STEWARDSHIP OF THANKSGIVING #2/2

#1 · November 26, 2007, 2:43 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on November 26, 2007, 2:43 pm
Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>
STEWARDSHIP OF THANKSGIVING #2/2

GIVING THANKS IN HARD TIMES

November 11, 2007

Text: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-24

A little more than 380 years ago, a few English citizens left their homeland in search of a new life. They did not seek unimaginable wealth; they did not seek to etch their names into the pages of history; they did not seek to conquer new lands in the name of their monarch and nation. Theirs was a much humbler reason. They sought a freedom they did not have in their native land of England. They simply sought to obediently worship God in a manner that differed from their nation's church. This small group of settlers is known to us today as the Pilgrims.

They landed at Plymouth Rock along the Northeastern coast of the New World with very little to begin a new life. They had sold their possessions in order to afford the passage, but that was still not enough, so they agreed to work for the crown for seven years to establish an English colony in the New World. An amazingly austere beginning for the sake of just wanting to worship and live for God in a manner in which they believed conformed to Scripture.

The ship in which they crossed the Atlantic had no heat or plumbing, of course. A main beam cracked halfway across the Atlantic; it was a dangerous time of the year to even think of making an Atlantic Ocean crossing. The ship was in danger of breaking apart for most of the journey. William Bradford noted in his journal, "The ship could not carry sail and lay drifting for days on end." After more than two months on the high seas, this band of 102 people landed in their new home. Bradford noted, "Being thus arrived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth, their proper element." (The Heritage of America, Henry S. Commager & Allan Nevins, editors, p. 33) Continuing in his journal, though, Bradford could not help note: "But here I cannot but stay and make a pause and stand half amazed at this poor people's present condition; and so I think will the reader too, when he well considers the same. Being thus past the vast ocean and a sea of troubles before in their preparation... they had now no friends to welcome them, nor inns to entertain or refresh their weather-beaten bodies, no houses or much less towns to repair to, to seek for succor... And for the season, it was winter, and they that know the winters of that country know them to be sharp and violent and subject to cruel and fierce storms, dangerous to travel to known places, much more to search an unknown coast." (ibid., p. 33)

Sickness and exposure did take a heavy toll that first winter with about half of the Pilgrims perishing in the first three months of landing. Can you imagine seeing about fifty of your family members or close companions dying in about a ninety day time frame? Can you imagine the emotional toil that took alone? But they faced even more hardship. The seed and supplies that they brought with them produced but a meager harvest the next year. Yet, it is from this small band of settlers, and others like them who faced adversities up and down the Atlantic seaboard, upon which we base our national celebration of Thanksgiving. We do so because, as Bradford and others noted, these people gave thanks. In times good or bad, their response to the living God they served was to give thanks. More importantly, that they did not just give thanks; they gave thanks to God for His merciful deliverance!

The Biblical injunctions to give thanks to God are present in Scripture from beginning to end. At the conclusion of 1 Thessalonians, Paul wraps up his letter with a brief series of "one-liners." They are brief reminders to the readers, not expanded upon by Paul at this point, of some of the attitudes which please God and bring glory to Him. Among them are verses 16 through 18: "Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

One of the facts about human nature that intrigues me - it will always be a mystery to me as long as I live - is response to adversity. It would not be confusing to me if everyone exhibited the same response. The natural response would be to despise the adversity and anything or anyone who brought the hardship. Thus, why not despise God who controls the elements that can cause hardship. Yet, this is not the universal human response. It was not the Pilgrims response. Why is it, for example, that someone like Joni Erikson-Tada can turn the tragedy of being bound to a wheelchair into a victory while others bound to a wheelchair or a bed live a life of bitter, vicious rage? How can those upon whom we base our heritage give so such thanks when faced with an unsheltered winter, and I become so upset if the microwave decides to quit working or the electricity goes out during a Colts game? At what point in the depths of our being that sparks our lives do we begin to move from joy and thanksgiving to disappointment and bitterness, or vice versa?

