WEBVTT 00:00:03.370 --> 00:00:06.750 We have just passed through a season when being 00:00:06.750 --> 00:00:11.730 thankful is popular. But being thankful is always 00:00:11.730 --> 00:00:15.949 proper as far as God is concerned. In everything 00:00:15.949 --> 00:00:19.390 and for everything, the Word of God says, give 00:00:19.390 --> 00:00:23.429 thanks. The psalmist said, serve the Lord with 00:00:23.429 --> 00:00:28.370 thanksgiving. Israel was rebuked for her lack 00:00:28.370 --> 00:00:32.310 of it. And the pagan world is characterized by 00:00:32.310 --> 00:00:36.950 an absence of gratitude, which is a proper response 00:00:36.950 --> 00:00:41.689 to God's providence and common grace extended 00:00:41.689 --> 00:00:46.609 to all men. Indeed, in Romans 1 .21, we read 00:00:46.609 --> 00:00:50.369 that the first step toward idolatry is actually 00:00:50.369 --> 00:00:55.689 an attitude, an attitude of ingratitude toward 00:00:55.689 --> 00:01:01.560 God. And we learn in 2 Timothy 3, 2 that ingratitude, 00:01:01.560 --> 00:01:05.459 unthankfulness, will characterize the end times 00:01:05.459 --> 00:01:10.099 as the traditionally Christian culture grows 00:01:10.099 --> 00:01:14.840 increasingly apostate. In contrast to all of 00:01:14.840 --> 00:01:17.159 that, however, the child of God is to be known 00:01:17.159 --> 00:01:21.780 as a thankful person, always giving thanks for 00:01:21.780 --> 00:01:25.849 all things. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:01:26.010 --> 00:01:29.469 to God, even the Father, Ephesians chapter 5. 00:01:30.250 --> 00:01:33.930 Be ye thankful, the Word of God instructs us. 00:01:34.269 --> 00:01:37.709 In Hebrews 13, 15, it says, Let us continually 00:01:37.709 --> 00:01:42.650 offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, 00:01:42.730 --> 00:01:46.290 the fruit of lips. Notice, not just an attitude 00:01:46.290 --> 00:01:49.650 of heart, but the fruit of lips that give thanks 00:01:49.650 --> 00:01:55.560 to His name. We can all find something for which 00:01:55.560 --> 00:01:59.980 to be thankful and can learn to be the same in 00:01:59.980 --> 00:02:04.040 everything. Someone has said giving thanks is 00:02:04.040 --> 00:02:09.199 a course from which we never graduate. One fourth 00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:12.300 grade class was asked by its teacher to write 00:02:12.300 --> 00:02:16.400 a short paper on the subject, the things I am 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:20.719 most thankful for. One little boy put down first 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:25.419 his glasses. And he wrote an explanation after 00:02:25.419 --> 00:02:28.900 it. They keep the boys from hitting me and the 00:02:28.900 --> 00:02:34.039 girls from kissing me. That sounds like a fourth 00:02:34.039 --> 00:02:42.199 grader. He'll change. Unfailing gratitude makes 00:02:42.199 --> 00:02:47.280 a human magnet out of a common personality. A 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:49.599 person who may not have a whole lot going for 00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:53.139 him if he's grateful. If he's the kind of person 00:02:53.139 --> 00:02:57.719 who's thankful and gracious, that kind of a person 00:02:57.719 --> 00:03:00.979 you want to be around. Perhaps that's one reason 00:03:00.979 --> 00:03:03.900 that most Bible students are attracted to Paul 00:03:03.900 --> 00:03:08.860 the Apostle. Paul suffered hardship. He endured 00:03:08.860 --> 00:03:13.460 persecutions. He experienced beatings and savage 00:03:13.460 --> 00:03:18.270 attacks of slander against his character. He 00:03:18.270 --> 00:03:20.930 bore the burden of immature and carnal problems 00:03:20.930 --> 00:03:23.710 in churches. You can read about it in 2 Corinthians 00:03:23.710 --> 00:03:27.889 chapter 11. And yet his attitude was never one 00:03:27.889 --> 00:03:34.110 of complaint. Inevitably, Paul was one who expressed 00:03:34.110 --> 00:03:40.030 gratitude and praise to God. You and I can learn 00:03:40.030 --> 00:03:43.370 to practice thanksgiving to God like Paul. Not 00:03:43.370 --> 00:03:46.050 just one day a year, but every day of the year. 00:03:46.830 --> 00:03:49.270 Look with me, if you will, at some of the reasons 00:03:49.270 --> 00:03:53.669 for which we can always express thanks. We will 00:03:53.669 --> 00:03:57.330 discover these in Paul's own handwriting. For 00:03:57.330 --> 00:04:00.490 Paul liked to use a phrase, thanks be to God. 00:04:01.090 --> 00:04:03.509 Let's trace some of the places where he wrote 00:04:03.509 --> 00:04:06.550 those words. We'll begin in Romans chapter 6, 00:04:06.729 --> 00:04:12.289 verses 17 and 18. First, we see that we can always, 00:04:12.430 --> 00:04:16.860 as the children of God, Give thanks for deliverance 00:04:16.860 --> 00:04:24.120 from sin. Romans 6, verse 17, But thanks be to 00:04:24.120 --> 00:04:27.699 God, writes Paul, that though you were slaves 00:04:27.699 --> 00:04:32.699 of sin, you became obedient from the heart to 00:04:32.699 --> 00:04:35.199 that form of teaching to which you were committed. 00:04:35.680 --> 00:04:39.560 And having been freed from sin, you became slaves 00:04:39.560 --> 00:04:44.639 of righteousness. We can always be grateful to 00:04:44.639 --> 00:04:47.660 God for our deliverance from sin. And that's 00:04:47.660 --> 00:04:50.660 what Paul is talking about in our text. Notice 00:04:50.660 --> 00:04:55.199 with me the facts as Paul points them out. Facts 00:04:55.199 --> 00:04:59.480 related really to our position in Christ. First 00:04:59.480 --> 00:05:02.040 of all, though, he points to our pre -conversion 00:05:02.040 --> 00:05:05.819 condition in verse 17 by three words that he 00:05:05.819 --> 00:05:10.079 puts together as a phrase. You were slaves of 00:05:10.079 --> 00:05:17.709 sin. That is a terrific summation of an unregenerate 00:05:17.709 --> 00:05:22.949 person. The non -Christian is one who is a slave 00:05:22.949 --> 00:05:28.310 to sin. As Paul puts it in Ephesians 2 .2, we 00:05:28.310 --> 00:05:32.069 all formerly, we Christians even, formerly lived 00:05:32.069 --> 00:05:36.129 in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires 00:05:36.129 --> 00:05:39.449 of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature 00:05:39.449 --> 00:05:44.100 children of wrath. That describes every person 00:05:44.100 --> 00:05:49.600 in his pre -conversion condition. Slaves of sin. 00:05:51.079 --> 00:05:55.439 Sin said do this and we slaves did that. We had 00:05:55.439 --> 00:05:59.579 no choice because we were sold into bondage under 00:05:59.579 --> 00:06:05.199 sin. Sin was our master and a cruel master at 00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:09.879 that. But then Paul goes on in verse 17 to use 00:06:09.879 --> 00:06:13.339 another couple of phrases. which described for 00:06:13.339 --> 00:06:17.779 us our conversion experience. He says, you became 00:06:17.779 --> 00:06:22.720 obedient from the heart to that form of teaching 00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:26.660 to which you were committed. Notice that he describes 00:06:26.660 --> 00:06:29.740 our conversion really in two verb phrases. He 00:06:29.740 --> 00:06:35.139 says, you became obedient and you were committed. 