Thanksgiving Sunday
Oct 9, 2011 Based on Ps 65
Intro into time of Corporate Thanksgiving:
As we allow Ps 65 to guide our Thanksgiving service today, we have ascribed praise (vs 1), proclaimed our promise of steadfastness (vs 1), confessed (vs 3), and celebrated our welcome by God our Father (vs 4) – isn’t that a great picture: what festivities await us inside your holy Temple!
This second section of the Psalm sends us into our time of Corporate Praise – Pastor Sue sent an email this week asking us to come prepared with something to share as a praise, including the challenge to even think of our prayer requests as an opportunity to express thanks to God even in the midst of a challenging or difficult situation. For example I have been dealing with our facility disaster on an almost-daily basis, and so in the spirit of Thanksgiving I can choose to say thanks to God that we have great people working on solutions, that we have finally begun the repair phase, that I am learning a lot, and that the disaster was not as bad as it could have been.
Or as another example, I recall quite a few people facing serious illness who have been thankful for their suffering because it brought them closer to God and to others.
At the very least, we might recall Father Francis John Mulcahey, from the T.V. show MASH who was once caught in the mess tent saying grace. Other characters were shocked – Father, they said, what on earth can you find to be thankful about in this horrible slop? The insightful priest replied, Well, I try my best, and when it gets really bad, well then I can be thankful that at least it is not always as bad as it is that day.
In just a moment I’m going to invite your expressions of thanksgiving. But first, let’s take some instruction from Scripture.
Ps 65:5-8
This passage re-focuses us on to whom we are giving thanks. See, sometimes the very act of thanksgiving undermines the intent behind it. What I mean is that sometimes when we reflect on the things for which we are thankful, we shift our focus onto those things for which we are thankful rather than the One who provides those things. Onto ourselves – how good our lives are, how we appreciate our family and our homes and our freedom and our material blessings and all the rest. And that is a good starting place. But sometimes that focuses us on the gifts rather than the giver. Sometimes that focuses us on ourselves, rather than our God who has provided all these incredible things.
The Psalm, if we allow it to lead us in worship, prevents that. Take a look: whom does it describe? It is not focusing on the benefits of our relationship with God, it is focusing us on God Himself – His faithfulness (vs 5), His awesome deeds (vs 5), God as savior (vs 5), as hope (vs 5). And that is only in the first verse! Then it goes on to describe the mountains, the oceans, and the shouting nations (vs 6-7). And then we hear an appropriate response: stand in awe of (His) wonders… shouts of joy.
It brings us back to God. That is our desire and intention, even as we share the things going on in our lives. God is at the centre. God is the source. God is the answer. He is savior, hope, faithful, and full of awesome deeds. And that is where our focus needs to be.
This is also the message of Hebrews 12:1-2: Hebrews 12: And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.
So, as I invite you to share your praises, with a focus on the giver rather than the gifts, let us do so with the command of 1 Thess 5:16-18 ringing in our ears: 16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
Corporate Praise
Blessed Be Your Name
The Earth is Yours
Ps 65:9-13
The King’s Twins:
There once was a King who had twin sons. They were his delight, and he showered them with gifts. He began each day on his throne by welcoming his sons, chatting and laughing with them, and then he would give them both a precious gift from his treasure store.
One son would take the gift and hide it away in a locked closet, afraid that others would steal it. The other would go down into the village and share the treasure with the villagers, sometimes to fund a party, sometimes to help build places to play or places to heal, and sometimes he would just quietly give to the poor of the village that they might have food.
As time passed, the first son became more sullen, more withdrawn, and more suspicious. Whenever someone was friendly, he saw a threat. Whenever someone came to meet him, he quickly turned them away before they could ask him to part with some of his treasure. His treasure began to own him.
The second son became more and more vibrant. His heart was filled with joy, he delighted in people, he laughed easily and often. And his twin resented him deeply.
The King went off to war, and was not heard from for a long time. The Kingdom presumed him dead, and an opportunistic interloper seized the throne.
Aha, thought the first son, now my brother will wish he had not squandered our Father’s gifts! Now he will have nothing, while I still have it all.