I think that, for me, an idea of what is going on begins to form when I cast such questions in the revealed light of the love and mercy of Jesus Christ. I certainly do not intend to make this sound that if a person makes a confession of belief in Jesus and a profession of faith that all will be well materially, physically, emotionally, or even spiritually. Such a conclusion would be simplistic and unfair to both God's revelations and the complicated nature of believers' lives. What I do think, though, is that how we respond to adversity has a great deal to do with how filled with God's Spirit we have allowed ourselves to become since receiving Christ as Savior. Or, in the case of unbelievers who accept Christ as a result of adversity, how filled they allow themselves to become in the midst of a tragedy.

In the case of the Pilgrims, they were a people who were committed to the Lord in about every way they could be. They believed in Jesus Christ and his power over them so much that they chose to separate from family, friends, and livelihoods so that they could worship as they saw fit without persecution. They found their fulfillment in Christ; from that, they found purpose in their lives. Billy Graham comments, "The Pilgrims were a group of young people, and they stand as a shining example of individuals who were narrow but deep: certain of what they believed, unwavering in their loyalty to God, and passionately dedicated to Christ whom they trusted and for whom they would have died... They believed that every person was made in the image of God, and that each one was of infinite value and worth in the sight of God." (Decision, Nov 1989, pp. 2-3) This attitude toward God leads almost automatically to an attitude of thanksgiving.

The Pilgrims are not the only people who have experienced adversity and tragedy. Each of us could cite examples of hardships and the people who have lived through them. In an issue of Decision magazine, a young man named David recounted his story of contracting AIDS through homosexual contact. While in a San Diego hospital, David was visited by a Christian friend named Audrey: "When Audrey, flying in from Phoenix, walked into my hospital room, the first thing I said to her was, 'Read the Bible.' As she read and prayed with me, I decided that no matter how long I had left to live, I wanted my life to glorify God. At that point, I experienced God's forgiveness, and the guilt of many years was taken from me. I was close to death, but I was filled with joy. I know that the joy of the Lord was shining through me, because after visiting me in the hospital, one of my unbelieving friends said to Audrey, 'I cannot deny what I see in that bed. I want what he has.' Audrey talked with my friend about the Lord, and she acknowledged her need for Christ." (Nov 1988, p. 5) Shortly after sharing his story with the magazine, David died. Even in the face of AIDS and death, though, David found that he could be thankful and joyful because of Christ's power, love, and salvation.

Clearly, giving thanks to God is not meant for only good, happy times. This is the lesson and example that Paul passes on to us. "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances." One reference I have states that Paul used "rejoice" more than two dozen times in his letters. The significance of this is increased when we recognize that most of Paul's letters were written under adverse conditions. Sometimes Paul was in prison or on the run; sometimes the church he was writing to was being persecuted; sometimes both. Yet, the apostle never backed down from his commitment to the Lord or the thankful joy that it brought. "I know what it is to be in need," Paul wrote in Philippians 4:12, "and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want." What is that secret? "I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

Giving thanks in hard times is not limited to only some past history. It is evident still today. Innumerable examples abound. One such example I recently read comes from Sarah Chetti. Sarah and her husband, Dan, are American Baptist missionaries in Lebanon. I met Shivan Mali in a Beirut prison. Like many other young women from Asia, Shivan Mali had left her native Sri Lanka and come to Lebanon to work as a maid. Paid very little, and often irregularly, Shivan Mali and women like her find it impossible to pay the cost of their Lebanese work permits. Many therefore wind up in prison. Shivan Mali was caught in the property fight between her owner and his wife. Officially registered in the husbands name, he demanded she work for his family. Shivan Mali wanted to continue with the wife. Enraged, the man filed false charges and had Shivan Mali thrown in jail. She was regularly intimidated and even beaten by the guards cousins of the man. Refusing to submit to the husbands demands, she was deported. But Shivan Malis mistress loved her dearly and managed to bring her back. Christmas 2006, Shivan Mali called to express her thanks for my visits to her in prison I arranged to visit Shivan Mali and tried to give her a gift. Instead, as she thanked me and told me how much my visits meant to her when she was in prison, she pulled fifty dollars out of her pocket, which she insisted I take and use to buy toiletries for the women in prison. Shivan Mali had not suddenly become wealthy. She was still a maid in Beirut. But she had been transformed by her experience. She not only wanted to receive, but to give and to bless the lives of others. Far from living merely as a victim, or even as a survivor, Shivan Malis gratitude to God has turned her into an agent of Gods transformation. (Sarah Chetti, International Ministries Update, October 2007) There is hope because there is the Lord. In whom or what else can the people trust? No one else or nothing else. Because of the new power of God in her life, Shivan Mali gave thanks in very difficult circumstances.

