1 Thessalonians chapter 5, we're turning to one of the church epistles. And brethren and sisters, whenever we read one of the church epistles, we need to remember that although it was written to maybe the church in Thessalonica or Philippi or Colossae or Ephesus, it has relevance to us today. And so the counsel that Paul gave to the church And the church here tonight is the church in Thessalonica. That advice, that counsel, that instruction is as suited for us today as it was whenever it was first written. And so we must read these letters as if it was written to this congregation and to the church of Jesus Christ. And so let's read the counsel that is given here. Paul's closing out his first letter, and he's giving some advice. And it's a little bit like he runs out of time. he puts in the bullet points at the end. Because whenever you start to read these final verses, there's really nothing that ties it together. And so it seems to be that he's run out of time, a bit like the sermons that sometimes we preach. We run out of time and we fill out the blanks and put out the bullet points at the end. Well, this is what Paul does. And we want to look at one of those, as it were, bullet points, some instruction that is given here by the inspiration of the Spirit of God. So that's by way of introduction. Let's read from the verse 12. From the verse 12 of 1 Thessalonians, and the chapter 5, and it's the verse 12. And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves, Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man, but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves and to all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the spirit, despise not prophesies, prove all things, hold fast that which is good, abstain from all appearance of evil, and the very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. What great counsel, what great instruction we have in these closing verses. And we're going to look at one of those particular statements this evening. In gratitude thy marble-hearted fiend more hideous will thou showest thee in a child than the sea monster. So wrote the Bard of Avon, William Shakespeare, in his play King Lear. This thing that Shakespeare likened to cold and hard marble in gratitude is one that resides in many a heart today. Despite being wealthier, Despite being healthier than those from previous generations, we often find ourselves succumbing to the sin of unthankfulness. Ingratitude abounds today, and at this we should not be surprised, for the scriptures of truth remind us in 2 Timothy chapter 3, that the last days will be marked by men who will be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient unto parents, unthankful. It must be noted that the disease of ungratitude not only infects those in the culture around us, but sadly at times it becomes epidemic among God's people as well. The spinoff sins that accompany the spirit of ungratitude in our lives, sins like grumbling and complaining and murmuring and fault finding, are found among God's people at times at an alarming rate. this despite the counsel that we're given here in first Thessalonians chapter 5 and the verse 18 and everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you it is this matter of thankfulness that I want to address you upon this evening by considering its essential practice in the life of the believing child of God. This is not something that you can choose to do or not do, but this is the revealed will of God for you as a Christian, for me as a Christian. For we read, in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Not to do this is therefore not to obey the will of God. for your life as a Christian and for my life as a Christian. And so may God give us the grace to obey this command and this instruction that we're given in the verse number 18. I want us to consider in the first place the foundation of the believer's thankfulness, the foundation of the believers thankfulness thankfulness is something brethren and sisters that does not come naturally to us in fact the natural thing for us is to be unthankful this is seen in the early years of our lives when as children we complain about the things that we don't have instead of being thankful for the things that we do have. And it gets no better the older we become. The spirit of ingratitude persists in our lives as we daily battle with the sins of covetousness, jealousy, envy, in this materialistic world in which we live. The sinful nature, a nature with which we have all been born with, is one that is marked by a lack of thankfulness. Consider our first parents, Adam and Eve, and their susceptibility to this particular sin, this sin of ingratitude or unthankfulness. This couple was placed in a perfect environment, the perfect environment of the Garden of Eden. All things that was needed to sustain their lives and for their enjoyment had been provided for them by their creator and by their God. And yet, they were unthankful for God's provision. And thus they reached out and took that which they were forbidden to eat. Thomas Watson, the Puritan, when writing about the first sin, he said this, Adam's sin was committed in