There is no audio available for this sermon.

We have much to thank God for. We are not finished asking Him for more good things. We have not completed our work; immaturities and problems exist. Being thankful isn’t turning a blind eye to problems, it is a way to stare directly at problems with a better perspective. If we have eyes to see, we can easily observe great reasons to be grateful.

A couple things keep me from jumping back into John this morning. First, I keep thinking about the Scripture revealed potency of thankfulness. Paul told the Philippian believers that that they would be blameless in a twisted generation by not grumbling.

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. (Philippians 2:14–15, ESV)

Being grateful is the opposite grumbling and gratefulness belongs with blamelessness; more grate less blame. Paul also told the Ephesians that the antidote to perversity was thankfulness.

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. (Ephesians 5:3–4, ESV)

Later in the same chapter he explained that those who are filled with the Spirit will be “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus” (verse 20). A spiritual life is a thankful life.

We always (think we) have a hundred and one reasons to disobey Paul’s command to the Thessalonians.

[G]ive thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18, ESV)

A second thing that brings me to this morning is the time I spent away the last couple weeks. Especially as I spent time talking with some other church folk, and in particular, as they asked me about how things are going at our church, it was really hard not to find some really great things to be thankful for.

As a two and a half year-old toddling flock, we are not the same. There is a big difference in us.

One way I have considered all this is in light of Colossians 1:28 and its context. If anything, I find myself needing to think more about this verse rather than getting bored by it.

Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. (Colossians 1:28, ESV)

Sometimes we hear someone say that a speaker or author expressed what we’ve been thinking. As a mouth, I hope to try to put into words some of our corporate thanks. May it be a public honor of God and an encouragement to you as well. Here are three great reasons to be grateful.

1. Christ is increasing our interests on His planet.

What does it look like for a Christian to be “complete in Christ” (NASB)? If this is the end goal of the gospel, the eternal goal of the Triune God, then it is important to know. It also helps because it informs expectations for the process. If I know that the goal of push-ups is to get stronger, the morning-after pain I experience won’t be so discouraging.

The goal of God in the gospel and the goal of Paul in gospel ministry was to “present everyone mature,” to finish conforming believers into the likeness of Christ (see also Romans 8:29). Again, what does that include?

For too long I have limited likeness to moral character and perhaps also to discipleship work. Christ was perfectly righteous, so a person who was perfectly reflecting Christ would not lie to his parents, cheat on her schoolwork, cheat a client or the government, break a vow, offer half-hearted worship, and so forth. Christ also took on flesh, lived among men, and poured His life into their lives so that they would make more disciples. Christlike character and work, then, make a Christlike Christian.

This is true, but we have great reason to be grateful that Christ hasn’t left us there. Consider it another way.

Colossians is a letter exalting the preeminence of Christ. Hardly anyone in Colosse denied Christ. They did, however, devalue Him by valuing other things alongside Him rather than valuing those things for His sake. After greeting the Colossians Paul launched into one of the great announcements that Christ is exalted over creation as its Creator.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:15–17, ESV)

What we are coming to see is that not only do these truths exalt Christ’s position over creation, they also express His interest in creation. He made everything. He keeps it all going and He likes it. Genesis 1 called creation good. Even after the fall, passages like John 1 and Colossians 1 affirm that Christ hasn’t distanced Himself from creation. Christ is the focal point of the universe in two ways. We focus on Him like the peak of a mountain range and like the business end of a telescope; through Him we see a whole lot more, not less.

If anything, creation isn’t as much a problem for us as we are a problem for creation (Romans 8:20-21).

So, would we not also say that to be complete in Christ includes fulfilling the law (regarding our character), making disciples (regarding our work), and enjoying what He enjoys (regarding our interests)? This is why a dead man like Abraham Kuyper has been so helpful. Kuyper shared in the great interests of the Lord Jesus Christ everywhere the Lord Jesus has interests.

Manhood and womanhood and family, education for the next generations, yard maintenance, brewing beer, reading good fiction, all of these and every other lawful thing are sustained by Christ so that we will say, “Whoa! He is powerful!” and also so that we will say, “Whoa! I can do something with this!” How grateful we can be that He is breaking down our dualism.

2. Christ is deepening and broadening our appreciation for His Body.

Is He not also breaking down our narrow appreciation for His Body, the Church?

The very first family meeting we held on January 11, 2011, included a discussion about how we wanted to love what we loved even more and love others who don’t love what we love even more. In my notes for that night I said we “hope to [be] intense about what we believe and practice and inclusive in how we think and partner with other Christians/churches.” This applied especially to our opportunities to befriend, to pray for, and in some cases even to support believers in other churches. Isn’t that great for God to grow our love for His church outside these rented walls?

This is no call to abandon discernment, it is a call to abandon narrow-minded, theological provincialism. We are privileged to pray for the gospel work in Marysville, and we may even get to participate in it. We certainly don’t monopolize God-honoring ministry, let alone define it. We are privileged to support men and ministries caring for orphans and families. We do it under Christ’s headship.

And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. (Colossians 1:18, ESV)

Boundaries are set by the cross, not by our doctrinal statement. And yet, a more precise doctrinal statement enables us to grow into Christlikeness and to know that we aren’t the police of the universal church. Christ is the head. He is washing His Bride. He calls us to work right here and not worry about fixing His stuff.

3. Christ is stimulating our faith in His promises.

Much of this concentrates on our corporate worship. We do not meet each week to run the gauntlet of self-examination. We meet each week to confess as Christians, to be changed by the Word as Christians, to fellowship in Christian communion, and to go out again as Christians.

As we work to present every man complete in Christ, undoubtedly some among us are not in Christ. That is the necessary first step. There are also others who are not living according to the faith they claim. These are the worst case scenarios. Others are struggling but keep trusting and consciously wanting to trust more.

Here is encouragement: in Christ the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through Christ God is reconciling the world.

For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. (Colossians 1:19–20, ESV)

This is the evangel. God’s riches for Jew and Gentile are great (verse 27)! We shouldn’t think of admonishing every man and teaching every man as setting the hurdles higher, we should think of helping them on the way.

God loves a good story. He loves to raise the dead. He resurrects our hope that He resurrects the dead. As we worship this God, as we’ve considered His un-thwarted work in John’s Gospel, we see His glory by death and our faith grows.

How thankful we are for the big difference of gathering week after week to worship instead of gathering week after week to wonder. It’s slow going, but the ship is turning around.

Conclusion

In light of all the reasons we have to be grateful, as a church, in our families, about our lives, why do so many complain? Nietzsche once wrote in his book, Twilight of the Idols:

There is a powerful causal drive within [man]: someone must be to blame for feeling bad…And waxing indignant makes him feel better, too: all poor devils take pleasure in cursing, it gives them a little rush of power. (quoted in Luc Ferry, A Brief History of Thought, 170).

Complaining is the closest we get to being God. We can’t control anything but if we complain about it, we can at least make ourselves feel like we are above the problems. This is one reason why thankfulness belongs with worship. Only those who aren’t trying to be God can thank God for whatever He gives.

It’s all His. The earth is His. The church is His. The end of all things is His. We are His.

Some questions:

• Are you FULL of thanks?

• What differences do you see in your heart? Worship? Worldview?

• What differences do you see in our body?

• Have your interests increased?

• Has your love for the church both deepened and broadened?

• Has your faith been stimulated?