00:06:35.879 --> 00:06:39.920 The words in between that form of teaching refer 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:43.180 to the gospel. The saving message of Christ's 00:06:43.180 --> 00:06:46.399 death, burial, and resurrection. He says you 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:49.759 became obedient to that. That emphasizes man's 00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:54.540 part in conversion. Becoming obedient to believe 00:06:54.540 --> 00:06:58.560 on the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said believe on 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:00.800 the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. 00:07:01.060 --> 00:07:04.939 That is not an invitation. That is a command 00:07:04.939 --> 00:07:11.040 from God. Believe. on the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:07:11.939 --> 00:07:14.300 And when we believe, it means that we have become 00:07:14.300 --> 00:07:16.560 obedient to that command. That's what Paul has 00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:20.040 in view here. You became obedient. You believed 00:07:20.040 --> 00:07:22.379 on the Lord Jesus Christ. That was your part. 00:07:23.600 --> 00:07:25.899 But then he says regarding the gospel that we 00:07:25.899 --> 00:07:29.300 were committed to it. Really, he says you were 00:07:29.300 --> 00:07:32.839 handed over to it. It's passive. Rather than 00:07:32.839 --> 00:07:37.540 our doing the acting, we were acted upon. He 00:07:37.540 --> 00:07:41.319 says we were handed over to the gospel of Christ. 00:07:42.060 --> 00:07:45.360 And here Paul has in mind God's part in conversion. 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:49.079 Salvation is of the Lord. It's the sovereign 00:07:49.079 --> 00:07:51.600 work of the Holy Spirit that he has in view, 00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:55.519 delivering us to the gospel. You were chosen 00:07:55.519 --> 00:07:57.920 in Christ before the foundation of the world, 00:07:57.959 --> 00:08:01.019 Paul writes to the Ephesians. And what he's emphasizing 00:08:01.019 --> 00:08:03.959 here is the Holy Spirit simply fulfilling God's 00:08:03.959 --> 00:08:07.879 elective purpose. in handing us over to the gospel. 00:08:09.060 --> 00:08:12.040 And so our conversion experience can be described 00:08:12.040 --> 00:08:15.319 in human terms and in God's terms. In human terms, 00:08:15.319 --> 00:08:18.319 it means you became obedient to believe on the 00:08:18.319 --> 00:08:22.779 Lord Jesus Christ. In terms of God's work, it 00:08:22.779 --> 00:08:26.120 is that He handed you over to the gospel. And 00:08:26.120 --> 00:08:29.759 He says, thanks be to God for it. This same truth 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:33.139 is seen again in parallel in 2 Thessalonians 00:08:33.139 --> 00:08:36.389 2. You may want to look at that because once 00:08:36.389 --> 00:08:39.649 more we have another of Paul's thanks be to God 00:08:39.649 --> 00:08:43.889 statements. In 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 13 00:08:43.889 --> 00:08:47.049 he says, But we should always give thanks to 00:08:47.049 --> 00:08:51.149 God for you, brethren, beloved by the Lord, because 00:08:51.149 --> 00:08:54.990 God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation. 00:08:56.210 --> 00:09:00.450 Now how is God going to do that? Through sanctification 00:09:00.450 --> 00:09:04.519 by the Spirit being handed over. Committed to 00:09:04.519 --> 00:09:09.460 that message, that form of teaching. And, he 00:09:09.460 --> 00:09:13.940 says, furthermore, by faith in the truth. That's 00:09:13.940 --> 00:09:16.379 becoming obedient, as he says it back in chapter 00:09:16.379 --> 00:09:19.980 6 of Romans. And in verse 14 he says, And it 00:09:19.980 --> 00:09:22.779 was for this he called you through our gospel, 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:25.840 that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:28.799 Christ. Notice again, by the way, in verse 14, 00:09:28.820 --> 00:09:34.200 this great parallel truth. God called you, but 00:09:34.200 --> 00:09:36.279 how did God do it? It was through the preaching 00:09:36.279 --> 00:09:39.740 of the apostle Paul. You know, there are some 00:09:39.740 --> 00:09:41.639 people who say, well, I believe in election so 00:09:41.639 --> 00:09:43.779 strongly, I don't think we have to preach to 00:09:43.779 --> 00:09:45.340 anybody. If they're going to get saved, they're 00:09:45.340 --> 00:09:48.460 going to get saved. Paul believed in election 00:09:48.460 --> 00:09:50.840 too, but he also believed in human responsibility. 00:09:51.899 --> 00:09:54.500 And over and over again, you see those two in 00:09:54.500 --> 00:09:58.340 balance in Paul's writing. In verse 13, it's 00:09:58.340 --> 00:10:00.740 regarding salvation. In verse 14, it's regarding 00:10:00.740 --> 00:10:03.549 his responsibility. He says, God called you, 00:10:03.570 --> 00:10:05.409 but it was through our proclamation of the truth 00:10:05.409 --> 00:10:11.690 to you. Well, thanks be to God, says Paul, that 00:10:11.690 --> 00:10:14.409 you believed on Christ. You became obedient to 00:10:14.409 --> 00:10:17.929 that form of teaching to which you were handed 00:10:17.929 --> 00:10:20.990 over by the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit. 00:10:21.090 --> 00:10:24.490 That's our conversion experience. Now going back 00:10:24.490 --> 00:10:29.100 to Romans 6, he says in verse 18, In another 00:10:29.100 --> 00:10:32.320 phrase, he describes our post -conversion condition. 