the midst of paradise. God had enriched him with a variety of mercies. He had stamped his own image upon him. He had made him Lord of the world, gave him of all the trees of the garden to eat, one only excepted. accepted and now to take of that tree this was he said high in gratitude those born with the sin nature we find therefore ourselves naturally unthankful however all that changes or it ought to change when god works supernaturally in our hearts When by the new birth we are given a new nature, a new nature like God's nature, the divine nature, a new nature is implanted into our lives that is remarkably different from the old heart and the old nature that we enter life with. Thankfulness flows out of a regenerate heart, from the soul of the one who has been reconciled to God. In Psalm 136, we read on four separate occasions this statement, O give thanks unto the Lord. And then the psalmist gives us the reason why. This is the cause, this is the reason. O give thanks unto the Lord for his mercy endureth forever. A recalling to one's mind of the mercy of God, the mercy of God that we have received in salvation, and the mercy of God that we have received thereafter, after being converted, is that which ought to produce a thankfulness in the heart of every child of God. And therefore, the foundation of a believer's thankfulness is a solid foundation, namely, the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. we have experienced his mercy. We have known the redemption of our sins, the deliverance from our sins. Thank God for that. May God help us on a daily basis to be thankful for the mercy that we have come to know in and by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, as we consider the foundation of a believer's thankfulness, namely the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, let me say that the Christian, therefore, should be thankful for a number of things. First of all, the Christian should be thankful for the pollution from which they have been cleansed. The pollution from which they have been cleansed. Sin is a defiling thing, a polluting thing. Sin is that which defiles our hearts, our minds. and our souls. All who belong to the human race are described in Isaiah chapter 64 verse 6 as an unclean thing. We are all as an unclean thing and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. And yet whenever we come to put our faith and trust in Christ, sin's pollution is cleansed. The stain is removed by the cleansing power of Jesus' blood. In 1 John 1, John writes, the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanseth us from all sin. And if we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And therefore, the pollution of our sin is cleansed, being dealt with by the redemptive work that is in Jesus Christ. And for that, we ought to be truly thankful. No longer Sin's pollution staining the soul of mine. Every Christian should be thankful, secondly, for the penalty from which they have been released. Sin's penalty, the wages of sin, is death, physical, spiritual, eternal death. But Christ in his death has triumphed over death, his resurrection from the dead proving that to be the very fact. And the soul who turn from their sin and trust alone in Christ for salvation are released from the penalty of sin and they become possessors of eternal life. Every soul that truly trusts in Christ is saved then from the penalty of their sin and for that we ought to be thankful. Thank God, Christ has dealt with the penalty of sin by his death upon the cross. Christ died for our sins upon the cross of Calvary. And what did he do when he died on the cross? Well, A.W. Pinke explained it in this way, because Christ suffered in my place, I go free. Because he died, I live. Because he was forsaken of God, I am reconciled to God. This is the great marvel of grace which will invoke ceaseless praise from the redeemed throughout eternity. I say that it not only invokes ceaseless praise from the redeemed throughout all eternity, but it cultivates, I believe, a spirit of thankfulness in the hearts of the redeemed now while they live. on earth, that I am delivered from the penalty. I am now released from the penalty of my sin. No longer one who will experience eternal death, but one who is a possessor of eternal life. Every Christian should be thankful, thirdly, for the power from which they have been freed. In Colossians 1 verse 13, the Apostle Paul, he speaks about the power of darkness. And from that power the child of God has been emancipated, they've been set free. Let me read those words to you. And notice, notice that it is on the grounds of redemption, Christ's redemptive work, that we have been freed from the power of darkness. Christ's redemption is the means by which our emancipation from the power of darkness and Satan has been secured, and for this we are truly thankful for. Every Christian should be thankful, fourthly, for the punishment from which they have been spared. The punishment from which they have been spared. All who die without Christ are left to face the eternal punishment that their sin deserves in hell. the severity of which will be in keeping with divine