HIGHEST THANKS

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on October 1, 2023 under 2023 |

Bethany Bible Church Sermon Message from October 1, 2023 from Ephesians 5:20

Theme: The Holy Spirit exhibits His influence in a believer’s life through a prevailing attitude of thanksgiving.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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This morning, we’re going to be looking mainly at just one verse. It’s a verse that tells us about ‘thanksgiving’—not the annual holiday, but the attitude of heart. It’s a verse about how we, as believers, are to have an ongoing attitude of thanksgiving toward God our Father.

It’s Ephesians 5:20. It says that we—as Jesus’ followers—are to be

giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ … (Ephesians 5:20).

Before we begin looking closer at this verse, I’d like to begin by telling you about how it has already begun to change me.

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You see; I recognize that—as a follower of Jesus—I’m to be characterized by an attitude of thankfulness. It’s good and gracious and proper for a believer to be known as ‘thankful’. And the way that this typically works is that when someone does something for me—when I receive some benefit or blessing from them in the form of a kind compliment, or a gift, or some physical act of help in some way—I acknowledge the benefit I’ve received by sincerely thanking them. That’s a matter of common courtesy. It’s a way of giving a blessing in return for a blessing.

And I’ve also believed that—as a follower of Jesus—that if my thanksgiving only stops at that other person, then it isn’t a sufficient expression of thanks. If I’m thinking as I should, I would recognize that the blessing that I received from that other person ultimately comes from God the Father. He is—as it says in the Book of James—the ultimate giver of “every good and perfect gift” (James 1:17). And so, I have believed that if I’m giving true thanks, I will not only give thanks to that person who blessed me in some way, but I also thank God for sending them and providing that blessing to me through them. That’s a matter of courtesy to the Father.

But the verse that we’re going to look at has helped me to see that even that is not a sufficient expression of thanks. If I am going to truly return thanks to the heavenly Father in the way I should—for some blessing or benefit I have received—I must also acknowledge that I am dependent upon His grace for even the very thanks itself. The very awareness of what I have received from God, and the depth of His unmerited grace toward me in giving it, and the ability to acknowledge His goodness with genuine worship and worthy thanks, must all come from Him. I haven’t the ability to thank Him as I should. I’m dependent upon Him for even that.

In fact, if I’m only relying on my own human abilities and understanding to give God thanks, then there will be a lot of things in my life that I ought to thank Him for that I will fail to thank Him for. I won’t thank Him as I should for the difficult things in life—the trials that test me, the setbacks that frustrate my plans, the needs that break me of my reliance on self. And that will be because I won’t understand the great and eternal things He is doing in me through those difficult things.

In other words, I need the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit to give the highest kind of thanks to my heavenly Father. And so; as a consequence of my study of our verse this morning, I have found myself praying in a new way—in a way I don’t believe I’ve ever prayed before. I’ve been praying, “Heavenly Father; please forgive me for the weak and frail ways I have offered thanks to You in the past. Forgive me for only thanking You for Your blessings as I acknowledge them from the standpoint of my limited understanding—or for only thanking You for the pleasing things that I like, and not more completely for the hard things You give in order to accomplish Your eternal plan in me. I ask You, Father, to deepen the breadth of my thanksgiving to You. I ask you to grant that the Holy Spirit—Whom you have placed in me as my indwelling Helper—would help me and empower me so that my thanksgiving is truly pleasing to You and genuinely worshipful toward You. May the Holy Spirit enable me so that I can thank You for the things You want me to thank You for, and in the way that You want me to thank You for them, and at all of the times in which You desire for me to thank You. Heavenly Father; help me to thank You for the things You give me in the very same way that the Lord Jesus Himself would thank You for them.”

That’s quite a new kind of thing to pray! And I know that I’m not yet where I should be in all this. But I believe that I’m growing … and trusting God more to answer that prayer in me.

And this change in me has come about because of this morning’s verse.

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Now; I’m certain that it’s right for me to pray that way. I know this because of the surrounding context of this one verse. I’ve already read the verse to you; and I’ve already told you a lot about my own personal reaction to it. But let me read it to you in its whole context.

It comes to us as a part of the larger command to be filled with the Holy Spirit—that is, to yield ourselves, as Jesus’ followers, to the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit, and to allow Him to exercise a prevailing and pervasive influence upon us. Paul wrote;

And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God (Ephesians 5:18-21).

And from this, you can now see why I have begun to pray as I have. The kind of thanksgiving that pleases God our Father is a product of being filled with the Holy Spirit. I want to be yielded to the Spirit; depending upon Him to empower me as I offer the kind the thanks that the Father desires to hear from me in the name of His Son Jesus.

