Share Your Faith with Thanksgiving

Pastor Dan Walker, PhD, MDiv

Introduction

Our message series in November is called “Share Your Faith.” Last week Pastor David spoke on the supreme task of the church. Regardless of how elections turn out, the task of the church remains the same, to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

This week, we have Thanksgiving coming up this Thursday. God wants to teach us to use special holidays and events as opportunities to share our faith with those around us. So, today, my message is entitled “Share Your Faith with Thanksgiving.”

What I’m going to talk about today will apply to this Thanksgiving week as well as the rest of the year. What is Thanksgiving all about? Let’s watch a video called “Thanksgiving Inspiration.”

Our country was founded on biblical principles. Giving thanks to God is found throughout the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments. Let’s look at one passage from the Psalms.

Psalm 105:1-2 (NIV) Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.

This passage commands us to first of all give thanks to the Lord. Thanksgiving is not optional for a believer. We have so much to give thanks for.

Then we are to pray and finally make known among the nations what God has done. So you see, a heart of thanksgiving leads one to tell others what we are thankful to God for. A heart of thanksgiving leads to sharing your faith.

The things we are thankful to God for are the kinds of things we can tell others about. Verse 2 tells us to sing praise to God and then what? We are to tell of God’s wonderful acts.

A whole lot of people today in America have great difficulty in sharing their faith. Why is this? Maybe it stems from not having hearts of thanksgiving to God.

Maybe it stems from not thanking God for his wonderful acts. If we don’t thank God for what He has done, how will we have the motivation and courage to tell others what He has done?

So, what keeps us from giving thanks to the Lord, from morning through evening? Do we forget, or perhaps we’re too busy, or maybe we can’t think of anything to be thankful for?

Maybe, deep down, we feel that we have so many problems, there isn’t much to be thankful for. Our prayers are filled with help me with this and that and very little thanksgiving is found.

Should we only give thanks when things are going well, when we don’t have many problems? Or is it possible to give thanks no matter what our circumstances are?

Understand That Life Isn’t Always Fair

What I mean by that statement is that life isn’t always fair, the way we would call fair. Sometimes, people who do bad things seem to have a pretty good life. Sometimes, people who are walking with God have some pretty serious problems.

Those kinds of things don’t really seem fair to us, do they? Let’s see what the Bible has to say about what we as believers can expect in life.

Believers Will Be Persecuted

2 Timothy 3:12 (NIV) In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

This really is an astounding verse. It says that every believer who is striving to live a godly life will encounter persecution. That believer will encounter opposition from other people that is uncomfortable at the least or life threatening at the extreme.

Is persecution fair? No, of course not. Why does it happen? Because as a believer, you’re in the middle of a war between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness.

You’re in a war and Satan has painted a target on your back. In a few minutes, we’ll look at what Jesus says we should do about being persecuted.

Believers Will Face Trials

James 1:2 (NIV) Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,

Anybody had a few trials in life? This verse is addressed to believers, to brothers and sisters. We are going to face trials of many kinds in the course of life.

What is a trial? The Greek word for trial here means a testing or a temptation. A trial is something challenging that God allows into our lives to test us.

When we face a trial, how are we going to respond? A trial or test gives the possibility of two responses. One response is a godly response and the second possible response is an ungodly response.

So, you can see how a trial is always a temptation to respond in an ungodly way. What is the most common ungodly way to respond to a trial?

The most common ungodly way to respond to a trial is to grumble and complain. Why do people respond this way? Because they believe that the trial is not fair and they don’t deserve it.

But how does this verse say we are to respond to trials of many kinds? We are to consider it pure joy. This is not the way most people respond to trials, is it?

Learning to Trust God When Life Is Unfair

The Bible teaches us that life isn’t always fair. Even believers walking with God will experience persecution and trials. Even though life isn’t always fair, eternity will be fair and God will make sure of it.

Those who follow God will be rewarded and those who don’t will be punished. So, we need not be surprised at the many kinds of trials we will face in life.