But the new evil king seized both sons, stripped them of their robes and rings, and demanded they surrender all their possessions. He marched them to their rooms and broke open their locked closets. In the first son’s closet he found all the gifts and carried them away; but the second son’s was almost empty. The evil king then banished them from the castle, and sent them away with nothing.
They arrived in the village, and the second son was surrounded with love and care – they brought him food, and clothing, and prepared the best room for him. But they looked at the first son and said, Who are you? We don’t know you. The second son said, He is my brother, treat him as you would me, and the villagers tried, but the shadow in his heart made it hard for him to receive their generosity, and he resented his need. He locked himself in a room and refused to come out.
The new king ruled harshly, and the villagers bided their time until the son they knew had grown to adulthood, then they overthrew the evil king and installed the generous son on the throne.
Children of the King:
You and I are the children of the King. Romans 8 tells us, 15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, Abba, Father. 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.
We are the children of the King, welcomed into His throne room where He delights in us and gives us amazing gifts, and the promise that we are his heirs.
Have you ever wondered why? Why are we so blessed? Why do we have so much? Why are we so rich? Last week I showed a video of Mama Maggie speaking, and she reminded us none of us choose where we will be born. It is a gift of God.
Why does God give to us so extravagantly? I think there are several reasons: first, it is an outflow of His love for us. Second, I think He delights in our joy in receiving the gift. And third, we have a very clear answer in 2 Cor 9:11 which I will share in just a moment.
But before we look at the third reason, let’s think about this: when you consider all the gifts God has given you, do you more reflect the first son in my little story, or the second? Our society lives from a scarcity mindset – there is not enough (and the insidious lie buried deep underneath that is that we have been convinced there will never be enough so we better keep consuming and consuming). And since there is not enough, we better grab all we can and hold onto all we can. Hide it away, lock the closet, guard the door. And quickly, we start to become owned by our possessions. And the shadows fill our hearts.
This is not the intention of our King, who gives us good gifts. He does not want us to become slaves to those gifts, or to fear, but rather to be free. And the way through that is to hold the gifts lightly and to share them freely. This is the third reason God enriches us so much – so that we can always be generous.
1 Cor 9:6-15
6 Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. 7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves a person who gives cheerfully. 8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. 9 As the Scriptures say, They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.
10 For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.
11 Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God. 12 So two good things will result from this ministry of giving—the needs of the believers in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God.
13 As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ. 14 And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you. 15 Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!
Why?
Why do we have so much? 11 Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous.
See, when we get past all our culture, our greed, our fear, our reliance on stuff for our identity and purpose and meaning in life, we get to a really good place. Relying on the gifts rather than the giver is a house on sand. It is the wizard behind the curtain. It is the Hollywood set, all beautiful frontage but there is nothing behind the door. But when we see through, and find our way to the truth at the bottom of all that clutter, we discover something very powerful and very freeing: nothing really belongs to us anyway.
All these amazing gifts we have been given? They are not ours to possess. They are not ours to lock away in a closet. You will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous.
They are given to us that we might be good stewards for the sake of others. God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. 9 As the Scriptures say, They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.
Offering:
The last thing we want to do this morning is provide opportunity to express our generosity, and we are going to do it a little differently than normal. Usually we pass some offering plates and we put some money in as an act of obedience, an expression of thankfulness and dependence on God, and so that the work of God’s Kingdom might continue. And that is good and right, and we need to do that today. But we are going to do more than that.
I do ask you to bring your tithe. We are behind in our general budget, which supports our ministries and our facility and our many partners, and we need to fix that. We’ve also invited you to bring a Thanksgiving offering, above your tithe, which will go towards our partners at the Casa de la Amistad in Bolivia. It goes further – we’ve invited you to bring an offering of food for the food bank here in Edmonton. But let me take it one final step. Maybe the offering you need to bring has nothing to do with money, maybe you need to bring a gift of time, or service. Maybe you need to be generous of spirit.
Or maybe, you need to bring Jesus your heart. Maybe you’ve never really let Him in – you’ve been holding on, doing life on your terms, running the show, being in control. Or maybe you have, but you’ve tried to grab it back.
Whatever it is, here is your opportunity. Bring it forward, lay it on the altar, and allow God to keep His promise to you: 10 For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.
