A Sacred Lighthouse

Today is the second Sunday of Advent, the time provided us by the Church to prepare ourselves for the celebration of Christ’s birth.

 

As I said last week, although we celebrate Christ’s birth of December 25, Jesus did not become flesh on that Christmas day. He actually took on human flesh nine months earlier – in March of that year – when He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the virgin womb of Mary, His mother. It was at His conception that Jesus became fully human while always remaining fully God. This is not an insignificant point - especially in our culture when so many millions of maturing babies are destroyed by abortion in their mother’s womb.

 

A few weeks ago, as I began to prepare myself for the Advent messages, I thought this season would be a good time to remind us of some of the more than 300 Old Testament prophecies that promised humanity a deliverer from the spiritual darkness that has metastasized like a deadly cancer originating in the Garden of Eden and thoroughly infected the whole of Creation itself.

 

Last week we looked at the first of those prophecies – the one in Genesis 3:15. Today we’ll examine a few more prophecies, these from the early chapters of Isaiah and directly linked to that promise in Genesis.  

 

First, Isaiah 9:2 “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.”

 

The human eye is drawn to light. But we know from experience that just because people see light doesn’t guarantee they’ll walk toward or in that light – especially when that light directs us to God.

 

I chose to ignore that ‘light’ 53 years ago. I’ve told the story before, and I do it again to make the point. I was a happy atheist in my late teens and early 20s. I did what I wanted, when I wanted, and with whom I wanted. I was all about ‘Me’ – doing what was right in my own eyes.

 

Now then, my attitude was not and is not unique to me. Every honest person in this sanctuary will testify that such things were also true of you.

 

I remember I was stopped at a traffic signal and a question suddenly broke into my thoughts: What if there IS a God? The light was still red, so I had time to ponder the idea. But then, as suddenly as the question crossed my mind, a realization roared back. If God exists, then He does not approve of my lifestyle. I need to change.

 

But I didn’t want to change. And so, when the light turned green, I told myself, “There is no God.”

 

You and I meet people like that all the time, people who make irrational decisions to turn away from God’s light, all the while their lives are shrouded in deep darkness. They struggle with addictions, loneliness, heartache, chronic illness, deaths of loved ones, and on and on it goes. And many of them crawl into bed at night, no longer expecting or even hoping tomorrow will be better. They know from long experience that it won’t.

 

Yes, they put on their happy face, they tell others that they’re okay. But when they’re alone in their apartments or homes, reality catches them off-guard, and they know they can’t escape the inescapable truth: They’re living a shadow existence. A hopeless existence. An empty existence.

 

Does that remind you of something in the 23^rd Psalm? We studied that Psalm some time ago. Listen again to verse four: (Psalm 23:4) “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.”  You may remember the Hebrew word David used for the ‘valley of the shadow of death could be translated ‘the valley of deep shadows, deep darkness.’

 

On the other hand, those who see the light AND walk in the light discover a marvel they could not have imagined. They discover their Creator, whom we call God. They discover He loves them despite whatever they’ve done and for how long they’ve done it. That’s precisely why He promised us a Redeemer in that passage in Genesis 3:15; It is precisely why He sent His Son, Jesus, to receive in Himself the wrath of the Father that OUR sins deserve. You might remember God’s promise in Isaiah 53. Speaking of the Redeemer, the prophet tells us: “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” (Isaiah 53:5-6)

 

Yes, our well-deserved punishment for our sins fell on Him – Messiah Jesus. As St Paul reminds us: (Romans 5:8) “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

 

Those who see the light and walk in the light discover a new life-direction, a totally new life-trajectory. They discover hope where they had none, peace of heart where they had only unrest. They discover a full future – a GOOD future – where only empty promises and a fearful destiny now abound.

 

What was the light that the people who walked in darkness would see? Isaiah reveals the answer a few verses later. (Isaiah 9:6) “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

 

And in case you’ve forgotten, the child of chapter nine is the same child of chapter seven: “Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)

 

Yes, the context of chapters seven and nine applied to a local event in the 8^th century B.C. But that’s how biblical prophecy typically works – a two-fold (or even a three-fold) fulfillment. First there’s the immediate fulfillment, and then there is the fulfillment further out in time. A person can’t read the Old Testament quotes found in the New Testament without recognizing the undeniable truth of prophetic Biblical interpretation.

