What I am Most Thankful For
Thanksgiving Message
Sunday, November 21, 2010
By Pastor James May
I know that this sermon is going to start in a fashion like you never thought you would hear in a Thanksgiving Celebration message. The passage of scripture that we will go to seems far removed from festive atmosphere of the Holiday Spirit that most people enter into during this time of the year. But listen closely, and you will find that there is truly something wonderful happening; and something so outstanding to be thankful for that it beggars description. It’s not a message that can easily be seen on the surface of the events but when you dig deep into the heart of God as everything begins to happen, you will find the wonderful love of God at work in the entire process.
Let’s begin our journey by turning to the Book of Hosea, chapter one.
Hosea 1:1 The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
Hosea 1:2,3 … “And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms....” So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son.
Now it is not generally acceptable that God would command a man of God to do something that would go against every law of God; and that would break the Law of Moses, just to prove a point. The Bible tells us that God tempts no man. So let’s get it our minds right now that God does not condone adultery or fornication, lest someone would think that such things are sometimes approved by God. You never know when some immature thinking Christian will misinterpret the scripture to justify his sin. We must also understand that this is more than just a parable, or a made up story. It is more than just some vision that the prophet had upon his bed in the middle of the night. The events of this story are very literal. So the question is, what is this story really all about?
In the mind of man we tend to focus strongly upon the things of the flesh; the terrestrial world around us. We live in a material world, and our souls are housed within mortal bodies of flesh. In our minds, our first thought is that everything must somehow relate to the five senses of touch, hearing, seeing, tasting and/or smell. But God lives on a different plane; and in more than one dimension. He lives in both the present and the eternal. He lives within our hearts, calling our mortal bodies the very temple of the Holy Spirit; and yet He also lives in the Heavenly realms that exist beyond the ability of mortal men to reach. Because of God’s vastly greater ability to see things in a different perspective, it is often hard to know where he is coming from when His word is given forth. In fact, the only way that we can even come close to seeing things as God sees them is to have the Holy Spirit aid us so that we may see into the spiritual realms.
The real clue to this whole scene is given in verse three where we see that Hosea took Gomer, the daughter of Dibliam. Gomer was not a woman of the streets, selling her body in some brothel, but she was an adulterer in the eyes of God. She belonged to a family that was steeped in idolatry, worshipping the golden calves that had been set up by Israel’s evil king name Jeroboam. The worship of any other god than the True God of Heaven is an absolute act of unfaithfulness as far as God is concerned, and idolatry of any kind is called spiritual adultery by God.
In the Old Testament, Israel was chosen by God to be His wife in a spiritual sense. She was to dedicate herself fully and completely to being faithful in serving Yahweh and none other. Of course, Israel failed miserably and went chasing after other gods continually. Thus we hear God say, “take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms.”
God knew how repulsive this would be to man who loved the Lord and desired only to be faithful to him, yet it was not unlawful for a man of God to marry an idolatrous woman of Israel. It was never something that a true man of God would consider on his own, but when ordered by the Lord, Hosea obeyed and through his word from the Lord gave us a wonderful picture of the Grace of God and His unconditional love for his people.
In Hosea 4:6 we are given the whole reason that God brought about this scene with Hosea and Gomer. God’s own people; the nation that he had chosen and loved so much were being destroyed through their ignorance of what God thought about their idolatry. God said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” It wasn’t that God hadn’t tried to show them the right way, but they continually ignored the words of the prophets and kept walking in idolatry, not willing to turn away from their sin.
God gives us a description of the condition of the people beginning in verse 10.
Hosea 4:10 For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD.
In effect, no matter what the unfaithful people of God did to try to satisfy their heart’s desires; nothing worked. Whether it was in the consumption of fermented wine; or the sacrificing of their time, money and work to the worship of the golden calves; or the indulgence in sins of the flesh; in the end it was all hollow, leaving them feeling empty and dry. Their very lives were spent for that which could not last. There was never a return, or a sense of satisfaction, for anything they did. Their investments in living a life dedicated to idols was lost forever in the blackness of sin.
Let me just tell you people of God, that nothing in this life that you invest your life in, that is not according to the will of God for your life, will pay dividends when your life is over. The only things in life that will bear interest and leave you satisfied and complete are those things that you do for God, and those things will last for eternity.
Don’t ever forget that serving other god’s, whether they be god’s of sports, god’s of fortune or god’s of fame – all will require an extreme sacrifice.
The fame of a rock band, the glory of a sports star and the power, wealth and control of one of the captains of industry seem to be such worthy goals to the eyes of the world. In another manner of speaking, the call of a better lifestyle, the ideal of a wonderful education, the promise of success in life are powerful drawing cards that drag men into the worship of those things as idols. The goal of reaching for the highest pinnacle of success and of being accepted by society and praised by men become the idols, which means that they become the central focus of our purpose in life, rather than as mere tools to be used in service to the True God.
Who can deny the cost of great success? It is hard work, dedication and commitment that brings success. But beware, for it is often more than that. Success in the eyes of the world around us also means that we often sacrifice our families, our convictions and our purpose for living. Very few, if any, in this world ever reach the pinnacle of success without compromising their faith; losing integrity in many ways; embracing the ideas of men instead of God and his Word; and becoming “part of the in-crowd” in whatever circle of associates we find ourselves bound to.
This is not a statement against success, hard work, education or any such things, for none of these things are evil. It is simply a statement that the cost of achieving these things often includes the price of being unfaithful to God.
