November 27, 2025 • 29 mins
Startling thought: what if gratitude is the most countercultural act of faith you can practice today? We open Ephesians 5:20 and walk through a clear, practical path to give thanks always, for all things, to the Father in the name of Jesus. Along the way, we expose hollow habits of “thanks” that center ourselves, contrast them with genuine, Godward gratitude, and explore why thanksgiving is the natural language of a Spirit-filled life.
We map three common attitudes—unnecessary, hypocritical, and true—and then climb through three levels of thankfulness. First comes the easy part: thanking God after blessing. Then the harder step: thanking him before the victory arrives, like Jehoshaphat sending singers ahead of soldiers. Finally, the deepest practice: thanking God in the thick of trial, as Daniel prayed with an open window and the apostles rejoiced after suffering for the Name. These biblical portraits show that gratitude is not denial of pain; it is confidence in God’s providence.
Anchoring everything is the “how”: giving thanks in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We reflect on how Jesus modeled thanksgiving before miracles and at the Last Supper, and why union with Christ allows us to trust that God works all things for good. We confront pride as the root of ingratitude and highlight humility as the path to seeing every good gift—and even hard gifts—as coming from a gracious hand. If you’ve ever wondered how to cultivate resilient, everyday gratitude that glorifies God, this conversation offers clear steps, vivid stories, and a hopeful vision for your next act of thanks.
If this encouraged you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs hope, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. What’s one hard thing you can thank God for today?
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to Foundations of Truth, the Bible
teaching ministry of PastorTimothy Mann in Providence
Church, Ormond Beach, Florida.
Providence Church is a localassembly of followers of Jesus
Christ dedicated to helpingpeople become committed and
mature followers of JesusChrist.
Now, here's Pastor Tim teachingthe word.
SPEAKER_01 (00:22):
Take your Bibles this morning, if you would,
please, and turn with me to theNew Testament book of Ephesians.
Ephesians chapter 5.
It's going to be verse 20.
I want to give you the contexthere of this, though, because it
is a statement in the middle ofa sentence.
And I don't want you to beconfused.
I'm not taking it out of contextat all, but to help you see
(00:43):
that, what's happening here isthe Apostle Paul, under the
inspiration of the Holy Spiritof God, is writing to the church
at Ephesus, writing them aletter.
And he is, for the first half ofthe book, talked about great
truths, doctrine, all theblessings we have in Christ, and
all about our salvation.
The second half of the book isvery practical.
It's about living out thattruth.
(01:03):
And then in chapter 5, he comesto this section where in verse
17 he says, Do not be unwise,but understand what the will of
the Lord is.
And then he begins to talk aboutwhat it means to be filled with
the Spirit.
The Bible says, Ephesianschapter 5, verse 20, giving
thanks always for all things toGod the Father in the name of
(01:27):
our Lord Jesus Christ.
And that's all.
We're going to stop there.
This is God's word that we'veread this morning.
Thanksgiving is more than just aholiday in November.
It's not just a holiday inNovember.
Now, the good thing, though,about Thanksgiving is it does
seem like it's the one time ofyear where it's okay for all of
us to be a glutton, at least fora day.
(01:48):
But, you know, take it easy,don't overdo.
But we enjoy that day and we'regrateful for that.
But Thanksgiving is so much morethan just a holiday in
Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is an attitude.
It is.
Thanksgiving is an attitude.
Now, people may have one ofthree possible attitudes about
(02:11):
Thanksgiving.
Not about the day, but aboutgiving thanks.
One of three possible attitudesabout giving thanks.
The first is that it isunnecessary.
Just not necessary.
Some people are not thankfulsimply because they think they
deserve every good thing theyhave.
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And more.
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And then after that, the Biblesays that he would say to his
soul, and I quote Luke 12, 19,Soul, you have many goods laid
up for many years to come.
Take your ease, eat, drink, andbe merry.
Now, he did not take God intoconsideration.
And because he gave God nocredit for his blessings, he saw
(03:29):
no reason to give him thanks.
And because of his thanklesspresumption, God said to him,
and I quote verse 20 of Luke 12,God said to him, You fool, this
very night your soul is requiredof you, and now who will own
what you have prepared?
(03:50):
And so within that judgment thatGod brought lay the very truth
that the farmer could no moreprotect his possessions by his
own power than he had producedthem by his own power.
The Lord gave and the Lord tookaway.
So this not feeling the need tothank God is really worse than
(04:13):
ingratitude.
It is rank unbelief.
The second attitude, and ofcourse, that first attitude is
sort of a form of practicalatheism that fails to
acknowledge God.
But a second attitude aboutthanksgiving, of course, one is
it's unnecessary.
A second attitude aboutthanksgiving is that that of the
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hypocrite.
That of the hypocrite.
What do I mean?
Well, again, I'm reminded ofanother parable in which Jesus
told of a very self-righteousreligionist, this Pharisee, this
leader in the Jewish religion,who stood in the temple.
The Bible says he was prayingthus to himself.
And he said, Lord, God, I thankthee that I'm not like other
(04:57):
people.
That always kind of makes mechuckle a little bit.
I thank thee that I'm not likeother people.
Swindlers, unjust, adulterers,and even like this tax collector
that's right here.
I fast twice a week, I paytithes of all that I get.
And as Jesus made clear in thewords of praying thus to
(05:18):
himself, although the man usedGod's name, his thankfulness was
to himself and for himself.
The Pharisee used God's nameonly to call further attention
to his very false piety, hisfalse holiness.
And because God had no part inthat prayer, it was totally
(05:38):
worthless.
But that humble penitent taxcollector, the Bible says, went
down to his house justified thatday.
Whereas the proud,self-righteous Pharisee did not.
Very much like the rest of hislife, the Pharisee's prayer of
thanksgiving was a hypocriticalsham and pretense.
