Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis - Gratitude: The Essence of Christianity

Episode Date: November 24, 2021

In this episode on thankfulness. Jonny Ardavanis details how thankfulness is an antidote for anxiety, a prescription for purity and God’s will for your life.Watch VideosVisit the Website Follow on InstagramFollow on Twitter

Hey guys, my name is Johnny Artavanis and this is Dial In. In this episode, we're going to be talking about thankfulness and gratitude. Let's dial in. 1 Thessalonians 5 verses 16 through 18 read, Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. This is God's will, the passage says, meaning that God's will, listen here, for your life does not need to be found. It needs to be obeyed. And God's will for your life is that you would rejoice

always, that you would pray without ceasing, and that you would give thanks in all circumstances. This is Christianity 101. R.C. Sproul says that the essence of theology is grace and the essence of Christian ethics is gratitude. And in this passage, thankfulness is described as an imperative command given to believers because it is so foreign and non-instinctive to the natural mind. This is why we have to teach toddlers to say thank you because all that the natural mind knows is mine, give me, and I want. The human instinct is thanklessness, not thankfulness. We ask so much and we pray so little and we are so ready to grumble but so slow to express gratitude. This idea of ingratitude, the Bible recognizes as one of the distinguishing marks of an unbeliever.

In Romans 1, it says, For since the creation of the world, in verse 20, his invisible attributes, this is God, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks. These unbelievers, they don't give thanks to God. They only mention his name in vain. And when they complain, they don't recognize and submit to the source and fountain of every blessing. In 2 Timothy 3, we're going to see the same idea describing the fallen man.

It says in 2 Timothy 3, but realize this, that in the last days, difficult times will come for men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, prideful, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips without self-control, brutal haters of good, et cetera, et cetera. Right in the middle of this list of haters of good, brutal gossips without self-control. There's no restraint unholy. There is this word ungrateful. They don't know the giver of all good things and they don't express gratitude to him because they are blind. The unsaved person goes through life disappointed, bitter, complaining, jealous, coveting, chippy, edgy, and ungrateful. They might even have the appearance of gratitude, but it is never directed towards the giver.

For believers, even though thankfulness is the logical response of the redeemed, the command scripture gives serves to indicate that there is always a gravitational pull as long as we are in the flesh towards ingratitude. And if we survey the scripture, we see that there is this constant distinguishing mark of an unbeliever that they are ungrateful. But on the contrary, if we survey the scripture, there is a defining characteristic of those who have been saved. And that characteristic is that they are grateful, regardless of the circumstances. Gratitude, as I said, is Christianity 101. I want to recite some

familiar verses to you, but I want you to notice the emphasis. Colossians 2 verses 6 says, therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, this is becoming a believer, it says, so walk in him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed and overflowing with gratitude. He says, as you've received Christ, now you walk and live in a grateful way. Colossians 3, verse 16 says, let the word of Christ richly dwell within you with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Watch this, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or

deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, comma, giving thanks through him to God the Father. How do we measure the depth and degree of the transformation that has taken place in us, the Bible asks? Well, the answer is simple. Gratitude. Godly people are grateful people. And the defining characteristic of those who have been transformed by God is that they have a transformed perspective, and therefore they are incessantly grateful. The early church made expressing gratitude an absolute priority of every gathering, and believers today should do the same. In fact, this is why God extends his grace to unworthy sinners in the first place. Yes, it's for his glory, but it is to

produce a people of thanksgiving. In 2 Corinthians 4 verse 15, it says, for all things are for your sakes that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause. Now notice this. It's saying the grace that is spreading all over the world may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. God is glorified by a people who have been ransomed and redeemed that thank him. This is not just a response or attitude believers have, but it is also a weapon that believers have and that they possess in the battle against temptation and fear. In Ephesians 5, Paul is encouraging believers, and he's telling them how to live in light of the gospel. In Ephesians 5.1, it says, be imitators of Jesus Christ. Now, one of the first ways that Paul constantly distinguishes

a believer from an unbeliever is how they approach sexual purity. So in Ephesians 5.3, it says, but immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you as is proper among saints. And there must be no filthiness, no silly talk or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather give thanks. For this you know with certainty that no immoral person or impure person or covetous man who is an idolater has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. He's saying, don't be immoral. Don't sleep around. Don't talk filthy. Don't joke crudely. But in the middle of that, he says, but rather give thanks. And then he's going to say later on in the chapter, don't get drunk with wine, but verse 20, but always give thanks. And then he's going to say later on in the chapter, don't get drunk with

