Why the Holy Spirit Connection between Morals and Thanksgiving Matters

This is Thanksgiving week, and it just so happens that we are coming to a verse in Ephesians chapter five that contains an admonition to thankfulness. How cool is that? Right on time — right on target. So, thankfulness is the subject today, and Mark Tidd of Webster, New York, describes an experience from his college days in line with this theme. He said, — An old man showed up at the back door of the house we were renting. Opening the door a few inches, we saw his eyes were glassy, and his furrowed face glistened with silver stubble. He clutched a wicker basket holding a few unappealing vegetables. He bid us good morning and offered his produce for sale. We were uneasy enough that we made a quick purchase to alleviate both our pity and our fear. To our chagrin, he returned the next week, introducing himself as Mr. Roth, the man who lived in the shack down the road. As our fears subsided, we got close enough to realize it wasn’t alcohol but cataracts that marbleized his eyes. On subsequent visits, he would shuffle in, wearing two mismatched right shoes, and pull out a harmonica. With glazed eyes set on a future glory, he’d puff out old gospel tunes between conversations about vegetables and religion. On one visit, he exclaimed, “The Lord is so good! I came out of my shack this morning and found a bag full of shoes and clothing on my porch.” “That’s wonderful, Mr. Roth!” we said. “We’re happy for you.” “You know what’s even more wonderful?” he asked. “Just yesterday I met some people that could really use them.¹

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Be intentional about your praise. Always put something on the other side of thank you when referencing the Lord.

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Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11). Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony.
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Question: What have been your challenges when it comes to living a life of thankfulness unto God? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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We are currently teaching in the book of Ephesians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 45 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. He and his wife Sharon of 40 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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Podcast Notes

Proper and Improper Speech

Ephesians 5:3–4 (ESV) — 3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

What we have here in Ephesians five is a superb way to communicate, thanksgiving.
But, we don’t start there.
Instead, the Spirit of God starts this thread with a terrible way to communicate: filthiness, foolish talking, and crude joking.
Let’s take these up one at a time.
Start with filthiness: what is that — a dirty house, dirty clothes, a dirty car?
Let’s start by defining terms, and with that thought, here is the Definition of the Day.
The Greek word ‘filthiness’ means obscene behavior or, saying it another way — the trait of behaving in an obscene manner.
It is behavior that treats with contemptuous disregard social and moral standards, shamefulness, obscenity²
So now, we have the definition — filthiness is obscenity.
It is shameful and contemptible behavior that disregards social and moral standards.
Now, here is where we need to tweak the definition.
This word is being used in the Bible – it’s a Holy Spirit-inspired Word that God comes from God.
So, it’s not shameful and contemptible behavior that disregards social standards, but God’s standards.
It’s what God considers obscene and filthy.
It’s His standard, not what society thinks.
Society, today is saying certain kinds of behavior are acceptable as the new norm, but they are not acceptable.

Luke 16:15 (ESV) — 15 And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

Thanksgiving: The Companions of Filthiness

Now, let’s ask a question, and with that thought, here is the Question of the Day.
Here’s the question — How does bad behavior get started?
It starts in the heart and comes out via the mouth.
That’s what Jesus said.

Mark 7:21 (ESV) — 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,

So filthiness starts in the heart, but there is more.

Luke 6:45 (ESV) — 45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Out of the heart of man comes filthiness.
And out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks filth.
The heart charts the course — the mouth is the rudder that guides the action, in this case, the action of obscenity.
We know that all this is so from the book of James.

James 3:2, 4, 6 (ESV) — 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body… Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs…. 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.

Now, we know that yet another way that the mouth is involved in filthiness just by what we have heard Paul here in Ephesians 5:4.

Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

You see two out of the three components listed here directly reference speech: foolish talk and crude joking.
All of that is verbal communication.
So again, the action of filthiness is steered by the words of our mouths.

What about Thanksgiving Instead of Foolish Talk?

What is foolish talk?

Psalm 14:1 (ESV) — 1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.

Foolish talk is speech that states that insists there is no God.
So, this is the talk of atheists for sure, but, it isn’t just that.
You don’t have to be a skeptic to talk foolishness.
The word atheist also means unbeliever, non-believer, or disbeliever.
You realize that we have unbelieving believers in the church today.
They were in the early church.

James 1:5–6 (ESV) — 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

So, here we have a believer who is praying.
How do we know that?
Back up to verse two.