justice. That punishment Jesus Christ stated in Matthew 24, 5 and the verse 46, he stated that that punishment would be eternal. These, speaking of the unrighteous, shall go away into everlasting punishment. And yet from that punishment, the Christian has been spared. because of the sacrifice of Christ for sin. That sacrifice that has put away our sin, and therefore that which demands punishment, our sin can no longer be found in us, because our sin is gone. We are covered and robed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. The believer is one who is certainly thankful the fact that the punishment that they rightfully deserve was meted out upon the Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary. We're so thankful tonight. We ought to be, that he was wounded for our transgressions, and that he was bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. We ought to be thankful that Christ died for the ungodly, and he died for me. And that when I was without strength, Christ died for the ungodly, that he bore my sins in his own body on the tree. And the punishment that was coming to me because of my sin, that punishment was meted out upon the very person, the soul and body of the Lord Jesus Christ. And from His death, He has secured eternal redemption for us. And thus, we are those who have been spared the punishment that was rightfully ours because we have simply trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ and turned from our sin. And so the ground, the ground upon which this thankfulness springs from is the ground of redemption. and all what God has done for us in redemption. He has dealt with the penalty of sin. He has cleansed the pollution of my sin. He has delivered me and freed me from the power of Satan and darkness, and that from the punishment that was my due, I have been spared. And thus there arises from our hearts the spirit of thankfulness. Thank you, Lord. for saving my soul thank you lord for making me whole thank you lord for giving to me thy great salvation so rich and free are you thankful tonight for salvation are you thankful tonight for redemption oh you ought to be and so the foundation with regard to the believer's thankfulness is redemption. But let's think about a second matter quickly. Consider the faith exhibited in a believer's thankfulness. The faith that's exhibited in a believer's thankfulness. While we have no difficulty in expressing our thankfulness to God, when everything is going well in our lives, when health abounds, when troubles are few, when our personal finances are in a good state, It's quite another thing to give thanks to God when things are not going well in our lives. You see, to obey this divinely given directive, to give thanks in everything, requires faith on the part of the child of God. Faith in what? Well, could I say, first of all, faith in the person of God. Faith in the person of God. When we come to a biblical understanding that God is infinitely wise, and infinitely good, and infinitely gracious, and infinitely merciful, and that he seeks only the good of his children, then by faith we can come to thank God in everything that he sends into our lives. Whether from our perspective it's good or bad, because we've got a right view of God. We've got a biblical understanding of who our God is. This God who desires and thinks not evil against his people, but desires only our good. How thankful the Christian can be that they serve a God who is sovereign, a God who is loving. a God who is all-wise, a God who is all-powerful, that nothing frustrates Him, that nothing hinders Him, that nothing escapes His attention, that He can take all things. And I underline the phrase, all things, both good and bad, and work them together for good and for the benefit of His children. This truth not only gives us great confidence and peace and joy, but it also enables us to give thanks to God for everything and thus our faith is in the person of God. We can be thankful. for all things because we know that all things come to us by and through and because of him that he has purposed these things for us and that really brings us to a second thought because the child of god can give thanks in everything because they have faith in the purpose God not only the person of God, but in the purpose of God You see Paul writes here in our text that we are to give thanks in all circumstances But that can only be done I believe whenever we understand that God causes everything to work together for his glory and for the good of those who love him and Romans 8 verse 28 reminds us of that and The Christian believes that God is working all things after the counsel of God's own will, even down to that which occurs in our individual lives, by faith, by faith. The Christian accepts that everything God has eternally purposed is for the ultimate spiritual and eternal blessedness of his people. Corrie ten Boom. It was an inspiration and a challenge to thousands of people after World War II. Hearts were stirred and lives were changed as she would recount in various meetings God's sufficiency to meet her needs even whenever she was a prisoner of war in a Nazi concentration