As this is the eve of Thanksgiving Day, I want to devote our time in God's Word tonight to the theme of thanking God for the asparagus in your life. The story is told of a five-year-old girl who was asked to say a blessing at the Thanksgiving dinner. She began by thanking God for all her friends, naming them one by one. Then she thanked God for mommy and daddy and brother and sister and grandma and grandpa and all her aunts and uncles. Finally she gave thanks for the turkey, the dressing, the fruit salad, the cranberry sauce, the pies, the cakes, and then she paused. And after a long silence, the young girl looked up at her mother and asked, If I thank God for the broccoli and asparagus, won't he know I'm lying? Have you ever felt that way? You know, we're supposed to cultivate a heart of thankfulness, but let's be honest, there's a bunch of broccoli or asparagus in our lives that by nature we feel is really hard to give thanks for. Why does God want thankfulness and why should we be thankful even for the broccoli or the asparagus in our life? I invite you, if you haven't turned already, to 1 Thessalonians, chapter five, where we begin to look tonight at this theme of thanksgiving. as tomorrow is a national holiday called Thanksgiving Day. Yet our country and its leaders have certainly changed their perspective over the years regarding this topic and this day. Consider, first of all, our first President of the United States, President George Washington. What did he say about Thanksgiving? October 3rd, 1789, National Thanksgiving Proclamation is printed in the Providence Gazette and Country Journal on October 17th, 1789. a proclamation, whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor. And whereas both houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me, quote, to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness, end of quote. Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these states to the service of that great and glorious being who is the who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be, that we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks for his kind care and protection of the people of this country. previous to their becoming a nation, for the signal and manifold mercies and favorable interpositions of his providence in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted. for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge, and in general for all the great and various favors which he has been pleased to confer upon us. and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and ruler of nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations, especially such as have shown kindness to us. and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord, to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us, and generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best. Given under my hand at the city of New York the third day of October, the year of our Lord, 1789 George Washington. If I count it correctly, 15 references to God as to the primary one we should be thankful for regarding the many blessings of our life. Several years later, President Abraham Lincoln came along on October 3rd, 1863, makes this proclamation. The year that is drawing toward its close, now remember, this is the Civil War is going on. has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and helpful skies. To these bounties which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come. Others have been added. which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, Order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theater of military conflict. While that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union, needful diversions of wealth and strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship. The axes enlarge the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well as of iron and coal, of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than hithertofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege in the battlefield. And the country rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigorous permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. By the way, I don't know if people even have vocabularies like this anymore. No human counsel is devised, nor have any mortal hand worked out these great things. Really, where do they come from? They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, has nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to the beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. Notice, thankfulness to God. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to him for such singular deliverance and blessings, they do also with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged and fervently implore the interposition of the almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union. In testimony whereof, I have hereon to set my hand and cause the seal of the United States to be affixed." President Abraham Lincoln. no less than seven direct references to God and an appeal to thank God for all the blessings we have as He is the source of them. And then we think of our own president. The decree given last year, Thanksgiving Day 2013, Thanksgiving offers each of us the chance to count our many blessings, the freedoms we enjoy, the time we spend with loved ones, the brave men and women who defend our nation at home and abroad. This tradition reminds us that no matter what our backgrounds or beliefs, no matter who we are or who we love, at our core, we are first and foremost Americans. Our annual celebration has roots in centuries-old colonial customs. When we gather around the table, we follow the example of the pilgrims and the Wampanoags who shared the fruits of a successful harvest nearly 400 years ago. When we offer our thanks, we mirror those who set aside a day of prayer. And when we join with friends and neighbors to alleviate suffering and make our communities whole, we honor the spirit of President Abraham Lincoln who called in his fellow citizens to fervently implore the interposition of the almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union. We honor his spirit. Our country has always been home to Americans who recognize the importance of giving back. Today, we honor