Ephesians 1:15-16 Gratefulness

Gratefulness

Ephesians 1: 15, 16

In the English language we have hundreds of poems written by Fanny Crosby. Fanny has written many of the greatest hymns in the English language. To God be the Glory, All the Way my Saviour Leads Me, and Praise Him, Praise Him Jesus our Blessed Redeemer are a couple of the songs which she wrote. She was a brilliant woman who had memorized the first 5 books of the Bible, most of the New Testament, many of the Psalms, Proverbs and the book of Ruth even when she was still a girl. She could compose several songs in her mind at one time. She loved God and was a witness to God’s goodness but do you know that she was blind? When we was 6 weeks old she had a problem with an infection in her eyes and the doctor applied a mustard plaster which burnt her eyes and left her blind for life. Her Grandmother became her eyes and taught her the Bible and explained all the wonderful things God had created.

A Scottish minister once said to her, “I think it is a great pity that the Master, when He showered so many gifts on you, did not give you sight.” Fanny replied, “Do you know that if I had been able to make only one petition to my Creator it would have been that I should remain blind?” “Why?” asked the surprised minister. “Because, when I go to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Saviour.” she answered.

She had learnt the lesson that sometimes God deprives people of some physical faculty in order that the spiritual insight might be more fully awake. When Fanny was a very young child, she learned to be content with what God had done in her life. Are you content with God’s blessings to you and the handicaps and events which some might call tragedies in your life? Can you thank God for everything which has happened to you?

In Ephesians 1:15, 16 Paul writes, “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.”

The verse starts out referring back to the previous idea in verse 13 and 14. The Holy Spirit has indwelt the believers when they believed. This changes the life of people as our verse indicates. They had a deep love for Jesus and all the other believers.

We need to be thankful even when things seem tragic. Abraham Lincoln was a great president of the United States who lost his mom at a very young age. When his sister was married he missed her dearly but within the year news came that she and her new husband were expecting a baby. Abe’s sister Sarah and the baby died before birth. Abe was discouraged but Sarah’s husband Aaron stayed with him a few days. “Remember what the preacher said when Sarah and I were wed?” he asked Abe. “May the time together be blessed and joyous.” “Well it was. We didn’t have much time , but it was blessed and joyous.” Abe agreed. Though grieved over his sister’s death, he was thankful that Sarah’s final years on earth had been a “blessed and joyous” time. I think this reflects a very important and positive attitude.

Abraham Lincoln also helped to teach his step sisters. One of the things he had them do was to write notes of gratitude to each other. Have you every written a Thank You note to others? When is the last time you told someone that you appreciated what they had done for you. Husbands, when is the last time you thanked your wife for cooking a meal, washing clothes or cleaning up the house or yard. Wives are you grateful for your husbands? What do they do that you can thank them for? When there is an attitude of gratefulness in the home everyone is more content and there is fewer disagreements.

What other people can we thank? Have you ever thanked your employer for being able to work for the company? You will have to be careful with this one because we do not want to cause people to have heartattacks. Employers hear so much grumbling and complaining, they may be shocked when they receive a positive, grateful message.

Unfortunately, Canada changed our laws in the mid 1970's. Our laws are now all based on people’s rights. Instead of being grateful people we have become a greedy and selfish nation. We are becoming like the Israelites as they were travelling from Egypt to the promised land. God was providing everything for them but they were not content. They murmured against Moses and God. In Numbers 11 and 12 we see two events which are common in our day today. Numbers 11:1,2 says, “ Now the people complained about the hardships in the hearing of the Lord and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the Lord and the fire died down.” But this was not a clear enough sign for them not to complain. They continued to do this as we read in verse 4 - 6. “The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, ‘If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost - also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna.’” As we skip to the end of chapter 11 we see that God sent them so many quails that they greedily killed more than they could eat. As they began to eat this quail, God sent a plague and the people who craved “other food besides just Manna” were buried there.

The complaining and discontentment did not stop there. In Numbers 12, we see that even Aaron and Miriam - Moses’ brother and sister, began to question his leadership. The three of them entered into God’s presence and Miriam was struck with leprosy. Moses prayed and she was healed. Notice the power of prayer here to heal. This power was given by God and used by the leader of the Israelites.

Let’s not get caught up with the same attitude as the world around us with greed and materialism. Focus on what you have and not what you do not have. Be content with your work and wages. If you are being exploited by your employer cry out to God for justice but do not complain and grumble. Keep a positive spirit. This is something which I have to work at all the time. I can easily become negative and can easily complain just like anyone else. I have to constantly fight these attitudes of selfishness and materialism.

In our Ephesian passage, we read that Paul prayed - giving thanks for the believers in Ephesus. The believers were filled with the Holy Spirit and were changing their attitudes in part I believe because of his prayers. Paul had this positive attitude and mind set. If you remember the message last time I spoke at Point Pelee, I spoke about the need to meditate on God’s word and memorize it. I have been trying to memorize Philippians 4:8 which describes the kind of attitudes and mindset we are to have. “ Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.” I have found in the last couple weeks several times when I was beginning to have negative thoughts, I had to refocus not on the negative but rather on God’s goodness and blessings.

We live in a land of plenty - plenty of fighting, plenty of greed, plenty of violence, plenty of selfishness and plenty of materialism. Are our homes and personal attitudes filled with this kind of plenty or do we have a different kind of plenty. Plenty of praise, plenty of happiness, plenty of joy, plenty of thanksgiving, plenty of harmony. We have a choice to make. What kind of attitudes will we have - that of the world or that of the word.

The word of God says rather, we are to have an attitude of gratefulness, humility, kindness, gentleness and love. What kind of attitudes fill your mind? How do these attitudes control us and our relationships. Are we angry, greedy, or self-righteous, thinking we know better than our leaders, or are we submissive, loving and praying people? If we believe the Bible when it says in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” If God sends us good things, let us take on the challenge of finding that which is good even in bad situations. Let us grow in love not grumbling or complaining but as it says in I Thessalonians 5:16, 17 “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Are we living according to God’s will for our lives or are we living for ourselves.

In summary, let’s remember to have an attitude of thankfulness to God for others who have taught us, helped us to grow spiritually and helped us financially. We can tell them openly or we can send them a card to express our gratitude. In our homes, let us continually try to be grateful to our spouse, parents or children. Thank others when they do something for you, like making a meal or paying the bills, or buying the food. There are so many things you can be thankful for. Do not focus on the negative - when our children are disobedient, or fight or are unkind but let us encourage gratefulness and love by practising it and being good examples. When we have an attitude of praise and thanksgiving we will be joyful and at peace in our hearts. Let us also demonstrate the same love which the Ephesians had for others by helping and working together as families and as the larger family of God. If we can practice this kind of Christianity, we will become people which others give thanks to God for.

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Aug 6, 2000