God allows those trials or tests to teach us how to respond correctly and so grow stronger in our faith. Don’t worry, don’t grumble, and don’t complain, even when life isn’t fair.

Respond to Trials God’s Way

No trial that you encounter in life surprises God, because He allowed it to come into your life. You and I may be surprised by the trials we encounter, but when we realize that God is in control, we can look to Him to respond in the right way.

If we respond to trials in the wrong way, not only do we hurt ourselves, but we also impact others around us negatively regarding the Gospel.

Rejoicing Because of Eternal Reward

Matthew 5:11-12 (NIV) "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

In these verses, Jesus says that when you are persecuted because of Him, you are blessed. Now it may not feel like a blessing, but God’s Word says that you are blessed.

So, if we’re blessed, then we should rejoice and be glad. We rejoice because we have a great reward in heaven awaiting us.

In order to respond to trials God’s way, we must look past this life and its unfairness and believe that we will be rewarded in heaven. Even though not every trial is persecution, the same principle applies.

Giving Thanks in Every Situation

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV) Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

This passage gives us three things to do at all times. First, we are to be joyful, not just in the good times, but in the hard times and trials.

Secondly, we are to pray continually, which means at all times as well. Finally, we are to give thanks in all circumstances.

There is a difference between giving thanks for all circumstances and giving thanks in all circumstances. The origin of many trials is not God, but Satan.

However, God allows them to happen to teach us lessons about Himself and to grow our faith. In the midst of a trial, we give thanks that God is with us and will help us through it.

Choosing Gratitude in Everyday Trials

So, let’s get practical this morning. You’re going down the road, you hear a funny noise under the hood and smoke starts to come out. How do you respond?

You wake up in the morning with a sore throat, a runny nose, and a cough. How do you respond?

You talk to someone at work about what’s wrong with abortion and they insult you. How do you respond?

God wants us to rejoice and give thanks in the midst of the trials that He allows into our lives. When we do that, it builds our faith and draws us closer to God.

It also allows God to move in our lives to bring us through the trial. Responding this way makes us feel better and honors God.

Impact Others Through Thanksgiving

Too often, we go through life thinking only about how things affect us. But the truth is that how you respond to trials affects the people around you.

Other people notice how you respond to trials. When you respond to trials God’s way, you are letting your light shine and being a faithful witness for the Lord.

When you respond to trials with thanksgiving to God, you are impacting others for God. Thanksgiving becomes a testimony of faith.

Refuse to Complain

Philippians 2:14-15 (NIV) Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe

These verses are really the heart of the message that God has given for this Thanksgiving season. The natural response to trials is to complain and grumble, which is what unbelievers do.

Throughout the Old Testament, the nation of Israel repeatedly complained and grumbled about the trials they encountered. The Bible tells us that this complaining flowed from a lack of faith.

When we complain about our troubles, we are not demonstrating faith. Instead, we are to be thankful and rejoice that God is taking care of us, even in the midst of our trials.

Share Your Faith Through Gratitude

Philippians 2:16a (NIV) as you hold out the word of life …

If we do everything without complaining and instead give thanks to God, we will shine like stars as we share our faith. A heart of thanksgiving naturally holds out the word of life to those who need Jesus.

Simply going through life with words and attitudes of gratitude is a powerful way to impact others. Thanksgiving opens doors to gospel conversations.

Living as a Witness Through Thanksgiving

The story that comes to mind is Paul and Silas in prison at midnight. They were beaten, chained, and treated unjustly because they had been sharing their faith.

The natural response would have been to complain, but instead they prayed and sang hymns to God. They were giving thanks in the darkest hour.

God used their thanksgiving to bring salvation to the jailer and his entire family. Responding with gratitude eternally impacted other lives.

Conclusion

This Thanksgiving, each of us is going through different circumstances. Some make it easy to give thanks, while others are trials that tempt us to complain.

Let us make a commitment to respond to trials God’s way, with rejoicing and thanksgiving. When we do, our words and attitudes will impact others.

Thanksgiving opens doors to share our faith and explain why we are different because of Jesus.

📘 Continue the Journey

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