James 1:2 (ESV) — 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

James calls the recipients of his letter brothers.
We have a brother that’s praying.
But, we have more than that.
We have a brother that is praying and doubting.
Could we call this person an unbelieving believer?
An unbelieving believer is a person who is truly saved but struggles to stand on or receive certain promises, commandments, or admonitions in God’s Word.
This is a doubting Thomas kind of Jesus follower.
It’s a person who says yes to God’s Word with their lips, but there is little corresponding action.
There is no life behind the profession.
An unbelieving believer talks about their situations like God doesn’t exist.
They revert to natural methods instead of spiritual solutions.
They switch over to the natural when confronted with situations they need to overcome instead of staying in the Word.
We should all stay focused on what God said.
But, the double-minded-doubter ends up trying to solve life’s challenges just the way they used to do before they came to Jesus.
It’s like Jesus doesn’t exist.
Their speech — their conversation — is directly logged as foolish talk.
Crude joking fills out this list of three areas all connected to evil speech.
Jesting or crude joking is slick, sharp, witty speech as the instrument of sin.
‘Sometimes it is a joke – sometimes it’s a laced question or suggestive innuendo.
It can be comments which are ulterior in motive.
They are advertised as funny but at someone else’s expense.
Sometimes people aren’t trying to be funny — they are trying to serve up some criticism but they clothe it with jesting – or some type of witty remark delivered in a laughing manner.
Some of this is shrewd, cunning, and impure.
It’s not teasing – it’s not light-hearted speech.
It’s totally okay to have a sense of humor — that’s not what crude joking is.
So, what should we do instead of operating in this arena of negative speech — filthiness, foolish talking, and crude joking?

Thanksgiving: Way Better than Improper Speech

but rather, let there be thanks.

Why thanksgiving?
What about positive faith confessions?
Why not public prayers or any other vocal medium in the Word of God?
Paul singles out thanksgiving here — there must be a reason.
Could it be that there was so much negative behavior that had crept in the church from the world that Paul wanted to emphasize something that there wasn’t a lot of going on?
In other words, the scale needed to be tilted in the other direction.
Now, this idea of thankfulness is prominent, especially during certain parts of the year.
But now, let’s think about this in line with the Word.
When the Bible talks about giving thanks or being thankful, it’s not referring to being thankful to one another.
All thankfulness is directed to God because He is the source of all good, right, and beautiful.
If it’s a blessing in your life, it’s because God provided it.
Sharon is a tremendous blessing in my life.
She is a blessing because of God, though.
He is the one that made her a blessing.
The Lord is the one that worked in her and gave her such a beautiful spirit.
The Father God is the one who, after he gave her such a tender heart towards people and continued to work in her to develop the fruits of the spirit in her life.
He made her what she is now.
So, I thank God for her being in my life, and for the Lord allowed her to remain in my life.
You can see this principle in the New Testament.
Listen to what Paul said about the Thessalonians.

1 Thessalonians 1:2–3 (ESV) — 2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Thessalonians were operating in faith, hope, and love.
They had all three workings.
Now, if you are operating in love — that’s not just loving God but loving others.

Matthew 22:36–40 (ESV) — 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Love God and love one another; the Thessalonians were doing just that.
But, where did thanksgiving go?
It went to God: We give thanks to God always for all of you.
Why?
Well, whose faith was it that the church was operating in?
Whose love was the Thessalonians walking in as they bestowed kindness upon others?
Who made a confident expectation of a future hope possible?
It was the Lord — and it was the Lord all the way — from beginning to end.
And, that gets me to the next point, but we need to define terms first.

Thanksgiving Matters: What the Hebrew Shows Us

The Greek word ‘thanksgiving’ is the quality of being grateful, with the implication of appropriate attitude, thankfulness, gratitude³
We’re talking about being grateful to God, having an attitude of gratitude, in a spirit of thankfulness.
The Hebrew word adds a bit of dimension and flavor.
The fundamental meaning of the Hebrew root for thanksgiving means to “confess”.
I want you to get this because this is a vital truth we should flow in at a high level.
The act of thanksgiving is an act of confession.
Now when I say confession, I do not mean just the confession of sin.
I also mean the positive confession of God’s Word as we see in Romans.

Romans 10:9–10 (ESV) — 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Hebrews adds this.

Hebrews 4:14 (ESV) — 14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

One of the definitions for thanksgiving in Hebrew means to confess.
Per the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, the word ‘thanks’ is used in two basic ways.
First, there is the confessing or declaring of God’s attributes and works.
And, second, is the definition that most people associate with – confession, which is confessing sins.
When it is used in the first sense, the Revised Standard Version of the Bible usually renders it “thanks.”
The OT has no independent concept of “thanks” as distinguished from “praise” — which means what?
It means that praise and thanks are the same.[ 4. 1 C. N. Dillman and N. J. Opperwall, “Thank; Thankful(ness); Thanksgiving,” ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988), 822.]

Thanksgiving Matters: Confessing God’s Attributes

Confessing God’s attributes then is thanksgiving!
But, you have to add the attributes.
That is, there should be something on the other side of your thanks.
So, it’s not just saying, ‘Lord, I thank you.’
That’s good, but, there is better.
When you know better, you can do better.
Thank you for what?
Well, thank you because.
Because what?
How about – I thank you because you are good?
So, it’s not just saying thank the Lord — thanks the Lord — oh, thank the Lord.
It’s I thank you, Lord because you are good.
It’s I thank you because you are merciful.
I thank you because, in this situation where you are trying to instruct me and leave me, you are right – you are always right.
I thank you because you are my healer.
I thank you because you are my financier.
I thank you because you are my provider.
I thank you because you are my way-maker.
I thank you because you are my deliverer.
I thank you because you are my wisdom. – God, you are smart – you are really smart.
I thank you because you gave me a family; you gave me a home.
I thank you because you gave me a reason to live.
I thank you because you gave me a purpose.
I thank you because.
It’s not just I thank you.
I thank you because.
What is on the other side of your thanks?
If you desire to operate in true thankfulness, you must confess.
You must declare – you must speak in faith.
You must have some other words on the other side of thank you.

