HAPPY THANKSGIVING! - to
our American Friends
(Originally broadcast
on October 9th, 2011, for Canadian Thanksgiving)
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Click
on the following link to listen:
http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/4759/good_news_647_oct9.mp3
http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/4759/good_news_647_oct9.mp3
_________________________________________________________________
 |
| Rev. Donald S. Crisp |
By Rev. Donald S. Crisp
Pastor of First Baptist Church, Smiths Falls, Ontario
____________________________
Broadcast Notes:
Theme
from:
We
are now living in the days of ‘entitlement’ or perceived ‘entitlement’……
Giving
‘thanks’ today seems to be a lost
art.
Giving
‘thanks’ in good times is easy.
Giving
‘thanks’ all the time is another
matter.
Rudyard Kipling lived from 1865 to 1936.
He
was English, yet born in Bombay,
India.
He
wrote poetry and is the author of books like
Captain Courageous, How the Leopard Got His Spots, and The Jungle Books. Who was
this man?
Kipling’s
writings not only made him famous but also brought him a fortune. A newspaper
reporter came up to him once and said, "Mr.
Kipling, I just read that somebody calculated that the money you make from your
writings amounts to over one hundred dollars a word.”
The reporter reached into his pocket and pulled out a one hundred-dollar bill and gave it to Kipling and said,
“Here’s a one hundred dollar bill, Mr.
Kipling. Now you give me one of your hundred dollar words.”
Rudyard Kipling looked at the money, put it in his pocket and said, "Thanks!"
What is God’s Will for you life?
He
wants us to be:
·
Joyful
·
Prayerful
·
Thankful
What is God’s Will for your life?
Well,
our text say:
·
Rejoice
evermore
·
Pray
without ceasing
·
In
everything gives thanks
This is the Will of God for you, in
Christ Jesus.
The
Apostle Paul is writing the Church so that they can
get
ready for the Return of Christ will require each of us being in God’s Will
according to His written Word.
God’s
Will for you and me, is to have an ‘Attitude of Gratitude’
That
means - rejoicing – praying – and
thanking God
This
translates into a life of
‘Thanks-Living’
Remember
that ‘Attitude
determines Action’ It’s a Choice!
V.
11: is our ‘Ought To’
‘Therefore, encourage one another and build
one another up, just as you are doing.’
After
reminding us of what we ‘Ought to Do’
Starting
in v. 12 until v. 22, Paul lists ‘Sixteen ‘how
to’s’
This
is in the context of Family
That
is:
the Church Family - Your Family
1 Respect
Leadership v.
12
We
have such a lack of ‘respect’ in our society today.
Lack
of respect for our spouses
Lack
of respect from our children
Lack
of respect for each others
We
live in a world of put-downs….
We
need to return to the world of encouragement and building each other up.
My
point for this message today is that this passage is not just for us as
individuals…. but for us as part of the Family of God.
And
as part of the Family of God we need to rejoice with the Family and pray
without ceasing and give thanks for the Family of God…. for this is God’s Will
for us in Christ Jesus.
God
gave the Church - leaders
Ephesians
4:11
‘Apostles
– Prophets – Evangelists – Shepherds – Teachers’
We
have the opportunity to fulfill the first ‘ought to’ that is….. give ‘respect to our Spiritual
leaders’….. given to the Family of
God….. we must apply this principle to
our Family Units as well.
Listen
to God’s Word
·
Remember
your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you.
Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate
their faith. Hebrews 13:7
·
Obey
your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as
those who will have to give an account.
Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no
advantage to you.’
Hebrews
13:17
·
The
elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor,
especially, those whose work is preaching and teaching. Do not entertain an accusation against an
elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so
that others may take warning.’ 1
Timothy 5:17-20
·
I
urge you brothers/sisters to submit to such as these and everyone who joins in
the work and labors at it.
1 Corinthians 16:16
2 Esteem
Leadership v
13
·
To
‘Honor’
3 Be
at Peace v
13
As
we travel the turbulent waters of life there is peace.