00:10:33.980 --> 00:10:38.500 He says, and having been freed from sin, you 00:10:38.500 --> 00:10:42.879 became slaves of righteousness. Before we were 00:10:42.879 --> 00:10:47.519 saved, we were called slaves to sin. Now we're 00:10:47.519 --> 00:10:51.740 called slaves of righteousness. That's why he 00:10:51.740 --> 00:10:54.340 says in verse 19, because that is true of us, 00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:57.490 at the end of the verse, verse 19, he says, Now 00:10:57.490 --> 00:11:00.789 present your members as slaves to righteousness, 00:11:01.230 --> 00:11:04.289 resulting in sanctification. He says, here's 00:11:04.289 --> 00:11:06.309 what God's called you to be. Here's what you 00:11:06.309 --> 00:11:08.789 are. You are a slave to righteousness. Now live 00:11:08.789 --> 00:11:13.590 like it. That's what he says. He says, you've 00:11:13.590 --> 00:11:16.330 been freed from sin. Now live like you've been 00:11:16.330 --> 00:11:20.490 freed from sin. Don't keep on sinning. You don't 00:11:20.490 --> 00:11:25.129 have to sin. God has freed you from it. You're 00:11:25.129 --> 00:11:29.730 no longer under that master. Present your members, 00:11:29.870 --> 00:11:32.429 and there he has in mind not just the physical 00:11:32.429 --> 00:11:35.389 members of our bodies, but our capacities, our 00:11:35.389 --> 00:11:39.210 abilities, our potential. He says, present that 00:11:39.210 --> 00:11:42.049 to God as a slave of righteousness, and as you 00:11:42.049 --> 00:11:45.870 do, it will result in your sanctification. You're 00:11:45.870 --> 00:11:49.129 becoming more like Christ. He says, thanks be 00:11:49.129 --> 00:11:52.500 to God, you are freed. from sin. You are delivered 00:11:52.500 --> 00:11:56.000 from it. But there's another fact that Paul lived 00:11:56.000 --> 00:12:00.779 with and with which we live, and that is that 00:12:00.779 --> 00:12:03.200 although we are delivered from sin, we still 00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:08.279 do sin. We don't have to obey sin any longer 00:12:08.279 --> 00:12:11.960 because it's no longer our master, but we can 00:12:11.960 --> 00:12:16.539 obey sin, and the fact is that we do. There are 00:12:16.539 --> 00:12:19.139 times when we choose to sin rather than obey 00:12:19.139 --> 00:12:23.990 God. You say, did Paul really face that too? 00:12:24.070 --> 00:12:28.269 Yes, look in chapter 7. Beginning in verse 15, 00:12:28.389 --> 00:12:31.190 there is a marvelous autobiographical paragraph 00:12:31.190 --> 00:12:34.429 from Paul. There are those who disagree with 00:12:34.429 --> 00:12:36.350 that, but I think that the language here really 00:12:36.350 --> 00:12:39.529 can be explained in no other way. Paul is writing 00:12:39.529 --> 00:12:42.070 about himself, and not before he was saved, but 00:12:42.070 --> 00:12:46.330 after he was saved. For no saved person, unsaved 00:12:46.330 --> 00:12:48.230 person rather, could say what he does in verse 00:12:48.230 --> 00:12:53.710 22. I joyfully concur with the law of God in 00:12:53.710 --> 00:12:57.230 the inner man. No unregenerate person will ever 00:12:57.230 --> 00:13:02.230 say that. But a Christian will. A Christian says, 00:13:02.309 --> 00:13:05.669 I joyfully agree with God's law in my inner man. 00:13:06.690 --> 00:13:11.750 But, verse 23, I see a different law in the members 00:13:11.750 --> 00:13:15.990 of my body, waging war against the law of my 00:13:15.990 --> 00:13:18.450 mind, making me a prisoner of the law of sin. 00:13:19.070 --> 00:13:22.070 which is in my members, wretched man that I am, 00:13:22.230 --> 00:13:27.769 who is writing this, an apostle. Paul himself 00:13:27.769 --> 00:13:30.490 is writing this, calling himself a wretched man. 00:13:30.610 --> 00:13:35.750 Do you ever feel wretched, you Christians? Do 00:13:35.750 --> 00:13:38.169 you ever struggle with sin in you to the point 00:13:38.169 --> 00:13:45.090 of feeling wretched about it? Paul did. So do 00:13:45.090 --> 00:13:48.590 I. So do you. And yet Paul is the one who wrote, 00:13:48.669 --> 00:13:52.629 thank God he delivered us from sin. The point 00:13:52.629 --> 00:13:54.970 is that we in position are delivered from sin. 00:13:55.230 --> 00:13:57.610 We need to begin living that way by presenting 00:13:57.610 --> 00:14:01.830 ourselves to God. But recognizing that there 00:14:01.830 --> 00:14:03.850 still will be a struggle that we will go through 00:14:03.850 --> 00:14:07.649 every day of our lives in this world. Paul goes 00:14:07.649 --> 00:14:11.090 on to say in verse 24, who will set me free from 00:14:11.090 --> 00:14:13.750 the body of this death? He's talking there about 00:14:13.750 --> 00:14:16.779 his humanness. His physical body, but more than 00:14:16.779 --> 00:14:19.320 that, His whole humanness. Who will set me free 00:14:19.320 --> 00:14:22.159 from this, He says. Thanks be to God. Notice 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:25.320 that phrase again. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. 00:14:26.419 --> 00:14:28.879 Now in chapter 6, Paul is pointing back to our 00:14:28.879 --> 00:14:33.500 past deliverance from the guilt of sin. And he 00:14:33.500 --> 00:14:36.559 goes on to talk about, in later verses, our deliverance 00:14:36.559 --> 00:14:38.720 from the power of sin. Right now that we don't 00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:41.200 have to obey it. We can present ourselves to 00:14:41.200 --> 00:14:45.110 God. To obey Him. But here in chapter 7, he's 00:14:45.110 --> 00:14:47.970 saying, thanks be to God, someday I'm going to 00:14:47.970 --> 00:14:50.269 be delivered from even the very presence of sin. 00:14:51.370 --> 00:14:54.809 And this body, this humanness about me that still 00:14:54.809 --> 00:14:57.909 has sin indwelling it will be changed and no 00:14:57.909 --> 00:15:02.690 more sin at that point. Thanks be to God. You 00:15:02.690 --> 00:15:04.529 want to thank God for something? You thank God 00:15:04.529 --> 00:15:06.330 that He's delivered you from the guilt of your 00:15:06.330 --> 00:15:09.970 sin. You deserve hell. God's delivered you from 00:15:09.970 --> 00:15:15.700 that. God is delivering you from the power of 00:15:15.700 --> 00:15:19.639 sin