I’m Thankful to God for...
1. His Grace
Ephesians 2:8 says…
For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—
What’s grace? The word grace comes from the Greek word χάρις, and it can mean either grace or gift. Grace is everything that God does for you even though you don’t deserve it. Grace is God giving you what you need, not what you deserve. The Bible says that everything you have comes by grace. You don’t earn it, you don’t deserve it, and you don’t work for it. Grace is simply a free gift. Christian preacher and author Adrian Rogers once quipped that grace is an acronym that stands for “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.”
In Psalm 103, King David takes us through a list of things that God has done in our lives that we ought to be thankful for. In fact, if you’re the designated prayer guy like I am in my family, maybe you could use this on Thanksgiving Day. Let’s take a look and really contemplate what God has done for us.
My soul, bless the LORD, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. My soul, bless the LORD, and do not forget all his benefits.
He forgives all your iniquity; he heals all your diseases. 4 He redeems your life from the Pit; he crowns you with faithful love and compassion. 5 He satisfies you with good things; your youth is renewed like the eagle.
The LORD executes acts of righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. … The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love.
He will not always accuse us or be angry forever. 10 He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his faithful love toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
There are about 20 things in this passage that God does for us. What one or two things could you be thankful for? Maybe take a second and circle them there in your message notes. God does these things because he’s a gracious God. And let me ask this: Aren’t you glad God doesn’t give you what you deserve? Aren’t you glad instead that God gives you what you need?
There’s something I’m beginning to comprehend in my life, and that is how bad a shape I would be in if it weren’t for Jesus. If it weren’t for Jesus’ grace, I would be, in a word, hopeless. Before Jesus, I had no meaning or purpose in my life. Before Jesus, I had guilt, fear, bitterness, worry, and regrets. Before Jesus, I was lost. Before Jesus, I was hopeless. There was nothing I could do on my own to resolve all of that. I couldn’t be good enough. I couldn’t do enough good deeds. I couldn’t give enough money. I couldn’t go to church enough. I couldn’t volunteer enough hours. I couldn’t do anything to earn what God actually offered to me – and now offers to you – for free: His grace paid in full by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Max Lucado said, “If God did nothing more than save us from hell, could anyone complain?”
So, this Thanksgiving, I’m thankful to God for the grace he has poured out on me. And what I love about God is that there is nothing I can do to make him love me more or less than he loves me today. He loves me the same yesterday, today, and forever. And that’s a lot.
2. His Plan
Life is not an accident. God made us for a reason. God made us for a purpose. God has a plan for our lives. If you’re alive and breathing, and your heart is still beating, that means God still has a plan for your life. Maybe you’re asking, “Well, what is God’s plan for my life?” Hebrews 13 says…
Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—through the blood of the everlasting covenant, equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Did you catch that? God, through the blood of Jesus Christ, equips you with everything good to do his will. The word for equip can also mean repair or restore. It’s the same word that was used when the disciples, James and John, were repairing or mending their fishing nets. Jesus is in the business of repairing and restoring your life, no matter how bad you think you are or how far you think you’ve fallen. And he gives your life meaning and purpose. God’s plan for us is so wonderful that he takes our mistakes, our faults, our failures, and the things that other people do to hurt us and weaves them together to bring good out of them.
Is that something you can thank God for?
Romans 8:28-29 says…
We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…
God’s plan for our lives is for us to be like Jesus. And here’s something to remember: Our lives might not be all happy and comfortable all the time. In fact, God’s plan includes the pain in our lives. His plan includes the disappointments and letdowns in our lives. And sometimes God’s plan includes some discipline. Without those things in our lives, we wouldn’t be who we are today. In fact, your greatest pain could become your greatest purpose.
3. Preparing Me a Home
2 Corinthians 5:1 says…
For we know that if our earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal dwelling in the heavens, not made with hands.
Here’s the deal. Human beings were made to last forever. The human body was not.
Hebrews 9:27 says…
…it is appointed unto men once to die… (KJV)
One day, our bodies will die. Our bodies will decay, fall apart, and cease to exist. Welcome to The Hill where we preach a message of hope. We will one day die, but that will not be the end of us. We’ll spend eternity in one of two places – heaven or hell – depending on whether or not we give our life to Jesus. Heaven and hell are real places. Only a fool would go through life totally unprepared for something he or she knows will inevitably happen. We know we’re going to die. The latest statistics tell us that in America, the mortality rate is 100%. Everyone in this room is terminal. It’s just a matter of time.
Ray Charles sang, “Live each day like it’s your last, ‘cause one day you[’re] gonna be right.”
But we don’t have to be afraid. We can be thankful to God because he’s given us his grace. And while we’re still alive on this planet, he has a plan for us to accept his grace through Jesus Christ by believing in him, confessing him as our Savior and Lord, repenting of our worldly ways, being immersed in him, and living a Godly life. And his plan for us, when we leave this planet, is to take us to heaven.
1 Peter 1:3-6 says…
…Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. You are being guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. You rejoice in this…
Is this something you can thank God for?
Well, I’m thankful to God for the grace he’s shown me. I’m thankful to God for the plan he has for me. I’m thankful to God for the home he’s prepared for me. And there’s one more that he’s still doing in my life that I can be thankful for…
4. The Transformation He’s Making in Me
I don’t know about you, but I’m so glad I’m not the person I used to be. God is helping me to make changes in my life I could never do on my own. I’m so thankful for that…and so is my wife. And right now, I’m not the person I’m going to be. He’s not finished with me yet. Israel’s prayer to God in Isaiah 64:8 was…
…we are the clay, and you are our potter; we all are the work of your hands.
God looks at us and says, “I see that lump of clay, and I can do something with that.” God sees our potential when maybe no one else does. Maybe everyone else is writing you off and saying you’re worthless. But God says, “No…I see a treasure in you. I made you, and I value you. You matter to me.” We like to say that God loves you just the way you are. You come to the Lord just as you are with the good, the bad, and the ugly. However, God loves you far too much to let you stay that way. So, he starts making changes in your life.
Philippians 2:13 says…
For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.
God not only gives us the desire to do the right thing, he gives us the power to do the right thing. God never asks us to do something he doesn’t give us the power to do. I know that many of you have seen such radical transformations in your life that no one else could’ve ever made – no human being, no program, and no therapy could’ve ever possibly done. You’ve seen the changes in your marriage, in your friendships, in how you act at work, and in how you behave in public. When we come to Jesus, he changes us from the start.
2 Corinthians 3:18 says…
We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.
So, this Thanksgiving, maybe we could take some time to be thankful to God. Maybe some of you could use your notes as an outline to share with your family and take some time to pray through these things.
Thank God for his grace.
Thank God for his plan for your life.
Thank God for his home that he’s preparing for you.
And thank God for his transforming power in your life.