From Thanksgiving To
Thanksliving II Corinthians
Intro.: The other day I
was driving past a farm and noticed a truck unloading its golden harvest of
grain onto an elevator which took it up into the storage bin. As I watched the grain go upward I was
reminded of God’s words to us through James: (James 1:17-18) "Every good and perfect gift is from
above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change
like the shifting shadows. He chose to
give us birth through the Word of truth, that we might
be a kind of firstfruits of all he created." These words are intended to lead God’s faithful
to express our thanks for His good and gracious work in our lives. At least four times in our text for today
St. Paul speaks of thanksgiving or praise given to God. But shouldn’t there be more to our
thanksgiving than just words wouldn’t it be better if
we put our words of thanksgiving into action.
I. WE GIVE TH
A.
Paul reminds us that it is God
who provides for all the daily needs of our physical life as in verse 10 he
declares God to be the "supplier of seed to the sower and bread for food" who "will
also supply and increase our store of seed and enlarge our harvest" Again remember those
words of James: "every good and perfect
gift...."
1.
Having served for a number of years in a rural congregation, I became well
acquainted with the agrarian mindset. As
much as the farmer may complain about the weather, the harvest, the grain
prices, and the costs of seed, herbicides, fertilizers, and equipment, he is
keenly aware of the relationship between what he has and what the Lord
gives. He knows, as we all should, that
it is the Lord who provides him with all he needs. No matter how hard the farmer may work, it is
always the Lord who provides the seed, the rain, the sunshine, the soil and
everything else needed for his livelihood.
In the 6th chapter of Matthew Jesus teaches
us that we do not need to expend our energies in worry over what we have, need,
or want. He reminds us that if our
Heavenly Father, clothes the lillies
of the field in graduer exceeding the height of
Solomon's glory, and provides food and shelter for the common sparrow, He will
most certainly care for us in all our needs as well.
2.
From His boundless generosity, God provides us with all that we need,
day by day. Although this is a hard
thing to accept, and in times of hardship requires and extra measure of faith,
we must fully trust in the words of Abraham as he prepared to sacrifice his
only son to the Lord, telling the young child:
"The Lord Himself will provide..." And the Lord did provide, and the Lord does
provide us with everything we need.
3. At times, people convince themselves that this
is not true. Either because they want to
think that they are self made individuals, or because they are not content with
the many blessings which the Lord has offered them out of His Fatherly Divine
goodness and mercy. In either case we
fail to see and appreciate God's providing hand.
4. We need to take time to reflect upon the many
blessings that God has bestowed upon us...take time right here and right now to
consider the wonderful blessings of God in your life. Don't think about what you did to acquire
them, think of what God enabled you to do, the abilities, the opportunities,
and the strength with which He has equipped you. And don't think of what you don't have, or
what you would like to have, if you are in the midst of a financial crisis
don't focus on what has been lost, rather continue to praise God for what you
have from the loving hand of your heavenly Father. All of it, your life, your strength, your
reason and senses, your abailities, your family, your
food, clothing, and property; it is all a gift from God for which it is proper
to give thanks and praise.
B. But most of all we thank God for what Paul, in verse 15 calls His Indescribable Gift.
1. The indescribable gift which the Lord has
freely given us is Jesus Christ, His Son.
The indescribable nature of this gift is that the Lord does not just
offer us trinkets. He does not only
offer us the things of life which are of no consequence to Him, but He offers
us His very own Son. He sent him from
heaven into our world and said here He is, He is yours, do
with Him what you will. And through Him
I will offer you salvation, righteousness, and an everlasting inheritance. And so as with all the gifts of God, he was
rejected, despised, and shamed. And upon
the cross, we hung him to die. And there
God worked the miracle of our salvation, as the payment of sin was made, and
full forgiveness purchased. The indescribable
gift of God is His, a gift beyond human description. John
2. That indescribable gift of God's grace now
powerfully works in our lives through Baptism, the Word, and the Supper. Through these we are given the righteousness righteousness of Christ, so that through Him we may
approach the throne of our Almighty and Holy God, without fear of
punishment. Through faith in Christ we
have been declared righteous in the sight of God and are given access to heaven
through His precious blood and glorious name.
This indescribable gift of God's grace now brings power into our lives
through the working of the Holy Spirit.
Power, not to trample our enemies under food, nor to
prove ourselves in the eyes of the world, but power to live our daily lives for
the Lord.
