Thanking Through It
Thanking Through It • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 3 viewsWhen I worship God with my life, He gives me a heart of gratitude.
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ME
ME
I have been in student ministry for over 18 years, but I can say without hesitation that the last six months have been the busiest time of my ministry.
District Lock-in (staying up all night gets harder the older you are!)
District Assembly
General Assembly
Nazarene Youth Conference
Summer Tribes Wed night events
Kings Island Trip
District Breakaway Retreat
Add in three kiddos at home, school starting, and laundry and it seemed like absolute chaos lately.
Now I’m pretty low key and don’t get stressed about much, but these last 180+ days had me a little crazy at times!
And when I’m stressed out, it’s hard to give praise and thanks to God like I should because I get to focused on what’s right in front of my face.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt this way!
But last month, during one of the worship services at our Breakaway Retreat, God reminded me of how much I have to be thankful for:
*Breakaway worship pic*
During our district teen events, all the students go up to the front to sing in the worship services. During one of those times, I spotted my son Brayden holding my youngest daughter Elena on his shoulders while they both sang praises to their Creator God.
And I saw my middle child Ava singing praises over the weekend as well.
That right there is worth every sleepless night and the stress of dealing with every pranking teenage knucklehead boy!
Then, when we came home Sunday, my wife Kayla was playing the video put together for Pastor Appreciation Month that was shown during the October 29th service.
When my friend and mentor Tony Allison came on the screen and started talking, I lost it right there at my dining room table.
And the teens, Brad, my family on the video just put the icing on the cake.
God gave me a wake up call, showing me just how much I have to be thankful for...
Thank You church for all the gifts, food and kindness you showed the staff during Pastor Appreciation.
It’s an honor to serve here at SHN.
WE
WE
It’s easy for many of us to forget just how much we have to be thankful for, isn’t it?
Especially when hard times come and life is stressful and people around us are pushing every last button we’ve got...
But when we can look back and take a true assessment of our lives, we can be thankful no matter what comes...
Thankful Despite Trials
When he was 7 years old, his family was forced out of their home, and he went to work. When he was 9, his mother died. He lost his job as a store clerk when he was 20. He wanted to go to law school, but he didn't have the education. At age 23 he went into debt to be a partner in a small store. Three years later the business partner died, and the resulting debt took years to repay.
When he was 28, after courting a girl for four years, he asked her to marry him, and she turned him down. On his third try he was elected to Congress, at age 37, but then failed to be re-elected. His son died at 4 years of age. When this man was 45, he ran for the Senate and lost. At age 47 he ran for the vice-presidency and lost. But at age 51 he was elected president of the United States.
*Show pic of Lincoln*
The man was Abraham Lincoln, a man who learned to face discouragement and move beyond it. Did you know that it was Abraham Lincoln who, in the midst of the Civil War, in 1863, issued a Proclamation of Thanksgiving?
“I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.”
Lincoln had learned how important it is to stop and thank God in the midst of great difficulties.
In the midst of the bloodiest war in our nation’s history, the leader of the free world called the country give thanks and praise to our generous, loving heavenly Father.
Surely we can do the same today, no matter what we may be facing...
*Title slide*
GOD
GOD
A few thousand years ago, the Apostle Paul sent a letter to the church in a place called Thessalonica.
Thessalonica, like much of the Roman Empire 2,000 years ago, was polytheistic, which meant that they worshipped a lot of different “gods.”
They even worshipped the emperor… and failing to do so could lead to some terrible consequences for a citizen of Rome.
So Christians didn’t offend by proclaiming Jesus “Lord” in this polytheistic society. But insisting that he alone was Lord was offensive because it attacked the national gods as false (1 Thess 1:9–10).
And so worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone got the Thessalonian Christians into some tough situations..
So Paul writes a letter to encourage them:
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
Rejoice
Rejoice
First Thessalonians 5 offers practical, concrete steps to take as you learn to adopt a disposition of gratitude.
The Christian life is practical and is to be lived out day-by-day, moment by moment.
It’s not having a big emotional “pick me up” at church and then going and living any way I choose to when I leave the building.
It’s real life or it’s nothing at all...
