"THANK YOU"
Appreciation
From a very early age children are taught to say “please” and “thank you.” At least I was. My mother did not give us anything without waiting for us to say that magic word first and she did not let us walk away until we said that two word phrase of appreciation. Because it’s the polite thing to do, isn’t it? It’s the respectful thing to say. And especially when it comes to saying, “thank you” I might even go so far to say that it’s a Christian response. Because “Thank you” is a verbal sign of gratitude for what a person has done; it’s an acknowledgement of the effort someone has put in for you, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem to be. You are really telling them in so many words that you have not overlooked what they have done and that you consider their actions as something meaningful and important.
And it’s nice when someone says “Thank you” to you, isn’t it? Because then you feel appreciated; you know that your efforts have not been rudely overlooked because someone actually noticed and cared enough to mention what you did. And although that simple response of “Thank you” is a phrase that is mindlessly repeated far too often, it truly is an important thing to say and to hear on a regular basis.
“Thank You” is a Powerful Prayer
But “Thank you” is not just good manners. “Thank you” is not just the polite thing to say. “Thank you” can also be a powerful prayer. Now normally we think of prayer as asking God to give us something. And that’s true. Prayer can include a request to the Lord for something that you want or something that you think we need. But prayer does not stop at requests. Prayer can also include thanksgiving. Instead of asking God to give you something you are thanking God for what he has already given you. And that kind of prayer is powerful! Because you are in effect saying to the Lord that you appreciate what he has done, that you truly are grateful for his work and his efforts on your behalf. You are letting the Lord know that his love has not gone unnoticed and you are honored to receive from him what he has so graciously given. Now God doesn’t need our “Thank you” prayers to feel good about himself, of course. And he isn’t going to take away those blessings if we happen to forget to thank him. But that simple prayer is pleasing to him. He likes to hear that powerful petition even if “Thank you” is all you end up saying.
The portion of Scripture set for the sermon this morning is a very famous story from Matthew 14. It is the miracle of the Feeding of the 5000. And although Jesus’ power is certainly on display here,I also want you to notice the simple yet powerful prayer that he prays: When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Bring them here to me,” he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Did you catch that simple prayer of thanks Jesus prayed? It was so simple in fact that his words aren’t even recorded for us in Scripture! All that this story says is that “Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves.” Jesus gave thanks. And not for an incredible amount of food but only for five loaves of bread and two fish - probably not even enough food to feed his 12 disciples on any normal day. He knew what was going to happen, of course. He was planning on performing a miracle of multiplication that no one ever could have anticipated. Ahh, but he looked up to heaven and thanked his Father before that miracle, not after. He didn’t thank his Father for enough food to feed 5000 men plus women and children; he thanked his Father for the meager amount of food that he could hold in his own two hands. “Thank you for this food, Father.” Maybe he even said, “Please bless this food, Father.” In any case it was a relatively simple prayer. But it was a powerful prayer. It was a God-pleasing prayer.
Complaints
Here’s another simply powerful prayer of thanks that many of you are familiar with: “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest and let these gifts to us be blessed…” And here’s another that my family and I say before our meals: “Heavenly Father, bless this food to your glory and our good.” And then there’s that famous ending taken right out of the book of Psalms: “Oh, give thanks to the Lord for he is good for his mercy endures forever. Amen.” All of us say simple prayers of thanks to our Father too - hopefully every day at every meal. As well we should! He deserves our thanks; he is due our appreciation. But apart from those prayers of thanks at the meal time, how often to do we thank him for the little things in this life?
We may thank him for a new morning when we get up or a day now past before we go to sleep, but is there anything else? Do we normally thank him for the sunshine or do we complain about the heat instead? Do we thank him for cloud cover or do we then complain that the sun isn’t shining? Do we thank him for blessing us with the ability to breathe and communicate move around and do what we are able to do or are we more often than not complaining about the aches and the pains? Let’s even take it to another level: Do you find yourself regularly thanking your heavenly Father for a paycheck when it isn’t enough to pay the bills or for your family at those times when they seem to be causing more problems for you than helping you fix the ones you already have or for the blessing of sleep after a night when you tossed and turned and only grabbed two or three hours all night long? No, we usually don’t thank the Lord for a small paycheck or a difficult family or a little sleep. But we sure do complain about them! We might not complain directly to the Lord and outwardly accuse him of anything, but we certainly grumble under our breath and let it show on our face and voice our complaints to those around us. Because, apparently, what we’ve been given is not enough. It’s not good enough, it’s not big enough, it’s not nice enough; it’s not what we need, it’s not what we want, it’s not what we had planned for; we were looking for something different, we were looking for something better, we were looking for something more. And so we complain and grumble and gripe.
