Extreme Thankfulness
Ephesians 5:20
Christianity is an extreme lifestyle. There is nothing mediocre – nothing casual about it. Religion has tried to water down Christianity. But the Christianity of the Bible is the most extreme lifestyle a person can live, including when it comes to being thankful. If you are a Christian today, you know that thankfulness to God should be a regular part of the Christian life, and most of us have expressed the things we are thankful for on Thanksgiving day or at other times.
But there’s a part of our “customary” thankfulness - that might actually fall short of extreme thankfulness. Often our approach to thankfulness is primarily in response to good circumstances and material blessings. And don’t get me wrong, we should be thankful for those things. The Bible has plenty to say on our thankfulness to God for good circumstances and material blessings. But I’d like to talk today about a thankfulness that is far more powerful.
And to try to convey the difference, I want to use the phrase – “extreme thankfulness.”
Extreme thankfulness is not connected to any good circumstance or material blessing.
Extreme thankfulness goes beyond our good circumstances and material blessings.
Extreme thankfulness is the fruit of a relationship with God that surpasses all circumstances (good or bad).
Extreme thankfulness goes beyond any circumstance – to WHO God IS in our lives.
A.W. Tozer - in The Pursuit of God:
“The man who has God as his treasure has all things in one, and he has it purely, legitimately, and forever.”
And right there - is the source of our extreme thankfulness.
God, HIMSELF is our treasure
God, HIMSELF is the ultimate reason for our thankfulness
If we will grow in our belief – of that great truth – we will grow in our life of extreme thankfulness.
Extreme thankfulness to God continually flows out of the writers of the New Testament. Paul exhorts us in every book he writes to live a life of extreme thankfulness not tied to any circumstance, and one of the best verses of this critical truth is Ephesians 5:20.
The context here is being filled with the Spirit and verse 20 is part of the fruit (evidence) of being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18 says “Be continually being filled with the Holy Spirit”
And then – the following verses elaborate on that command . . .meaning – this is what it looks like when we are filled with the Holy Spirit and these are also all proofs (evidences) – of a life of extreme thankfulness.
Ephesians 5:19–20 (ESV)
19 (1) addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
(2) singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,
20 (3) giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
What a Great Picture of Extreme Thankfulness!
(1) addressing one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs,
(2) singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,
(3) giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
This is the extreme life Jesus Christ died to give us
This is the extreme level of thankfulness that is available to us right now
Now the first two evidences are great – but we’re going to focus on just the third one today, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Guys, we can know that our relationship with the Lord is reaching a new level when we begin to be thankful to God in the midst of every situation in the midst of every “thing.” When we begin to grow past thankfulness based on good circumstances and material blessings and begin to live a life of extreme thankfulness and praise.
So- HOW do we do that? How do we begin to grow past thankfulness for good circumstances and material blessings . . . into a lifestyle where we are truly giving thanks always and for everything?
The first step is a true and complete surrender to the love and care God has for us. It’s trusting him completely, including a full and complete surrender to God’s plan and God’s direction for our lives.
I think most Christians end their journey to extreme thankfulness – right here! Because if we don’t truly trust God’s love and care for us and if we are not fully surrendered to God’s plan and direction for our lives, then we can’t even hope to even begin this journey. So, first, this is a matter of complete surrender and an all-in faith.
Next, there is a huge foundational belief that must lie as the bedrock under every situation and every circumstance in our lives. This command in Ephesians 5:20 (ESV) to give thanks always and for everything is no willy-nilly statement for Paul. There is a rock-solid faith that brings about this extreme thankfulness. There is a massive foundational belief that underlies this statement and that massive foundational belief is this . . .
If you are a child of God today, through faith in Jesus Christ, then God is at work for your ultimate good and for his ultimate glory – always and in everything.
That means there’s something going on behind what you see. The temporal, and the physical do not have the final say. The eternal work of God has the final say.
Extreme Thankfulness
Looks past the temporal to the eternal
Looks past the present and trusts God with the future
Because of WHO God IS in our lives.
Because of WHO God IS in our lives . . . we can have this rock-solid faith. We can have an immovable foundational belief that God is at work for our good and for his glory . . . in every circumstance and every situation. And the more you build that foundation of faith in your life, the more you will develop extreme thankfulness.