That’s the highest thanks that redeemed creatures like us could ever offer! It’s a large part of what it means to become truly happy in our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Now; have you ever considered how crucial the whole idea of ‘thanksgiving’ is for us as followers of Jesus? The absence of thanksgiving in us—especially we who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus—would be a terrible sin. It would amount to behaving like an unbeliever. In fact, the Bible teaches us that a lack of thankfulness toward God is a chief characteristic of what it means to be an ungodly and unrighteous person.

In Romans 1, we’re told about the wrath of God upon unrighteous people. In verses 18-20, the apostle Paul wrote;

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse … (Romans 1:18-20).

From this, we learn that the problem isn’t that people don’t know that God exists, or that there isn’t enough evidence to convince them of His presence and of His deity. The problem is always in the heart. And look at verse 21. How does the condition of the heart show itself?

… because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened (v. 21).

They know about God our Creator—but they refuse to acknowledge Him or give Him thanks. A refusal to acknowledge His goodness or give the thanks that is due to Him is the first step in the downward slide of ungodliness. It’s a horrible sin when someone hardens their heart toward Him and refuses to give Him the thanks that they know—perfectly well—that He deserves.

But by contrast, think of what it says in Psalm 100. It describes the opposite attitude;

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations (Psalm 100:1-5).

Thanksgiving is at the very heart of what it means to acknowledge our Father in worship and to approach Him in a way that pleases Him. And that’s why we need the Holy Spirit’s help in giving our Father the thanksgiving He deserves from us.

And that’s what this morning’s verse teaches us. It shows us that the Holy Spirit exhibits His influence in a believer’s life through prevailing thanksgiving. As Paul writes, we’re to be “giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

And my hope is that—as a result of looking into this verse a little deeper this morning—you will join me in praying that the Holy Spirit will help and enable us—all of us—to give the kind of thanksgiving to the Father that will truly please Him.

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So then; let’s look closer at this verse. Notice what it tells us about this highest kind of thankfulness.

First, notice how it tells us of …

1. ITS SOURCE.

The kind of thankfulness we ought to show to God the Father doesn’t ultimately come from our own efforts. It’s true that it’s our minds that grasp the goodness He shows us; and that it’s our hearts that become grateful with love toward Him; and that it’s our mouths that are opened up to Him in thanks and praise. But in order for our thanksgiving to be as it should, it must be a result of the Holy Spirit creating it in us and working it out through us.

Go back with me again to verse 18. Remember that we’re commanded to ‘not be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit’. It’s a command to be willfully obeyed. To be ‘filled’ with the Holy Spirit means that we yield ourselves willingly to His prevailing influence over us. And as we yield ourselves to Him by faith, He expresses that inner influence upon us in ways that are expressed outwardly.

We are commanded, for example, to speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord. And as we obey that command, the Holy Spirit Himself empowers us to obey it and expresses His influence upon us through it. And the same is true with our thanksgiving. We’re to allow the Holy Spirit to express His influence over us in every area of life—and that includes our thanksgiving. As we obey the command to give thanks always, for all things, to the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit Himself guides and empowers our thanks—so that it’s truly pleasing to the Father.

Think of what we’re told in Hebrews 13:15. It speaks of how, in this world, we’re to be identified by faith with Jesus our Lord and Savior. And the writer of Hebrews tells us;

Therefore by Him [that is, by our Lord Jesus] let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name (Hebrews 13:15).

It’s “by Him”—that is, by the work of our Lord’s Spirit in us—that we give thanks to the Father. So; let’s stop thinking of ‘thanksgiving’ as something that we do strictly in our own power. Let’s let our thanks be the product of obeying the command to be filled with the Holy Spirit. If you or I are ever having a hard time being thankful to God the Father for the circumstances of life, then let’s not try to ‘work up’ an attitude of thanks within ourselves. Let’s instead consider it an indication that we need to submit ourselves afresh to the indwelling Holy Spirit—and to let Him produce that thanks in us.

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And that leads us to consider another thing we’re told about this higher kind of thanks; and that’s …

2. ITS OCCASION.

When are we to offer this Holy Spirit-empowered thanksgiving to the Father? We’re told that we’re to be “ giving thanks always …” This doesn’t mean that every word that comes out of our mouth should only be expressions of thanksgiving to God. That wouldn’t be possible to do. Rather, it means that the attitude of our hearts—from where those words spring forth—should be always in ‘thanksgiving mode’. There’s never to be a time in our lives when we cease ‘giving thanks’ from the depth of our hearts—because there’s never to be a time in our lives when we’re to cease letting the Holy Spirit fill us and influence us.

