No Grumps Allowed
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Intro: Max Lucado gives us this scenario.
. You came home cranky because a deadline got moved up. She came home grumpy because the day-care forgot to give your five-year-old her throat medicine. Each of you was wanting a little sympathy from the other, but neither got any. So there you sit at the dinner table—cranky and grumpy—with little Emily, your daughter. Emily folds her hands to pray (as she has been taught), and the two of you bow your heads (but not your hearts) and listen. From where this prayer comes, God only knows.
“God, it’s Emily. How are you? I’m fine, thank you. Mom and Dad are mad. I don’t know why. We’ve got birds and toys and mashed potatoes and each other. Maybe you can get them to stop being mad? Please do, or it’s just gonna be you and me having any fun tonight. Amen.”
The prayer is answered before it’s finished, you both look up in the middle and laugh at the end and shake your heads and say you’re sorry. And you both thank God for the little voice who reminded you about what really matters. ( Max Lucado)
.How many of us have had days like that.
.Sometimes we just want to have our own pity party don’t we?
. Sometimes it’s hard to be thankful.
. Today we are going to share our thanksgiving meal together as a church.
. It’s the season of thanksgiving. The season of family and fun together.
. Our scripture this morning instructs us on how to live a thankful life. Not just during the Holidays,
. Paul had been forced to leave Thessalonica soon after the conversion of some of the Jews there and many Gentiles. He writes this letter of Thanksgiving and instruction to a young church that has some questions. Mostly they wanted to know about believers who died before Christ’s return and when Jesus was coming back. Here is where we get some prophecy about Jesus’ return. Paul answers their questions and tells them to stay alert for the Day of the Lord is coming.
. In his final remarks he tells them how to live a life of faith as Christians.
. We are going to look at three of those verses this morning in light of this thanksgiving season.
. IN 5: 16-18, Paul writes.
. 16Always be joyful.
17Never stop praying.
18Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
. We are going to start in verse 18, Be thankful in all circumstances.
. In “The Hiding Place”, Dutch woman Corrie ten Boom wrote of her family’s experience undergoing the trial of concentration camps under the Third Reich in World War II. Though not Jews themselves, she, her father, and her sister, Betsie, were sent to a series of prison camps for harboring Jews in their Netherlands home. At one point, the two sisters are sent to their third camp, Ravensbruck, and upon their arrival at the barracks, they realize that among other horrors of the camp their barracks are completely infested with fleas. QUOTE: p. 180-181
“Fleas!” I cried. “Betsie, the place is swarming with them!…how can we live in such a place?”
“Show us. Show us how.” It was said so matter of factly it took me a second to realize she was praying. More and more the distinction between prayer and the rest of life seemed to be vanishing for Betsie.
“Corrie!” she said excitedly. “He’s given us the answer! Before we asked, as He always does! In the Bible this morning. Where was it? Read that part again!”
I glanced down the long dim aisle to make sure no guard was in sight, then drew the Bible from its pouch. “It was in First Thessalonians,” I said….”Here it is; ‘Comfort the frightened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all…’” It seemed written expressly to Ravensbruck.
“Go on,” said Betsie. “That wasn’t all.”
“Oh yes; ‘…to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus—‘”
“That’s it, Corrie! That’s His answer. ‘Give thanks in all circumstances!’ That’s what we can do. We can start right now to thank God for every single thing about this new barracks!”
I stared at her, then around me at the dark, foul-aired room.
“Such as?” I said.
“Such as being assigned here together.”
I bit my lip, “Oh yes, Lord Jesus!”
“Such as what you’re holding in your hands.”
I looked down at the Bible. “Yes! Thank You, dear Lord, that there was no inspection when we entered here! Thank You for all the women, here in this room, who will meet You in these pages.”
“Yes,” said Betsie. “Thank You for the very crowding here. Since we’re packed so close, that many more will hear!” She looked at me expectantly. “Corrie!” she pleaded.
“Oh, all right. Thank You for the jammed, crammed, stuffed, packed, suffocating crowds.”
“Thank You,” Betsie went on serenely, “for the fleas and for—“
The fleas! This was too much. “Betsie, there’s no way even God can make me grateful for a flea.”
“’Give thanks in all circumstances,’” she quoted. “It doesn’t say, ‘in pleasant circumstances.’ Fleas are part of this place where God has put us.”
And so we stood between piers of bunks and gave thanks for fleas. But this time I was sure Betsie was wrong.
. Who do you indentify with here? Betsie or Corrie.
. If we were honest most of us would say Corrie wouldn’t we.
. When things are just going to pot, it’s hard to give thanks.
. God can’t possibly expect me to be thankful for this. Look around and tell me why I should be thankful. Just like Corrie.
. Let me finish the story.
. Remember that Corrie just knew that Betsie was wrong. There was no way that they could give thanks for this situation.
. One evening I got back to the barracks late from a wood-gathering foray outside the walls. A light snow lay on the ground and it was hard to find the sticks and twigs with which a small stove was kept going in each room. Betsie was waiting for me, as always, so that we could wait through the food line together. Her eyes were twinkling.