all those serving our nation far from home. We also thank the first responders and the medical professionals who work through the holiday to keep us safe. And we acknowledge the volunteers who dedicate this day to those less fortunate. This Thanksgiving Day, let us forge deeper connections with our loved ones. Let us extend our gratitude and our compassion, and let us lift each up lift each other up and recognize in the oldest spirit of this tradition that we rise or fall as one nation under God. Now, therefore, I, Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 28, 2013, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage the people of the United States to join together, whether in our homes, places of worship, community centers, or any place of fellowship for friends and neighbors, and give thanks For all we have received in the past year, express appreciation for those whose lives enrich our own and share our bounty with others." Two references to God in a quote by Abraham Lincoln, one reference to God from the dollar bill, and no mention of who to give thanks to. Never tells us who to thank. Not to mention that we need to humbly acknowledge the source of those blessings being God. How does this downward slide happen in a society? How does it happen in our life? How does it happen in your life and mine? You know, I'm reminded of Romans 1 again that tells us, because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man. and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness and the lust of their hearts to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." Do I think we need to be thankful for those who have served us in many ways? Absolutely. But should we not be first and foremost thankful to God? the God of all grace, the God of all hope, the God of all comfort, the sovereign providential God of the universe, who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Yet while we would expect unthankfulness from the unsaved who are without God and without hope in the world, I fear that a lack of an attitude of gratitude dominates too many believers' lives. How many times today did you pause to thank the Lord for fill-in-the-blank? How many of you were guilty of grumbling, murmuring, and even swearing today instead of giving thanks? And how often did you just stop and reflect on your riches in Christ, or the great price that was paid for your redemption at Calvary, or God's great and precious promises? You see, dear friends, Thanksgiving for you as a believer in Christ should be in everything. We read in verse 18, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Now it doesn't say for everything give thanks. I am not thankful for sin. I'm not thankful for Satan. I'm not thankful for evil men. I'm not thankful for false teachers. I'm not thankful for the coming Antichrist. I'm not thankful for people going to hell. I'm not thankful for present injustices. Yet in everything I can still give thanks and by God's grace so can you. And this is important for thanksgiving for you as a believer in Christ is the will of God. That's what the verse says. And everything gives thanks. Why? For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. You don't have to wonder about God's will regarding this. You don't even have to pray. whether or not you should be thankful to God for His sufficient grace and His sovereign care and His precious promises for His peace that passes all understanding. For to give thanks is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. And notice the word you, because you are not the exception. Oh, pastor, but you don't know my circumstances. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you, in everything give thanks." Yeah, but have you ever gone through, in everything give thanks? Not for, but in. But instead of giving thanks, what comes out of your lips? I ask you this because thanksgiving for you as a believer in Christ should replace inappropriate speech. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. And God, through Paul, says to the believers at Ephesus these words, Ephesians 5 verses 2 through 4. He says, walk in love. As Christ also has loved us and given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you as is fitting for saints. Now, I want you to notice that phrase for a minute. Fitting for saints. You see, a saint is a sanctified one. They're in Christ. They're set apart unto God. And you know what? Uncleanness doesn't fit for the saint. Covetousness doesn't fit for a saint. Fornication doesn't fit for a holy one in Christ. It's not consistent. It doesn't fit. We know the Lord. Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit. We are sanctified in Christ. Those kind of things do not fit who Christ is and who we are in Him. But neither does filthiness, foolish talking, nor coarse jesting. which are, again, not fitting. It doesn't fit. It's like a pig with a gold ring in its nose. It doesn't fit. And those things don't fit with the fact that we are a saint sanctified in Christ. What does fit? Rather, giving of thanks. Now that fits. That's fitting. For we are total products of the grace of God, saved by His grace, kept saved by His grace, redeemed through the blood of Christ, and therefore what is fitting for us is giving of thanks. So why aren't we more thankful? Why does that not come out of our lips more often? You know, many believers are even slow to thank others, or to be thankful or express it to God or to others. So often we don't thank the Lord because we think we deserve better or we deserve more. We forget Lamentations 3.22, it's through the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. Because His compassions fail not, for they are new every morning, great is His faithfulness. You don't deserve more. We deserve hell. It's of His mercies we're not consumed. The very air you're breathing tonight is because of the grace of God. The purpose and plan for your life is because of the grace of God. The provisions and promises of God to you is because of the grace of God. So we've seen that thanksgiving for you as a believer in Christ, number one should be in everything, number two is the will of God, number three should replace inappropriate speech, number four should be an integral element in your prayers to God. An integral element in your prayers to God. Go with me if you would to Philippians, Philippians chapter four. Philippians chapter four. You see, the Bible assumes that believers pray to God. God speaks to us through His Word. We speak to God through prayer, as we don't have a religion. We have a relationship with God. through Jesus Christ, as a result of hearing the gospel and putting our faith in the person and work of Christ, so we've been born again, and thus we come to the Father, for He is our Father, for the Spirit of His Son is in our hearts, and we cry, Abba, Father. And we now can pray and communicate and converse with God throughout our day, not just when we're in a jam. But in any day we face a number of obstacles and trials and decisions. We can become anxious at the drop of a hat, it appears. And what do we read in Philippians 4 verses 6 and 7? Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, there it is again, in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Please note that. Let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Notice, instead of being anxious, God wants us to cast those burdens upon the Lord, and in doing so, do it with thanksgiving. Why? Because you can come boldly to the throne of grace. Why? Because God knows your needs and He cares about you. Why? Because God is there to carry your burdens. He is there to fight your battles. He is there to direct your steps. He is there to produce His fruit in and through you. The question is, will you let Him? Will you cast those cares on Him as part of that faith to rest life? And you do it with thanksgiving. You know, I was talking again to someone in the hospital just yesterday, or today actually, and I said, You know, isn't it so good to go through these trials with the Lord, though? To know He cares, that it didn't take Him by surprise, that He's there to undertake for you, He wants to direct you, that there's many people praying for you. That's one of the values of a local church. And she readily agreed, obviously. But it's not easy, I should say it is easy, to not pray. Or persevere and pray. In fact, sometimes we just get busy and we don't stop to smell the roses. We don't stop to be thankful. We just are busy, busy, busy, busy, busy. And pretty soon we just take things for granted. Yet we see in Colossians 4 and verse 2, continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is to be an integral element in our prayers to God. I remember on one occasion I asked a bunch of kids to pray, I think it was at camp, and I said, now, this is evening devotions, and I said, now, when we pray, I don't want any of you to make requests, I just want you to thank the Lord for things. They couldn't do it. They thanked for one and made four requests. I even tried that once here with adults. They couldn't do it either. You know why we're so prone to want to ask, ask, ask? And there's a place to ask. But how much of your prayer is thankfulness and how much of it is just, Lord, I need, I need, I need, I need. By the way, how much of your prayer is even for others? As there's a balance there of supplications for ourselves, intercession for others, and especially giving a thanks to the Lord. Fifthly, we observe that Thanksgiving for you as a believer in Christ should especially be motivated because of the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate motivation for Thanksgiving. Go with me, if you would, to 1 Timothy chapter 1. 1 Timothy chapter 1. While you're turning there, I'm reminded in 1 Corinthians 15, that great resurrection chapter in the Bible, that begins with the declaration of the gospel, and ends with this. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory, how? Through our Lord Jesus Christ. The victory over death, the victory over grave, the victory over sin, is because of our Lord Jesus Christ. He paid for our sins. He rose from the grave. So we share in his glorious victory. No wonder 2 Corinthians 9 15 says, thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. Indescribable. In other words, words cannot describe the gift of our Lord Jesus Christ. The gift of his grace and the gift of his eternal salvation he's given us. Ever been given a gift that you are at a total loss to know even what to say if you are just overwhelmed by the kindness of someone else? And when we recognize that God is holy and we are sinners, when we recognize the penalty for sin is death, when we recognize that if God gave us what we deserve, he would have to send us to an eternal hell, all how we begin to appreciate then Jesus Christ, who he is, he's God. He is man. He died for our sins. He was buried. He rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven. He is seated at the right hand of the Father. He is our great high priest. He is coming again. And in the meantime, He is our true vine in our life, our resource for everything. But as it relates to our own salvation, is your heart filled with gratitude like Paul was? As he expresses some of his personal testimony here in 1 Timothy chapter 1, we begin in verse 12. And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord. We can stop there. That's where thankfulness begins. That's what motivates thankfulness. Christ Jesus our Lord and embodied in that name is his person and his word. who has enabled me, because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. And you can almost hear him putting me, can you believe it, me of all people, me into the ministry, who is the least of all saints. who is the least of the apostles because I persecuted the church. He put me, can you believe it? He put me into the ministry. Verse 13, although I was formally a blasphemer and a persecutor and an insolent man. In other words, I haven't forgot the pit from which I was dug. But I obtained mercy, all mercy, because I did it ignorantly and unbelief, verse 14. Notice the next key word, and the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to do what? To save sinners of whom I not was but am chief. You know one thing I've noted about Lordship Salvation teachers, listen to them, they don't say stuff like that. Do you hear these men saying, I'm the chief of sinners? Do you even hear them admit they screw up? You know why they don't? If they admitted too much, people might say, are you really saved? Not