09/23/2012
“Pleasing God By Being

Grateful”
Scripture Reading:
Philippians 4:1-9
  Here’s a brief quiz to begin today. Just answer yes or no to each question. Do you say “thank you” more than three times each day? And when you say thank you, do you tell the person exactly what you are grateful for? And, are you learning to be grateful when the LORD gives you an obstacle in life and you see it as an opportunity?

  A life that pleases God must be a life of gratefulness. Please open your Bible with me to Colossians chapter one.
  There are certainly a lot of ways to convey your gratefulness. For example, the “thank you note.” Even with today’s social networking, blogging, and emailing. The “thank you note” hasn’t gone out of style. You can always write a note.
“Dear _________, I just wanted to take a minute to say thank you for…”

  Pastor Andy Stanley, son of Dr. Charles Stanley, says there are four things necessary to communicate thanks. One, be specific. Two, be public. Three, be aware. And four, be honest. And I would like to add a fifth. Don’t wait. Say it as soon as possible.

  Some people say you can show your gratitude just by taking time to simply be with them. You can pray for them. You can express your gratefulness to God for them.

  I’ve titled today’s sermon “Pleasing God By Being Grateful.” Shall we pray?

  Recently I went through all of Paul’s epistles. I was in search of Paul’s approach to gratefulness and I found something interesting. One of the very first things Paul does when he wrote to these Churches was to say something like this.
Romans 1:8 “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.”

I Corinthians 1:4 “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;…

Ephesians 1:15 “Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,  (16) Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;…”

Philippians 1:3 “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, …”

I Thessalonians 1:2 “We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;…”

II Thessalonians 1:3 “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;…”

II Timothy 1:3 “I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;…”

Philemon 1:4 “I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers,…”

Now suppose the king made a law that says you are not to pray to any god but the king, what would you do? I discovered a man who found himself in just that circumstance. Here’s what he did.

Daniel 6:10 “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.”