Thanksgiving

On Sunday 16^th November, the Anglia Youth Chorus led the worship at Wisbech Corps. Below are the sermon notes I used.

In that day you will sing:

“I will praise you, O Lord!

You were angry with me, but not any more.

Now you comfort me.

See, God has come to save me.

I will trust in him and not be afraid.

The Lord God is my strength and my song;

he has given me victory.”

With joy you will drink deeply

from the fountain of salvation!

In that wonderful day you will sing:

“Thank the Lord! Praise his name!

Tell the nations what he has done.

Let them know how mighty he is!

Sing to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things.

Make known his praise around the world.

Let all the people of Jerusalem[a] shout his praise with joy!

For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.”

(Isaiah 12, NLT)

Every year in America, on the fourth Thursday in November, families and friends gather to celebrate thanksgiving with one another; a day to give thanks for all that has happened in the preceding year and the harvest that has been gathered in. It’s a time to share the joys and celebrate God’s goodness. People from all backgrounds and religions spend the day thinking about what they have to be thankful for, whether they are the wealthiest or the poorest, whether there is lots to be thankful for or little, whether they’re giving thanks for food, shelter, good things that have happened, or just the fact they’re still living.

While today we think of thanksgiving as a very American concept, throughout church history there have been ‘Days of Thanksgiving’ celebrated whenever there was a reason for national celebration. In fact, we’ve just recently celebrated one of them – Guy Fawkes Day began as a ‘Day of Thanksgiving’ for the failure of the Gunpowder Plot – giving thanks for the salvation of the King’s life and of parliament. And while we may not think of it as such, Remembrance Day is also a day of thanksgiving as well as remembrance; we’re giving thanks to those who gave their lives so we could be free.

Being thankful is still a major part of today’s culture. I’m sure we all know of the Roses advert, ‘Thank you very much for…’, and recently on social media there was a ‘thankfulness challenge’. People would have to share for five days 3 things they were grateful for on that day, and then challenge a number of friends to take part. While the movement began mainly amongst Christian people, it was not limited to them. Many people of other faiths and no faith also took part in the challenge. The challenge was supposed to reveal to people that there are many things to be thankful for; trying to create a thanksgiving mind set within themselves that would last beyond those five days.

Thanksgiving

But with everyone being thankful for things, who are we thanking? Being thankful suggests there is a person or reason giving us these things. If things come our way by chance, our thankfulness is hollow; it is more of an appreciation for what we have received than being thankful; we are happy to have it, but no one is receiving our thanks. When non-Christians are thankful for the things they experience in life, they are more focussed on the fact these things have been received by them and how good it makes them feel.

As Christians, our thankfulness is different, because we believe God has given us all these things. Our thanksgiving is part of our worship; he receives it as an act of worship from us. We should have a thanksgiving mind set towards him at all times, most importantly because there is one thing we have received from him that should cause us to be more thankful than anything else we receive.

What is it?

It’s forgiveness for our sins and salvation through his son, Jesus. By his death and resurrection, thereby paying the price for our sin, we are saved and can enter into a relationship with God.

From our reading, we can see that before we came to Jesus, God was angry, because of our sin.

Experiencing God’s Anger

Our passage from Isaiah 12 is a song of thanksgiving for salvation. At the time of writing, the people of Israel were experiencing trouble for their sins. They had not turned from their wicked ways, and so could not experience salvation. Just two chapters earlier, in Isaiah 10, the Lord is expressing his anger at the way the Israelites have behaved, but this is not the only time God gets angry with the sinful. He has always been angry with those who do not follow his laws as Paul writes in Romans 1:18 – 21:

“God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks.” (NLT)

And Paul warns that we too experience God’s anger in Romans 2:3:

“Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things?” (NLT)

When we sin, we experience God’s anger. His anger brings death, and is painful to experience. In Isaiah, God was going to send the Assyrians to punish them for their wicked ways. But for us, we experience God’s anger as a broken relationship. We can never truly have a relationship with God while his anger burns against us. 

