attention on this particular passage this morning. We're not going to be on this passage, I'm just going to be reading this as an opening. But Luke chapter 17 and verse 11 through 19. Luke chapter 17 verse 11 through 19. "On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee and as he entered a village he was met by ten lepers who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices saying, 'Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.' When he saw them he said to them, 'Go and show yourself to the priests.' And as they went they were cleansed.

Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. And he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, 'We're not ten cleansed, we are the nine.' Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?' And he said to him, 'Rise and go your way, your faith has made you well.'" Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for this morning. We thank you for the body of Christ that you have placed us in that we may grow, keep each other accountable, to find encouragement and strength, and to be able to worship and run this race together. I pray, Father God, that the truth of your grace would always sustain, strengthen, and encourage and feed us.

We pray this morning, Lord, as we search your word to know what it means to be thankful. Help us, Lord God, to fix our eyes upon you, that all that we glean from your word would be yours and not mine. So we entrust this time to you, Lord, in Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Obviously this Thursday is Thanksgiving, I'm sure you are aware of it. Either some of you guys are going out of town to visit your family or family is coming in. And so I'm sure we're all aware of it, but every year it seems like this holiday is diminishing more and more.

In fact, even the term Thanksgiving, I just don't hear it much. I hear Black Friday and what kind of deals are going to be on Cyber Monday. And some of you guys probably already scoped all that out. I don't know if people stand in front of stores anymore, because Cyber Monday, you can get it online.

But it seems like Thanksgiving is almost, just kind of gradually disappearing. And now we just want to skip to Christmas. Thanksgiving, not just because it's Thanksgiving, but for Christians is absolutely essential. Not only, again, as I said, not only is it because Thanksgiving is coming up, but I want to search through the Scriptures this morning and look at four principles, four things that the Bible teaches about why Thanksgiving is essential in the Christian life.

That a Christian that is not thankful is an oxymoron. It is something that has at the core something has deeply gone wrong if a Christian and Thanksgiving are those two terms don't go hand in hand. So, what I want to do is look at four separate things that the Bible teaches.

Again, today is a topical sermon on this subject, and then we'll jump back into Romans next week. The first thing that we see in Luke chapter 17, 11-19, the passage that we just read, I think most of you are probably familiar with this story. You had the ten lepers.

And again, those of you guys who know about what it was like to be a leper at that time, that you were labeled not only physically unclean, but spiritually unclean. So, it was required by the Mosaic Law to keep a certain distance. One, for health reasons, because they didn't want other people to get infected.

But also for spiritual reasons. They felt that they were an outcast. They had to live outside the gate. And so everywhere they went they had to actually scream out, "Unclean! Unclean!" so that they don't make anybody unclean by being near the region. And this is the reason why when they hear about Jesus that they from a distance are yelling out to Jesus, "Have mercy on us!

Have mercy on us!" By the time that Luke writes Luke chapter 17, Jesus' fame has already spread. He's already performed many miracles. So, if these lepers had any chance of getting healed, it's to get Jesus' attention. So, the passage that we look at they cry out to Him, Jesus has mercy on them.

And so He tells them to go show yourself to the priests. And the reason why He tells them to do that, by Mosaic Law, if a healing takes place, by whatever means, if the leprosy does get cleansed, the first person that needed to acknowledge that was the priest. Because they were the guardians of the temple.

And the religious community. So, the priest basically had to do a thorough examination. And then they had to go through a cleansing ritual. And then they would declare Him clean. And so to be declared clean by the priest basically meant not only were you physically clean, but you're able to now enter back into society.

That you don't need to live outside the camp. You can go back home, or wherever your home may be. So, that's why Jesus is saying that go show yourself to the priest. And the story goes that on the way that they are going there the miracle takes place and they get cleansed.

But the point of this story is not simply about their miracle. Because out of the ten it says that only one of them when they recognized that they were clean, they turned around to go give thanks to Jesus. And it is pointed out that this man was a Samaritan.

Not the nine Jews who were privileged by His law and His presence and God's protection upon them, but the Samaritan who was outside of the blessing of the nation of Israel. That He's the one of all people that returns to give thanks. But here's the part I want you to pay attention to.

Starting from verse 17. Jesus answered him, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" And he said to him, "Rise and go your way. Your faith has made you well." Let me stop right there. What does Jesus mean when He says your faith has made you well?

They all got cleansed. All ten of them got cleansed. But yet He singles out this one man and says your faith is different than the others. And the distinction was that He was the only one who returned and recognized the healer which was Jesus. So when He says your faith has made you well there is a distinction between His wellness and the other nine.

Clearly He's making a distinction because He's separating His faith versus the others. When we take a closer examination on the meaning of the word that He uses for well, here's other ways that this word, "sodzo" is the Greek word that is translated for well. This is how it's translated in other passages.

To deliver. To make whole. Sorry. To make whole. To preserve safe from danger, loss, destruction, or to save. If you look at the context of how this passage really ought to be understood. Because He can't be simply talking about physical healing because they were all physically healed. So when He says your faith has made you well He seems to be talking about an inner healing.

A spiritual healing. In other words, out of the ten who were saved, only one was saved. Only one. And the distinction between the nine and the one is that one returned to give thanks. Now, you may look at that and say, well, that seems like a harsh line to draw just because one recognized and he returned to give thanks and the other nine did not and they went out celebrating and forgot about Jesus.

