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“Gratitude, a Primary Motivation for Living All of Life unto God” Date: November 30, 2014 Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:12-17 Introduction: As We have dealt with various aspects of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ – and have only scratched the surface – we have dealt with the great truths of the sovereignty of God in salvation, something most fully and Scripturally understood in what we call the Reformed Faith, meaning the theology of the Reformation, when the Church was called back to the Scriptures, to bring its thinking under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We have also dealt with a number of the character qualities that ought to characterize our lives in addition to faith – virtue or moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection and love. We dealt with the supremacy which the Scriptures should have in our lives, and their sufficiency for all of life. And last week we dealt with developing a Christian Worldview – seeing and understanding all of life from Christ’s perspective as set forth in the Scriptures. In this text in Colossians 3, some of those things converge. We see Paul alluding to God’s sovereignty in their salvation. He speaks of them as “God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved” in vs 12, and in vs 15 as those “called in one body.” That calling is no doubt referring to the powerful, effectual call that is more than an external invitation to come to Christ. It is the powerful call that draws the sinner to Christ and brings him to faith in Jesus Christ. More of that in a moment. But did you notice the emphasis on “thanksgiving”? It is found in vs 15 with reference to their being called into one body – “And be thankful” – and then again in vss 16 & 17, first as part of our worship, especially in song, and then as a motive to do all that we do in word or deed in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. We can see the connection between “thanksgiving” and God’s sovereign choosing and calling of sinners in passages like – 1 Thessalonians 1:2-5 and 2:13, and then – 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 . . . , as well as – Ephesians 1:3-6 . . . ; now look at – Romans 8:28-30 13~Gratitude--Motivation for Liivng...unto God, 2 I. Understanding God’s sovereignty in our salvation is meant to lead us to deep gratitude or thankfulness, and that in turn to motivate us to live all of life in the name of Jesus Christ. A. It motivates us to take on a Christ-like character (Col 3:12ff) B. It motivates us to reflect that character as we seek to impact every area of our lives – the church, where we are to learn to love and to maintain peace . . . – the family, which is to reflect the love of Christ for his Church, and of the Church toward Christ, and which is to be the school of Christ . . . – the workplace, where we are to live unto Christ (Col 3:22-4:1) . . . – our interactions with the world wherever we have opportunity – Col 4:5f II. Understanding the costly nature of God’s gracious sovereignty towards us is meant to lead us to reflect the same self-denying obedience to Christ as preeminent in all of life, out of profound gratitude for the price paid. Do you remember the opening and closing scenes of “Saving Private Ryan” if you saw it? The story is . . . On a much greater scale, a handful of disciples would almost all gladly lay down their lives for the one who by laying down his life for them fulfilled the rescue mission on which his Father sent him. A. The most significant response to the costly nature of God’s gracious sovereignty is that of the heart that surrenders its own autonomy to the Lordship of Christ and begins to work out the implications of that surrender of self-government to the will of Christ as revealed in the Word. – Many Christians, probably most of us to some degree, live according to the world, the very thing we are told to not do (Romans 12:1-2). It is not that we are living or thinking according to the worst examples of the world, but the more 13~Gratitude--Motivation for Liivng...unto God, 3 “respectable” representatives. It is usually a gradual transition in terms of what is acceptable, or not. Man’s ideas change . . . – Those who genuinely surrender their own autonomy, come to realize and to take their stand on the fact that “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever,” and it is by that word that we will be judged. Remember Jesus’ warning at the end of the Sermon on the Mount: Matt 7:21-27 . . . – Practically the disciple heeds Romans 12:1-2 and Ephesians 4:1719, and attempts to live out 4:20ff, ordering his life by the Word of God B. But our grateful response to the costly nature of God’s sovereignty is not just an individual commitment, it is a commitment to Christ’s Church, expressed through a given local church . . . That becomes the arena where we grow and are intended to develop many of the personal aspects of holiness and love that one must develop in relationships. It involves responsibilities toward others, a selflessness that teaches us how to serve the interests of others rather than just our own, submission to leaders, and on the other end, leadership that serves after the model of Jesus. It is supposed to establish a measure of accountability under discipline, and a commitment to a family beyond that of our biological family at times. We will explore these and many other aspects of what it means to be a part of Christ’s Church in January. Ephesians 4:1-16 points to some of this. It is worth careful attention on your own. But it is worth considering that Christ loved the church and gave himself for her as his bride, and for us to profess to love him without loving the church is a huge inconsistency, especially when we consider that when Jesus died for his church, she was hardly worthy of such love. We often demand that the church be “lovely” before we are willing to “love” her, quite contrary to our Lord who loved her and died for her to make her lovely. 13~Gratitude--Motivation for Liivng...unto God, 4 C. Our grateful response to the costly nature of God’s sovereignty should also express itself in the workplace and in society at large. 1. I think it is not uncommon for many Christians to think – especially of the workplace, more than in volunteer work – primarily of themselves – making a living, earning money that we often regard as “ours” to do with precisely as WE wish. 2. But we are called to serve the Lord and others in the workplace and in society at large. Would it not be odd if what we devoted a major part of our lives to – namely, the workplace – were outside of the two great commandments: to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and our neighbor as ourselves? We lose the significance of our work if we have too narrow a perspective on what we do . . . Illustration of workers being asked what they did... (From “What Is the Christian Worldview?” by Philip Graham Ryken, pp 44f) a. Think of what life would have been like had sin not entered the world . . . [present a vision of serving God and others and society at large as a productive member . . .] b. But the Fall introduced another dynamic – the need for redemption, both as salt and light to the world in every sphere, and as witnesses to the lost people we engage. We speak of the “cultural mandate” and of the “great commission.” Both are opportunities to magnify the God of all grace, and to represent his Kingdom. 13~Gratitude--Motivation for Liivng...unto God, 5 Conclusion: Discipleship involves growing in our understanding of God’s sovereignty in our salvation so that it develops in us a profound gratitude towards God. That is the basis for Paul’s exhortation: “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col 3:17). Discipleship also involves growing in our understanding of the costly nature of God’s gracious sovereignty towards us. That is the reason for Paul’s burst of praise at the beginning of Ephesians: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace....” (Eph 1:37) Here is God’s sovereignty in our salvation; and here is the costliness of that gracious sovereign intervention into our lives: 1) It require the Father to give his own Son, whom he had loved throughout all eternity, over to death upon the Cross, while he unleashed his wrath deserved by OUR sins upon his own Son, and 2) It required that Jesus humble himself and take to himself a human nature in order that he could bear our sins and the punishment due those sins upon the Cross. Such love and sacrifice on the part of the Father and of his Son, Jesus Christ, is worthy of our profound thanksgiving, which should motivate us to live all of life unto the Lord.