With Thanks and Trust #2

I'm so glad to give thanks to my Savior everywhere I look to my left and my right ahead, behind, above, below, on ending reasons to ascribe praise and thanksgiving to my Lord Jesus Christ. Many people only think about what their ankle or when the Thanksgiving holidays roll that only happens once a year were thankful for our holiday meal, family and friends around her help better John's etc. and of course we should be thankful for those things 100%, but is there a special award next level kind of thankfulness that believers need to know about hello I bill right at this is the true pulpit with Don green founding pastor of truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio today, Don brings us the second half of his message titled, with thanks and trust. Don will dig deeply into God's word in order to shine a light on this important subject. Let's join our teacher right now with today's lesson on the truthful. A thankful heart is a central mark of New Testament salvation.

You cannot avoid that conclusion logically, you realize what Christ is done. Of course you're going to be grateful to him see the work of the Holy Spirit and what he produces in the heart as it is this thankful heart toward Christ toward God and you see in these multiple passages not only taking into two or three New Testament books we could have multiplied this is just easy because Colossians, you can just roll through it so many times in Colossians a thankful heart is a key mark of New Testament salvation. You thank Christ for for his redemptive death on the cross. He thanked him for his resurrection and his ascension. He thanked him for the gift of imputed righteousness you thank him for the forgiveness of sin. He thanked him for the life he is given to you in the security of your salvation you thank him for the hope of heaven. That certainly lies ahead.

You thank him for his presence with you always, even to the end of the age.

The good Shepherd so that so that I fear no evil for you are with me even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Psalm 23 thanked him for the word of God that treasure that is our a lamp unto our feet and a light to our path.

You thank him for the indwelling Holy Spirit you think, and that he will finish the work that is begun. Philippians 16 and on and on it goes. You see that this is a good caching, ever flowing fountain. There are always eternal abundant on ending reasons for you to be grateful to Christ, and we should never lose sight of that Scripture tells us not to. In everything give thanks. You know I mean sometimes the job of the preacher's pretty easy you know this is not complicated. I haven't quoted to you. Have I quoted you a single technical Greek term. I haven't used any technical theological language that you're not already familiar with were just reading basic simple Scripture and seeing what the word of God has to say for and beloved, I mean all of this is before we even get to the material and relational blessings and earthly life. Thank you for my loving family my loving friends, and thank you for the way that you provided for us and thank you for good health and thank you for strength when I'm not healthy and thank you. You just go on and I and you get lost in it. You enter into this you enter into this and you realize it's like walking into an a in a positive way is like walking into one of those one of those great mazes that they make with bushes and things like that and you get into in euros. I can't find my way out of here they're everywhere I look there is another reason to give thanks. I can't escape from it nor do I want to. I'm so glad to give thanks to my Savior everywhere I look to my left and my right ahead, behind, above, below, in the past and the present in the future on ending reasons to ascribe praise and thanksgiving to my Lord Jesus Christ. This is what righteousness looks like. So what I want you to see when we talk about how can I be righteous here you do, do you see you can't help but see I trust the spirit spirit of God is always at work when the word of God is rightly preached.

So I'm confident that the spirit is helping you see this, do you see the great distinction between what were talking about here and ended interview of righteousness, that the talks about trying harder or you know what rules do I need to keep or keeping a stiff upper lab. It's you see there there's a total dynamic that is utterly different. This is not lifeless gratitude.

This is not an unwilling compliance with external rules placed upon you. You are genuinely moved in the depths of your being. With gratitude for such grace.

Grace produces gratitude.

If you want to perfectly obliterate grace generates gratitude.

Without fail now if that weren't enough, as we consider this thankful heart that the spirit of God produces in us and calls us to let me give you a frightening contrast turnover to Romans chapter 1, the preeminent importance that God puts on a thankful attitude is seen not only in these positive statements that we seen throughout the pages of the New Testament, brightening the lady in my opinion we see it in stark contrast from the negative side, what does God think of people who do not give him thanks. What is their position before the holy throne. Romans chapter 1 verse 18 the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. See we been asking the question, how can I be righteous here. Well, let's flip it around and do something that all will most distort our minds as we do, let's look at it from the unbelievers perspective. How can I be unrighteous here. What is the mark of an unrighteous ungodly life.