 

That’s also why the promise of light in darkness applies even to 2025. Whether in pulpits or pews, whether in the dining room or down the street – many think they’re on the dark periphery of God’s attention. Their concept of self-worth always defaults to interpret bad things that happen to them are because God is not paying attention to them; Or that He is perpetually angry with them; Or that God doesn’t even exist and bad things are nothing more than the so-called ‘Luck of the Draw.”

 

But those who believe the Scriptures such as Genesis 3:15 we keep referring to, and the passages in Isaiah 9 and 7 – those who trust God’s infallible word KNOW that they are always at the center of God’s attention. That’s why they’ve learned to interpret bad things that happen to them as the result of God’s loving discipline, guidance, and/or instruction. They learn to understand on a deeper level the words of the Psalmist: “Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep Your word” (Psalm 119:67), and “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.”  (Psalm 119:71)

 

In all Biblical history, God never inflicts ‘bad’ things on ANYONE capriciously, maliciously, or cruelly. “Bad things” as we might call them are ALWAYS divinely designed to bring good to those who suffer.

 

Listen to Hebrews 12:7-11 “It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

 

All things, even suffering, are ALWAYS divinely designed to bring good to those who suffer. That’s likely why St Paul wrote to the Christians at Ephesus and at Thessalonica – as I shared with us a few weeks ago – (1 Thessalonians 5:18) “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” . . . AND (Ephesians 5:20) “Always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.” 

 

Let’s return for a moment once again to last week’s Scripture text in Genesis 3:15 - “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” (Genesis 3:15)

 

That text, along with today’s Bible references, is part of God’s many promises of a Rescuer who, at His first Advent shredded sin’s dark veil that shrouds much of humanity. And Bible-believing Christians can rightly ask unbelievers the reasonable question: “How do people miss the inseparable connection of Christ’s first advent with Genesis 3, Isaiah 7 and Isaiah 9?”

 

The only way they can do that is to engage in Olympic-level theological contortions to ignore, avoid, or willfully obscure the clear truths of Biblical prophecies that point to that first advent.

 

In the Gensis 3 passage, God promised a Redeemer who would crush the head of the supernatural and super powerful creature known as Satan, the Serpent, the Devil, and Lucifer. No rational human could ever seriously hope to overpower that evil one. Only God could do that. Only God, who became Man and whose name is ‘Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace – only He could crush the Serpent’s head and bring overwhelming light into his darkness.

 

As the Holy Spirit tells us: “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. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:1-5, NIV)

 

And while we’re on the wondrous subject of the redemption and rescue linked with Christ’s first advent, let’s not forget that His first advent also guarantees the fulfillment of prophecies regarding His second advent. Listen to this promise in Isaiah 25 – God’s promise to all who not only believe in His first advent, but who also follow the Christ in obedience. I add that important qualifier because multiple millions of men and women – even in churches – ‘believe’ in Christ, but they do so only with their minds and not their hearts; Otherwise, their belief would result in a godly lifestyle.

 

Here is that passage from Isaiah 25: “The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, refined, aged wine. And on this mountain, He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the Lord has spoken. And it will be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.” (Isaiah 25:6-9)

 

Today on this second Sunday of Advent we’ve looked briefly at three more prophecies of God – promises of God – that foretold Messiah’s first coming.

Ever since that catastrophic day in the Garden of Eden, Sin became an inseparable part of our human nature. Sin incited Cain to kill his brother, Abel. Sin led Lamech to boast of his murders (Genesis 4). Sin resulted in the event surrounding the Tower of Babel. Sin led to the fiery destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Sin is why the people have walked and continue to walk in darkness.

 

If not for God’s promise of a virgin-born Savior, a Child born to us, a Son given to us . . . if not for Jesus, you and I and everyone else on this planet could never escape the darkness.

 

God’s promises of a Savior are rooted in world history. And those promises are also APPLICABLE to our personal day-to-day lives. I remember walking in darkness. I said at the beginning of today’s message, my life was all about me, and I didn’t care who I used to satisfy my selfishness. It was a terrible life, one that still fills me with remorse whenever I think about those years.

 

But I also remember when ‘light’ pierced my darkness and I saw myself as I was. I can tell you, it broke my heart. Suddenly, my comfortable ‘atheism’ was no longer comfortable, and my memories of childhood prayers brought me to my knees as an adult, and I prayed.

