Thankfulness for Friends
Sermon by CH(CPT) Keith J. Andrews
All scripture marked ESV: The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
Philemon 4 reads;
4 I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, (Phm 4)
In the Army we know too well what friendship truly means.
It is said that when all is said and done, we at the Soldier level don’t fight for any political cause we fight for our buddies to the left and the right.
So when we think of our friends, when we pray for them do we thank God for them?
We see in this passage that Paul is writing to his friend Philemon.
Philemon was an owner of a slave named Onesimus. He is referenced beginning in verse 10. Philemon and Onesimus became believers of Christ under Paul’s preaching.
Philemon was converted first, then Paul runs into Onesimus in prison and this letter is a letter to reconcile the two together.
We see in these first verses of the letter that Paul was close to Philemon. They have mutual friends as seen in verse 23 and he looks forward to see him Philemon again as seen in verse 22. They are friend. Paul even uses the words brothers throughout the letter.
So on one hand, we have the friendship between Philemon and Paul.
On the other hand, we have the friendship of Onesimus and Paul. Paul is willing to go to bat for this escaped slave and thief. So, Paul writes to his friend Philemon to begin the process of reconciliation.
In this letter and in this passage specifically, Paul expresses his gratitude for Philemon.
This morning, I want us to look at our prayer life under the microscope of thanksgiving. And ask the question to you; are you bringing your friends before God and thanking God for them?
Is this a pattern in your life? Or are you so focused on yourself, that you don’t have time to thank God for your friends. You will pray for them when they are sick—but you don’t take the time to thank God for them.
This reminds me of a sentence form Mathew.
Matthew 5:46
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? (Mt 5:46, ESV)
Even the unbelievers pray for their friends when they are sick. But, we are to be different. We are not to take the friends we have for granted. We are to thank the Lord for them.
So first of all I want you to ask the question;
1. Are you thankful for the people that God has placed in your path?
This is a hard pinpoint question that only you can answer. Are you even thankful for those friends that you have.
This week I scrolled through some websites that listed what people were thankful for:
Katherine, age 9 says “ I am thankful for my mom, friends, teacher because they help me. If you ask why well here how it goes my mom helps me do my homework. Next, my friends help me when I am hurt. Last, my teacher helps me learn about things. That’s what I am thankful for. “
Christopher, age 12 says;
“I am thankful for my wonderful family!
that even includes you who reads this cause you will have a wonderful family that you love one day and in a way we are
close to each other. “
(http://www.bethanyroberts.com/IAmThankfulFor.htm)
Vicky Reyes. Age 12 says “I am thankful for...: I am thankful for having such nice teachers at B.F Grady Elementary school because when someone is sick they are there for you. and best of all for having such a nice teacher in 5th grade which is Mrs.Suzan Walker. I like when she say that. that we are good students in her class. It is so much fun at B.F Grady Elementary School. and what wonderful teachers at B.F.Grady Elementary School.
Camila age 8 says “I am thankful for...: I am thankful for my mom and dad and my sister because they are loving and caring and giving. I am also thankful for my moms job to buy the house and food for me to eat. I am also thankful for a nice family. I am also thankful for friends and family that are nice to me. I am also thankful for everything in my life that God gave me. I am also thankful for my pet named Mia.” (http://www.alphabet-soup.net/hol/thankful.html)
We can learn so much from children. They aren’t burdened by the baggage that we are soon find ourselves under. These children are thankful for those that God has placed in their path.
And, as demonstrated in this passage in Philemon so should we. Paul says;
4 I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, (Phm 4)
Are there people in your life that you are thankful for? We don’t think about this enough. I think that is always my biggest lesson when I am separated from family and friends, is how much we take them for granted. It takes a deployment to truly understand what their friendship and their love means to me.
We need to be thankful for those that God has placed in our lives.
But it is not enough, just to be thankful, we need to remember them in prayer.
2. Are you remembering your friends in your prayers, thanking God for them?
These people that come to mind as the people that you are thankful for, do you wait until Thanksgiving Day before you will acknowledge to God how special they are to you?
Paul made a habit of thanking God for his friends.
