in your Bible today to 1st Thessalonians. 1st Thessalonians chapter 5.
I'm going to speak to us today from
a verse of scripture that Pat and I often remind each other
of. 1 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse
18. In everything give thanks, for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I pray that the Lord will bless
this message to all of us here today. You know the text, it
isn't difficult to understand, is it? It's simple. It's easy to understand. In everything give thanks, for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. It's easy
to understand, but it may not be quite so easy to practice. And that's the thing I want to
speak to us about today, a message that I trust will help us to
heed this exhortation and to be diligent in giving thanks
in everything. I've divided the message into
three parts. First, I want us to see one thing
that this verse doesn't say. And then secondly, I want us
to see one thing this verse does say. And then third, I want us
to see another thing that this verse says. So first of all,
one thing that this verse doesn't say. It doesn't say, for everything
give thanks. It doesn't say that, does it?
It doesn't say for everything, give thanks. Now, as children
of God, we should and we do give thanks for everything that God
has given us. When we came into this world,
we brought nothing with us. And we should thank God for the
many gifts which he has bestowed upon us. And I think of the scripture
that the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians asking the believers
there, what hast thou that thou didst not receive? What do you
have today that you did not receive? We brought nothing with us, so
everything we have, we have received. And I want to mention a few things
for which we are to give thanks. Now, as I said, this verse doesn't
say, for everything, give thanks. But we know that as children
of God, we have cause to give thanks for many things. One thing, we thank Him for our
beans. We thank God for our beans. We
would not be here if it were not for God creating us. We would not be here if it were
not for Him giving us being. The scripture says, in Him we
live and move and have our being. We would not exist apart from
God. And sometimes the question is
asked, well then why did God create us? A friend of mine told
me recently, a man told him who heard of God's sovereign grace,
he said, well, it would seem strange that God would create
a person to put him in hell. And I said, God never did that.
God never did that. God has created every man for
his own glory. That's the reason all of us are
here. That's the reason that all men
have been created for His glory. The scripture says, for of Him
and through Him and to Him are all things to whom be glory forever. We thank God, first of all, for
our being. We would not be if it were not
for Him. And He has created each and every
one of us for His glory. And all men will glorify God. Some men will glorify His justice. No doubt about it. But many will
glorify His grace. No doubt about that either. But
all men are created for the glory of God. So first of all, we thank
God for, for our being. Second, we thank Him for the
Lord Jesus Christ. In 2 Corinthians 9 and verse
15, the Apostle Paul said, Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable
gift. Now who can that refer to? What
can that refer to? It doesn't refer to a what, does
it? It refers to a who. God's unspeakable
gift. And that can only refer to one
person, and that is His darling Son. Thanks be unto God. We thank God for the Lord Jesus
Christ. Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable
gift, that is the gift of His Son. The scripture says, for
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting
life. And think with me this morning.
When we give thanks for the Lord Jesus Christ, God's unspeakable
gift. Let's remember how He gave Him. He gave Him to be our substitute. He gave Him to be the substitute
for His chosen people. He gave Him to be the sin offering. The sacrifice, the one sacrifice
that does put away sin. We thank God for his unspeakable
gift, that is for his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, whom God gave
and he gave him to be our substitute, to stand in the place of his
people and experience the wrath of God for the sins of his chosen
people. He gave Him to be the sacrifice,
the one blood sacrifice that does, yes, put away the sin. For by one offering He hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified. That's what the Scripture says.
And we thank God for that one offering, for God's unspeakable
gift. He gave Him to be our substitute,
to be our sin offering. He gave Him. If you notice, if
you still have your Bible open here in 1 Thessalonians chapter
5, look back to verse 9. For God hath not appointed us
to wrath. You see, salvation, God's salvation,
is by appointment. It's by God's appointment. Paul
is writing to believers in the church at Thessalonica and he
tells them, For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but he
has appointed us to obtain salvation through or by our Lord Jesus
Christ. And that's the only way anyone
obtains salvation is by our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice the next verse. "...who
died for us, that whether we wake or sleep..."
