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"Remember, Be Content and Worship"
Be thankful! Amen.
Now there's a thanksgiving sermon you can truly remember and
I suspect, be thankful for. What did Pastor Arp say in his
sermon at Thanksgiving? Well, it was really short, as I recall,
something about being thankful.
Does anybody know how we're supposed to do that? Be thankful,
I mean? After all, if we are going to celebrate Thanksgiving,
perhaps we should have some idea of how to be thankful. From
our readings I have three simple keys I'd like to give you to
unlock the joy thanksgiving.
Let our thanksgiving begin with the key of remembering. It
sounds like the easiest but turns out to be one of our biggest
weaknesses. We forget, a lot. We're not much different from
the Israelites. God rescued them from slavery in Egypt and
led them to freedom. It was a remarkable and awesome show of
power. They made it all the way to the edge of the Red Sea
before they forgot that God was on their side and cried out
in terror as Pharaoh's army approached. Then God stands between
them and the advancing Egyptian arm with a pillar of fire, parts
the Red Sea for them to cross on dry land, and destroys the enemy
as they try to cross in pursuit. On to Mt. Sinai, Moses goes up
the mountain and is gone for 40 days and the people forget God
again and build a golden calf and bow to worship it. Over and over -
every time you turn around they've forgotten what God had done to
get them where they were.
Remembering is the first key to a joyous thanksgiving. Observe
the 10 lepers in the gospel reading. It doesn't seem like
remembering should be that difficult. But there it is 9 out of 10
forgot to return and give thanks. And I venture to guess that
90% of the time we are as forgetful as the Israelites and the lepers.
Remembering begins with faith. Faith is a precious gift that
comes from God. This faith knows that God's giving is not
conditioned upon our thanksgiving. God is so anxious to give
us everything good that he keeps pouring his love out on us
in spite of our forgetfulness. That's what he did with Israel,
he kept giving and giving. That's what he did with the 10
lepers, he gave them their health and restored their lives
regardless of their forgetfulness. That's what he does for
us, day in and day out. He keeps giving and giving every
blessing, every breath, every heartbeat, regardless of whether
we come here tonight (today) or next Sunday and ever say a
word of thanks.
Take some time to unlock the door of your memory and you'll
be on your way to a joyful thanksgiving. Consider all the
things you take for granted, your health, your family, your
job, your home, your safety. Do not pass anything off as
coincidence. God is intimately involved in it all. Most of
all remember your salvation. God spared not his only Son but
gave him up for us all. How will he not also, along with Him,
graciously give us all things?
But you'll need the second key to get through those memories.
It is the key of contentment. You see in amongst all those
memories are the things we don't feel much like being thankful
for. Paul makes a bold statement, "I have learned to be content
whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need,
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 hunger, whether living in plenty or in want.
Contentment is not something Paul, or you and I, come by naturally.
Paul clearly says that he had to learn how to be content. And
in fact it was the constantly changing circumstances of his
life that were his teachers. The lesson of contentment is
precisely this: that God is always up to something good in
the every day circumstances of life. Here's what Paul found
out, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."
You see, true contentment can only be found at the cross. It
is there that you meet God, who loves you enough to die in
your place and give you forgiveness and eternal life. Contentment
comes when know that in Christ God is always working all things
together for your good.
Perhaps your circumstances, your memories are not so good
this Thanksgiving. Here is wild statement: give thanks
for your troubles because in it God is at work for good
in your life. Be content to let God lead you through this
day into tomorrow where his wonders and mercies are yet to
be revealed to you.
But don't confuse contentment with complacency. Contentment
strives to make the most of every moment with sure trust in
God who will never leave you or forsake you. Complacency is
a spirit of self-satisfaction that fails to use the strength
God gives to make the most of each moment of life. Complacent
is what we often become because we have so much. Like the
rich man Jesus told about whose barns couldn't hold all his
wealth so he said to himself, "self, you are set for life,
tear down your barns, build new ones, and eat, drink and
be merry." God said to him, "You fool, this night your life
will be demanded from you."
You see, being content when we have plenty requires the cross
too, to keep it in perspective, to be humble and generous. Being
content when things are going good takes every bit as much
strength of Christ as being content when things are bad.
I challenge you to contentment in Christ for the best Thanksgiving
ever. Forgiven of all your sins, bound for heaven as the
guaranteed conclusion of your life through faith in Jesus Christ –
if things are not so good right now – cling to Christ – if
things couldn’t be better – cling to Christ all the more.
The last key to discovering true thanksgiving is worship. The
Samaritan leper when he realized he was healed came back
praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’
feet and thanked him.
Worship is the only action capable of expressing the emotion
that our remembering and the Spirit given sense of contentment
produce in our soul. We were made to worship. Worship is life
lived in remembrance and contentment of all God has done and
will continue to do until he gets you to heaven. Worship is a
way of looking at everything that thanks and praises God for
all his benefits to us.
We have remembered all he has done for us, we have found contentment
again in Christ Jesus, now our worship can pour out from hearts
filled with thanks and praise.
So, go ahead, be thankful.
Amen.
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