Extreme thankfulness looks past the temporal and to the eternal and extreme thankfulness is always trusting that God is at work for our good and for his glory.
Now, it might also help to know the Greek word “FOR” (Ephesians 5:20 (ESV) ) (giving thanks always and for everything). The word “for” can also be translated “over, beyond and even - in place of.” Because extreme thankfulness is thankfulness over our circumstances, beyond our circumstances, and even in place of our circumstances. Amen?
Next. HOW does the end of Ephesians 5:20 (ESV) tell us we can do this?
Ephesians 5:20 (ESV) giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
“In the Name of” means “According to WHO Jesus Christ IS.” We give thanks to God always and in everything According to WHO Jesus Christ IS in our lives. Not because of WHAT we SEE, but because of WHO is AT WORK in our lives
We give thanks according to WHO Jesus Christ IS in our lives – not according to what our circumstances may or may not be.
That is the beginning of extreme thankfulness and that will radically change a Christian’s life.
NEXT, in order to begin to grow in extreme thankfulness we must . . . fix our eyes. We must always have our eyes firmly fixed on God’s eternal plan and firmly not fixed on our temporal circumstances.
2 Corinthians 4:17 (NLT)
17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!
From an eternal perspective, from God’s perspective, our present troubles are small and won’t last very long
Yet, these present small and temporary troubles are producing in us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever.
These troubles are “producing in us”. The word (producing) means “to cultivate, to prepare.” Like you would cultivate the ground to produce a crop.
It’s not just that we have to put up with these small and temporary troubles. It’s that they are actually producing in us the eternal glory that God has planned for us.
Our eternal glory is not going to come in spite of our difficulties. Our eternal glory is actually being produced by our difficulties. Just write this reference down.
1 Peter 1:7 (NLT)
7 . . . when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
Can you hear me when I say please . . . the eternal work God is doing in you is not in spite of your difficulties . . . God is actually using your difficulties to produce the eternal glory he has planned for you. Believing that is growing in extreme thankfulness.
Are you still at 2 Corinthians 4:17?
NEXT, extreme thankfulness is a matter of where you live! If you are living for today or what you can get today, for what God can do for you today, then you are living in a place where extreme thankfulness will be completely foreign to you. And you’re probably thinking right now, “What do you mean my present troubles are small and temporary? What do you know about my troubles?”
I know what God says about them! There’s a chance you may be fighting God on that a bit.
How can we live in the right place?
How can we get god’s perspective?
How can we join God in how he sees our troubles?
2 Corinthians 4:18 (NLT)
18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
Extreme thankfulness is a matter of where you live! If you live in the temporary troubles you can see now, you can forget ever having this level of thankfulness. But if you will fix your gaze on the eternal things you cannot see, God will begin to transform you by the renewing of your mind.
Where do you live in regard to your troubles? Do you live in the middle of them? Or do you live beyond them? Because if you will move from living in the middle of your troubles to living beyond them . . . then you will end up being able to say with Paul in Romans 8.
Romans 8:18 (ESV)
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
That is some extreme thankfulness.
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
And that promise is worth being extremely thankful for.
Extreme thankfulness is the perspective of all New Testament writers and it’s the perspective every believer is exhorted to have. In fact, extreme thankfulness is one of the great signs of a heart that is truly connected to Jesus Christ. It’s the mark of a Christian who understands their real life and their real blessings come thru a Person – not a circumstance.
Colossians 3:3 (NLT)
3 . . . your real life is hidden with Christ in God.
2 Corinthians 1:20 (ESV)
20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him (Jesus) . . .
Colossians 2:3 (NLT)
3 In [Christ] lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
When a Christian stops trying to get stuff from God and realizes that God himself is the treasure, they will begin to understand extreme thankfulness.
And consider Paul’s thorn in the flesh? Did Paul have extreme thankfulness for that?
In 2 Corinthians 12:7, Paul says that for his good he was given a “thorn in the flesh” and three times he begged the Lord to take it away. But in 2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV), each time the Lord said to Paul “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Paul understood God was doing something bigger than just making his circumstances right. God wanted to be glorified through Paul’s life. And so Paul – seeing things from God’s perspective – says in the remainder of 2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV) Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
And then Paul summarizes his extreme thankfulness in
2 Corinthians 12:10 (ESV)
10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
THAT is extreme thankfulness.
