I can't tell you how many, many
times I've stood in this pulpit and have a message from God and
wonder why now did God give this message? Why this hour? Turn with me to Ephesians chapter
5. and we'll begin reading at verse 15. Ephesians chapter five and verse
15. In the light of the things that
have transpired with you these past few days, as I prepared
this message, knowing what was coming up tonight in the message,
I can't help but to be convinced God has given a very special
message for this particular time. Ephesians 5, 15. See then that you walk circumspectly,
behave like you ought to, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming
the time, buying up the opportunity before you. Because the days
are evil. Man that is born of woman is
a few days and full of trouble. Every day of life in this world
is full of evil. Every day. Every day. Many evil
things accompany us day by day. Excuse me. Wherefore be not unwise,
but understanding what the will of the Lord is. Then in verse
18, the apostle tells us what the will of the Lord is. It is
the will of the Lord that you and I who are his should trust
his son. That we should constantly live
in this world looking to Christ, leaning on Christ, trusting Christ,
seeking the honor of Christ, serving Christ. That we be filled
with the Spirit. And be not drunk with wine wherein
is excess, but be filled with the Spirit. That your life be
constantly ruled by the Spirit of God in you. Then he tells
us in very plain, simple terms, what's involved in this new life
that's given us in Christ Jesus. He tells us what it is to live
for Christ, to live in the Spirit, to walk in the Spirit, to be
filled with the Spirit. What is this thing called Christianity? What is it that really separates
the believer from the unbeliever, the believer from the mere religious
person? How do believers differ from
others? Verses 19, 20, and 21 give us
three things specifically involved in this new life God gives to
chosen redeemed sinners in Jesus Christ. Here are three things
by which true Christianity may be always identified. Redemption
and grace experienced in the heart. puts a song of praise
in the heart to God. Look at verse 19. Speaking to
yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing
and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Grace experienced
in the soul puts a song in the heart. The experience of salvation
inspires in everyone who has experienced it and everyone who
continues experiencing it. Praise to God Almighty from the
heart. I find it interesting that the
very next thing that happened after Moses and the children
of Israel crossed the Red Sea, Moses led the congregation in
singing a song of praise to God and the Lamb. And that song of
praise, we're told, will be the song of God's saints in heaven.
Those who experience grace. have in their hearts a melody,
a song of praise to God. Hold your hands here and turn
back to Psalm 40. Psalm 40. I waited patiently for the Lord,
and he inclined unto me and heard my cry. He brought me up also
out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet
upon a rock and established my goings. I was in a deep, deep,
dark, dark pit. And he brought me out and he
set my feet upon a rock. He established my life and he
hath put a new song in my mouth. even praise to our God. Many
shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord. Blessed is
that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not
the proud, nor such as turn aside the lies. Many, O Lord my God,
are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts
which are to usward. They cannot be reckoned up in
order unto thee. If I would declare and speak
of them, they're more than can be numbered. All right, look
back here in our text, Ephesians 5, verse 20. Here's the second
thing. Salvation known and experienced
in the heart causes saved sinners to give thanks to God. Not just to say thank you, but
to live giving thanks to God. Salvation known and experienced
in the heart causes saved sinners to live giving thanks to God,
giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 21. Here's the third thing. grace
of God to bring salvation causes saved sinners to submit themselves
to one another in the fear of God. Submitting yourselves one
to another in the fear of God. Now those are things totally
contrary to nature. Totally contrary to humanity. So if a preacher, everybody sings,
oh, folks sing to pretend that they're happy. Believers sing
because they are. Folks sing trying to make themselves
happy. Believers sing because they are.
Folks sing and make a lot of noise trying to cover up the
pain. Believers sing because they rejoice
in the Lord. Believers are men and women give
thanks to God continually. They live in relentless thanksgiving. You mean, Brother Don, you don't
ever have any sorrow? I didn't say that. I didn't say
that. You don't ever have any pain, I didn't suggest that.
You don't ever weep, I didn't suggest that. Believers live
continually giving thanks to God and thankful to God even
for those things that cause the pain and the sorrow and the tears. And believers are men and women
who submit themselves to others willingly. We are happiest when
we do so. We're happiest when we do so.
We make ourselves miserable when we insist on having our own way
and make everybody miserable around us. We make ourselves
miserable, say, I'm gonna do what I want to, I'm not gonna,
I'm not gonna pay any attention, I'll do what I want to. You make
yourself miserable, make everybody else miserable. Believers, in
God's good grace are compelled by grace and they want to bow
their will to the other. To bow their decision to the
other. To bow their wants to the other. Submitting yourselves one to
another in the fear of God. Now that's enough if we could
just get what I've said thus far and God write it on our hearts. worth the effort to be here.