 

Of course, I didn’t know it at the time – I was completely ignorant of the New Testament – but my prayer modeled the publican’s prayer in Luke 18:13 – “‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ And oh! Was He merciful! Which is why I stand here today, the result of what was – and remains to me – His incomprehensible mercy.

 

But the point of application I want to make now is not about what God did for me, despite my dark history. My point now is about what God has done – and continues to do – in your lives, because you also remember when you walked in darkness and you remember when God’s light shone around you. And you remember when you prayed something similar to what I prayed – for mercy and for forgiveness.

 

And here you are today – the result of God’s incomprehensible mercy toward you.

 

As I bring this message to a close, there might be one or two, or a few here today who now recognize your own past and current spiritual darkness – a darkness that fills you with remorse over wasted years and lost relationships. If that’s the case, you know what you need to do: Ask God for His forgiveness. He will never cast aside any who humbly comes to Him in repentance.

 

Ronnie Hinson wrote these lyrics in 1967. The song describes my life. I pray that they also describe yours:

 

“There's a Lighthouse on the hillside that overlooks life's sea, When I'm tossed about, it sends out a light that I might see. And the light that shines in darkness now will safely lead us o'er. If it wasn't for the Lighthouse,
my ship would be no more.”

 

“I thank God for the Lighthouse, I owe my life to Him. Jesus is the Lighthouse and from the rocks of sin He has shown the light around me, that I might clearly see. If it wasn't for the Lighthouse, where would this ship be?”

 

Truly, if it wasn’t for the Lighthouse – where would our ships be?

 

The First Promise of a Redeemer

First Sunday of Advent 2025

 

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. The Season of Advent is the time provided us by the Christian church to prepare ourselves for the celebration of Christ’s birth. The word itself means the ‘arrival of something or someone important.’ Christians gratefully celebrate the Lord’s first advent because He came from His throne in Glory to rescue us from God’s eternal wrath because our sins. And in our celebration, we also look forward to His promised second Advent when He comes to rule on earth with a rod of iron as the Psalmist tells us in the second psalm.

 

Although we celebrate Christ’s birth of December 25, Jesus did not become flesh on that Christmas day. He actually entered humanity nine months earlier – in March of that year – when He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the virgin womb of Mary, His mother. It was at His conception that Jesus became fully human while always remaining fully God.

 

As I prepared myself for this message, I thought this season would be a good time to remind us of some of the prophecies throughout the Old Testament that promised humanity a deliverer, a rescuer from God’s wrath against us for our sins. Many Bible scholars count more than 300 such promises. Today we’ll examine the first of those prophecies. We find it in the third chapter of Genesis, the context of which takes place in the Garden of Eden, after God created the heavens and the earth in six days.

 

Chapter three tells us of Satan’s seduction of Eve into questioning God’s word about the Tree of Knowledge. His deceptive innuendos about God’s trustworthiness led to her disobedience. Moments later – or so it seems from the text – Adam joined her in eating the forbidden fruit. As a result, Sin entered the world, and with it, incalculable grief and bitterness, disease, terror and murder, loneliness and death spread through all Creation. St Paul tells of the ongoing aftermath of their sin:

 

“For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.” (Romans 8:22-23)

 

After our first parents swallowed the Serpent’s bait, God cursed the Serpent, whom Scripture identifies as the Devil, and Satan (See Revelation 12:9), saying “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” (Genesis 3:15)

 

Many Bible scholars call Genesis 3:15 the ‘protoevangelium’ – meaning, ‘the first gospel.’ It is in this text that God makes His first of hundreds of  promises to send humanity a Redeemer to rescue us from Satan’s chains of physical, spiritual and eternal darkness; Genesis 3:15 is God’s first promise to send a Redeemer who, although wounded by the Serpent, will ultimately deliver a crushing defeat to the Devil.

 

But before we move further into the first promise of Christ’s advent it’s necessary to first address the challenge many make regarding the literalness and the historicity of those first chapters of Genesis. We do this

because if Genesis One is anything other than accurate history, if Genesis One does not faultlessly describe the six twenty-four hour days of creation, if Genesis one and the succeeding chapters are simply allegory or metaphor to explain Creation and the entry of Sin into the world, then the promise of Genesis 3 – and ALL the other promises of Christ’s first advent melt into what will easily become deadly spiritual confusion.  