(06:00):
So that's an attitude somepeople have about thankfulness,
thanksgiving.
A third attitude, though, aboutthanksgiving is that of a truly
thankful person.
Of the ten lepers that Jesushealed on his way to Jerusalem,
the only one who returned tothank him was a Samaritan.
Interestingly enough.
(06:21):
But his thankfulness wasgenuine.
And Jesus said to him, Rise andgo your way.
Your faith has made you well.
The other nine lepers had soughtJesus' healing only for their
benefit, and they weren't eventhankful.
The Samaritan sought it forGod's glory, and his
thankfulness was an expressionof his trust in Jesus, his
(06:44):
recognition that he was helplessin himself, and that his healing
was undeserved and entirely byGod's grace.
And as a result, he receivedsalvation.
And folks, that is thethankfulness, the only
thankfulness that pleases God.
And it is that kind ofthankfulness that the
(07:05):
spirit-filled believer willoffer.
A medieval legend tells of twoangels sent to earth by the Lord
to gather the prayers of thesaints.
One was to gather the petitions,the requests, and the other was
to gather the thanksgivings.
The angel responsible for thepetitions was not able to carry
(07:26):
them back to heaven in one load,while the angel responsible for
the thanksgivings carried hisback in one hand.
And so that legend developedfrom the sad fact, and it is
true, that God's children aremore prone to ask than they are
to think.
The Psalms, if you read thePsalms, they're very instructive
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in this regard.
In the very fact that theycontain more praise than they do
petition.
See, believers are to come intotheir father's presence through
thanksgiving.
The Bible says in Psalm 100,verse 4, that we enter his gates
with thanksgiving.
We enter his gates withthanksgiving and his courts with
(08:08):
praise.
William Hendrickson verypicturesquely commented that,
and I quote him, when a personprays without thanksgiving, he
has clipped the wings of prayerso that it cannot rise.
I think there's something tothat.
Well, Ephesians 5, verse 20 isvery straightforward.
(08:30):
It really is a very easy verseto outline and talk through.
So let's do that.
Because Ephesians 5, verse 20,the Holy Spirit of God is
teaching us here through theApostle Paul's writing when, for
what, and how, and to whom we asbelievers are to be thankful.
(08:51):
So let's look at this.
First of all, when are we to bethankful?
You're very good Bible studentsthis morning.
That's good.
Of course, it does say that veryplainly there.
But that's right.
That's right.
Always.
And so to be thankful always isto recognize God's control of
(09:12):
our lives in every detail as heseeks to conform us to the image
of his son.
See, to be thankless is todisregard God's control.
To be thankless is to disregardChrist's lordship.
To be thankless is to disregardthe Holy Spirit's filling.
I think nothing surely mustgrieve the Holy Spirit so much
(09:35):
as the believer who does notgive thanks to him.
And so when God brings trialsand when God brings difficulties
into our lives and we complainand we grumble, we question his
wisdom and we question his loveas well as his sovereignty.
But just as there are threelevels or three attitudes toward
(09:57):
thanksgiving, I think there'salso three levels of
thankfulness.
Three levels of thankfulness.
The first is to be thankful whenwe're blessed, right?
I mean, that's the first one tobe thankful when we are blessed,
when things are going well, orwhen God grants an especially
welcome benefit in our lives.
(10:18):
We are happy and we are gratefulwhen we're getting a job or when
we're being delivered from asickness or we're being
reconciled to our spouse, ormaybe this week when I'm going
hunting, I get a 10-pointer, orwhatever the case might be,
right?
What other experience you'reexperiencing other pleasant
(10:39):
things that are good in yourlife, and that's happening.
Boy, it's easy to be grateful tothe Lord then, isn't it?
Am I right?
It's easy to be when you getthat bonus or whatever.
You know, your kids are healthy,everybody's happy in the family,
everybody's getting along.
It's always easy to be gratefulto the Lord then.
And it's right, listen, it'sright to be thankful for
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blessings, as the Biblecontinually commands us to be.
But thankfulness for blessing iseasy.
And let's be honest, it requiresvery little maturity.
The second level, though, ofthankfulness is that of being
grateful for the hope ofblessing and for the victory
that is yet to come.
(11:23):
See, the first level is afterthe fact.
The second is in anticipation ofthe fact.
Thanking God before a blessingis more difficult than thanking
him afterward.
And it in truth, it requiresmore faith and it requires some
spiritual maturity.
See, the second level is wherefaith and hope begin.
(11:44):
Why?
Because it involves the unseenand it involves the yet
unexperienced.
Right?
Faith is the assurance of thingshoped for and the evidence of
things not seen.
And so, as he stood, forexample, as he stood over the
tomb of Lazarus, Jesus prayedand said, Father, I thank you
that you've heard me.
I know that you hear me always,but because of the people
(12:07):
standing around, I said it, thatthey may believe that you did
send me.
And because he knew his heavenlyfather always heard and answered
his prayers in total confidence,he thanked him in advance for
what he knew he would do.
And so the believer at thislevel of thankfulness looks
forward to what God is going todo in their lives, looks forward
(12:29):
to the victory, prayerfully,that's coming before it's even
achieved, knowing that you willoverwhelmingly, as the Bible
says, conquer through him wholoved us.
Romans 8:37.
You look forward to what God isgoing to do in your life.
You look forward to the thingsthat he's going to bring into
your life, and you thank him forthem.
You are waiting in hope andknowing in advance.
(12:50):
A good example of this is asJudah, the southern kingdom of
Israel at that time, as Judahwas about to be attacked by the
more powerful Moabites andAmmonites, King Jehosaphat
proclaimed a fast and prayedbefore all the people, earnestly
proclaiming the Lord's power andgoodness.
And he acknowledged Judah'sweakness and their sure defeat
(13:14):
if the Lord did not help them.