But Isaiah 12 is not focussed on God’s anger. By the end of verse 1, God has come to bring comfort. But what has changed? What changes this anger into comfort? And how?

Experiencing God’s Power & Comfort

Verse 2 says ‘God has come to save me’. It’s Jesus. While God is angry about our sin, he loves us enough to get involved in the mess of our lives to come and rescue us himself through the death of his son Jesus.

In Isaiah 40:9-11, we read that God is coming in power to rule with a powerful arm, but he will feed his flock and hold them close. Isaiah was prophesying the coming of Jesus. When Jesus came, he came with the power to forgive sins so that we could be comforted. Our comfort cannot come before the punishment, but Jesus took that for us on the cross so that he could then be the one to offer us comfort, knowing he was the one who saves us.

Experiencing Joy

We are dependent on this grace; this gift of salvation we haven’t earned. This salvation and forgiveness are just some of the gifts we have undeservedly received from God. And in return for these things, we should live in recognition that they belong to God. When we do, we experience joy – because we know we owe God EVERYTHING.

 

When we experience the joy of salvation, we want to thank the Lord because we know we don’t deserve the rescue, but we also want to tell of his great name to those who haven’t experienced God’s salvation, and tell them what he has done. When someone becomes a Christian for the first time, they’re so joyful and thankful; they can’t help but spread the news, which is what we see described in Isaiah 12:4-6.  

Testimony of God’s presence

Isaiah knew what it was to receive forgiveness and salvation from God. He had known the salvation in his life in chapter 6; God made him clean to be his messenger. And since then, he shared God’s message with the nation. He wanted them to turn from their sin so they too could experience the joy he had found.

Those who regularly spend time with God and receive his forgiveness know what they have been saved from, the mess they make of their live; the cost of their forgiveness, the death of Jesus; and that the news must be shared with others, because it is just too good to keep to themselves. They are joyful, because they are rooted in the relationship with God that is the result of salvation.

But we can too easily loose this sense of joy and thanksgiving. When we’ve been saved a while, we can forget what it was like to be in the mess. We can forget what we have been saved from. And without recalling that experience, we forget the joy it brought into our hearts. If we don’t experience the salvation in our lives, how can we tell of it to others?

When did you last experience the power of salvation in your life? When did you last drink from the fountain of salvation? Have you ever even tasted the waters?

We need to keep coming back to the fountain. A fountain at the time Isaiah wrote would not be a fountain as we picture one, but what we may call a spring – the source of a river. A spring appears to come from nowhere, but keeps flowing. That is what salvation is like. It appears from nowhere but keeps coming. There will always be enough if you are truly sorry for your sin and want to be saved.

Jesus died so we could be saved. It is his death we should give thanks for.

Let's Dance

On Palm Sunday (13th April), the Anglia Youth Band led the meetings at Stowmarket Corps. This post contains the message I gave at the evening service.

The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted,

“Praise God!

Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hail to the King of Israel!”

Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said:

“Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem.

Look, your King is coming,

    riding on a donkey’s colt.”

His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about him.

Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. That was the reason so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign.

John 12:12-18 (NLT)

Imagine Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday. You’re heading to the city for the Passover. As you approach, you hear people shouting and singing, you see a crowd gathering along the road, waving palm leaves. You go over to investigate, and ask ‘What’s going on?’

“It’s Jesus!” someone replies. “Have you not heard of him? Have you not heard of all he’s done?! Only a few days ago he raised Lazarus from the dead – that guy over there! He’d been dead for FOUR DAYS! And this guy raised him! He must be the Messiah!”

How excited would that make you? You have been waiting centuries for the promised Messiah! Would you not also go and get Palm leaves and join with the crowd?

According to this passage in John, this is what happened at that first Palm Sunday. In verse 12, we read that ‘the news Jesus was on the way… swept through the city’, and verse 18 says ‘many went out to meet him because they had heard about this miraculous sign’ – which is referring to the resurrection of Lazarus. It is the good news of all Jesus has done that drew the crowds that day.

