Deuteronomy 16:13-17  “The First Thanksgiving”

Rev. Jerry Hoek

Introduction:

I would like us to think back to one of the first thanksgivings. I don’t mean one with the pilgrims, Indians, turkey and the cranberry sauce or whatever they ate in 1621, even though it wasn’t really like this at all.  That was, in fact, the first celebration of Thanksgiving Day in our nation, but there have been many celebrations of thanksgiving throughout history.  As long as history has been recorded, human beings have held harvest festivals, celebrations of thanks for yet another year of crops.  It is quite natural for people to give thanks.  What is crucially important, however, is to whom people give thanks.  This week we will gather not only to be thankful for the harvest and related blessings; we have gathered to give thanks to our God for these things.

And so this morning, we want to look at how giving thanks to God came about.  To do this we go back to the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy.  There we read God’s command to the people to observe a time of thanksgiving.  But what we want to look at is the reason that God gives for this celebration and how this celebration is to be celebrated.  The reason to celebrate is recognize and thank God for all blessings, spiritual and physical.  And the way we are to do this is with joy and celebration.  Let’s read Deuteronomy 16:13-17.

I. The Reason for Celebrating                        

II. How To Celebrate

III. The Accompanying Obligation            

IV. Thanksgiving Today

I. The Reasons for Celebrating.

What were the reasons for celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles?  The first reason for this celebration was the gathering of the harvest.  Already in Exodus, God had commanded that the people celebrate the “Feast of the Ingathering” of the harvest.  This was a time for the people to remember that God is the one who provides all their food and takes care of all their needs.            However, in Deuteronomy 16:13, God introduces an additional meaning to this festival and that is for the people to remember their rescue from Egypt.  Now God calls it the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths.  The people were to live in booths made from tree boughs and branches for one week.  In their deliverance from slavery in Egypt, they were homeless for a while and had to live in makeshift shacks or tents  This festival was to remind the people that God had rescued them and given them a new life.  It is those two elements that are important for us to remember in our celebration this week.

This week, let’s celebrate God’s gracious providing for all of our needs.  Let’s thank God for the harvest of this year and also for providing for all of our physical needs.  Let’s thank God for the jobs that we have that enable us to earn money to buy the food, clothing and shelter that we need.  Let’s thank God for all the extras we think are indispensable but that we could really do without.  We must certainly recognize that it is only because of God’s grace that we have as much as what we do have.  And there are many ordinary things in our lives to thank God for.

A small daughter once asked her mother, as she watched her stuff the turkey for the Thanksgiving Day meal: “What are you going to be grateful for this year?”  The mother said, “I’ll be grateful if the gravy isn’t lumpy and the house is presentable by the time our guests arrive.  The little girl persisted: “That’s not what I mean.  Aren’t you going to be grateful for any big things, like Daddy having a job and all of us being healthy?”  The mother smiled down at her pint-sized philosopher.  She realized that she had clearly forgotten the meaning of Thanksgiving.

In an article the mother wrote, she then listed the many ordinary things that she is thankful for:  Her child’s teacher who said nice things about her son, for modern conveniences that enabled her to have time to spend with her teenagers, for a husband who accepted her as she was, faults and all, and for many other ordinary things in her life.  She realized that the ordinary things of life are the things that make life special and things that we should thank God for.

And we should above all, always thank God for our salvation in Christ.  Just as the people of Israel celebrated their freedom from slavery in Egypt, we can celebrate our freedom from our bondage to sin.  Jesus came to and rescue us from the grip of sin by taking our punishment for our sin.  That is truly the greatest gift of all.  And so on a day on which we focus our thoughts on God’s gracious providence, let’s be sure to thank God for this greatest of all gifts.

II. How are we To Celebrate these things on this occasion?

And as we saw last week, joy should be an important part of our celebration.  Verse 14 says, “Be joyful at your feast” and when we thank God our joy will be made complete.  Moreover, verse 15 says, “For seven days celebrate the Feast.”  This feast will last a long time for there is much to celebrate.

Moreover, this was to be a community celebration.  It was not enough for the people to thank God by themselves.  We are not a bunch of individuals but a community gathered together by God to benefit from God’s blessings on all of us.