 

In other words, if Genesis 3:15 and chapters one and two are allegory, you and I cannot have any confidence that light WILL overpower darkness. Neither can the child of God have confidence that the promise of Revelation 12:11 is our future: “And they overcame [Satan] because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.” (Revelation 12:11)

 

Many scientists believe Genesis One should not be taken literally. They believe the creation days spanned eons of time. They preach their evolutionary theories as if they are undeniable truths.

 

But what they teach should not surprise us because many of them don’t even believe in God. And because their evolutionary theories comprise a huge part of the ‘religion’ of Humanism, even a growing number of seminary students have been – and are being – seduced by their godless professors to scoff not only at the literalness of Genesis One, but to dismiss the idea of Scripture’s full inerrancy, infallibility, and divine inspiration. Therefore, it is no wonder that so many in the pews are also bewitched into believing lies about God’s promises and His immutable commandments.

 

My purpose today is to not go into a great amount of detail regarding the first chapter of Genesis. We don’t have time to do a proper examination of the contrary opinions about God’s word. And besides, with the easy access many of us have to the internet, it’s simple enough for those who are interested to conduct their own research into the debate on both sides of this question. I suggest using key words in your search, such as, “Creation Science,’  ‘Young Earth Scientists,’ and ‘Creation vs. Evolution.’

 

But while I won’t spend a lot more time with Genesis One, I will ask and then answer two important and related questions: Should Christians really care if Genesis One is literal or allegorical? And should Christians care if the earth is young or billions of years old?

 

Yes. We should care. Why? Well, for example, if earth is billions of years old, that would mean there were billions of years of death and disease before Adam and Eve fell. And THAT would directly contradict the entirety of Scripture’s testimony that sin is the cause of death. Furthermore, if sin was not the cause of death, then Jesus’ substitutionary atonement was completely unnecessary, and the promise of Genesis 3:15 is a non-issue.

 

Secondly, at the end of Genesis one, God called His entire creation “very good.” But if the earth is billions of years old, and death occurred before the Fall, then God called death, disease, starvation, and all other kinds of tragedies ‘good.’ And that would render the promise of a Redeemer in Genesis 3:15 pointless.

 

Thirdly: When God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, the Lord reiterated to Israel: (Exodus 20:11) “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore, the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.”

 

But if Genesis chapter one is not literal history, then God lied to Moses and to the entire nation of Israel. And if He lied about the six twenty-four-hour days, then what else of the Ten Commandments are untrue? And if God lied to Moses about Genesis chapter one, then we have no assurance that He didn’t lie about Genesis 3:15.

 

And finally, for our purposes today, the Lord Jesus quoted from Genesis chapters one and two when He reminded the Pharisees: “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?” (Matthew 19:4)

 

But if Jesus was mistaken about those first chapters of Genesis, then what ELSE was He wrong about?

 

The last several points I’ve tried to make remind me of what the apostle Paul said during his defense before the Roman and Jewish leaders: "Why is it considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead?" (Acts 26:8)

 

It was a reasonable question: Why is it considered incredible that the Almighty God could raise the dead? And Christians today should ask a similar question of the naysayers and scoffers: Why is it so incredible among you people if God created the heavens and the earth in six 24-hour days? After all, He is God.

 

Every rational person will immediately recognize that the works of Almighty God extend infinitely beyond any human capacity to understand. And that should not surprise us, because if finite and pathetically limited Man was able to understand the infinite and utterly unlimited God, then God would not be God.

 

Genesis 3:15 is God’s first hint that He had good news for fallen humanity. The horrific and all-encompassing sin of our first parents did not catch God by surprise. Do we not believe the Omniscient God knew what would happen in that Garden? Of course He did. And that’s why Scripture tells us that His plan for Mankind – trapped by our inherited sin nature – that is why His plan for our rescue and redemption from eternal death extends backward into eternity past – long before He created the heavens and the earth.

 

John tells us in the Revelation that Jesus was ‘slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8) And St Paul reminds the Christians at Ephesus that God “chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world.” (Ephesians 1:4)

 

In other words, before God spoke the heavens and the earth into existence, and before our first parents brought calamity to planet earth, God, in His omniscience knew what would happen in the Garden. And already knowing what would happen, He’d already planned redemption and salvation for all who wanted redemption and salvation.

