Thanksgiving

 Galatians 6:7-10

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.  For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life.  And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.  So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

Sermon for Thanksgiving                                       11/28/24

Thanksgiving

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday, not a church holiday.  We are having service today, as I say each year, because we have the opportunity, and we don't want the world to mistake us for those who have no gratitude to God.  But it would be a mistake is we began to think that this day was special for the fact that we give thanks on it, or that thanksgiving was accomplished the way most Americans do it.

If you were to judge by our cultural celebration, you would think that thanksgiving was accomplished by eating too much food, or watching football on TV.  Those are the modern day perks that many of us enjoy - along with family gatherings and such - but they have nothing to do with giving thanks to God.  In fact, they usually stand in the way of thanksgiving.  The question is, "What does real Thanksgiving look like?"  That is what our text for this morning is describing.  Our theme is simply, "Thanksgiving".

Every thing we have, and every moment we live, and every sense we utilize is a gift from God.  Our consciousness and our ability even to say thank-you in any way is a gift.  Heavenly beings, like the angels, pour their very being into serving the Lord.  That is how they worship and that is how they give thanks to God – by being what God created them to be and doing what God created them to do.  So the question for us mortals is: What does real thanksgiving look like?  How can we – whose breath and very being is a gift – give to God true thanks.  Simply saying "Thank-you," is not adequate.  It may work for politicians, because they want the attention of the press.  It works for hypocrites, because they want just the sound of it anyhow.  We, as God's children, want actually to give praise and thanks to God.  And the Bible says we have nothing to give to God which He hasn't first given to us, so, how do we give genuine thanks to God?

The answer is that we do it by how we live.  Angels give thanks - as I said earlier - by being who God created them to be and doing what He created them to do.  We must do the same.  Saying that is one thing, of course, and doing it is another.  It doesn't come naturally to us, since we are sinful by nature, and at our best we wrestle with temptations and sins within and without.  That is where the words of our text, and other words of Scripture come into play in our lives.

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.  These words serve as our guide as we consider how we are to live, and what sorts of thing we are to do.  If we live as though how we live does not matter, God knows that it does not matter to us.  If sin and holiness do not matter to us, for example, then clearly, neither does whether we go to heaven or to hell.  It is true that our actions do not earn us heaven, or hell for that matter.  We all deserve hell, and our hope for heaven is in Jesus and not in ourselves or our behavior.  Having said that, however, we never mean to imply that sin doesn't matter, or that holiness is unimportant.  It is just that our works and our conduct are not the cause of our salvation.  Jesus is the source and the cause of our salvation, and unbelief is the only cause of damnation.  That has been true since Jesus died on the cross in our place.

Think about it:  Jesus changed everything!  We do not naturally have the ability to be pleasing to God.  We were born fit for death and hell, and our deeds since then have further fitted us for eternal death.  But Jesus came into the world and lifted that doom from our shoulders by suffering all that we, by our sins, have earned.  Scripture says explicitly that Jesus bore our sins on the cross and nailed to that cross the handwriting of the Law which was against us.  He died our death.  He took our place, and by doing so, took us out of the equation of salvation.  Now it is the will of God that all those who look to the Son of God for their salvation and place their trust and hope in Him will rise to everlasting life in glory.

The only possible thanks we can give that means anything real is that we live in the light of that Gospel, that we live as the beings God has created us in Christ to be, and we do the things that we were created new in Christ to do.  God even says something to that effect in Ephesians 2:10, where He caused the Apostle Paul to write: "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."   

On the other hand, if you live as though this world is all there is, and you gotta reach for all the gusto you can get, then, for you this world is all there is – at least all the good stuff that there is.  You will reap what you sow.  Our text says,  For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life.  If you sow to the flesh, which means that you live as if the flesh is what really matters, you will reap what the flesh earns – death and hell.  If you live in the Spirit and from the guidance of the Spirit, and you sow toward the work of the Spirit, you will reap from the Spirit eternal life – again, not because your behavior earns it, but because only the children of God are being led by the Spirit.  Everyone else always sows to the flesh.

