he landed out in a field. And A.D. Mews ended up laying on the ceiling of the car because the car was upside down. It landed upside down. And A.D. Mews crawled out of the car, crawled through the weeds over to Josh Gravitt.

And he said, Josh, are you hurt badly? And Josh said, Archie, God is sovereign and will be thankful. I forget how many he had a punctured lung and how many broken ribs and just, you know, God is sovereign and we'll be thankful. Lord, would you teach me that? Would you let me know that? Let me say that. Lord, let me be thankful in Christ for Christ's sake, as he was so thankful for me and everything that he endured for me. Let me be thankful in Him. Everything is of Him. May the Lord teach us that. Amen.