But when you look at the context of the scripture and in the Bible and specifically in the book of Romans, how man's rebellion is described. I think it will make better sense to us what Jesus was saying here. In Romans chapter 121, it says, "For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened." You see how Paul describes the rebellion of man?

That they would not recognize God and give honor to Him or give thanks to Him. And in Romans chapter 121 it pretty much summarizes the sin of mankind. That His desire is to elevate Himself rather than God. And to give thanks to Him. The first principle that I want us to recognize is thanksgiving is an essential part of our salvation.

Thanksgiving is the essential part of our salvation. It is what identifies a Christian and a non-Christian. At least that's how the Bible describes it. The Bible describes a Christian as one who recognizes God and gives honor and is thankful to Him. A non-Christian is one who does not recognize Him, does not give honor and glory to Him.

So again to put it in a neat package basically a Christian is identified by his thankfulness. You know years ago I remember reading a story, the testimony of Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel and it really stuck with me. And I remember he said that in the beginning of the Church that the Church was beginning to thrive and they decided to buy this Church property because of the growing number of people coming.

And they got into a mortgage situation and the payment for the mortgage was coming up and they were short of the money. So he began to pray before God that the Lord would provide for these things. And one day he said he got a phone call from an individual promising Chuck Smith the exact amount that he needed for the payment.

And so in his testimony he gives how elated he was that that person somehow miraculously God would convict him to give him the exact amount of money that he needed to pay off this bill. And in the midst of his celebration he took a step back and realized that his celebration was off base.

And the reason why he says that is because he found more comfort in the promise of that man than in God's promises. And in his testimony he shares how in his own heart God revealed how closely he was dependent upon man's promises. See he still didn't have the cash.

That man did not give the money. The money was not in the bank. But because the man promised that I'm going to give you sometime in the future if you need it I'm going to give it to you. That he felt more peace with that than his ability to come before the Lord in prayer.

See at the core of man's rebellion against God is a refusal to acknowledge our Sovereign God. See in 1 Peter 1 24-25 it says, "All flesh is like grass, and all its glory, like the flower of the grass, will wither, and the flower will fail. But the word of the Lord remains forever, and the word is the good news that was preached to you." You know if anything the longer I live the more I am absolutely certain that nothing is for certain.

If that makes any sense. Like everything, family, friendships, organizations, even churches they come and they go. Anything that you have confidence in whether it's finances or works things that you think are going to be permanent for the rest of your life is never really permanent. Just like Peter says in this passage, "All flesh, all flesh." He's not just talking about flesh or physical flesh even though obviously that's a big part of it.

Everything that is physical, everything that you can sense with your senses will eventually fade. The only thing that lasts forever is His Word. See the rebellion of mankind where He says, "We chose not to give glory to the Creator rather we created things and gave glory to the image that we created for ourselves." That's at the core of human rebellion.

Not recognizing God as God. I remember years ago I was a part of this ministry back in college and that ministry happened to be thriving. I wasn't leading it I was just a member. But it happened to be thriving and I remember a friend of mine who was also a Bible major at that time wanted to have lunch with me because he wanted to ask about that ministry.

And so he's a pastor so he wanted to know what we're doing and how the ministry is being fruitful so that it can be applied in his ministry. And I remember having lunch with him and he asked me, "Peter what are you guys doing that seem to be working?" And I said, "You know I can't pinpoint any one particular thing because I see this system in a lot of places." But I can tell you again this is just from my observation what I see a difference between these guys and what I've experienced previously.

These guys actually practice what they preach. And he said, "What do you mean?" Well they actually pray. They actually witness. They actually read the Bible and memorize scripture and they actually do these things. They don't just talk about it. And I remember telling him, "If you're asking me what I'm observing that is different is that's what's different.

They're actually practicing and doing these things. They're not just talking. It's not just a doctrinal statement that they have. It's not just on paper." And I remember his response to me was "Peter, I'm a pastor. You're a Bible major. I'm a Bible major. We know this but what is working?

Like what is working?" And I said, "Well I can tell you what they're doing but I see the same thing in other churches that aren't working. So if you're asking for a system I can tell you what they're doing but I don't really think that's the thing because I was a part of another ministry who practiced the exact same thing and it wasn't working." But he just could not get over it.

He's like, "Peter, if you don't want to share just don't share, okay?" But I remember coming out of that so frustrated because at the core of who we are, even when the churches grow, we automatically have a tendency to see, well what system? What system is working? Who's doing it?

And that's what we want to practice. That's what we want to copy. So you have a church that grows. Everybody's going over there and it's like oh that's how they're organized. That's how they do this. That's how they do that. And then they just kind of package that and then try to recreate that in other places.

At the core of that at the core of that, aren't we giving credit to creation rather than the Creator? Of course we acknowledge God. We sing songs. We have doctrinal stuff. Of course we read the Bible but what are you doing really? Right? See there's a reason why in everything that God has done in the Old Testament and New Testament He goes exactly against the wisdom of man.

Because if God is seeking His glory, one, He's not going to use people who are going to be in the middle and say, "I did it." He's not going to place people in positions when things happen and they bare fruit, "Oh because that guy was smart." Or "It's because he was organized this way." And then we end up giving credit to other things rather than God.