 

And, speaking of God’s omniscience, let’s bring that point home to our own lives. Do we not realize that – even before Genesis one – do we not realize that He knew our names and where we would be on this first Sunday of Advent in 2025?

 

And do you not realize that our omniscient Creator directed your steps throughout your life, even to your decision to move into Ashwood Meadows?

 

Don’t let yourself be fooled into thinking you’re here because you or someone else researched the available independent living facilities, and chose this one. No, you’re here because God orchestrated the research, just as He also orchestrated your decision to come to this service today so you would hear this message.

 

Listen to Proverbs 16:9 “The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Several verses later in this same chapter of Proverbs we read: (Proverbs 16:33) “The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the Lord.”

 

Which brings us back to the Almighty and Sovereign God’s orchestration of the events in Genesis chapter three that led to that first gospel message of hope and promise for fallen men and women. We need to know in the depths of our souls that the unfolding story of Adam and Eve holds enormous significance for everyone in the sanctuary.

 

Why?

 

Think for a while of the sheer and incomprehensible magnitude of the consequences and the repercussions of Adam and Eve’s sin. Those ripples have spread like tsunami waves throughout the thousands of years since the creation. Their waves of devastation continue to this very moment and will continue to do so until the second advent when the King of kings returns to create a new heaven and a new earth.

 

But – and this is an extremely important point – although their sin, like an overwhelmingly deadly virus, resulted in overwhelming disaster for all creation throughout history – nevertheless, God‘s grace toward them was greater than their sin.

 

I need to repeat that. God’s grace was greater than their sin.

 

I hope you remember the story in Genesis. God covered their naked bodies with the skins of animals He had to slay. And that picture ought to send our thoughts to Calvary, where God – who became a Man – shed His own precious, divine, and eternal blood to cover the naked sins of every man, woman, and child who comes in repentance to the Cross. God’s own blood clothes the penitent sinner with His righteousness infinitely more effectively than the animal skins that covered Adam and Eve’s naked bodies. And so, Scripture assures the Christian: “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Galatians 3:27)

 

And “He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness.” Isaiah 61:10

 

Which brings us now to this point of application: What sins have YOU committed in the past – perhaps especially those whose consequences and repercussions extend even to today?

 

This is really an important question because UNLESS we believe God’s grace was greater than Adam and Eve’s sin, and even so His grace is greater than YOUR sins – unless we believe that Biblical truth, we can never hope to find true rest for our souls.

 

Do you see why it is so important for the Christian to accept the literal and historical Biblical record of Creation and the subsequent chapters in Genesis? If it’s all metaphor and allegory, then we have NO reasonable assurance of hope for forgiveness and eternal life.

Once again, we should ask the scoffers and deniers why it seems so incredible for anyone who believes in the God of the Bible – why should it seem incredible that He created the heavens and the earth in six literal days, as He tells us in that first chapter of Genesis?

 

And why should it seem incredible that the God who loves us so passionately would set in those early chapters of Genesis the first of so many promises of a Redeemer who would, at His first advent, set in motion the divine rescue of men, women, and children from Satan’s darkness?

 

The Serpent introduced seeds of doubt into our first mother’s mind – doubts about God’s commandments and His trustworthiness. And Satan still operates by the same playbook, introducing seeds of doubt into our minds about God’s commandments, His trustworthiness, and the inerrancy, infallibility and full inspiration of His written word we call the Bible.  

 

Christian! For good reason, the Holy Spirit warns us today: “Be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)

 

Sacrifice of Praise

Thanksgiving arrives on Thursday this week. Many of us have fond memories of the holiday and look forward to building more good memories this Thursday. But I suspect Thanksgiving might hold bittersweet memories for some of us, and you are not as excited about this Thursday as you have been excited in the past.

 

And so, it is about thanksgiving – not the holiday, but the attitude of thanksgiving that I want to speak about today. To that end, let’s look at Hebrews chapter 10. If the text seems an odd way to introduce Thanksgiving, please be patient. All will be explained.

 

The community to which this letter was written was suffering persecution. Some of it was severe. Many had had their possessions stolen. Some were imprisoned for their faith. And consequently, many were becoming demoralized. Some were drifting from their faith.