3. This indescribable gift is never to be taken
for granted. It is the most precious
possession that we have. Though Satan be
allowed to deprive us of every other gift this one we will not let surrender. I can "live" without food and
water, shelter and clothing, friends and family, even to the point of suffering
physical death. But
this indescribable gift of God, His grace in His Son Jesus Christ, that I
cannot live without. This is the
gift that we are to take out everyday and examine anew. It is the treasure of our lives that brings
all joy and satisfaction. It's beauty will never fade, but only grow more brilliant as
the day of our departure to be with the Lord approaches. Dear friends this indescribable gift is yours
and mine for eternity. Now that is a
reason to be thankful, isn't it? But
how can we rightly offer thanks to God for this indescribable gift? St. Paul, in our text teaches us that:
II. THANKFUL PEOPLE
A. Last week you heard Paul asking
the Corinthians for a generous and cheerful offering, out of gratitude to the
Lord’s gracious work in their lives.
1. He had shared with them the sufferings
and intense need of the Jerusalem Christians, who were under persecution, and
famine. And he offered them the opportunity of participating in the gracious
work of God in those people's lives through the collection that was being
received for them.
2.
At times we can become insensitive to the needs of others. That is why Paul devoted two chapters of His
letter to the Corinthians addressing God's grace and the needs of others. So often we become self-centered,
and selfish as we think only of ourselves.
Much of the psychological counseling today is focussed
upon the need for self-satisfaction; people are taught that self-assertion, no
matter what the cost to others is the key to a happy life. Our constitution is being interpreted in ways
which were completely alien to our founding fathers as individual rights are
selfishly coveted over-against the good of society. Look at the labor/management crises which
continue to plague our nation. The
obscene salaries of corporate executives while laborers lose their jobs to
downsizing, and the deplorable work ethic and unrealistic demands of the
laborer who shows little concern for the customer nor
the company. Might things be a little
different, if everyone would begin to consider the needs of those other than themselves. When we
get caught up in fighting for ourselves, it s easy to loose sight of others, isn’t
it? We are tempted to become indifferent
and unconcerned about the need and suffering of others, because we feel that
there is just not enought to go around.
3. Paul reminds us that it is God who will
supply and increase the store of our seed, and enlarge our harvest of
righteousness. God's grace motivates
Christians to overcome the temptation to selfishness, so that we serve the
Lord. That grace of God results in the
Christian's generosity to help others as the Corinthiaans
did the saints at Jerusalem. We are
called to be a royal priesthood, people who offer intercession on behalf of the
world, and people who administer God's gifts to others. God supplies the needs of others through
Christians like you and me. We are God's
instruments for an abundant harvest of righteousness. We are the sowers
of God's gifts, because we are the ones who have been supplied with every good
and perfect gift, the greatest of which is indescribable gift of grace in
Christ. There are, I am sure, many
people who can be served by us. People in our own congregation who need a visit from one of you
their family in Christ when they are ill, grieving, or depressed, who need your
aid when facing a financial crisis, family crisis, or faith crisis. There are those of our community who have
lost their jobs, lost hope, but worst of all are lost without Christ. There are those in foreign mission fields who
wake-up each morning hungry and go to bed again every evening with the same
emptiness, but worse yet they have a far greater emptiness because they do not
know the love of God, which sent His Son to be their Savior. You and I have these treasures, of wealth,
and faith to sow as seeds for the Lord's harvest. Spread generously, St. Paul teaches us, and
this seed will cause an overflowing harvest of thanksgiving to be offered to
the Lord.
As Paul encouraged the Corinthians to put
their faith life to the test through living thankful lives. He noted that such a response to the grace of
God in their lives would cause more and more thanksgiving and praise to be
directed toward God on their behalf. He
noted that the Jerusalem Christians would remember them in their prayers as
they cherished the unity of faith they had with them.
B.
God calls us to a life of thanksgiving
and thankful living also.
He wants us to thank Him with our lips, for
his gracious work in our lives, for the spiritual and material gifts He offers
us, and for the faithfulness of others who have benefited us as they were
motivated by His grace. He also wants us
to live out that thankfulness through what we do. He calls us to seek out the needs of others,
and especially to consider those who do not yet know the good news of God's
grace in Christ. He calls us to respond
generously to the needs of those around us, and those throughout the world,
because in so doing we will cause much praise to be directed to Him. Today, is your
opportunity to do just that through our commitment of time, talents and
treasures.
Concl.: Thanks be to God for His
"indescribable gift." The
gracious working of God in our lives is truly beyond our description. May the Lord in His mercy motivate us by His
grace to utter words of thanksgiving, and bring forth acts of thankful living. Amen.