camp. The camp that she was imprisoned in was filthy, so much so that there were fleas everywhere, including the bunker or the particular shed in which she was housed. Corrie's sister Betsy, who was imprisoned alongside Corrie ten Boom, insisted that this text, 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 18, was God's will for them. In everything, give thanks. But giving thanks in a flea infested place seemed very unrealistic and illogical to Corrie ten Boom until she realized one day the reason for the fleas. For the prison guards, the Nazis, did not go in to her particular shed because they did not want to be infected by the fleas. That meant that they pass by. And that meant that Corrie ten Boom along with her sister and other believers were able to hold Bible studies in that particular shed. And thus they were not inhibited from worshipping God even in the middle of a Nazi concentration camp. And why? Because of the little fleas. And so the prisoners, they were free to worship God and to study the word of God. And therefore, Corrie ten Boom, she came to realize that the fleas, even the little fleas in the Nazi concentration camp, were agents of grace and something to be thankful for. And she gave thanks, even for the fleas, the purpose of God. The child of God can give thanks in everything because they have faith in the promises of God, the promises of God. A Christian can give thanks when their bodies are crippled with pain, when their hearts are broken with sorrow, when their homes are filled with trouble, because they believe in the promises of God. Promises like those that we find in Job 23 verse 10, but he knoweth the way that I take. and when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. Or that text in Romans 8, 28, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to his purpose. Or that text over there in 2 Corinthians 4, 17, for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us. a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Or that one there in 1 Peter 1 verse 7, that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto the praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. You see, by faith, the Christian believes that God is in control. By faith the Christian believes that God is still on the throne. By faith the Christian believes that God is sovereign and therefore they can give thanks even when their circumstances would suggest to them to do otherwise. One preacher said, thankfulness is the fruit of faith. Natural gratitude is a natural pleasure felt in prosperity. Gracious gratitude blesses God, like Job in adversity, because of faith in his wisdom and his goodness. We can only give thanks at times in our lives by faith. Faith in the person of God, faith in the purpose of God, and faith in the promise of God. But consider in the third and final place, the focus of the believer's thankfulness. If thankfulness is to be the essential practice of the child of God, and it is because Paul writes in verse 13 that this is the will of God for all who are in Christ Jesus, then we need to come to understand where the focus of our thankfulness ought to be. To whom are we to give thanks to? Well, it's very simple. We are to give thanks to the triune God. We are to give thanks to the triune God because that is what the Word of God encourages us and exhorts us to do. In Psalm 100, verse 4, we read, According to Psalm 30, verse 12, David said at the dedication of his house, O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee forever. Colossians 3 verse 17, And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Our thanks must be directed to the one who is the one who is deserving of it, and that is to God alone. We are to give thanks to God, the Father, for His electing love. We're to give thanks to God, the Son, for His redemptive work. We're to give thanks to God, the Holy Spirit, for His convicting and comforting and sanctifying ministry. The Victorian preacher Spurgeon was right when he said, so long as we are receivers of mercy, we must be givers of thanks. So much as long as we are receivers of mercy, we are to be givers of thanks. So I ask you today, as I ask my heart, did you thank God today? Did you thank God today? Did you thank him for the personal mercies that you receive from his gracious hand, for a sound mind, for a healthy body, recovery from sickness, preservation from danger, good education, a home in which you live, food on the table, clothes on your back, occasional rest and recreation from life's journeys. Did you thank God for those things? Did you thank God for family mercies, the family mercies that you receive from his good hand? Parents who were kind to you in days when you were helpless, wise when you were foolish, prayerful when you were yet in your sin, the family mercies. Did you thank him for family mercies? Did you thank him for the spiritual mercies you've received from his good hand? The word of God in your own language. Access to God in prayer, the fellowship of the church and the saints, the means of grace, Christian friends, victory over some temptation, progress in grace, answers to prayer, the comforting ministry