Living Well . . . The Gift of God (Thanksgiving Sermon)

A sermon preached on Sunday, November 21, 2010 at Hebron Baptist Church, Denham Springs, Louisiana by Pastor Joe Alain.

Living Well . . . The Gift of God

Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 3:11-15
Thanksgiving in the United States was observed on various different dates throughout history. By the mid 20th century, the final Thursday in November had become the customary day of Thanksgiving in most U.S. states. It was not until December 26, 1941 however that President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill into law, with congress, making Thanksgiving a national holiday and settling it to the fourth (but not final) Thursday in November.

Although it is nice to have a day set aside to give thanks, Christians don’t really need a holiday or any special occasion for that matter to give thanks to God for our many blessings. Gratitude to God flows easily for the Christian. Scripture contains many instances of God’s people giving thanks. The Psalms call us to “Come before him with thanksgiving” (Ps. 95:2), to “Enter his gates with thanksgiving” (Ps. 100:4), to “forget not all his benefits” (Ps. 103:2), to “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good” (Ps. 106:1), and as Paul writes Christians are those who“give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thess. 6:18), who “sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude . . . to God” (Col. 3:16).

Traditionally, thanksgiving has been a time to give thanks for a bountiful harvest. Thanksgiving was and still is for us a holiday to express thankfulness, gratitude, and appreciation to God for family and friends, it’s a time to reflect on all of our blessings both spiritual and material.

Our text today helps us to understand how God does bless us and how to properly enjoy God’s good gifts, what me might call the things that make for living well. The proper enjoyment of material blessings comes as a result of keeping them in the proper perspective. That Solomon got this right should not surprise us. After all, his goal in life was to figure the meaning of life out and he did so largely through trial and error. “What does our life mean?” “Why are we here?” “What’s our purpose?” These are the kinds of questions that Solomon wrestled with and I’m glad he left us his notes on what really matters in life and how to enjoy God’s gifts.

So today as we approach the day we set aside for giving thanks, I want us to reflect on what it means to truly live well, to see our lives and what we are and have as God’s gift to us to enjoy and share. Jesus has really come to give us life and life to the full (Jn. 10:10). But what does this full life look like? What does it mean to live well? Solomon describes what this full and meaningful life looks like.

So what does it mean to live well? Living well means . . .
1. Seeing Life from God’s Perspective (v.11a)
Solomon states in verse 11 that God “has made everything beautiful in its time.” We might say “How can this be?” Even though we see great beauty in the world, we don’t have to look very far to see ugliness in the world too. We see bad things happening to good people, we see injustice, poverty, wars and conflicts and all kinds of societal problems not to mention personal heartbreak. We ask “How can we say that everything is “beautiful in its time”?

The Hebrew word translated “Beautiful” (yapheh) was often used in Scripture to speak of outward beauty but it also came to mean that which is appropriate. It means that which is fitting, or proper. In a sense, being appropriate is precisely what makes something beautiful. Think of a place in nature that is particularly beautiful. What makes it beautiful is that everything is right, it’s untouched, pristine, it’s complete just as it is. Everything is appropriate and because of that, it is beautiful. What makes our worship “beautiful” is that the elements of our worship are “appropriate,” they are “fitting” for worship.

Even chaotic events become beautiful when they are seen as essential parts of God’s unfolding plan. Even pain will be made appropriate in His time. What evil and ugly things in your life are you experiencing today that seem like sour notes in God’s symphony? Do you feel as though nothing good can possibly come of these things? Living well means seeing your life from God’s perspective. Then we will read passages like Romans 8:28 with a new perspective, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Seeing life from God’s perspective will allow us to be grateful to God that He indeed is in control of our lives. He will make all things beautiful in its time.

1. Seeing life from God’s perspective.
2. Living Life with Eternity in Focus (v.11b)
“He has also set eternity in the human heart” (v.11). What is implied by the fact that God has “set eternity in the human heart”?
* This means we are not simply physical or material beings.
What separates us from all of God’s creatures? We are made for something more. Solomon came to realize this. He tried to find fulfillment in life through material pursuits alone and came up dissatisfied and empty and longing for more.

To live only by your five senses is to deny the fact that you were made for eternity. To live as if the physical needs of life were the only thing that mattered is to live a life as Paul described of the pleasure-seekers of his day who said, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (1 Cor. 15:32). And yet that philosophy of life can never satisfy and can never produce a sense of gratitude for gifts enjoyed.