Paul. And though grace indeed produced godliness in his life, through the power of the Spirit of God, he never forgot, not only the pit from which he was dug, but he never forgot, he was a, or a, I am the chief of sinners. Verse 16, however, for this reason, God's mercy, I attain mercy, that in me first, Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, how patient he is towards sinners. as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. You know, that's you and that's me. We were going to believe on Him and we did. When Paul penned this, we were only in the mind of God. He knew one day we would believe on Jesus Christ for everlasting life. And by the way, that's the only way you get everlasting life, is to believe on Him. And I love verse 17 because Paul usually waits till the end of the book to do this. But as he thought of the grace of God that saved him, as he thought of the grace of God that put him into the ministry, he said, I can't wait till the end of 1 Timothy. I am going to break out in absolute praise and doxology right now. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible to God, who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. Amen. You know, I fear that when we are first saved by God's grace, that we are so grateful. for Jesus Christ, we're grateful for our salvation, we're grateful for those who told us, we're grateful and want to even share it with others. And then when we find a good local church that's teaching the word of God, we're grateful. When we find other believers in Christ, we're grateful. But as time rolls on, we get caught up with the gift and forget the giver. Or we may even take the gift for granted. We're kind of like the ten lepers who besought the Lord for mercy, and He healed all ten of them. But we know only one came and thanked Jesus Christ for it. Which one best describes you, the nine or the one? So while we have great motivation to be thankful, Because of the person and work of Jesus Christ, we are by nature unthankful creatures. But now that we are new creations in Christ, having a new nature, along with the Holy Spirit, we have the potential to walk in newness of life, including a life of repeated gratitude and overflowing thanksgiving. And thanksgiving for you as a believer in Christ requires that you are filled with the Holy Spirit and letting the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. In fact, when you look at Ephesians 5, 18 through 20, and you compare it with Colossians 3, 16 and 17, it's a very interesting comparison. He says, do not be drunk with wine which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. How does that show itself while speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs? It shows itself by singing. It shows itself by making melody in your heart to the Lord. It shows itself by giving thanks, always, for all things, to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And by the way, all those are participles, speaking, singing, making, and giving. By the way, there's another one coming, submitting here. And all five participles reflect what happens in the life of a believer who's filled with the Spirit. But in a parallel passage in Colossians 3, he doesn't mention be filled with the Spirit. Instead, he says this, let the word of Christ, the word which points you to Christ, dwell in you richly in all wisdom. teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns, spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord, and whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, I must have cut this off, giving thanks to the Father through Him. And so notice again, it's parallel, but notice, here's the key terms. Be filled with the Spirit is parallel to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. For you see, being filled with the Spirit means that you are in fellowship with the Lord. It means that you are focused and responding to Him in your own personal walk with the Lord. And in doing so, you're letting the Spirit of God take the Word of God, focus you on the Lord, and relate to Him as you're going through your day. And as you're relating to the Lord and what He's done for you and His riches and resources and so forth in your life, it shows itself in these kind of ways. It overflows. You see, the Christian life is not a crankout, it's an overflow. Isn't this what happened to the woman in Luke 7? A prostitute, probably? who ended up being saved and seeks out the Lord Jesus Christ as a result of that, filled with gratitude and begins to show her thankfulness by wetting his feet with tears and wiping it with her hair, while the Pharisee, Simon the Pharisee sitting by, was abhorred by all of this. He would never do something like that. Why is that? Because he had never stooped to that level. And that's why the Lord Jesus asked him, who do you think will be more grateful? The one who has been forgiven little or the person who's been forgiven more? He said, well, the one who's been forgiven more. You're right. And that's her. You see, Pharisees like this thank God, like in Luke 18, I thank God I'm not like other sinners are, you self-righteous jerk. But they thank God for the wrong thing. And you see, if you are going to have a life overflowing with gratefulness, it's going to be motivated by Jesus Christ as you walk by faith in fellowship with Him, with the Spirit of God and the Word of God critical in your thinking. Yet each and every day it involves a walk of faith that recognizes the personal sovereignty and amazing grace of God in the events and blessings given to you both spiritually and physically, including fellow believers. You know, I've thought a lot since we just studied Hebrews 4.16 on that phrase, the throne of grace. Throne emphasizes sovereignty. Grace emphasizes undeserved blessing. And that's exactly what we have here. You see, as you're walking by faith in the invisible realm of what you cannot see, but you're responding in light of the Word of God, you recognize the hand of God in your life. And you recognize the grace of God by way of blessing. both spiritually and physically, including fellow believers. And yet it's a walk of faith, step by step by step. You know, you remember the children of Israel when they were coming out of Egypt, how God miraculously undertook even