The first step Paul says we must take to live thankful is to:
Rejoice always,
Rejoicing is more than simply being happy. The Greek word translated “rejoice” means “calmly happy” or “be well.” So when Paul writes, “Rejoice always,” the image is one of someone who is cool, calm, and collected, despite any adversity they face. Rather than folding under the pressure or giving into despair, such a person maintains a sense of joy.
But how do we maintain this calm and peace in the midst of the storms of this life?
By understanding that we aren’t in control of everything and relying on the Holy Spirit of God to empower us to rejoice always.
Galatians 5:22–23 (NCV)
But the Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. There is no law that says these things are wrong.
Paul ( who also wrote Galatians) is telling the Thessalonians to maintain this second fruit of the Spirit, Joy ALWAYS.
Always should not be understood as “for everything.”
I shouldn’t be joyful at the fact that there are children starving all over the planet as we speak.
Or that my friend (or enemy) had a car accident and is in the hospital.
A lot of things in this life are disappointing, sorrowful, and evil. And Christian love does not rejoice at evil.
1 Corinthians 13:6 (NCV)
Love takes no pleasure in evil but rejoices over the truth.
The call to be joyful is a call to faith. We should remember at all times to whom we belong, what our future is with God, and what the risen Christ has promised us.
God didn’t set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ. He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we’re awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we’re alive with him!
PRAY, PRAY, PRAY
PRAY, PRAY, PRAY
pray without ceasing,
The busyness of work, the sorrow of grief, conflicts with family and society over their faith—all these should drive believers to pray at every opportunity. They may cultivate an awareness of their heavenly Father wherever they are and remember his grace to them.
We place a great emphasis on prayer here at SHN:
Tuesday evening prayer meeting
Saturday morning prayer breakfast
Sunday morning Prayer at the start of service
For the past month, a group of us have been praying to be effective witnesses to those in our community
And we think prayer is important for some good reasons:
“The prayer of the feeblest saint who lives in the Spirit and keeps right with God is a terror to Satan. The very powers of darkness are paralyzed by prayer; no spiritualistic séance can succeed in the presence of a humble praying saint. No wonder Satan tries to keep our minds fussy in active work till we cannot think in prayer.”
-Oswald Chambers
You know what I’ve noticed about some churchgoers over the years?
They will complain about the most ridiculous stuff for years before ever praying about it.
That’s because devil likes to keep Christians as distracted as possible from their mission to make disciples.
But I’ve never found a Christian who is commited to prayer complaining about trivial things...
We’re all busy in this life- work, kids, grandkids, ball games, band competitions, laundry, dishes, stuff to fix at home, etc. And we have a constant electronic distraction in our pockets.
How can we live life praying without ceasing?
*Pic of Frank Laubach*
Frank Laubach, missionary to the Phillippines, discovered a simple way to pray without ceasing.
He called it “The Game With Minutes.”
*Game with minutes graphic*
Laubach’s journal entry from January 3, 1930 goes like this:
1. Open Windows
January 3, 1930
“To be able to look backward and say, “This, this has been the finest year of any life” — that is glorious! But anticipation! To be able to look ahead and say, “The present year can and will be better!” — that is more glorious! I have done nothing but open windows — God has done the rest. There has been a succession of marvelous experiences of the friendship of God. I resolved that I would succeed better this year with my experiment of filling every minute full of the thought of God than I succeeded last year. And I added another resolve — to be as wide open toward people and their need as I am toward God. Windows open outward as well as upward. Windows open especially downward where people need the most!”
“I want to learn how to live so that to see someone is to pray for them.”
I don’t know about you, but that quote from 93 years ago really convicted me.
I love everyone, but there are times when some people get on my last nerve.
*Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt that way*
But to live life praying for everyone I see, every day?
It’s really hard to have bad feelings toward someone you’re praying for.
And look, you don’t need to lay hands on the head of every person you meet and pray out loud in King James language!
You might get punched in the face if you do that!
And you shouldn’t pray for that person that you don’t like to go out and break their leg!
That ain’t like Jesus, that’s just petty!
But you can silently pray for each person as you see them.
And you should probably start with the person who gets on your nerves the most in case there’s any bitterness in your heart...
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
It’s always better to pray for someone than to talk bad about them.
