Thanksgiving message 2002 - Mission 101
Luke 15
The thanksgiving tradition came about through this ancient declaration given with the Pilgrims who came to North America for a better life:
"Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as He has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience.
"Now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday November 29th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty-three and the third year since ye pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings."
A young woman brought her fiancé home to meet her parents for thanksgiving dinner. After dinner, her mother told her father to find out about the young man. The father invited the fiancé to his study for a talk.
"So what are your plans?" the father asked the young man. "I am a biblical scholar," he replied. "A Biblical scholar. Hmmm," the father said. "Admirable, but what will you do to provide a nice house for my daughter to live in?" "I will study," the young man replied, "and God will provide for us."
"And how will you buy her a beautiful engagement ring, such as she deserves?" asked the father. "I will concentrate on my studies," the young man replied, "God will provide for us."
"And children?" asked the father. "How will you support children?" "Don’t worry, sir, God will provide," replied the fiancé.
The conversation proceeded like this, and each time the father questioned, the young idealist insisted that God would provide. Later, the mother asked, "How did it go, Honey?" The father answered, "He has no job and no plans, and he thinks I’m God!"
It’s thanksgiving Sunday and I am very thankful today not only because God has provided the harvest, food on the table, or the greatest job, or a church family like this. I’m thankful today because Jesus thinks He is God, and that He has a job and a plan for us all.
Yes, I am thankful; that there is purpose to life beyond just eating drinking and going to work or school. I am so thankful that Jesus has a job that is, to bring home people like u and me, that is His mission - 18For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. 1 Peter 3:18. I love that! His job is to bring us to God, safe and sound. This is his mission… And He has a plan for us that is similar. That is why Jesus told those 3 stories in Lk.15.
Jesus also said in John 20: 21Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." He wants His followers to be involved with Him in His mission. And it’s very specific to tell – forgiveness through Him. Not telling will withhold the blessing of forgiveness. I am thankful God send others to tell me. So today I can tell you – you can have your sin forgiven! I thank God He did not give up on me and you but gave us the grace of being free from guilty feelings and getting rid of our shame. And as an expression of thanks this thanksgiving, be like Christ - in not giving up on the world, our lost friends, … Let’s get beyond keeping the rules, which makes religion nice and tidy, which got the opponents of Christ into such a hissy fit. Let’s get into the joy of God who graces us with a joyful welcome home. Let’s throw out the welcome mat, give the royal treatment, let’s bring others to know God’s heart. U know something else He did not leave us helpless and alone to do this, He gave us His Spirit to live in us, “receive the Holy Spirit…” to carry out His mission. Basic thing we got to know: he is sending us all on this mission!
That is why it frustrates Jesus to no end when people throws all sorts of roadblocks and get all bent out of shape complaining about the job He did and the plans He has for the world. His plan is to come to save us and not to give us our just desserts, for what we deserve as failures in life is complete and utter banishment from God and everlasting punishment for the crimes we have committed (Jn.3:16-17). What we deserve is the eject seat for us rejects, instead what we got now is the hedonistic welcome and enjoyment of God’s pure joy and a reserved house of dreams in heaven, a place we can call home forever.
Ah yes, I am thankful that Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them. Luke 15:1-2 gives us the background story of why Jesus fired off three stories in machine-gun like fashion. He was responding in frustration to the religious types and the holier than thou types. Jesus wants to communicate that God’s heart is for those who are lost…
See Lk. 15!
Do u see, feel God’s heart? Can u smell the roasted meat for the party? Some may be imagining that succulent leg of lamb… Look at God’s mission in our world. It can be seen in the 3 stories… in 2 ways…
1. Movement: The intense search for valuable lost things
2. Motivation: The ecstatic enjoyment of God when lost things are found. See the festive atmosphere, see the piñata, the joy, the sound, God wants a party and He is inviting us!
