THANKSGIVING 2002: O'Fallon Community Thanksgiving Service

THANKSGIVING 2002 O'Fallon Community Thanksgiving Service Nov 26, 2002 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introductory An atheist was walking through the woods, admiring all the "accidental evolutions" that Mother Nature had created. "What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!" he said to himself. As he was walking alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. Turning to look, he saw a 7-foot grizzly bear charge towards him. He ran away as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder and saw the grizzly was closing. Somehow he ran even faster, so scared that tears came to his eyes. He looked again, and the bear was even closer. His heart was pounding, and he tried to run faster. He tripped and fell to the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up, but the bear was right over him, reaching for him. At that instant the atheist cried, "Oh my God!" Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent. Even the river stopped moving. As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky, "You deny my existence for all these years, teach others that I don't exist, and credit creation to a cosmic accident. And you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I now to count you as a believer?" The atheist looked directly into the light and said, "I would feel like a hypocrite to become a Christian after all these years, but perhaps you could make the bear a Christian?" "Very well," said the voice. The light went out. The river ran. The sounds of the forest resumed. Then the bear knelt before the man, brought both paws together, bowed its head, and spoke: "Lord, for this food which I am about to receive, I am truly thankful." So many reasons to give thanks! It seems to me that the placement of our unique American celebration of Thanksgiving at the end of November is somewhat providential-moreso than William Bradford knew when he established the first Thanksgiving in 1623, and more than George Washington understood when he made it a national celebration in 1779. Now that the influence of our materialism has caused the Christmas shopping season to inch its way back the calendar to the first of November, we need a break from the advertising and consumerism about this time! Now it's two months that we're lugging newspapers in from the front yard that actually outweigh the family pet. I suppose it's good for chiropractors' business, though. With the much-publicized fear of a drop in consumer spending, retailers are concerned. Halloween has become big business these days, and, of course, Christmas has always been lucrative. So what we have in the middle of two spend-crazy seasons is this wonderful little holiday when we can remind ourselves that we already have more than enough for which we can be thankful. But, if you are a retailer, you might not want a widespread emphasis on people being thankful and content with what they have. Nevertheless, into the heart of this flourishing season of consumerism comes this brief respite for all of us. And I am grateful for it. Like you, I am also grateful for this opportunity for the body of Christ to come together and, at least momentarily, drop all of our labels and just be one in Christ. After all, what else can bring us together like mutual thanksgiving to the Lord? It's a little bit of a foretaste of eternity when we do that. On behalf of the ministers who likewise share in the monthly fellowship of the O'Fallon Ministers' Association, thank you for being here. Text For a few moments let's consider this awesomely insinuating text from the pen of the apostle Paul. It shows up in your New Testament at 1 Thessalonians 5:18. Led and empowered by the Holy Spirit, he writes to believers in Thessalonica and O'Fallon, "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." There it is-a divine answer for all those who want to know God's will for their lives; apostolic counsel for believers looking for advice on what to do, how to behave; direction for those who are feeling genuinely grateful for all that they have, but don't know what to do about it; an encouragement for those who feel bulldozed by difficult circumstances, discouraged by setbacks and even disheartened by things, from 9/11 to fractured relationships to a sluggish market to sickness and grief. GIVE THANKS. Is the message of this text such a panacea? It must be, because Paul says, "This is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus," [webmasters note: 1 Thessalonians 5:18] and the will of God is always the right thing. But, beyond that, countless veteran believers teach us that when we learn to give thanks in all circumstances, we are drawn into a closer relationship with the Lord. William Law, 17th century Englishman, once asked: 'Would you know who is the greatest saint? It is not the man who prays most or who does most. It is the man who is most thankful.'" "In fact, writes Vance Havner, " the whole Christian life is one big 'Thank You,' the living expression of our gratitude to God for His goodness." William Temple wrote these insightful words - "It is probable that in most of us the spiritual life is impoverished and stunted because we give so little place to gratitude. It is more important to thank God for blessings received than to pray for them beforehand. For that forward-looking prayer, though right as an expression of dependence upon God, is still self-centered in part, at least, of its interest; there is something we hope to gain by our prayer. But the backward-looking act of thanksgiving is quite free from this. In itself it is quite selfless. Thus it is akin to love." John Calvin said gratitude was at the center of the Christian life, and G. K. Chesterton called it "the mother of all virtues." By contrast, we often find ourselves thankful to God only when "life is good" - and our thanksgiving becomes little more than a stored tool we reach for in times of delight or satisfaction. But the scripture speaks of thanksgiving as a "sacrifice of praise." There was a classified ad in the Lost Pets section that read: "Lost - mixed terrier dog. Has 3 legs, missing one eye, torn left ear and large scar on back. Answers to the name, 'Lucky'." Are our thanksgivings to be shelved until a time when we feel fortunate? What about the times when we are baffled by doubts, fears and heartaches? How can we be obedient to this word, "Give thanks in all circumstances"? [webmasters note: 1 Thessalonians 5:18] I would like to share three brief exhortations that will help each of us to be thankful even when we are baffled. 