Okay we give some credit to God but it has to be some other system. Some other things that are going on. There's a reason why He uses uneducated people. Why He chooses the worst of sinners. Because ultimately it's to take our eyes off of creation and to look at the Creator.

Because if at the core of man's sin and core of his rebellion is a refusal to honor God and to give thanks to Him, isn't that what He is pursuing? Isn't that why He saves us? So that we can recognize who He is? Isn't that what repentance is? Repentance isn't simply, "You know I lied the other day so I repent of that.

You know I lost it in my heart, I repent it of that." Justification happens not because you recognize certain sins in your life. A particular sin in your life. Justification, salvation happens when we recognize our whole trajectory of life was wrong. Even when we did good, it was for my glory.

Even when we feed the poor. Even when we love our families, it was for me. So it wasn't just about one particular thing or several particular things. It's about who I was that I repent of. See I gave glory to creation rather than the Creator. So the first principle that we see, thanksgiving is an essential part of what it means to be a Christian.

That's the identifying mark of a Christian and a non-Christian. Everything else, like grass, withers. Second principle that we see is that the opposite of thanksgiving, we often see it in bitterness and grumbling. You know what is the opposite of thanksgiving? Non-thanksgiving. Yes, that's not opposite. Typically what squashes a thankful heart is bitterness and grumbling.

Hebrews chapter 12 verse 15, "See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled." We see over and over again in Israel's history that what kept tripping them up despite all the privileges that they had, despite everything that the miracles that they provided, that God shown them, and the victories that they were able to experience by the power of God, despite all of that, what kept tripping them up?

Well, 1 Corinthians 10, 9-10 it says, "We must not put Christ to the test as some of them did," them talking about the Israelites, "and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer." The reason why they were grumbling is because they didn't believe in God.

And at the end of the day, that's how God describes grumbling. It's because you didn't trust me. You looked at your circumstance and you trusted it rather than me. See, grumbling in the Israelites, I mean when we look at it, you know, a lot of times you read the Old Testament and people say, "Oh, God is so harsh and He's so judgmental." Right?

Until you understand the context, go read the Old Testament carefully, especially the history of Israel. See if God comes out seeking or seeming vengeful. He does not. If anything, you probably my guess is you'll be thinking the same thing I'm thinking. Why do these people still exist? Right? Why does a holy God put up with these people?

That's probably what's going to enter your mind if you read it consistently. The whole nation of Israel begins because they become slaves in Egypt. And obviously they're coming and crying out before God because they're being mistreated. They're in agony. They can't raise their children and they're back breaking work from sunup to sundown.

And they're crying out to God. God says He hears their suffering and He has compassion on them. So He raises a servant, Moses, and He tells them to go, "Let my people go that they may come out and worship me." So the whole reason why the nation of Israel even existed, why they even started, because He had compassion.

He heard their prayer. But as soon, as soon as they come into some trouble, the grumbling begins. In Exodus chapter 14, 11-12, as they're escaping, they're at the Red Sea and they can't cross. The Egyptian army is coming and they look, they think that they're going to get wiped out.

So the grumbling begins. Exodus 14, 11. They said to Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?" Dramatic. "What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is it not this what we said to you in Egypt?

Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians for it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness." Have you ever read the Old Testament? Did you ever hear that before? If they did say it they must have been murmuring it, because it's not mentioned.

All I know is that when what I read is when God shows up and He delivers a miraculously, there is a celebration going on. Right? There is a parade going on. They are marching out, "Yes, we are no longer slaves." Right? That's the last scene that we see until they get to the Red Sea.

And as soon as they see the Red Sea and they see the army coming, they are like, "Why did you bring us out here? It wasn't that bad in Egypt. Why did you just let us die over there and just bring us out here?" It doesn't stop there. God performs a miracle.

He opens up the Red Sea. They are able to cross and God delivers them. And then praise God. We have an awesome God. And then they walk onto the desert. Water. Water. As soon as they get a little bit thirsty they start grumbling about water. Exodus chapter 15, 23.

When they came to Marah they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter. Therefore it was named Marah. And the people of Israel grumbled against Moses saying, "What shall we drink?" And they started complaining about not having enough water. "Why did you deliver us from Egypt?

They had water there." It doesn't stop there. And then they get a little bit hungry. Food. Exodus chapter 16, 2. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the people of Israel said to them, "Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt.

We sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full. For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger." So it wasn't, if it wasn't for danger, if it wasn't for water, now it's food. And then God gives them manna. And so they eat a little bit of manna.

And now they are sick and tired of manna. So they start complaining about the type of food. Numbers chapter 11, 4-5. Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, "Oh that we had meat to eat. We remember the fish we ate in Egypt and cost nothing.

The cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at." I mean if it wasn't one thing, it was another thing. And they said, "Well when are we going to get to the promised land?" And then they finally get to the promised land in Numbers chapter 14, 2-4.

They started grumbling about the promised land. They said, "Well we need leaders." So God established Moses in Exodus chapter 17. They start grumbling about the leaders. And then ultimately in Exodus chapter 16 and 8, God says through Moses, "You are not grumbling against my leaders. You are ultimately grumbling against me." Exodus 16-8.

Moses said, "This will happen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and bread to the full in the morning. For the Lord hears your grumblings which you grumble against Him. And what are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against the Lord." See the opposite of thanksgiving is grumbling.