Thanksgiving, then, is not only a time to rejoice in the many things with which we have been blessed. Yes, we need to be thankful, and I am convinced that we want to be thankful. We want to make it known that God has given us some wonderful gifts that we use for our needs, our comfort, and even our pleasure. Let us all be thankful on this account.

But let us also reflect that our thankfulness depends not upon what we have in our possession, but upon the gift of life bestowed upon us by God. No one wishes for hard times. No one wants famines or earthquakes or floods or persecution or wars or hunger. But sometimes they appear. The way that we respond to the Lord now may very well shape how we respond to Him in hard times. The way that we respond to the Lord now may very well shape how we respond to others who are having hard times. At any rate, let us reflect upon our common heritage that brings us to the point of celebration, across this nation, a day of thanks giving.

Referring once again to Bradford's journal, we read, "What could now sustain them but the spirit of God and His grace? May not and ought not the children of these fathers rightly say: Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this wilderness; but they cried unto the Lord, and he heard their voice and looked on their adversity, etc. Let them therefore praise the Lord, because he is good and his mercies endure forever. Yea, let them which have been redeemed of the Lord show how he hath delivered them from the hand of the oppressor. When they wandered in the desert wilderness out of the way, and found no city to dwell in, both hungry and thirsty, their soul was overwhelmed in them. Let them confess before the Lord his loving kindness, and his wonderful works before the sons of men." (The Heritage of America, p. 34)

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Rev. Charles A. Layne

First Baptist Church

PO Box 515

170 W. Broadway

Bunker Hill, IN 46914

765-689-7987

bhfbc@bhfirstbaptist.com

www.bhfirstbaptist.com
-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: abesermons-unsubscribe@welovegod.org   

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

GIVING THANKS IN HARD TIMES

November 11, 2007

Text: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-24

A little more than 380 years ago, a few English citizens left their homeland in search of a new life. They did not seek unimaginable wealth; they did not seek to etch their names into the pages of history; they did not seek to conquer new lands in the name of their monarch and nation. Theirs was a much humbler reason. They sought a freedom they did not have in their native land of England. They simply sought to obediently worship God in a manner that differed from their nation's church. This small group of settlers is known to us today as the Pilgrims.

They landed at Plymouth Rock along the Northeastern coast of the New World with very little to begin a new life. They had sold their possessions in order to afford the passage, but that was still not enough, so they agreed to work for the crown for seven years to establish an English colony in the New World. An amazingly austere beginning for the sake of just wanting to worship and live for God in a manner in which they believed conformed to Scripture.

The ship in which they crossed the Atlantic had no heat or plumbing, of course. A main beam cracked halfway across the Atlantic; it was a dangerous time of the year to even think of making an Atlantic Ocean crossing. The ship was in danger of breaking apart for most of the journey. William Bradford noted in his journal, "The ship could not carry sail and lay drifting for days on end." After more than two months on the high seas, this band of 102 people landed in their new home. Bradford noted, "Being thus arrived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth, their proper element." (The Heritage of America, Henry S. Commager & Allan Nevins, editors, p. 33) Continuing in his journal, though, Bradford could not help note: "But here I cannot but stay and make a pause and stand half amazed at this poor people's present condition; and so I think will the reader too, when he well considers the same. Being thus past the vast ocean and a sea of troubles before in their preparation... they had now no friends to welcome them, nor inns to entertain or refresh their weather-beaten bodies, no houses or much less towns to repair to, to seek for succor... And for the season, it was winter, and they that know the winters of that country know them to be sharp and violent and subject to cruel and fierce storms, dangerous to travel to known places, much more to search an unknown coast." (ibid., p. 33)

