Luke chapter 18. We want to begin reading in verse 9 and we'll read down through verse 14. So Luke chapter 18 and verse 9, it says, and he, being Christ, spake this parable and a certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. For everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. I want to present a message tonight that we've entitled, Vain Thanksgiving. Let's go into a word of prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord, for this day. We thank you, Lord, for this opportunity to gather together with like-minded believers. We pray, Lord, that You may bless the services. We pray that all that is done, that You may receive the glory from it, that You may be pleased with it. We pray, Lord, that You may help us as Your people to be a thankful people, a people that don't offer up vain thanks as the Pharisee does in this parable. We pray, Lord, that you may just bless the message that goes forth, and it may be a blessing unto your people, and most of all, that it may be God-honoring. And we ask all this in the name of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. My guess is that this won't really be kind of your typical Thanksgiving-type message. It won't be so much as a call to be more thankful than it will be more about being more mindful of where your thankfulness is directed and the type of attitude that we ought to have when we give thanks. But Christ, in this portion of Scripture, I'm sure we're familiar with this portion of Scripture, but he tells a story, of course, of a Pharisee and a publican. But first, before we, I guess, dive into the parable itself, Note to whom this parable was directed unto. Verse 9, and he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. First, Christ, as we're told, I spoke this to those who trusted in themselves. Now, if you are trusting in yourself, who are you not trusting in? You're not trusting in God. At this point, let me make an observation. This parable is primarily, at least when Christ spoke it, was declared to those who were unsaved. The Pharisee and the story that Christ gives is really a description of those which He is speaking to directly. And we'll actually, when we get into the parable itself, we'll notice just how closely this Pharisee resembles these Pharisees Christ was speaking to. So this parable was primarily to teach a lesson to those who were currently unbelievers, and it was to convict them of their unholy attitudes. Now having said that, however, please note that while the saint of God is not depicted by the Pharisee in the story, it is very possible that we can succumb to a Pharisaic attitude. And we can have times where we trust in ourselves rather than trust in God. Because we have maybe a self-righteous mindset about us at a particular situation. Which, by the way, is the basis for self-trust. Which is seen here. So this wasn't just to those who trusted themselves. But second, notice that they trusted in themselves that they were righteous. The basis of their trusting in themselves was because they had come to this false conclusion that they were righteous and that they were maybe somehow these great specimens of holiness. How men have a misshapen view of themselves. But before we start, I guess, with our pious gasbaggery, if you will, we often have a very misshapen view of ourselves as well as God's people. How often have we been built up with pride to the point that we think that we're something? Though you may be saved here this evening, you are quite prone to self-righteousness also. You must guard against it. Yet even this is not the full description of those that this parable was spoken unto. Not only was this to those who trusted in themselves on the basis that they thought that they were righteous, but thirdly it says that this was to those who despised others. Again, I would caution us not to conclude that this cannot describe us either. How often have you not just been built up with pride that you thought too highly of yourself, but also to the point that you look down upon others? Or think that others are maybe below you or inferior to you and say, well, that preacher, that doesn't describe me. I don't despise others. Now wait a minute. Have you ever gossiped? Have you ever been unwilling to forgive? Have you ever jumped to conclusions about another individual without examining the facts of the situation? How often have you judged someone else harshly all the while thinking in your head that I could have never done such a thing as they did? How often have you, dear saint, had a holier-than-thou attitude towards another individual? If any of those those items described you at any point in your life as a child of God, well then you have fit this description of this Pharisee at some point in your life as a Christian. My point is that although you may be saved, even you, yes you and me, still have Pharisaic tendencies. And you and I stand to learn a lot from this parable. even though it was primarily directed to the unsaved. This parable is a stark rebuke to the individual who thinks too highly of his or herself. And so at this point, you're probably maybe wondering, what in the world does this have to do with thanksgiving? Well, number one, consider the vain thanksgiver himself. Verse 10, two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. Of course, both the Pharisee and the publican are said to go up into the temple to pray. Of course, I would argue that there wasn't a whole lot of praying going on with the