[The following is the manuscript of my sermon delivered on the 23rd of November, 2014.]
Last week we examined the Gospel of Luke to gain a bit better understanding of gratitude, of being thankful. We saw how nine lepers failed to go back and thank Jesus after He cured them and made them clean. Even though something great had just happened, they didn’t take the time to go back and give glory to God – or even to simply say “Thanks, Jesus”.
Sometimes, even when everything is going well for us, we can get so wrapped up in those good times that we forget to thank God for all He provides us. But what about when things aren’t going so well?
Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul, from the New Revised Standard Version of our Bible, of his 2nd letter to the Corinthian church, chapter 4, verses 6 through 15, as he reflects for a moment on what benefits tough times may provide…
6 For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. 11 For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.
13 But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture — “I believed, and so I spoke” — we also believe, and so we speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence. 15 Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
--2 Corinthians 4:6-15 (NRSV)
Let us pray... O gracious God, wonderful Father, we have gathered in this place to honor and worship You. Please share Your message with us and bless us by Your Holy Spirit. Speak directly to our hearts and cast out all doubts from within us. In the holiest name of Your Son Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
The food editor of a local newspaper received a telephone call a few days before Thanksgiving Day from a woman asking how long to cook a 22-pound turkey. “Just a minute,” the editor muttered, turning in her chair to consult a cooking chart. “Thank you very much”, replied the novice cook, and hung up!
Here are just a few things to be thankful for you may not have thought of:
[Adapted from 1001 Humorous Illustrations For Public Speaking, page 348, #929, “Sampler on Thanks”.]
Thursday is Thanksgiving Day, first proclaimed by President George Washington in 1789 as a nation-wide day for public thanksgiving and prayer to the Almighty God for His many blessings over this country. Americans generally point to one event in our nation’s history that set the precedent for this day of giving thanks to God.
After a perilous two month Atlantic crossing under miserable, cramped conditions, that group of people from Europe we now call the Pilgrims landed in the New World in November of 1620. One of their first actions upon arrival was to be led by William Brewster in the reading of Psalm 100 as a prayer of Thanksgiving. Let me read that prayer to you now, in what is close to the Bible they likely read from, the King James Version…
The food editor of a local newspaper received a telephone call a few days before Thanksgiving Day from a woman asking how long to cook a 22-pound turkey. “Just a minute,” the editor muttered, turning in her chair to consult a cooking chart. “Thank you very much”, replied the novice cook, and hung up!
[From 1001 Humorous Illustrations For Public Speaking, page 347, #927, “Just a Minute”.]
Here are just a few things to be thankful for you may not have thought of:
- Be thankful that only you and God know all the facts about you
- Be thankful that even if you can’t pay your bills, at least you don’t have to be one of your creditors
- Be thankful for doors of opportunity still standing before you and for friends who oil the hinges
- And finally, no matter how lousy the next few days may be for you, you can be thankful that you weren’t born a turkey
[Adapted from 1001 Humorous Illustrations For Public Speaking, page 348, #929, “Sampler on Thanks”.]
Thursday is Thanksgiving Day, first proclaimed by President George Washington in 1789 as a nation-wide day for public thanksgiving and prayer to the Almighty God for His many blessings over this country. Americans generally point to one event in our nation’s history that set the precedent for this day of giving thanks to God.
After a perilous two month Atlantic crossing under miserable, cramped conditions, that group of people from Europe we now call the Pilgrims landed in the New World in November of 1620. One of their first actions upon arrival was to be led by William Brewster in the reading of Psalm 100 as a prayer of Thanksgiving. Let me read that prayer to you now, in what is close to the Bible they likely read from, the King James Version…
1 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.--Psalm 100 (KJV)
Let me repeat verse 4: Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. Just a moment ago, with our offering to the Lord, we sang “Praise God from whom all blessings flow”. We acknowledge His blessings. We praise Him. We sing of our thankfulness to Him. Do we really mean it, or are we just repeating words we learned long ago?
