16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.  - John 1:16, The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.

Dear Friends in Christ,

I recall coming across an interesting quote some time ago.  I don’t remember the exact words, but it was something along these lines: "The greatest tragedy for the unbeliever is when their heart is overflowing with gratitude – but they have no one to thank."

That statement came to mind as I read part of this last Sunday’s paper.  The headline of an article on the front page of the "Lifestyle" section caught my eye.  It read, "The time has come to count your blessings."  It began hopeful enough by stating that Americans have rediscovered the concept of gratitude.  It went on to talk about how more and more people are making use of a new marketing phenomena called "gratitude journals" – an exercise endorsed by no less a cultural icon than Oprah Winfrey.  It then went on to talk about all the positive effects an attitude of gratitude can have on a person’s life…

Certainly we wouldn’t disagree.  But, unfortunately, that’s as far as the article went.  Conspicuous by its absence was any information on who it was we are supposed to thank.  No mention of God.  Not even a mention of the catch-all phrase "divine providence."  And so an article that started out saying all the right things ended up as a sad disappointment for this reader.  Rather than glorifying God for all He has done, it devolved into nothing more than an advertisement for the latest in a long line of humanistic, self-help, pop-psychology therapies.  Be grateful and you’ll feel better… even if who it is you are to be grateful toward is a mystery…

Who it is we thank today and everyday is not a mystery to us.  And we’re not here today to make ourselves feel better.  We’re here to worship and praise and thank "the one eternal God whom earth and heaven adore…"

Our text for today is taken from those truly magnificent opening words of the Gospel of John. John talks about the "Word" (Jesus) being made flesh.  He talks about God revealing Himself to us in the person of His Son and what this means.  He talks about salvation.  He talks about the grace of God behind it all.  And then he makes the comment which is serving as our Thanksgiving text today: "From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another."

On this Thanksgiving Day, let us spend the next several minutes together reflecting on the "one blessing after another" that we have received from the hand of God.  This much that newspaper article had right:

Whenever Christians talk about counting their blessings the first question is always, "Where do we start?"  The second question is, "Where do we end?"  For the sake of time and order, let us limit ourselves to briefly considering three areas – physical, emotional and spiritual – where God in His grace has extended to us "one blessing after another."

First, let us talk about God’s physical and material blessings to us.  Approximately 360 years ago one of our pilgrim forefathers by the name of William Brewster rose up from a typical pilgrim dinner of clams and a glass of water and is recorded as thanking God "for the abundance of the sea and the treasures hid in the sand."  If this man considered himself blessed and rich for what we would consider a rather meager meal (anyone here going home to a thanksgiving dinner of clams and water?), what does that make us?

Maybe this will help answer the question.  The following statistics on wealth were published in World Monitor magazine earlier this decade.  According to the report: "The world’s richest 20% receive more than $7500 per family per year.  They enjoy a lifestyle unknown in the past.  They eat meat and processed packaged food.  They drink from disposable containers.  They live in climate controlled buildings, with major appliances and electrical gadgets.  They travel in cars and planes.  They use a lot of disposable goods.  This 20% receives 64% of the world’s income, 32 times as much as the poorest 20%."

What does this tell us?  It tells us that regardless of how we may classify ourselves, the bottom line is that we are all rich.  And we’re not just talking about being rich spiritually (which we certainly are and will take up shortly), we’re talking about being rich materially.  Right now I am talking to a church full of rich people.  We may not think we are, but we are.  So often we’ve trained ourselves or been trained by the world around us to see ourselves as lacking.  So often we’ve been conditioned by the late 20^th century belief in continuous entitlement to a higher standard of living that we see ourselves as somehow being underprivileged.  But statistics tell us we are counted among the richest 20%…

Martin Luther gives us a lengthy enumeration of what God routinely gives us in his explanation to the 4^th petition of the Lord’s Prayer.  In answer to the question, "What is meant by daily bread?" he writes: "Daily bread includes everything that we need for our bodily welfare, such as food and drink, clothing and shoes, house and home, land and cattle, money and goods, a godly spouse, godly children, godly workers, godly and faithful leaders, good government, good weather, peace and order, health, a good name, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like."

Today is a day to count our physical and material blessings.  They are great and they are many.  Indeed, in this area it must be said that "from the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another."