 

Listen to what the apostle wrote by way of encouragement: (Hebrews 10:32-36) “Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”

 

As I said, the writer was concerned – rightly so – that persecution or affliction was turning some away from the faith – just as we today ought to be concerned about the same things, that persecution and sufferings and various disillusionments have turn some Christians away from Christ.

 

I sometimes think about that when I read 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I also think about it when I read Paul’s letter to the Christians at Ephesus: (Ephesians 5:20) “Always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.” 

 

I memorized both of those verses decades ago. But every so often – because I forget so often – God focuses my attention once again on them. And I confess to you how frustrating it is to me that God must remind me of the same things He’s has already reminded me of a hundred times in the past, that being to give God thanks IN all things and FOR all things – for this is God’s WILL FOR us in Christ Jesus.

 

All things. For good things like health, prosperity, dreams come true, hopes realized. But also to give thanks in and for bad things – accidents, deaths, illness, chronic pain, loneliness, loss of income and so forth. For all things and in all things. Which brings us to the thanksgiving point of my message today.

The writer tells us later in Hebrews: (13:14-15) “For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come. Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.

Let’s talk a few moments about a sacrifice of praise. It is NOT a sacrifice to thank God when things go well. A sacrifice is not a sacrifice if it costs us nothing. I can give a dollar to someone in need, and I wouldn’t think about it twice.  But if God called me to give someone ten thousand dollars – well I can tell you, THAT would be a sacrifice.

 

Here is only one example of the Biblical principle behind sacrifices: The backstory of David’s sin of overwhelming pride takes up a full chapter in the Scriptures. (By the way, this chapter is not talking of David’s sin with Bathsheba. That happened earlier in his reign as king). We won’t take the time to rehearse what 1 Chronicles 21 tells us. You can read it yourself, if you like. But what I will focus on is the last part of this story where God demanded of David a burnt offering sacrifice for his sin.

 

David went to a man named Ornan, who owned the site David wanted to use for the burnt offering. But Ornan, a loyal and faithful servant of King David, said to him, “Take it for yourself; and let my lord the king do what is good in his sight. See, I will give the oxen for burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for wood and the wheat for the grain offering; I will give it all.” But King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will surely buy it for the full price; for I will not take what is yours for the Lord or offer a burnt offering which costs me nothing.” (1 Chronicles 21:23ff) 

 

Listen to David again: “I won’t offer a sacrifice to God that costs me nothing.” That is, of course, the definition of sacrifice. It costs us something. And so, we ought to expect a sacrifice of praise to cost something.

 

It’s is no surprise to anyone here that life is full of trouble and heartache. Job had it right when he said: (Job 5:7) “Man is born for trouble, as sparks fly upward.” In chapter 14:1 he continued: “Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil. Like a flower he comes forth and withers. He also flees like a shadow and does not remain.”

 

So, what shall WE do when life picks us up and smashes us to the ground? What shall we do when we pray for our beloved sick, and they don’t get well – or they die?  When we pray for family reconciliation, and it doesn’t happen?  When we pray for the salvation of our family – and they never, so far as we know – come to Christ. When we pray that we might have children, and we remain barren all our lives?

 

What shall we do? God tells us what He’d like us to do: “Persevere” as we read in that opening text from Hebrews 10. It’s what Scripture tells us to do in Paul’s letters to the Christians in Thessalonica and Ephesus as I read earlier. “Give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”

 

Is that easy? Of course not. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be a sacrifice. But is giving thanks in all things and for all things necessary?  Yes, absolutely. If it were not necessary, God would not have commanded it of us.

 

So, why does He command it? Why is it necessary? Because not only can prayer change situations, prayer can also change US. And that is part of God’s plan for you and me – to change us, to conform us to the image of His Son. That’s what God tells us in the eighth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Christians at Rome – and this is important to grasp with our hearts and not only theoretically with our heads. And oh! How well I know that theoretical knowledge does not keep us at peace when things go terribly wrong.

 

Being conformed to the image of Jesus will not happen without successfully persevering through trials and tests. As we learn from Hebrews 5:8, Jesus (remember, Jesus was 100% God and 100% human at the same time) – Jesus the Man learned obedience from the things he SUFFERED.

