Let love of the brethren continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you," so that we confidently say,

"The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me?"

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever. Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were thus occupied were not benefited. We have an altar, from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Hence, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come. Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. (Hebrews 13:5-15 - NAS)

A certain man was driving in the country when he had a flat tire. He thought, "Great! This is just what I wanted!" But there was nothing to do but get out, change the tire and drive on. However, when he opened the trunk, he discovered that his jack was broken. "Oh, this is just spiffy! This is just what I ordered!" He began to think of all the problems that flat tire had created. Though he had been perfectly happy until that moment, he quickly became disgruntled, irritated and angry. He thought himself into a dismal mood and frame of mind.

The proverb says, "For as he thinks within himself, so he is." (Proverbs 23:7) Just like our friend with the flat tire, we can think ourselves worried, angry, sad, lonely, depressed. Fortunately we can also think our selves happy, expectant, peaceful and thankful. That's what we need to do, isn't it? Think ourselves thankful. Here's how to do that:

1. Think About Contentment (v. 5)

That's what Paul did in prison. "Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am." (Philippians 4:11). He learned contentment.  He wasn't just born naturally contented. He thought contentment.

Contentment:

	Can be learned. We learn it when we quit counting complaints and count blessings instead.
	Means being satisfied with what we have, not bemoaning what we don't have.
	Is a sense of serenity not based on external possessions, treatment, or circumstances.
	Is essential to gratitude: discontent people whine and find fault; content people are okay with their lot.

Consider Israel in the wilderness during the exodus from Egypt:

	Numbers 11:4-6: "And the rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, 'Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna.'"
	Numbers 14:2-3: "And all the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, 'Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! And why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?'"
	Exodus 17:1-3: "Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, 'Give us water that we may drink.' And Moses said to them, 'Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?' But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, 'Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?'"

I wrote a song for them:

Come, Ye Thankless People Come!
Raise the Sound of Griping Home!
We aren't safely gathered in and the Howling Storms begin.
God, our Maker, won't provide for our wants to be supplied;
Come to God and grumble, come, raise the Sound of Griping Home!

Maltie Babcock said, "Be on the lookout for mercies. The more we look for them, the more of them will we see. Blessings brighten when we count them. Out of the determination of the heart the eyes see. If you want to be gloomy, there's gloom enough to keep you glum; if you want to be glad, there's gleam enough to keep you glad. Better lose count in enumerating your blessings than lose your blessings in telling over your troubles. Be thankful to Him, and bless His Name."

	Luck, fortune or chance?
	Self effort, self achievement? "I did this! I got this!" Paul spoke to discourage that kind of thinking: "For who regards you as superior? And what do you have that you did not receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" (1 Corinthians 4:7)
	The horoscope, the Psychic Hotline, the Ouija board or Tarot cards?

Think again! The Bible makes it clear:

	James 1:17: "Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow."
	Job 1:21: "And he said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.'"
	Paul shows that ingratitude is part of why man excludes God! "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened." (Romans 1:21)

Note the "Shove God aside, take His place" attitude. If we consider that He didn't bless us, why would we thank Him? If we don't take God into account as the Giver, why would we glorify Him? God has blessed us! Let us be sure to thank Him profusely! He has blessed us in the past, is blessing us in the present, and will bless us in the future. He has blesses us in every aspect of life: physically, mentally, socially, emotionally, and spiritually.

A young doctor with a kind heart vowed to help the less fortunate by providing medical attention at a low cost or even free. One patient, a young mother, didn't seem to be responding to his treatment so he visited her home and discovered that she didn't have enough money to fill his prescription. He took out some money, gave it to her and told her to get the medicine. In a week he checked back and the daughter answered the door. She said, "You won't have to see my mommy today. She's well now. She took the money you gave her and got a real doctor." He felt the ingratitude the Great Physician must feel all the time.

The man walked back toward the farmhouse. As he walked he began reasoning thus within himself: "I"m a stranger here. Nobody will want to loan me a jack. Maybe I ought to offer a $5 deposit. Well, $5 would hardly cover a jack; he"ll likely want $10 or $20. To be realistic, he probably won"t even want to loan me a jack. Maybe I"ll have to offer to buy it. How much does a jack cost, anyhow? I"d bet around $40." He kept muttering to himself as he walked along. Then he said, "Boy, it"s getting late. Farmers go to bed with the chickens. He"ll be mad because I woke him up and he"ll probably want $50 for the jack." Pessimistically, he thought himself into a dither. When the man got to the farmhouse, it was late. There were no lights on in the house. They'd obviously all gone to bed. But by this time he had worked himself up so much that he picked up a handful of gravel and tossed it at what he thought was a bedroom window. When it opened, he hollered, "Why, $100 for a jack is highway robbery. You can just keep the stupid thing!" You see how thinking produced anger. He thought thoughts that led to discontentment. When he got to the window he had developed anything but a grateful attitude. And then he expressed that frustration to a much bewildered farmer. There is a better way. For thinking that produces thanking, let us:

3. Think About Expressing Thanks (v. 15)

We express many things, almost mechanically and automatically:

	We express love and affection to our children and other family members.
	We express anger when someone cuts us off and we shout, "You're driving like an idiot!".

	We express frustration when things don't go the way we want them to.
	We express opinions on everything from politics to sports.
	We express compliments: "That was a super song!" or "You look really nice!"

God help us to think to express our thanks! We may or may not "feel" grateful. Feeling isn't what He asks.

	We are told to be "always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;" (Ephesians 5:20)
	Paul tells us, "in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Many times we are like the little girl whose Uncle Jack was visiting. He brought her a special gift and she ran to show it to her mother. Mother asked, "Did you tell him 'Thank you?'" The little girl said, "Oh, Mommy, I was so excited, I just didn't think about telling him."

Some people just don't think to express thanks!

In Luke's gospel we read of Jesus healing ten lepers and only one of them thought to come back and give Him thanks. The nine just didn't think to express their thanks!

Once an old farmer was invited to a rich relative's place for dinner. He quietly bowed his head and expressed his thanks for the meal. His relative said, "That's old fashioned. Nowadays cultured people don't pray before they eat." The farmer said, "Well, there are some at the farm who don't give thanks before they eat." The relative asked, "Are they your sons?" The farmer said, "Nope! They're my pigs."  The rich man (and the pigs) just didn't think to express thanks!

What did that farmer do when the man with the broken jack yelled at him? He told the man to wait a minute, dressed, found out what was wrong and then took him back to fix the flat.

That's how it is with God, too.  We sometimes express everything but gratitude, and He goes on blessing in spite of it!  We are grouchy, and He is generous! We are malcontent and He is benevolent! Let's learn to think thoughts that produce thanks. It is God's will that we be thankful. It is appropriate to be thankful. It puts life in a positive perspective when we are thankful. God wants our Thanksgiving, but even more than that, He wants our thanksliving. The Psalm says, "Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with Thanksgiving, And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, And His faithfulness to all generations." Note this: "Serve the Lord with gladness;" We can thank Him in song, in praises, in prayer. But in service, gladly rendered, is one of the greatest expressions of thanks we can ever give. You can purpose and determine today to commit yourself to serve Him. You can choose today to live for Jesus a life that is true, faithful, productive, and grateful. Think about that -- and then let that thinking produce thanking which shows itself in glad service, living for Jesus.

Copyright (c) 2000, The Preacher's Study. Permission is granted to subscribers to use this document in total or in sermon preparation in the context of the local congregation only. Publishing it in a book, on the Internet, or anyplace beyond the local congregation is prohibited.

All Scripture quotations and references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise stated.

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