right now in your life. If indeed you are 00:15:19.639 --> 00:15:24.679 presenting your members to Him daily, seeking 00:15:24.679 --> 00:15:28.500 to walk in obedience and by faith, and one day 00:15:28.500 --> 00:15:31.460 God is certainly going to deliver you fully from 00:15:31.460 --> 00:15:34.980 the very presence of sin, thanks be to God, this 00:15:34.980 --> 00:15:37.279 struggle is not always going to be with us. We 00:15:37.279 --> 00:15:39.220 won't always have to say, wretched man that I 00:15:39.220 --> 00:15:41.669 am. we will one day say fully and completely, 00:15:41.789 --> 00:15:44.870 blessed man that I am, my redemption has been 00:15:44.870 --> 00:15:47.070 completed. Paul talks about this in chapter 8, 00:15:47.090 --> 00:15:50.649 verse 23, where he says that right now we groan 00:15:50.649 --> 00:15:53.750 within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption 00:15:53.750 --> 00:15:57.529 as sons, the redemption of our body. Same subject, 00:15:57.710 --> 00:16:02.110 same theme. Looking forward with groaning to 00:16:02.110 --> 00:16:05.509 that day when His redemption will be consummated 00:16:05.509 --> 00:16:09.029 and He is not only with Christ, but He is like 00:16:09.029 --> 00:16:13.450 Christ in every respect. Thanks be to God. We 00:16:13.450 --> 00:16:15.909 can learn every day to give thanks to God. Indeed, 00:16:16.029 --> 00:16:18.629 we should give thanks to God for deliverance 00:16:18.629 --> 00:16:23.330 from sin. Now turn with me to the book of 1 Corinthians 00:16:23.330 --> 00:16:25.610 in the 15th chapter, and let's notice another 00:16:25.610 --> 00:16:28.110 reason for which we should always give thanks 00:16:28.110 --> 00:16:36.289 to God. Look in verse 54 of 1 Corinthians 15. 00:16:39.440 --> 00:16:42.360 He says, when this perishable will have put on 00:16:42.360 --> 00:16:45.059 the imperishable and this mortal will have put 00:16:45.059 --> 00:16:48.320 on immortality, talking about when Christ comes, 00:16:48.600 --> 00:16:51.559 then will come about the saying that is written, 00:16:51.639 --> 00:16:55.159 death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where 00:16:55.159 --> 00:16:58.179 is your victory? O death, where is your sting? 00:16:58.940 --> 00:17:01.519 The sting of death is sin and the power of sin 00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:05.680 is the law, but thanks be to God who gives us 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:09.819 the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul 00:17:09.819 --> 00:17:11.839 is here in this chapter talking about giving 00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:17.420 thanks to God for our victory over death. You 00:17:17.420 --> 00:17:23.180 and I are born facing the grave. There is nothing 00:17:23.180 --> 00:17:26.000 more certain than that we shall one day face 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:30.319 death personally. Except for that generation 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:32.960 of Christians who will be alive at the rapture, 00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:39.920 every other person faces death. It is impossible 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:44.380 to elude this king of terrors, as the book of 00:17:44.380 --> 00:17:49.700 Job calls death. In fact, death today is stalking 00:17:49.700 --> 00:17:53.940 you, just as yesterday he was stalking Cary Grant 00:17:53.940 --> 00:18:00.539 and got him. Today he's stalking you. It may 00:18:00.539 --> 00:18:05.680 not be today that he gets you, but he's on the 00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:12.349 prowl for you. Such a thought holds an unregenerate 00:18:12.349 --> 00:18:18.170 person in absolute terror, who all their lifetime 00:18:18.170 --> 00:18:23.089 are subject to bondage through the fear of death, 00:18:23.430 --> 00:18:29.789 writes the writer of Hebrews. The fear of death, 00:18:30.029 --> 00:18:32.470 not just the experience of dying, but what happens 00:18:32.470 --> 00:18:36.390 to me after I die, that is a frightful thought. 00:18:37.740 --> 00:18:43.700 to the unregenerate person. The Taliabu tribe 00:18:43.700 --> 00:18:46.559 out there in the eastern part of the Indonesians 00:18:46.559 --> 00:18:49.980 are caught up by that fear. How we need to be 00:18:49.980 --> 00:18:52.180 praying for that missionary team that is working 00:18:52.180 --> 00:18:55.519 there, the Linettis, the Palmers, the Campbells, 00:18:55.519 --> 00:18:59.880 as they prepare as quickly as possible to present 00:18:59.880 --> 00:19:03.400 the gospel to those people. Hopefully they'll 00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:06.900 be able to begin teaching in January. and will 00:19:06.900 --> 00:19:10.339 have laid enough foundation that by April, the 00:19:10.339 --> 00:19:13.000 people there will have enough understanding to 00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:15.240 believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Please pray 00:19:15.240 --> 00:19:18.779 for that team. They're on the real battlefield 00:19:18.779 --> 00:19:24.099 between light and darkness, life and death. Those 00:19:24.099 --> 00:19:26.339 people have for generations feared death. And 00:19:26.339 --> 00:19:29.160 as I shared with you a few weeks ago, when we 00:19:29.160 --> 00:19:32.480 got off the plane there, the tribe met us at 00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:35.359 the plane. About 50 of them, one of the Shaman 00:19:35.359 --> 00:19:37.740 priests came up and kissed me three times on 00:19:37.740 --> 00:19:40.400 his cheek and then said to me something in his 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:43.579 language. And I turned to Stephen Linetti and 00:19:43.579 --> 00:19:47.180 asked what he had said. And he said, he has asked 00:19:47.180 --> 00:19:50.660 you to grant him life, that he might live to 00:19:50.660 --> 00:19:52.559 hear the message that we've come to tell him. 00:19:54.920 --> 00:19:57.980 Well, you see, in their darkness, in their superstition, 00:19:57.980 --> 00:19:59.859 they don't understand everything, but one thing 00:19:59.859 --> 00:20:05.490 they do know, they die. And they fear that. One 00:20:05.490 --> 00:20:10.329 of the old men died a few months ago. He was 00:20:10.329 --> 00:20:12.430 the person actually who had