Celebration Sunday

This morning we are celebrating. We're celebrating a big year. We're going to look at, as well, in view of that, an understanding of what it means to be thankful to God. What it means to be thankful to God in prayer, how to give thanks to God. And we're going to see that this morning by looking at the example of Jesus and how he prayed.

We're going to, I guess, if you can put it this way, get an understanding of Jesus' theology when he spoke to God the Father. Let's turn to Luke 10, and we're going to read from verse 17. Luke chapter 10, verse 17. The 72 disciples that Jesus has sent out into the mission field, the 72 disciples returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. And he said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. In that same hour, Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.

Then turning to the disciples, he said privately, Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. So far, our reading. When we look closely at the examples of Jesus' recorded prayers, and they're a fascinating snapshot, they cover such a broad range of circumstances and scenarios.

We see Jesus praying and often giving thanks in that moment. We've just read about that one occasion where Jesus gives thanks to God the Father. But we have another instance in John 11, verse 41, where Jesus says, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. On other occasions, we find Jesus giving thanks for meals. Thank you, Lord, for this food that has been provided. When Jesus fed the 5,000, remember he gave thanks to God, and the five loaves and the two fishes multiplied.

The night before His death in the upper room, Jesus gave thanks for the wine, the Passover wine, and the meal that they were sharing. The prayers in some of these texts aren't massively laid out for us. Some of them are recorded with just a few lines, except for, I guess, you would say John 17, that great high priestly prayer we dealt with a few weeks ago where Jesus prays so wonderfully, but it's written there for our benefit. But one thing we do notice is when Jesus prayed, His prayers are marked with praise. They're marked with thanksgiving.

And so if we were to have a look and just reflect on Luke 10 this morning, there's three things I think we see in the understanding of Jesus and how he prayed that is relevant, I think, for us. The first thing we see, and these things are I should get a degree in stating the obvious, but these things are obvious. So the first thing is that Jesus knew the origin. He remembered the origin. There's an old Chinese proverb that says, when you drink from the stream, remember the spring.

In other words, remember where all of it came from. It's almost an equation that you can state. The more we remember, the more thankful we become. Remembering and thankfulness go hand in hand. Remembering and thankfulness go hand in hand.

The Jews in the Old Testament were often told to remember. Did you ever notice that? They're told to remember. Remember what God has done in the past for them, but also for their forefathers. In the tradition of the Passover, remember that it's instructed of them that one of the children must ask and it's done to this day still with Orthodox Jews.

One of the children must ask the dad, why do we celebrate the Passover? And then dad, as head of the house, spiritual head of the house, will tell the story of the escape from Egypt. They are to remember what God has done for their people. In Luke 10, we find Jesus praying and giving thanks, and what does he say? He begins with saying, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth.

Verse 21. Now those words, Lord of heaven and earth, are not just throwaway words. They're not just a title that perhaps we can absentmindedly say from time to time. They are statements of theological truth. Jesus is remembering the One who has done this very thing that he is thankful for.

In other words, as Lord of heaven and earth, Jesus is saying, Father, You are the creator. You are the creator of this world, and because You are the creator, You are also its master. You are master, therefore, of everything, and therefore, You've obviously had a hand in this situation. And so I thank you for what You have done. You can see the logic behind it, right?

Jesus knew the origin of this blessing. The book of James, the brother of Jesus, he writes, and he writes it very bluntly. He always does. He says, every good and perfect gift is from above, coming from the Father of lights.

Every good gift. It's not just sometimes it's hit and miss. Sometimes this is from God. Sometimes it's just fortune or luck or whatever. Every good thing in your life is from God.

I wanna ask you this morning, do you believe this? That God is the origin of all good things. How often do we really believe that? How often do we live thinking that? I think we often forget how we got where we are, and we rob God of the glory.

So often we put it down to hard work, don't we? So often we say it's discipline, or focus, or good networking. Sometimes we even go so far as dishonoring God by saying it was good luck. But if God is the giver of every good gift, as James 1:17 says, then He deserves to be acknowledged. He deserves to be remembered, and He therefore deserves the thanks.

That's not to say that work, hard work even, isn't important. It's not to say that a good education and good networking isn't somehow involved in the process, but to think that these things were the reason you got those blessings is to be very shortsighted. It is to see a very immediate cause and effect. Some story goes like this, that there was a man, he was a prickly old guy, and he grumbled one day, I don't have to thank anyone for anything that I have. Everything I have, I got the hard way through my blood, sweat, and tears.

And his neighbour smugly pointed out, but who gave you the sweat? Thanksgiving begins by aligning your heart and your mind to remember that there is a giver behind the good things. This is the first thing we see, is to remember the origin. The second thing we see is that we have to remember the reason. Another important aspect of thanksgiving is to remember the reason for why you are giving thanks.