And now you want to say – HOW DAVE? HOW? And I believe the first key question that determines whether we can live a life of extreme thankfulness is this:
Are you living for YOURSELF? Or are you living FOR Jesus Christ? Because - if you are still living for yourself and you still think God’s role is to make you happy, then you will never live in extreme thankfulness. But do you understand that right where you find yourself today, you can begin living your life for Jesus Christ?
Probably the most influential single document that came out of the Reformation of the 16th century is called The SHORTER Westminster Catechism in which the grand theology of the Protestant Reformation is summarized in 107 Questions.
Question #1 – Put at the TOP for obvious PRIORITY Reasons, is:
Q. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.
A true Christian’s life is not SELF-FOCUS – it is a GOD-FOCUS. It’s not a life of demanding FROM God it’s a life of GIVING God glory and enjoying him forever, and you can choose to begin doing that today.
Colossians 3:17 (ESV)
17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Wherever you find yourself today you can begin to glorify God and enjoy him forever, and one of the key ways to do that is to begin practicing extreme thankfulness always and for everything (as Ephesians 5:20 (ESV) says).
And if you’d like a training manual on extreme thankfulness, go to Amazon.com and buy this book: 31 Days of Praise by Ruth Myers.
Guys, the Christian life is a life of extreme thankfulness. Thankfulness that goes
Beyond good circumstances
Beyond material blessings
It’s an EXTREME LIFE of
Giving Thanks always to God
Giving Thanks for (above and beyond) everything to God
Giving Thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
And the number one question that determines whether you will experience extreme thankfulness or not is this one:
What consumes your focus? If you are focused on the circumstances of this temporal, fleeting, vapor of a life then you will never be able to experience this extreme thankfulness.
But if your Focus is FIRMLY FIXED on Eternity
On God’s Eternal PURPOSE for you
On God’s Eternal REWARD for you
On God’s Eternal RELATIONSHIP with you
Then THAT is what your extreme thankfulness will come from.
Please hear me. If you have fully surrendered your life to Jesus Christ then God is with you. He is at work in your circumstances, and for your ultimate good. And he is worthy of your extreme thankfulness, at all times.
But there’s a part of our “customary” thankfulness - that might actually fall short of extreme thankfulness. Often our approach to thankfulness is primarily in response to good circumstances and material blessings. And don’t get me wrong, we should be thankful for those things. The Bible has plenty to say on our thankfulness to God for good circumstances and material blessings. But I’d like to talk today about a thankfulness that is far more powerful.
And to try to convey the difference, I want to use the phrase – “extreme thankfulness.”
Extreme thankfulness is not connected to any good circumstance or material blessing.
Extreme thankfulness goes beyond our good circumstances and material blessings.
Extreme thankfulness is the fruit of a relationship with God that surpasses all circumstances (good or bad).
Extreme thankfulness goes beyond any circumstance – to WHO God IS in our lives.
A.W. Tozer - in The Pursuit of God:
“The man who has God as his treasure has all things in one, and he has it purely, legitimately, and forever.”
And right there - is the source of our extreme thankfulness.
God, HIMSELF is our treasure
God, HIMSELF is the ultimate reason for our thankfulness
If we will grow in our belief – of that great truth – we will grow in our life of extreme thankfulness.
Extreme thankfulness to God continually flows out of the writers of the New Testament. Paul exhorts us in every book he writes to live a life of extreme thankfulness not tied to any circumstance, and one of the best verses of this critical truth is Ephesians 5:20.
The context here is being filled with the Spirit and verse 20 is part of the fruit (evidence) of being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18 says “Be continually being filled with the Holy Spirit”
And then – the following verses elaborate on that command . . .meaning – this is what it looks like when we are filled with the Holy Spirit and these are also all proofs (evidences) – of a life of extreme thankfulness.
Ephesians 5:19–20 (ESV)
19 (1) addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
(2) singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,
20 (3) giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
What a Great Picture of Extreme Thankfulness!
