MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
Please turn to the 12th chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Our text for this morning is found in this chapter & we will be looking at several parts of it before we’re finished.
I really do love Thanksgiving! It is one of the happiest days of the year. It is a special time for families & friends to get together & enjoy each other’s company & share in the abundance of food that is available to us.
And during this time many will also pause to consider our blessings & to thank God for all that He has given us.
ILL. I have a preacher friend whose father never said the words "Thank you," but always used the phrase, "Much obliged," instead. I haven’t heard that expression for a long, long time.
In fact, I think the last time was on a TV program when the Lone Ranger captured the bank robbers. When he returned the stolen money, the mayor of that small town said, "We’re much obliged to you, masked man."
I suppose we do hear it once in a while, but by & large it is a forgotten phrase. It is a colloquialism that we used to use but which has been largely forgotten.
But maybe that phrase expresses what Thanksgiving really ought to be. Because "to be obliged" means that someone has done us a favor & therefore we are indebted to return the favor - to do something in return.
As we consider our blessings & think about the many things that have come our way, we surely must conclude that we are indeed "much obliged." Much has been given to us, therefore we have a tremendous obligation.
A. I think that’s what Jesus is saying in the 12th chapter of Luke. We’re not going to read it all, but let me sum it up for you.
In the first few verses Jesus says that God knows us & cares about us. He knows us so well that He even knows the number of hairs on our head.
B. In the 15th verse He begins to talk about greed. He says, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
We may have a lot of things, but life is not measured by how much we possess.
Then Jesus tells a very familiar story. It’s the story of a rich farmer who has been blessed with a bountiful harvest. Not just one year, but for many years, & this is the best harvest of all.
I’m sure he is thankful for it, but he is also greedy with it. So he decides to build bigger barns & store away the grain. In vs. 19 he says to himself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink & be merry."
But God calls him a fool because he has made provision for everything except for eternity. Then Jesus ends that story in vs. 21 by saying, "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
C. In the next few verses Jesus tells us not to let worry or anxiety ruin our lives. He talks about the birds of the air & the lilies of the field & how God cares for them, & that we are worth much more to God.
In vs. 31 we are told to "Seek His kingdom, & these things will be given to you as well."
He concludes by saying in vs. 34, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
D. Then He changes the subject slightly, & begins to talk about His second coming. One day He will come again, & that day will come unexpectedly. Vs. 40 says, "You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him."
Meanwhile, until that day comes, Jesus says that God is going to hold us responsible for what we do with all the things that God has given to us. In vs. 42 the Lord asks, "Who then is the faithful & wise manager...?"
Jesus says that God expects us to be faithful & wise in our stewardship, & if we are, then Jesus says in vs. 44, "I tell you the truth, He (that’s God) will put him in charge of all His possessions." So if we are faithful with what we have been given we will be given more.
E. This brings us to our major text for this morning. Look with me at what Jesus says in the last half of vs. 48, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; & from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."
Just a few minutes ago we sang, "Count your many blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, see what God hath done." This is the week when we make it a point to remember our blessings, & to thank God for them.
Regardless of our place or position in life, I am convinced that all of us here have been given much, far more than most of the people of the world, & therefore in God’s sight we are "much obliged." I believe that God has given much to us & therefore He expects much from us.
May I take time this morning to recount some of our blessings?
I. WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH A BOUNTIFUL LAND
I believe that we have been blessed with a bountiful land in which to live.
ILL. Each year around this time we are reminded of what is happening in Haiti, in Africa, & in other parts of the world. We see pictures of starving people, & we are told that on the average every 3 seconds someone will die of starvation.
Did you realize that? While we are here in God’s house this morning more than 2000 people will die. Not because of cancer. Not because of heart disease, but because they do not have enough food to stay alive.
Compare that to the bounty of our own land. Each year the people of our nation give more food to those who are in need than all the rest of the world combined.
ILL. Have you looked at the food ads in the papers this week? This may not be a bumper year for turkeys, but judging from the ads there are more than enough turkeys for Thanksgiving.
We live in a land of plenty. We have been given much & therefore we are "much obliged."
II. WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH FREEDOM
Think about our freedom a word we often heard in the past. When our boys were marching off to war in Europe & the Pacific it was a very important word. We said it a lot. We are a people who have never known anything but freedom. We would not know how to behave if we were not free.
We are free to come & go as we please. We are free to choose our occupation. We are free to come to church. No one is standing with a gun, telling us what we can & what we cannot do. Therefore, we are "much obliged."
