With Thanks and Trust #2

I'm so glad to give thanks to my Savior. Everywhere I look, to my left, to my right, ahead, behind, above, below, unending reasons to ascribe praise and thanksgiving to my Lord Jesus Christ. Many people only think about what they're thankful for when the Thanksgiving holidays roll around, but that only happens once a year. We're thankful for our holiday meal, adding family and friends around us, our health and our jobs, etc.

And of course we should be thankful for those things 100%, but is there a special or next-level kind of thankfulness that believers need to know about? Hello, I'm Bill Wright and this is the Truth 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. So let's join our teacher right now with today's lesson on the Truth Pulpit. A thankful heart is a central mark of New Testament salvation.

You cannot avoid that conclusion. Logically, you realize what Christ has done, of course you're going to be grateful to Him. You see the work of the Holy Spirit and what He produces in the heart is this thankful heart toward Christ, toward God, and you see in these multiple passages, and I've only taken you to two or three New Testament books, we could have multiplied this.

It was 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 His redemptive death on the cross. You thank Him for His resurrection and His ascension. You thank Him for the gift of imputed righteousness. You thank Him for the forgiveness of sin. You thank Him for the life He has given to you and 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. You thank Him for the Word of God, that treasure that is a lamp unto our feet and a light to our path. You thank Him for the indwelling Holy Spirit. You thank Him that He'll finish the work that He's begun, Philippians 1-6, and on and on it goes. You see that this is a gushing, ever-flowing fountain. There are always eternal, abundant, unending reasons for you to be grateful to Christ, and we should never lose sight of that, and Scripture tells us not to.

In everything give thanks. You know, I mean, sometimes the job of a preacher is pretty easy, you know. This is not complicated. I haven't quoted to you, have I? I haven't quoted to you a single technical Greek term. I haven't used any technical theological language that you're not already familiar with. We're just reading basic, simple Scripture and seeing what the Word of God has to say for it. And beloved, I mean, all of this is before we even get to the material and relational blessings in earthly life. Thank you for my loving family, my loving friends, and thank you for the way that you've provided for us, and thank you for good health, and thank you for strength when I'm not healthy, and thank you, oh, you just go on and you get lost in it. You enter into this, you enter into this, and you realize it's like walking into, you know, in a positive way, it's like walking into one of those, one of those great mazes that they make with bushes and things like that, and you get into it and you realize, I can't find my way out of here. There, 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, to my right, ahead, behind, above, below, in the past, in the present, in the future, unending 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, do you see, you can't help but see, I trust the Spirit, the 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 we're talking about here and a view of righteousness that talks about trying harder, or, you know, what rules do I need to keep, or keeping a stiff upper lip.

You see, 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 depth of your being with gratitude for such grace. Grace produces gratitude. If you want it to perfectly illiterate, 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. Turn over to Romans chapter 1. The preeminent importance that God puts on a thankful attitude is seen not only in these positive statements that we've seen throughout the pages of the New Testament, frighteningly, 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've been asking the question, how can I be righteous here? Well, let's flip it around and do something that will almost distort our minds as we do. Let's look at it from the unbeliever's 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 is invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has 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 their back on what they knew to be true. They refused to honor Him. They became futile in their speculations.

Their heart was darkened, and 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 it aside, all of the positive statements that are spoken of believers and their gratitude, you have a full picture given to you of the preeminent importance that God places on this hard attitude of thanksgiving.

And so, step back and ask 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 He's given to you, the blessings that you have in Christ.

I'm only asking about two minutes. You know, we all know what it's like, God, help me here. God, help me this. It's really bad, God, got to help me.

God, you know, give me, give me, give me. Well, how about give Him, give Him, give Him thanks as a disposition in prayer. It's convicting, isn't it?

This is very convicting. Maybe we're not as far advanced in the Christian life as we think we are, and I'm including myself. I'm genuinely using the first person plural here. Maybe we're 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 a 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. And so if you've been ungrateful, you can confess your sin and return to this gratitude. As we say that, we're overwhelmed by another another wave of reason for gratitude, that we could, recognizing all that we've forgotten, seeing all that Scripture calls us to in this Thanksgiving, recognize 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 me. Use your spirit 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 the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. If we confess our sins, He's faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, to realize that we can go and confess that, and He forgives us and cleans us and restores us and renews our joy, and what are you left with?

Another reason to give Him thanks. So, a thankful heart is the mark of the righteousness that God calls us to. But, you know, life is hard. What about the uncertainties of life when adversity comes, when questions arise, when family goes off in different directions than what you've prayed for, when death comes, the angel of death swoops near to those that you love?

What then? And 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 not answering our prayers. Oh, we're thankful, but we're in the flesh, and we see this tension, and, Lord, I still have to live here, and, you know, there are these affections that I have in a human direction, and 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 pretending to be exhaustive here, just suggestive in things that I think are more than enough to occupy us for many, many months to come. We've said a thankful heart, secondly, a trusting heart. The righteous response to God, the God who has 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, but for 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, nor for your body as to what you will put on. Verse 30, one, 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 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 Mount and 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. Now, 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 will we drink or what will 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't have a righteous heart without trusting the God who saved you, called you, and commands you to be this way. Now, think about it. What does anxiety say? At its core, at its root, we've said this many times in the past, so I'm just going to state it briefly here. Your anxiety is making a statement. It's making a theological statement, whether you intend it 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, or I'm really agitated over what comes next in my medical treatment, or I'm really agitated about what the future of my family looks like, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Fill it in with your own blank. Anxiety says, I fear the future, doesn't it? I am afraid of what may come. Well, what does that say about your perspective in that moment about the God that you claim to know? Is God sovereign or 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 that 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, 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.

Well, you know what? It's not okay. If Jesus says three times, don't be anxious, and the grammar there in Matthew 6 has the idea stop being anxious and don't start again, Paul repeats it there in Philippians, and you just realize that anxiety is the antithesis 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. Well, how much more than your relationship with Christ and your heavenly Father, the God who has revealed himself in this wonderful inerrant book, who's 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 has made himself known like this in his Word, and we're going to look at the 66 books of the Bible and all that God has said about him and about himself and say, eh, I don't think 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, no. We need to take ourselves in hand and remind ourselves of what we believe. You know, most of you, Proverbs 3, 5, and 6, 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 path straight. All your heart, all your ways, these issues of thanksgiving and trust are comprehensive.

They are woven together. A thankful heart is a trusting heart and vice versa. And 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've got to read my Bible more. I have to pray longer.

No, those things have their place, but it's more significant than that. You'll be drawn more to the Word of God. You'll be drawn more to prayer when you have first thought theologically, thought about Christ, appreciated what he has 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 and whose mercies to his children will never end. So 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 Christ that you profess to know.

Living a righteous life is a sure recipe for a heart of gratitude. Well, friend, we hope you've been blessed by today's message and that you'll be able to join us again next time here on The Truth Pulpit. Until then, why don't you check out our website?

It's thetruthpulpit.com. Once you're online, you can download podcasts or request CD copies of Don's messages. You can also tell Don 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. We'd love to see you and meet you. So be sure again to plan a visit to thetruthpulpit.com. We're out of time for today. I'm Bill Wright, and we'll see you next time on The Truth Pulpit.