It's bitterness. Because we don't recognize His hand. See a grumbling heart will always find something to grumble about. Before we take a step back and say, "Wow, these Israelites, you know, if I was in that situation, if I went through the Red Sea, if I had manna, I would not have been that way." You know, we automatically think, "Oh, those people." Right?

"Those people. If I was there, if I saw Jesus walking on water, you know, I would have believed and I would have done all of this and that." But don't you see ourselves in a nation of Israel? There is a reason why they are given to us as an example in 1 Corinthians 10.

See they served as an example. They all saw the miracles. They all ate the manna. They all were delivered through the clouds. But only a few of them returned and gave thanks. Look at ourselves. I mean, we're...think about the blessing that we have in Christ. Christians in the United States of America.

We say, "Oh, don't say Merry Christmas in Target." How dare you! You know, our rights are being taken away. Injustice. Now I know what the Middle East and Christians are going through. Because that's where we are. We are so privileged with everything that we can possibly desire. And when something doesn't go quite right, grumbling happens.

And if you really think about it, what is the root of grumbling and bitterness? If you think about if the root of rebellion against God is basically saying, "I do not honor you. I don't give thanks to you." You're not acknowledging God. The root of rebellion in our hearts of bitterness and unthankfulness is not recognizing Him.

There is a turmoil, a fight going on in our inner being to establish what I think is right above what is. If we believe that God is sovereign, that God is the one who is in control. But where does bitterness come from? Where does grumbling come from? I think this is where it needs to be, but this is where it is.

So the grumbling happens because I'm telling God what I think needs to be. And when God refuses to submit to my ideas, to my understanding of what is good and right, that's where grumbling and bitterness comes from. Because I ultimately, I'm not grumbling against objects. I'm grumbling against the one who has the control to do anything about it.

So if we're grumbling, just like Moses said, you're not grumbling against this or that. Ultimately, you're saying to God. You're saying to God, "Answer my prayers." Not realizing that maybe maybe the sovereign God hasn't lost control. Maybe the sovereign God who knows all things, has the power to do all things, has orchestrated whatever situation that you may be in.

Maybe to teach us, to sanctify us so that we can recognize who He is. But where does bitterness and grumbling come from? Because we don't get what we want. We think it should be a certain way and it is not. So therefore, grumbling and complaining comes. So ultimately what is that?

We don't recognize God or to give thanks. See, John Piper says of unthankfulness, "The key to unlocking a heart of gratitude and overcoming bitterness and ugliness and disrespect and violence is a strong belief in God, the Creator, the Sustainer, the Provider, the Hope Giver. If we do not believe we are deeply indebted to God for all we have or hope to have, then the very spring of gratitude has gone dry." The reason why there's ingratitude is because we are not recognizing the Creator, Sustainer, Provider, and the Hope Giver.

We have put our confidence somewhere else. We have put our confidence in our ability, in our circumstance, maybe in other people. And that's where ultimately grumbling comes from. That's why Philippians 2, 14, 16 says, "Do all things without grumbling or questioning." It almost sounds kind of like inhuman. Like how can you expect human beings to never be grumbling?

But here's why, verse 15, "That you may be blameless and innocent children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the Word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain." He says not to be grumbling and questioning because ultimately God is a sovereign God.

Now, this Thanksgiving you guys are going to sit around the table and if you have small children you're going to be asking, "What are you thankful for?" I'm thankful for my Legos. I'm thankful that Christmas is right around the corner. So, whatever I'm going to get that. Or if you're a little bit more sophisticated and you're a little bit older and so you're thankful for your tests, that you got a good grade on.

You're thankful for the relationships. Or if you're a little bit more godlier than that you may be thankful for the brothers and sisters who remembered your birthday and constantly send you encouragement notes. And so we're all thankful for things that we can see tangibly. These are things that we can see.

But any human being, Christian or non-Christian, are going to be thankful for all of these things. People who love me in my life, I'm thankful for them. The non-Christians are thankful for them. The toys that you have, a new job. Tell me a non-Christian who's not thankful for that.

The distinction between a Christian's thankfulness and a non-Christian's thankfulness is that our thankfulness is unlike the world because our thankfulness is coming from faith. From things that we do not see. See, he says, when we are not grumbling and we're thankful, we shine like light in a dark world.

If we're only thankful for things that the world is thankful for, how are we any different than the world? It is when we're under pressure. When everything on the flesh looks like something is going wrong. But we see beyond that because we know a God who's beyond that. We know a God who is sovereign, who is in control.

Even when everything else looks like it has completely gone out of control, that we have a God who is absolutely sovereignly in control. And that sovereign God loves us. He who did not spare his own son, how will he not along with him give us everything? And if you believe that, that's the source of Thanksgiving.

Not your job, not your health, not your friendship, not your support group, not the people who love you, not your family. But because a sovereign God who is in control of every circumstance, what seems to be good, what seems to be bad, he is ultimately in control. When we lose sight of that, that's where grumbling comes.

Because I have determined what is right. I have determined what is good. And God is not living up to my expectation. It is the essence of what it means to be a Christian. Grumbling is the opposite of what it means to worship. And thirdly, Thanksgiving is at the root of genuine worship.

