Opening Hymn 27 RR See litany In all things give THANKS? Close 562 Today I am going to share with you the text in the Bible that I have the most difficulty with in my personal life. Are you ready for a true confession? This is a text that I have been struggling with for a long time, and I suspect that it is one that you have had difficulty with, too. It is a text that I have to accept by faith, and I have yet to fully appreciate it's significance. I suspect that many who profess to accept this text and practice what it says are not being totally truthful with others or themselves. Yet I find that Jesus seemed to practice it faithfully, though with some hesitation at one point. Paul seems to even brag about his observance of this command. And it is this one thing that really seems to sum up the fullness of the Christian life, if we get right down to basics. William Law, in his Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life writes, "Would you know who is the greatest saint in the world? It is not he who prays most or fasts most; it is not he who gives most alms, or is most eminent for temperance, chastity, or justice, but it is he who is always thankful to God, who wills everything that God willeth, who received everything as an instance of God's goodness, and has a heart always ready to praise God for it." So today I am going to share with you some of my personal wrestlings with this passage. And that passage is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 in everything give thanks eucharisteo:G2168 ; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Let's look at some reasons to be thankful. First, when things are difficult, we can give thanks by praising God that things are not worse that they are. Alexander Whyte, the Scottish preacher, always began his prayers with an expression of gratitude. One cold, miserable day his people wondered what he would say. He prayed, "We thank Thee, O Lord, that it is not always like this." It seems to me that being thankful because things are not worse than they are can be a sideways way of complaining, and perhaps not the best way to respond to difficulties. Secondly, there are those who are thankful because of what they have received. It is easy to welcome a newborn into the world. It is a joy to receive a gift from a friend. When you get a raise it is not a difficult to praise God. It's natural to be joyous when we have people becoming part of our church family. And this is all proper and God rejoices with us. But what about the child that is born with problems? What of thanksgiving then? Third, we can be thankful for what our trials have taught us. That is assuming that we do learn something from them. We human beings have a knack for trying and trying to do something in a way that won't work, not learning from our experience. Yet this is not real joy in our trials. And it seems to me that this is another way to avoid what our text calls for: Being thankful in all things. Fourth, there are those who are thankful because that is the will of God for them. This thankfulness acknowledges that God knows the end from the beginning, and that our best spiritual welfare is always His concern. Corrie Ten Boom in The Hiding Place relates an incident which taught her this principle. She and her sister, Betsy, had just been transferred to the worst German prison camp they had seen yet, Ravensbruck. Upon entering the barracks, they found them extremely overcrowded and flea-infested. Their Scripture reading that morning in 1 Thessalonians had reminded them to rejoice always, pray constantly, and give thanks in all circumstances. Betsy told Corrie to stop and thank the Lord for every detail of their new living quarters. Corrie at first flatly refused to give thanks for the fleas, but Betsy persisted. She finally succumbed. During the months spent at that camp, they were surprised to find how openly they could hold Bible study and prayer meetings without guard interference. It was several months later when they learned that the guards would not enter the barracks because of the fleas. To give thanks in all situations, our lives need to be God-centered. The ancient Hebrew knew this. Kaufmann Kohler states in the Jewish Encyclopedia that no language has as many words for joy and rejoicing as does Hebrew. In the Old Testament thirteen Hebrew roots, found in twenty-seven different words, are used primarily for some aspect of joy or joyful participation in religious worship. Hebrew religious ritual demonstrates God as the source of joy. In contrast to the rituals of other faiths of the East, Israelite worship was essentially a joyous proclamation and celebration. The good Israelite regarded the act of thanking God as the supreme joy of his life. Pure joy is joy in God as both its source and object. The psalmist says, "Thou dost show me the path of life; in thy presence there is fullness of joy, in thy right hand are pleasures forevermore". (Psalm 16:11) Let's look more closely at the chapter containing this verse. It has to do with living the end-time life. I Thessalonians 5:1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. 11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing. 12 And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. 15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks eucharisteo:G2168 ; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. !!!! 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil. 23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. 25 Brethren, pray for us. 26 Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. 27 I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren. 28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. I would bring your attention to two other verses besides my problem verse. First verse 11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing. It is hard to build up someone if you are always down yourself. But very often we find that when we become concerned with another person's problems, that ours seem to shrink in comparison. I can demonstrate this right now. How many of you would be willing to trade your cares in life for anyone else's in this room that you are familiar with? The verse that follows vs. 18 to me is significant. Vs. 18 in everything give thanks eucharisteo:G2168 ; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. !!!! Could it be that by our lack of praise and thanks to God that we are losing the blessings that God's spirit wants to bestow upon us? Dwelling on our difficulties and trials and being useful to the Lord's work is like trying to warm yourself by a campfire while pouring water on it. The two just do not go together. There is one old Testament story that stands out in my mind when I think of praise and thanksgiving. We find that in 2 Chron 20 15 And he said, "Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you: 'Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's. 16 'Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. 17 'You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you." 18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the LORD, worshipping the LORD. 19 Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with voices loud and high. 20 So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper." 21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: "Praise the LORD, For His mercy endures forever." 22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. 23 For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. 24 So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much. Here God's people face destruction, and praise God for their deliverance and give thanks that they have received it on the way to battle!! What a plan! When we go to do battle with our enemies to we march into war thanking God for the victory? When we face struggles to we give God glory for the spiritual growth He is giving us through them? Let's look at our text again. Vs. 18 in everything give thanks ; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Maybe we haven't examined it closely enough. It says IN everything give thanks. Not FOR everything give thanks. In every situation that we find ourselves in we are to be praising our creator. But it does not say FOR everything give thanks. Do you detect a difference here? I do not believe that we should thank the Lord for the death of a person, for God never intended that people should die. But IN the situation, we can thank God that He has created a way out. That death is not the end. That in Christ we have eternity right now. When a child is born deformed, I see no use in thanking the Lord for an evidence of sins working in a new life. But we can look beyond the sin and thank God for life, and for the promise that in the earth made new, there will be no taint of sin or sorrow. The word THANKS here is interesting eucharisteo: Eucharisto. That word may mean something to some of you. Let me ask you, Have you ever celebrated the Eucharist? Let me see your hands. How many of you don't know? Well, most of you have, and we call it the communion service. The service of thanksgiving. It is a reminder that our salvation is brought about through pain, sorrow, and death. The death of God's own son. The Eucharist is rejoicing in the suffering of Christ, because that suffering brings us salvation. And you know what, sometimes it is our suffering that turns us towards the cross where we begin to appreciate our salvation. One of God's faithful missionaries, Allen Gardiner, experienced many physical difficulties and hardships throughout his service to the Savior. Despite his troubles, he said, "While God gives me strength, failure will not daunt me." In 1851, at the age of 57, he died of disease and starvation while serving on Picton Island at the southern tip of South America. When his body was found, his diary lay nearby. It bore the record of hunger, thirst, wounds, and loneliness. The last entry in his little book showed the struggle of his shaking hand as he tried to write legibly. It read, "I am overwhelmed with a sense of the goodness of God." Are you overwhelmed with the sense of the goodness of God? Have you experienced that peace in your life. Are you able to look at the trials that come your way and see in them a faint reflection of what your Savior has done for you? I hope so. If we can continue to do this brothers and sisters, I firmly believe will walk on the streets of gold. Those streets will not reflect our forgotten trials, but the glory of God. We will reach up and eat of the fruit of the tree of life, forgetting the wormy apples that we ran across in life. And we will shout "Glory, Hallelujah." over and over at the joy of the presence of God. I want that. Do you? *Illustrations from The Bible Illustrator, Parsons Technology.