After saying, I praise you, Father. I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, Jesus says the next logical thing, that. Or the NIV says it, because. There's always a reason for the giving of thanks. Like I said, it's always a response.

In this instance, the reason was because 72 disciples had just returned from an incredible mission trip. Incredible. There was people being healed. There was demons being driven out. There was the kingdom of God was being declared and received in their preaching.

And Jesus recognises that this is a chapter in the story of salvation of mankind that is happening. A chapter showing that God is working to fulfil His purposes. Why? Well, he identifies that, and it's an allusion back to the past. If we jump back seven hundred years to the time of the prophet Isaiah, at the lowest point in the history of Israel, God, through the prophet Isaiah, says this in Isaiah 29.

Isaiah 29:13-14, if you need it in your Bibles. And the Lord said, because this people, Israel, draw near with their mouth and honour me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men. Therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, and wonder upon wonder. And the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden. There's just a maybe a quick caveat here that the wonderful things that the Lord is doing, we think in positive terms.

But what the word really is referring to is things that will make you perplexed. Things that will probably make you marvel in horror at what God is about to do. And at the time of Isaiah, we know that many prophets and their priests, the wise men, the discerning ones, the so-called leaders of Israel were saying everything is fine. Peace. Peace where there is no peace.

And they were reluctant, it says, in Isaiah 21, the people reluctantly obedient to worship God, but their worship was empty. And so God would humble them. And He promises that with the sending of the Assyrian army, as you see if you read on, He destroys the pride. He destroys the so-called wisdom of the people there. But this is also a prophecy of the time when Jesus arrives, and that is referred to many times throughout the New Testament as well.

In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul speaks about people who reject the message of the cross as foolishness. Remember that? As folly. And they see themselves, Paul says, as wise and intelligent, and the idea of a saviour who dies on a cross is absolute silliness. But Paul says the message of the cross humbles the wise and frustrates the intelligent.

And here we find Jesus thanking God for this reason. The promise that the wise people, in this case, the Pharisees, the teachers of the law, the educated elite of the time, they ignore the kingdom of God message, and yet these humble fishermen, these tax collectors, these seemingly blue-collared disciples, they return to Jesus and say, Lord, even the demons submit in your name. And Jesus says to them then in verse 23, do you know how blessed you are to have seen these things? The prophets and the kings of old would have given their left arms to see what you see, to hear what you hear, you are seeing the kingdom of God arriving in power. Friends, there is always a reason for us to give praise, and it's always in response to God's grace.

This was a grace moment. His disciples had done nothing to deserve that honour. It was grace that allowed these humble men to be chosen by Christ to preach the kingdom, to see it arriving in power. So when we see a blessing, and when we give thanks, remember that thanksgiving doesn't happen in a vacuum. There is a logic behind it.

Like Newton's third law, for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction. For every moment of thanksgiving, there's an equal and corresponding word of blessing. Does that make sense? I think in our lives, we can become so much more joy filled if we get that right. If we really reflect deeply on our thanks, think about how often we can also give empty thanks.

Now, who of us here doesn't or hasn't fallen into the trap of saying, thank you, Lord, for this food. Very thankful for it. Amen. Despair the food. Why are we thankful?

If we can really reflect on why we are thankful for that, it does more than just being an empty worded sort of little phrase. How powerful and joy-inducing it can be to remember, thank you, Lord, for the food because I have asked for my daily bread, and You have given it. Thank you, Lord, for this food, because through it, I can make sure my family is healthy. Can you see how joy can come from thinking just another level deeper in the why of giving thanks. In remembering the reason, there's a blessing in it, which leads us to the third and the final point, and that is to remember the attitude.

Thanksgiving, at its best, is liberating. It is absolutely liberating. It is truly the one thing that can lift you up out of every situation, out of every circumstance, every depression, every anxiety. To remember something that you are thankful for is such a powerful way to correct a wavering heart. Thanksgiving rises from the depths of the soul, and it rises through its way to get to the mouth, to exit from the mouth.

It rises, and it touches every part of us on its way up. Have you ever had the feeling of pure joy in giving thanks? It just swells up. It sort of expands, and there's no other way to deal with it unless you wanna explode by thanking God for it. This is so amazing, Lord, what's happening.

It feels like you're gonna burst if you don't give thanks. Have you ever had that experience? Notice how Jesus' thanksgiving starts. Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit. Verse 21, the ESV says, in that same hour, he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit.

NIV says, through the joy in the Holy Spirit, and then he prays. This gives us an indication that this joy is supernatural. It's not simply something that can be explained by the natural, nor is it simply something attained by everyone. That's why I believe Christians should know joy best. Christians will enjoy the best of joy.

Christians experience it at its most intense and intoxicating. Why? Because the Spirit enables it. The Spirit brings it. He reminds us of it.

