Intro: We Christians have much to be thankful for all year, not just once a year. We thank God that He is the ultimate Giver. He gave a gift too wonderful for words—the gift of his Son. God’s extraordinary gift of salvation through Jesus should motivate you and I to give thanks and be generous to others. Jesus gave the ultimate gift of Himself for us to pay the price for our sins. Spend time meditating on how much God and Jesus have given you. Then show your thankfulness by living for God and serving Him.
I. Thank God we have been set free from the slavery of sin. [Romans 6:17-18] (NLT) 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, (sin controlled you), but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you live in obedience to God’s word! 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living. The unsaved people of the world act as they do because they are slaves to Satan and sin. Once we too were unsaved people controlled by sin, we had no choice. But thank God, now we are free from our slavery to sin and we are controlled by Christ.
II. Thank God We have been made spiritually alive with Christ. Colossians 2:11-13 (NLT) 11 When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. 13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. When Satan had his hold on us, we were spiritually dead. No access to God. Then God made us spiritually alive and delivered us from Satan and sin through Christ. The penalty for our sin and its power over us were miraculously destroyed by Christ on the cross. Thanks to God all our sins have been forgiven thru Christ and we are now new creatures in Him.
a. Thank God because Jesus canceled all charges against us. V:14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. This record of charges was for all our trespasses against God’s law. We could not pay the debt for these offenses, we were guilty, but when we were saved by Christ, God wiped out the record of our sin for us by nailing it to the cross of Christ. Hallelujah, thank God for such a wonderful Savior who has canceled all charges of sin against us through His cross.
b. Thank God the devil’s power is broken. (v:15) Through the cross He disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. Not only have all charges against us been nailed to the Cross, spiritual authorities and rulers have been rendered helpless against us because of the Cross. Jesus who now lives in us has the Supreme authority over all principalities and powers.
III.
Thank God We have peace that comes from Christ.
Colossians 3:15-17 (NLT) 15
And
let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as
members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be
thankful. 16
Let
the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach
and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.
17
And
whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks through him to God the Father. a.
Because
Christ has given us His peace, we show our thankfulness by living as
His representatives in everything we do as we give thanks through
Christ to God our Father.
IV. Thank God We have the victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:51-58 (NLT) 51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. 54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. Because of these promises—of victory over sin, death, and the devil, a future resurrection with new bodies that will be fashioned by God himself, and of living eternally in His Kingdom, We believers now have motivation and responsibilities in living for God in these perishable bodies. Our time on earth is valuable, let’s show how thankful we are by living for Jesus and serving His Kingdom. Because Christ has given us the victory, we are to be strong and immovable. (v:58)
Conclusion: We have much for which to thank our Father God for. The way we live our lives will show how thankful we really are. The more thankful we are, the more we will begin to focus on the things of God rather than the world and our problems.
Invitation: Thanks to God, you have a chance right now to respond to Jesus. If you need salvation confess your sins to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you and save you from hell. Then begin to confess Him to others and live for Him as your Lord. If you need something else that only Jesus can supply, now is the time to bring your requests to Him.