Verse 19 that which is known about God is evident within them. God made it evident to them since the creation of the world his invisible add attributes, his eternal power and divine nature been clearly seen, being understood through what is been made so that they are without excuse. Verse 21 for even though they knew God.

God had made himself known. He has made himself known in the skies and in the Scripture, and there is no excuse for anyone not to give honor to him. No excuse whatsoever.

Verse 21, even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks they did not thank him in response to the revelation that was given to them.

They turned her back on what they knew to be true. They refused to honor him. They became futile in their speculations heart was darkened in a bad downward spiral started from there which the rest of that chapter goes on to explain they did not honor him as God or give thanks Scripture says very plainly that one of the marks of unbelieving people under the wrath of God is their lack of a thankful attitude toward the God that they know exists.

Take that negative lay aside all of the positive statements that are spoken of believers in their gratitude. You have a full picture given to you of the preeminent importance of God places on this heart attitude of thanks giving, and so step back in and asked the question, are you thankful to God, let's make it easy. Let's say just pick a number two minutes in prayer returning thanks to God for the blessings that is given to you the blessings that you have in Christ. I'm only asking about two minutes know we all know what it's like God help me here. God help me.

This is really bad God. God help me God.

Now give me give me give me well how about giving. Give him give them thanks as a disposition in prayer it's convicting isn't this is very convicting maybe were not as far advanced in the Christian life as we think we are not including myself. I'm genuinely using the first person plural here maybe were not as far along in the Christian life as we think we are.

If that's true of us now let me say this, we have a tendency to lose sight of what Christ has done for us and I'm not here to scold you at all. That's not at all. My point that's not why I have said these things simply to hold up before you, the lofty nobility of what the Christian life looks like, of being a man or woman so humbled by grace, that your heart naturally reflexively gives thanks to God in every situation because you have never lost sight of the centrality of Christ in the meaning of your existence. So if you've been ungrateful. You can confess your sin and return to this gratitude as we say that were overwhelmed by another another wave of reason for gratitude that we could recognizing all that we forgotten seeing all the Scripture calls us to do. In this thanksgiving recognize are that the vast way that we fall short of living that out on a consistent basis and that we can go before our Lord humbly confess that to him, Lord, I confess I have been so ungrateful.

I have been so far removed from Thanksgiving.

Lord forgive me change may use your spirit to to stir these things up in me because that's what I want my life to be marked by to see all of that to be able to confess that and then to know that that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. If we confess our sins he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

To realize that we can go and confess that any he forgives us and cleanse us and restores us and renews our joy. What he left with another reason to give them thanks so a thankful heart is the mark of the righteousness that God calls us to let you know life is hard. What about the uncertainties of life when adversity comes when questions arise when family goes off in different directions and what you've prayed for. When when death comes the angel of death swoops near to those that you love what then we realize we don't have all of the answers, and we feel the pain of a broken heart when it seems that God is is not answering our prayers over thankful but were in the flesh, and we see this tension in Lord I still have to live here and I know there are these affections that I have in a human direction. I see things going off the rails.

Oh God, what are we to do with that. Well, the question the life question how can I be righteous here leads us to a crucial second point. Again, I'm not. I'm not pretending to be exhaustive here just suggestive and things I think are more than enough to occupies for many many months to come.

Set a thankful heart. Secondly, a trusting heart the righteous response to God. The God who saved you the righteous response to him is not only to thank him but to trust him righteousness inherently involves trusting him. What does it mean to trust him to be confident in his ultimate goodness to you. Look at Matthew chapter 6 with me. Matthew chapter 6 and we could read all the way from verse 25 and that would be a worthwhile endeavor if we did before the sake of time we won't do that. Jesus is dealing with the issue of anxiety. Verse 25 for this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life as to what you will eat or what you will drink more for your body as to what you will put on verse 31. Do not worry then saying what will we eat or what will we drink, or what will we wear for clothing. Verse 34. Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. And so the whole context here is that Jesus teaching about anxiety calling us out of it and telling us how to overcome it, you know it's interesting when you look at the totality of the sermon on the mountain to the vast spiritual issues that Jesus addresses in those three chapters.

The longest section that he gives the most attention that he gives is to prayer and to anxiety.

And you can measure that out on your own when you have time someplace and you'll see that that statement is true. Anxiety is a very serious spiritual issue and so trusting God must be important to him hello let's look more specifically at verses 31 through 34 let's just look at those for a moment. Do not worry then saying what will we eat or what we drank or what we wear for clothing for the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. What I want you to see is that Jesus says seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.