You can read about it, verses 1through 12.
This is what he prayed.
He said, Oh our God, will younot judge them?
For we are powerless before thisgreat multitude who are coming
against us, nor do we know whatto do, but our eyes are on you.
That's a good place to be.
(13:36):
And then the king, the Biblesays, then the king led his
people out of the wilderness,out into the wilderness of
Tokoah, and instructed them toput their trust in the Lord and
in his prophets.
And at that point, he commandedthe Levitical singers, David, he
commanded the choir to go outbefore the army, and the Bible
(13:56):
says, this is what he told themto do: give thanks to the Lord
for his loving kindness iseverlasting.
And it says, and when they begansinging and praising, the Lord
set ambushes against the sons ofAmmon, Moab, and Mount Seir who
had come against Judah, so theywere routed.
Judah thanked God for victorybefore the battle was even
(14:18):
begun.
That's the second level ofthankfulness.
Third one is this.
Third level of thankfulness isthanking God in the middle, in
the midst of trial, in the midstof battle, while we are still
undergoing trouble and testing.
(14:39):
And even when it looks like weare failing and being
overwhelmed.
When David heard that KingDarius had signed the decree
forbidding the worship of anyGod or man but the king himself,
he immediately, the Bible says,he entered his house, now in his
roof chamber, had windows opentoward Jerusalem, and he
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continued kneeling on his kneesthree times a day, praying and
giving thanks before his God ashe had been doing previously.
Though his life was at risk,Daniel thanked God because God
deserved his thanks, regardlessof his threatening
circumstances.
I mean, even the very prejudicedand disobedient prophet Jonah
(15:23):
ended his prayer from thestomach of the fish with these
words.
Jonah 2 9, he said, But I willsacrifice to you with the voice
of thanksgiving, that which Ivowed I will pay.
Salvation is from the Lord.
And you can read that wholeprayer in Jonah there.
You can read that whole prayerthat Jonah prayed while he was
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in the belly of the fish, andnowhere in the prayer does the
prophet ask for deliverance.
Instead, he praises God for pastdeliverance.
He acknowledges his ownsinfulness and unfaithfulness
and closes with that declarationof thanks for the Lord's
goodness.
After Peter and some of theother apostles in Jerusalem had
been flogged and ordered not tospeak again in the name of
(16:06):
Jesus.
The Bible says they went ontheir way from the presence of
the council, thanking God thatthey had been considered worthy
to suffer shame for his name.
In the prison cell, probably inRome, the apostle Paul awaited
trial and possible execution.
While there, he wrote thisletter to the Philippian church,
in which he gave thanks fortheir faithfulness and for the
(16:28):
work that God was continuing todo in them.
And so, folks, if if we can onlythank God when things are going
well, then our thankfulness ison the bottom rung in our
faithfulness.
If that's the only time we canthank God.
If we can thank him inanticipation of what he will do
(16:50):
in the future, we show morespiritual maturity.
But to thank God while we're inthe midst of pain, to thank God
while we're in the midst oftrials and persecution shows a
level of maturity that I thinkfew Christians seem to know, but
that our Heavenly Father wantsall of his children to have.
See, being thankful is not aChristian option.
(17:12):
It's not some sort of high orderof living that we are free to
choose or to disregard.
No, as Johnny Erickson Tata, ifyou know her story, you can
appreciate this quote.
As Johnny Erickson, she's aquadriplegic author.
She has observed, and I quoteher, she says, giving thanks is
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not a matter of feelingthankful, it is a matter of
obedience.
So when are we to give thanks?
Yeah.
Now, secondly, here's what thisscripture teaches us.
For what are we to give thanks?
For all things.
Yeah.
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For all things.
That's what the scripture says.
I think the greatest gift we cangive to God is a thankful heart.
Because all we can give him, allthat we can give to him really
is simply grateful recognitionthat all we have is from him.
Everything we do in this lifereally ought to be in response
(18:15):
to what he's done for us.
That's called worship, by theway.
It's gratitude, it's thanks.
We give him thanks for allthings because he has given us
all things.
And because giving thanks ineverything, as it says in 1
Thessalonians 5.18, is God'swill in Christ Jesus.
And so understanding what thewill of the Lord is, as it said
(18:36):
back up in verse 17, thatincludes understanding that he
wants his children to bethankful.
The spirit-filled heart seesGod's gracious hand in every
circumstance.
And we know that God works allthings together for the good of
those who love him who are thecalled according to his purpose.
(18:57):
And so the spiritual believer,if you and I are going to be a
spiritual believer, we're goingto see God's wise and loving
care in the difficulties and thetrials, as well as in the
blessing and in prosperity.
See, that kind of believerthanks God for a job, even if
it's demanding and unfulfilling.
(19:18):
We thank him for it.
We thank God for our health,even if it's far from what we
would like it to be.
We thank God for our house thatwe live in, although it might
not be our dream house.
We thank him for these things.
Why?
Because we can say with Job andwe know what he dealt with.
We can say with him, the Lordgave, and the Lord has taken
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away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
We know it comes from him,whatever comes into our life.
And the ultimate goal is theglory of God.
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians4.15 that in Christ all things
are for our sakes, in order thatthe grace which is spreading to
more and more people may causethe giving of thanks to abound
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to the glory of God.
And so the ultimate goal is theglory of God, and the means of
giving him glory isthanksgiving, and the reasons
for thanksgiving are all thethings that he has done in our
lives.
And so, if you want to thinkabout what it means to glorify
God in your own life, you think,I really want to glorify God.
How do I do that?
(20:24):
Well, to glorify God is to thankhim, no matter how much we may
hurt.
To glorify God is to thank him,no matter how much we may be
disappointed or how much we failto understand.
This spirit-filled Christian isoverflowing through many
thanksgivings to God.
