Thanksgiving 2025 - In Process and In Progress

Announcements

Gratitude for all the builders and electricians and coffee makers and food preparers

We’re not done yet!

Thanksgiving! This Thursday @ 1400 - Sign-Ups are already in ChurchCenter app

Advent series starts next Sunday - Special Season where we get to celebrate the advent - the arrival of King Jesus - and to promote some of the Called of Refuge Aviano in preaching the Gospel.

In Process and In Progress

1 John 1:6–10 CSB

6 If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” and yet we walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth. 7 If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

I want to speak this morning a blend on Jesus’s gospel of Peace to you and me - and to the notion of Thanksgiving.

Church, we have A LOT to be thankful for. I truly believe we too often forget how much we have to be thankful for.

The fact that we can refer to each other as the Church - the called out ones - the saved ones, the delivered ones, the ones living in freedom - the Church - we can be eternally grateful for that we are God’s Church.

AND there’s also the daily blessings we get to thrive in - and we know every good thing in life comes from the Father above. So again, being grateful to God for each blessing - and to each other for the opportunity to be enriched by each other.

I preached a sermon at the beginning of the year on Peace.

the Peace of Jesus Christ applied to your life

His Peace is the very Name of Jesus is applied to all aspects of your life - to your faith walk, your prayer life, your confidence and trust, your relationships, your finances, your education, your passions & desires

As you walk in Christ’s Name this year, you will experience the peace of Christ like you’ve never known before

The peace of Christ is outside the world’s calamity - the noise, conflict, stressors, and anxieties

Many of you here today actually walked this out.

2025 has brought a lot of stressors this year, “Hello?”

And yet through it all, you’ve maintained your trust in Jesus.

Jesus brought you through it all.

You’re still standing - rapid deployments, physical hurts, missed celebrations, and some dreams failed

But you’re still standing.

This is where we remind ourselves that we are In Process and In Progress. Tell your neighbor that you’re still In Process and In Progress

Let’s look at 1 John 2:3-6

1 John 2:3–6 NKJV

3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

John here is writing as the Holy Spirit is breathing this Word through John into this letter.

If we go back to the beginning of 1 John 1, we read that there’s a purpose to this letter.

It is to bear witness to the life of Christ of which he was a first-person, eye-witness of the love of God revealed in Christ Jesus.

John, throughout all his letters, really presses in to the love of God, the love of Jesus, that God is love, and His love is for you and me and His love is for you and me to share with the world.

There’s this concept and doctrine that in knowing Christ Jesus, you will know God’s love. You can’t help but know God’s love through Jesus giving His life for you and me.

And those that KNOW Jesus, and God’s love - they will live out all that Jesus said to know and do. It’s a good and godly burden to carry a need to live out what Christ commands us in Scripture.

This is actually the great identifier for those who are in Christ Jesus - those that profess they know Jesus - those that have truly experienced the love of God in their lives:

they will be obedient to all Jesus commands

they will be in tune with Jesus’s spoken words - the Word of God.

they will therefore become more like Christ Jesus

During the work week here we talked a few occasions about how when the stressors of doing laborious work we begin to hear ourselves say the things that our dads said when we were younger.

Meaning you’re in the heat of the moment you react to the situation and you say or do something that is exactly what your dad used to say or do.

“you open up your mouth and your dad falls out”

Sometimes that’s a good thing - sometimes that’s something you would like to roll back

You mimic, you mirror, to act the same way of what you saw and heard your father do.

This is the same thing John is referring to - that in observing what we see in God’s Word, that our actions become habitual in reflecting the heart of God!

Too many times I hear the words “Oh I love God”, but they do not live out the commandments of Jesus and His Word. The Bible says here in 1 John that that person is a liar!

And this makes me think - how often have I been hypocritical and lived a lie - because of what I was supposed to say or do - in being like Christ - but did not! Or how many times have I done something that I should NOT have done - because it was opposed to Christ.

These are points of repentance that I have to come back to!

1 John 2:5–6 ESV

5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

1 John 2:5–6 CSB

5 But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete. This is how we know we are in him: 6 The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked.

those who love God, should also walk and talk like Christ Jesus.

And this is where remind ourselves that we are IN PROCESS and IN PROGRESS

When I keep hold of and live in God’s Word, the love God is still working, still progressing, still massaging, still tweaking - until God’s love is MADE COMPLETE and PERFECT.

Underline this word “perfected” or “or complete”

This word perfected in the greek is

Lexham Research Lexicon of the Greek New Testament τελειόω

teleioō

It’s a verb that means to complete, to perfect, to finish

What John is writing to us today is that God’s not done with you and me yet. Until His love is absolutely made perfect in you and me - in that we live and breathe and do exactly as Jesus did - He’s not done yet.

Look to your neighbor and let them know, that God’s still working me.

God is not done with me yet. I’m not a perfect work, but I’m a work in progress.

That thing I said last week that rubbed you the wrong way, I’m sorry. I repent of that. Jesus is still working on me. Please forgive me.