I think that a good, practical way this is shown to us is found in Philippians 4:4-7. Paul was in prison when he wrote these words. He wasn’t sure if he would live, or if he would be executed the next day. But he was overwhelmingly happy. And he told his brothers and sisters;

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:4-7).

Paul was happy because he turned everything over to the Lord by—among other things—a prevailing attitude of thanksgiving. And if he could do that while in prison for the Lord, he could do it always. May God help us—like Paul—to be “giving thanks always”.

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Another thing that this verse tells us about this highest of thanks is …

3. ITS CONTENT.

For what are we to give thanks? Paul exhorts us—in the Holy Spirit—to be “giving thanks always for all things …”

This isn’t to say that we are thankful for pain or suffering as things in and of themselves. It would be a little weird to say, “Thank you for this pain, Father! This is really awful, and it hurts! I’m grateful!” But it would be appropriate to say, “Father, this is really awful, and it hurts. But I thank You that You already know this; and that You’ve allowed it to come into my life to accomplish Your good purpose in me. And so, I’m grateful to You for what You’re accomplishing in me through it.” We are absolutely right to pray that; because, as it says in Romans 8:28-30;

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified (Romans 8:28-30).

Our loving heavenly Father—who has sent His own precious Son Jesus to redeem us, and who has destined us to share in His Son’s eternal glory forever—will never allow anything to come into our lives except what is good for us. Anything He ever permits us to experience will be—only and ultimately—designed to conform us to Jesus’ own character, and prepare us to share in His rich heavenly inheritance. So; we can quite literally thank God always for all things that ever happen to us!

The Holy Spirit, Whom the Father sent to seal us for that eternal glory, Himself seeks that perfection in us. And so, when we’re completely yielded to His control, He also enables us to give thanks for all that our Father does to prepare us for that glorious future. And so; we can respond to everything that comes our way with confident, Spirit-empowered, whole-hearted thanks. As the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:18;

… in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

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Another thing that Ephesians 5:20 tells us about this highest kind of thanks is …

4. ITS RECIPIENT.

To Whom are we to give thanks? Paul tells us that we’re to be “giving thanks always for all things to God the Father …”

It’s God the Father who deserves all our thanks because He’s the one who graciously chose us for eternal life. He’s the one who crafted our salvation. He’s the one who sent His Son to redeem us. He’s the one who keeps us and preserves us for that eternal destiny. And He’s the one who sovereignly rules over our lives, and conforms us to the image of His Son Jesus, and pours every spiritual blessing on us that we will ever need in order to live for His glory.

Let me read two passages that show us this to us. They’re both invitations to give thanks to God the Father. The first is from the pen of the apostle Paul—found in Ephesians 1:3-6;

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:3-6).

The second is like it; and it’s from the apostle Peter. It’s found in 1 Peter 1:3-5;

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:3-5).

Don’t those two verses alone say it all? If that’s what we have been given by our heavenly Father, then we owe eternal thanks to Him! And we owe Him thanks not only for the rich blessings that are ours in Christ; but also for every trial that helps prepare us to enjoy those blessings eternally.

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And that leads us to one more thing this verse tells us about this highest of all thanks; and that’s …

5. ITS AUTHORITY.

Paul tells us that we’re to be “giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ …”

To come to the Father with our thanks “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” means that we come under Jesus’ authority—representing His desires and interests. We have no right or authority to approach the throne of God—not even to offer our thanks to Him—apart from God’s Son. But in Jesus our Redeemer, we have not only the right to approach Him, but also the joyous invitation to do so! He welcomes us in Christ; and receives our thanks as from dear children.

And think of what it means to give thanks to God the Father ‘in Jesus’ name’. It means that we thank the Father as Jesus would thank Him—for the things in our lives that Jesus would be thankful for—and in a manner that Jesus Himself would thank Him! This means that when we yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit, our thanksgiving becomes the most blessed possible act we created beings can perform—taking in all possible situations and conditions of life, under the highest possible authority, in honor of the greatest possible Recipient—and all by means of the most unlimited possible power and authority!

This is the highest kind of thanksgiving there could possibly be! No wonder it’s a part of what leads us to true, overwhelming, prevailing happiness!

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So, dear brothers and sisters in Christ; I invite you to join me in praying in a new way. I invite you to ask that the Holy Spirit would help us to offer to God the Father the kind of thanks that would truly please Him—because it is empowered and enabled by His Holy Spirit.

Let’s invite Him to change us; so that—being filled with the Holy Spirit—we grow increasingly to obey the joyful command to be “giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

AE