And as the Bible says, wecontinually give thanks to him
(20:46):
for his indescribable gift, whois Jesus, by the way.
And as God's children, we're tobe thankful, first of all, for
the Lord Himself, for Hisgoodness, for His love, His
grace, His salvation, and everyother blessing that He gives.
We're to be thankful for all thepeople that He brings into our
lives.
We're to be thankful for theblessings and the difficulties,
for the victories and defeats.
(21:08):
Now, the reality is the onlyperson who can genuinely give
thanks for all things is thehumble person.
The person who knows he or shedeserves nothing.
And who therefore gives thankseven for the smallest things.
(21:29):
See, the lack of thankfulnesscomes from pride.
The lack of thankfulness comesfrom the conviction that we
deserve something better than wehave.
See, pride tries to convince usthat our job, that our health,
that our spouse or whatever,most of what we have is not as
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good as we deserve.
So pride tries to convince us.
And see, pride is at the root ofthe very first sin and remains
the root of all sin.
Satan's pride, the Bible teachesus, Satan's pride led him to
rebel against God and try tousurp God's throne.
The pride of Adam and Eve ledthem to believe Satan's lie that
(22:13):
they deserved more than they hadand that they even had a right
to be like God.
And you know this, you and I,even as believers, are still
subject to the temptations ofpride.
And the only cure is humility,which comes with being filled
with the Spirit.
Since being filled with theSpirit is to die to self.
(22:35):
And when we cease fromselfishness, the consequence is
to put Christ and His will aboveall else.
See, humility dethrones self andenthrones Christ.
And in doing that, it thankfullyacknowledges that every good
thing, but also including manythings that do not seem at that
time to be good, are from hisgracious hand.
(22:58):
And so, when are we to givethanks?
Always.
For what are we to give thanks?
You got it.
Thirdly, though, how are we tobe thankful?
In the name of Jesus Christ, ourLord.
That's what it says, right?
Give me thanks always for allthings too, God the Father, in
(23:21):
the name of our Lord JesusChrist.
See, to give thanks in the nameof our Lord Jesus Christ is to
give thanks consistent with whoHe is and what He has done.
We can give thanks always andfor all things, because no
matter what happens to us, itwill turn out not only for our
(23:44):
ultimate blessing, but moreimportantly, for His ultimate
glory.
When we sing, it's Christsinging through us.
When we give thanks, it's Christgiving thanks to the Father
through us.
Now, were it not for Christ, itwould be foolish to be thankful
for everything, because apartfrom him, all things do not turn
(24:06):
out for good.
But because, if you're aChristian, but because we are in
Christ, the good things and thebad things all have a part in
God's conforming us to the imageof his son.
See, a person who is not aChristian, and if you're in this
room this morning and you arenot truly a Christian, you need
(24:28):
to hear this very clearly.
A person who is not a Christiandoes not have Christ interceding
on your behalf at the right handof God or indwelling your life.
If you're not a Christian, youdo not have the promise of
heirship in God's family andcitizenship in God's kingdom or
any of the other of thewonderful promises we have in
(24:49):
Christ.
You do not have the indwellingof the Holy Spirit, and you
cannot have his filling untilyou've had conversion.
You cannot be thankful foreverything because for you,
everything does not give areason for thanks.
You see only the present, noteternal glory.
(25:09):
And sadly, some professingChristians act that way too.
But the child of God, the personwho is truly saved, the person
who is born again, is indwelt byChrist.
And you are a joint heir withHim.
And you do have the Soninterceding for you at the
Father's right hand.
And you have all of Christ'spromises made certain through
(25:31):
the Holy Spirit who indwellsyou.
And as the Spirit fills you, youare cleansed from sin, and you
are made more and more into theconformity of Christ.
The mature Christian, theChristian who is filled with the
Spirit, becomes thankful just asChrist Himself was thankful.
You do know Christ lived a lifeof thanksgiving, don't you?
Read the Gospels.
(25:52):
You see it over and over.
Jesus was continually sayingthanks to the Father.
All the way through.
Before he multiplied the loavesand the fish to feed the
thousands, the Bible says hegave thanks and broke them and
started giving them to hisdisciples to serve them.
He gave thanks before he calledLazarus from the grave.
(26:15):
Even as he instituted the Lord'sSupper, which we will observe
next week, even as he institutedthe Lord's Supper in
anticipation of his soon-comingcrucifixion, he thanked his
father for the bread that wouldbecome a memorial of his
sacrifice body.
Jesus was ridiculed, Jesus wasdespised, he was scorned, he was
(26:38):
rejected, he was spat upon, hewas blasphemed, he was beaten,
and he was finally crucified.
You think you've got it tough?
You think you've got a hardlife?
And yet, because of his greathumility, he always gave thanks
in all things.
Listen, he deserved glory, buthe received humiliation.
(27:03):
He deserved love, but hereceived hate.
He deserved honor, but hereceived dishonor.
He deserved praise, but hereceived scorn.
He deserved riches, but hereceived poverty.
He deserved holiness, but he wasmade sin on our behalf.
And yet he never lost histhankfulness to his heavenly
(27:24):
Father.
Because, as the Bible says inPhilippians chapter 2, verses 7
through 8, he emptied himself,taking the form of a bondservant
and being found in the likenessof a man.
He humbled himself by becomingobedient to the point of death,
(27:44):
even death on the cross.
And because Jesus emptiedhimself to the point of giving
his own life, he is able to fillus with everything of which he
emptied himself, including life.
Listen, we deserve humiliation,but in Christ we receive glory.
(28:05):
We deserve to be hated, butinstead we are loved.
We deserve dishonor, but wereceive honor.
We deserve scorn, but we've beengiven praise.
We deserve poverty, but we'regiven riches.
We deserve sin's curse of death,and instead we are given
righteousness and eternal life.