Pharisee, but that's neither here nor there. The Pharisee starts his prayer with these four words, however. God, I thank Thee. Why, there's a man who's thankful, right? Wrong. You realize that just because someone says something doesn't make it so, right? Just because a man says or even thinks that he is a woman doesn't mean he's a woman. Just because a person says that they are saved doesn't necessarily mean they're saved. And just because someone says that they're thankful to God doesn't actually mean that they're thankful to God. The Pharisee was vain in his supposed thanksgiving unto the Lord. He was very unsuccessful in His giving of thanks. And you might ask, well, how do you know that? Well, first of all, we know that because Christ reveals that He would not go down to His house justified in verse 14. But we also know this for three other reasons. And then as we go through these three reasons, you'll note that He is very like the men that Christ was speaking this parable unto. Number one, this Pharisee trusted in himself. Verse 11, again, the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast in the week, twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess. Now, this Pharisee He did address his prayer to God. He said, this is God, I think, at the beginning of it. But let me ask you, who was the object or the focus of this prayer? It wasn't God, for sure. It was himself. The Pharisee made himself the object of the prayer. He was really praising himself rather than praising God. So he trusted, obviously it seems, in himself. And number two, he trusted in himself on the basis of his own righteousness. Not only did he make himself the object of the prayer, but he made himself the object of the prayer because he thought he was better than he was. He thought that all of his external religiosity made himself somehow righteous. Now when I read this, this is kind of the idea that I get of this Pharisee, that this is kind of his mindset. God, look at all that I have done. Look at all my accomplishments. I've done my part, so now Lord, you do yours for me. That's really his attitude in this so-called prayer. as if God is somehow indebted to him or obligated to him. In other words, God, I'm just so righteous. I'm just so good. You should be doing everything according to my will. You should be praising me, God, not the other way around. And again, don't think that we can't resemble this Pharisee in this regard either. I'm convinced that some professing children of God just think that they are God's gift to the world. They think that they're God's gift to their wife, or to their husband, or to their church, to their society, to their employer. God's gift to God Himself even. This man was not thankful for God or to God. This man was thankful for himself because he had a false perception of himself thinking that he was righteous. So he trusted in himself. He trusted in himself on the basis that he thought he was righteous. But number three, he also despised others. I'm thankful God that I'm not like Other man. I'm not like the extortioner. I'm not like the unjust one. I'm not like the adulterer. I'm not even like this publican in the back of the temple. He thought everyone else was inferior to him. But the sad reality was he was just like all those that he listed. He certainly Himself was guilty of extortion. He took advantage of people at the very least He desired to in His heart. And we know that many of the Pharisees that Christ spoke to during His life in this earth would extort other people. He was just as the unjust for He Himself was guilty of harshly judging others. That's quite clear by this very prayer. He was an adulterer if not outwardly, then certainly inwardly. Furthermore, He was like the publican who describes himself as a sinner. The Pharisee was certainly a sinner himself. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Also keep in mind that the Bible says that if you keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, you're guilty of all. James 2.10. My point, despite his lofty opinion of himself, this Pharisee was a wicked, no-good-for-nothing sinner. He had absolutely no reason to trust in himself because he was not righteous. And he had no reason to despise others because he was just as lousy as the rest of the human lot. Yet he trusted himself based on his supposed goodness and he looked down upon others because they weren't as good as he was. Therefore, his thanksgiving was all in vain. It was completely unsuccessful, but thankfully we have another individual in this parable who had a much different attitude. Number two, I want to examine the example of a thanksgiving attitude. Verse 13, and the publican standing afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes into heaven. But smoked upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner. Now, admittedly, the words of the Republicans' prayer here do not articulate Thanksgiving directly. However, I am convinced that it does reveal the proper attitude of Thanksgiving. This is true really in all aspects of life, not just in relationship to God, but you cannot truly thank someone in a spirit of pride. You can tell someone thank you a million times until you're blue in the face, but unless it is done in humility, It's not really thanks. Even though this prayer was but seven words in total, I believe God received all praise and all thanks from these words. And unlike the Pharisee, the publican was successful in approaching the throne of God by