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Give thanks? For Jesus Christ the King Sunday, November 23, 2008
We begin with a video clip from Sermonspice.com that shows people in bad circumstances giving thanks for those things. I thought you all might get a chuckle out of that video. This video helps to wrap up what we’ve been talking about throughout this series: giving thanks for those things we normally would not give thanks for. Let’s review: We’ve talked about persecution as we learned about Christians in other countries who are beaten, imprisoned and tortured for their faith. It’s interesting, because last week I had the opportunity to talk to Tim Dornemann about his then upcoming trip to India to work with other Christians ministering to the athletes in that country. He told me because of the laws, he and the others with him cannot share his faith outrightly, but instead in the context of the work they do with the athletes – who, by the way, know these are Christians working through Campus Crusade for Christ – the visiting Christians will have to be a little more discrete about telling them about Jesus. If they step over the boundaries, they could face a minimum of expulsion from the country, maximum of who knows what? Then we talked about giving thanks in times of financial difficulties, and we recognized that sometimes “life” just happens, and we find ourselves blindsided by debt or a financial problem we just didn’t see coming. We also said, though, that if we’re honest, some – if not most – of our financial problems are a result of our own doing, making choices for the wants over the needs, and using credit cards to get the wants. In the midst of all this, we wrapped our minds around (or tried to, ‘cause it’s a hard thing to do!) the fact that the struggle itself is a blessing because it means that we are not abandoned by our God. It’s because God loves us, He lets us experience the struggles that come from our bad decisions. We compared this to parents: would it be a loving thing for parents to just let their children do whatever they wanted without ever correcting or disciplining them? Last week we talked about giving thanks in times of struggling in health. We talked about how Jesus said “No” to the people who came to be healed by Him, and we saw that God always answers every prayer we pray – “Yes”, “No”, or “Not now.” Finally, we reviewed the four potential reasons God allows suffering in our lives: To draw us closer to Christ; to mature and deepen our faith; to prune us so we can be more fruitful; and sometimes it can be for a purpose we just can’t see right now, but may be revealed later on… or not at all like it was for Joseph in the book of Genesis for whom the reason for his suffering didn’t come to be fully realized until Jesus was born some 4000 years after he experienced all he did. Today we’re wrapping this series up with a final thought on giving thanks for something I think we all automatically are thankful for, but perhaps we don’t always consciously think about it. Let’s go back to our reading from today, looking at a selection of the verses 20 -26 of 1st Corinthians 15. If you have your Bibles with you I invite you to open with me to this book. 1st Corinthians is the seventh book in the New Testament, so the order goes, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – the Gospels that tell of the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus; then comes the book of Acts which records the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the early church; and then comes the Epistles, literally the letters, which answers the question, “In light of Jesus’ teachings and what’s been made known to us by the power of the Holy Spirit, how should we now live?” The Epistles start with Romans, and then comes 1st Corinthians. We’ve talk about the church at Corinth before, but as a review, Corinth was one of the greatest trading and commercial centers in the ancient world. In fact, as far as wealth goes, it was one of the places to live in those times. It’s had a very diverse population of people who each brought in their own values and behavior, and those values and behaviors were so bad, that there literally wasn’t a word to describe it – a new word was invented, Korinthiazesthai, which means lives with more debauchery and immorality than any other word could describe. You’d like to think these kinds of things wouldn’t affect the church, but they did. There were divisions in the church over which pastor the people followed – some said “I follow Pastor Paul”, others said “I follow Pastor Apollos” and still others said “I follow Pastor Cephas” also known as “Pastor Peter.” Apparently there was only a small minority of people in the church who said “I follow Jesus.” There was sexual immorality among the believers; lawsuits among the believers; some people were getting drunk at the Lord’s supper while others were being kept from coming; and their worship services were so disorderly, no real worship could take place. In 1st Corinthians, the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write to the church because they were allowing too much of the world in. Basically in the 1st letter to the Corinthians, the Holy Spirit told them how they should live and the new life and freedom that awaited them within the boundaries of following Jesus. That is where our passage today comes in. Again, we are going to 1st Corinthians 15, beginning with verse 20: But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a Man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when He comes, those who belong to Him. Then the end will come, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all his enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. Death came through a man – Adam. Before the Fall in the Garden of Eden there was no sin, so there was no curse of sin – death. As an aside, if there was no death before Adam, that means that evolution could not have happened since that whole THEORY is based on one species dying out as another takes its place. Death came through the man Adam, and the resurrection from the dead comes through the God & Man Jesus. Because of Adam and the sin he brought into the world and into human beings, unless Jesus comes back first, we will all die. But because of Jesus all who believe in Him will live forever in Heaven – and that’s the ultimate thing to give thanks for. Today is Christ the King Sunday. It’s the last Sunday of the church year – next Sunday is the first Sunday in Advent and the first Sunday of the church year. The year ends today with a celebration of Jesus as our King; with giving thanks for Him being the King. You can write the following scripture references in the margins of your Bibles: John 1:1-3, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. He was King before time began! In fact, He created time. Luke 1:31-33, You will be with child and give birth to a Son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; His kingdom will never end. He stepped into the world He created to set up His Kingdom! Revelation 22:12-13, “Behold, I am coming soon! … I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” He’s going to step into our world one more time and take His place on His throne and rule as our King! Give thanks – our King came once, and He will come again! This time there will be no doubt about who He is or what He’s about. This time there will be no mistaking His purpose and His desire for each one of us. This time He will stay with us physically, and we will live forever with Him in His Kingdom. I can only imagine what it will be like When I walk by Your side. I can only imagine what my eyes will see When Your face is before me… I can only imagine when that day comes And I find myself standing in the Son. I can only imagine when all I will do Is forever, forever worship You. Surrounded by Your glory What will my heart feel? Will I dance for You Jesus, Or in awe of You be still? Will I stand in Your presence, Or to my knees will I fall? Will I sing Hallelujah, Will I be able to speak at all? I can only imagine, I can only imagine. [1]
Give thanks. Give thanks for this soon and coming King of Kings who has already destroyed the power of death forever, and on the last day will put the last nail in death’s coffin – pun SO intended. Jesus said in John 14:1-3, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” He’s coming back – give thanks! He’s bringing all the hosts of heaven with Him to gather His people and throw that devil and his demons into the hell that has been prepared for them – give thanks! He’s going to reign forever as our King of Kings and Lord of Lords – give thanks! And from some of my favorite verses in all of scripture: Revelation 21:3-4, And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe 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. Give thanks, because at the end of all things, we get to be with God Himself. He’s made sure of that for all who believe in Jesus. And that is something to hold on to while we’re struggling with anything this world can throw at us.
Amen.
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