Thanksgiving is the root of genuine worship. 2 Corinthians 4.15, "For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends more and more people, it may increase in thanksgiving to the glory of God." If man's rebellion is refusing to acknowledge God and to give thanks, then what is salvation?

Isn't it to restore that? To acknowledge a God who is sovereign, isn't that what salvation is? To give thanks? People who are unthankful, to be thankful, I mean to put it in a nutshell. That He extended His grace, that thanksgiving may increase to the glory of God. That's why in Psalm 104 it says, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise." Give thanks to Him.

Bless His name. What is God looking for in our congregation? In your personal lives? In your family? What is He looking for more than anything else? Worshippers who will worship in spirit and true worship. Not people who are going to clock in and clock out. And you can do that even when you are praying, clock in and clock out.

You can clock in and clock out reading the Bible. You can clock in and clock out even serving the Church. But true worship. Who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. So if worship is directly linked to thankfulness, if you have a grumbling and complaining heart, you can't be worshiping.

You are not worshiping because worship, every song that we sing, everything that we declare is to come for Him and say, "Thank you, you are worthy." But if you are complaining and bitter, how can those two things go hand in hand? See, thankfulness, thanksgiving is at the core of worship.

And that's what God is seeking more than anything else. Let me ask you a question. When are you the most thankful? If God is looking for true worshipers, and true worship, the base of true worship is thankfulness, when are you the most thankful? Don't say it, just think about it.

My guess is, like myself, we are the most thankful that when we deserve, when we get something that we really didn't deserve. Right? So some of you college students, you know, if you have finals coming up, you stayed up all night and you went to LA to get some boba, you know, and you played video games and then somebody told you, you had to study, or somebody told you, "I got a free pass, come to Disneyland with me." And you stayed up all night going to Disneyland, you came back, and you probably studied for the finals in like two hours.

And then you took your test, and you got an A+. And so you are thankful. Because you know you didn't deserve that. Right? You know you didn't, you deserved an F, but you got an A. So you're thankful. You're going to come to church like, "Thank you, Jesus." During Thanksgiving, you're going to say, "I'm thankful for my A." Right?

If you're at work, you know, you didn't do the best job. You screwed up. You made mistakes, lost millions of dollars, and your boss comes and says, "You know what? That's your mistake. We've all done it. I'm going to give you a raise." This Thanksgiving, you're going to be thankful.

"I'm thankful for my boss, working for a great company." Right? You blew your anniversary. You deserved a cold bed. No breakfast, lunch, or dinner for a while. And your wife says, "I understand. You had a hard week. It was tough. Let's do it next year." And she makes you the best breakfast.

"You're eating that. So thankful. I didn't deserve this." Right? Yet, my wife made me the best food in the world. We're the most thankful when we receive things that you and I know we don't deserve. What is it that you and I have been given that we really, really didn't deserve?

And you know where I'm getting at. What is it that you and I have been given that we can't possibly even fathom or even imagine? If we made up a story of salvation, we would never make this story up. Even if you've never heard of the gospel and say, "Well, God sent his son to die for who?

For rebellious sinners. And the way that he saved us was he gave his only begotten son to suffer for us." I mean, think about it. When you buy a brand new car and a friend looks at it and says, "Hey, let me take you for a ride." And that guy, you know, he's not the most careful, gentle person in the world.

He's got 30 tickets and he likes to take it for a spin. He says, "Let me take you for a ride." You know, your immediate reaction is, "Yeah, do it, man." You're going to think twice. It's like, "That guy's not going to take care of my car." It's just your car.

You don't want a little ding on it. You don't want him driving over, you know, the speed bumps at 30 miles per hour. And you're going to think of your shocks and, "Is he going to pass gas in my car? What is this guy going to do to my brand new car?" And you're going to hesitate and you're going to be bitter that he even asked you and put you in that situation.

Because we value this car. And yet the Bible describes to save sinners who had no thought of seeking God sent His only begotten son to die for us. What is it that you and I have received that you and I did not deserve that will inspire us to be thankful other than the gospel itself?

So when you really look at it that way, if you really look at it that way, wasn't He, by sending His only begotten son, giving us what you and I didn't deserve, wasn't He seeking worshipers? Doesn't that fit? That that's the reason why He did what He did to create a new creation that will worship Him in spirit and in truth by giving us what you and I could not possibly even imagine to even ask for.

He gave it to us. Not just justice. Not just mercy. But grace. That's why in Ephesians 1, 7-10, it says, "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in Heaven and things on Earth." Lavished on us all that we need.

So at the core of worship is Thanksgiving. And then fourth and finally, Thanksgiving ultimately is the evidence of genuine faith. Thanksgiving is the evidence of genuine faith. James chapter 1, 2-3 you know that passage where it says, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds." You know when he wrote that letter "Trials of various kinds" people were literally being killed for their faith.

We had people who probably were very rich, like Apostle Paul, because they met Christ. They were being beaten and put into jail. I mean their wives their wives were being put into jail. Their children couldn't function because they were followers of Christ. So when he says "Trials of many kinds" he's not talking about, you know, I want Mexican food but I can only find Korean food.

We are not talking about the kind of trials you and I go through. You know? And I know there is more than that. I'm just being, you know. You know at work it's like, "Oh he's a Christian. Ha, ha, ha. Don't invite him to our break." You know, persecution.