Ladies and gentlemen, for whatcan we not give thanks?
(28:28):
What can we not thank him inthis place today?
What can we not give thanks for?
We give thanks in the name ofthe Lord Jesus Christ,
consistent with who he is to usand what he has done in our
lives.
SPEAKER_00 (28:46):
The grass withers and the flower fades, but the
word of God stands forever.
That's Isaiah 48.
Thanks for tuning in to theFoundations of Truth podcast
with Pastor Timothy Mann fromProvidence Church in Ormond
Beach, Florida.
Join us next time.
And until then, keep buildingyour life on God's eternal
truth, the Bible.
Welcome to Foundations of Truth, the Bible
teaching ministry of PastorTimothy Mann in Providence
Church, Ormond Beach, Florida.
Providence Church is a localassembly of followers of Jesus
Christ dedicated to helpingpeople become committed and
mature followers of JesusChrist.
Now, here's Pastor Tim teachingthe word.
SPEAKER_01 (00:22):
Take your Bibles this morning, if you would,
please, and turn with me to theNew Testament book of Ephesians.
Ephesians chapter 5.
It's going to be verse 20.
I want to give you the contexthere of this, though, because it
is a statement in the middle ofa sentence.
And I don't want you to beconfused.
I'm not taking it out of contextat all, but to help you see
(00:43):
that, what's happening here isthe Apostle Paul, under the
inspiration of the Holy Spiritof God, is writing to the church
at Ephesus, writing them aletter.
And he is, for the first half ofthe book, talked about great
truths, doctrine, all theblessings we have in Christ, and
all about our salvation.
The second half of the book isvery practical.
It's about living out thattruth.
(01:03):
And then in chapter 5, he comesto this section where in verse
17 he says, Do not be unwise,but understand what the will of
the Lord is.
And then he begins to talk aboutwhat it means to be filled with
the Spirit.
The Bible says, Ephesianschapter 5, verse 20, giving
thanks always for all things toGod the Father in the name of
(01:27):
our Lord Jesus Christ.
And that's all.
We're going to stop there.
This is God's word that we'veread this morning.
Thanksgiving is more than just aholiday in November.
It's not just a holiday inNovember.
Now, the good thing, though,about Thanksgiving is it does
seem like it's the one time ofyear where it's okay for all of
us to be a glutton, at least fora day.
(01:48):
But, you know, take it easy,don't overdo.
But we enjoy that day and we'regrateful for that.
But Thanksgiving is so much morethan just a holiday in
Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is an attitude.
It is.
Thanksgiving is an attitude.
Now, people may have one ofthree possible attitudes about
(02:11):
Thanksgiving.
Not about the day, but aboutgiving thanks.
One of three possible attitudesabout giving thanks.
The first is that it isunnecessary.
Just not necessary.
Some people are not thankfulsimply because they think they
deserve every good thing theyhave.
(02:33):
And more.
(03:06):
And then after that, the Biblesays that he would say to his
soul, and I quote Luke 12, 19,Soul, you have many goods laid
up for many years to come.
Take your ease, eat, drink, andbe merry.
Now, he did not take God intoconsideration.
And because he gave God nocredit for his blessings, he saw
(03:29):
no reason to give him thanks.
And because of his thanklesspresumption, God said to him,
and I quote verse 20 of Luke 12,God said to him, You fool, this
very night your soul is requiredof you, and now who will own
what you have prepared?
(03:50):
And so within that judgment thatGod brought lay the very truth
that the farmer could no moreprotect his possessions by his
own power than he had producedthem by his own power.
The Lord gave and the Lord tookaway.
So this not feeling the need tothank God is really worse than
(04:13):
ingratitude.
It is rank unbelief.
The second attitude, and ofcourse, that first attitude is
sort of a form of practicalatheism that fails to
acknowledge God.
But a second attitude aboutthanksgiving, of course, one is
it's unnecessary.
A second attitude aboutthanksgiving is that that of the
(04:33):
hypocrite.
That of the hypocrite.
What do I mean?
Well, again, I'm reminded ofanother parable in which Jesus
told of a very self-righteousreligionist, this Pharisee, this
leader in the Jewish religion,who stood in the temple.
The Bible says he was prayingthus to himself.
And he said, Lord, God, I thankthee that I'm not like other
(04:57):
people.
That always kind of makes mechuckle a little bit.
I thank thee that I'm not likeother people.
Swindlers, unjust, adulterers,and even like this tax collector
that's right here.
I fast twice a week, I paytithes of all that I get.
And as Jesus made clear in thewords of praying thus to
(05:18):
himself, although the man usedGod's name, his thankfulness was
to himself and for himself.
The Pharisee used God's nameonly to call further attention
to his very false piety, hisfalse holiness.
And because God had no part inthat prayer, it was totally
(05:38):
worthless.
But that humble penitent taxcollector, the Bible says, went
down to his house justified thatday.
Whereas the proud,self-righteous Pharisee did not.
Very much like the rest of hislife, the Pharisee's prayer of
thanksgiving was a hypocriticalsham and pretense.
(06:00):
So that's an attitude somepeople have about thankfulness,
thanksgiving.
A third attitude, though, aboutthanksgiving is that of a truly
thankful person.
Of the ten lepers that Jesushealed on his way to Jerusalem,
the only one who returned tothank him was a Samaritan.
Interestingly enough.
(06:21):
But his thankfulness wasgenuine.
And Jesus said to him, Rise andgo your way.
Your faith has made you well.
The other nine lepers had soughtJesus' healing only for their
benefit, and they weren't eventhankful.
The Samaritan sought it forGod's glory, and his
thankfulness was an expressionof his trust in Jesus, his
(06:44):
recognition that he was helplessin himself, and that his healing
was undeserved and entirely byGod's grace.