“You’re looking extraordinarily pleased with yourself,” I told her.
“You know we’ve never understood why we had so much freedom in the big room,” she said (referring to the fact that they had been free to have Bible studies and even sing hymns in the barracks together in the evenings..) “Well, I’ve found out.”
That afternoon, she said, there’d been confusion in her knitting group about sock sizes and they’d asked the supervisor to come and settle it.
“But she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t step through the door and neither would the guards. And you know why?”
Betsie could not keep the triumph from her voice: “Because of the fleas! That’s what she said, ‘That place is crawling with fleas!’”
My mind rushed back to our first hour in this place. I remembered Betsie’s bowed head, remembered her thanks to God for creatures I could see no use for.
. If it hadn’t been for the fleas the guards would have come in and confiscated everything. Their bibles would have been taken away and the other women in the building would never have an opportunity to hear the gospel.
. When I think of giving thanks in all situations, I can’t help but think about Job.
. Satan had asked God if he could test Job’s faith and God had allowed it. God told Satan that he could do anything to job other than kill him. Job was a very wealthy man. He had a great family and he loved them all.
. One day all his sons and daughters had gathered at the oldest brother’s house for feast. Job was at his house. A messenger came and told job that all his oxen and donkeys had been stolen and his fields had been ruined.
. While that messenger was still speaking, another came and told Job that a fire had fallen from heaven and burned up all his sheep and the shepherds.
. While that messenger was speaking, another came and told him that all his camels had been stolen and all his servants had been killed.
. While that messenger was talking, another messenger came and told him that his oldest son’s house had collapsed in a windstorm and that all his children were dead.
. What a day. If anyone had a reason not to be thankful, it was Job.
. Look at what he said in Job 1:20&21
. 20Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship.
21He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The LORD gave me what I had, and the LORD has taken it away. Praise the name of the LORD!”
. What an example of Christian thankfulness.
. Job was devastated. But he still was thankful to God.
. Can you imagine losing everything including your whole family. I can’t.
. This man did though and still was thankful to God for who He was.
. Paul tells us to be thankful.
. How can we do that? It seems unreasonable doesn’t it?
. He tells us how in verses 16 & 17
. Verse 16 say’s: Always be joyful.
. Joy is a special word for Christians. It’s different from happy.
. All people have the capacity to be happy.
. Happiness is external and is dependent upon situations and circumstances in our lives but not everyone can be joyful.
. You see joy is internal.
. Happiness is based on chance. Joy is based on choice.
Happiness is based on circumstances. Joy is based on Christ.
. This Joy that Paul is writing about comes from within the Christian.
. One of the things that baffles me as a Christian is the lack of joy within the Christian community.
. Folks we should be the most joyful people in the world.
. We have hope. We have Jesus. This is an old saying but it’s true. Every day is just another day in eternity for us. We are guaranteed this by our faith in Jesus Christ.
. We can be joyful because we know our eternity.
. The song that we sing that say’s , “all I know is I’m not home yet, this is not where I belong. Take this world and give me Jesus…”
. Praise God that through all the trials and troubles in our lives as Christians we can be joyful because we know our destiny.
. In chapter 15 of John Jesus talks of the assurance that we can have if we will only remain in Him. Trust In Him and then He tells us why He is sharing this with us.
. verse 11 says this: I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!
. As Christians, we should be overflowing with Joy.
. How can we not have joy in our lives. This is the first day or the next day of eternity for a Christian.
. When we are filled with the joy of Jesus, We can be thankful in all circumstances because we know that we are not home yet. This is not where we belong and this is just a blip in eternity.
. We are not told that we shouldn’t be sad or concerned about things. Job tore his robe and shaved his head. That’s how they showed grief. While he grieved, he never lost his joy in God. He was still thankful to God for all that He had done for him.
. We can also be thankful in all circumstances if we never stop praying.
. Verse 17 says: Never stop praying.
. What does this mean. Should we stay on our knees all the time, 24 hours a day praying?
. No, we couldn’t possibly do that. What it does mean is that you never give up.
. Always trust in God, no matter what.
. Romans 12:12 is an excellent example of this praying and never giving up.
. 12Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.
. Rejoice , be patient and keep on praying.
. In order to be thankful in all circumstances, we need to be joyous and prayerful, never giving up.
. We find this Joy in our relationship with Jesus Christ.
. We trust in Him and talk with Him and then we can be thankful in all circumstances.
. This time of year is set aside for giving thanks.
. Paul tells us that we should always give thanks in all circumstances.
. Not just at the time of the year set aside for thanksgiving.
. We do that by being Joyous and always praying and never giving up.
. We find this joy through Jesus Christ.
. Have you found true joy this morning?
. Invitation
*** To my Christian brothers and sisters, thank you for taking the time to read this sermon. I ask that you take another second and score this for me. I am always open to feedback so that I can continue to grow in the proclamation of God’s word.
May God bless you as you continue to strive to walk worthy of His calling.
Sources:
The Holy Bible, NLT
What’s so great about gratefulness, Don Jaques