welcomed the missionary 00:20:12.430 --> 00:20:14.809 team there, and it just shattered the team when 00:20:14.809 --> 00:20:19.630 this man died unexpectedly. He died lost. And 00:20:19.630 --> 00:20:21.509 he had had a part in welcoming the team into 00:20:21.509 --> 00:20:27.769 the tribe and helping them to get set up. And 00:20:27.769 --> 00:20:30.549 after he had died, the son, who I would judge 00:20:30.549 --> 00:20:35.819 to be in his 20s, I met him, came to the missionary 00:20:35.819 --> 00:20:41.140 and said, where is my father now? How would you 00:20:41.140 --> 00:20:46.839 answer that if you were a missionary? You see, 00:20:46.880 --> 00:20:51.359 they fear death, and rightly so. That's why we 00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:53.180 want to get the gospel to them, that they might 00:20:53.180 --> 00:20:55.519 believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the 00:20:55.519 --> 00:20:59.059 victor of death, and who will deliver them from 00:20:59.059 --> 00:21:02.480 the power of death. Because the child of God 00:21:02.480 --> 00:21:05.440 does not need to fear this defeated enemy. He 00:21:05.440 --> 00:21:08.660 may be able to claim our bodies, but old death 00:21:08.660 --> 00:21:11.180 will never be able to claim our souls. We have 00:21:11.180 --> 00:21:16.160 already been delivered from death to life. And 00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:19.440 even our bodies will one day be released from 00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:23.980 the death grip. Death can no more hold you as 00:21:23.980 --> 00:21:27.200 a Christian in the grave. your body that is, 00:21:27.279 --> 00:21:29.160 that it could hold the body of the Lord Jesus 00:21:29.160 --> 00:21:32.519 Christ. He himself said, because I live, you 00:21:32.519 --> 00:21:36.740 shall live also. Today our Savior stands with 00:21:36.740 --> 00:21:39.960 his foot upon the neck of death as its victor. 00:21:40.740 --> 00:21:43.180 You and I can thank God today that though we 00:21:43.180 --> 00:21:45.680 may not exactly look forward to the experience 00:21:45.680 --> 00:21:49.299 of dying, we don't have to fear the result of 00:21:49.299 --> 00:21:52.920 it because Jesus has delivered us from that. 00:21:56.779 --> 00:21:58.960 I'd like you to turn over a few more pages to 00:21:58.960 --> 00:22:04.759 2 Corinthians 2, and let's look at the 14th verse. 00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:08.619 And notice again that we can always give thanks 00:22:08.619 --> 00:22:13.119 for this. Thanks be to God, who always leads 00:22:13.119 --> 00:22:17.279 us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through 00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:19.940 us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in 00:22:19.940 --> 00:22:23.319 every place. I see here that we can thank God 00:22:23.319 --> 00:22:28.349 for triumph in circumstances. Paul is saying 00:22:28.349 --> 00:22:31.750 in verse 13, I had no rest in my spirit. He writes 00:22:31.750 --> 00:22:34.609 about his circumstances at that point and how 00:22:34.609 --> 00:22:39.730 his heart was troubled by his situation. He did 00:22:39.730 --> 00:22:45.009 not know where Titus was and so on. And so he 00:22:45.009 --> 00:22:47.170 pressed ahead to the next city. He writes out 00:22:47.170 --> 00:22:51.890 of a heart that is troubled by his circumstances. 00:22:51.970 --> 00:22:54.069 Do you ever feel troubled by your circumstances? 00:22:56.430 --> 00:22:58.849 Well, notice that as Paul writes about his very 00:22:58.849 --> 00:23:01.670 real -life human experience of being troubled, 00:23:01.849 --> 00:23:04.250 he goes right on to say, but thanks be to God 00:23:04.250 --> 00:23:08.869 who always leads us in triumph. The triumph there 00:23:08.869 --> 00:23:12.410 is that triumphant march of the Roman general 00:23:12.410 --> 00:23:16.089 coming back to the city as a conqueror. The equivalent 00:23:16.089 --> 00:23:18.930 of our ticker tape parade in New York City today. 00:23:19.789 --> 00:23:22.289 That victorious general would come into the city 00:23:22.289 --> 00:23:24.450 with his victorious troops behind him, and there 00:23:24.450 --> 00:23:27.819 at the end of the line, would come the prisoners 00:23:27.819 --> 00:23:31.980 of war. Now to those soldiers, as they smelled 00:23:31.980 --> 00:23:34.740 the incense going up in honor of this general, 00:23:34.920 --> 00:23:38.740 incense going up to the Roman pagan gods, they 00:23:38.740 --> 00:23:41.279 would feel wonderful. This was life unto life 00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:44.440 to them. This was their victory. And they smelled 00:23:44.440 --> 00:23:47.660 that incense. The aroma was wonderful. But to 00:23:47.660 --> 00:23:49.480 the folks at the end of the line, the prisoners, 00:23:49.559 --> 00:23:52.539 it wasn't so wonderful because that incense meant 00:23:52.539 --> 00:23:56.200 their death. They were condemned to die in the 00:23:56.200 --> 00:24:01.700 arena or by execution. To them, that aroma was 00:24:01.700 --> 00:24:06.220 death. And here's what Paul is saying here, that 00:24:06.220 --> 00:24:10.259 as God is working in our circumstances, He is 00:24:10.259 --> 00:24:15.119 leading us in His triumph. And the aroma of God's 00:24:15.119 --> 00:24:18.059 work in our life is like sweet incense that goes 00:24:18.059 --> 00:24:21.779 up to God that He finds acceptable. Our circumstances 00:24:21.779 --> 00:24:24.829 may be tough, but God's at work. And what He 00:24:24.829 --> 00:24:28.769 is doing is pleasing Him. And to those believers 00:24:28.769 --> 00:24:31.589 around us, those fellow soldiers of Christ, that 00:24:31.589 --> 00:24:35.230 is a sweet aroma. It's life unto life. To the 00:24:35.230 --> 00:24:38.369 pagans around us who cannot understand what God 00:24:38.369 --> 00:24:40.930 is doing in our lives, who cannot understand 00:24:40.930 --> 00:24:43.349 our attitude of gratitude in the midst of our 00:24:43.349 --> 00:24:46.410 difficult circumstances, to them that aroma is 00:24:46.410 --> 00:24:50.470 death. And Paul says, who's sufficient for that? 00:24:52.170 --> 00:24:55.269 But his point is this for us today, that Jesus 00:24:55.269 --> 00:24:58.589 Christ leads us in triumph in our circumstances. 