And as a result, he receivedsalvation.
And folks, that is thethankfulness, the only
thankfulness that pleases God.
And it is that kind ofthankfulness that the
(07:05):
spirit-filled believer willoffer.
A medieval legend tells of twoangels sent to earth by the Lord
to gather the prayers of thesaints.
One was to gather the petitions,the requests, and the other was
to gather the thanksgivings.
The angel responsible for thepetitions was not able to carry
(07:26):
them back to heaven in one load,while the angel responsible for
the thanksgivings carried hisback in one hand.
And so that legend developedfrom the sad fact, and it is
true, that God's children aremore prone to ask than they are
to think.
The Psalms, if you read thePsalms, they're very instructive
(07:48):
in this regard.
In the very fact that theycontain more praise than they do
petition.
See, believers are to come intotheir father's presence through
thanksgiving.
The Bible says in Psalm 100,verse 4, that we enter his gates
with thanksgiving.
We enter his gates withthanksgiving and his courts with
(08:08):
praise.
William Hendrickson verypicturesquely commented that,
and I quote him, when a personprays without thanksgiving, he
has clipped the wings of prayerso that it cannot rise.
I think there's something tothat.
Well, Ephesians 5, verse 20 isvery straightforward.
(08:30):
It really is a very easy verseto outline and talk through.
So let's do that.
Because Ephesians 5, verse 20,the Holy Spirit of God is
teaching us here through theApostle Paul's writing when, for
what, and how, and to whom we asbelievers are to be thankful.
(08:51):
So let's look at this.
First of all, when are we to bethankful?
You're very good Bible studentsthis morning.
That's good.
Of course, it does say that veryplainly there.
But that's right.
That's right.
Always.
And so to be thankful always isto recognize God's control of
(09:12):
our lives in every detail as heseeks to conform us to the image
of his son.
See, to be thankless is todisregard God's control.
To be thankless is to disregardChrist's lordship.
To be thankless is to disregardthe Holy Spirit's filling.
I think nothing surely mustgrieve the Holy Spirit so much
(09:35):
as the believer who does notgive thanks to him.
And so when God brings trialsand when God brings difficulties
into our lives and we complainand we grumble, we question his
wisdom and we question his loveas well as his sovereignty.
But just as there are threelevels or three attitudes toward
(09:57):
thanksgiving, I think there'salso three levels of
thankfulness.
Three levels of thankfulness.
The first is to be thankful whenwe're blessed, right?
I mean, that's the first one tobe thankful when we are blessed,
when things are going well, orwhen God grants an especially
welcome benefit in our lives.
(10:18):
We are happy and we are gratefulwhen we're getting a job or when
we're being delivered from asickness or we're being
reconciled to our spouse, ormaybe this week when I'm going
hunting, I get a 10-pointer, orwhatever the case might be,
right?
What other experience you'reexperiencing other pleasant
(10:39):
things that are good in yourlife, and that's happening.
Boy, it's easy to be grateful tothe Lord then, isn't it?
Am I right?
It's easy to be when you getthat bonus or whatever.
You know, your kids are healthy,everybody's happy in the family,
everybody's getting along.
It's always easy to be gratefulto the Lord then.
And it's right, listen, it'sright to be thankful for
(11:01):
blessings, as the Biblecontinually commands us to be.
But thankfulness for blessing iseasy.
And let's be honest, it requiresvery little maturity.
The second level, though, ofthankfulness is that of being
grateful for the hope ofblessing and for the victory
that is yet to come.
(11:23):
See, the first level is afterthe fact.
The second is in anticipation ofthe fact.
Thanking God before a blessingis more difficult than thanking
him afterward.
And it in truth, it requiresmore faith and it requires some
spiritual maturity.
See, the second level is wherefaith and hope begin.
(11:44):
Why?
Because it involves the unseenand it involves the yet
unexperienced.
Right?
Faith is the assurance of thingshoped for and the evidence of
things not seen.
And so, as he stood, forexample, as he stood over the
tomb of Lazarus, Jesus prayedand said, Father, I thank you
that you've heard me.
I know that you hear me always,but because of the people
(12:07):
standing around, I said it, thatthey may believe that you did
send me.
And because he knew his heavenlyfather always heard and answered
his prayers in total confidence,he thanked him in advance for
what he knew he would do.
And so the believer at thislevel of thankfulness looks
forward to what God is going todo in their lives, looks forward
(12:29):
to the victory, prayerfully,that's coming before it's even
achieved, knowing that you willoverwhelmingly, as the Bible
says, conquer through him wholoved us.
Romans 8:37.
You look forward to what God isgoing to do in your life.
You look forward to the thingsthat he's going to bring into
your life, and you thank him forthem.
You are waiting in hope andknowing in advance.
(12:50):
A good example of this is asJudah, the southern kingdom of
Israel at that time, as Judahwas about to be attacked by the
more powerful Moabites andAmmonites, King Jehosaphat
proclaimed a fast and prayedbefore all the people, earnestly
proclaiming the Lord's power andgoodness.
And he acknowledged Judah'sweakness and their sure defeat
(13:14):
if the Lord did not help them.
You can read about it, verses 1through 12.
This is what he prayed.
He said, Oh our God, will younot judge them?
For we are powerless before thisgreat multitude who are coming
against us, nor do we know whatto do, but our eyes are on you.
That's a good place to be.
(13:36):
And then the king, the Biblesays, then the king led his
people out of the wilderness,out into the wilderness of
Tokoah, and instructed them toput their trust in the Lord and
in his prophets.
And at that point, he commandedthe Levitical singers, David, he
commanded the choir to go outbefore the army, and the Bible
(13:56):
says, this is what he told themto do: give thanks to the Lord
for his loving kindness iseverlasting.