I don’t think that’s the reaction that the Lord is looking for to the blessings he gives us! I’m sure our heavenly Father isn’t hoping that we would complain and grumble over the gifts that he so thoughtfully and patiently weaves into our lives! But that’s what we end up doing anyway! It seems that we are not satisfied unless we get exactly what we want, when we want it, how we want it.
Everything He Does is “Thank You” Worthy
But even those little things - like a paycheck that is too small to pay the bills or a family that is occasionally dysfunctional or a couple hours of sleep in the middle of a long, long night - those little things are actually blessings too. Because at those moments and in those situations those things are exactly what you need. Nothing less, nothing more. Because if you needed something more or something different, the Lord would have given it to you! And so whatever it is that you have at the time, that is exactly what the Lord wanted to give you. And if it is exactly what the Lord wanted to give you, then it is definitely “thank you” worthy, isn’t it?
Jesus stood there that evening in front of thousands and thousands of people with only a few loaves of bread and a couple fish. But instead of being dissatisfied with what he had, Jesus looked up to heaven and he thanked his Father for the food in his hands. It wasn’t enough food - technically speaking - for the entire crowd to even get a bite. And it wasn’t gourmet quality food either. But it was a blessing. And Jesus knew what his Father could do with that blessing if he so desired. And so a “Thank you” was a given.
Jesus thanked his Father, his disciples didn’t - even though they had the food in their hands first! They were probably worried that it wasn’t enough to fill even their 12 stomachs. In fact, the disciples probably didn’t thank their Lord for much of what happened during Jesus’ ministry at the time. They didn’t thank him for telling them about his betrayal and torture before it ever happened; instead Peter tried talking Jesus out of it. They didn’t thank him for being arrested by the mob so they didn’t have to be; they ran away afraid for their lives. They didn’t immediately thank the Lord for dying on the cross in their place; they locked themselves up in a room. They didn’t even initially thank the Lord for rising from the dead; they had a hard time believing that it actually happened! And yet all of these events and circumstances that the disciples were concerned about at the time (and probably complained about in the heat of the moment) were actually incredible blessings that the Lord worked out for their very salvation! Because that’s what our Father does: everything he gives us and everything he allows to happen to us in our lives is a blessing that is for our best interests. From the big to the small. From the important to the seemingly insignificant. From the crumbs to the cross; from the table scraps to the tomb. From a skimpy paycheck and a stressful family life and a sleepless night to the forgiveness he suffered for at his crucifixion and the eternal life he guaranteed at his resurrection and the salvation that he secured with everything that he did and everything that he is still doing… each and every act of our God is a blessing and worth thanking him for.
What Little Things Can You Thank Him for?
Thank him for that. Thank your Lord every day for those amazing blessings that he gives you that have solidified your salvation for all eternity. Thank him for that deep well of forgiveness that washes away all your selfish complaints and for that massive storeroom of mercy that welcomes you in every time you have wandered away and that indescribable volume of love that considers you his child even when you don’t act like it. Thank him for those big things of your salvation. But thank him for the little things in your life too. Thank him for the “meager” blessings and the “incomplete” blessings and the blessings that don’t seem to be adequate considering the situation you are in. Because those are some of the greatest blessings. Some of the greatest blessings are those that teach you to live with something a little less or deal with something a little different or those that force you to lean on your Lord a little harder. Can you think of some of those blessings right now? Can you bring to mind a few of those difficulties or problem areas or frustrations in your life that the Lord is actually using for your benefit? Thank him for those gifts. Even if you don’t see or understand how the Lord is working or why he would be doing what he is doing, thank him for those gifts! Because they are beautiful expressions of his fatherly love. And they are just what you need. Thank your God for giving you exactly what you need. Especially at those times when you didn’t even know you needed it.
Amen.