(1) addressing one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs,
(2) singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,
(3) giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
This is the extreme life Jesus Christ died to give us
This is the extreme level of thankfulness that is available to us right now
Now the first two evidences are great – but we’re going to focus on just the third one today, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Guys, we can know that our relationship with the Lord is reaching a new level when we begin to be thankful to God in the midst of every situation in the midst of every “thing.” When we begin to grow past thankfulness based on good circumstances and material blessings and begin to live a life of extreme thankfulness and praise.
So- HOW do we do that? How do we begin to grow past thankfulness for good circumstances and material blessings . . . into a lifestyle where we are truly giving thanks always and for everything?
The first step is a true and complete surrender to the love and care God has for us. It’s trusting him completely, including a full and complete surrender to God’s plan and God’s direction for our lives.
I think most Christians end their journey to extreme thankfulness – right here! Because if we don’t truly trust God’s love and care for us and if we are not fully surrendered to God’s plan and direction for our lives, then we can’t even hope to even begin this journey. So, first, this is a matter of complete surrender and an all-in faith.
Next, there is a huge foundational belief that must lie as the bedrock under every situation and every circumstance in our lives. This command in Ephesians 5:20 (ESV) to give thanks always and for everything is no willy-nilly statement for Paul. There is a rock-solid faith that brings about this extreme thankfulness. There is a massive foundational belief that underlies this statement and that massive foundational belief is this . . .
If you are a child of God today, through faith in Jesus Christ, then God is at work for your ultimate good and for his ultimate glory – always and in everything.
That means there’s something going on behind what you see. The temporal, and the physical do not have the final say. The eternal work of God has the final say.
Extreme Thankfulness
Looks past the temporal to the eternal
Looks past the present and trusts God with the future
Because of WHO God IS in our lives.
Because of WHO God IS in our lives . . . we can have this rock-solid faith. We can have an immovable foundational belief that God is at work for our good and for his glory . . . in every circumstance and every situation. And the more you build that foundation of faith in your life, the more you will develop extreme thankfulness.
Extreme thankfulness looks past the temporal and to the eternal and extreme thankfulness is always trusting that God is at work for our good and for his glory.
Now, it might also help to know the Greek word “FOR” (Ephesians 5:20 (ESV) ) (giving thanks always and for everything). The word “for” can also be translated “over, beyond and even - in place of.” Because extreme thankfulness is thankfulness over our circumstances, beyond our circumstances, and even in place of our circumstances. Amen?
Next. HOW does the end of Ephesians 5:20 (ESV) tell us we can do this?
Ephesians 5:20 (ESV) giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
“In the Name of” means “According to WHO Jesus Christ IS.” We give thanks to God always and in everything According to WHO Jesus Christ IS in our lives. Not because of WHAT we SEE, but because of WHO is AT WORK in our lives
We give thanks according to WHO Jesus Christ IS in our lives – not according to what our circumstances may or may not be.
That is the beginning of extreme thankfulness and that will radically change a Christian’s life.
NEXT, in order to begin to grow in extreme thankfulness we must . . . fix our eyes. We must always have our eyes firmly fixed on God’s eternal plan and firmly not fixed on our temporal circumstances.
2 Corinthians 4:17 (NLT)
17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!
From an eternal perspective, from God’s perspective, our present troubles are small and won’t last very long
Yet, these present small and temporary troubles are producing in us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever.
These troubles are “producing in us”. The word (producing) means “to cultivate, to prepare.” Like you would cultivate the ground to produce a crop.
It’s not just that we have to put up with these small and temporary troubles. It’s that they are actually producing in us the eternal glory that God has planned for us.
Our eternal glory is not going to come in spite of our difficulties. Our eternal glory is actually being produced by our difficulties. Just write this reference down.
1 Peter 1:7 (NLT)
7 . . . when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
Can you hear me when I say please . . . the eternal work God is doing in you is not in spite of your difficulties . . . God is actually using your difficulties to produce the eternal glory he has planned for you. Believing that is growing in extreme thankfulness.
Are you still at 2 Corinthians 4:17?
NEXT, extreme thankfulness is a matter of where you live! If you are living for today or what you can get today, for what God can do for you today, then you are living in a place where extreme thankfulness will be completely foreign to you. And you’re probably thinking right now, “What do you mean my present troubles are small and temporary? What do you know about my troubles?”