And it says, and when they begansinging and praising, the Lord
set ambushes against the sons ofAmmon, Moab, and Mount Seir who
had come against Judah, so theywere routed.
Judah thanked God for victorybefore the battle was even
(14:18):
begun.
That's the second level ofthankfulness.
Third one is this.
Third level of thankfulness isthanking God in the middle, in
the midst of trial, in the midstof battle, while we are still
undergoing trouble and testing.
(14:39):
And even when it looks like weare failing and being
overwhelmed.
When David heard that KingDarius had signed the decree
forbidding the worship of anyGod or man but the king himself,
he immediately, the Bible says,he entered his house, now in his
roof chamber, had windows opentoward Jerusalem, and he
(14:59):
continued kneeling on his kneesthree times a day, praying and
giving thanks before his God ashe had been doing previously.
Though his life was at risk,Daniel thanked God because God
deserved his thanks, regardlessof his threatening
circumstances.
I mean, even the very prejudicedand disobedient prophet Jonah
(15:23):
ended his prayer from thestomach of the fish with these
words.
Jonah 2 9, he said, But I willsacrifice to you with the voice
of thanksgiving, that which Ivowed I will pay.
Salvation is from the Lord.
And you can read that wholeprayer in Jonah there.
You can read that whole prayerthat Jonah prayed while he was
(15:43):
in the belly of the fish, andnowhere in the prayer does the
prophet ask for deliverance.
Instead, he praises God for pastdeliverance.
He acknowledges his ownsinfulness and unfaithfulness
and closes with that declarationof thanks for the Lord's
goodness.
After Peter and some of theother apostles in Jerusalem had
been flogged and ordered not tospeak again in the name of
(16:06):
Jesus.
The Bible says they went ontheir way from the presence of
the council, thanking God thatthey had been considered worthy
to suffer shame for his name.
In the prison cell, probably inRome, the apostle Paul awaited
trial and possible execution.
While there, he wrote thisletter to the Philippian church,
in which he gave thanks fortheir faithfulness and for the
(16:28):
work that God was continuing todo in them.
And so, folks, if if we can onlythank God when things are going
well, then our thankfulness ison the bottom rung in our
faithfulness.
If that's the only time we canthank God.
If we can thank him inanticipation of what he will do
(16:50):
in the future, we show morespiritual maturity.
But to thank God while we're inthe midst of pain, to thank God
while we're in the midst oftrials and persecution shows a
level of maturity that I thinkfew Christians seem to know, but
that our Heavenly Father wantsall of his children to have.
See, being thankful is not aChristian option.
(17:12):
It's not some sort of high orderof living that we are free to
choose or to disregard.
No, as Johnny Erickson Tata, ifyou know her story, you can
appreciate this quote.
As Johnny Erickson, she's aquadriplegic author.
She has observed, and I quoteher, she says, giving thanks is
(17:33):
not a matter of feelingthankful, it is a matter of
obedience.
So when are we to give thanks?
Yeah.
Now, secondly, here's what thisscripture teaches us.
For what are we to give thanks?
For all things.
Yeah.
(17:54):
For all things.
That's what the scripture says.
I think the greatest gift we cangive to God is a thankful heart.
Because all we can give him, allthat we can give to him really
is simply grateful recognitionthat all we have is from him.
Everything we do in this lifereally ought to be in response
(18:15):
to what he's done for us.
That's called worship, by theway.
It's gratitude, it's thanks.
We give him thanks for allthings because he has given us
all things.
And because giving thanks ineverything, as it says in 1
Thessalonians 5.18, is God'swill in Christ Jesus.
And so understanding what thewill of the Lord is, as it said
(18:36):
back up in verse 17, thatincludes understanding that he
wants his children to bethankful.
The spirit-filled heart seesGod's gracious hand in every
circumstance.
And we know that God works allthings together for the good of
those who love him who are thecalled according to his purpose.
(18:57):
And so the spiritual believer,if you and I are going to be a
spiritual believer, we're goingto see God's wise and loving
care in the difficulties and thetrials, as well as in the
blessing and in prosperity.
See, that kind of believerthanks God for a job, even if
it's demanding and unfulfilling.
(19:18):
We thank him for it.
We thank God for our health,even if it's far from what we
would like it to be.
We thank God for our house thatwe live in, although it might
not be our dream house.
We thank him for these things.
Why?
Because we can say with Job andwe know what he dealt with.
We can say with him, the Lordgave, and the Lord has taken
(19:41):
away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
We know it comes from him,whatever comes into our life.
And the ultimate goal is theglory of God.
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians4.15 that in Christ all things
are for our sakes, in order thatthe grace which is spreading to
more and more people may causethe giving of thanks to abound
(20:03):
to the glory of God.
And so the ultimate goal is theglory of God, and the means of
giving him glory isthanksgiving, and the reasons
for thanksgiving are all thethings that he has done in our
lives.
And so, if you want to thinkabout what it means to glorify
God in your own life, you think,I really want to glorify God.
How do I do that?
(20:24):
Well, to glorify God is to thankhim, no matter how much we may
hurt.
To glorify God is to thank him,no matter how much we may be
disappointed or how much we failto understand.
This spirit-filled Christian isoverflowing through many
thanksgivings to God.
And as the Bible says, wecontinually give thanks to him
(20:46):
for his indescribable gift, whois Jesus, by the way.
And as God's children, we're tobe thankful, first of all, for
the Lord Himself, for Hisgoodness, for His love, His
grace, His salvation, and everyother blessing that He gives.
We're to be thankful for all thepeople that He brings into our
lives.
We're to be thankful for theblessings and the difficulties,
for the victories and defeats.
(21:08):
Now, the reality is the onlyperson who can genuinely give
thanks for all things is thehumble person.
The person who knows he or shedeserves nothing.
And who therefore gives thankseven for the smallest things.