Why are we so blessed? Have you ever stopped to think about that? Why aren’t we among the 2,000 who will starve to death in this hour? Why aren’t we among the oppressed people of the world, unable to move about in freedom?
Coincidence? Luck? Happenstance? Don’t you believe it. Our forefathers sailed across treacherous seas & carved out homes in the wilderness. They suffered & fought & died that we might be free.
And God has blessed our land over & over again. God has given life to the seed & fertility to the soil, & today we stand in the midst of plenty, because others have gone before us. Therefore I am "much obliged." So are you.
We will never be able to repay those who have gone before, but we can fight & sacrifice to preserve what we have, so that our children & our grandchildren can share the same blessings.
III. WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED AS A CHURCH
Think for a moment this morning about the church as the body of Christ, & we as members of that body.
We have so much. We have cushioned pews & air conditioning & beautiful windows & carpeted floors. We have classrooms. We have musicians & ministers & people with talent, & willing worshippers. God has given us much, & therefore we are "much obliged."
ILL. I wonder what a Christian in parts of Africa or China or the Mid-East would think of us? If he were here, & able to listen to our conversations as we leave the church this morning, I wonder what his reaction would be?
It takes courage & sacrifice to be a Christian in many parts of the world today! Yet, despite hardships & persecution, people still gather together in the name of Jesus, thankful for the privilege of being able to worship Him.
I wonder what they would think of superficial Christians complaining because it was too hot or too cold, or because something wasn’t done right, or because someone didn’t speak to me?
Maybe we have so much that we have come to see the church as a place to serve us, & no longer as a place where we serve.
If we just sit here saying, "Thank you Lord that we are not like everybody else" then that is the ugliest form of thanksgiving, because that is selfishness. We have been given much, & therefore we are "much obliged."
We are obliged to fill these rooms with people who want to learn God’s Word. We are obliged to fill these pews with those who hunger & thirst after righteousness.
If we fail to see the obligation that comes with the blessing, then we are miserable people who have never seen the joy of true thankfulness.
IV. WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH THE GOOD NEWS OF THE GOSPEL
Then think about the Gospel for a moment. It is good news, & most of us who are here today have heard so many sermons about the life & death & resurrection of Jesus that we could easily tell it from memory. How blessed we are!
And yet, while we are hearing the good news over & over again, there are millions who have never heard.
And I have the privilege of telling you this morning that I am saved, not because of anything that I have done, but because of what Jesus has done, & because someone cared enough about me to tell me about Him.
I am obligated, & so are you. We are obligated to prophets & apostles, to people who received the good news, who sailed the seas, & crossed the land - to martyrs who gave their lives that His story might be told - until finally someone told me & you. Truly, we have received much, & therefore we are "much obliged."
So as you gather around your thanksgiving table this Thursday with your family & with more food than you can possibly eat, realize that because God has given us so much, much is expected of us, & we are to become givers & sharers of that which God has given.
ILL. Some years ago I heard an interesting story about a young boy living in a European city at the end of the World War II. He had been orphaned by the atrocities committed by the German forces.
Now all alone, he was having to scrounge around the ruined city as best as he could to find food, clothes & shelter. But nearly everyone was experiencing desperate times, & he found that people either ignored him or had nothing to give.
Years before, he had heard someone talk about God & Jesus. But with the hell on earth that the war had brought into his life, he had long since lost what meager faith he once had.
One cold morning, he was wandering down the street, staring into windows of shops & cafés. He stopped outside the window of a small bakery. The smell of the fresh bread made his stomach ache with pain.
He was so absorbed by the smell & sights of the bakery that he didn’t realize an American soldier had come up & was watching him. And the boy hardly noticed it when the G.I. walked on past him into the store.
He did, however, see the large bag the baker was filling for the G.I. with rolls, breads, & pastries. And the boy could hardly breathe when the soldier left the shop, knelt down, & handed him the bag, saying, “They are all yours.” Then the soldier turned & began to walk away.
The little boy just stood there for a few moments looking at the G.I. with astonishment & gratefulness, & then started running after him as fast as he could.
He caught up with him & grabbed his pant leg & tugged on it. The soldier stopped & turned around. The little boy asked, “Mister, are you Jesus?”
You know, we are like God when we give. Never are we more like God than when we give. We have been given much. Therefore we have much to give.
This morning God’s invitation is extended to all, especially to those who need to make public decisions. Will you turn your eyes & your heart & your life to Jesus & respond to His invitation as we stand & sing together?