* This means we are made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26).
We are created to relate to our creator, we are spiritual beings, moral beings, social beings, creative beings. To deny these things is to deny your humanity for you were made in the image of God. The philosopher Soren Kierkegaard said, “Now, with God’s help, I shall become myself,” meaning that the Lord brings us to a place where we discover our true humanity. Until Christ makes us complete, makes us fully human, we’re plastic people, store mannequins, shells of what we could be. To be made in God’s image means we are hardwired for eternity and we will never be fully human until we link up with our creator.

* This means we have a thirst to understand how the parts of our existence fit into some coherent whole. This thought is brought out in the last phrase of verse 11, “yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” What makes people different from the rest of God’s creatures? Solomon tells us that we long for answers and meaning in life. We look at the parts of the whole and ask “Why?” “What does it all mean?” This desire, this thirst to know the beginning from the end accounts for all science, philosophy, and human knowledge as well as theology. However much we examine the parts of our existence we are driven to bring these parts into some coherent whole. This is an aspect of our creation in the likeness of God, who alone embraces the whole.

* This means we think about the future.
We are fascinated, even obsessed about the future. What will happen to us? When will it happen? What will it be like? We may drive such thoughts far from us, but just below our consciousness we think about the future. We do that because we are people of the future who have a future. God has “set eternity in the human heart.” Because this is true we will only be satisfied with that which is eternal. We desire more than what we can see and this desire can only be quenched as we acknowledge and worship our creator. Religion hints at this desire for something that is “wholly other,” but it only highlights our longing and cannot satisfy the insatiable thirst for eternity in the heart, only Christ can. As John said, “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another” (Jn. 1:16). We are complete in Christ and we overflow in blessings from Christ.

Sometimes our lives seem chaotic, confused, we feel a sense of alienation and we don’t know why. We feel in the word of John Ortberg, Dis-appointed. In other words were out of place, we’re missing something, mainly the life that we were appointed by God to live. When we know the creator, our lives make sense, our lives become appropriate, beautiful.

Living well means seeing life from God’s perspective, living life with eternity in focus, and living well means . . .
3. Enjoying God’s Good Gifts (vv.12-13)
Only when we see life from God’s perspective and understand that we are made for eternity can we truly enjoy God’s good gifts. And the reason for this is simple. First, we will know the source of our blessings – God Himself, and second, we will enjoy God’s gifts with the right balance. The great gratitude robber is thinking that we are the source of our blessings and that our material blessings alone are what life is all about.

So what good gifts does God give to us to enjoy?
(1) God gives us the ability to be happy, to rejoice and enjoy life itself.
The thought here is that there is nothing inherent in humanity that allows us to enjoy life. If we find any enjoyment or rejoicing in life, it is because God Himself grants it. So give thanks to God for His gift of the enjoyment of life.

(2) God gives us the ability to do good, to contribute to society, to make a difference.
The ability to “do good” is also a gift of God. Truly good works cannot originate from sinful humanity but are themselves a gift of God’s grace. So give thanks to God for His gift of allowing you to do good, to be a blessing to others. Our works of gold and silver will survive the fire test (1 Cor. 3:10-15). And a Christian’s works do follow them for eternity (Rev. 14:13).

(3) God gives us the appetite to eat and to drink, the ability to enjoy these physical blessings.
The ability to have basic needs met through our labor and to enjoy our meals – these are gifts from God, who gives us both an appetite for food as well as the ability to satisfy it. So give thanks to God for the basic pleasures of life that God gives.

(4) God gives us the ability to find satisfaction in our work, to see our labor make a difference.
It’s easy to take these simple and common things for granted. They are things we rarely thank God for. According to James 1:17, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” What are some of the blessings that you enjoy that you rarely think of and thank God for? Give thanks to him for His gift of living well.

In verse 14, we are reminded that God’s work is permanent and it is complete. Furthermore, God’s blessings to us are to cause us to reverence Him, to know Him, to love Him with all that we are. See Romans 2:4. To “fear him” is to reverence God, it is to know that He is the source of your life and blessings. It is to live a life of gratitude and obedience to God as Lord of your life. Has God’s goodness, His care for you, His blessings led you to reverence Him?

God patiently repeats His works, bringing each activity back again in the stream of history (v.15). God is good to us today as He has been good to us in times past and so will be in the future. The proper response to God’s work, His blessings is awe. And so by God’s grace today we respond to His works in wonder, praising Him and giving Him thanks for the great things He has done
(Ps. 150:2).

For His Glory!
Pastor Joe