I had thought of using for today’s message, the title: How warped am I, Not living in Gratitude! But I think I am not alone in the fact that there is no defense for our not being grateful for this life we now find ourselves a part of. And so, I thought that I would try for the positive approach and see where I ended up. Hence; Blessings & Miracles, Thanks Be to Our God!
Although, honestly…all that I need to go with today’s title is a rainbow, a unicorn, and possibly some salt-water taffy, for that syrupy effect! I’m sorry for the cynical thread just taken, but it is important for all of us to consider, just how blessed each of us are in the midst of the onslaught of miracles our God favors humanity daily, if not minute by minute, the live long day! And my cynicism comes from my recognition of my ungrateful nature.
I am an inheritor from a stiff-necked people in a rough and tumble world, and like all of us at times in our lives, we tend to totally forget that its people like you and me in our fallen nature that add to the fallen nature of this world that suffers and suffers from our pollution of sin.
You know after thinking about it, after reflecting on my own sin, and lackluster performance in thanking God for all He has, is and will provide for both yours and my existence, … maybe the original title: How warped am I, Not living in Gratitude! … Is an appropriate label for today’s thought.
You see, just when I think I am getting my life and me under control and there is a semblance of order to everything around me, the Lord has this incredible way of providing a reality check… to anchor us. For an example, please let me read from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Church in Rome two thousand years ago, where he explains much about our issues of living as fallen people in a fallen world. Reading from Romans 7: 15-25;
14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
*Please let me paraphrase Paul and say: The stuff I don’t want to do, I do, and the stuff I want to do, I don’t get done! Sound familiar? That’s why my frustration, I guess. Well, there more from Paul, picking up at verse 16;
16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
**Paul is not saying the devil made me do it! He did it!
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Paul’s instruction illustrates for you and me just how consistent our God is in delivering His people time after time. Thanks be to God!
Our Bible is full to the brim of example after example of people coming to God in thanks and recognition of His influence and deliverance to the people of God. Reminding me of Rafiell’s Call to Worship reading this morning. Please let me return and read again from, Psalm 145: 8-14; Rafiell Jones
8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
9 The Lord is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
10 All your works praise you, Lord;
your faithful people extol you.
11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
*Cutting in to say; “They tell of the glory”…We must be about sharing the good news about our God, because every day God is doing something new in someone’s life, that requires our assistance in acknowledging and celebrating the greatness that is our God! Now verse 13;
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.
14 The Lord upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
And, as the book Hebrews states (Hebrews 4:16), we can come confidently to the throne our Lord (for that is how much we are loved in spite of us), and then walk humbly with our God. Thanks be to God.
And yet, in spite of all of the evidence of God’s majesty, all of the confirmations in scripture of God’s love for us, and all of the passages sighted in the Lord’s Bible about God’s passion for you and me, we still as a people seem stuck on playing hard to get, and being drawn to the bling and fling of life instead of holding on to the good life, that leads to life everlasting.
Please let me return to the words of today’s prelude reading of Matthew 11:16-19, and add verses 20-24 on top of that. Just so you can have an idea of where our Lord’s thoughts were on the world’s thoughtless, hard-headed obsession of seemingly looking to anything other than our God. Reading from Matthew 11: 16-24;
16 “But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, 17 ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”
*In other words; For some people, it doesn’t matter if God came to celebrate with us (His Creation), there are those who wouldn’t care. And if God came to morn our loss personally with us, there would be those who won’t notice. For our God comes to us in all kinds of ways and all types of circumstances to reach us where we are, but what He won’t do is force Himself into making me into a robotic blip in the passages of time.
And when goodness surfaces and gratitude on our part for all that God is doing in our lives rises to the occasion, God’s Holy Spirit is at work in the highest. Just as when my ingratitude sweats from my pours, my fallen nature is readily apparent for all to see. On to verse 20;
20 Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”
For our Lord came, performing miracles in the supposed God-fearing following towns of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum by, healing, restoring, redeeming, and people went right on with their lives soaked deep in their selfish pursuits of chasing after the things that do not satisfy, and only add to the other addictions we fallen people are enslaved to. The Lord said that it would be better for the pagan cities of Tier and Sidon on the Mediterranean Sea coast when the day of judgement comes. That the sick city of Sodom would have responded better to His gifts than God’s own people!
Ouch and owe again. How many times like in last week’s thanks for the drought relief, have some of us just gone through the motions of thanks, only to automatically reset and go back to where we were in our thoughts not to revisit gratitude until forced into its recognition when in a crowd of others. Well, I have and I am not proud to say when my gratitude is an autopilot kind of thing, I can easily become superficial in my faithwalk.
Sadly, I am prone to this defect in myself even when I read scripture trying to learn more about my God. After a while I can get into a comprehension stupor and lose so much of the beauty right in front of me in God’s Word. Missing the idea behind today’s message title: Blessings & Miracles, Thanks Be to Our God!
So here is a blessing that is an outright miracle. God loves you! He loves His creation and all of us made in His image. The Prophet Zechariah illustrates this fact in his instruction to the children of God in our Old Testament. Reading from Zechariah 9: 10-12;
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.
12 Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope;
even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.
Even after Israel’s sins and waywardness our God still loves His children, and will do incredible and mighty works for the display of His splendor. But the real glory for me, is knowing just how fervent our God is about having a relationship with each and every one of you.
To give a better idea of our Lord’s love for,.. passion for us,… and how we might want to start thinking deeper about Him, … please let me return to scripture.
Before I read this passage, I must confess that I thought twice about it. This is not my usual kind of reading to you on a Sunday. More to my own shame, since all of God’s Word must be digested and chewed on by you! Here are the words of Solomon, who in the midst of his own challenges of self-grandeur (he believed his own press about being great), Solomon, gives us words to reflect upon. Reading from Song of Solomon 2: 8-13;
8 Listen! My beloved!
Look! Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
9 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.
10 My beloved spoke and said to me,
“Arise, my darling,
my beautiful one, come with me.
11 See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
12 Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree forms its early fruit;
the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
my beautiful one, come with me.”
An allegory of God’s passion for the created, and ours for Him. As the theologian Renita Weems states her thoughts within the NIB Bible Commentary: “The Bible is full of stories of people who play hide and seek with God’s calling. Their faith falters, their obedience is short lived, their worship wanes, and their commitment must be tested and reestablished again and again.” Jonah, Peter, Paul, and David to name a few, all had to learn what being steadfast in a real relationship means, and then there’s the even deeper bond we must have with God.
In short, for our thanks to God for His countless miracles and blessings to be sincere on our part, we must be willing to be present, to remain within the fold as it were, be accountable, be willing to see and work challenges through, plus come out of hiding when necessary to nurture relationships, even the most important one with God through a humble, grateful heart.
This applies to our families, friendships, work, neighbors, and church life. With this in mind, let’s see how today’s message reading resonates this time through.
Matthew 11: 25-30;
25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
*Jumping in just once to say; the creator of everything is saying to you, that He wants to be in relationship in and with you. Now, for a final call this morning upon your senses of right and holiness, your God will make the next definitive case for a relationship with Him. Verse 28;
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
God bless you my beloved family in God!
Amen!!
Benediction; Peter 4:7-10,
7 The end of all things is near. Therefore… be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
And Numbers 6:24-26
24 “‘“The Lord bless you
and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”’
Amen!