THE THANKSGIVING SECRET
Philippians 4:11-13
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: SEA OF GALILEE TOURIST BOAT RIDE
1. A frugal lady was taking a tour of biblical sites. When she got to the Sea of Galilee, she saw a boat with a sign advertising, “TAKE A BOAT RIDE TO THE EXACT PLACE WHERE JESUS WALKED ON WATER!!!”
2. Inquiring about it, she learned that the ride out to the spot on the lake was free, so she went.
3. After viewing it, she said to the captain of the boat, “Ok, I’m done, let’s go back now.” He replied, “The ride out is free, but the ride back costs $35!”
4. She replied, “For heaven’s sake! No wonder Jesus got out and walked!!!”
B. THESIS
1. This evening I want to share a secret with you—the secret of Thanksgiving – a secret that can be summed up in one simple word: contentment. Wherever you find contentment, you will find gratitude.
2. Wherever you find discontent, you will always find grumbling, complaining, ingratitude. Thanksgiving and contentment are virtually inseparable.
3. This evening I want to show you how you can be content and thankful even when life is hard, even if you don’t feel very thankful. The secret is found in the Bible in Phil. 4:11-13 and the man who will share this thanksgiving secret is the apostle Paul.
C. TEXT
11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Phip. 4:11-13.
D. BACKGROUND OF THE WRITER
1. Come with me to a house among the winding streets of ancient Rome, where Paul is being held under house arrest. Outside the door stands the Roman soldier, guarding the house, but chances are he would let you in without any trouble for a visit.
2. Inside you can hear a voice speaking and the scratch of a quill busily putting ink to paper. Paul is dictating a letter to the church at Philippi. If you listen early on you will hear brief snatches of his dictation:
Phip 1:3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you”
Phip 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain”
Phip 2:14 Do all things without complaining & disputing”
Phip 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
3. Here is a man who is thankful. He is thankful, no matter if he lives or dies. He has a joy that even trouble or trial cannot shake. He has found the secret of thanksgiving---contentment. How can he be this way? He begins to explain in vs. 11 that you have to LEARN TO BE CONTENT.
I. LEARN TO BE CONTENT (v. 11)
A. ILLUSTRATION: DISCONTENT
1. A monk joined a monastery and took a vow of silence. After the first 10 years of absolutely no speaking at all, his superior called him in and asked, “Do you have anything to say?” The monk replied, “Food bad.”
2. After another 10 years of perfect silence the monk again had opportunity to voice his thoughts. He said, “Bed hard.”
3. Another 10 years went by and again he was called in before his superior. When asked if he had anything to say, he responded, “I quit.”
4. The older monk replied, “That doesn’t surprise me a bit. You’ve done nothing but gripe and complain ever since you got here.”
B. CONTENTMENT IS NOT OUR NORMAL STATE
1. Have you noticed how easy it is to be discontent? It almost seems natural to grumble. Stand around the coffee maker at work and hear people disparage how the company is run.
2. Students complain about their teachers, their coaches, the parking situation, you name it. Human nature gravitates toward griping.
3. But Paul says I have learned to be content. Contentment didn’t come natural to Paul; he had to learn the secret of thanksgiving—he had to learn to be content. He had once been on top of the world as a Roman citizen and Jewish Rabbi and Pharisee. He was probably well-educated and fairly well off financially.
4. But when he met Jesus on the Damascus road, his life changed forever. He exchanged prestige and power for persecution and death threats. It took listening to God and getting God’s perspective for Paul to learn to be content. Contentment is learned behavior. You have to learn to be content if you want to truly live a life of thanksgiving.
C. WHY SOME DON’T LEARN CONTENTMENT
How many of us want to learn to be content? Not everybody.
1. You might like being discontent. You might be one of those people who are never happy unless they’re miserable.
2. You might be too lazy to learn to be content. It’s much easier to just do what comes natural, or you could be resistant to change.
3. On the other hand, maybe you are ready for a change. Maybe you’re ready to learn to be content, learn to be thankful, even when things don’t go your way.
D. IT CAN BE DONE
Perhaps you really do want to give up your habit of being so negative, so discontent, so ungrateful. Paul says you can learn how, if you really want to.
1. The dental hygienist was giving her pep talk about frequent brushing and flossing—habits her patient had some difficulty doing consistently.
2. Finally the patient couldn’t resist saying, "An old dog can’t learn new tricks." She quickly replied "He can if he wants to keep his teeth.”
II. LEARN TO BE CONTENT NO MATTER WHAT’S PUT ON YOUR PLATE (v. 12)
A. CONTENT: EASY WHEN EVERYTHING GOOD
1. A little girl stayed for dinner at the home of her first-grade friend. The vegetable was buttered broccoli, and the mother asked if she liked it. The child replied very politely, "Oh, yes, I love it."
2. But when the bowl of broccoli was passed she declined to take any. The hostess said, "I thought you said you loved broccoli." The girl replied sweetly, "Oh, yes, ma’am, I do, but not enough to eat it!" Aren’t we the same way?
B. TYPES OF RAW DEALS
1. God sometimes puts some broccoli on our plates. Maybe He’s spooned you out a helping of sickness.
2. Or you might be staring at a big dish of loneliness. Your plate could get piled up with a lot of unpleasant entrees that you’d really rather not have, but they don’t disappear.