I know what God says about them! There’s a chance you may be fighting God on that a bit.
How can we live in the right place?
How can we get god’s perspective?
How can we join God in how he sees our troubles?
2 Corinthians 4:18 (NLT)
18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
Extreme thankfulness is a matter of where you live! If you live in the temporary troubles you can see now, you can forget ever having this level of thankfulness. But if you will fix your gaze on the eternal things you cannot see, God will begin to transform you by the renewing of your mind.
Where do you live in regard to your troubles? Do you live in the middle of them? Or do you live beyond them? Because if you will move from living in the middle of your troubles to living beyond them . . . then you will end up being able to say with Paul in Romans 8.
Romans 8:18 (ESV)
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
That is some extreme thankfulness.
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
And that promise is worth being extremely thankful for.
Extreme thankfulness is the perspective of all New Testament writers and it’s the perspective every believer is exhorted to have. In fact, extreme thankfulness is one of the great signs of a heart that is truly connected to Jesus Christ. It’s the mark of a Christian who understands their real life and their real blessings come thru a Person – not a circumstance.
Colossians 3:3 (NLT)
3 . . . your real life is hidden with Christ in God.
2 Corinthians 1:20 (ESV)
20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him (Jesus) . . .
Colossians 2:3 (NLT)
3 In [Christ] lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
When a Christian stops trying to get stuff from God and realizes that God himself is the treasure, they will begin to understand extreme thankfulness.
And consider Paul’s thorn in the flesh? Did Paul have extreme thankfulness for that?
In 2 Corinthians 12:7, Paul says that for his good he was given a “thorn in the flesh” and three times he begged the Lord to take it away. But in 2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV), each time the Lord said to Paul “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Paul understood God was doing something bigger than just making his circumstances right. God wanted to be glorified through Paul’s life. And so Paul – seeing things from God’s perspective – says in the remainder of 2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV) Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
And then Paul summarizes his extreme thankfulness in
2 Corinthians 12:10 (ESV)
10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
THAT is extreme thankfulness.
And now you want to say – HOW DAVE? HOW? And I believe the first key question that determines whether we can live a life of extreme thankfulness is this:
Are you living for YOURSELF? Or are you living FOR Jesus Christ? Because - if you are still living for yourself and you still think God’s role is to make you happy, then you will never live in extreme thankfulness. But do you understand that right where you find yourself today, you can begin living your life for Jesus Christ?
Probably the most influential single document that came out of the Reformation of the 16th century is called The SHORTER Westminster Catechism in which the grand theology of the Protestant Reformation is summarized in 107 Questions.
Question #1 – Put at the TOP for obvious PRIORITY Reasons, is:
Q. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.
A true Christian’s life is not SELF-FOCUS – it is a GOD-FOCUS. It’s not a life of demanding FROM God it’s a life of GIVING God glory and enjoying him forever, and you can choose to begin doing that today.
Colossians 3:17 (ESV)
17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Wherever you find yourself today you can begin to glorify God and enjoy him forever, and one of the key ways to do that is to begin practicing extreme thankfulness always and for everything (as Ephesians 5:20 (ESV) says).
And if you’d like a training manual on extreme thankfulness, go to Amazon.com and buy this book: 31 Days of Praise by Ruth Myers.
Guys, the Christian life is a life of extreme thankfulness. Thankfulness that goes
Beyond good circumstances
Beyond material blessings
It’s an EXTREME LIFE of
Giving Thanks always to God
Giving Thanks for (above and beyond) everything to God
Giving Thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
And the number one question that determines whether you will experience extreme thankfulness or not is this one:
What consumes your focus? If you are focused on the circumstances of this temporal, fleeting, vapor of a life then you will never be able to experience this extreme thankfulness.
But if your Focus is FIRMLY FIXED on Eternity
On God’s Eternal PURPOSE for you
On God’s Eternal REWARD for you
On God’s Eternal RELATIONSHIP with you
Then THAT is what your extreme thankfulness will come from.
Please hear me. If you have fully surrendered your life to Jesus Christ then God is with you. He is at work in your circumstances, and for your ultimate good. And he is worthy of your extreme thankfulness, at all times.