In other words, whether we are living or we have already passed
away when the Lord Jesus Christ comes again. Whether we wake
or sleep, we should live together with Him. So we thank God for
our beings. We thank God for His unspeakable
gift. And third, we thank God for causing
us always to triumph in Christ. I want you to turn to this passage
in 2 Corinthians chapter 2. We thank God for causing us to
always triumph in Christ Jesus. 2 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse
14. Now, thanks be unto God. That's what we're talking about,
right? Thanking God for our beings. Thanking God for His unspeakable
gift. Thanking God for He always causes
us to triumph in Christ. Now the word triumph means to
be victorious, doesn't it? To be the victor. And it is in
Christ, you notice that. He says, now thanks be unto God
which always causeth us to triumph in Christ. That is, in Christ
we triumph. In His righteousness, we are
justified. In His death, which satisfied
God, we are accepted. In His resurrection, we too are
raised. And in His intercession for us,
we are always victorious. We always triumph in Christ. You cannot be in Christ and not
triumph. You cannot be in Christ and not
be victorious. Because God, thanks be unto God,
which always causeth us to triumph in Christ. Number four, and I'll ask you
to turn here as well, Colossians chapter one. We thank Him for
making us meet to be partaker of the inheritance of the saints.
Colossians chapter one and verses 12 and 13. Giving thanks, giving thanks
unto the father which hath made us meet. Now that word meet,
it means to qualify. That's what it means. It means
to qualify. Thanks be unto God, giving thanks
unto the Father which hath qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in light. When you think about God making
us meet, God qualifying us, think of what all He had to do. What all He did. to qualify us
to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in life. We're
talking about everlasting glory, the inheritance, heaven, enjoying
God throughout all eternity. Think of all that God had to
do to qualify us, to make us meet, to be partakers. of the inheritance of the saints
in life, to walk with the Lord God in eternity. What did he have to do? Well,
first of all, he had to choose us. He had to choose us, because
we never would have chosen him. Being dead in trespasses and
sins, as we all are when we come into this world, enmity with
God. Say no to God. I will not have
this man to reign over me. That's all of us by nature. First
of all, to qualify us, He had to choose us. Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all blessings in heavenly places in Christ. And the first thing
He mentions in Ephesians 1, as he hath chosen us in Christ. Secondly, not only did he have
to choose us to qualify us, but he had to predestine us to the
adoption of children. He predestined us. That's what
the scripture says in Ephesians 1. Predestined to the adoption
of children. You know, some people, when they
hear that word, and I'm talking about people who claim to be
Christians, and they hear that word predestined or predestination,
they're just, I mean, they just go wild. What foolishness. What Bible do they read? Not
this Bible. Scripture's very clear. He hath
predestined us to the adoption of children. To qualify us, choosing us, predestinating
us to the adoption of children, and then thirdly in that passage,
making us accepted in the Beloved. Did God the Father accept His
Son when He ascended back to the Father Did not the gates
of heaven bow before Him, the King of glory coming in? And just as the Father accepted
Him, so He accepts us in Him, never apart from Him. We're never
accepted in our own name, our own merit, our own desserts,
but accepted in the beloved, to qualify us to be made partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in light. In the book of Isaiah,
we read, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be
joyful in my God, for he hath clothed me with the garments
of righteousness. He hath covered me with the robe
of righteousness. Just like the father of that
prodigal told his servant, get the best robe, the best robe,
and put it on this my son, for he was lost and he's found. And so God the Father has clothed
his sons with the best robe. And it is the robe of His Son's
righteousness. And we are accepted in Him. Here's the fifth thing. So I
say, this verse, it doesn't tell us for everything to give thanks. But we do have a number of things
for which we give thanks. For which we give thanks. We
thank Him for our beings. We thank Him for the Lord Jesus
Christ. We thank Him for causing us to
always triumph in Christ. We thank Him for making us meet
to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. And think
about this, to make us meet, He had to give us repentance. Our Lord said, except you repent,
you shall all likewise perish. Well, repentance is a gift. He
was exalted a prince and a savior for to give repentance unto Israel. And he had to give us faith.
