Iliff and Saltillo UM church
November 24, 2002
Thanksgiving Message
"God’s Open Invitation"
Isaiah 25: 6-9
Luke 14:15-24
INTRODUCTION: This week is Thanksgiving. You probably have certain traditions and special ways you celebrate with family and friends. More than likely you will have turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry salad, and pumpkin pies with many many other things on the table as well. You may gather together to reconnect with people you haven’t seen all year or you may travel to other places to visit. It’s not only a time to stuff ourselves with all kinds of delicious food and watch football games, but it is also a time to take inventory of what we have to be thankful for.
STORY: A college professor tells about his very first job in a general store. When he was 13 he was hired to do odd jobs around the store--sweep the store, stock the shelves, and bag groceries for customers. One day the owner said, "It’s that time of the year again--time to take inventory." He was not familiar with that term so he wrote it down and when an opportune time came, he asked, "What is an inventory?"
The boss explained that it was time to make a list of everything that you had from groceries on the shelves to wrapping paper and string. The boy said, "Why?"
The owner patiently answered, "Well, it’s easy to forget how much you have each year. Every now and then you have to take inventory just to see what all you have."
That little story sums up what Thanksgiving is all about. It is a time when each of us needs to ask the question: "Have I taken inventory of my life lately? Have I made an effort to count all the things that I DO have instead of complaining about the things I DON’T have?
You might say, "I can’t think of much to be thankful for. This hasn’t been the greatest year for me." I realize that some years are not as good as others jobwise, healthwise, or in lots of other ways. Well, if you can’t think of anything, here are 7 things to be thankful for as you begin your own inventory.
7 Things to be Thankful For
1. for automatic dishwashers. They make it possible to get out of the kitchen before the family comes in for their after-dinner snacks.
2. for husbands who attack small repair jobs around the house. They usually make them big enough to call in professionals.
3. for the bathtub--the one place the family allows Mom some time to herself.
4. for children who put away their things and clean up after themselves. They’re such a joy you hate to see them go home to their own parents.
5. for gardening. It’s a relief to deal with dirt outside the house for a change.
6. for teenagers. They give parents an opportunity to learn a second language.
7. for smoke alarms. They let you know when the turkey’s done.
When we think of being thankful, sometimes we tend to get bogged down by being too SOMBER and SERIOUS when it comes to our religion. Jesus said, "I have come that [you] may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10). Another translation says, "I have come that you may have life more abundantly."
Today’s scriptures from the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah and from Luke, speak of this abundant life. How do these scriptures apply to Thanksgiving? Just how do they connect and apply to us today?
1. The Lord’s Feast: The Old Testament prophets searched diligently for salvation and God’s grace. In scripture salvation is often referred to as a feast or a banquet. A feast is made up of good things to nourish and refresh. The gospel makes glad the heart and raises the spirits. The Old Testament prophets looked forward to the time that Jesus would come into the world and lift the darkness of sin. In Isaiah’s time the people needed the hope of a better day. In this prophecy he said, "On this mountain the Lord will prepare a feast of rich foods for all people--a banquet of aged wine--the best of meats and the finest of wines." At that point the people only had a future Hope of what God was going to do. Isaiah is looking down to New Testament times when the gospel message would be open to both the Jews AND the Gentiles alike. Isaiah had seen the sorrow and tears of the people of God--much of it brought on by their own disobedience. He said and one day "death will be swallowed up forever. The Lord will wipe away all tears." Paul speaks of this final victory over death in I Corinthians 15:55-56 when he says, "Where, O death, is your victory, where O death is your sting?" The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." John writes in Rev. 21:4, "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away."
The people of Isaiah’s time might have wondered, "What do I have to be thankful for--I don’t have the reality of these promises and prophecy yet, but they did have the HOPE of the coming of Jesus long before it happened. Sometimes HOPE is all we need to make a difference in our lives. We can be thankful as we are WAITING on God. We can be thankful that He cares about us and knows where we are living. He meets us at our point of need. Isaiah tells the people, "In that day they will say, Surely this is our God, we trusted in him and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation" (v. 9).