opening the Red Sea so they could come through on dry land. And we know what happened to the Egyptians that chased them, that eventually they were destroyed by God. And if you read the account in Exodus 15, you know the children of Israel rejoiced. They were just so grateful. And they said, the Lord is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my Father's God, and I will exalt him. And oh, they were filled with praises, until a few days later, when they came to no water, and the people began to complain. And oh, we complain so quickly, do we not? The Christian life is step by step, day by day, and there are tests that come along the way. That's why as you turn to Colossians chapter 2, as we think of this walk of faith, we see two very important verses there, Colossians 2 verses 6 and 7. As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, what are you now to do? So walk in Him. Rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Now this is a really interesting set of verses here. As you have therefore received, and you have, in an aorist tense, a point in time in the past, Christ Jesus the Lord, you put your faith in Him, who He is and what He's done, so walk in Him. How do you walk? By faith. Again, in the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ. Now, the truth is you have been rooted. Now this is in the perfect tense, and it's in the passive voice. And you say, well, what's so important about that? What that means is this. At a point in time in the past, you were rooted in Christ when you were saved. With the results continuing, you're rooted. You are really good ground to grow. And in the meantime, present passive, you're being built up by the Lord in Him. And you are being established, present passive, in the faith. The faith is the truth of the Word of God. How are they being built up? By being taught the truth of the Word of God so they can get established and so they can be built up. And this again is a present passive. Now this is what's interesting. Abounding in it with what? Thanksgiving. The word abounding is a present active. You see, as you're walking in fellowship with the Lord, you're enjoying your riches in Christ. You realize, I'm rooted in Christ, I'm now being built up, I'm being established, as I'm taking in the Word, and I'm enjoying the Lord. And you know what it does? It overflows! It abounds in your life! And if you want to see the problem, the problem is, I gotta just really work on being more thankful. That's not it at all! That's just showing you where the problem is. It's not abounding in your life with thanksgiving, because you're breaking down in your walk with the Lord. And that's why, even in the Old Testament, when one recognized the sovereignty and grace of God, like Job, hearing about the loss of his children, the loss of his material riches and so forth, how did he respond? Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, that's his grace. And the Lord has taken away, that's his sovereignty. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Would that come out of our lips? You see, through his trials, he was getting to know the Lord, or he would get to know the Lord better. In fact, in Job 36.22, God is exalted in his power. What teacher is there like him? And you know, the Lord is going to have to teach you and teach me, and he's willing to do this, of why to be thankful and how to be thankful, and then to watch it overflow in our lives. You know, as I think of grace, I'm reminded of 2 Corinthians 4, 15. What does grace cause? Thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. as you reflect upon the fact that you've been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. As you reflect on the fact that Verse 5, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Christ Jesus to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he has made us accepted in the beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. You know, the reason so often we're not thankful is we're not in tune to the Lord and we're not in tune to his grace. regarding both our physical and spiritual blessings. Thinking of both physical and spiritual, I'm reminded, Psalm 103, verses 1 through 5, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of his benefits, who pardons all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with loving kindness and compassion, who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like an eagle. And yet I find it interesting, right after Paul blesses the Lord for all the spiritual blessings he has in Christ, in that same chapter, Ephesians 1, verses 15 and 16, he says, therefore, I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. And you see, dear friends, as we rejoice in the Lord and His blessings, you know what? We begin to be thankful for other people. Thankful for other believers that are part of the family. Thankful for those who minister to us. Thankful in so many ways towards others. And we should express that thanks. should be thankful for our mates, thankful for our children, thankful for other believers, thankful for your local church, thankful for various things. I would dare say there's no one here tonight whose problem is they're too thankful. And as I think of Thanksgiving for you as a believer in Christ, did you realize that it is one of the acceptable sacrifices that you can offer individually to God as a believer priest? You see, you're a believer priest and you don't offer a bull, you don't offer a lamb, for Christ paid for our sins once and for all on the last altar of the cross. But as a believer priest, therefore, by Him, let us continually offer, what? The sacrifice of praise to God. That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. Now that's enough sacrifice we can offer. And it's acceptable when it comes from our heart. In fact, it should be part of our corporate church gatherings as an expression of prayer, just like at the gathering of Jews in the Old Testament. You see, it's not only an individual thing, it's a corporate thing. That's why in 1 Timothy 2, 1 and 2, I urge them, first of all, their requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. The context of this is the local church. In fact, did you know in the Old Testament, that David appointed some of the Levites to