We are talking about people literally losing their lives and their livelihood. So when he says, "Encounter trials of many kinds, consider it all joy." He doesn't just say, "Hey, suck it up and bear it." No, he says, "Consider it all joy." If you don't understand the context of this verse.

If you don't understand the context of the Gospel, it would make absolutely no sense. Not only would it not make sense, it would be a tremendous burden. It would be a tremendous burden to tell people to be joyful while you're going through all of these things. And a lot of times even as Christians we try to fake it because we know what it says.

We're not experiencing it but we know what it says. You know? Just like if you have small children and you're trying to take pictures. And I know some of you guys accuse me of that. We put up fake smiles. So when our, especially our boys when they were little, when they would take pictures we would always say, "Smile, smile." And so they'll give you one of these.

You know what I mean? It's just one side. Their whole face, there's no smile. It's just their lip is going up. Right? Sometimes that's what Christian joy looks like. Doesn't it? You know? Like you want to curse and you want to say all these things but you're at church.

You know? And you're being watched. So you say Christian things. Right? All things work together for good. And you say, you say all of these things but in your, inwardly it was just, you're dying. How can He possibly expect us to practice this? Here's why. Consider all joy when you meet trials of many kinds for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness and that steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing.

Lacking in nothing what? Financially? Physically? No. Your faith. But faith is not tangible. You don't taste faith. You don't see it. Right? You can't put that in the bank. And the only reason why you would face trials and consider it pure joy is because you believe. It's because you believe that there is a sovereign God who is orchestrating these trials to bring about perfection of your faith.

So the payoff, you may not be able to see it but you believe it. If by sacrificing today that tomorrow you get a brand new car. You know get rid of your you know 1999 car and you're going to get a 2017 brand new car. You know no one would have any problems.

Consider pure joy when you junk your 1997 car. Because tomorrow you're going to get a 2017 car. Yes! Pure joy. Right? But the reason why Christians are called to do that is because the trade-off is that God, the sovereign God, is using these sufferings to bring about the perfection of faith.

And only an individual who believes that that is happening is the one who can really rejoice. And that's why Thanksgiving is evidence of genuine faith. Only an individual who is genuinely believes the promises of God can be genuinely thankful. Not fake it. Not give a fake smile. Because you know a sovereign God is behind that.

You look at the life of Joseph. All his life, all he did was be faithful to God. And as a result of that he got beaten. He was thrown into prison. He tried to be faithful to his master and to shun the advance of his wife Potiphar. And as a result of being faithful he gets thrown into jail.

He's in jail and he tries to help people out. And as a result of that he stays even longer. And at the end of his life, at the end of the story we know what happens. His brothers who put him in that situation come and they recognize him. Humanly speaking.

This is Egypt. And this guy is very high up. He's a right hand man of the Pharaoh. There is no public defender to defend him. There is no innocent until proven guilty. I mean this is the Pharaoh's right hand man. I mean he could have eaten his flesh and we would all understand and say, "Okay, what you did to me I do to you tenfold." Right?

Vengeance. Right? Make a good movie. And end with vengeance. Yes! But he doesn't do that. Why is he not bitter? Why is he not angry? Why does he not carry out vengeance? He could have killed all of them and it would have been completely justified. And yet remember what he says in Genesis chapter 50, 19 through 21.

He says, "But Joseph said to them, his brothers, 'Do not fear for I am in the place of God.'" In other words he is saying God placed him there. "As for you, you meant evil against me but God meant it for good. To bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today.

So do not fear I will provide for you and your little ones.' Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them." Not only did he not kill them, not only was he not vengeful, he actually provides for that family. That's not human. That's not a normal human behavior. The reason why he was able to do that because he believed in a sovereign God who was in control of all of these things.

That even though your intention may have been evil, God was not. That's why we're thankful. That's why only an individual who genuinely believes in that sovereign and loving God can truly be thankful. That's why in 1 Thessalonians 5, 16 to 18 he says, "Rejoice always." Not simply because your bills are paid, not because you're healthy, not because you got a promotion.

Always, always means always. When encouragement or discouragement. When you have money or don't have money. When you're sitting in prison or living in a penthouse. In every and all situation Paul says, "I have learned the secret of being content." What is that secret? His faith. Christ. In the midst of all of that, it's not like he did yoga and he tapped into some inner meditation that all of a sudden, boom, it opened up for him.

He's talking about seeing Christ in the middle of all of these things. That's why he says you can be thankful in all situations for this is the will of God. The will of God is to make people who did not honor God or give thanks to Him, opened our eyes to see the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ and made us people who honor and thank Him.

That's the will of God. Our salvation, our sanctification to make us true worshipers of God was the will of God. So how important is Thanksgiving for Christians? It is at the core of who we are. And that is why he says, "Do all things without complaining or grumbling." Because complaining or grumbling is the opposite of genuine worship.

You can't worship and grumble at the same time. So let me conclude with this. 2 Corinthians 4, 16-18. So we do not lose heart though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal way to glory beyond all comparison.

As we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. That is the distinction between a Christian and a non-Christian. We come to celebrate a God that we cannot see.

We put our hope and the promises of things that we cannot touch. We celebrate and rejoice knowing that one day that we will be in a heaven that we are not there yet. It is our faith that causes us to see a God that you cannot see with your flesh.