That is why I’m filled with thanks… He has given me not only the good things in life… but also a movement with a purpose to join with him in search for valuable things, i.e. all of you who are lost. What motivates me is the joy, the party, the never-ending festivities of heaven in the name of Jesus. God wants a thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings that will last into eternity. I can’t wait for the time I can eat cheesecake without putting on the pounds! But that’s the thing that the rule-keeping teachers of the law, religious types just can’t seem to get. V.2 read But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law MUTTERED , "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
Perhaps today you don’t feel like giving thanks… In the news we hear… Friday’s Toronto Star reported: “The unemployment rate crept up to 7.7 per cent last month from 7.5 per cent in August and some economists suggested it signals a slowing economy.” Then we hear reports of a sniper shooting and killing people one by one in Maryland and now into Virginia. Bush getting the OK from Congress as they voted solidly to give U.S. President George W. Bush the broad authority he sought to use U.S. military force to confront Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein - with or without UN support. Then you look into your own lives, perhaps not much have gone right this year… and perhaps you are too are muttering and don’t know it…
Circumstances that u find yourself in just tears you apart inside out? OR Perhaps you have let the death grip of rule-keeping to squeeze the joy of life out of you? Where’s the joy that the preachers keep talking about? Finding yourself complaining, miserable, sullen, joyless, with little peace, …
In 1991, the new owners of the major league baseball team called the Detroit Tigers fired their 73-year-old play-by-play announcer, Ernie Harwell.
The voice of the Tigers for three decades, Harwell was surprised and disappointed. He loved his job and, based on every indicator, his listeners loved him. Along with the broadcasting legends of Scully, Brickhouse, Buck, and Caray, Harwell stood tall. But the real measure of his greatness was seen in the wake of his firing. Rather than
bad-mouthing the instigators of this unexpected action, Harwell practiced what he preached. As a born-again Christian, the veteran announcer chose to accept the circumstances as God’s will for his life and forgive those who had forced him out.
"God blessed me by putting me here for 31 years," Harwell
told the Detroit fans on the final day of the 1991 season.
"I had the greatest job in the world, a job I loved to do.
But most of all, I appreciate you fans. I appreciate your
loyalty, your support, and your love that you’ve shown
me; especially the love."
When asked later about his reaction to his dismissal,
Harwell said, "I refused to allow myself to be bitter.
According to Romans 8:28, God causes the circumstances of
our lives to work together for good. I had an assurance
that he was in control and that I could trust him."
For the next season, Harwell joined the broadcast team of
the California Angels in Anaheim. He did well, but he
missed the players and fans of Detroit. They missed him
too. In fact, the fans would not let up in their demands
that Harwell be returned to the Motor City. In 1993, yet
another new owner hired Harwell back. He has continued to
be the voice of the Tigers until this fall, when he will
hang up his earphones and mike for the final time as he
retires from the broadcast booth at age 84.
"Even though I love baseball," the legendary sportscaster
admits, "I love my Lord Jesus Christ much more."
Citation:
Written by Greg Asimakoupoulos, Naperville, Illinois, from a
telephone interview with Ernie Harwell and from articles by
Pat Zacharias of the Detroit News
This story illustrates for us that our lives must wrapped in something bigger than our job, our fame, our current circumstances. Our lives must move towards something bigger. Our lives are just dying for something more lasting than today’s turkey meal and potatoes or today’s bad news. Harwell knew that God is in control and even though he lost what was a valued part of his life, he did not grow bitter. He made a decision to trust God, refusing to be bitter at whatever life threw at him. His love for God won over his job loss. His mission in life is not job in baseball but Jesus Christ. He allowed his faith, his Lord to be the focal point and with that in his life, developing a thankful attitude saying “God blessed me…” rather than railing against God or against the people who fired him. Harwell did not let the decisions of others rule his life. He allowed Jesus to rule his life… His positive outlook is shaped by God’s word. He knew that God’s love for him is steady, never changing, and it’s firm, unshakable…
Maybe you’re sitting here, feeling useless, wrapped around, choking with bad news…
And wondering how can I contribute to Jesus’ mission. There’s a story in Mark 12…
41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
43Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on."