00:24:59.750 --> 00:25:04.450 God does not want us to be defeated. God wants 00:25:04.450 --> 00:25:09.210 us to know victory in our circumstances. A Mr. 00:25:09.410 --> 00:25:13.269 Bradford, who was a martyr ultimately, said of 00:25:13.269 --> 00:25:16.490 Queen Mary, If the Queen be pleased to release 00:25:16.490 --> 00:25:21.009 me, I will thank her. If she imprisoned me, I 00:25:21.009 --> 00:25:25.769 will thank her. If she will burn me, I will thank 00:25:25.769 --> 00:25:29.769 her. What do you do with a guy like that? No, 00:25:29.769 --> 00:25:34.829 she burned him. And he thanked God because he 00:25:34.829 --> 00:25:38.450 was triumphant in his circumstances. Notice that 00:25:38.450 --> 00:25:40.630 Paul has this same theme in the 8th chapter of 00:25:40.630 --> 00:25:44.109 Romans when he writes in verse 35 of some of 00:25:44.109 --> 00:25:49.359 the circumstances that can overcome us. He says, 00:25:49.400 --> 00:25:53.819 he talks there about tribulation. He talks about 00:25:53.819 --> 00:26:00.720 distress. He talks about persecution. He mentions 00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:03.980 famine and nakedness, not having enough clothing 00:26:03.980 --> 00:26:07.660 to wear. He speaks about peril or dangers that 00:26:07.660 --> 00:26:12.200 can confront us. He talks about the sword. Now 00:26:12.200 --> 00:26:14.380 we may not literally be passing through any of 00:26:14.380 --> 00:26:16.740 those today, but figuratively there are some 00:26:16.740 --> 00:26:20.339 of you going through some real Famine experiences. 00:26:21.779 --> 00:26:25.759 You know the meaning of stress. You know what 00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:30.019 tribulation is. There is a sword in your heart 00:26:30.019 --> 00:26:33.960 today. Life circumstances. But notice that Paul 00:26:33.960 --> 00:26:38.579 goes on to say there in verse 37, In all these 00:26:38.579 --> 00:26:41.519 things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him 00:26:41.519 --> 00:26:46.319 who loved us. Jesus Christ leads us in triumph 00:26:46.319 --> 00:26:49.980 in our circumstances. We can always be grateful 00:26:49.980 --> 00:26:55.140 for our circumstances, even the tough ones. Dr. 00:26:55.220 --> 00:26:57.559 Alexander White was a great preacher in Scotland, 00:26:57.619 --> 00:27:01.440 in Edinburgh, in the last century. He was famous 00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:03.680 for his pulpit prayers. It seemed as though he 00:27:03.680 --> 00:27:06.740 always had something for which to give God thanks. 00:27:08.200 --> 00:27:10.759 On a particularly stormy morning, one of his 00:27:10.759 --> 00:27:13.019 members came into the church saying this, the 00:27:13.019 --> 00:27:15.160 preacher will have nothing to thank God for on 00:27:15.160 --> 00:27:19.039 this wretched morning. And so when the preacher 00:27:19.039 --> 00:27:21.640 stood up to pray, he said this, We thank thee, 00:27:21.640 --> 00:27:26.900 O God, that it is not always like this. Triumphant 00:27:26.900 --> 00:27:32.480 in circumstances. And now turn over a page or 00:27:32.480 --> 00:27:35.339 two to the 8th chapter of 2 Corinthians and notice 00:27:35.339 --> 00:27:41.559 the 16th verse where Paul again says, Thanks 00:27:41.559 --> 00:27:45.079 be to God who puts the same earnestness on your 00:27:45.079 --> 00:27:50.200 behalf. in the heart of Titus. Seems like a rather 00:27:50.200 --> 00:27:53.799 text to try to preach, but what is Paul actually 00:27:53.799 --> 00:27:59.400 saying here? He is saying he thanks God that 00:27:59.400 --> 00:28:06.440 Titus shares his heart for the Corinthians. God 00:28:06.440 --> 00:28:11.740 has put into Titus the same earnestness on behalf 00:28:11.740 --> 00:28:14.339 of the Corinthian church, and Paul thanks God 00:28:14.339 --> 00:28:17.319 for that. Here's the way I would put it. Paul 00:28:17.319 --> 00:28:20.380 tells us here that we too can thank God for success 00:28:20.380 --> 00:28:25.380 in ministry. That's what Paul is pointing to 00:28:25.380 --> 00:28:29.940 here. It is a success in his ministry. Now we 00:28:29.940 --> 00:28:32.859 define ministry and we define success in very 00:28:32.859 --> 00:28:38.019 strange ways, actually unbiblical ways. Sometimes 00:28:38.019 --> 00:28:43.150 we define ministry as being up in front. Sometimes 00:28:43.150 --> 00:28:46.190 ministry is being up in front, but most of the 00:28:46.190 --> 00:28:52.170 time it's not. Or we define ministry as doing 00:28:52.170 --> 00:28:56.170 things that other people notice. Sometimes they 00:28:56.170 --> 00:28:58.869 do, sometimes they don't. It's not a very good 00:28:58.869 --> 00:29:01.369 definition for it. There are those who define 00:29:01.369 --> 00:29:04.829 success in ministry as becoming well -known or 00:29:04.829 --> 00:29:08.509 having the biggest church or the biggest small 00:29:08.509 --> 00:29:12.349 church. or having the fastest growing flock, 00:29:12.589 --> 00:29:16.509 or Sunday school class, or whatever it may be. 00:29:16.589 --> 00:29:20.210 All of those things are false definitions. I 00:29:20.210 --> 00:29:22.210 think that Paul gives us here a good ministry 00:29:22.210 --> 00:29:25.930 definition and a definition of success as well. 00:29:26.710 --> 00:29:30.430 What is ministry? I think we can define ministry 00:29:30.430 --> 00:29:35.289 very simply. Ministry is not becoming well -known. 00:29:35.309 --> 00:29:38.619 It's not having the biggest anything. It's not 00:29:38.619 --> 00:29:42.940 being the most active person necessarily, but 00:29:42.940 --> 00:29:49.500 ministry is serving others with a view to God's 00:29:49.500 --> 00:29:53.759 will being realized in their lives. Now you can 00:29:53.759 --> 00:29:56.140 put that definition in a one -on -one relationship 00:29:56.140 --> 00:30:01.519 or a one -to -ten -thousand relationship. It 00:30:01.519 --> 00:30:03.900 is true whether you're an usher or a Sunday school 00:30:03.900 --> 00:30:06.509 teacher, a choir member. or one who works in 00:30:06.509 --> 00:30:08.670 a parking lot of a church directing traffic. 