"A Thankful Heart"

Thanksgiving can be a time of spiritual reflection on the greatness of God. Today I want to examine some things for which we can be thankful.

A Thankful Heart

(Phil. 4:4-13)

Intro:

A.  I am getting excited already for Kerri to announce, “It’s time for everyone to come to the table!”  But there has not always been great table times in the Bible.  I want to take you to Luke 10.  We are told that Jesus and his disciples were on their way when they came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to them.  The Bible says that Martha was “distracted by all the preparations.”

B.  I don’t know if this will be any of you this Thursday, but it has potential.  Martha was busy getting everything ready, she was stressed out and pulled in many directions.  It is an interesting word that maybe you can identify with. So in her frustration she comes in to where her sister is sitting listening to Jesus and interrupts the conversation.  “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?  Tell her to help me!”  Don’t you love it when someone talks about you in third person like you are not even there?  Mary probably felt awkward, knowing she should have been helping get the meal ready.  But Jesus turns this conversation around.

C.  Martha, Martha.  Oh I think Jesus was very kind and compassionate to her.  He is not angry or frustrated, but he wants Martha to understand a bigger truth than just a good meal.  He tells her, “You are worried and upset about many things, but only one is needed.”  Jesus then uses the table talk that Martha had started by telling her that Mary has chosen the right portion (not from the table Martha set, but from the table of life).

D.  So we come to Thanksgiving and we have a feast set before us, but here is my spiritual question, “How do you choose the right portion?”  Today I want to take a look at how to live a life that chooses the right portion.

I.  God’s Thanksgiving Table (Phil. 4:4-9)

A.  Look at verse 4.  Rejoice – now look at this – In The Lord.  It is not a matter of happiness.  When we come to God’s thanksgiving table is not about me.  My joy, my rejoicing, comes “in union with the Lord” and it is continual.

B.  Here is what I want us to realize.  I can’t find happiness at my table.  I need to choose the better portion, God’s portion.  When I do, it won’t be taken from me.  Complete happiness cannot take place when God is not involved.

C.   When I am feasting at God’s table, it should be evident to all.  When we are in the presence of God, transformation takes place.  There were two women who simply could not get along inverse 2.  These verses tell me that when I focus on Him and not on me, it will affect my relationship with you.  But it also affects my relationship with me!  Go figure!  I don’t have to be anxious and worry.  I don’t have to fret over the meal, when I realize God is the one providing the best portion.

D.  He so opens himself to me that I can come before him in my prayers and my petitions and thanksgiving because God hears me.  How special is that?  The creator of the universe listens to you when you pray.

E.  When you come to God’s thanksgiving table, here is what he wants you to do:  Think about whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy.  When my mind stops thinking about the problems and starts thinking about problem solver I get the wonderful gift of peace.  In a world that is turned upside down, peace is a great gift.  Just look at verse 7 and 9.

II.  A Thankful Heart (Phil. 4:10-13)

A.  I hope you have a great Thanksgiving, but what are you going to do with next week?  How will God use you?  What we see in Philippi was Paul overwhelmed by gratitude that these fellow Christians saw a need he had and desired to meet the need.  They didn’t always have an opportunity to do that, but when the opportunity availed itself, they took it to bless Paul.

B.  Paul wants them to know he know the secret to contentment.  Do you know the secret to contentment?  The only way you can answer that question is if you are content right now.  There is a great difference between head knowledge and life application.  Brethren, when Black Friday comes many of us will realize we don’t really know true contentment.  Some will be shopping all night long to get the best deals for Christmas presents.  I love that you want to bless others and are willing to put with lines to do it.

C.  There will be many in those line that are not as contented with life as you are.  They are easily angered, cranky, and ready to tell you about life’s woes.  Paul had learned the secret, he had been instructed or initiated if you will, through personal experience.  Paul has experienced a life of extremes.  Understand that Paul is not putting down their gift to him.  He is not unthankful for their generosity.  What he is saying is that he has learned in life that it is not about what you have that makes you who you are.  He appreciated all they have done and all they have given, but he knows that life is more than this body in which we live.

D.  Let me ask you, can you thank God for the trials that have come in your life?  I am not saying you like them, want them, or are happy they occurred.  What I am asking is, can you thank God for them?  A victim mentality can only see the bad as evil and never as a way to learn to depend upon God.  The when life is more “woe-is-me” than “great-is-God” the focus becomes, not on contentment but on what I don’t have.  Paul realized that even though he could have complained about being hungry or living in poverty, in true reality God had been walking with him all along.

E.  Life wasn’t all bad.  Paul also knew what it was to be full and have things, but it wasn’t about what you do have do not have, it is about living in the presence of God with a thankful heart.

F. Therefore, “I can do all things through him who gives me strength.”  Everything is possible with God.  Paul had the strength to face every condition in life with the strength that God gave him.

Conclusion:

A.  Thanksgiving is much more than a holiday celebration; it is a heart condition! It is more than a celebration of food; it is the celebration of faith! Satan does not want our heart to be free to thank God for His blessings; he wants us to have a heart attack worry or anger!  He secret is “you need more” and God revelation is “I am all you need.”

B.  Maybe this Thursday, or better yet, start today and count your many blessings, name them one by one.  Count your many blessings see what God has done.