But I want us to focus our attention, our minds, and our hearts on
this statement given in verse 20, giving thanks always for
all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Giving thanks. I can't imagine
a subject more important, more practical, or more desirable.
I can't imagine a subject more delightful. I can't imagine a
subject that if indeed we learn that which we are here commanded
to do, If we learn to obey that which is here commanded of us
in Scripture, if we learn from our hearts to give thanks to
God, nothing will be of more benefit to your soul or make
you more beneficial to another. If you want to worship God, give
thanks. If you want to honor God, give
thanks. If you want to serve God, give
thanks. If you want to help others, Give
thanks. If you want to quit grumbling,
give thanks. If you'd like to quit hurting
other people, give thanks. If you want to overcome depression,
give thanks. If you want to stop feeling sorry
for yourself, give thanks. If you want to be useful to others,
give thanks. If you want to benefit the lives of others,
give thanks. Giving thanks is always in season. Giving thanks is always good. Giving thanks is always beneficial. We can't always be singing with
our lips, but there should always be a song in our hearts. If we
must, of necessity, pause from outward expressions of praise,
We ought never refrain from inwardly giving thanks to God. Giving
thanks always for all things under God and the Father in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I read just a little bit today
about James Montgomery. He lived very close to where
Shelby and I were just visiting, Battle of Money, North Ireland.
And he didn't really have much in life to make him a real happy
man. He wrote these words. Oh thou
my light, my life, my joy, my glory and my all. Unsent by thee,
no good can come, nor evil can befall. Such are thy schemes
of providence and methods of thy grace that I may safely trust
in thee through all this wilderness. Tis thine outstretched and powerful
arm upholds me in the way, and thy rich bounty well supplies
the wants of every day. For such compassions, oh my God,
10,000 thanks are due For such compassions, I esteem 10,000
thanks too few. For such goodness, mercy, and
grace as we daily experience at the hand of our God, 10,000
thanks a day are too few. Our lives ought to be anointed
with this precious oil of thanksgiving. If our hearts grow cold, we should
warm them with the fire of gratitude. It is the duty of all men to
give thanks to God. Some years ago, I can't remember
where I read it, but I read a statement Mr. Spurgeon made when preaching
on this subject to Thanksgiving. He said, if you look at a little bird,
just drink a little water out of a puddle, it raises its head
to give thanks to God. It can't take the swallow without
raising its head as if to give thanks to God. thankful we ought
always to be who know God and His grace in Jesus Christ our
Lord. For you and I who have experienced
God's salvation, this is a duty, but it's more than a duty. It
is our privilege, oh God what a privilege, to be always giving
thanks. My God, if you will enable me
always to be giving thanks, take from me anything you wish,
anything you will, and teach me always to be giving thanks
to you. Take from me anything that keeps
me from giving thanks to you. Behold the wondrous love and
grace of God in Christ. You and I who are gods have every
imaginable reason for giving thanks to him and being a thankful
people. Now let's look at our text word
by word. I said thanksgiving is our duty,
but it is a duty that can never be forced by law. You just can't
take a whip and make fellas happy. You can't punish folks and make
them happy. You can't threaten them and make
them happy. You can't force thanksgiving by law. This commandment, giving
thanks all way to God and the Father by our Lord Jesus Christ,
through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, is a duty that
can be forced only by the experience of grace. It arises from a heart
overflowing by the mercy, love, and grace of God in Christ Jesus. What is it we're commanded to
do? Give thanks. Give thanks. Thanksgiving. How can I describe it? It is
an emotion. An emotion of gratitude. It's an expression by song or
speech, or just by a look, which means far more than words can
say, or by some other methods. Thanksgiving is something that
you sense, and you feel, and you know. If somebody's thankful
for you, you just know it. They don't have to say anything.