You see, saving faith is a God-given faith. All this to qualify us. And number
five, we thank him for all the creature comforts of life that
we enjoy. all the creature comforts of
life that we enjoy. You and I have been blessed to
live in this country where there is an abundance of things to
enjoy. But at this point, I would sound
a warning. I was reading again the book
of Ezekiel, and I noticed there again, I've noticed this before,
I'm sure you have as well, that in speaking to Judah, he told
them that even Sodom, we're all familiar with Sodom and how God
rained fire out of heaven to destroy that city. But God told
his people Judah that they had actually done worse than the
people of Sodom. And then he said this about Sodom.
He gives these three marks of that city. First of all, pride. Pride. Second, fullness of bread. And third, abundance of idleness. Now if that doesn't, if that
doesn't applied to our country, those
three things, I don't know what does. Pride. We've become so proud, we don't
need God anymore. And there's an abundance of bread. And there is an abundance of
idleness in this land. Okay, number two. One thing this
verse does say, in everything give thanks. In everything. It doesn't say for everything,
but we do give thanks for a number of things. But this verse says,
in everything give thanks. That means that in every circumstance
of life, we are to give thanks. Now the circumstances of life
are divided into two parts, into two divisions, prosperity and
adversity. In the book of Ecclesiastes,
chapter 7 and verse 14, we read, in the day of prosperity, be
joyful. In the day of adversity, consider. God also hath set this one over
against the other, to the end that man should find nothing
after him." Prosperity, adversity. And we should consider that God,
yes, God is the one who has set one over against the other. And all of us here today, I'm
sure, would acknowledge that we have experienced days of prosperity
and we have experienced days of adversity. God has set one
over against the other. It's God who did it. It's God
who does it. It's not fate. It's not the alignment
of the stars. It's God. Someone said, well,
what's the difference between fate and God's providence? Well, what's the difference between
a robot caring for a baby and a mother caring for a baby? What's
the difference? Robot could be programmed to
do everything just right. But there's a lot of difference
between a robot and a mother caring for her baby. We do not
believe in fate. We believe in God's providence.
And yes, there's a purpose for everything under the sky. And it is the purpose of our
Heavenly Father. In everything, give thanks. In prosperity, we are to give
thanks. That's included in that verse
where We read in the Day of Prosperity, be joyful. It becomes us to give
thanks to God and join what He has given us. And it's easy. It's easy to give thanks in the
Day of Prosperity. You might say, well, what would
you call Days of Prosperity? Well, I've listed a few things
here. Days of Youth. Days of youth
before the evil time comes. The scripture speaks about in
Ecclesiastes. That's a day of prosperity. Days
of youth. Days of health. Charles Spurgeon, many of you
are familiar with him. He said this, and I confess right
now I haven't arrived to this. But he said there's only one
thing better than good health. bad health. As I said, I haven't got there
yet. I know why he said that. In bad health, we're more engaged
and more turned toward God. I recognize that. But days of
prosperity, days of youth, days of good health, days of abundance,
manifold blessings of God, But in adversity, in everything,
we are to give thanks. And what do I mean by adversity? Well, there's so many things,
but I wanted to name this, first of all, spiritual turmoil. I'm talking to God's children
today. When our adversary, the devil, is attacking, or when
the old nature seems to have the upper hand When we're harassed
with doubts and fears, that's certainly a day of adversity
for a child of God. You say, well, I never have any
of those things. Well, you better check up. You better check up. You never
have any days of adversity, days of turmoil in your spirit. Never
have any fear, never have any doubts, I'm not praising these things,
but let's face facts. We still have an old nature.
We have a new nature. Yes, absolutely. And if it were
not for that, we would never give thanks. But in everything,
give thanks. In spiritual turmoil, in afflictions. Maybe afflictions of the body.