Idolatry requires sacrifice in too many ways to numerate, but it is not so with God. God says in Hosea 6:6, “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”
The true path of success in God requires hard work, commitment and dedication too, but those things do not earn us any part of God’s salvation, for salvation is a free gift. To be called a Born Again Child of God is the ultimate pinnacle of success in realm of the Spirit, and to gain the promise of eternal life and a home in Heaven is the greatest wealth that exists! It all comes because of God’s mercy that extended to those who desire to know Him above all else. When we know God; our lives will prove it in our actions. When we love God, that love will be extended to us and then on to others. When we desire to be with God our whole perspective on life changes. And the great part of all this is that a life that is spent for God is the most fulfilling and purposeful life that anyone can live. If we put God first then every other part of our lives will fall into its proper order and become more of a joy than a burden.
Let me take you for a moment over to the New Testament Book of Matthew.
Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
I cannot tell how many times I’ve seen people of God lose their way. I won’t use any specifics because I don’t intend to bring condemnation upon anyone. But I have seen those in trouble who come to Christ seeking an answer to their problems, trials and questions in life. God is loving, kind and gracious and He has promised to always be there when we call on the name of Jesus.
And when these dear folks come to the Lord, I have seen God move on their behalf; cleansing their sin, lifting them up out of the miry pits of sin; putting a smile on their face and giving them a brand new hope and purpose for living.
There are a lot of people who will come to Jesus to get what they need; and Jesus is faithful to fulfill his promises to them. But that’s where it ends. The next step in being faithful requires “taking up our cross and following him”. That means that once we have received the free gifts of God’s mercy, then we should follow Jesus in our daily lives, fulfilling the call of God; obeying the laws of God; giving ourselves as living sacrifices in his service.
God has a work for every child of God to do, but it’s our duty to obey that call. And like so many of the early disciples, once the loaves and fishes were gone and their bellies were filled; once their minds were full of Jesus’ teaching; they had all they wanted. Most turned away at the mention of taking up his cross and following him. The vast majority turned away when they discovered the required commitment to be a true disciple.
Matthew 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
How many people of God today are following in the same footsteps of the idolatrous Jews of Israel? In making their own way; following their own self-determined path, they seek to gain as much of this world as possible; thinking that in so doing their life will truly count for something. But so very few are remembered only a few years after this life is over. And so what if they are? What are they remembered for? Are their contributions the things of eternity; or will everything they gave disappear when time is no more?
One thing that each of us has is an eternal soul; that very essence, or heart that makes you what you are. The outward appearance is what other people see; while the heart is what only God sees! What does God see in you; a heart of a faithful child of God; or the heart of a spiritual adulterer?
Now let’s get back to Hosea and Gomer again. God looks upon unfaithful Israel and says in Hosea 7:14 And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against me.
Hosea 7:15 Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me.
Can you sense the pain in the heart of God as his own people live in rebellion against him? God’s love is ever reaching out to them; but they won’t hear. They cry in their agony, but not from their heart. They howl for the misery that is ever in their lives, but they never do anything to get away from the idolatry that brings on the misery!
That’s what I see today in the church every where, and even here in our church! Many cry out for the misery of the life of sin, but they don’t really mean it. They howl because of the pain that sin brings into their lives; but they keep turning back to it, thinking that maybe this time it will work. Never forget that there is only one payment for sin – death; nothing that is good for life; nothing that is good for eternity – only death. Just one step back into the life of sin brings you right back into the path that you were walking in before, only with each turning back, the path gets deeper into sin and much easier to slip away quickly.
As I come to the closing of this message today I want to say that I am truly thankful to God for one thing! My God is faithful, even when we are not! My God is merciful, and desires to extend mercy; even when we won’t receive it! My God is Love; love that is ever reaching out to every wayward son or daughter; always trying to draw us back to himself; even though we often turn away. My God is Grace; the grace of God that is ever seeking to save the soul of any man who will return to him in repentance.
Look at God’s promise to Israel in Hosea!
Hosea 14:1 O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
Hosea 14:4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.
Even though Israel was surely facing the judgment of God if they continued in idolatry; the real message of Hosea is one of the Great Love of God reaching out to an adulterous people; calling them back to a right relationship with God.
I am not here to bring condemnation, but to bring conviction! A backslider or sinner is already condemned, but perhaps has not felt conviction for sin. The Holy Spirit is reaching out to the hearts of men right now, bringing that conviction; that recognition that we have sinned against God; that realization that we are among those that God considers to be spiritual adulterers.
That conviction is brought by the Love of God reaching out; trying to bring us home again if we will repent.
Turn away from sin. Confess it to God alone. Recognize that Jesus, and his shed blood upon the cross is your only way out. Invite Jesus into your heart. Then surrender your life to Christ as a servant of Love.
That’s the way home. Will you take it? If you will do that, and mean it with your heart, then God promises to heal your backsliding and love you freely. His anger will turn to mercy and his grace will be extended.
I promise this one thing! Never again will you be able to say that I have nothing to be thankful for. This Thanksgiving; this day, whenever it may be, can and will be the greatest day of your life if you give yourself to Jesus and commit your life to him.
What am I most thankful for? I’m most thankful for the great Love of God that he gave to me. I am most thankful for the gift of eternal life that is mine. I am most thankful for the privilege of being called a Child of God. Then I am also thankful for every other blessing in life that God has seen fit to put upon me and upon you, his people.
Do you see yourself in this story today? Are you living with the spiritual adulterers like Gomer, or are you part of the family of God like Hosea? Let the Holy Spirit speak to you as we pray. If you feel the tugging of the Holy Spirit upon your heart, please don’t hesitate to come to this altar and pray. Jesus is waiting for you to answer that call.