(21:29):
See, the lack of thankfulnesscomes from pride.
The lack of thankfulness comesfrom the conviction that we
deserve something better than wehave.
See, pride tries to convince usthat our job, that our health,
that our spouse or whatever,most of what we have is not as
(21:53):
good as we deserve.
So pride tries to convince us.
And see, pride is at the root ofthe very first sin and remains
the root of all sin.
Satan's pride, the Bible teachesus, Satan's pride led him to
rebel against God and try tousurp God's throne.
The pride of Adam and Eve ledthem to believe Satan's lie that
(22:13):
they deserved more than they hadand that they even had a right
to be like God.
And you know this, you and I,even as believers, are still
subject to the temptations ofpride.
And the only cure is humility,which comes with being filled
with the Spirit.
Since being filled with theSpirit is to die to self.
(22:35):
And when we cease fromselfishness, the consequence is
to put Christ and His will aboveall else.
See, humility dethrones self andenthrones Christ.
And in doing that, it thankfullyacknowledges that every good
thing, but also including manythings that do not seem at that
time to be good, are from hisgracious hand.
(22:58):
And so, when are we to givethanks?
Always.
For what are we to give thanks?
You got it.
Thirdly, though, how are we tobe thankful?
In the name of Jesus Christ, ourLord.
That's what it says, right?
Give me thanks always for allthings too, God the Father, in
(23:21):
the name of our Lord JesusChrist.
See, to give thanks in the nameof our Lord Jesus Christ is to
give thanks consistent with whoHe is and what He has done.
We can give thanks always andfor all things, because no
matter what happens to us, itwill turn out not only for our
(23:44):
ultimate blessing, but moreimportantly, for His ultimate
glory.
When we sing, it's Christsinging through us.
When we give thanks, it's Christgiving thanks to the Father
through us.
Now, were it not for Christ, itwould be foolish to be thankful
for everything, because apartfrom him, all things do not turn
(24:06):
out for good.
But because, if you're aChristian, but because we are in
Christ, the good things and thebad things all have a part in
God's conforming us to the imageof his son.
See, a person who is not aChristian, and if you're in this
room this morning and you arenot truly a Christian, you need
(24:28):
to hear this very clearly.
A person who is not a Christiandoes not have Christ interceding
on your behalf at the right handof God or indwelling your life.
If you're not a Christian, youdo not have the promise of
heirship in God's family andcitizenship in God's kingdom or
any of the other of thewonderful promises we have in
(24:49):
Christ.
You do not have the indwellingof the Holy Spirit, and you
cannot have his filling untilyou've had conversion.
You cannot be thankful foreverything because for you,
everything does not give areason for thanks.
You see only the present, noteternal glory.
(25:09):
And sadly, some professingChristians act that way too.
But the child of God, the personwho is truly saved, the person
who is born again, is indwelt byChrist.
And you are a joint heir withHim.
And you do have the Soninterceding for you at the
Father's right hand.
And you have all of Christ'spromises made certain through
(25:31):
the Holy Spirit who indwellsyou.
And as the Spirit fills you, youare cleansed from sin, and you
are made more and more into theconformity of Christ.
The mature Christian, theChristian who is filled with the
Spirit, becomes thankful just asChrist Himself was thankful.
You do know Christ lived a lifeof thanksgiving, don't you?
Read the Gospels.
(25:52):
You see it over and over.
Jesus was continually sayingthanks to the Father.
All the way through.
Before he multiplied the loavesand the fish to feed the
thousands, the Bible says hegave thanks and broke them and
started giving them to hisdisciples to serve them.
He gave thanks before he calledLazarus from the grave.
(26:15):
Even as he instituted the Lord'sSupper, which we will observe
next week, even as he institutedthe Lord's Supper in
anticipation of his soon-comingcrucifixion, he thanked his
father for the bread that wouldbecome a memorial of his
sacrifice body.
Jesus was ridiculed, Jesus wasdespised, he was scorned, he was
(26:38):
rejected, he was spat upon, hewas blasphemed, he was beaten,
and he was finally crucified.
You think you've got it tough?
You think you've got a hardlife?
And yet, because of his greathumility, he always gave thanks
in all things.
Listen, he deserved glory, buthe received humiliation.
(27:03):
He deserved love, but hereceived hate.
He deserved honor, but hereceived dishonor.
He deserved praise, but hereceived scorn.
He deserved riches, but hereceived poverty.
He deserved holiness, but he wasmade sin on our behalf.
And yet he never lost histhankfulness to his heavenly
(27:24):
Father.
Because, as the Bible says inPhilippians chapter 2, verses 7
through 8, he emptied himself,taking the form of a bondservant
and being found in the likenessof a man.
He humbled himself by becomingobedient to the point of death,
(27:44):
even death on the cross.
And because Jesus emptiedhimself to the point of giving
his own life, he is able to fillus with everything of which he
emptied himself, including life.
Listen, we deserve humiliation,but in Christ we receive glory.
(28:05):
We deserve to be hated, butinstead we are loved.
We deserve dishonor, but wereceive honor.
We deserve scorn, but we've beengiven praise.
We deserve poverty, but we'regiven riches.
We deserve sin's curse of death,and instead we are given
righteousness and eternal life.
Ladies and gentlemen, for whatcan we not give thanks?
(28:28):
What can we not thank him inthis place today?
What can we not give thanks for?
We give thanks in the name ofthe Lord Jesus Christ,
consistent with who he is to usand what he has done in our
lives.
SPEAKER_00 (28:46):
The grass withers and the flower fades, but the
word of God stands forever.
That's Isaiah 48.
Thanks for tuning in to theFoundations of Truth podcast
with Pastor Timothy Mann fromProvidence Church in Ormond
Beach, Florida.
Join us next time.
And until then, keep buildingyour life on God's eternal
truth, the Bible.
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