3. CAN’T GET RID OF THEM. There’s no dog under the table to get rid of it. You have to clean your plate. It’s not a question of whether or not you will take what you get; the real question is how will you take what you get?
C. THE SECRET OF CONTENTMENT
1. Paul explains that if you want to discover the secret of thanksgiving, you have to learn to be content with whatever is put on your plate. How do you do that?
2. Paul says it all comes down to this choice: I will not allow my circumstances to affect my internal attitude.
3. COMPARISON TO OTHERS MUST GO. “We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise” 2 Cor. 10:12.
4. HIGH EXPECTATIONS MUST GO. Paul told Timothy, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” 1 Tim. 6:6-8.
When Jesus sent out His apostles, they went out in dependence on God; “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town” Mk. 6:8-10.
5. TRUSTING GOD KNOWS BEST & TREATS ALL EQUALLY
a. Job put himself in the hands of God, “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised" (1:21).
b. Paul too faced many bad events that might have contradicted his belief that God was taking care of him, yet he didn’t let them injure his faith.
c. 2 Corinthians 11:24-27 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
d. “for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Phip. 4:11-13.
6. It should be so easy for us to be thankful sitting around a table full of turkey and dressing, living in a warm house, having clothes and shoes and plenty of all we need. And yet many of us can count all of those blessings, and still not be content, still not truly be thankful.
7. You can let your outward circumstances dictate whether or not you are grateful, Or you can do what Paul did: you can choose to be happy inside no matter what happens on the outside. You can choose to be content and thankful for with whatever God puts on your plate.
D. ILLUSTRATION OF LEARNING THIS
1. I recently read the story of a young man who went on a short term missions trip to a leper colony on the island of Tobago, off the South American coastline. On that trip he saw up-close how leprosy destroyed the bodies and lives of the people.
2. On his final day, he led the music during the worship service and asked if anyone had a favorite song they wanted to sing. When he did, a woman raised her hand and he saw the most disfigured face he’d ever seen. She had no ears and no nose. Her lips were gone. Yet she raised a fingerless hand and asked, “Could we sing ‘Count Your Many Blessings’?”
3. The missionary started the song but he couldn’t finish. Later somebody commented, “I suppose you’ll never be able to sing the song again.” He answered, “Oh yes---but I’ll never sing it the same way.”
4. This lady taught that young man the secret of thanksgiving that day—to be content with whatever God puts on your plate.
III. LEARN TO BE CONTENT NO MATTER WHAT BECAUSE CHRIST IS ENOUGH
A. THE KEY TO PAUL’S SUCCESS
1. “When you have nothing left but God, then you become aware that God is enough”- Agnes Maude Royden.
2. The key to Paul’s success is found in the phrase “I can do all things…” Some see this as a Superman verse, promising them they can leap tall buildings in a single bound. Paul isn’t promising superpowers. What He’s saying is if Jesus Christ is Lord of your life, you have everything you need to be content, and every reason in the world to be thankful. When you have Jesus, you have all you need.
B. ILLUS. – JESUS IS ENOUGH
1. Tim Vanderveen was tall, broad shouldered, curly haired young adult with a great smile and handsome. After graduating from college, he took a good job and scurried up the ladder of success. One afternoon, Tim called his friend and former professor, Dr. Brown.
2. Professor Brown said, “Hey, Tim, how you doing?” A weak, trembling voice said, “I’m not doing so good. I’m in the hospital and I’ve got the flu or something. My folks are out of the country.” Professor Brown said, “I’ll stop by and see you, next week.” Tim said, “I’d like that a lot.”
3. By the time Professor Brown visited Tim, the doctors had already been there and it wasn’t the flu, it was leukemia. Three years later. Professor Brown walked into Tim’s room again. His mother was sitting in the corner crying. Tim’s legs looked like toothpicks, his hair had fallen out, and he didn’t have enough energy to look up, so the professor got down on one knee. “Hi, Tim.” Tim said, “Hi, Professor.”
4. Professor Brown didn’t know what to say. Tim broke the silence, “I’ve learned something.”
The Professor knew a personabout to die wouldn’t trifle with the words, so the professor said, “Tell me, Tim, what have you learned?”
5. Tim said, “I’ve learned that life is not like a VCR.”
The professor said, “I don’t get it. What do you mean?” Tim said, “It’s not like a VCR; you can’t fast forward through the bad parts.” Long pause. Then Tim interrupts the silence again to say, “But I have learned that Jesus Christ is in every frame, and right now that’s just enough.”
CONCLUSION
A. JESUS IS ENOUGH
1. Jesus is enough. If you know Jesus, you have a God who hears you and all of heaven ahead of you. If you have Jesus, you have grace for every sin, direction for every turn, and an anchor for every storm. You have everything you need to learn to be content, whatever is put on your plate.
2. Do you have Jesus today? Maybe the reason you don’t feel thankful is because you’re not sure. Maybe you feel far away from Him this evening, and you know you need to come back home. Come and discover that when you have Jesus, you have enough!
B. ALTAR CALL
1. Salvation invitation.
2. Prayer for those in need.
[This is a rewrite of T. Michael Crews’ message of the same title.]