of the Spirit of God, the peace and the assurance that comes by believing, the prospect of a home in heaven, an inheritance that is reserved for you in heaven, that is incorruptible, that fadeth not away. These are but some of the mercies that we have experienced, but did you stop to thank God today for them? Did I? How can we not give thanks to God for all that he has done for us? Let us express in that thankfulness, in praise, in prayer, in our practical obedience as we engage in fulfilling his good and acceptable and perfect will in our lives. You know, friends, in adversity as well as in prosperity, we need to remember this divinely inspired directive given to us in 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 18. In everything, give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Brethren and sisters, while we may not be able to give thanks for everything, We, by faith, can give thanks in everything. May God give us the grace to do that. And tonight, if you're struggling to find a reason to be thankful for, you may say, preacher, you don't know the week that I've had. You don't know what I'm going through. If you're struggling to find a reason to be thankful, let me suggest a good starting point. Give thanks to God, the Father, for his unspeakable gift, the Lord Jesus Christ. And I can assure you that if you do that, you'll find ample material to be thankful for, for you'll find enough in Jesus Christ to be thankful for. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord For he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. May God help us to be a thankful people. Let's bow our heads in prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we just want to pause at this time. We just want to give Thee thanks. We want to thank Thee first and foremost for Your dear Son, Jesus Christ, and all that He has done for us. We thank Thee, O God, for His willingness to come from glory. We thank Thee for His obedient life His atoning death, His resurrection from the dead, His ascension to glory, His ongoing ministry at the Father's right hand. We thank Thee for the prospect of His return. We praise Thee, O God, for all that that will usher in the end of sin and our entrance into glory. O God, how glad we are that we're numbered among the redeemed. We're thankful, Lord, for the temporal mercies that we've received today, and spiritual mercies, the forgiveness of sins. O God, we're at times great lumps of failure, and yet we thank Thee that Thou art a God who pardons and cleanses and washes away our sin. We thank Thee, dear God, that Thou didst not cast us away, Thou didst not cast us off, but Thou didst cleanse us and set us back on our feet again. And Lord, we thank Thee for the mercies of God in that. We can say with a psalmist, surely goodness and mercy has followed me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. We're thankful for this congregation. We're rejoicing, dear God, and thankful for a church to assemble with saints and men and women of like precious faith. We're thankful for a people who have come to pray. We're thankful for the scriptures. We're so thankful, dear God, for sea of men and women who desire to live for God and to burn out for God and desire to serve thee and to pray and to supplicate even tonight. We're so thankful for our homes and our families. Thankful for wives and husbands. Thank you for our children. And Lord, we're so thankful, oh God, for the gospel of Jesus Christ that has spread throughout this province. We could be living in Sudan today, or maybe Somalia, or maybe in North Korea, or in China, where the gospel has never yet reached, with a human preacher and a minister of the gospel. But here we are, Lord. And yet, Lord, why is it? Why is it that we're so unthankful? Lord, forgive us, we pray. Help us to be a people of thankfulness, a people that's full of gratitude. We thank thee, dear God, that we're not presently experiencing what we deserve. For thou art a God who is merciful and good and kind and benevolent to his people and desires our good and desires our peace and to give us an expected end. O gracious God, come among us, therefore we pray, and put into our hearts a spirit of thankfulness, and, Lord, drive out ingratitude, and all our murmuring and complaining and bickering, dear God, against Thee. Help us, Lord, to be thankful for what we have. And Lord, not to be looking at the things that we do not have. Save us from covetousness and envy and jealousy in this materialistic world. And help us, Lord, to be thankful that we've got breath in our bodies and we've got the ability to walk and to see and to hear and to touch and to taste. And Lord, we're not sitting in a hospital bed with some nurse trying to feed us food tonight or with something down our throat in order to Help us to feed this evening. Oh, we're so thankful, dear God. Help us, Lord. Deal with us, we pray. And Lord, take us out of, oh God, this terrible rut that we find ourselves when we find ourselves not fulfilling the will of God and being thankful in everything. And so bless us and use the word. And may it be a challenge and a comfort and a help to us all. We pray these.