And that is the distinction between a Christian and a non-Christian. Isn't that what happened to us when we got saved? When you believed and confessed and repented, did you get a better house? Did all the people around you all of a sudden become nice? Did the school that you were trying to get into all of a sudden send you an acceptance?

Did all the people who were annoying you all of a sudden change their personality to accommodate you? What has changed? Nothing physical. Spiritually we came alive. It is faith. So the source of our thanksgiving is not our circumstance, but being able to see our sovereign God behind all things.

He who did not spare his own son. How will he not along with him give us all things? Let's pray. When are you the most thankful? If God is looking for true worshipers and true worship, the base of true worship is thankfulness, when are you the most thankful? Don't say it.

Just think about it. My guess is, like myself, we are the most thankful that when we get something that we really didn't deserve. Right? So some of you college students, you know, if you have finals coming up, you stayed up all night and you went to LA to get some boba, you know, and you played video games and then somebody told you, you had to study, somebody told you, "I got a free pass, come to Disneyland with me." And you stayed up all night going to Disneyland.

You came back and you probably studied for the final in like two hours. And then you took your test and you got an A+. And so you are thankful. Because you know you didn't deserve that. Right? You know you didn't. You deserved an F. But you got an A.

So you're thankful. You're going to come to church like, "Thank you, Jesus." Right? During Thanksgiving you're going to say, "I'm thankful for my A." Right? If you're at work, you know, you didn't do the best job. You screwed up. You made mistakes. Lost millions of dollars. And your boss comes and says, "You know what?

That's a human mistake. We've all done it. I'm going to give you a raise." This Thanksgiving you're going to be thankful. "I'm thankful for my boss. Working for a great company." Right? You blew your anniversary. You deserved a cold bed. No breakfast, lunch, or dinner for a while. And your wife says, "I understand.

You had a hard week. It was tough. Let's do it next year." And she makes you the best breakfast. You're eating that. So thankful. I didn't deserve this. Right? Yet my wife made me the best food in the world. We're the most thankful when we receive things that you and I know we don't deserve.

What is it that you and I have been given that we really, really didn't deserve? And you know where I'm getting at. What is it that you and I have been given that we can't possibly even fathom or even imagine? If we made up a story of salvation, we would never make this story up.

Even if you've never heard of the gospel and say, "Well, God sent His Son to die for who? For rebellious sinners. And the way that He saved us was He gave His only begotten Son to suffer for us." I mean, think about it. When you buy a brand new car and a friend looks at it and says, "Hey, let me take you for a ride." And that guy, you know, he's not the most careful, gentle person in the world.

He's got 30 tickets and he likes to take it for a spin. He says, "Let me take you for a ride." You know, your immediate reaction is, "Yeah, do it, man." And I think twice. It's like, "That guy's not going to take care of my car." It's just your car.

You don't want a little ding on it. You don't want him driving over, you know, the speed bumps at 30 miles per hour. And you're going to think of your shocks. And is he going to pass gas in my car? What is this guy going to do to my brand new car?

And you're going to hesitate. And you're going to be bitter that he even asked you and put you in that situation. Because we value this car. And yet the Bible describes to save sinners who had no thought of seeking God sent His only begotten Son to die for us.

What is it that you and I have received that you and I did not deserve that will inspire us to be thankful other than the Gospel itself? So when you really look at it that way, if you really look at it that way, wasn't He, by sending His only begotten Son, giving us what you and I didn't deserve, wasn't He seeking worshippers?

Doesn't that fit? That that's the reason why He did what He did? To create a new creation that will worship Him in spirit and in truth by giving us what you and I could not possibly even imagine to even ask for. He gave it to us. Not just justice.

Not just mercy. But grace. That's why in Ephesians 1, 7-10, it says, "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in Heaven and things on Earth." Lavished on us all that we need.

So at the core of worship is thanksgiving. And then fourth and finally, thanksgiving ultimately is the evidence of genuine faith. Thanksgiving is the evidence of genuine faith. James 1, 2-3, you know that passage where it says, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds." You know when he wrote that letter, "Trials of various kinds," people were literally being killed for their faith.

We had people who probably were very rich, like Apostle Paul, because they met Christ. They were being beaten and put into jail. I mean their wives, their wives were being put into jail. Their children couldn't function because they were followers of Christ. So when he says trials of many kinds he's not talking about, you know, "I want Mexican food, but I can only find Korean food." We're not talking about the kind of trials you and I go through.

You know? And I know there's more than that. I'm just being, you know, you know at work it's like, "Oh, he's a Christian. Ha, ha, ha. Don't invite him to our break." You know, persecution. We're talking about people literally losing their lives and their livelihood. So when he says, "Encounter trials of many kinds, consider it all joy," he doesn't just say, "Hey, suck it up and bear it." No, he says, "Consider it all joy." If you don't understand the context of this verse, if you don't understand the context of the Gospel, it would make absolutely no sense.

Not only would it not make sense, it would be a tremendous burden. It would be a tremendous burden to tell people to be joyful while you're going through all of these things. And a lot of times even as Christians, we try to fake it because we know what it says.

We're not experiencing it, but we know what it says. You know? Just like if you have small children and you're trying to take pictures, and I know some of you guys, you know, accuse me of that. We put up fake smiles. So when our, especially our boys when they were little, when they would take pictures, we would always say, "Smile, smile." And so they'll give you one of these.