1. Resolve Everything we do comes down to our decision to act. My mother smoked cigarettes for fifty years. Incidentally, she came to faith in Christ just three years ago at the age of 72. And it was shortly after that she announced to me that she had quit smoking. I asked her how she did it and she said, "I just did it! I haven't had a cigarette in two months, and I feel much better." I congratulated her and then asked why she hadn't quit years earlier. She said quickly, "I didn't want to." It's true, isn't it? We won't do anything until we are resolved, truly resolved to do it. It is when we are resolved that our behavior gets seriously changed. Since the verb that we find in our text this evening is in the imperative mood (that is, it is a command), I am pretty sure we are being told to give thanks in all circumstances. That calls for resolve. Any of us who was ever a child knows this to be true. It was in our pint-size days that we were urged repeatedly to "say thank you" whenever we received a gift or a favor. Why is that? Because we are selfish, sinful people when left to ourselves; and even as adult Christians we find it sometimes hard to be grateful. Not much has changed since childhood, unfortunately, and we still need the reminder to be thankful, especially to God. A family was hosting dinner for the pastor and a roomful of invited guests from their church. When it came time to sit down to the meal, mother asked four-year old Ryan to return thanks for them. He refused saying he didn't know what to say. Mom insisted, "Just say a prayer you've heard mommy say." Ryan relented, they bowed in prayer and he spoke, "Dear Lord, why do I always invite so many people to dinner!?" This biblical instruction might be just what we need this thanksgiving season - Resolve to be a thankful person in all circumstances. Maybe it's time you and the Lord did business on this issue right now, this evening. You know, resolutions don't have to wait for New Year's Day. In his book Living Life on Purpose, Greg Anderson shares the story of one of his friends: "... his wife had left him and he was completely depressed. He had lost faith in himself, in other people, in God--he found no joy in living. One rainy morning this man went to a small neighborhood restaurant for breakfast. Although several people were at the diner, no one was speaking to anyone else. Our miserable friend hunched over the counter, stirring his coffee with a spoon. In one of the small booths along the window was a young mother with a little girl. They had just been served their food when the little girl broke the sad silence by almost shouting, "Mommy, why don't we say our prayers here?" The waitress who had just served their breakfast turned around and said, "Sure, honey, we pray here. Will you say the prayer for us?" And she turned and looked at the rest of the people in the restaurant and said, "Bow your heads." Surprisingly, one by one, the heads went down. The little girl then bowed her head, folded her hands, and said, "God is great, God is good, and we thank him for our food. Amen." That prayer changed the entire atmosphere. People began to talk with one another. The waitress said, "We should do that every morning." "All of a sudden," said our friend, "my whole frame of mind started to improve. From that little girl's example, I started to thank God for all that I did have and stop majoring in all that I didn't have. I started to choose happiness." Resolve to be thankful in all circumstances, and you are on your way to more intimacy with the Lord who calls you to be thankful. Once more intimate with Him, we experience greater joy in our lives. Then, in fact, we find ourselves with even more reasons to give thanks. But, that cycle of blessing and thanks will never begin until we RESOLVE to obey this Word: "Give thanks in all circumstances."[webmasters note: 1 Thessalonians 5:18] 2. Research Are you like me-do you sometimes find it hard to be thankful in the moment of trial? You know, when you look around and all you see is the bad in and around you? It is hard to be thankful then. Yet, the Word teaches, "Be thankful in ALL circumstances." Often we have to go mining to find the good in a situation before we can be thankful. The celebrated Scottish pastor, Alexander Whyte, was famous for his uplifting prayers in the pulpit. He always found something for which to be grateful. One Sunday morning the weather was so gloomy that the church members began commenting among themselves before the church service, "Certainly the preacher won't think of anything for which to thank the Lord on a wretched day like this." Whyte rose to offer the morning prayer, and he said, "We thank Thee, O God…that it is not always like this." One of our church members received word two weeks ago that his father died from a massive stroke. On the way to the funeral services in Arkansas, the same man's eight-year-old granddaughter was killed when a semi tractor-trailer hit their family's vehicle and literally ran