Maybe problems in the family. Maybe financial problems and
difficulties, just on and on and on. But in everything give
thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
you. Now this begs the question, if
we are to give thanks in everything, in adversity as well as in prosperity,
then what are we to give thanks for in adversity? Let me mention,
in adversity we are to give thanks because we have a faithful God
as our Father. We do. We have a faithful God
as our Father. He cannot deny Himself. I had a friend years ago, he's
since gone to heaven, but he used to make a statement something
like this. He would say, God would just
as soon starve the angel Gabriel. has to prove unfaithful to one
of his children. That's so, isn't it? That's so. He's not going to starve Gabriel,
and he's not going to forsake one of his children. If you notice
further down in 1 Thessalonians 5 and verse 24, we read, Faithful,
faithful is he that calleth you, who will also do it. In adversity,
number two, in adversity we are to give thanks because we have
the promises of God. You know, Satan's temptations
are great, but the grace of God is sufficient for every trial. The scripture says, resist the
devil and he will flee from you. In Isaiah, God said, no weapon
formed against you shall prosper. In adversity, Give thanks for
the many promises of God. Someone said, if we never had
any adversity, a good deal of the Bible would not be of any
use. It's in adversity and afflictions
and in trouble that we find these precious promises in God's word
and we believe them and are comforted. Number three, in adversity, we
are to give thanks because our God is the God of all comfort. And He comforts us in all our
tribulations. And He does so in order that
we may be able to comfort others. And think of this, if you are
a child of God here today, do not refuse God's comfort. You may. You may, at your own
loss, do not refuse God's comfort. You say, well, how does He comfort
us? He comforts us with the Word of God. How many times have I
known a person going through a trial and affliction, and one
of the first things that person does is stop coming to worship
God. That's probably about the worst
thing you could do. You need to be, if you're in
affliction and trial, God's going to comfort you. Yes, he's the
God of all comfort. And he's going to comfort you
with his word, through his word. But the worst thing you could
do is turn away from the word of God. And number four, we in adversity
are to give thanks because of the many examples we have in
the scripture. of other believers who were in
adversity, some of them severe, severe adversity. I think about
Job, and it's hard to imagine a worse case scenario than he
was in. I mean, everything he had was
gone, all of his property was gone, his children were taken
away, his health was taken away, and his wife, his helpmate, gave
him such horrible advice. She said, curse God and die.
And yet, in the midst of affliction, he still thanked the Lord. Blessed
be the name of the Lord. And I thought about Daniel, too.
When he was under that edict to be destroyed with all the
wise men in Babylon, And yet he gave thanks unto the Lord,
recognizing God as the God of all flesh, who reveals the secrets
of men." The Apostle Paul, he was in great affliction, wasn't
he? He said, Satan as a messenger, or thorn in the flesh as a messenger
of Satan to buffet me. And yet, it was through that
experience that God told him, my grace, my grace is sufficient
for you. Whatever it is. Got out of grace. Completely run out. Not hardly. In everything, give thanks. In adversity we are to give thanks
because we have not a high priest who cannot be touched with the
feelings of our infirmities. We have one who can. He's been
here and he was tempted of Satan, yet without sin. You just look
and read about his temptation there in the wilderness and remember
this. He knows, and he may be touched
with the feelings of our infirmities. The psalmist said, he remembereth
that we are dust. Like a father pitieth his children,
so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. He remembers our frame. We're just made out of dust.
That's all we are, just made out of dust. Abraham, that saint
of God, when he prayed, he said, God, I'm nothing but dust and
ashes speaking to you. God's grace is sufficient. In adversity we are to give thanks
because This is part, whatever it is, this is part of the all
things that work together for good to them that love God, to
those who are the called according to his purpose. This is what
our text says, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
you. Whatever our situation is at
this time, This is God's will for you. It's God's will for
you. It's God's will for you to give
thanks. He is a sovereign ruler over
all things. Our Lord said this, not one sparrow. How many sparrows
do you think are in this world? not one falls to the ground without
your heavenly Father. The very hairs of your head are
all numbered. In everything give thanks, for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. And thirdly,
one other thing that this verse says, this is the will of God
in Christ Jesus concerning you. How many times have you asked
yourself, and how many times maybe have other people asked
you, well, I just wonder what God's will is for me. Well, you
don't need to wonder anymore. You don't need to wonder about
that. I don't need to wonder about that. Three verses of scripture
which clearly tell us God's will. Number one, in John 6, 29, this
is the work of God, this is the will of God, that you believe
on Him whom He hath sent. That's God's will, that you believe
on Christ, that you trust in Christ, submit to Him as your
Lord and Savior. Secondly, 1 Corinthians 10 31,
whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do
all to the glory of God. This is God's will. And thirdly,
our text this morning, in everything give thanks for this is the will
of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Easy to understand, isn't it? May God give us grace to practice
in everything, learn to give thanks. We're going to sing a hymn and
then be dismissed.