Thanksgiving: Words on the Other Side

Isn’t that what you do when you say grace over your meals?
We call it saying grace, but really it’s thanking God for His provision in your life.

1 Timothy 4:4–5 (ESV) — 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

Thanksgiving in Jesus’ Life

Listen to Jesus here.

John 11:41 (ESV) — 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.

Do you see it?
Jesus is on earth — the Father God is in heaven.
How did Jesus know that the Father heard him?
The same way that you know that He heard you, by faith.

Hebrews 11:1, 6 (ESV) — 1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen… 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Jesus was thanking God, but, he did just say Father, I thank you.
No, he said Father, I thank you that you heard me.
The question again is, what’s on the other side of your thank you?
Do we say, Lord, we give you thanks, or is it we give you thanks because you are good and your mercies endure forever?
How do we know that his mercies endure forever?
How do we know that he won’t change His mind tomorrow and hold everybody accountable for every little thing that they did?
We know it because of the Word.
We know it because He sent Jesus.
We understand it because the scripture has already declared to us that He is a God who does not change.
So, therefore, because I believe his Word, I can be bold and confidently say that His mercies endure forever and put that on the other side of thank you.
Listen to Israel’s words on the other side of thanks in the Old Testament.

Ezra 3:11 (ESV) — 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.” And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.

The Rewards of Expressing Thanksgiving

Now, there are some positive things that will take place in your life if you maintain that spirit of thanking God.
One of the best examples of this is found in the story of the 10 lepers in the gospel of Luke.
Let’s read that together as we get ready to close.

Luke 17:11–19 (ESV) — 11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

Notice that the words praise and thanks are equivalent in this passage.
One of the 10 lepers, when they saw that they were healed, gave thanks.
Jesus called that expression of thanksgiving faith.
And, I don’t know about you, but I believe that he received something extra from the Lord when he offered up these words of gratitude for what God has done for him.
I believe that not only was he healed of leprosy — that is, the disease of leprosy ceased working in his body, but I believe that his members that were damaged from leprosy were restored to a whole condition.
Not only was this leper healed, but he was also made whole and complete.
Thank God for His mercies because they are new and fresh every day.
An imaginative story is told of a day when the sun did not rise. Six o’clock came, and there was no sign of dawn. At seven o’clock, there was still no ray of light. At noon, it was as black as midnight. No birds sang, and only the hoot of an owl broke the silence. Then came the long black hours of the afternoon. Finally, evening arrived, but no one slept that night. Some wept, and some wrung their hands in anguish. Every church was thronged with people on their knees. Thus they remained the whole night through. After that long night of terror and agony, millions of eager, tear-streaked faces were turned toward the east. When the sky began to grow red, and the sun rose, there was a loud shout of joy. Millions of lips said, “Bless the Lord, O my soul!” because the sun had risen after one day of darkness. The very consistency of God’s blessings sometimes seems to dull our gratitude. The wonderful thing about the mercies of God is that they are fresh every morning and new every evening. Let us remember to be constantly thankful to our gracious God.⁴
Why the Connection between Morals and Thanksgiving Matters – we trust you received something from this.
Have a great God week, this week in Jesus’ Name, Amen!

Is Praise and Thanksgiving Pillars of Your House?

__________
References:

Giving, Generosity Craig Brian Larson, 750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers & Writers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2002), 576–577. ↩
William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 29. ↩
William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 416. ↩
Michael P. Green, 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 376. ↩

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Why the Holy Spirit Connection between Morals and Thanksgiving Matters

Podcast: Light on Life Season Nine Episode Forty-Seven

by Emery Horvath

Listen to the Audio

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Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources:

We are currently teaching in the book of Ephesians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Podcast Notes

Proper and Improper Speech

Thanksgiving: The Companions of Filthiness

What about Thanksgiving Instead of Foolish Talk?

Thanksgiving: Way Better than Improper Speech

Thanksgiving Matters: What the Hebrew Shows Us

Thanksgiving Matters: Confessing God’s Attributes

Thanksgiving: Words on the Other Side

Thanksgiving in Jesus’ Life

The Rewards of Expressing Thanksgiving

Listen to the Audio

Click to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in iTunes

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources:

We are currently teaching in the book of Ephesians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Podcast Notes

Proper and Improper Speech

Thanksgiving: The Companions of Filthiness

What about Thanksgiving Instead of Foolish Talk?

Thanksgiving: Way Better than Improper Speech

Thanksgiving Matters: What the Hebrew Shows Us

Thanksgiving Matters: Confessing God’s Attributes

Thanksgiving: Words on the Other Side

Thanksgiving in Jesus’ Life

The Rewards of Expressing Thanksgiving

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