Every Day Thanksgiving

Princeton Christian Church

ROMANS 8:31-39       24 NOVEMBER 2024

If I were to ask you a question today – “When is Thanksgiving Day?” Would you be able to give me the correct answer? I don’t mean the exact calendar date because you would say, “It is a Thursday in November.” And you wouldn’t know the exact date because it is not always the same day of the month in November.

But, even if you guessed November 28 – as it is this year – that still wouldn’t be the correct answer.

Why? Well, it is a trick question. Thanksgiving Day is officially recognized in our country since 1789, when George Washington, the first President of the United States, proclaimed November 26th as a day of Thanksgiving.

After that, Thanksgiving Day continued to be celebrated on different days in different states until President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation calling “the whole American people to observe a special day of Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November of every year. And so, that is how it is even today.

But there is even better news for us here today. Today, November 24, 2024, is not a holiday. Every day in the life of the Christian is a Thanksgiving Day.

Thanksgiving is every day in the life of a believer in Jesus Christ!

In this season of Thanksgiving, we will consider three things we can be thankful for every day.

• And it doesn’t matter what our environment is like

• it doesn’t matter what our circumstances are

• it doesn’t matter what our physical or mental condition is

So, let’s look at the first thing we can be thankful for every single day of our lives:

1.    I Am Thankful Every Day That God Stands With Me During My Difficult Days

Paul tells us in Romans 8:31,

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”

• When Paul asks, “Who?” he is saying nobody can be against us –  because God is with us.

• When he asks, “What?” he is saying that nothing (or nobody) can be against us.

• When he asks, “When?” he is saying that nothing can be against us – ever.

• When he asks, “Where?” he is saying that nowhere can anything be against us; nowhere will we be that God will be against us.

One of the greatest lessons we are taught through our reading of God’s Word is this:

God, plus one equals a majority

• Joseph learned that truth in prison.

• Job learned that lesson when he was in trouble.

• Joshua learned that lesson at Jericho.

• Jonah learned that lesson in the belly of a whale.

• David learned that lesson when he went up against Goliath.

• Daniel learned that lesson when in the lion’s den.

• Elijah learned that lesson on Mt. Carmel.

• Moses learned that lesson at the Red Sea.

• Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego learned that lesson in the fiery furnace.

• Paul and Peter learned that lesson in prison.

God, plus one = a majority

One of the greatest promises that you and I have ever received in the entire Bible, and one that every follower of Jesus Christ should write upon their heart in un-erasable ink, is Isaiah 54:17.

“No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication is from Me, declares the Lord.”  - Isaiah 54:17 (NASB)

And you may be thinking: “But you don’t know what I go through every day.” 

We do have difficult days, whether due to a co-worker who makes our day miserable, a close family member who rebels against all other family members, or maybe the driver who cut us off in traffic on the way to work this morning.

Difficult days are a part of our lives.

And, if we complain about those difficulties of our day, someone will undoubtedly say to us ---- GET OVER IT!!! LIFE HAPPENS!

And you may be thinking: “But you don’t know what I go through every day.” 

And that is true. I don’t – but God does!

So, how can we be so confident of this in light of what we all know that we face every single day of our lives?

Go back and look at Romans 8:32.

“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”

If God gave us His Son before we were saved – so that we might be saved – what will He not give to us after we are saved?

If God gave us His Son while we were sinners, what will He not give us now that we are saved and that we are now His sons and daughters?

We find, in Genesis, the account of Abraham and his son, Isaac.

God asked Abraham to offer up his only son—the one he had waited for—as a sacrifice. Did Abraham question God? Did he say, "How could you ask me to do such a thing?"

No. Without any argument or hesitation, Abraham simply surrendered to God’s command.

Now, Abraham was the father to this son. He had pleaded with God to give him a son, an heir. It had to have caused Abraham a great deal of grief to obey God’s command.

But God did not allow the sacrifice of Abraham’s son to happen. Why?

Because, in God’s command and in Abraham’s obedience, we see Abraham’s willingness to obey God no matter what He asks of him.

What do you think would have happened if God had asked Abraham for his time, his talents, or his treasures? Do you think Abraham would have given them? Of course, he would have. That would have been much easier on Abraham than being commanded to sacrifice his only son.

Here is the point – if a man offers you his son, there is certainly nothing else he wouldn’t give you if you ask.

There probably isn’t anything in this world that you would willingly give up your son or your daughter for.

We know for a fact that God did give up His Son. He did that for us.

And don’t you think that because He did that, in our greatest need, He can and will provide for us everything and anything else that we need?

There is a story about a wealthy Roman who had a son. The son was rebellious and wayward, and his behavior broke his father’s heart.