Getting back to our earlier namesakes, the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony landed in November, too late to even think about planting crops. That first winter proved nearly disastrous. By the spring of 1621, only 47 colonists survived – the rest having succumbed to either the harshness of the winter or to disease contracted aboard ship. But they did survive and that fall they celebrated their first harvest alongside their Native American neighbors, without whose help they most surely would not have lasted the year.
How can we relate to those early Pilgrims and their plight? They were desperate - they almost didn’t make it. But after bringing in a successful harvest and with their time of desperation behind them, they rejoiced and gave thanks to the Lord.
To me that is a trend we ourselves may likely have experienced at some point. After a drought is broken by a series of rains, don’t we stop and give thanks to God? Or after torrential storms, don’t we show gratitude for the sunshine when it breaks through the clouds? If we’ve been out in the cold, aren’t we thankful for getting into warm shelter? If we’ve ever gone hungry or thirsty for an extended time, didn’t we give thanks when we finally got food to eat and water to drink?
Once some great lack or need has passed, we are thankful. It just seems to follow that from desperation comes thanksgiving, once that desperate season has passed.
For many people, just surviving each day is a challenge. I know that some of us are going through very trying times right now. Some may be nearing the point of desperation. Sadly, for too many in this world, that time of desperation will not end until their life on this earth has ended. If we wait for our desperation to be over, it may be too late to give thanks!
I think it crucial that we heed Paul’s urging to us all in his 1st letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 5, verses 16 through 18, where he exhorts us to…
Getting back to our earlier namesakes, the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony landed in November, too late to even think about planting crops. That first winter proved nearly disastrous. By the spring of 1621, only 47 colonists survived – the rest having succumbed to either the harshness of the winter or to disease contracted aboard ship. But they did survive and that fall they celebrated their first harvest alongside their Native American neighbors, without whose help they most surely would not have lasted the year.
How can we relate to those early Pilgrims and their plight? They were desperate - they almost didn’t make it. But after bringing in a successful harvest and with their time of desperation behind them, they rejoiced and gave thanks to the Lord.
To me that is a trend we ourselves may likely have experienced at some point. After a drought is broken by a series of rains, don’t we stop and give thanks to God? Or after torrential storms, don’t we show gratitude for the sunshine when it breaks through the clouds? If we’ve been out in the cold, aren’t we thankful for getting into warm shelter? If we’ve ever gone hungry or thirsty for an extended time, didn’t we give thanks when we finally got food to eat and water to drink?
Once some great lack or need has passed, we are thankful. It just seems to follow that from desperation comes thanksgiving, once that desperate season has passed.
For many people, just surviving each day is a challenge. I know that some of us are going through very trying times right now. Some may be nearing the point of desperation. Sadly, for too many in this world, that time of desperation will not end until their life on this earth has ended. If we wait for our desperation to be over, it may be too late to give thanks!
I think it crucial that we heed Paul’s urging to us all in his 1st letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 5, verses 16 through 18, where he exhorts us to…
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.--1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV)
Enter into our Lord’s gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise, rejoicing always and praying without ceasing. And in everything give thanks. Paul wasn’t just speaking platitudes here – he experienced horrible times but never wavered in his faith, nor in his thankfulness to God.
Look at our message text again. In verse 7 he notes that he and his companions have a treasure in “clay jars”. Some other versions say “earthen vessels”. By this he means that he has a treasure in his earthly body in that he can clearly show that any extraordinary power that might be evidenced through him comes not from him but from God.
In verses 8 and 9 he reflects on some of those tough times where he and his brethren have been perplexed and confused, persecuted, afflicted in every way. Yet they have not been forsaken, abandoned, broken, or destroyed.
And there at the end, in verse 15, he tells us why this information is so important. So that God’s great grace might be extended to more and more people. And as a result, that the combined thanksgiving to our Lord might be increased - all to the glory of God.