00:30:10.910 --> 00:30:14.769 Ministry is serving others so that God's will 00:30:14.769 --> 00:30:18.769 can be accomplished in their lives. You see somebody 00:30:18.769 --> 00:30:21.529 who's helping park a car out there on a snowy 00:30:21.529 --> 00:30:24.430 morning is trying to show that person the best 00:30:24.430 --> 00:30:26.269 parking spot where he can get to the fastest 00:30:26.269 --> 00:30:28.329 and get into the church where he can be ministered 00:30:28.329 --> 00:30:31.609 to. He's serving him, that God's will can be 00:30:31.609 --> 00:30:33.650 done in his life. The one who's teaching Sunday 00:30:33.650 --> 00:30:37.019 school. is teaching that child so that God's 00:30:37.019 --> 00:30:38.920 will can be done in that child's life. The one 00:30:38.920 --> 00:30:40.819 who's singing in the choir, the one who's ushering, 00:30:40.859 --> 00:30:43.259 the one who welcomes at the door. You name it. 00:30:45.359 --> 00:30:47.660 Ministry is simply serving others so that God 00:30:47.660 --> 00:30:51.839 can work in their lives. And success in ministry 00:30:51.839 --> 00:30:56.259 then is transplanting your own vision, your own 00:30:56.259 --> 00:31:01.339 burden, your own motive, or your teaching into 00:31:01.339 --> 00:31:03.599 the heart of another person that you're discipling. 00:31:04.240 --> 00:31:06.440 And again, that may be one person. It may be 00:31:06.440 --> 00:31:09.200 a brief encounter. It may be a long -term discipleship. 00:31:09.220 --> 00:31:12.519 It could be a church service like this. But success 00:31:12.519 --> 00:31:15.180 is seeing God's will accomplished in the other 00:31:15.180 --> 00:31:19.799 life. And it may be nothing that anyone on earth 00:31:19.799 --> 00:31:22.660 will hear about, but heaven rejoices. God's will 00:31:22.660 --> 00:31:25.700 is done in that other person's life. That's success. 00:31:27.079 --> 00:31:29.539 Paul thanks God that as he's worked with Titus, 00:31:29.579 --> 00:31:34.130 Titus has responded. And now Titus has caught 00:31:34.130 --> 00:31:37.990 it. Titus has the same heart burden, the same 00:31:37.990 --> 00:31:41.470 love as Paul himself had for the Corinthian people. 00:31:41.769 --> 00:31:46.569 And he thanks God for that truth. Now, dear friend, 00:31:46.630 --> 00:31:48.690 God has given you, if you're a Christian today, 00:31:48.890 --> 00:31:53.829 gifts to employ in ministry. That means in serving 00:31:53.829 --> 00:31:58.210 others. I don't know what capacity it may be, 00:31:58.289 --> 00:32:00.250 but I know that God wants you to be involved 00:32:00.250 --> 00:32:05.069 in ministry to other people. focusing on the 00:32:05.069 --> 00:32:08.009 body, the local church. That's his plan, Ephesians 00:32:08.009 --> 00:32:12.809 4. Are you ministering? And are you seeing success 00:32:12.809 --> 00:32:19.069 in ministry? Remember, it's not numbers. It's 00:32:19.069 --> 00:32:22.250 not the fastest growing this or that. Now, it 00:32:22.250 --> 00:32:24.970 may be fast growing. There may be numbers, but 00:32:24.970 --> 00:32:27.690 that's not the measurement of success. The measurement 00:32:27.690 --> 00:32:32.009 of success is, is that person responding to the 00:32:32.009 --> 00:32:35.539 Lord? Is the will of God being accomplished in 00:32:35.539 --> 00:32:38.480 the other person's life? That's the measurement 00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:42.799 that counts. And then one final text that we'll 00:32:42.799 --> 00:32:44.700 look at, and it's found in the ninth chapter, 00:32:44.819 --> 00:32:46.720 just over on the next page if you have a Bible 00:32:46.720 --> 00:32:49.920 like mine, the 15th verse where Paul says, Thanks 00:32:49.920 --> 00:32:52.920 be to God for His indescribable gift. And here 00:32:52.920 --> 00:32:58.880 he thanks God for salvation in Christ. That gift 00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:02.039 that he's talking about is the Lord Jesus himself. 00:33:03.160 --> 00:33:07.000 For Christ is the gift given by the Father for 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:09.859 the salvation of the world. What does Isaiah 00:33:09.859 --> 00:33:15.460 9, 6 say? For unto us a child is born. Unto us 00:33:15.460 --> 00:33:22.339 a son is what? Given. A son is given. John 3, 00:33:22.440 --> 00:33:26.420 16. For God so loved the world that he sent his 00:33:26.420 --> 00:33:29.509 only... Begotten Son, no. It does say other places 00:33:29.509 --> 00:33:31.730 the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the 00:33:31.730 --> 00:33:35.069 world. But there it says that He so loved the 00:33:35.069 --> 00:33:39.009 world that He gave His only begotten Son. Gave 00:33:39.009 --> 00:33:43.289 Him as a gift. Romans 8 .32 says, He did not 00:33:43.289 --> 00:33:46.349 spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us 00:33:46.349 --> 00:33:52.569 all. Do you understand what a precious gift Jesus 00:33:52.569 --> 00:33:59.619 is? Paul says there are no words to describe 00:33:59.619 --> 00:34:03.740 it. Remember the Holy Spirit is inspiring Paul 00:34:03.740 --> 00:34:07.319 as he writes these words. He is guiding him so 00:34:07.319 --> 00:34:09.739 that he puts down the very words that God wants 00:34:09.739 --> 00:34:13.099 him to write, the miracle of inspiration. And 00:34:13.099 --> 00:34:15.659 the Holy Spirit comes to this word gift in verse 00:34:15.659 --> 00:34:21.980 15 and he says indescribable. The Holy Spirit 00:34:21.980 --> 00:34:25.199 cannot even use a human word to describe the 00:34:25.199 --> 00:34:29.860 gift. that Jesus Christ is to us from the Father. 00:34:35.739 --> 00:34:38.599 Notice where Paul is led by the Spirit again 00:34:38.599 --> 00:34:41.699 to put this verse. It's right at the end of two 00:34:41.699 --> 00:34:46.940 chapters on giving. Paul points to Jesus Christ 00:34:46.940 --> 00:34:51.420 as a gift, as both a challenge and a charge to 00:34:51.420 --> 00:34:56.619 us. In the first place, a challenge. Never to 00:34:56.619 --> 00:35:04.460 forget what God has done for us. Never to forget 00:35:04.460 --> 00:35:10.880 to thank God continually for this gift that is 00:35:10.880 --> 00:35:15.820 without words to describe. And the charge is 00:35:15.820 --> 00:35:21.739 to give ourselves as unsparingly as God has given 00:35:21.739 --> 00:35:27.260 to us. You say, is there some measurement as 00:35:27.260 --> 00:35:31.920 to how much I should give? One person asked me 00:35:31.920 --> 00:35:34.420 one time, should I tithe on my gross or my net? 00:35:35.280 --> 00:35:38.059 I said, do you want God's net blessings or God's 00:35:38.059 --> 00:35:41.679 gross blessings? Not a really good answer, but... 00:35:41.679 --> 00:35:50.179 I think I got a point across. Is