Thanking God

Sounds like someone's calling.

Must worry when the phone goes off and worship. It just might be that God is calling us.

I've had many opportunities through the years to work with teenagers to go to Junior High and high school age. And whenever I've been caught in a circumstance, where it's my responsibility to keep them entertained, or occupied in between activities events, or the like, I've often Fallen back on the idea of giving them a riddle to work on. And perhaps my favorite and most used one is simply this. A man in a blue suit. Is found dead next to a rock. How did he die? Now I only allow them to ask me yes or no questions. A man in a blue suit. Is found dead next to a rock. How did he die? And all they can ask me is yes or no questions. And it turns out that our minds are locked in to certain basic understandings in other words are understandings. Determine our responses our questions. The way we look at things, including a man in a blue suit, is found dead next to a rock. How did he die? For most of us, our minds are working through the idea of a blue suit such as I have on this morning and we immediately go to that rock and we think that rock suspect. We want to know the size. Was it a rock that was thrown and struck him perhaps in the head, or maybe it was a big rock that he fell and tripped his head against. That's where our mind goes, correct. Thank you, Jennifer.

But no, it's fine. But what we find is that often we are locked in paradigms the way we see things and we trust that the word of God will pull us away from how we see the world and redirect us to the world as it really is. So that a man in a blue suit could very easily be Superman. And that that rock is Kryptonite. Changes our way of seeing the world. We've been Journeying now through a series in which we are looking at what it looks like to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. What It looks like two disciple others in Jesus Christ. And as we've been doing that work, we've been working also with an understanding that we already have some preset understandings. Of what discipleship looks like. Our mind quickly goes to Galatians and the fruits of the spirit of love joy. Peace, patience. And on we go.

And we know what it is to wear these traits. These fruits. But these past few weeks. We've been looking at Paul and his interaction with the church at thessalonica and looking at what he did how he lived and gives us some sense of what it might look like for us to not wear on the outside. But to internalize and become a disciple of Jesus. Thus far, we've looked at our position namely that we're children of God and as children of God, we really have the right to be bold. For nothing can take away that position we have before God. Thanks be to Christ. We've looked at our motivation. Our motivation beat should be in every way to please God to move away from pleasing ourselves, or please pleasing others, but to please God. And then for the last few weeks now, we've been looking at that manner or what. Does that look like? How do we live out that position in that motivation? What is that manner? And we had three images images that drew us to the idea that we should be innocent as infants. Caring and nurturing and as supportive as a nursing mother. And exhorting, encouraging and even challenging as a father. That's been our journey thus far. And today, we are going to add the idea of being thankful living in a, in a reality of Simply being thankful to God thankful in every way. Now, we all know what it's like to be thankful. We can tell many times we've been thankful. And it's only when we often don't have something to be thankful for our tour, were worried that we didn't realize how much we do need to be thankful and grateful. And so, as we turned to Paul and his letter to the Thessalonians, in the second chapter beginning at the 13th verse, we're going to get a window into his thankfulness before God. So let us pray. Oh, Lord.

We know what it is to be thankful.

We've already got a pretty strong. Understanding. But we pray that this morning that you through your word. Would take us another step. In our journey of being thankful to you. That you would work in our Spirits such that we move from a place of being thankful externally, all those times, when we know, we should be thankful that you would move us to a spirit within that just Wells up with Thanksgiving for you.

Prepare this Lord, Jesus in your precious name. May you guide us through your word. Amen.

so the first letter to the Thessalonians, second chapter 13th verse reading, just for 5 verses

and we also thank God constantly for this. That when you receive the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it. Not as the word of men. What has what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. For you brothers and sisters, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea for you suffered The same things from your own countrymen as they did, from the Jews who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and drove us out. And displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved. So as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath is come upon them at last. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

As mentioned earlier and as you see before you today, we are going to celebrate communion. Actually, we have three different words we use for this meal. The one of course is communion and communion has that sense that we are all in community together that we are all drawn together as one that we commune with one another and with Christ. It is that acknowledgement that because of Jesus. We are all Drawn Together as brothers and sisters as children of God and that we are all one. It's a powerful word communion. Another description we use is the Lord's Supper. And usually, when we speak of the Lord's Supper. We're speaking in terms of that last supper that our lord Jesus had with his disciples before, He went to the cross. And often times when we think in these terms were thinking more solemnly. We're reflective. We're thinking of the enormous cost that Jesus paid. Reflective that. The bread is his body which is broken for us. That the wine is his blood shed for us.

So, we think upon this meal with a certain heaviness. We want everyone who partakes to take this seriously.

