11.27.16~Giving Thanks for God’s Marvelous Blessings!
Preacher: Pastor Mike Hale
The Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year season is often associated with expressions of gratitude toward God for His many blessings.
God’s gifts come in a variety of forms at various times, often providing or supplementing what we need, and sometimes surprising us with totally unexpected blessings– day by day, year after year.
Last Sunday night after our Soup, Salad and Bread Dinner, several of you openly gave thanks for specific blessings that God had brought into your lives. It was an encouragement to all of us who were there, to be reminded of just a few of God’s magnificent and marvelous blessings.
Have you ever gone to God in prayer, and you begin thanking Him for all the wonderful things He has created for you to enjoy: people, places, sunsets, sunrises, birds, fish, animals, insects, flowers, trees, fruits, vegetables, nuts, clouds, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, the ocean. You can’t help but give glory to God for all you see, hear, touch, taste, smell and experience on earth, not to mention the awesome hope of eternity in heaven with Him and all true believers.
Today, I want to center in on what I consider to be four of God’s major blessings: salvation, truth, struggle, and family.
1. Salvation… Before coming to Christ we were dead spiritually, guilty of sin, condemned to hell, hopeless; but God, in His great mercy and kindness, provides forgiveness for sin and eternal life, to all who believe in and receive His Son (cf Romans 3:23; 6:23; 10:9-10, 13; see Ephesians 2:1-10, 13-14).
We ought to continually thank God for His gracious gift of redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ [GRACE = God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense].
God reached down to us with His life-giving unconditional love (see John 1:1-5, 14; 3:16-21; cf Romans 5:8; 8:1). Romans 11:29, “God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable.” In other words, once you receive, by faith, the free gift of forgiveness and eternal life, you can’t loose, give back, or have it taken from you; it is eternal, for that we can give thanks!
God wants everyone to be saved, He doesn’t want anyone to be banished to hell (1Timothy 2:3-4; 2Peter 3:9). Paul declares (2Corinthians 9:15), ”Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.”
2. Truth… When you watch the news, scroll through online blogs, or read op-ed pieces in the paper, you come away with a strong realization that the world we live in is in chaos and people are confused and deluded. Moral, social, economic, national and world problems abound, all of man’s solutions are at best, temporary, and at worst, ineffectual.
The world declares that there are no absolutes concerning good and evil, right and wrong, no ultimate authority by which everything is judged; our culture has abandoned the concept of absolute “truth,” and therefore, common sense, modesty, propriety, all gone; while marriage, family, unborn children, sexuality and religious freedom are under attack, bringing consequences upon all of us.
But thanks to God, all those who trust in Him have His eternal, infallible and incontestable Word of Truth, by which we can evaluate all matters of life and eternity.
The truth is, we can understand the origin, purpose and plan of life better than all the religious educators, philosophers, scientists, politicians, and social gurus.
Jesus reassures us about 80 times in the Gospels, that He is “telling us the truth.” God’s Word tells us how to know and serve Him, how to love our spouses, raise our children, care for the poor and needy, and all this, while sharing God’s message of forgiveness and eternal life through Christ, with anyone who will listen.
God’s Truth provides everything we need to know while living on this earth and trusting Him to bring us into heaven for eternity. Everything conforming to the character, nature, plan and purpose of God is Truth:
Jesus Christ [God’s Son] is the Author of Truth; everything He said and did is Truth (John 14:6).
The Holy Spirit [God’s Spirit] is the Spirit of Truth and He lives in each and every genuine believer and follower of Christ (John 14:16-17, 25-26).
The Bible [God’s Word] is God’s Revealed Truth; but only those who accept and apply it give testimony to it, having been sanctified [set apart for the holy work of God], by His Word (John 17:17).
3. Struggle… It is difficult to be thankful during times of struggle; and our first response is rarely to give thanks to God. Being thankful for or during hard times is never easy, but it is always the right thing to do; for difficult times can lead us to experience God’s presence and power, as He strengthens our weaknesses and comforts our hurts; this often forces us into a greater dependence upon Him (see 2Corinthians 12:10; Philippians 4:12-13, 19).
Struggle is part of the Christian life (cf 2Timothy 3:12), and yet, God will grant us victory in our struggles, if we hold fast, seeking to honor and obey Him (see James 1:2-4; 2Corinthians 4:7-9, 16).
Don’t forget to thank God for the struggles in your life, for it is often during those times that you experience God’s presence like no other. It is often through hard times that we are also prepared to serve God fully, while also becoming more compassionate toward others (see 2Corinthians 1:3-4).
4. Family… Do you receive encouragement and comfort from the people God puts in your life? Do you thank God often, for them? Do you tell them you are thankful for them? Probably not!
I will be the first to admit that I don’t express thankfulness to God or to those I care about, as often as I should; but I am truly thankful for the family and friends God gives me, they are definitely gifts from God.
My best friend is Nancy, my wife of almost 36 years; God has given us four children and four grandchildren, thus far, and through them God blesses and stresses me, causing me to trust Him more.
God is so gracious to give Nancy and I Christian parents who also bless our children and grandchildren.
I am especially thankful for my brothers and sisters in Christ who encourage and exhort me to live by faith as both a child and a servant of God, a citizen of God’s eternal kingdom.
We all have friends, family, and acquaintances, whom we enjoy; but true Christian family is priceless, this is a gift from God.
Proverbs 18:24, “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Proverbs 27:6, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.”
Proverbs 27:17, “As Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”
True friends tell us what we need to hear, not necessarily what we want to hear,
they do this because they love us, even if it temporarily hurts us.
God is so good to provide friends during our life on earth, some with whom we
will share eternity in heaven; but the best friend God provides, is His own Son, Jesus Christ, who, although He is the KING of Kings and LORD of Lords, the Master of all, He calls us His friends (cf John 15:15).
During this season of Giving Thanks, that we just entered, we ought to consider our many blessings, and be sure that we thank God for them, especially:
Salvation which is by Grace, through Faith in Jesus Christ who took our punishment, paying our penalty for sin, so that we receive forgiveness and eternal life.
Truth provides all we need to know, and to serve God, that we might enjoy this life, while trusting Him for heaven. God’s Truth is revealed in His Word, by His Spirit, through His Son, Jesus Christ, who is the only Way, and the only Truth, and the only Life concerning all things God.
Struggle is a part of life on earth; Christ Himself suffered to the point of death, on our behalf, but God will not allow us more than we can bear and He will always supply what we need during the tough times we will experience on this side of heaven.
Family is used by God to bring both comfort and challenge, to supply our needs, while allowing us to supply the needs of others.
Earthly family and friends are temporary, but Christian family is eternal. 1Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
Thanksgiving is about giving thanks!
May we especially today, and throughout this whole season, be thankful for God’s marvelous gifts of Salvation, Truth, Struggle, and Family.
Pastor Mike <‘(((><