At that time in history I believe this Old Testament prophecy was enough to cause the people to look up, to realize that God was going to prepare the very best for them, they could be thankful and rejoice in whatever circumstances they were currently in. Their salvation was on the way, and it would be abundant just like the table spread for a great Thanksgiving feast. Jesus speaks of this abundance in John 10:10 when he said, "I have come that they might have life and that more abundantly."
The Lord has prepared the best for us, and we are fortunate to live at this time in history. Even though we are surrounded by the overwhelming problems in our society--the terrorism, wars, and natural disasters on the earth, we are each one given the open invitation to come to the Lord and "taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8) also referring to a feast or a banquet.
2. The Response to the Invitation:
STORY: One year before Christmas I invited some friends to our house for Christmas dinner and they said they would come. Their children were all living out of town and wouldn’t be coming home that year. I was looking forward to sharing a nice meal on Christmas with them and went shopping for the groceries and had everything bought and some things prepared ahead of time.
The day before Christmas, I saw this woman. She said, "I was going to call you and cancel out. We would rather stay at home. If we come, we won’t stay long, we want to wait on a call from our son."
I said, "Well, I’ve got all the food bought now. What am I supposed to do with it?"
Well, they did come to the dinner, but it wasn’t very enjoyable and they left almost immediately after that they ate. What a disappointing Christmas it was!!
In Luke the prophecy of Isaiah had come true in part because Jesus had come into the world. The world SHOULD be freed from darkness and ignorance by the light of the gospel. Luke 14 talks again about a feast or a banquet. The invitation went out to many guests, the food was prepared and the host spared nothing. But the invitation was met with a cold indifference. One would think that those invited would have been glad to come to the banquet just as you look forward to celebrating a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner this week. But they weren’t. They were invited and the invitation was followed up by a reminder, "Come, for everything is now ready," but they all alike began to make excuses.
STORY: Alisha’s mother called the family to supper. Everything was on the table and was starting to get cold. Jason, the teenage son rushed downstairs and grabbed a plateful of food and took it back upstairs. Alisha came into the room whining, "I’m not hungry," holding an empty peanut butter jar in her hand where she had been snacking all day. Her father grabbed a plate and took it to the living room to watch TV.
3. How Are You Treating God’s Invitation?: I wonder what God thinks of our response to his invitation. Do we walk up to Him with our empty jar of peanut butter and say, "I’m not hungry for your banquet. I’ve been snacking all week on junk food. Let me come some other time. He is saying to us, "but everything is ready--just come to the banqueting table. I have peace for your troubled soul, I have rest for your weary hearts, I have healing for your sick bodies, I have the refreshing you so desperately need."
Do we say, "I’d rather stay at home. Got other things to do. I’m pulled in a lot of directions right now.
STORY: An elderly man in Phoenix calls his son in New York and says, "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing. 45 years of misery is enough."
"Dad, what are you talking about?" the son exclaims.
"We can’t stand the sight of each other any longer," the old man says. "We’re sick of each other, and I’m sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her." Then he hangs up.
Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. "No way are they getting divorced," she shouts, "I’ll take care of this." She calls Phoenix immediately and shouts at the old man, "You are NOT getting divorced. Don’t do a single thing until I get there. I’m calling my brother back, and we’ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?"
The old man hangs up the phone and turns to his wife. "OK," he says, "They’re coming for Thanksgiving and paying their own fares."(source unknown)
I would imagine that God feels disappointment in hearing our lame excuses. He doesn’t try to come up with a scheme to get us to come to the feast--to salvation. He simply extends the generous invitation and it is up to us to respond in one way or another.
The invitation is open but we don’t always know how long the season of opportunity and grace will be open. Scripture tells us that, "Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation" (II Corinthians 6:2).
Rev. 3:20 says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any [person] hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with me."
CONCLUSION: God’s Open Invitation of salvation is compared with a feast or a bountiful Thanksgiving Dinner because it is generous and made up of the very best of everything. More than enough. We often react to his invitation with indifference because we are not hungry. We’ve been snacking on the junk food of the world and wrong priorities all week. How are you treating God’s invitation?
LET US PRAY:
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Marilyn Murphree
ICQ#: 58855823
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