That's two of the three descriptions. We use for this meal. There's a third word. We use. We might not say it as much in our tradition, but we're familiar with the word and we hear it and other Traditions. It seems more of a foreign word to us a word. That is a little hard to explain but we're familiar with the word Eucharist, right? We've heard the word Eucharist before we know, this is the Eucharist. And yet, if we were pressed, what does that mean? We'd say, well, you know, the Eucharist.

Eucharist is comes from the root word eucharisteo. So another words whether you knew it or not, you know, some Greek. And it simply means to be thankful. They're the mystery is peeled away. To partake in the Eucharist. Is to be thankful. Thankful for what God has done, in sending his son. To free us from our sins. And to bring us home to make us one in community. It is that part of this meal that is joyful and expectant and hopeful. So on one hand we're sorrowful and reflective and another hand were asked to be encouraged and supported and and hopeful and just overwhelmingly thankful for what Jesus has done. And that meal of Thanksgiving. It's so important As we look at the word today. Because as we look at the word today in our journey of discipleship, we see Paul speak of his own Thanksgiving. His thankfulness. His overwhelming flow of thankfulness. Now two questions. Come to mind about this. Thankfulness that Paul has the first of course is why, and the second is to whom? To whom is he thankful? Well, it's a easy jump for us. It's what I called the Sunday School answer that if we don't know the answer, there's always a pretty good guess in Sunday school. If you're asked a question, by the way, keep this in your back pocket. One of three answers will always get you through. It's either God, Jesus or Bible.

And in this case, God, Paul is thankful to God, overwhelmingly thankful to God.

We know what it's like to give God thanks. That's not a new thing for us. We give God Thanks, before every meal. We probably give God Thanks when we wake up in the morning and thank God for that first breath. The recognition of a new day. We maybe give, thanks. Before we lay our head down to rest giving God Thanks.

We give God thanks when we were in that near Collision on the road. And thank God that it didn't happen. There's all manner of times in which were thanking God. For his care of our loved ones? We're very familiar with what it looks like to Thank God. But it each of those circumstances that we just listed. Often, We're talking about being thankful for something about us. Our thankfulness. Most often is reflective for what God has done for us.

And Paul is pushing and challenging us to think about the thankfulness to God that isn't so much about us,

but is about God. Being thankful. Not for what God is doing for us. But what God is doing and being thankful for how God is pushing forward into this world. Be thankful for what pleases God? Remember, that's one of our aspects to please God in all that we do. To give God pleasure. The thankfulness that Paul is speaking of is one of giving, thanks to God for what God is doing. For God's purposes not for Paul's. Not for ours, but for what God is doing. For God's purposes. And he's being thankful for how God is working God's word among the people in thessalonica. But before we get into that, why? I just want to emphasize one additional piece about Paul's thankfulness, notice he says that he's constantly thanking God. Constantly continually. I love that. Because it reminds us that it's more than an external. Oh, that's right. We should thank God for this. It's, it's part of an internal part of working on being thankful as a people. From the very depths of who we are and that that would well up always. Always being thankful for what God is doing. And that word constantly or continually is a fun one. It's actually made up of a word that basically means to lack. Or to fall short. To fall short or to lack that doesn't sound very constant or continuous does it? When someone falls short of the efforts, they were trying to do, that's kind of disappointing. Or when someone lacks the ability to go forward and do what they need to do. That's also disappointing. This word is a word that speaks to the opposite of lacking or falling short. It's one of those words that has a prefix put upon it, that immediately takes the worst and turns it on its head and says, it's the complete opposite of the worst. It's the absolute best that is it never lacks and it never falls through. Paul is saying that his prayers of Thanksgiving to God are such that they never stopped. They never cease, they never fall short. He's not speaking to a Perfection that you and I wonder if we could ever achieve. But rather speaking to a heart that is shifted away from self concern to Amazement over what God is doing and we all know what it is. Like to be absolutely amazed at times. And Paul is keeping in front of himself. The amazement of God's work. And so he wakes up each day. Just marveling at what God is doing. Have you ever stopped to look at the world through God's eyes and just be amazed at what God is doing. This morning, as I took the dog out to use the bathroom. I did so between rain showers. You know what that's like, right. So there I am on the wet grass, trying not to get too wet, trying to avoid any additional rain drops. Trying not to walk under the tree, which is now raining instead. And as the dog is walking around and I'm becoming more and more impatient. I turn and I find that a branch is right there. And there's a leaf right there and my eyes are focused on a leaf with nice little water droplets, making their way down to the very end. And I think we've all had that moment where we're just absolutely stunned with God's creation. We stop and smell the roses when we stop and see what God has truly done.