To the Romans, Paul says;
…I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. (Ro 1:8, ESV)
To the Corinthians, Paul writes;
4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, (1 Co 1:4,ESV)
To the Philippians;
3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, (Php 1:3,ESV)
The Colossians, he says;
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, (Col 1:3,ESV)
In his letter to the Thessalonians he says;
2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, (1 Th 1:2,ESV)
To his friend Timothy, he writes;
3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.(2 Ti 1:3,ESV)
Paul makes a habit of giving thanks to God, in prayer for his friends. Many of them co-laborers of the faith, many of them are from churches that he started. All of them, he brings before the Lord in thanksgiving.
And I particularly like the fact that he tells his friends that he is bring their name before the Lord in prayer and thanksgiving. This is important, the people that we are thankful for need to know that we are thankful for them as well as God. We need to tell them.
In your prayer life do you include your thankfulness of the people in your life?
It maybe a coworker, a subordinate, or simply a battle buddy.
Do they know that you thank God for them?
Do they know that you appreciate them so much that you thank God always when you remember them in your prayers?
And as we thank God for our friends, do we even know what we are thankful for?
Have we even gotten to the point that we haven’t even thought through what we are thankful for…what we admire them for…how they impact our life?
And in your prayers,
3. Are you being specific in you thankfulness of them?
Look at this whole passage from Philemon. Verse 4-7;
4 I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, 6 and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.1 7 For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. (Phm 4-7,ESV)
Paul is specific in his thankfulness.
He says that he hears of Philemon’s love and of the faith that he has toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints. And he says he has derived much joy and comfort from his love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.
Paul is specific. He doesn’t just thank God. He thanks God specifically. He has taken the time to think through what it is that is meaning ful to him and to thank God for that.
Throughout our lives, we have those occasions to write thank you notes.
We do this at weddings, graduation ceremonies, I have written many out here thanking people for care packages.
Thank you notes are becoming a lost are, much like the hand written letter. We don’t see them much anymore. But there is a simple formula to writing a good thank you note.
A website called “The Morning News” outlines six different sections of a good thank you note.
The first part is to;
1. Greet the Giver
Then the writer should;
2. Express Your Gratitude
Followed after the expression of gratitude, it is a good idea to;
3. Discuss Use
In the conclusion, the writer should
4. Mention the Past and Allude to the Future
Thank the giver once again
5. Grace
And add your
6. Regards
(http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/how_to/how_to_write_a_thankyou_note.php)
It is during the “discussion of use” that the writer of the thank you note specifically thanks the giver for the gift. It is here that the writer thinks though the thoughts of how and why you are thankful.
We need to be thankful for the people that God places in our path. If they bring us joy and laughter—be thankful. If they are wise—be thankful. If they are an encouragement—be thankful.
Take the time to be specific to think through your friendship and why they are important to you.
Conclusion
Are you thankful for your friends this morning?
Are you praying to God thanking him for your friend?
Are you specific?
We need to be thankful for those that God has placed in our path. We need to not take them for granted. We should not let another moment pass without thanking God for them.
The Bible says;
13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (Jn 15:12-13, ESV)
In the Army, we see this happen in a literal and figurative sense. We have a community that is built on the friendships of our brothers and sisters in arms.
The battle buddy system in place, the wingman concept in the Air Force—all points to the fact that our friends are critical to our survival.
We should be thankful for this.
Jesus laid his life down for all of us. He died on a cross to pay a penalty, we sometimes forget we even have to pay. He died on a cross in our place.
All of us are sinners. We have committed crimes against a holy God that demands punishment.
But,
16 “For God so loved the world,9 that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (Jn 3:16-17, ESV)
…saved through his death on a cross to pay the penalty. This morning you can accept this payment for your sin. He did lay down his life for his friends and you can trust in him this morning.
And what about your friends? Do they know you are thankful for them? Do they know you pray for them and thank God for them?
This morning I challenge you to make thankfulness a part of your life. Don’t take for granted those who are around you. Don’t let a moment pass by without thanking God for the blessings of our friends and our families.
Let us pray.