“God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen” - Phil. 4:19-20
Appreciation
From a very early age children are taught to say “please” and “thank you.” At least I was. My mother did not give us anything without waiting for us to say that magic word first and she did not let us walk away until we said that two word phrase of appreciation. Because it’s the polite thing to do, isn’t it? It’s the respectful thing to say. And especially when it comes to saying, “thank you” I might even go so far to say that it’s a Christian response. Because “Thank you” is a verbal sign of gratitude for what a person has done; it’s an acknowledgement of the effort someone has put in for you, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem to be. You are really telling them in so many words that you have not overlooked what they have done and that you consider their actions as something meaningful and important.
And it’s nice when someone says “Thank you” to you, isn’t it? Because then you feel appreciated; you know that your efforts have not been rudely overlooked because someone actually noticed and cared enough to mention what you did. And although that simple response of “Thank you” is a phrase that is mindlessly repeated far too often, it truly is an important thing to say and to hear on a regular basis.
“Thank You” is a Powerful Prayer
But “Thank you” is not just good manners. “Thank you” is not just the polite thing to say. “Thank you” can also be a powerful prayer. Now normally we think of prayer as asking God to give us something. And that’s true. Prayer can include a request to the Lord for something that you want or something that you think we need. But prayer does not stop at requests. Prayer can also include thanksgiving. Instead of asking God to give you something you are thanking God for what he has already given you. And that kind of prayer is powerful! Because you are in effect saying to the Lord that you appreciate what he has done, that you truly are grateful for his work and his efforts on your behalf. You are letting the Lord know that his love has not gone unnoticed and you are honored to receive from him what he has so graciously given. Now God doesn’t need our “Thank you” prayers to feel good about himself, of course. And he isn’t going to take away those blessings if we happen to forget to thank him. But that simple prayer is pleasing to him. He likes to hear that powerful petition even if “Thank you” is all you end up saying.
The portion of Scripture set for the sermon this morning is a very famous story from Matthew 14. It is the miracle of the Feeding of the 5000. And although Jesus’ power is certainly on display here,I also want you to notice the simple yet powerful prayer that he prays: When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Bring them here to me,” he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Did you catch that simple prayer of thanks Jesus prayed? It was so simple in fact that his words aren’t even recorded for us in Scripture! All that this story says is that “Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves.” Jesus gave thanks. And not for an incredible amount of food but only for five loaves of bread and two fish - probably not even enough food to feed his 12 disciples on any normal day. He knew what was going to happen, of course. He was planning on performing a miracle of multiplication that no one ever could have anticipated. Ahh, but he looked up to heaven and thanked his Father before that miracle, not after. He didn’t thank his Father for enough food to feed 5000 men plus women and children; he thanked his Father for the meager amount of food that he could hold in his own two hands. “Thank you for this food, Father.” Maybe he even said, “Please bless this food, Father.” In any case it was a relatively simple prayer. But it was a powerful prayer. It was a God-pleasing prayer.
Complaints
Here’s another simply powerful prayer of thanks that many of you are familiar with: “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest and let these gifts to us be blessed…” And here’s another that my family and I say before our meals: “Heavenly Father, bless this food to your glory and our good.” And then there’s that famous ending taken right out of the book of Psalms: “Oh, give thanks to the Lord for he is good for his mercy endures forever. Amen.” All of us say simple prayers of thanks to our Father too - hopefully every day at every meal. As well we should! He deserves our thanks; he is due our appreciation. But apart from those prayers of thanks at the meal time, how often to do we thank him for the little things in this life?
We may thank him for a new morning when we get up or a day now past before we go to sleep, but is there anything else? Do we normally thank him for the sunshine or do we complain about the heat instead? Do we thank him for cloud cover or do we then complain that the sun isn’t shining? Do we thank him for blessing us with the ability to breathe and communicate move around and do what we are able to do or are we more often than not complaining about the aches and the pains? Let’s even take it to another level: Do you find yourself regularly thanking your heavenly Father for a paycheck when it isn’t enough to pay the bills or for your family at those times when they seem to be causing more problems for you than helping you fix the ones you already have or for the blessing of sleep after a night when you tossed and turned and only grabbed two or three hours all night long? No, we usually don’t thank the Lord for a small paycheck or a difficult family or a little sleep. But we sure do complain about them! We might not complain directly to the Lord and outwardly accuse him of anything, but we certainly grumble under our breath and let it show on our face and voice our complaints to those around us. Because, apparently, what we’ve been given is not enough. It’s not good enough, it’s not big enough, it’s not nice enough; it’s not what we need, it’s not what we want, it’s not what we had planned for; we were looking for something different, we were looking for something better, we were looking for something more. And so we complain and grumble and gripe.