And the reason the Holy Spirit is associated with joy is because He's been given to Christians to remind us of the great things that have been promised to us. Remember in John 14, the night before Jesus goes to the cross, He says to His disciples, the Holy Spirit is gonna come. I'm going to send the comforter or the advocate, He says, the counsellor. The advocate, He says in verse 26 of chapter 14, the counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I've said. Remember, reminding, that is what the Holy Spirit does.

That induces thanksgiving and joy. What does the Holy Spirit then do? He reminds us of the truths of the gospel. Every encouraging, every strengthening, every word of scripture is made alive in our hearts through the reminding power and influence of the Holy Spirit. So when you remember a verse, thank the Holy Spirit.

He's the one that's done it. When you remember a sermon, thank the Holy Spirit. He's speaking to us. When you remember a great theological truth that gives light, that gives comfort to the despair that you're going through, that is God, through His Spirit, speaking to you. And no matter our situation, He lifts us up, and He gives us a bird's eye view of our situation, and we see, oh, that makes sense.

Why am I so anxious? Why am I so lost? I am loved by God. I am saved by His Son. And we will say, ultimately, I am blessed.

That's why I believe the core emotion, the number one emotion for the Christian is joy. Romans 14:17 says it this way, the kingdom of God, Paul writes, is not a matter of eating and drinking. The kingdom of God is one of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. In other words, if you thought God's kingdom, that home you've always been searching for, that peace you've always been longing for, if you think they're all summed up in the practicalities of life, you experience the kingdom of God in the eating and the drinking, in the work and the holidays, in the relationships and the marriages, if you think your hope and your joy is found in that, you are missing it. That is not where God's kingdom is found.

The kingdom of God is about righteousness. What does that mean? A right relationship with God. The kingdom of God is about peace. The kingdom of God is experienced in joy.

So this morning, I wanna tell you that we need to not simply give thanks because we are obligated to acknowledge God, the giver of the gift. We give thanks because we experience the kingdom of God through thanksgiving. This, in turn, produces joy and peace to overwhelmed hearts, to hearts that have lost their sense of compass and direction. If we're honest, we'd realise the times when we haven't experienced joy are the times I've failed to remember. Friends, even in our darkest moments, even when there feels there's no blessing that you can identify, that's good about this situation, that's good about my life, I wanna tell you there is always something to be thankful for, because ultimately, we have received the greatest gift, a saviour whose name is Jesus.

To know Jesus today, and yet feel like saying I can't sense any joy in my life, I wanna tell you, you have failed to remember. If I have no joy today, and yet I say I've received Christ as my Lord, then I have forgotten the origin of my freedom. I have forgotten what I have in God, the God who is gracious. If I have no joy this morning, I fail to remember that there is a saviour who loves me, who laid down His life for me. And if we can bring our hearts and our minds to remember that these things are true, the greatest joy for all existence being communion with God, then friend, don't be surprised if you remember that.

When you remember that, that joy comes following along. The kingdom of God is about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. And so what do we do? We remember the origin of every good thing in our lives as having come from God. Then we remember the reason why God has given it to us, and then we remember the attitude that will result because of these blessings.

May our lives become all the more rich, all the more happy, because we had a thanksgiving habit in our lives. May joy become, for us, the unshakeable characteristic of our lives. Let's pray. Father, we are so thankful for Your love for us. No matter what is happening at this very moment, no matter the doubts and the fears and the anxieties about tomorrow or next week, no matter the sense of loneliness, no matter the sense of insecurity and feeling of fragility, Lord, we have every reason to be thankful this morning, and that is because we have a saviour whose name is Jesus and who invites us once again to simply put our trust in Him again.

And like that Philippian jailer, to be saved. So, Father, for those who have forgotten, please remind them. For those who have never known, who are sitting here perhaps for the first time realising that they've never experienced this joy, the joy of salvation. Father, let this be today, the day of salvation for them. Father, receive and forgive their sin as they lay it before You, as they acknowledge their rebellion, taking things into their own hands, shaking their fist and believing that they are the authority for their own lives.

And Father, let them acknowledge this sin and lay it down at the cross where it is died for by Christ on our behalf. And, Father, then also let us take up the life, the righteousness, the healed relationship with God our Father, and receive forgiveness and eternal life. Father, may that be a truth. May that be something for them today. And then, Father, for those of us perhaps somewhere in between, help us to see, help us to be shown by Your Spirit the things that we should be thankful for, the things that we are thankful for.

And Father, then help us to give You the thanks, and the glory, and the praise, because You deserve it. Every good thing. Oh, Lord, give us a sense of Your joy this morning. Give us a sense of just Your greatness, Your power, Your love for me, for us, and for this church. In Jesus' name. Amen.