FEAST AND FAMINE: Thanksgiving for the Blessing and the Curse in the Age of COVID-19 - 11-29-20
INTRODUCTION
Blessing and Curse - a dialogue of redemption
The blessing and the curse in the age of COVID-19
“Your theological perspective might be myopic if unrest in America leads you to talk about the end times but suffering, disease, or famine in parts of Africa does not.”
Esau McCaulley, PhD
What curses are you grateful for?
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“. . . always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Ephesians 5:20 NIV
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:4-7 NIV
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done."
Philippians 4:6 NLT
I. TROUBLE MAY BRING A CORRECTING MINISTRY
Hebrews 12:6 NIV says, "because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” And Hebrews 12:11 NIV tells us, "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
II. TROUBLE MAY BRING A DEEPENING DEPENDENCY
Troubles bring us to Jesus so that we might depend more upon Him. The apostle Paul had a thorn in his flesh and he said, "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
2 Corinthians 12:8-9 NIV
If your trouble causes you to depend more upon God, can't you realize why we are to thank Him for it?
III. TROUBLE MAY BRING A CONFIRMING TESTIMONY
Paul knew much sorrow and he said, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV
If you didn't have tribulation, you wouldn't need comfort and God so graciously gives that comfort.
IV. TROUBLE MAY BRING AN INCREASING MATURITY
God's Son was without sin, but not without suffering. James 1:4 NIV says, "Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
The words "mature” and “complete" do not mean sinless, it means maturity or reaching full potential. The word "perseverance" means endurance. You're not going to be mature until you learn patience, and the only way that you can learn patience is to have something to endure.
“You don't sharpen an axe on a pound of butter.”
V. TROUBLE MAY BRING EXCELLING GLORY
1 Peter 4:12-14 NIV says, "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”
How would you like the Spirit of glory and of God to rest on you? How would you like to undergo a fiery trial?
But, you see, it is the fiery trial that brings the Spirit of glory upon you. Acts 6:5 describes Stephen as "a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit." While he was being stoned, the Bible says that his face was like the face of an angel (see Acts 6:15).
If your trouble causes you to know God's glory, shouldn't we thank Him for it?
VI. TROUBLE MAY BRING BAFFLING MYSTERY
Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
God will give you enough to know to obey Him. Friends, there are some things we may not understand, and we don't have to understand them in order to thank God.
VII. TROUBLE WILL BRING ETERNAL VICTORY
Romans 8:18 says, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
Paul was not saying the glory offsets the sufferings. Instead, he was saying that there's no comparison. What a day that will be when He turns every tear to a pearl!
And then we understand that He has not forsaken us.
Now since all of these things are true, then can we not give thanks in everything?
For Paula and I, the last 7 years have been very difficult. God has been greater than our difficulty. God deserves the glory!
“For three things I thank God every day of my life: thanks that he has vouchsafed me knowledge of his works; deep thanks that he has set in my darkness the lamp of faith; deep, deepest thanks that I have another life to look forward to--a life joyous with light and flowers and heavenly song.”
Helen Keller
CHALLENGE
Write down 4 reasons for thanksgiving that seem like troubles but are really blessings. Testify to someone about the goodness of God in the midst of a trial and tell them why you are thankful for it. Thank God for all things - good and bad.
INVITATION
It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word. You may want to follow Jesus. You may want to proclaim your faith. You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things). Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church. If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, I would be honored to speak with you in the upper parking lot following the service about what God is doing in your life.
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