Paul is reminding the Thessalonians after making all manner of defense, that we've gone through for the last five weeks, explaining who he has been before them and how they should be. He now reminds them the spirit out of which he's working. Spirit of overwhelming and continual Thanksgiving. And why? Because he saw God's word at work among the Thessalonians. He saw with his own eyes, what the word of God can do.

I want you to stop and think for a moment. Each person here. Is likely here because the word of God has touched you somewhere in your lives. If we were to work all day long on all are different life stories, and all the different threads, the final thread we come back to is that Jesus Christ has touched our heart through the word of God. Someone shared that with you. Somewhere along the line that caught your heart string and Drew you together. Such that we are now a Community of Faith because of the word of God. And Paul is emphasizing that this word of God, has powerfully worked among the church and thessalonica and he is simply amazed. He's absolutely amazed at what God's word has done and he's ready and willing to emphasize. It is God's word. It is the power of God's word that is made this transformation in those people. It is not his presentation. This is the emphasis he wants to place. It is not his presentation. It is the power of the word of God and he's overwhelmed by it. This is a lesson that we need to hear in the North American Church. That it is the power of the word of God and not the presentation.

That brings forth God's word. It is the power of God's word. Paul himself is amazed. There's a point in which you can just see, he's thinking about it, and realizing how how ill-equipped is as much as we think he's amazing at all the background he has and how how, very well he must have been equipped to deliver God's words. He's thinking about all his failings. And the many ways in which he is not the one to convince somebody else.

He's aware of his own shortcomings like we are, even writes in another one of his letters. That he's well aware that. Yeah, he can write a good letter, but when he's in person, people say, well, he's not all that exciting. Even us to read them centuries. Later. Look at him and say, wow. He's a little Gruff. He's a little off-putting. Paul's not unaware. He's able to see That is the power of God's word that is made this change. Not his presentation.

And too often in North America, we've been caught up with the presentation. That's what we've got to do. That's the way we've got to make it work. That's the way the word of God will come along.

No, the power that captured, your hearts and mine,

Is that God loves you so deeply. The one who created everything, loves you. So immensely.

but despite the many ways you've run from him hurt him, broken yourself again and again, He was willing to lay down the greatest sacrifice of all, knowing that you could not. And he gave his son. For each of us. Freeing us from all those burdens. From our sinfulness.

And Paul. Is on the greatest Journey ever. As he gets to watch the word of God work again, and again, and again.

He writes it this way. He says not only did you receive it? Not only did you receive the word of God? You accepted it as well. I love that Scholars. Love to debate that receive and accept because they're two different words, but often times they try to let translate them the same. So they're trying to wonder, why is Paul saying this twice? It seems redundant really until they come up with this receive and accept and and really what it comes down to is what we see as well.

Sometimes we can say something.

But we really need to wait for the person to take it in. How many parents have said something a thousand times to their child only to watch. Someone else come along and see the same simple thing, and our child listens and says wow Yeah, I never thought of it that way.

It is the difference between receiving and accepting. Receiving the word that used here is so often what was used. Anytime as a technical description, anytime a given philosophy or religious teaching was given. So, if you were being taught about stoicism or platonism platonism or any of these are epicureanism or any number of things, you might hear this word receive, in other words the formalized understanding has been delivered to you. Now, what?

And Paul says, not only did I deliver to you, the word of God. The amazing thing is that God's word was accepted by you. Accepted internalized taken in, not to say no That's a pretty good deal. I hope to keep that in my back pocket, but to take it in fully.

It is now a part of us. The word of God, the good news of Jesus Christ, the grace in which we live the Forgiveness, we have for one another.

Is now a part of us.

And Paul says, all of this is evidenced by the fact that you are now suffering. And I don't know that sometimes is a disconnect for us, the idea, being thankful For suffering. That doesn't usually go together. I mean, sometimes worse than thankful for our suffering. Usually, it's in terms of well. Yeah, we know it was bad, but it could have been a whole lot worse, you know. Yeah, the car broke down but it broke down close to home. Oh, yeah, the pipes burst, but you know what? We were home. So we're thankful. You know, that's usually the way we talk in terms of being thankful in the terms of suffering, but Paul is talking differently. He's thankful that the word of God has been accepted and received by them?

And that it's transformed their lives so much.

That they're willing to suffer. Just as the early believers suffered. They're willing to live differently. They're willing to live in a way that no longer pleases themselves, but pleases God. They're willing to live for the other.

And we have a world that is struggling and hurting and looking for that next new thing because everything else before has not filled. And the truth of the matter is, we're carrying that word of God.

We're carrying the riddle that everyone else is trying to solve.

We know there was a man. Stripped of everything. Standing next to a rock that was rolled away.

We follow the Christ. And in every way. May our hearts be filled with Thanksgiving. And may God be glorified. Will you pray with me?