I challenge you this week to spend time praying for each person you see. I believe God will change your perspective, soften your heart towards others, and it you free to do what Paul talked about in verse 16:
“Rejoice Always.”
Give Thanks in All...
Give Thanks in All...
And this unceasing prayer life helps us to do what Paul says in the next verse:
give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Life is great at times, and life is terrible at times.
Many of you have had great things happen in your lives recently:
Birth of children and grandchildren
Job promotions
Gotten married
Gave your life to Jesus or recommitted your life to Him
Gotten baptized
Many of you in this room have gone through a lot over the last few years:
Health problems.
Family problems.
The loss of people you love.
People have betrayed you.
Things going on in your life that only you and God know about.
It’s easy to give thanks to God in those good times.
But what about the tough stuff in life?
How can we give thanks in those times?
“Believers can give thanks regardless, for the ground of their thanksgiving is God himself and what he has done for the world in Jesus Christ. He is the God who triumphs in spite of human evil. He has redeemed his people, sent his Spirit, and safeguarded their future with himself beyond death.”
-Terence Paige
We can find hope and encouragement in perhaps the strangest worship service in history.
A man named Job loses everything and everyone dear to him in an instant.
And instead of cursing God in that moment and giving up, he does this:
At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised.”
In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
Job praises the name of the Lord after losing his fortune and family.
And I hope that none of us have to go through what he did.
However, I also pray that when you and I go through the hardest times in our lives, we can speak and believe this truth from the Psalms:
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
He ain’t never gonna stop being good.
He’s not the author of pain and heartache in your life.
He’s a good God who made this world a perfect place, but mankind ruined this world at the fall.
But through Christ, we have redemption and can be made whole again.
Doesn’t mean hard times won’t come, but it does mean that whatever comes our way, you can rely on the Holy Spirit of God and your church family to help you through it.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
You see, He’s just as worthy of your praise in the hardest moments of your life as He is in the greatest moments of your life.
And when you go through the tough stuff, you can learn how to comfort others when they go through the same things.
Rejoice always
Pray, pray, pray
Give thanks in all things
God’s Holy Spirit enables us to live this way when we are...
SET APART
SET APART
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
To sanctify is to devote wholly to God. It implies that the people who are so devoted will take on the character of the God to whom they belong.
-Terence Paige
When we are sanctified wholly, we are set apart and different from the world around us in the best possible way.
In the church of the Nazarene, we believe that through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can live above the power of sin.
We don’t have to live the way we used to live or like everyone else lives.
God’s sanctification affects all of the Christian’s capacities—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.
And this kind of life is possible because the one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. It is in God’s hands, this miracle that leads from calling to sanctification to presenting the believer blameless before his throne.
It is by this power of the Holy Spirit that we can live rejoicing, prayerful and thankful lives in the midst of a world that is depressed, prayer-less and thankless.
When I worship God with my life, He gives me a heart of gratitude.
When I worship God with my life, He gives me a heart of gratitude.
YOU
YOU
"Life is a grindstone. Whether it grinds you down or polishes you up depends upon what you are made of."
-James S. Hewett
*Title slide*
When you are the the end of your life and look back, what do you want to see?
A life where you grumbled and complained, a life where you were constantly the “victim” of a mean, cruel world that’s was always out to get you?
Or do you want to look back at a thankful life?
A life of worship and thanks to the God who created You and in whom you live and move and have your being?
It’s your choice...
And for some in this room, you’re closer to the end than others.
May I tell you that it’s not too late to live thankful?
You can decide right now to praise and thank God each and every day- through the good, bad and the ugly.
WE
WE
The truth is, none of us are guaranteed tomorrow, no matter how young or old we are.
What if we, as a church, decided to take each day as if it was our last?
Living thankful for each moment and breath that God has given us?
I believe that if we lived this way, we would embody the Gospel of Jesus Christ with our actions, words, decisions… with our everything.
And in a world full of people who are confused, lost, hopeless, anxious, and miserable, God would work through us to bring joy, peace, thankfulness and hope.
For too long, Christians in our country have had the perception of being joyless, unloving, angry folks with hearts of stone.
No better than the world around us...
With God’s help, we can do better.
May this be our prayer as we leave this place:
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
*Prayer*
*Game with minutes reminder*