You know what I mean? It's just one side, their whole face, there's no smile, it's just their lip is going up. Right? Sometimes that's what Christian joy looks like. Doesn't it? You know? Like you want to curse and you want to say all these things, but you're at church.

You know? And you're being watched. So you say Christian things. Right? All things work together for good. And you say, you say all of these things, but in your, inwardly it was just, you're dying. How can you possibly expect us to practice this? Here's why. Consider it all joy when you meet trials of many kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness, and that steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Lacking in nothing, what? Financially? Physically? No. Your faith. But faith is not tangible. You don't taste faith. You don't see it. You can't put that in the bank. And the only reason why you would face trials and consider it pure joy is because you believe. It's because you believe that there is a sovereign God who is orchestrating these trials to bring about perfection of your faith.

So the payoff, you may not be able to see it, but you believe it. If, you, if by sacrificing today, that tomorrow you get a brand new car. You know, get rid of your, you know, 1999 car, and you're going to get a 2017 brand new car, you know, no one would have any problems.

Consider it pure joy when you junk your 1997 car. Because tomorrow you're going to get a 2017 car. Yes! Pure joy. Right? But the reason why Christians are called to do that is because the trade-off is that God, the sovereign God, is using these sufferings to bring about the perfection of faith.

And only an individual who believes that that is happening is the one who can really rejoice. And that's why Thanksgiving is evidence of genuine faith. Only an individual who genuinely believes the promises of God can be genuinely thankful. Not fake it. Not give a fake smile. Because you know a sovereign God is behind that.

You look at the life of Joseph. All his life, all he did was be faithful to God. And as a result of that he got beaten, he was thrown into prison. He tried to be faithful to his Master, and to shun the advance of his wife Potiphar. And as a result of being faithful he gets thrown into jail.

He's in jail and he tries to help people out. And as a result of that he stays even longer. And at the end of his life, at the end of the story, we know what happens. His brothers who put him in that situation come and they recognize him. Humanly speaking, this is Egypt.

And this guy is very high up. He's a right-hand man of the Pharaoh. There is no public defender to defend him. There is no innocent until proven guilty. I mean this is the Pharaoh's right-hand man. I mean he could have eaten his flesh and we would all understand and say, "Okay, what you did to me I do to you tenfold." Right?

Vengeance. Right? Make a good movie. End with vengeance. Yes! But he doesn't do that. Why is he not bitter? Why is he not angry? Why does he not carry out vengeance? He could have killed all of them and it would have been completely justified. And yet remember what he says in Genesis chapter 50, 19 through 21.

It says, "But Joseph said to them, his brothers, 'Do not fear, for I am in the place of God.'" In other words he's saying God placed him there. "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. To bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today.

So do not fear, I will provide for you and your little ones.' Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them." Not only did he not kill them, not only was he not vengeful, he actually provides for that family. That's not human. That's not a normal human behavior. The reason why he was able to do that because he believed in a sovereign God who was in control of all of these things.

That even though your intention may have been evil, God was not. That's why we're thankful. That's why only an individual who genuinely believes in that sovereign and loving God can truly be thankful. That's why in 1 Thessalonians 5, 16 to 18 he says, "Rejoice always." Not simply because your bills are paid, not because you're healthy, not because you got a promotion.

Always. Always means always. When encouragement or discouragement. When you have money or don't have money. When you're sitting in prison or living in a penthouse. In every and all situation Paul says, "I have learned the secret of being content." What is that secret? His faith. Christ. In the midst of all of that, it's not like he did yoga and he tapped into some inner meditation and all of a sudden, boom, it opened up for him.

He's talking about seeing Christ in the middle of all of these things. That's why he says, "You can be thankful in all situations for this is the will of God." The will of God is to make people who did not honor God or give thanks to Him, opened our eyes to see the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ and made us people who honor and thank Him.

That's the will of God. Our salvation, our sanctification to make us true worshippers of God was the will of God. So how important is Thanksgiving for Christians? It is at the core of who we are. And that is why he says, "Do all things without complaining or grumbling." Because complaining or grumbling is the opposite of genuine worship.

You can't worship and grumble at the same time. So let me conclude with this. 2 Corinthians 4, 16-18. "So we do not lose heart, though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal way to glory beyond all comparison.

As we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." That is the distinction between a Christian and a non-Christian. We come to celebrate a God that we cannot see.

We put our hope in the promises of things that we cannot touch. We celebrate and rejoice knowing that one day that we will be in a heaven that we are not there yet. It is our faith that causes us to see a God that you cannot see with your flesh.

And that's the distinction between a Christian and a non-Christian. Isn't that what happened to us when we got saved? When you believed and confessed and repented, did you get a better house? Did all the people around you all of a sudden become nice? Did the school that you were trying to get into all of a sudden send you an acceptance?

Did all the people who were annoying you all of a sudden change their personality to accommodate you? What has changed? Nothing physical. Spiritually we came alive. It is faith. So the source of our thanksgiving is not our circumstance, but being able to see our sovereign God behind all things.

He who did not spare his own son. How will he not along with him give us all things? Let's pray. Again as we ask the praise team to come out, let's take some time to come before the Lord in prayer, in honest confession. As we reflect upon not simply the material things that we ought to be thankful for, but even beyond that.