there a measurement 00:35:50.179 --> 00:35:53.019 for my giving? Yes, there is a measurement. It 00:35:53.019 --> 00:35:57.630 is God's gift. If you feel that you've given 00:35:57.630 --> 00:36:00.570 too much, then take out this yardstick and look 00:36:00.570 --> 00:36:03.989 and see if you've given too much in light of 00:36:03.989 --> 00:36:07.670 what God has given to us. That's Paul's point 00:36:07.670 --> 00:36:12.550 here. God has given his gift, but the point is, 00:36:12.570 --> 00:36:20.809 have you personally received it? There's a cartoon 00:36:20.809 --> 00:36:24.389 done by Von Shoemaker a number of years ago now 00:36:24.389 --> 00:36:27.710 that is often... reprinted on Christmas Day. 00:36:31.550 --> 00:36:35.889 It's a cartoon of a simple Christmas tree, under 00:36:35.889 --> 00:36:38.730 which is a gift that is beautifully wrapped, 00:36:38.949 --> 00:36:46.269 and on the gift are the words, John 3, 16. And 00:36:46.269 --> 00:36:48.489 down at the bottom is the caption for the cartoon, 00:36:48.630 --> 00:36:57.699 and it simply says, The Untaken Gift. He came 00:36:57.699 --> 00:37:03.820 unto his own, but his own received him not. But 00:37:03.820 --> 00:37:07.940 to as many as received him, to them he gave the 00:37:07.940 --> 00:37:11.980 authority to become the children of God, even 00:37:11.980 --> 00:37:16.260 to them that believe on his name. Have you received 00:37:16.260 --> 00:37:19.980 God's gift, my friend? You say, hey, I've heard 00:37:19.980 --> 00:37:22.320 that message. I know about Jesus coming into 00:37:22.320 --> 00:37:24.420 the world. Well, I grew up with Christmas and 00:37:24.420 --> 00:37:28.010 Easter. I know that Jesus died. I've heard he 00:37:28.010 --> 00:37:32.289 rose again. I know all about that. You see, the 00:37:32.289 --> 00:37:36.429 point isn't how much we know. It's whether we've 00:37:36.429 --> 00:37:41.150 received that gift that God has given. If you've 00:37:41.150 --> 00:37:45.349 not received that gift in Jesus Christ, will 00:37:45.349 --> 00:37:47.530 you open your heart today and reach out with 00:37:47.530 --> 00:37:52.530 your faith and say, Lord, today I believe. Today 00:37:52.530 --> 00:37:58.239 I receive your gift. of eternal life through 00:37:58.239 --> 00:38:01.599 Jesus Christ, who died for me and rose again. 00:38:05.320 --> 00:38:07.780 And those of us who have received that gift, 00:38:07.920 --> 00:38:10.400 may we surely follow the Apostle Paul's example 00:38:10.400 --> 00:38:14.599 and be grateful people. You know, that will revolutionize 00:38:14.599 --> 00:38:18.980 our lives when we learn to be grateful and thankful. 00:38:20.739 --> 00:38:25.400 What a sad testimony as a sour saint. and how 00:38:25.400 --> 00:38:27.920 we should allow the Spirit of God to flood us 00:38:27.920 --> 00:38:32.880 with gratitude to the Lord daily, even for the 00:38:32.880 --> 00:38:37.639 thorns of life. George Matheson was another of 00:38:37.639 --> 00:38:41.099 the great preachers of Scotland. He was blind. 00:38:43.360 --> 00:38:48.019 This is what he prayed one time. My God, I have 00:38:48.019 --> 00:38:51.920 never thanked thee for my thorn, my blindness. 00:38:53.579 --> 00:38:56.699 I have thanked thee a thousand times for my roses, 00:38:56.719 --> 00:39:03.659 but never once for my thorn. I have been looking 00:39:03.659 --> 00:39:06.000 forward to a world where I shall get compensation 00:39:06.000 --> 00:39:10.260 for my cross. Teach me the glory of my cross. 00:39:10.360 --> 00:39:14.360 Teach me the value of my thorn. Show me that 00:39:14.360 --> 00:39:18.219 I have climbed to thee by the path of pain. Show 00:39:18.219 --> 00:39:26.210 me that my tears have made my rainbow. It may 00:39:26.210 --> 00:39:28.409 be that there's a child of God here this morning 00:39:28.409 --> 00:39:32.329 who has a thorn and it is dug deeply into your 00:39:32.329 --> 00:39:36.070 life. You have thanked God many times for the 00:39:36.070 --> 00:39:43.510 roses, but oh, that thorn, that thorn. I wonder 00:39:43.510 --> 00:39:45.210 if right now you would bow your head and say, 00:39:45.250 --> 00:39:49.670 Lord, thank you for the thorn. Let's bow together. 00:39:53.789 --> 00:39:59.670 Thorns can make us bitter, angry, and sour people. 00:40:05.369 --> 00:40:09.489 Don't allow your thorn to do that to you. But 00:40:09.489 --> 00:40:14.690 by faith, child of God, I speak to you. By faith, 00:40:14.690 --> 00:40:18.670 right now, there in the quietness of your heart, 00:40:18.730 --> 00:40:22.530 whisper a prayer to the Father, thanking Him. 00:40:24.079 --> 00:40:35.920 for the sting and the cut of that thorn. And 00:40:35.920 --> 00:40:39.579 I wonder if there is one here as we, with bowed 00:40:39.579 --> 00:40:44.460 heads and closed eyes, wait upon God, who would 00:40:44.460 --> 00:40:47.800 say, Pastor Call, I have never yet received that 00:40:47.800 --> 00:40:55.820 gift of Jesus Christ for myself. I no longer 00:40:55.820 --> 00:41:02.679 want that gift to be unclaimed. Today I receive 00:41:02.679 --> 00:41:08.880 Jesus Christ as my Savior. If that is the attitude 00:41:08.880 --> 00:41:14.179 and prayer of your heart, I'd like you to lift 00:41:14.179 --> 00:41:18.119 your hand right now where you're seated so that 00:41:18.119 --> 00:41:21.920 I can pray for you. And let that be at least 00:41:21.920 --> 00:41:24.840 one outward sign to God that you mean business. 00:41:26.920 --> 00:41:30.039 That today you really are sincerely taking Christ 00:41:30.039 --> 00:41:34.300 as your own. Would you lift your hand right now 00:41:34.300 --> 00:41:45.800 and put it down? Is there one? Oh Lord, make 00:41:45.800 --> 00:41:51.190 us today a grateful people. For then we shall 00:41:51.190 --> 00:41:56.050 be a joyful people. Teach us what it is to give 00:41:56.050 --> 00:41:58.349 thanks for the thorns as well as the roses of 00:41:58.349 --> 00:42:04.630 life. May we reflect the gratitude that did Paul, 00:42:04.949 --> 00:42:10.030 and may that attitude of gratitude cause our 00:42:10.030 --> 00:42:12.750 lives and personalities to be attractive to, 00:42:12.889 --> 00:42:17.070 attractive to bring other people to our Christ. 00:42:20.139 --> 00:42:26.099 Deliver us from ingratitude and sourness. Deliver 00:42:26.099 --> 00:42:32.019 us to be a people who enter your gates daily 00:42:32.019 --> 00:42:37.300 with thanksgiving. In Jesus' name, amen.