over it. We prayed for the family in throes of this awful double tragedy. Tim reported when he returned that the family found reason to be thankful in the midst of their grief. First, his dad had just months before, at 80 years of age, had finally given his life to Christ, so there was cause for thanksgiving that he was unquestionably with the Lord. Then he told of the miracle. In the accident, all four members of his stepbrother's family had been in the truck. Their vehicle was smashed beyond recognition, and three of the family had to be painstakingly cut out of the wreckage. They miraculously escaped with only bruises and testified to God's grace at the funeral, even though they had to leave the next day to bury their own daughter in Texas. That daughter, by the way, had just committed her life to Christ in summer camp this year. The family was able to see God's hand and be thankful in spite of circumstances so horrible we can only shake our heads. Sometimes takes a strong act of faith to dig for reasons to be thankful. Often those reasons are hidden from us - even for years. In many cases, there are reasons that we will not know until we see the Lord face to face. In those times God calls us to do personal research, to DIG for reasons to give thanks. When we dig He will not disappoint us. He who has blessed us, as the scripture says, "with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus", will never hide from His children reasons for thanks. But it will often take that faith effort of research to find them out. "Matthew Henry is known to most of us as the author of the set of classic commentaries on the Bible. But during his lifetime he was known as a man of great gratitude. He was once mugged on the street. The thieves took everything of value from him. Later that night, Matthew Henry wrote this prayer in his journal: 'I am thankful that during all these years I have never been robbed until now. Also, even thought they took my money, they did not take my life. And although they took all I had, it wasn't much. Finally, I am grateful that it was I who was robbed, and not I who robbed." Matthew Henry was a good miner. He researched his life and circumstances to find much for which he was grateful. Learn to do that kind of spiritual research and you will find yourself being thankful in all circumstances. 3. Remember Harry had his three buddies over for cards like he had many times before. But things were different tonight. His wife served them refreshments as usual and on into the night they played. At one point one of his friends said to him, "Say, Harry, your card playing sure has improved. You're remembering your cards better." "Yeah," Harry said, "I'm seeing this new doctor, and he's really helping me with my short term memory." "Really? What's that doctor's name?" Harry stammers, stares off into space, then finally says, "I'm sorry-help me out here, guys. It's a flower-usually red, women like them…" "Rose?" "Yeah, that's it! Hey, Rose, what's the name of that doctor?" One of the greatest barriers to our being thankful in all circumstances is our spiritual Alzheimer's. We just don't remember to remember! David wrote, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." [webmasters note: Psalm 103:2] A great resource in our being always grateful is a spiritual "forget-me-not". There are some foolproof "forget-me-nots" available to the Christian. Let me recommend three in closing: 1. His promises - The apostle Peter wrote about these in the first chapter of his second letter. He wrote that through our knowledge of Christ's glory and goodness "…he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world…" [webmasters note: 2 Peter 1:4] And you know these promises: that no matter how much pain and grief we experience in this world, by His grace we are going to a place where there are no more tears, or death, or sickness, or terrorists, or hurtful relationships, or stress or sorrow. Don't forget to remember that. 2. His power - There is the great forget-me-not in Romans, chapter 8 that God is working it all out for the good of His children [webmasters note: Romans 8:28]; later in Romans 8, the promise that NOTHING can separate us from the love of Christ; [webmasters note: Romans 8:35] and earlier in Romans 8 that glorious promise that our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed. [webmasters note: Romans 8:18] Remember those promises so the next time you come through trouble you won't have to look back in regret and say, "Ugh! I coulda' had a Romans 8!". Rather you will go through those trials with the sure confidence of His promise of a brighter tomorrow. 3. Finally, the third forget-me-not, His precious salvation - In the sixth chapter of the book of Hebrews you Christians are being described, and here is how it reads: "those who have …been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age…" [webmasters note: Hebrews 6:4-5]  Never forget - He saved you, while you were yet a sinner. Never forget that pure mercy that paid the death penalty for your sins. Never forget that pure grace that said to you, "I love you, and I am calling you to be my child." Because of our sins, brothers and sisters in Christ, we were once children of wrath, but now we are the children of God! Once we existed in a kingdom of darkness, but He graciously called us out of that darkness into his wonderful light! Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God! Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy! Once you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls! Conclusion Sometimes I think I am as baffled by His grace as I am by the sometimes-difficult circumstances of my life. But the baffled are called to "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." [webmasters note: 1 Thessalonians 5:18]   [Back to Top]