Sickness and exposure did take a heavy toll that first winter with about half of the Pilgrims perishing in the first three months of landing. Can you imagine seeing about fifty of your family members or close companions dying in about a ninety day time frame? Can you imagine the emotional toil that took alone? But they faced even more hardship. The seed and supplies that they brought with them produced but a meager harvest the next year. Yet, it is from this small band of settlers, and others like them who faced adversities up and down the Atlantic seaboard, upon which we base our national celebration of Thanksgiving. We do so because, as Bradford and others noted, these people gave thanks. In times good or bad, their response to the living God they served was to give thanks. More importantly, that they did not just give thanks; they gave thanks to God for His merciful deliverance!

The Biblical injunctions to give thanks to God are present in Scripture from beginning to end. At the conclusion of 1 Thessalonians, Paul wraps up his letter with a brief series of "one-liners." They are brief reminders to the readers, not expanded upon by Paul at this point, of some of the attitudes which please God and bring glory to Him. Among them are verses 16 through 18: "Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

One of the facts about human nature that intrigues me - it will always be a mystery to me as long as I live - is response to adversity. It would not be confusing to me if everyone exhibited the same response. The natural response would be to despise the adversity and anything or anyone who brought the hardship. Thus, why not despise God who controls the elements that can cause hardship. Yet, this is not the universal human response. It was not the Pilgrims response. Why is it, for example, that someone like Joni Erikson-Tada can turn the tragedy of being bound to a wheelchair into a victory while others bound to a wheelchair or a bed live a life of bitter, vicious rage? How can those upon whom we base our heritage give so such thanks when faced with an unsheltered winter, and I become so upset if the microwave decides to quit working or the electricity goes out during a Colts game? At what point in the depths of our being that sparks our lives do we begin to move from joy and thanksgiving to disappointment and bitterness, or vice versa?

I think that, for me, an idea of what is going on begins to form when I cast such questions in the revealed light of the love and mercy of Jesus Christ. I certainly do not intend to make this sound that if a person makes a confession of belief in Jesus and a profession of faith that all will be well materially, physically, emotionally, or even spiritually. Such a conclusion would be simplistic and unfair to both God's revelations and the complicated nature of believers' lives. What I do think, though, is that how we respond to adversity has a great deal to do with how filled with God's Spirit we have allowed ourselves to become since receiving Christ as Savior. Or, in the case of unbelievers who accept Christ as a result of adversity, how filled they allow themselves to become in the midst of a tragedy.

In the case of the Pilgrims, they were a people who were committed to the Lord in about every way they could be. They believed in Jesus Christ and his power over them so much that they chose to separate from family, friends, and livelihoods so that they could worship as they saw fit without persecution. They found their fulfillment in Christ; from that, they found purpose in their lives. Billy Graham comments, "The Pilgrims were a group of young people, and they stand as a shining example of individuals who were narrow but deep: certain of what they believed, unwavering in their loyalty to God, and passionately dedicated to Christ whom they trusted and for whom they would have died... They believed that every person was made in the image of God, and that each one was of infinite value and worth in the sight of God." (Decision, Nov 1989, pp. 2-3) This attitude toward God leads almost automatically to an attitude of thanksgiving.

The Pilgrims are not the only people who have experienced adversity and tragedy. Each of us could cite examples of hardships and the people who have lived through them. In an issue of Decision magazine, a young man named David recounted his story of contracting AIDS through homosexual contact. While in a San Diego hospital, David was visited by a Christian friend named Audrey: "When Audrey, flying in from Phoenix, walked into my hospital room, the first thing I said to her was, 'Read the Bible.' As she read and prayed with me, I decided that no matter how long I had left to live, I wanted my life to glorify God. At that point, I experienced God's forgiveness, and the guilt of many years was taken from me. I was close to death, but I was filled with joy. I know that the joy of the Lord was shining through me, because after visiting me in the hospital, one of my unbelieving friends said to Audrey, 'I cannot deny what I see in that bed. I want what he has.' Audrey talked with my friend about the Lord, and she acknowledged her need for Christ." (Nov 1988, p. 5) Shortly after sharing his story with the magazine, David died. Even in the face of AIDS and death, though, David found that he could be thankful and joyful because of Christ's power, love, and salvation.