Let’s turn to the emotional blessings God has given us, and for which we must thank Him today and every day.  What do you think is the greatest of the emotional blessings God gives us?  Is it perhaps the knowledge that we are never alone, embodied in His promise: "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you" and "surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age"?

Or is it the knowledge that we are loved with an everlasting love and that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ?  Or maybe the fact that those who know Jesus Christ live for Jesus Christ, thus giving life a meaning and purpose?  Or could it be the promise that God is faithful, and that He will now allow a situation to come into our lives that is too great for us to bear without giving us the corresponding ability and strength to cope with it?

Maybe it’s the wonderful freedoms we have in Christ.  Freedom from worry because we have the promise that not a single hair falls from our head without God’s permission…  Freedom from fear of the future because He who has guided us in the past is also the Lord of our future…  Freedom from having to conform to the world’s ever-changing standards because the only One we seek to please has given us the answer to the question: "How shall we then live?" in His Word…  Freedom from concluding that our lives are in a state of cosmic free-fall and that things happen only by accident – as opposed to the promise of a God who says all things work together for the good of those who love Him…

Because we continue to carry with us our old sinful nature we still at times fall prey to worry and fear.  We sometimes cave in to peer pressure and seek to please our fellow man rather than our God.  Despite knowing better, we sometimes feel God is distant or unresponsive or not in control.  Emotionally, these things put us in a bad frame of mind.  But, thank God, in His Word He gives us solutions and power for living.  Despite our weaknesses, He remains strong in His promises.  And when we cling to those words and promises, we are abundantly blessed…

So today let us also count our emotional blessings.  They are great and they are many.  Indeed, in this area it must also be said, "from the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another."

Finally, let us talk about our spiritual blessings.  Here again, where do we start?  How about the forgiveness of our sins.

Of the many healing miracles recorded for us in the pages of the Gospels, one of the more memorable ones is found in Luke chapter 5.  It is the account of Jesus healing a paralyzed man.  What makes it memorable is the determined and inventive way that the friends of this paralyzed man made sure he appeared before Jesus…

You might remember that they were unable to gain an audience with Jesus because the house in which He was teaching was so crowded. Rather than giving up and going home, they became creative.  They went up to the roof of the house, took off some of the roof tiles and lowered the paralyzed man right in front of Jesus.

What happened next is most significant.  Do you remember the first thing that Jesus said to this man?  He didn’t say, "Be healed."  That would come later.  Instead, He said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."  In other words, He met this paralyzed man’s greatest need – a spiritual need – first.  He assured him of his forgiveness.  And I’ve always believed that if this were as far as the events would have transpired – even if no physical healing had taken place – this man would have gone home happy.

Because the forgiveness of sins is mankind’s greatest need.  It is our greatest need.  We can do without a lot physically and still do well.  But without the forgiveness of sins, we are doomed spiritually.  Without the forgiveness of sins we may, in the words of Jesus, gain the whole world; but in the end we will lose our soul.  Because sin is serious.  And sin damns.

If it is sin that locks the door of heaven to us, then it is forgiveness that opens it.  And that forgiveness has been provided for us by Jesus Christ.  His sinless life as our substitute.  His sacrificial death in our place.  His glorious resurrection as proof He is the Savior He claimed to be means the banishment of sin’s power to damn and instead rolls out the welcome mat of eternal life.

And this blessing brings all kinds of other blessings in its wake.  It brings warmth to our soul and peace to our hearts.  Paul calls it a peace that passes all understanding, and the prophet Isaiah equates it with a river that flows wide and deep and long.  And this peace is ours…

That’s the big picture.  And we must never let the temporary smudges on the window of life detract us from rejoicing in the big picture.  So even if everything else in our lives is falling apart…  Even if things aren’t the way we’d particularly like them to be or want them to be…  Even if, for whatever reason, this may not be the happiest of Thanksgivings because of current events in our lives…  we are blessed beyond measure because we know Jesus Christ.

Let us count our spiritual blessings.  They are unsurpassingly great and many.  In this area especially, it must be said "we have received one blessing after another."

So, let us conclude by returning to the newspaper headline with which we began.  "The time has come to count our blessings."  The 15 minutes or so of this sermon is just a miniscule start.  We could go on for a lot longer.  In fact, we could go on indefinitely, so gracious is our God…

Of this we are sure, and for this we are thankful: "From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another."  Amen.