I don’t think that’s the reaction that the Lord is looking for to the blessings he gives us! I’m sure our heavenly Father isn’t hoping that we would complain and grumble over the gifts that he so thoughtfully and patiently weaves into our lives! But that’s what we end up doing anyway! It seems that we are not satisfied unless we get exactly what we want, when we want it, how we want it.
Everything He Does is “Thank You” Worthy
But even those little things - like a paycheck that is too small to pay the bills or a family that is occasionally dysfunctional or a couple hours of sleep in the middle of a long, long night - those little things are actually blessings too. Because at those moments and in those situations those things are exactly what you need. Nothing less, nothing more. Because if you needed something more or something different, the Lord would have given it to you! And so whatever it is that you have at the time, that is exactly what the Lord wanted to give you. And if it is exactly what the Lord wanted to give you, then it is definitely “thank you” worthy, isn’t it?
Jesus stood there that evening in front of thousands and thousands of people with only a few loaves of bread and a couple fish. But instead of being dissatisfied with what he had, Jesus looked up to heaven and he thanked his Father for the food in his hands. It wasn’t enough food - technically speaking - for the entire crowd to even get a bite. And it wasn’t gourmet quality food either. But it was a blessing. And Jesus knew what his Father could do with that blessing if he so desired. And so a “Thank you” was a given.
Jesus thanked his Father, his disciples didn’t - even though they had the food in their hands first! They were probably worried that it wasn’t enough to fill even their 12 stomachs. In fact, the disciples probably didn’t thank their Lord for much of what happened during Jesus’ ministry at the time. They didn’t thank him for telling them about his betrayal and torture before it ever happened; instead Peter tried talking Jesus out of it. They didn’t thank him for being arrested by the mob so they didn’t have to be; they ran away afraid for their lives. They didn’t immediately thank the Lord for dying on the cross in their place; they locked themselves up in a room. They didn’t even initially thank the Lord for rising from the dead; they had a hard time believing that it actually happened! And yet all of these events and circumstances that the disciples were concerned about at the time (and probably complained about in the heat of the moment) were actually incredible blessings that the Lord worked out for their very salvation! Because that’s what our Father does: everything he gives us and everything he allows to happen to us in our lives is a blessing that is for our best interests. From the big to the small. From the important to the seemingly insignificant. From the crumbs to the cross; from the table scraps to the tomb. From a skimpy paycheck and a stressful family life and a sleepless night to the forgiveness he suffered for at his crucifixion and the eternal life he guaranteed at his resurrection and the salvation that he secured with everything that he did and everything that he is still doing… each and every act of our God is a blessing and worth thanking him for.
What Little Things Can You Thank Him for?
Thank him for that. Thank your Lord every day for those amazing blessings that he gives you that have solidified your salvation for all eternity. Thank him for that deep well of forgiveness that washes away all your selfish complaints and for that massive storeroom of mercy that welcomes you in every time you have wandered away and that indescribable volume of love that considers you his child even when you don’t act like it. Thank him for those big things of your salvation. But thank him for the little things in your life too. Thank him for the “meager” blessings and the “incomplete” blessings and the blessings that don’t seem to be adequate considering the situation you are in. Because those are some of the greatest blessings. Some of the greatest blessings are those that teach you to live with something a little less or deal with something a little different or those that force you to lean on your Lord a little harder. Can you think of some of those blessings right now? Can you bring to mind a few of those difficulties or problem areas or frustrations in your life that the Lord is actually using for your benefit? Thank him for those gifts. Even if you don’t see or understand how the Lord is working or why he would be doing what he is doing, thank him for those gifts! Because they are beautiful expressions of his fatherly love. And they are just what you need. Thank your God for giving you exactly what you need. Especially at those times when you didn’t even know you needed it.
Amen.
“God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen” - Phil. 4:19-20
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