Clearly, giving thanks to God is not meant for only good, happy times. This is the lesson and example that Paul passes on to us. "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances." One reference I have states that Paul used "rejoice" more than two dozen times in his letters. The significance of this is increased when we recognize that most of Paul's letters were written under adverse conditions. Sometimes Paul was in prison or on the run; sometimes the church he was writing to was being persecuted; sometimes both. Yet, the apostle never backed down from his commitment to the Lord or the thankful joy that it brought. "I know what it is to be in need," Paul wrote in Philippians 4:12, "and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want." What is that secret? "I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

Giving thanks in hard times is not limited to only some past history. It is evident still today. Innumerable examples abound. One such example I recently read comes from Sarah Chetti. Sarah and her husband, Dan, are American Baptist missionaries in Lebanon. I met Shivan Mali in a Beirut prison. Like many other young women from Asia, Shivan Mali had left her native Sri Lanka and come to Lebanon to work as a maid. Paid very little, and often irregularly, Shivan Mali and women like her find it impossible to pay the cost of their Lebanese work permits. Many therefore wind up in prison. Shivan Mali was caught in the property fight between her owner and his wife. Officially registered in the husbands name, he demanded she work for his family. Shivan Mali wanted to continue with the wife. Enraged, the man filed false charges and had Shivan Mali thrown in jail. She was regularly intimidated and even beaten by the guards cousins of the man. Refusing to submit to the husbands demands, she was deported. But Shivan Malis mistress loved her dearly and managed to bring her back. Christmas 2006, Shivan Mali called to express her thanks for my visits to her in prison I arranged to visit Shivan Mali and tried to give her a gift. Instead, as she thanked me and told me how much my visits meant to her when she was in prison, she pulled fifty dollars out of her pocket, which she insisted I take and use to buy toiletries for the women in prison. Shivan Mali had not suddenly become wealthy. She was still a maid in Beirut. But she had been transformed by her experience. She not only wanted to receive, but to give and to bless the lives of others. Far from living merely as a victim, or even as a survivor, Shivan Malis gratitude to God has turned her into an agent of Gods transformation. (Sarah Chetti, International Ministries Update, October 2007) There is hope because there is the Lord. In whom or what else can the people trust? No one else or nothing else. Because of the new power of God in her life, Shivan Mali gave thanks in very difficult circumstances.

Thanksgiving, then, is not only a time to rejoice in the many things with which we have been blessed. Yes, we need to be thankful, and I am convinced that we want to be thankful. We want to make it known that God has given us some wonderful gifts that we use for our needs, our comfort, and even our pleasure. Let us all be thankful on this account.

But let us also reflect that our thankfulness depends not upon what we have in our possession, but upon the gift of life bestowed upon us by God. No one wishes for hard times. No one wants famines or earthquakes or floods or persecution or wars or hunger. But sometimes they appear. The way that we respond to the Lord now may very well shape how we respond to Him in hard times. The way that we respond to the Lord now may very well shape how we respond to others who are having hard times. At any rate, let us reflect upon our common heritage that brings us to the point of celebration, across this nation, a day of thanks giving.

Referring once again to Bradford's journal, we read, "What could now sustain them but the spirit of God and His grace? May not and ought not the children of these fathers rightly say: Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this wilderness; but they cried unto the Lord, and he heard their voice and looked on their adversity, etc. Let them therefore praise the Lord, because he is good and his mercies endure forever. Yea, let them which have been redeemed of the Lord show how he hath delivered them from the hand of the oppressor. When they wandered in the desert wilderness out of the way, and found no city to dwell in, both hungry and thirsty, their soul was overwhelmed in them. Let them confess before the Lord his loving kindness, and his wonderful works before the sons of men." (The Heritage of America, p. 34)

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Rev. Charles A. Layne

First Baptist Church

PO Box 515

170 W. Broadway

Bunker Hill, IN 46914

765-689-7987

bhfbc@bhfirstbaptist.com

http://www.bhfirstbaptist.com

-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: abesermons-unsubscribe@welovegod.org