Many today sit and complain don’t have enough of this and that, feeling useless… but look here… Jesus knows what’s in your heart. Just as Jesus noticed the widow’s 2 very small copper coins, he notices what may seem like a little contribution from you. When you give from your life, from your heart, your gifts and talents your treasure, God knows, just as He knew the widow’s heart and circumstance. Complain no more, give joyfully, remember God values you, searching for you, and He is deeply motivated for your good. Remember God can see beyond your dollar amount and is just joyful that you want to be part of His mission. That letter u wrote to someone, that e-mail, or call you made, the check you wrote, the time you spent with that kid, reminds of Howard Hendricks’s story…
With the kind of start I had in life, I’m sure I could have died and gone to hell and nobody would have particularly cared. I was born into a broken home, my parents having separated before I was born. The only time I ever saw them together was 18 years later when I was called to testify in divorce court.
As a boy I lived in a neighborhood in north Philly, in which they said an evangelical church could never be planted. But God had a fantastic humor when anyone decides what can’t be done. He lead s mall group of Christians to band together, buy a little house there and start a church.
One man in the church was named Walt. He had only a sixth grade education. One day Walt told the SS Supt he wanted to start Sun Sch class. “that’s great, Walt” he was told, “but we don’t have an opening for you.” Walt insisted, however, so the supt. Said, “Good. Go out and get a class. Anybody you find is yours.”
Then Walt came into my community. The first time we met, I was playing marbles out on the concrete. “Son” he said “how would you like to go to Sun Sch?” I wasn’t interested. Anything with school in it had to be bad news. So he said: “how about a game of marbles?” That was different. So we shot marbles, …
Walt picked up a total of 13 boys in that community, 9 were from broken homes. 11 of 13 are now in full-time vocational Christian work. I can’t tell u much of what Walt said to us but I can tell you everything about him … because he loved me for Christ’s sake. He loved me more than my parents did. He was not the most scintillating person in the world, but he was for real.
What comes joyfully from your life to give towards His mission has great significance. Even if u feel as if it’s not worth a penny… I’ve got news for u… God loves it when you know His mission which speaks of His movement, His motivation and when you invest all you’ve got into God’s work, lives will be changed and He will make use of it!
Where are u at today?
Are u clear that God’s mission in this world is to welcome sinners and eat with them and say to them “your sins are forgiven?” God’s love is for u and not against u!
Are u responding to this mission of God which is an all our search for u? God thinks you’re valuable, you are that valuable lost sheep, lost coin and lost son in the stories Jesus told. He is deeply interested in you. The search is on and when u believe He is for you. God responds to that which shows His motivation, He throws a party, He celebrates, He feasts, and says “rejoice with me.” Are u thankful for that? Do u celebrate the God who celebrates over you?
· This thanksgiving season I am thankful for
1. God’s mission: He is welcoming me, moving towards me, !
2. God’s call: He wants me involved in His purposes and fulfill my purpose!
3. God’s Spirit: He provides me His power to live for Him.
4. Gifts God’s given me: I use everything I have for His mission.
Do u know that every life you influenced to know the forgiveness of sins, is bigger than a world series win? John 20 reminds us we have a job too to communicate to others God’s joy, love, His search for valuable lost things, you and I…
This thanksgiving, I invite u to make a decision today…
First time you hear God values you… I want to follow a God like that
Hearing God is calling u to be a missionary… we all are, “I AM SENDING YOU”
As a church, we need to plan more parties, recreate the joy of God, celebrate our we were found, though once was lost … baptisms, happy occasions when lost comes to know Christ love… Instead of getting all wound up like the know it alls of Jesus’ days, let get back to mission 101. If there is a word to express God’s mission - key word: celebrate!
Tell God you’re sorry, if you’ve missed the point, you got into rule-keeping, telling people off, complaining, this didn’t go right… recommit yourself to the God who parties with you.
