Giving Thanks Always

Rev Hien Nguyen

(Pastor, Brisbane Bible-Presbyterian Church)

Text: Ephesians 5:20

We are usually thankful to those who have been kind to us or have helped us, but sometimes we fail to do this to our parents, who have lovingly cared for us and willingly given us what they have, both spiritual and physical blessings. Sadly, sometimes we also take our heavenly Father’s grace and love for granted and fail to give thanks to Him all the time as He expects and commands us to do!

Thankfulness or gratitude to our God the Father and to our Lord Jesus Christ from the heart is the fruit of a born-again Christian, “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” (Heb 13:15). The unbelievers who deny God only see themselves and think that what they have or what they have achieved is by their own strength, efforts, ability, or cleverness. They fail to see that if God does not give them breath of life, good health, skills and good opportunities, they cannot do anything. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men because they did not glorify God, “neither were thankful” to Him, neither worshipped Him the Creator (Rom 1:18-21, 25) although He is kind to them (Luke 6:35), making His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sending rain on the just and on the unjust (Matt 5:45). The professing Christians who are not born again may give thanks to God but with their boastful lips, trusting in their good works and despising others like the Pharisee who stood praying, “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican (tax-collector). I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess” (Luke 18:11-12). His proud prayer was rejected while the tax-collector’s accepted because it was humble, sincere, and repentant before God, pleading for His mercy. How about you and me? Do we always give thanks to God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ in all things and for all things? And Why?

God Commands Us to Give Thanks to Him Always

Our Lord Jesus healed the ten lepers by the word from His mouth when they cried unto Him, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us” (Luke 17:12-19), and our Lord was disappointed when only one of them, a Samaritan, came back, and “fell down on his face at his feet, giving him (Jesus) thanks” (Luke 17:16). Jesus asked, “Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.” Then, giving thanks to God is giving glory to Him. When others praise us, we shall give all glory to our God by our thanks to  Him, “I really thank God for His grace and mercy.”

God is our Creator and Giver of life and all the blessings, so it is our proper duty to give thanks and praise to Him. Moreover, it is God’s will and commandment for us to give thanks to Him always in everything and for all things in our Lord Jesus’ name, “In every thing give thanks (keep on giving thanks): for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thess 5:18), and “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph 5:20), and “thank we God without ceasing” (1 Thess 2:13), and “O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever” (Ps 30:12). It is not easy for you and me to give thanks to God in our failures, illness, difficulties, or trials of life. If you and I still give thanks to God without any complaint or murmur when we fall sick, lose our jobs, miss a good opportunity, have an accident, or suffer opposition and persecutions for our faith in God and in His Word, we do please God and glorify Him because it is God’s will and commandment for us to do so. Then how can you and I do that? It is by God’s grace and strength.

Thank God for His Grace and Mercy and His Salvation in Christ

The more we acknowledge our spiritual blindness, helplessness, and hopelessness under the bondage of sin and Satan as well as our eternal punishment in Hell, the more we give thanks to God for His grace, love and mercy, delivering us from the power of darkness of Satan and giving us His salvation in Christ, “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the  inheritance of the saints in light” (Col 1:12), and “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me” (Acts 26:18). God has even given us faith to believe in Him and our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph 2:8)! Truly, “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever” (Ps 136:1).

Thank God for His Gifts and Spiritual Blessings

We must give thanks to God for having created us, chosen us, drawn us to Himself, revealed Himself and His Son Jesus Christ to us, saved us and blessed us “with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph 1:3). When someone kindly gives us a gift, we usually thank that person for his or her kindness. How about our heavenly Father? God has given us His only begotten Son, who humbly died for our sins and gloriously rose again for our salvation (John 3:16; Rom 4:25). God has given us the Holy Spirit, who convicts us of our sins, regenerates us, sanctifies us, guides us, reveals the truth to us, comforts us, teaches us, strengthens us, helps us, and calls us to His service (John 3:5; 16:8-11,13-14; Rom 8:14, 26; 15:16; Acts 13:2, 4). God has even given us grace and faith to enjoy His salvation in Christ, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8). And God has given us His perfectly inspired and perfectly preserved Word so that our knowledge of God and our faith in Him are built on a sure and firm foundation (2 Tim 3:16-17; Ps 12:6-7). Truly, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17). Shall you and I not give thanks to our heavenly Father for all His perfect gifts?

It is always good for you and me to meditate on God’s spiritual blessings in Ephesians chapter 1 so that we may be always thankful to the Lord our God: God “hath chosen us in him (Christ) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love” (v 4), and “predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself… made us accepted in the beloved” (vv 5-6), and redeemed us through Jesus’ blood, the forgiveness of sins (v 7), and “abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence” (v 8), and “made known unto us the mystery of his will” (v 9), and given us His inheritance (v 11), and sealed us with the Holy Spirit (v 13- 14), and so forth. Thanks and praise be to the Lord our God for ever!

Thank God for His Sovereignty, Guidance and Loving Care

How can we always give thanks to God in everything for all things? It is because our God the Father is the almighty and most high God, who is always in control and who truly loves us, cares for us and is able to make all things work together for good unto us (Rom 8:28). Nothing happening to us is by accident without our loving Father’s permission (Matt 10:29-31). A brother who had missed an express coach later gave thanks to God for preserving him from a fatal accident to those who were on that coach. When you and I recall what God has done in our lives, we then shall give thanks to God for His sovereignty, guidance and loving care. I must give thanks to God for bringing me back to Himself from my backsliding through my failure in the entrance examination to a junior high school when I was eleven years old. I must give thanks to God for helping me see my frail and brief life on earth through my serious illness when I was seventeen years old and thus moving me to dedicate my life to live for Him. I must give thanks to God for His gracious work of regeneration and sanctification in my life, making me thirst for Him and His Word when I was nineteen years old. I must give thanks to God for taking care of me and preserving me over the years and for seeing me through all the temptations, difficulties, trials, and challenges. I must thank God for guiding me from the Trinity Theological College to the Far Eastern Bible College to enjoy a sound teaching and training based on His perfectly inspired and perfectly preserved Word. I must thank God for blessing my humble ministry here in Brisbane with the kind prayers and support from True Life BPC in Singapore and for bringing faithful brethren like you to our midst. I must thank God for providing our family a better place to stay after suffering from the harassment from a harsh neighbour at our previous place, and so forth. I believe that you will also give thanks to God the Father when you recall what He has done in your lives, your studies, your careers and your families. Our God the Father and our Saviour Jesus Christ are still the same yesterday, today and for ever. He is still in control. He still loves you and me and is still taking good care of us. Then, we should not be worried about and frightened at what may happen to us tomorrow in the current economic recession, but let us seek our God first and trust in His loving care, “for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt 6:32-33) and “My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:29).

Conclusion

Dear friends, many Christians may still live in worries, fears and misery without peace and joy in their troubles, difficulties and trials of life. Our God the Father still loves and cares for His dear children, and He is still in control. God and His Word are still the same, and He expects and commands you and me to give thanks to Him in all things for all things in our Lord Jesus’ name. May God help you and me always remember His grace, mercy, His perfect gifts, His gracious work of regeneration and sanctification, His guidance, protection, and loving care in our lives so that we may keep on trusting in Him and giving thanks to Him in all situations. Our life on earth is short, the testing or trial is only for a while, and our Lord Jesus Christ is coming back soon. Let us honour our almighty, merciful, gracious and faithful God by making use of time and opportunities to give thanks to Him. In doing so, we are giving God the glory. Amen.