The father also had a slave. Now, the slave acted, behaved, and obeyed his master like a true son would. The father grew to love this slave as a son. On his deathbed, he decided to disinherit his son and leave all his wealth to his slave, Marcellus.

After the man died, the will was read, and the executor spoke to the son. “This will says that your father has deeded everything he owns to his slave, Marcellus.”

Can you imagine how this would make the son angry and upset?

The executor then said, “However, you may choose one item from the estate your father left for you.” The son thought it over and then said, “Then I will take Marcellus.”

Think about it. When you accept Jesus Christ, you get everything that God has. If God gave you His Son, He will give you anything else you need.

2.    The second thing we can be thankful for is that God Stands With Me During My Trials

Romans 8:33: “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies.”

The phrase “bring a charge” is represented by one word in the Greek language. It is a legal term that literally means “to indict” or “to formally accuse.”

So, the question is – “who would bring a charge against one of God’s children that they are not worthy to go to heaven? They are not worthy of God’s love. They are not worthy of eternal life.

We know that the one who would make that charge is Satan. He is called the “accuser” in Revelation 12:10.

Satan spends a lot of his time in the courtroom, facing God.

He plays the role of the prosecuting attorney, trying to condemn us for the times that we fail and the times that we do wrong.

The truth is that when Satan brings an accusation to God about us, it is not hearsay. It is not circumstantial evidence.

The truth is, even after we become followers of Jesus Christ, we will still fail. We will sin, we will still do wrong, and we will still fail God.

And that is when Satan enters the courtroom with his accusations.

Think back over the past week of your life.

• Did you have even one thought pass through your mind that you know you shouldn’t have?

• Did you say even one thing about someone else or to another person that was hurtful to that person?

• Did you fail to do something that you know you should have done?

• Did you have an opportunity to invite someone to come to worship with you, but you didn’t ask?

• Did you go several days in the week without reading God’s Word or even neglected prayer?

In the courtroom of law, there is a defense attorney, and there is a prosecuting attorney. The prosecuting attorney’s name is Satan.

What Satan doesn’t understand is that the defense attorney is also the Judge!

As our defense attorney, Jesus Christ is He who died and was raised, who is at the right hand of God, and who also intercedes for us.

 – Romans 8:33-34 (read).

33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

In that verse is also the word “condemns.” Who is the One who condemns? Jesus Christ – He who died, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

We can be confident as we go up against Satan (the prosecuting attorney); he has all the evidence against us – everything we have done wrong – we need a defense attorney.

What Satan doesn’t remember is this from 1 John 2:1:

“But if you sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father, He is Jesus Christ, the one who pleases God – Completely!”

We can be sure of winning the case – John 5:22 tells us that ….

” the Father leaves all judgment to His Son.”

Satan has his witnesses; he has exhibits to present. But the defense never calls any witnesses.

Our defense attorney, Jesus Christ, doesn’t say a word. He just holds up a nail-pierced hand and shows it to the judge. The gavel comes down, and the verdict is rendered, “Not guilty. Case dismissed!”

As a follower of Jesus Christ, you never have to fear the prosecution of Satan. Your case has been settled out of court.

Jesus died for your sins; He paid for your sins; His resurrection is proof that God accepted that debt as payment for our sins.

That is why, even on our worst days as Christians, when we blow it, when we fail, when we fall short of God's glory, and I seem to be far away from Him, I can still be thankful because we know that God is still with us.

Thirdly, I am thankful every day that God Stands By Me in the battle

READ: Romans 8:35-39

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written,

“For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Have you noticed that this part of Romans 8 begins with the truth that there is no condemnation, and it ends with no separation?

Now, I am not a math wizard, but I look at math in this teaching.

• God came to us, who were sinners, and added grace to our lives.

• Then, He subtracted sin from our lives.

• Then, He multiplied forgiveness through our lives.

• And there can be no division of our life from His life.

Here is a great truth – You can never do anything so bad that it will make God love you less than he does right now.

And, on the other end of that truth, here is another – You can never do anything so good that it will make God love you more than He loves you right now.

That is why Paul goes on to say – in verse 37 –

“But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.”

That phrase – overwhelmingly conquer – means “super conquer.” It comes from two words – nike (which means victor or victory) and the word hyper, which means over and above.

Now, what is the difference between a conqueror and a super-conqueror?

The answer is this:  A conqueror is someone who fights a battle and wins it.

A super-conqueror is someone who knows the battle is won before it is even fought.

I think we all know – if we have lived on this earth for a few decades – that life can sometimes be a battle.

The days and nights are not easy to face. And it seems that with every passing day, it gets more difficult.

But we will all have good days, and we will all have not-so-good days.

But even on your worst day – it ought to be Thanksgiving Day.

And why is that?   It is simply because you can know, love, and serve a God who stands for you, with you, and by you no matter what comes your way.