Principle
Where
there is depth, there is peace
4 Admonish
the idle
v
14
·
To reprove gently but earnestly.
·
To counsel (another) against something to be avoided; caution.
·
To remind of something forgotten or disregarded, as an obligation
or a responsibility.
5 Encourage
the faint hearted
To
encourage a person is not to simply give them a pat on the back and say…. good
for you
To
encourage in the Biblical context is to ‘encourage forward’
To
encourage a brother or sister in The Lord forward in their faith.
We
need to encourage our leaders
We
need to encourage ‘the idle’ – yes
The
fact is sometimes we all get stuck
And
we need to encourage and be encouraged to move forward.
6 Help
the weak
The
best way of helping the weak is by ‘empowering – equipping them’ so that they
can move forward…..
7 Be
Patient
·
Love
is patient
8 See
that no one repays evil for evil
Romans
12:9-17
V.
17 says
‘Do
not repay anyone evil for evil.
Be
careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
V.
19
Do
not take revenge, …. For God says:
‘It
is mine to avenge. I will repay.’
9 Rejoice
Always
Here’s
a truth!
When
we are not in the centre of God’s Will for our life and we are embracing sin,
we loose our Peace and Joy and our Testimony.
When
we are in the centre of God’s Will according to His written Word, the Bible….
He blesses us with Peace and Joy our testimony is enriched…..
Here’s
the truth!
If
you are ‘respecting’ – ‘Esteeming’ and are at ‘Peace’ with the leadership of
the church then you will be able to rejoice.
When
you ‘admonish the idle’ – ‘encourage the faint hearted’
-
‘help the weak’ – are ‘patient’ with everyone ‘ and are not repaying evil for
evil’ then you will be able to ‘Rejoice’ in the Lord.
10 Pray
without ceasing
Listening to God without ceasing
Constant,
consistent, consecrated listening (prayer)
Listen
Prayer
is to be focused on ‘listening’ to God without ceasing.
We
often think this means to ‘keep talking’ without ceasing.
Not
so…. The most important voice in prayer
is not yours it’s His.
11 Give
Thanks in all circumstances
We
are now living in the days of ‘entitlement’ or perceived ‘entitlement’……
Giving
‘thanks’ today seems to be a lost
art.
Giving
‘thanks’ in good times is easy.
Giving
‘thanks’ all the time is another
matter.
Too
often our gratitude is dependent upon the circumstances of life. A beautiful
hymn was written by Martin Rinkart
during the thirty-year war to help us look beyond our circumstances and see the
hand of God.
Rinkart was a pastor in Saxony, Germany
as the turbulent years of the war dragged on. For a time he was the only pastor
in his town. His pastoral duties caused him to preside at nearly 4500 burials in 1637 alone.
In the context of this sad
situation and these unfavorable circumstances he penned the words to the
Hymn. Now Thank We All Our God. It
is a hymn of unconditional gratitude to God.
“Now thank we all our God
With Heart, hands, and voices
Who wondrous things has done
In whom his world rejoices”
“Now thank we all our God
With Heart, hands, and voices
Who wondrous things has done
In whom his world rejoices”
Rejoice
Evermore
Pray
without ceasing
In
everything give thanks
So
what are you thankful for in your life
The Hymn writer wrote:
“Count your many
blessings
Name them one by one…..”
Lord
I thank you for:
1 You
2 Your love, forgiveness, compassion and
mercy
3 Jesus
4 The Cross
5 My Salvation
6 You lead, guide and provide
7 Giving me purpose in my life
8 My wife, Tricia
9 My daughters
10 Grandchildren
11 The Ministry that you have called me to
12 That I am never alone
13 My friends
14 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(Broadcast closed with prayer.)
To listen to the above broadcast, click on the following link:
http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/4759/good_news_647_oct9.mp3
http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/4759/good_news_647_oct9.mp3