having a proper attitude towards the Lord. And as we go through the description of the publican, I think we'll note that he was kind of the opposite of the Pharisee. And so number one, the publican trusted God. Instead of trusting himself like the Pharisee did, the publican trusted the Lord. He said, God be merciful to me, a sinner. He knew that if He was to be justified, that justification must come from outside of Himself. It must come by the grace and the mercy of the Lord. Why is that? Well, number two, the publican trusted God because God was the only source of righteousness. Not only did the publican trust the Lord, he trusted the Lord on the basis that he could not trust in his own self. Why could he not trust in his own self? Because unlike the Pharisee, the publican was a sinner. And he knew it. The publican was unrighteous and he had a proper understanding of his unrighteousness. Therefore, the publican pleaded for the mercy of God because he knew what he was. He knew what he deserved. Like our pastor says, he knew the rock in which he'd been hewn. In other words, he knew that if he was to be justified, then justification would not only have to come outside of himself, but he knew that there was only one source of justification, that being God Himself. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Romans 8.33 So what did he do? He appealed to God. God be merciful to me. The publican knew that he required the mercy of God. For he was but a sinner. And if God were not to have mercy upon him, then he would be forever miserable. And in this plea, there is a proper acknowledgment of God as not only does the publican take his rightful place in the dust being guilty before God, but these words also reveal God as the sovereign who can do as He will and who can have mercy or not have mercy upon whom He will according to His own good pleasure. Thankfully, we have the promise from Christ that all who come unto Him, He will in no wise cast out. John 6.37 But the one who truly comes to God with the right attitude acknowledges that God would be perfectly just and absolutely right if He were to cast us out. This is so far removed from the attitude that the Pharisee had. The Pharisee had no need for the mercy of God because he wasn't a sinner. The Pharisee had no need for the grace of God because he merited the favor of the Lord. But he was deceived. He was a sinner. And the only thing that Pharisee merited was the wrath of God. But the publican humbled himself. He trusted God. He needed mercy, and he begged for that mercy at the throne of the Lord. But also notice, thirdly, that the publican despised himself Again, we see another clear contrast between the Pharisee and the publican. The Pharisee not only praised himself, but he also looked down his nose at others. However, the publican makes no mention at all of others. The failures of others, whether real or perceived failures, had absolutely no bearing on the publican's relationship to the Lord. The publican hated his sin. He considered himself unworthy of even approaching God. So we're told that he stood afar off. Yet may I point out that he still approached God. Although he stood afar off, he came before the throne of grace that he may obtain mercy and find grace in his time of need. Though you are unworthy of the mercy and grace of God. Don't let that keep you from pleading for the mercy and grace of God. So this publican stood afar off and would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but then he did something maybe even a bit more odd. We're told that he smote upon his breast. Again, this publican hated his sin. But unlike the Pharisee, the publican knew that his sin wasn't just a matter of outward performance. It was a matter of the inward man. A matter of the heart. He despised the wicked inclinations of his heart. And instead of pointing out the faults, the failures, the sins of those around him, he acknowledged his own bent towards evil. God, be merciful to me, a sinner. He makes it personal. God, be merciful to me, a sinner. In a sense, the publican is saying, if ever there was a sinner, I am it. If ever there was an object in need of mercy, it is certainly me. Lord, be merciful to me, for I am so unworthy. Now that is not to say that the publican was the only sinner. He wasn't even the only sinner in the temple. But he was the only sinner that he really needed to concern himself with at that moment. Even if no one else was in need of mercy, he knew that he needed it. This is somewhat similar language as to that of the Apostle Paul who wrote this as a faithful saint and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. 1 Timothy 1.15. And I would point out that neither the statement by the publican nor the statement by the Apostle Paul, neither of those statements were made in a pompous high manner in the sense that they were glamorizing their sin. Or, look at the great transformation that I've accomplished. That's taken place in my life. But these statements were made because each one had a proper recognition of how offensive to God their sins, both past and present, were. Turn to Luke chapter 7. Verse 40, Luke chapter 7. I will start reading in verse 40. Luke 7 verse 40, it says, And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have some what to say unto thee, and he saith, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors, The one owed 500 pence and the other 50. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman I entered into thine house? Thou gavest me no water for my feet, but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss, but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint, But this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore, I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little was forgiven, the same loveth little." Now in the story that Christ tells another Pharisee, this one by the name of Simon here, and in the real life illustration that is given with this woman who washed the feet of our Lord. The application is specifically concerning that of love towards God. But I suspect that I'm not going overboard by suggesting that this could be applied to thankfulness towards God as well. Why do you suspect, or who do you suspect would be more thankful towards the creditor in the parable of this story? The one who was forgiven a 500 pence debt or the one who was forgiven a 50 pence debt? Simon's answer I believe would still be applicable. I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. In like manner, who do you suspect will be more thankful to God? The forgiven one who understands that they are a wicked, no good sinner, completely devoid of any good works apart from the Lord, of any righteousness at all. Or the forgiven one who knows that they are a sinner, but really not all that bad of a sinner. Simon's answer still applies. I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. Keep in mind here, the issue is not who has literally been forgiven of the most number of sins. The issue is who has a better understanding of just how wretched they are apart from the Lord. The one who realizes that their whole head is sick, that their whole heart is faint, that from the sole of their feet to the crown of their head there is no soundness in it. but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. The one who realizes that that is their condition without God, but yet the Almighty God is pleased to save them by His grace, there is no way around it, that one will be thankful to the Lord. You see, there is no dignity in this matter. If you are a sinner, you are a filthy creature and there is nothing you can do to make yourself less filthy. It takes the grace and the mercy of God. It takes the shed blood of God the Son to make you clean. It takes the blood of Jesus Christ to wash away your old filthy, disgusting rags of supposed righteousness. If you are saved and begin to understand just how filthy and disgusting your rags of righteousness are in reality, you'll be more thankful to God. and not thankful like the Pharisee in the parable of Luke 18, who was thankful for himself in all things. But you'll be thankful for God in all things. Though you may lose everything you have, you'll never lose God. Though everyone else may forsake you, God will not forsake you. Though your health may leave you, any wealth that you have, any kind of fame or any kind of notoriety may leave you, God certainly will not. When you properly realize who you are as a depraved, sinful man or woman, and you realize what you actually deserve, and in turn you see what God actually gives you, despite your unworthiness, you will be thankful to God in all things. In everything, give thanks for this is the will of God and Christ Jesus concerning you. You won't just be thankful for those things that are pleasant either. But you'll be thankful for those things that are maybe not so pleasant. And you want to know why? Because although your circumstances at the current may be unpleasant, they aren't nearly as unpleasant as an eternity in hell. Which is what you have actually earned by your own merits. But thanks be to the God of all grace. You won't have to experience such an eternity if you are one of His. Maybe there's someone here this evening. You think that you're better than maybe the drunk down at the bar. No, you're not. You're just a sinner. You think you're better than the murderer on death row. No, you're just a sinner. You think that maybe you're better than your co-worker or your neighbor. No, you're just a sinner. Even if you're saved, you're just a sinner. Saved by grace. That's it. It's only by the grace of God that you're not that drunk at the bar or that murderer on death row. It's only by the grace of God that you're not on your way to hell like you're maybe an unsaved co-worker or unsaved neighbor. And by the way, you're fully capable, even as a saint, of falling to such sins as you see others falling to. Don't think that you're not. Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. My point in all of this, without a proper understanding of who you are, you'll never have a right attitude towards God. And you'll never really be able to offer true thanks up unto Him. Now you might speak the words. You might say, God, I thank Thee. But God knows your heart. And if you approach God with a haughty spirit, if you approach God in pride, you might tell Him that you're thankful. But it will only be self-serving drivel that God will see right through. The attitude of thanksgiving is one of humility, much like the attitude of the publican in the parable that we've read this evening. Get over yourself and humble yourself before God and be thankful having a right attitude towards yourself and towards God. I tell you, this man, the publican, went down to his house justified rather and the other. For everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. That's our message tonight. We pray that the Lord may use it for His honor and for His glory.