 

That’s surely one reason God tells us through the apostle James, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:2-4)

 

For years I thought I had it all together. I had lots of head knowledge, but through life-experiences, I learned much of it was theoretical – and not at all in my spirit. But my failures aside, and YOUR failures aside, here is what God wants us to know that can help us when life’s fires and floods and storms again break loose against us. Many of you will recognize this passage from Romans 8:28-39

 

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son . . . What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? . . . . Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Neither good things or bad things, neither death or life, neither storms or nightmares or floods or fires – nothing can separate us from God’s immeasurable, indescribable love.

 

A sacrifice of praise means giving God thanks and adoration and exaltation even when our hearts – as Tevye sang in Fiddler on the Roof – even when our hearts lie panting on the floor. It means giving God praise even when we don’t feel like praising Him. It means giving God praise even when we don’t WANT to praise Him.

 

Why do you think the psalmist wrote more than once in the psalms: “Bless the Lord, Oh my soul. Bless His holy name”? The word David used in those texts is in the imperative form of BLESS; It’s a command from our mind to our soul to bless His Holy Name.

 

In other words, David commanded himself to praise God – even when his life was such that he didn’t feel like praising God. Nevertheless, he’d grab himself by the proverbial scruff of the neck and require of himself to praise God who, simply by virtue of who He is, is worthy of our praise and thanksgiving.

 

The more I think about the idea of a sacrifice of praise, the more I get agitated by a specious, deceptive theology floating around among many churches which falsely promises that God wants us happy, prosperous, healthy, and wealthy.

 

The roots of this damnable doctrine are traceable to at least the 70s. All we need, so they say, all we need is to have is enough faith, and God is obligated to His word (as they say) – God is obligated to make our life a proverbial Rose Garden without even thorns on the roses.

That false theology, often called, “Name it and claim it” theology, is as far from Biblical truth as east is from west. And of course, advocates of that theology find all kinds of biblical texts – always taken out of context – to support their view.

 

But tell that lie to those who suffer martyrdom today in places like Egypt, China, Russia, North Africa, Iran, Iraq, and on and on. Tell “Name it and claim it” to those who suffered those events described in chapter 10 of Hebrews that I read to us at the beginning of this message. Tell it to those in the next chapter, chapter 11—the so-called Heroes of Faith chapter – where we find listed famous Old Testament saints whose faith “conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword . . . and on and on.

 

But then we find in the next verses these words: (verses 35-39) “and others were tortured . . . and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated - men of whom the world was not worthy - wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised . . . . .

 

Talk about a sacrifice of praise. Talk about giving thanks to God in all things – in good times and in very, very bad times.

Many of our Christian brethren throughout history, from the earliest days of the apostles, many lost everything. Theirs was never a “name it and claim it’ faith as promised by so many modernists who either haven’t a clue of the whole of Scripture, or Church history –past or current – or they simply will say anything people want to hear.

 

Biblically based faith is and always has been rooted in a total trust and love for God, a faith rooted in “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done” – and not “my kingdom come and my will be done.”

 

Does any of this suggest we should not ask God for healing of our body? Or the reconciliation of our families? Or the salvation of others? Or a job? Or anything else important to our lives?

 

Of course not. The Scriptures include stories of many, many people who prayed about their sometimes-desperate needs. But Scripture still tells us, “In all things give thanks, for this is the will of God concerning you and me.”

 

How might we offer such sacrifices when we’re struggling with life-issues? Perhaps try a little self-talk, as the Psalmist did. Listen to him in Psalm 42:5, “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence.”

 

Perhaps listen to some of the many church hymns of thanksgiving. Read aloud some of the Psalms of thanksgiving such as Psalms 8, 40, and 145, which are among dozens of others. Listen now to a part of Psalm 145: “I will extol You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable.”

 

Again, it should not matter if we FEEL like praising God. Let our mouth speak His praise anyway – because He is worthy at all times of our praises, and THAT’S why it’s called a sacrifice of praise. And we ought to know this, God is pleased with such sacrifices. 

 

God loves you. He is desperately in love with you. He is so desperately in love with us that He did all that He could do, He did the maximum He as God could do to prove His love for you and me – and that was to give His beloved Son as a substitutionary sacrifice for your sin and for mine.

 

When we come to know in the depths of our souls God loves us – regardless how things turn out and turn up in our lives often filled with trial – when we know in our spirits, and not simply theoretically in our head, that God always stands with us, and not against us – then the sacrifice of praise will flow more easily from our hearts. And it will be immeasurably easier to give Him thanks in all things and for all things.