They may just look at you. Thanksgiving is an emotion better
felt than expressed. better felt than stated. And it's something that can only
be known as it is felt. It is the joyful celebration
of God's great goodness. That's Thanksgiving. We're to
give thanks in our hearts, giving gratitude to God for all that
he is and all that he does, all that he does with us, all that
he does for us, all that he does, if I can use the word, to us. For that which God does to us,
he does for us. We're bound to show this gratitude. And the best way to show gratitude
is with obedience. The angels of God, When they
give praise to him, sing hallelujah, hallelujah, doing his commandments,
hearkening to the voice of the Lord. To perform our sometimes
tiresome, laborious duties cheerfully is giving thanks to God. I don't often wake up before
Shelby does. She's usually up and getting
coffee and bringing it to me in bed about the time I wake
up. Once in a while, I wake up before she does. And I can't
tell you how delightful it is for me to just lean over and
I'll look at her for a minute and she'll open her eyes and
a beaming smile, and I won't tell you what she says. You'll
have to find that out later. Oh, it just makes my day. It
just makes my day. But all through the day, toiling
continually, sometimes we seldom get to talk. Toiling all the
time until time to go to bed because that woman loves me and
is thankful for me, and for some strange, astonishing reason,
she's thankful to me. Isn't that amazing? Isn't that
amazing? And you can't show gratitude
better than by obedience. Thanksgiving is not only something
that's right, but Thanksgiving is something that believers can
and should express to God all the time. You bear the pain and
sickness patiently. Because it's God's will, that's
giving thanks. You sympathize with the suffering
saints because of the love of Christ in you and in them, that's
giving thanks. You love the cause of God and
you defend that cause for Christ's sake, that's giving thanks. It's
a small thing for us to give our poor thanks to God. But it
is something that all of us can do. It's something the poorest,
weakest, least gifted believer can do. He can give thanks. He
can give thanks. The smoking flax may not be able
to do much, but it can give thanks that it's not quenched. The bruised
reed may not have any strength, but it can give thanks it's not
broken. Even the speechless mute can just with the look of his
eye give thanks to God. Giving thanks. That's what he
tells us to do. When? Look at the text. Always. Always. The psalmist said, every
day will I bless thee and I will praise thy name forever and ever. Praise the Lord, O my soul, while
I live will I praise the Lord. I will sing praises unto my God
while I have any being. We should give thanks to our
God always, all the time, in all circumstances, for all things. The days of our lives should
be full of praise to God. I'm not talking now about pretense
praise. I can't stand fake anything. I just don't like fake things. And I don't want to be a fake. I'm not talking about putting
on a happy face. I'm talking about thanksgiving, real thanksgiving. The believing heart should always
be full of gratitude. No, Merle, I'll take that back.
The believing heart always is full of gratitude. It is only the evil heart of
unbelief that is not. The believing heart is full of
gratitude to God. The believing heart bows to him
in all things. My lips may not always be able
to sing, but the heart of faith can. When we awake in the morning,
we ought to awaken with thanksgiving to our God, full of praise for
the dawn of another day God's given us. I wonder what God will
do today. Oh, God, give me grace to wake
up that way every morning. And when we lie down at night,
our hearts ought to have this last thought, gratitude to God
for mercies throughout the day. When we eat our bread, we ought
to eat our bread with thanksgiving. At our house, anytime we have
a meal, we bow and have prayer. Sadly, the words too often, and
I'm the one who does the praying audibly, are just words. But the fact is, I haven't taken
a drink of anything or eating a piece of bread or a candy kiss
in 50 years without thanksgiving to God. It is he who by his hand feeds
me, body and soul all the time. In days of youth, teach your
children to give thanks. for the goodness of God to them. Somehow, somehow, I wish I could
instill in every one of your children, thanksgiving to God
for the privilege of being raised by godly mother and father in
the house of God. Strong men and women in the midst
of life, give thanks to God for those household joys you enjoy,
for the blessings of God's loving kindness. And for those of us who, like
golden grain now with age, bow our heads like ripened fruits,
God's saints ought to constantly give thanks to him. Now look
what he says. This is God's word, not mine. Why should we give thanks for
all things? For all things. This is where
true religion is separated from carnal religion. This is where
the precious is separated from the vile. It's very easy for
me to stand here and tell you to give thanks in all things
and for all things. But I've not always found it
easy to practice what I preach. I confess that to my shame. But
this is the rule God gives us here. Giving thanks always for
all things. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything,
give thanks. How come? For this is the will
of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. This right now, whatever it is
that lays so heavy on your soul, whatever it is that breaks your
heart, whatever it is that causes all kinds of concern in your
mind, this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you
if you're His. Bill Raleigh, that which you
have experienced to this moment and that which you'll experience
from every moment forward. This is God's will concerning
you. If it weren't, it wouldn't happen.
You got that? This is God's will concerning
you. Whatever it is, that means it's the best thing possible. I mean, things just could not
be better. I mean, God could not do better
for you than he is doing for you right now. God could not
do better for me than he has done, than he is doing, than
he shall do. Now, what was it I ought to be
grumbling about? What was that thing I was griping
about yesterday? Why was I murmuring this morning?
God could not do better than he has done, is doing, and shall
do for me. We should give thanks like Job
in times of adversity, when health and family and wealth and friends
have all forsaken us. Give thanks in times of temptation. and trial, because God's grace
is sufficient still. He's still the rock of our salvation.