It is this life of holiness that is true thanksgiving.  It is only by living as God's holy people that we bring glory to Him.  Thanksgiving and praise isn't just a matter of what we say, although that counts too.  It really is our lives.  Actions speak louder than words, or so they say.  If you are happy that you have been set free from sin and death, then you live a life that reflects that freedom from sin, to the best of your ability.  If you are thankful that God loves you and counts you as His own, then you live a life that shows your joy, demonstrates your trust, illustrates the hope that is yours in Jesus Christ.  A life of thanksgiving is not a life of grasping greed, but of sharing.  It is not a life of self-service and minding one's own business, but a life that cares for the welfare of others and looks out for the well-being of the other.

Of course, some people won't appreciate such attention.  Oh, they are glad to have you give them money and food and stuff like that, but care for others which includes protecting them from false teachers, and warning them against spiritual counterfeits and guiding them into the truth is not always welcomed.  They want the outward help, but there are government agencies to do those things.  Who is there to tell them the truth about God and His love?  That work is left to us!  Again, people seem to welcome political action on their behalf, but where can they find theological action on their behalf?  We who have the truth need to stand firm in the truth and show them the way of the Word of God against the errors of our age, and point the way to that narrow way of life.

These theological sorts of things are the good deeds that no one else is doing, no government agencies, no public charities, and precious few churches.  And, frankly, people don't necessarily want to hear it.  They will freely bite the hand that feeds them the spiritual food they need.  That is why Paul writes,  And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.  It is easy to grow weary, but we are encouraged not to lose heart, but to continue on in doing good.

And - what so few recognize even though it is a common proverb - our good works and our charity ought to begin at home.  It is so inviting to look at the charities of the world, and get caught up in the unending needs of the world around us, and overlook the brother or sister in Christ who needs our time, or our compassion, or even our help.  It is a fine thing to help others, the poor, the homeless, without regard for who they may be.  It is a very American thing.  But our text reminds us that as God's people, we take care of one another first.  I'm not talking about blood family taking care of blood family first – that seems to come naturally.  I am talking about brothers and sisters in Christ – understanding that the Church is our family, and taking care of our family in Christ before we take care of the world.

So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.  To love others and do good in every situation is vocation of the children of God, who are to live in imitation of their heavenly Father, who makes the sun to shine on the just and the unjust and the rain to fall on the righteous and the unrighteous alike.  But the other children of God come first for us, just as they also do for God.  The world will hate us, so we must love one another all the more.

Besides, if we only clothe and feed an unbeliever, we have only preserved him for the fires to come.  But if we rescue and encourage, feed and support a fellow believer, we help one of God's children hang on and hold fast and stand faithful unto life everlasting.  The best way to thank God for all His goodness to us is to share it with another soul, helping them hold fast to faith and salvation.

But this is not an either / or.  This is a both – and.  We are not to neglect those who need to hear about Jesus in favor those who already have, nor do we turn our backs on those who believe in order to reach out to those who do not.  We do both.  We sow to the Spirit among those who have not yet believed – out of gratitude for God's grace to us, and we sow to the Spirit by fellowship and encouragement, by sound doctrine and the witness of a faithful life among those who share the burden of the cross of Christ with us.  

This is true thanksgiving.  It is a life of service and love.  It is a life of holiness and faithfulness.  It is a life given to God's truth, and God's people, and God's mission.  It isn't simply a day.  It is our entire life; a life of discipleship, of holiness, of love, and – yes – of thanksgiving, lived deliberately and consciously, aware that we are strangers and aliens to the world, and fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of God.  With eyes wide open, and our attention fixed on Jesus, we live in this world as ambassadors to the truth, and fellow travelers with the whole household of God.  That is thanksgiving!

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
(Let the people say Amen)