minister before the Ark of the Lord to commemorate, to thank, and to praise the Lord God of Israel. That was their assignment. And they did it with priests regularly, blew the trumpets, verse 6, before the Ark of the Covenant of God. On that day, David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, and he did it to do what? To thank the Lord. Here's a song I wrote, David said, I want it played, I want it sung, because I just want to thank the Lord. You say, but you don't know what's going on in my life. I'm like that girl with the broccoli and asparagus. There's things in my life that I just don't like that they're on my plate. But thanksgiving for you as a believer in Christ should even be true in the trials and sufferings in life, as God uses them for your good and His glory. In fact, go to 2 Corinthians chapter 1. Would you really know the comfort of God if you never suffered? Would you ever know the encouragement of God if you've never been in discouraging situations? Would you ever know the healing touch of God as it were if you never had sickness? Would you ever know the forgiveness of God if you didn't sense your sin? We read in verse 3, "'Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted of God.'" Notice, he's blessing the Lord here. Because He's God. He's the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He's the Father of mercies. He's the God of all comfort. He's the ultimate source of your comfort. And He wants to comfort you in all our tribulation. Right in it. And there are some things in your life, by way of difficulties or circumstances, that He may not remove. You may ask him to remove them, and sometimes he graciously does, but other times he does not. It's like Paul in 2 Corinthians 12, "...unless I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure." Concerning this thing, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me, and He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. I'm not removing it. I'm not taking it away out of your life. But I will give you the grace you need, when you need it, to go through this trial. Well, if that's the case, therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities. Why? That the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure. I'm grateful. I'm thankful. in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." You see, God uses trials and sufferings for your good and for His glory. in your life. And that's why Psalm 119, 67 and 68 says, Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word. You are good, and you do good. Teach me your statutes. And it could be that before you were afflicted, you were going astray, and the Lord allowed something in your life. Maybe you got yourself in a jam. You made some really poor decisions. You walked in carnality, and now you're reaping what you sowed. And God allowed it. He didn't force you. You made the decision, but He allowed it in your life to bring you to Him, to bring you closer to Him, to bring you into fellowship with Him. But now I keep your word. because I was afflicted. You are good. Can you say that tonight? And you do good. Can you say that tonight? Teach me your statutes. Later in the Psalm 119, 71, it's good for me that I've been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes. Later he says in Psalm 100 in 1992, unless your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction. And unless the word of God is your delight, I'm the launching pad of your thinking, you're going to get blown away, you're going to be depressed, you're going to be discouraged, you're going to give up, you're going to quit in your affliction. Notice the word in once again, in my affliction. But you know, when you realize all things are working together for good, even if they meant it for evil, God means it for good. God is still on the throne. His throne is one of grace. He still has a plan for my life. He has a purpose for today. His grace is sufficient. He wants to teach me to rely upon him, to enter into the faith to rest life, to allow him again to carry my burdens, to fight my battles, to direct my path, to produce his fruit in me and through me. And he can do it. He wants my attention. The question is, does he have your attention tonight? And are you going to therefore respond by faith to Him? Are you going to go by your feelings? Are you going to go by your flesh? Are you going to walk by sight? This could never work out. It doesn't... And then pretty soon... And you're complaining. And you're anything but grateful to the God of all grace. If He can save you from hell, if He can raise Christ from the dead, can He not undertake for you in your trials? Will you trust him or not? Will you go through them and be refined or not? Oh, they're painful. Yes, he's the God of all comfort. Well, comfort to me means he'll get me out of it. That's not what comfort means to him. It means he'll get you through it. And you know, some trials are basically lifelong. And yet, when you're walking by faith, focusing on the Lord, living in light of eternity, allowing the Word of God to dwell in you richly, mixing with faith the promises of God. Oh, it's sweet. In fact, some of the best times of your Christian life will be at the height of those trials where He draws you so close to Him. I heard a cute saying recently. He said this. Sometimes in our trials, it's like, where is the Lord? And someone made the comment, well, just keep in mind, whenever a teacher is administering a test, the teacher is quiet. That's pretty good. Except he speaks to us through his word. Are you thankful tonight? In fact, as I think of Thanksgiving tonight, and how the Lord wants to produce this in our life each and every day. As I think of the riches of God's grace, as I think of the finished work of Christ, what a great way to end our service tonight. Not only thanking God for the asparagus in your life, but thanking him for his son. And so in preparation for the Lord's Supper, If you are here as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, this is the Lord's Supper, it's not Duluth Bible Church's supper, and you're free to partake. It is a time in which we do this in remembrance of Him. As the bread represents His body, as God became a man, and the grape juice or wine represents His blood, which He shed