Most of the people in the crowd are unlikely to have had a personal experience of Jesus’ miracles, and yet they are there, cheering his arrival. Over the past 3 years, they must have heard so many stories, maybe even known someone who was at the feeding of the 5000, or one of his other miracles. They praised because someone had shared their good news.

How often is this still true today? Many people begin their journey towards God by hearing of what he has done for others, by hearing their personal experiences. They may never have experienced God in their own life yet, but they can get excited and be just as joyful as we are when they hear of the good things God is doing in our life.

By sharing our experiences of God, we are saying ‘Let’s dance’ to those around us. We’re inviting them to join in the experience themselves, and through rejoicing in our experience, they can come to experience God for themselves. When we talk of a dance, we don't just talk of physical dance and praise, but a dance is a relationship. As well as praising God, we are inviting those who do not know him into a relationship with him. 

And this isn’t just for those who don’t know God. Sharing our experiences and inviting each other to dance is just as important. It can encourage those of us who are downcast and remind us of how faithful God is.

When we dance in praise before God, he draws near to us, and he then begins to teach us how to dance his way, keeping in step with him. 

Let's Pray!

On Palm Sunday (13th April), the Anglia Youth Band led the meetings at Stowmarket Corps. This post, and the one that will follow tomorrow, contain the message I gave at the two meetings.

After telling this story, Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking ahead of his disciples. As he came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead. “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

So they went and found the colt, just as Jesus had said. And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?”

And the disciples simply replied, “The Lord needs it.” So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for him to ride on.

Luke 19:28-35 (NLT)

This may seem an unusual passage for talking about prayer, but hopefully I can uncover some new truths in a passage I am sure you have heard many times before.

In the passage, Jesus directs two of the disciples to go and fetch the colt for his ride into Jerusalem. This is not an unusual request by Jesus – he often asked the disciples to undertake strange tasks for him (e.g. casting fishing nets on a different side of the boat, feeding 5000 people with a packed lunch, etc.), and in verse 32 we see the disciples obeying this instruction. They go to the village, untie the colt and answer the owners as directed.

This immediate and obedient response from the disciples is a little out of character. Looking at just two other examples of Jesus’ requests to the disciples, you can see what I mean.

In Luke 5:4-5, we see Jesus instruct the disciples to throw their nets to the other side to catch fish, but Simon Peter’s response is “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again” – not exactly enthusiastic! It almost appears as if Simon Peter is just humouring Jesus at this point, not obeying out of faith.

Then in Luke 9:13, Jesus has just instructed the disciples to feed the 5000 men, not including women and children. What is their response? “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Or are you expecting us to go and buy enough food for this whole crowd?” Again, a mix of sarcasm and not much obedience!

I’m sure you can think of more times where Jesus gave instructions and the disciples were less than enthusiastic, or times where they missed the point of Jesus’ ministry.

In this passage, there is no record of what the two disciples said to Jesus after receiving their instructions. We are not even told which 2 disciples he sent, and therefore are unable to think of a possible response based on our knowledge of their personalities based on other passages. All that we have is simple obedience. Given the honest recording of the other incidents, maybe this time they really did just get on with it instead of talking back. After all, by this point, they had spent 3 years with Jesus. Their faith would have grown, as seen by this obedience.

But what about us?

How do we react to Jesus’ instructions?

How do we receive his instructions?

Are we like the disciples in this passage, or the other times?

As Christians, we are to follow Christ’s directions just as much as the disciples did. When we pray, when we read our Bibles, when we attend church services, we should be coming with hearts open to hearing God’s directions. And once we hear them, we should step out in faith like the disciples.

But this wasn’t an immediate faith and belief the disciples had. It was developed over time. We too must develop our faith by spending time with God. We can do this through our prayers, Bible reading, and sharing in fellowship with other Christians.

Pray, and step out in faith, like the disciples this Easter. And if you don't yet have that faith, spend more time with him and ask for your faith to be increased.