In everything give thanks. Not just during the good times. Not only after the hard times have ended. Regardless of the situation you find yourself in, find something in your life to give thanks for. Even in the throes of desperation, when all seems hopeless, look to the One from whence comes all our hope and be thankful unto Him. It’s perfectly OK to pray for help through troubling times. Our Father in heaven wants us to come to Him with our needs. And Jesus Himself tells us to expect our prayer to be answered, as recorded in the Gospel according to Mark, chapter 11, verse 24, where Jesus says…
And please, don’t wait for the hard times to end to give thanks. By then it just may be too late.
Amen.
Let us pray… Father in heaven, it’s easy for us to utter the words “Thank You”, especially when we see an end to a desperate situation and know that better times are just ahead. It’s easy to be thankful when everything is going good. Help us, Lord, to show our gratitude in all things, in the bad times as well as the good. Forgive us, Father, when we take Your bountiful blessings for granted, maybe because we have not experienced lack and need. Maybe we don’t know what it’s like to go through a harsh winter with supplies dwindling down each day to near nothing, so that we can rejoice and sing Your praises once a good harvest is brought in. Maybe we think that what we have came about of our own efforts and work, forgetting that everything comes from You. Lord, we acknowledge that there is nothing we have ever made with our hands, nothing we have ever accomplished on our own, that You did not provide the strength, the courage, the resources, the will to make it happen! For all that we have, we are indebted to You.
Lord, You know our hearts. You can look into our very core and see if we are genuine in our gratitude. Look now, Father, and listen as we give You thanks silently from our hearts…
Almighty God, may we always be thankful, truly and genuinely grateful, not just after desperate times have ended. May we always stand strong against adversity, upheld by Your righteous hand. May we always come before you with thanksgiving and praise, glorifying Your very name. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.
Look at our message text again. In verse 7 he notes that he and his companions have a treasure in “clay jars”. Some other versions say “earthen vessels”. By this he means that he has a treasure in his earthly body in that he can clearly show that any extraordinary power that might be evidenced through him comes not from him but from God.
In verses 8 and 9 he reflects on some of those tough times where he and his brethren have been perplexed and confused, persecuted, afflicted in every way. Yet they have not been forsaken, abandoned, broken, or destroyed.
And there at the end, in verse 15, he tells us why this information is so important. So that God’s great grace might be extended to more and more people. And as a result, that the combined thanksgiving to our Lord might be increased - all to the glory of God.
In everything give thanks. Not just during the good times. Not only after the hard times have ended. Regardless of the situation you find yourself in, find something in your life to give thanks for. Even in the throes of desperation, when all seems hopeless, look to the One from whence comes all our hope and be thankful unto Him. It’s perfectly OK to pray for help through troubling times. Our Father in heaven wants us to come to Him with our needs. And Jesus Himself tells us to expect our prayer to be answered, as recorded in the Gospel according to Mark, chapter 11, verse 24, where Jesus says…
So when you do pray, go ahead and thank God for answering you, believing He has already done so.24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.--Mark 11:24 (NKJV)
And please, don’t wait for the hard times to end to give thanks. By then it just may be too late.
Amen.
Let us pray… Father in heaven, it’s easy for us to utter the words “Thank You”, especially when we see an end to a desperate situation and know that better times are just ahead. It’s easy to be thankful when everything is going good. Help us, Lord, to show our gratitude in all things, in the bad times as well as the good. Forgive us, Father, when we take Your bountiful blessings for granted, maybe because we have not experienced lack and need. Maybe we don’t know what it’s like to go through a harsh winter with supplies dwindling down each day to near nothing, so that we can rejoice and sing Your praises once a good harvest is brought in. Maybe we think that what we have came about of our own efforts and work, forgetting that everything comes from You. Lord, we acknowledge that there is nothing we have ever made with our hands, nothing we have ever accomplished on our own, that You did not provide the strength, the courage, the resources, the will to make it happen! For all that we have, we are indebted to You.
Lord, You know our hearts. You can look into our very core and see if we are genuine in our gratitude. Look now, Father, and listen as we give You thanks silently from our hearts…
Almighty God, may we always be thankful, truly and genuinely grateful, not just after desperate times have ended. May we always stand strong against adversity, upheld by Your righteous hand. May we always come before you with thanksgiving and praise, glorifying Your very name. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.
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