A Thankful Man 12-1-24 AM

I.            For the gift of Christ (2 Cor. 9:15).

a.      The ninth chapter of 2 Corinthians deals with giving properly.

b.      Paul was trying to encourage the Corinthians to come through with the giving they had promised to do.

c.       Paul closes this section with a reminder of the greatest gift of all – the Son of God.

                                                              i.      One writer stated: The unutterable gift is the mystery of the cross. No tongue can tell of its majesty.

                                                            ii.      Coffman wrote of how there is debate about what this gift is but the word translated “unspeakable” sealed in his mind the fact that it has to be Jesus.

d.      I probably don’t need to tell us that we should be thankful for Jesus.

e.      However, it is easy to be the least thankful for the most important things.

f.        The gift of Jesus on our behalf should provoke us to be thankful at all times for Him.

g.      We should be thankful for Him because of what He gave up to come (Php. 2:4-9).

h.      We should be thankful for the teaching He did (over 20 times in the gospels it is said about Jesus that He taught).

i.        We should be thankful for His willingness to suffer for us (Lu. 17:25 – speaking about the end of the temple and Judaism, Jesus said He first had to suffer).

j.        For this reason, Paul was thankful for God’s unspeakable gift and we should be as well.

II.            For the triumph in Christ (2 Cor. 2:14).

a.      Have you ever heard the message of the book of Revelation?

b.      The message is “Christians win!”

c.       This is what Paul is saying in this verse.

                                                              i.      Paul had been separated from Timothy and Titus.

                                                            ii.      He had gone to look for Titus in Troas but did not find him there.

                                                          iii.      Despite that fact, Paul still felt triumphant because he was in Christ.

d.      The word was used to describe the triumphant Roman generals entering Rome upon return from victories in battle.

e.      Paul viewed himself as being led by Christ, the one who gained the triumph.

f.        It doesn’t matter the circumstances, we are triumphant in Christ.

g.      Paul was in a bad situation.

                                                              i.      He was concerned about the news he had gotten from Corinth.

                                                            ii.      He was concerned about Timothy and Titus.

                                                          iii.      He was in Athens all alone and his life was in danger.

h.      Despite these bad things happening, Paul stopped writing about what was going on in Corinth to declare that he was triumphant in Christ.

i.        It doesn’t matter what is going in life, as long as we are in Christ, we are triumphant.

j.        This is why Paul could say he was in a difficult place with his thoughts about dying or staying here on earth (Php. 1:23-24).

k.      No matter what bad news we get or bad situations in which we may find ourselves, we are triumphant in Christ.

l.        Christians win and for this we ought to be extremely thankful!

III.            For the victory over death (1 Cor. 15:57).

a.      1 Corinthians 15 is all about the resurrection of the dead.

b.      Paul makes the point that if there is no resurrection of the dead, then the Christian life is not worth living (1 Cor. 15:16-19).

c.       But, because of Jesus, there is victory over death – there will be a resurrection of the dead (1 Cor. 15:51-56).

d.      How many people have you met that are afraid of death?

                                                              i.      I’ve met some that stated it.

                                                            ii.      I’ve met some that haven’t stated it with words but by their actions.

e.      As Christians, we don’t have to have a fear of death.

                                                              i.      We know what comes next.

                                                            ii.      We may not know everything about it, but we know of the rest that awaits us.

                                                          iii.      We know that this life is not all there is.

                                                          iv.      We know something grand and wonderful awaits us.

f.        It is because of the victory that Jesus obtained over death that we are triumphant in Christ.

g.      God allows us to share in the victory of Jesus over death, and, with Paul, we should be extremely thankful for this.

IV.            For his fellow Christians (Col. 1:3-4; 1 Th. 1:2; 2 Th. 2:13).

a.      Paul often told those to whom he was writing how thankful he was for them.

b.      The Colossians were personally unknown to Paul because he had never been there.

c.       The Thessalonians had been taught and converted by Paul on his first missionary journey.

d.      Paul was thankful for all of them.

e.      Do we ever thank God for our brethren in our private prayers?

f.        There is so much to be thankful for in this room.

                                                              i.      There are older members who have been faithful in trying circumstances.

                                                            ii.      There are families that worship together.

                                                          iii.      There are young people battling the world.

                                                          iv.      There are a many new converts.

g.      There is so much to be thankful for in regards to being a part of our great brotherhood.

                                                              i.      We hear of relief work being done in North Carolina by brethren.

                                                            ii.      We hear of various mission efforts.

                                                          iii.      We hear of individual Christians doing wonderful things to help others and spread the gospel.

                                                          iv.      We all have Christians friends who live in other places who are faithful to God.

h.      Paul was thankful for his brethren, wherever they were and whether or no he personally knew them.

We should be as well because we are blessed to be a part of the greatest group of people on the face of the earth!