He elevates this priority of righteousness to the utmost place of importance, and he does that in the context of telling us not to be anxious, but to trust God instead. And so righteousness how can I be righteous here. You can have a righteous heart without trusting the God who saved you, called you and command you to be this way I think about it. What does anxiety say at its core. At its root we said this many times in the past so I'm just going us stated briefly here your anxiety is making a statement is making a theological statement, whether you intend to or not and what that theological statement that your anxiety is making is this it is saying that God cannot be trusted God can't be trusted to take care of this issue and so I'm really agitated.

You might say about what the future holds for our country rhyme really agitated over what comes next in my medical treatment. I'm really agitated about what the future of my family looks like, etc. etc. etc. fill it in with your own blank. Anxiety says I fear the future doesn't.

I am afraid of what may come. What does that say about your perspective in that moment about the God that you claim to know is God's sovereign are not is God wise or not. Is he good or not.

Is he gracious or not. Some people seem to like their anxiety.

They live in it so much and they agitate and stir it up so much it's hard for me to understand that mindset. But what we need to understand together here is that Scripture is exceedingly clear on this point. Let's go back to that passage.

We looked at from Philippians Philippians chapter 4 be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Be anxious for nothing, there is no Christian disposition. Note no disposition among Christians that is so easily excused than somebody who is living in a perpetual state of anxiety and we just accept that as though that were okay. You know what, it's not okay if Jesus says three times.

Don't be anxious in the grammar there in Matthew six has the idea stop being anxious and don't start again. Paul repeats it there in Philippians and and you just realize that anxiety is the antithesis of of biblical trust. How is it that we excuse ourselves so easily over this very point. There's no excuse for that. Isn't it true that trust is at the core of any meaningful human relationship you don't have a meaningful relationship with someone that you cannot trust will how much more then your relationship with Christ and in your heavenly father. The God who has revealed himself in this wonderfully inerrant book is made himself known as the sovereign God over creation, the defender and warrior who takes care of his people, their king, their prophet, priest and king. And this God has saved you and brought you in and is made himself known like this in his word and were going to look at the 66 books of the Bible and all that God is said about them and about himself. Say thanks so I don't think I can trust him for this one.

You see this election is really important. This trial in life is really hard and there's just too much at stake, and I'm no know we need to take ourselves in hand and remind ourselves of what we believe you know most of you. Proverbs 3, five and six trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight all your heart, all your ways. These issues of thanksgiving and and trust are comprehensive. They are woven together a thankful heart is a trusting heart and vice versa. Beloved, if I could just suggest this to you. It is righteous and it is especially pleasing to God. When you trust him when you absolutely cannot see a solution at hand.

When you can't figure out how this is going to work out for good. That's the time to trust him and not lean on your own understanding.

And so we've only dusted off this theme a little bit but a trusting heart and a thankful heart is at the core of what it means to live a righteous life, Christ centered righteousness, let me say this again as I start to close here this Christ centered righteousness of which we speak to say it differently. What I intend to be synonymously this Christ centered sanctification of which we speak does not start with you, trying harder. It doesn't start with I got a read my Bible more. I have to pray longer now that's your those things have their place but it's it's more significant than that you will be drawn more to the word of God will be drawn more to prayer. When you have first thought theologically thought about Christ appreciated what he is done and you approach him in response to that, rather than trying to be somebody who's trying to earn points by how much time and effort you give to those things. The righteousness of which we speak begins in your heart with a vertical dimension of gratitude and trust in a good savior. A good God, whose ways cannot be thwarted in his mercies to his children will never sew a righteous life is one that brings thanks and trust to our great Savior. So I ask you my Christian brothers and sisters.

I simply ask you whether going forward from this point on whether you will cultivate that kind of thankful, trusting heart in response to the crisis that you profess to living a righteous life is a sure recipe for a heart of gratitude were friend we hope you been blessed by today's message and that you will be able to join us again next time you're on the truth pulpit. Until then, why would you check out our website. It's the truth. Pulpit.com. Once you online you can download podcasts or request CD copies of Don's messages. You can also tell God how this broadcast has impacted your life. Just click on the contact us button to send Don a note. By the way, if you're in the Cincinnati area, check out the service times for truth, community church would love to see you and meet you sure I get to plan a visit to the truth pulpit… Out of time today I feel right will see you next