I hope everyone is ready for Thanksgiving this Thursday. I will be deep-fat frying one of the 45 million turkeys that have given their life for this wonderful holiday. One thing I am thankful for is that I can get mine from the frozen food section at the grocery store. I would hate to have to hunt one down to eat for Thanksgiving because wild turkeys are actually rather elusive.
Turkeys have a keen sense of hearing and range of vision of about 270 degrees as compared to 180 degrees that we can see. They can run twenty miles an hour and burst into flight approaching speeds of 55 mph.
There are other ways of killing turkeys. If you can rig up a surround sound system and lure them in, then hit them with the sound of a sonic boom, there is a good chance they will drop dead of a heart attack. Or place a sprinkler system over them, turn it on, and get them to look up. There’s a possibility they will drown.
However, I would rather get mine from the store. As a side note, I saw a rather funny posting on Facebook. It read “I shot my first turkey today. Liked to scared everybody to death in the frozen food aisle.”
Today I want us to discover six blessings in the Bible that we are to say “Thank God” for.
Thank God you’re a slave.
Romans 6:16 “Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.”
I recently finished reading a book about the story of Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Gina DeJesus. They were three girls that were kidnapped by a deranged individual in Cleveland and held captive for 10 years. During that time they were brutally abused and molested. For most of the years in captivity they were chained to pipes and fixtures and deprived of the simplest accommodations of life. Amanda Berry actually bore his child, although Michelle Knight was kicked, punched, and starved to cause her to have five miscarriages.
During this time they began to show him emotions and say loving words to him. He would in his trial paint a picture that they had been consensual in all that had taken place. The reality is they had come to realize that in order to have a more peaceful lifestyle it was easier to give in to his demands.
People can become like those three girls. They get so wore down from the pressure of temptation in a sinful lifestyle that it becomes easier to give in to the demand of fleshly desires. And in doing so they suffer a spiritual death.
But, with the help of the Holy Spirit, they could also choose to obey God. They could choose to walk in obedience to his word and live a righteous life. This leads to a spiritual life filled with peace and joy.
Romans 6:17 “Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you.”
Paul emphasizes the need for thankfulness for the freedom that those who sought it found. If you are in that group, if you have been set free from sin, then say “Thank God.” It was through the blood of Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit, and your willingness to surrender that your freedom sin came about. However, as I said be thankful you are a slave.
Romans 6:18 “Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.”
In the spiritual realm, you are a slave. You always have been. You always will be. You may be the captain of your own ship in the physical world, free to make choices. But in the spiritual realm, you have a master. Your master is either Satan or God. That is reality. To be a slave to Satan is to be a slave to a harsh taskmaster. To be a slave to God is to be treated as He treats his own Son. If you have become a slave to righteous living, then thank God you are a slave.
Thank God you’re miserable.
Romans 7:21-24 “I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?
Paul totally understood he was no longer a slave to sin. However, he recognized the principle of life that reflected the fact that the ability to sin still laid with in him, as it does with us.
Although sin is not our master, Satan continues to try to draw us into a sinful act. We are not held captive by that sin unless we chose to be so. We can, however, find ourselves constantly battling against the pull of that sin.
Paul says it makes him miserable and it should us also. If sin in our lives becomes acceptable, we are heading for a spiritual breakdown. Misery wakes us up and makes us realize that Satan has captured our mind and must be pushed out. Without misery a sinful action becomes the norm. And God made a way for us to overcome the sin which makes us miserable.
Romans 7:25 “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.”
Misery pushes us back to Jesus. It is with him and in him that we find deliverance from our misery. He understands our struggles. He was a human like us. He knows our desire is to obey God. And He also knows that our human desires battle against that spiritual desire. In him we find the strength to stand firm against sin and rid ourselves of such misery.
Thank God that you‘re dead.
1 Corinthians 15:56 “For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.”
Picture a scorpion with its tail curled up. At the end of that tail is a stinger. If you come in contact with the stinger, poison is shot into your bloodstream. The poison cascades through your body parts and begins to damage vital organs and brings about death. It’s not the stinger that kills you. It is the poison. Paul says that sin is like the stinger but its God’s law that brings death.
Listen to Paul’s explanation of how this works. “Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law (poison), sin (the stinger) would not have that power. At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good.” (Romans 7:7-12)
It is the law of God that exposes sin, not sin itself. We do not know that something is a sin until God’s word exposes it. Then, like a deadly scorpion, we must deal with that knowledge. So what’s the answer?
1 Corinthians 15:57 “But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Through the sacrifice of Jesus we no longer have to fear the stinger of the scorpion or the poison of the law. Jesus fulfilled the law and set us free from the law. Now we live under grace. And it’s through grace that we can arise above the influence of sin in our lives and live lives pleasing to God because of our desire to do so and not because we are commanded to do so.
Thank God that you’re smelly.
2 Corinthians 2:14 “But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.”
We were taken captive from Satan when Jesus died on the cross. We are spiritually in a never ending procession of his triumph before the eyes of Satan and all of his demonic powers. That procession extends from east to west and north to south. We waif outwardly like the smell the most expensive perfume. But not all perceive that odor the same.
2 Corinthians 2:15-16 “Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?”
Has anyone ever been offended by the truth of God’s word that you may have shared? It’s because you stink. They don’t like the smell of righteousness and holiness. They might say you are judgmental but really you stink. They might say you are narrow-minded but really you just stink. But be understanding and not offended that they think you stink.
Remember that those to whom the Holy Spirit is drawing, working on, you smell sweet. They want to inhale that life-giving aroma that surrounds you. And to God, you smell like his Son.
Thank God that you’re loving.
2 Corinthians 9:15 “Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!”
Look around the room. Look at everyone here. Everyone here is loving. Everyone here gives of their finances, their talents, and their time. Everyone here gives something. And that makes you too wonderful for words.
No one gets paid to set things up or tear things down. No one gets paid to teach the children. No one gets paid to be in the band. No one gets paid to run the electronics. It gets done because you are loving.
Alex Haley, the author of "Roots," had an unusual picture hanging on his office wall. It was a picture of a turtle on top of a fence post. When asked, "Why is that there?" Alex Haley answered, "Every time I write something significant, every time I read my words & think that they are wonderful, & begin to feel proud of myself, I look at the turtle on top of the fence post & remember that he didn’t get there on his own. He had help."
This is my fifth year as the pastor here. Some of you have been on this journey with me the entire time. Some have come along later. But if it wasn’t for you being loving, I wouldn’t be here. If it wasn’t for your giving of finances and time, this body of believers would not exist.
I think you give not only from obedience but from the fact that you love it here. That we are family. I thank you for being loving.
Thank God that you’re sensible.
1 Samuel 25:33 “Thank God for your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murder and from carrying out vengeance with my own hands.”
There are people who have come up against me that I just want to strangle. There are people who have come up against our church that I want to get even with. But you have stopped me with your good sense. I’m just kidding. I just wanted to see your expressions. Everyone thought I had finally flipped.
Be thankful that God has given you good sense. Use it when you handle others. Guard your tongue when you speak. Guard your actions around others. Realize that those apart from God are watching and listening to you. Use your good sense to bring others closer to God and not farther away.
Also use your good sense Thursday when you eat. The average person will consume over 3000 calories from their Thanksgiving Day meal. And if you have snacked all day that could jump to 4500 calories. If you do overeat will give you four options. 1) Go run for 4 hours. 2) Go swim across Lake Norman. 3) Go walk for 30 miles. I suggest 15 one way and then turn around and come back. 4) Do what I am going to do. Unfasten my belt, sit in my chair, and watch those Panthers beat them Cowboys!