Look to the Father and pray to Hi - Hey Father, that thing I did last week. I’m sorry, Lord. I repent of that. I know you’re still working on me. Please forgive me.

You’ve got to remind yourself this morning that you’re in process, and in progress. God’s love isn’t yet perfected in you - but you’re being perfected.

As long as you stay in His Word - as you hold on to His Word - as you live and breathe and do His Word - the Divinely operating, Hell-robbing, Peace-settling, Heaven-reaching, Prayer-warring love of God is still being perfected in you.

He’s not done yet. And neither are you.

Somebody say, thank you, Lord!

Turn over a few more chapters to 1 John 4 and 5.

We are to walk like Jesus walked. We are to talk like Jesus talked. We are to do like Jesus did.

Immediately there are those who could take these words and feel incomplete, and incompatible with this Christian life.

Immediately there are those who battle with uncertainty and insecurity with their relationship with God.

I know this because I too battle with the not-good-enoughs. I battle too with the imposter syndrome. I battle too at times with the thought that I could never effectively receive God’s love.

I may not feel worthy, but this is where my faith is working. My faith is working - not my feelings.

I have to also remind myself, that I’m not good enough to receive God’s love is a lie from the pit of Hell. Because I’m in process and I’m in progress -

I can look back at my life - even in the last year - and see that I’m closer to God than I ever have been. That I’m more forgiven than I ever knew I was. That I’m more loved than I could think is possible.

And I read in 1 John 4:15-16

1 John 4:15–16 NKJV

15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

If you CONFESS with your mouth that Jesus is Lord - hey we’re friends. We’re family. Because the Bible says - as you just read - that the revelation of Jesus as the Son of God is straight from God Himself.

That’s a grace straight from God Himself - that we could have the revelation that God loves you and me.

And that revelation is an impartation of God’s love - in that He’s telling you right now, that He loves you.

Look to your neighbor and say, “God loves me.”

You see we often easily look to each other and say, “God loves you”. But some may find it difficult to say, “God loves me.”

Why? Because we’re all in process and in progress.

For some of us, it’s a really easy and quick thing to say God loves me.

For for some of us still, we still wonder in amazement that God could love me.

This is why John goes on to say 1 John 4:16-19

1 John 4:16–19 NKJV

16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us.

The Bible tells us to work out our salvation in fear in trembling. That is to say - allow the love of God to become complete and perfect to where I am confident in His love for me. And I reciprocate God’s love by expressing love.

If God’s love is still working on me, there will be times where I am able to exercise love for others, and those times when I fail to do so.

God loves me, and I’m still learning.

Because I’m in process and in progress.

If I refuse to share love for others, I am no longer in process and in progress - God’s love is not being perfected in me.

But if I choose to operate in love - and in repentance AND forgiveness - towards my brothers and sisters in Christ.

I’ve still got a chance.

And if I focus intentionally on obeying Christ’s commands in the process…I’m getting refined - you could say I’m getting refiner and refiner.

God’s love is working me to the point that’s working through me into the lives of others.

This is why the Bible says in the very next verse:

1 John 4:20–21 NKJV

20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

The clear indication that God is working on us is our relationships with each other. It is the evidence of our faith. You can say you believe in God - that you love God, but if you do not love your neighbor, your brother, your sister, your pastor, your coworker, your boss - those even in your chain of command, you’re not in process or in progress. Now you’re contrary to who God is and His intent in your life.

And that is a point of repentance you need to take to the Father.

You’ve got to take that to the Father. Lay it all out before Him. And ask Him to continue to perfect His love in your life.

When you can learn to love well, you can live well. The evidence is how you’re living life now.

CLOSING

Put your faith in God, and He will begin a good work in you - to which He is faithful to complete.

Because He loves you.

We’ve got to be grateful for His love.

It’s God’s grace extended to you to know God loves you.

God’s love is refining and rebirthing.

It’s what allows the Holy Spirit to birth us into a new creation - to be born again.

God gives us a new birth - a fresh life. Born in victory!

1 John 5:4 NKJV

4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

You’ve got a faith in you that’s enough to overcome all the things the world can throw at you.

That faith, at the simplest level, is that God loves you.

And that faith gives you a confidence you get to exercise. One it gives you peace.

Can we just take a moment, maybe 10 seconds, and give a thanksgiving prayer to God for loving you and me?

The second thing is this:

1 John 5:14–15 NKJV

14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

God loves you. That in itself is a point of thanksgiving.

But God the Father also presents Himself to you - asking you to ask from Him. What do you need today? What do you need from God today? Maybe its forgiveness. Maybe its more capacity to love like He does. Maybe its a hurt that needs to be healed. Maybe its help in a decision that needs to be made. Maybe you need healing. Maybe your finances are aching right now. Maybe family life is rough right now. Maybe, this holiday season causes anxiety rather than celebrating peace.

Whatever it is - if we know that He hears our requests, then we know He provides what we’ve asked for.

Flex your faith in God today. Exercise your faith in God’s love today.

Remind yourself that you’re in process and He’s making progress in your life today.