I told Mark and me back in the office, he read to us from James
chapter three. I asked Shelby earlier this morning
or this afternoon, I've been trying to remember all day, what
was it Mark read for Sunday night? He got up here and said, Brother
Don always tells, has told us many times, Thanksgiving is always
in season. I thought, James chapter one,
that was it. That was it. Giving thanks for
what? All the trials. all the temptations,
all the troubles by which God teaches you to cast all your
care on Him who cares for you. We're to give thanks to God for
all things because this is God's will and God's will is good. Shall there be evil in a city
and the Lord hath not done it? Job asked the question of his
wife, and every time I hear it, as I read the book of Job, or
even think about it, I try my best to hear it spoken to me. What? Shall we receive good at
the hand of the Lord, and shall we not receive evil? Give thanks
to God for it is he who gives us life and being and strength
every day. Give thanks to God. It is his
hand that preserves and upholds us. Give thanks to God for every
blessing of grace flows to us from our God in his infinite
goodness and mercy in Christ Jesus. God Almighty, before the
world was, loved me. and arranged all the history
of the universe accordingly. Everything. Before the world was, God accepted
man in his son. God justified man. God sanctified
man. God made me righteous, God redeemed
me, God saved me, and God gave me every blessing of grace in
Christ Jesus before the world was as his son. Behold what manner
of love the Father hath bestowed on us, that we should be called
the sons of God. In the fullness of time, God
sent his son to redeem me with his precious blood. He called
me by His Spirit, gave me life and faith in His Son, sealing
to me all these blessings, declaring in my soul, salvation is yours,
you're righteous, you're accepted with God, you please God, I'm
yours and you're mine forever. And God has been pleased to give
me the blessed, hopeful anticipation of everlasting glory with Christ
the Lord. When Lindsay came in this evening
and sat down, I knew that Mrs. Blake, Diane's mom, was about
91 or 92. I was really surprised when I
read this morning she was 94 years old. And I'll tell you
the first thing I thought, she's not old anymore. Not anymore, not anymore. I live
in the constant expectation of life like we can't begin to imagine. Do you ever roll over in your
mind those words of the apostle? I hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither hath it entered into the heart of man the things which
the Lord has prepared for them that love him. but God's revealed
them to us by His Spirit. Let me tell you what that means.
I know exactly what that means. We know the fact of it. We know
what God's promised. I wouldn't be like Christ. I'm
gonna see as he sees, know as he knows, think as he thinks,
see all things through his eyes. Those facts. I'm gonna be transformed
to his image. That's fact. I'm gonna be raised
up in glory. That's a fact. God's gonna wipe
away all tears from our eyes. There'll be no more sorrow, pain,
sickness, death, any of those things, the former things that
passed away. Those are all facts. And Brother Claude, I ain't got
a clue what I just said. I ain't got a clue what I just
said. It's never entered into my mind or my heart what those
things mean. They're beyond imagination, beyond
description. Oh, but this is the life we anticipate
as we walk before our God, giving thanks always and for all things. thanks unto God for the Lord
Jesus, His unspeakable gift. For in that one gift, all gifts
are included. Give thanks to God for His providence,
for His rule of the world. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage
take. The clouds you so much dread
are big with mercy and shall break in blessing on your head.
Do you know who wrote that hymn? A fella by the name of William
Cowper. William Cowper. William Cowper
was brilliant, talented, wealthy. He had everything possible going
for him, except one thing. All his life, He suffered horribly
with depression, horribly. John Newton, his pastor, would
go administer shock treatment to Calper back in the days when
you crank up that grinder and shock a fella. and Cowper was
institutionalized, even after God saved him, was institutionalized,
he couldn't stand to go out in public worship services. He just
couldn't take it. If I were his pastor, I'd have
probably chewed him out several times, but Newton was gracious
and kind. Cowper understood. He understood in his soul the
conflict he experienced. At one time when he was determined
to end his own life, God prevented it. And he came
back to his little room and he wrote those words. Judge not
the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace. Behind
the frowning providence, he hides a smiling face. His purposes
will ripen fast, unfolding every hour. The bud may have a bitter
taste, but sweet will be the flower. I want to live before
God like John Bradford lived and died before Queen Mary. That saint and martyr who was
reviled and put to death as a rebel. said with regard to Queen Mary,
I have no quarrel with the queen. If she released me, I'll thank
her. If she imprisoned me, I will thank her. If she burned me,
I will thank her. Oh my God, teach me. Teach me
as only you can to have no quarrel with you. but only thanks in
everything, my Father, through the name, through the blood and
righteousness of my Mediator, my surety, the Lord Jesus Christ. Augustine tells us that the early
when they met would never part company without saying, Deo gratis,
that is, thanks be to God. Write it on my heart, giving
thanks always and for all things to God and our Father through
our Lord Jesus Christ. And I promise you, I promise
you, life will be indescribably sweeter. Rejoice in the Lord
always. Rejoice in the Lord always. In everything, give thanks. Let the peace of God rule in
your hearts, and it will, as you rejoice and give thanks unto
God. Amen.