wine, but verse 20, but always give thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. All immorality is rooted in pride. And therefore Thanksgiving serves as this great contrast because only those who have been humbled by and before God are truly thankful. And when God is viewed in our own minds as the giver of all good gifts, and we are constantly thanking him for those things, we can look at the temptations in our life and consider, would I be able to thank God for the fleeting image I am tempted to look at? Or the relationship that causes me to stumble? If it's not something that I can thank God for,

it's not something that I can thank God for, it's not something that I will participate in because the climate and the habits of my heart are always grateful. A radar goes off in my mind and a determination arises in my heart through God's spirit to flee the things that I would not be able to thank God for. But it's not only a prescription for purity

as we just read, it's also thankfulness that is an antidote to our anxiety. Question for you, do you want a mind that is guarded? Do you want a mind that's like a fortified castle? Do you want a mind that is protected? Well, listen to the words of Paul in Philippians 4. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice.

Let your gentle spirit be made known to all men because the Lord is near. Verse 6, be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God which which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. He's saying, don't be anxious here. Not just as a command to stop it, cut it out. He's saying, no, take whatever you're anxious about

and take it to God in prayer and begin to recite and recount to him all the things that you are grateful for. And then regardless of your situation, you can have peace, a peace that surpasses all understanding. But not all circumstances are conducive to praise, are they? No, it would actually be a tragedy to proclaim

everything is fine and dandy once you become a Christian because that's not true. Thorns remain and abound in the Christian life. And our life is not always conducive, naturally speaking, to gratitude. Our lives are often full of loneliness and tragedy and trial and sorrow and sickness and cancer and crisis. A pagan can be thankful in times of blessing. But the distinction of a child of God is being thankful even when there's a negative diagnosis or even when the balance sheet reads red. Pagans can be thankful when they have full hearts, full homes, and full bank accounts.

But only a believer can have a reason to rejoice and be grateful when they have broken hearts, an empty chair at the dining room table, and an empty bank account. Now, what are those reasons that a Christian has that the unbelieving world does not? What are the reasons they have to rejoice regardless of the circumstance? The believer can give thanks always because certain things are always true. God saw you before the foundation of the world. He chose you. He loves you with an everlasting love. And this resolve to rejoice

as a result of the relationship we have with our Redeemer is what grounds our gratitude. God did not just buy us with his blood. He extends to us his adopting fatherly arms. And so this event in the past has implications for the ways that we approach the difficulties in the present. Our lives can also be grounded in gratitude because we trust in the providence of God. Now, what is the providence of God? The Heidelberg Catechism asks this very question in number 27.

And the answer, it says, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty, all things in fact come to us not by chance but by his fatherly hand. God's providence means that he is in absolute control and the believer can rejoice in all circumstances and be grateful in all circumstances because we believe God overrules and superintends everything in our lives for his glory and for our good. This is the essence of Romans 8, 28. But what's so great about this good that he is working all things towards? Well, this is it. The good that he is working all things towards

is a plan to separate and sanctify his children into his image. We can trust and thank God even when the things in our life are not in the category of good because we know that it will ultimately be for our good and our good is our own Christ likeness. Now, as we close, what are some of the hindrances that prevent us from living a life of gratitude?

Well, two main ideas. Number one, doubt. It is difficult to rejoice and thank God for something that you doubt you possess. One of the main reasons the believer has to rejoice and be grateful is that God has removed their sin as far as the east is from the west. And so if we doubt that this is a reality that has occurred in our life, we will have difficulty expressing that thankfulness to God. Not only a doubt about our own forgiveness, but a doubt regarding God's character. Psalm 30 and Psalm 97 detail that God is holy

and we are to give thanks to his holy name. In Psalm 107 verse one, it says, give thanks to the Lord for he is good. But if we doubt God's goodness, it'll be difficult to express that gratitude to him that he is good. A doubt of our own assurance, a doubt of God's character, and a doubt of his providence and sovereignty. If we don't trust that God is in absolute control, it'll always be difficult for us to express gratitude when times are difficult. So number one, doubt. And secondly, distraction. We will have a difficult time

expressing gratitude to God when we are living thoughtless lives. We will not be compelled to gratitude when we distract and deviate our minds from deep contemplation on who God is. You have to think in order to be thankful. Our lives are ever-moving, overscheduled, and busyness mutes beauty and distracts our minds and numbs our hearts from rejoicing in who God is and what he has done and all the reasons that we have to be thankful. And when we fail to consider and contemplate God's goodness, we will cease to be thankful.

And instead, we will become cynical and overly critical, which is incongruous with the life of a Christian. Oh, Christian, not just this holiday season, but every day moving forward. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Stay dialed in.