Moreover, the people are to celebrate with symbolic gratitude.  The purpose of living in the booths for a week would be two-fold.  First, it would remind them of God’s past deliverance and of their wandering and their journey to the promised land of Canaan.  Second, it would make them appreciate the housing that they now had.  When we are deprived of our daily blessings like health, food, clothes or housing, we realize just how much ought to be thankful for.

About 20 years ago, Neil Plantinga wrote:  “Periodic programs of dieting, exercise, and general self-discipline seem to heighten our awareness not only  that food and drink are good, but also that God is good.  Christian psychologists remind us that in a self-indulgent society we keep re-calibrating our wants, so that yesterday’s luxuries become today’s drab necessities.  Most Americans, for instance, are no longer satisfied with a black and white T.V. (Or progressively, a color TV or a 19 inch color TV, or a monophonic color TV or a two-headed VCR).  Self discipline helps us recalibrate the other way.  When we are able to draw pleasure from small occasions and simple things, we are in the right frame of mind to appreciate God.  In this respect, self-denial is remarkably expanding.  It expands our ability to rejoice in an apple and a good book at the end of a day’s work.  And it lets us savor these things as gifts from the provident hand of God.  When we take less than we would like, we often receive far more than what we expect.”

This was from an article written about 20 years ago and isn’t it amazing how the needs have changed in just such a short time.  I was looking for a cheap regular TV for the church last week in Walmart and I could only find flat screen TVs.  A 19 inch color TV is so out of date!  We now are convinced we  “need” more!  Our perceived “needs” become increasingly greater and greater as the years go on.

How can this perspective help us as we celebrate our Thanksgiving Day this week?  First, let’s make our day a time of joy and celebration.  God has so abundantly blessed us in our lives should help us to be very joyful.  This Thursday consciously thank God with joy for all your blessings.  Give joyous thanks to God for family and friends.  Give joyous thanks to God for food and other material goods.

Moreover, consider some actions that may symbolize our gratitude to God.  Some families have the tradition of every person sharing one specific thing they are thankful for prior to sharing the meal.  While we may feast this week, it may be good for us to occasionally and deliberately fast to remind us of the blessings that we have.  Give some time to offer thanks to God for others in your lives and perhaps thank them.

Alex Haley, author of Roots, tells of his experience one Thanksgiving when he was serving in the Coast Guard.  Having worked in the galley all day preparing the crew’s Thanksgiving dinner, he went to his bunk, exhausted.  He began to think about the meaning of Thanksgiving – the ‘giving thanks’ part of it.  As he reflected on the things he had to be thankful for, he realized that at the top of his list were seven people who had made the greatest difference in his life.  It struck him, though, that he had not thanked any of these people – and that only three of the seven were still alive.  He would never have the opportunity to thank the other four.

Getting out pen and paper, he immediately wrote letters of thanks to the three still living: his father, a professor who had instilled in him a love of books; and his grandmother, who had taught him about love and laughter and honesty; and a grammar school principal, who had started every day of school with prayer.

The warm responses from his father and grandmother made Haley weep.  But the most touching response was from his old principal, who had retired in disfavor from teaching and who struggled with feelings of failure and worthlessness.  Haley’s letter renewed his hope and helped him believe in himself again.

Thanking God for others and expressing our gratitude to others for their blessings in our lives is a very good way to give thanks.  The point is that it is good to do some things that will remind us, reinforce for us the blessings that God has given to us.

III. However, let’s also look at The Accompanying Obligation described in verses 16-17.

The people were to show their gratitude to God three times a year.  Verse 16 describes three different feasts.  Each feast had its own purpose, but their common goal was to help the people to remember God’s special care for them in all of their needs.

The point for us is that we are to give thanks to God frequently.  So often Thanksgiving time is the only time that we consciously pause to give thanks to God for all the blessings we have.  We should daily give thanks to God for the blessings we receive.  Our whole lives should be characterized by thankful living.

Moreover, in verse 17,  God told the people to give gifts in proportion to their being blessed.  When they gather, they should not come empty handed.  They have been greatly blessed by God in their lives.  They should be eager to share their abundance with others.

Thanksgiving time is often a time of sharing our abundance with others.  We can give up some of our wealth to share with the needs of others through our Food for Friends in Kenya banks.  There are requests that come in the mail that you may want to consider giving up something for.  By giving up what we have, we can help others and also help us appreciate the many blessings that God has given us.

Henri Nouwen writes: “Thanksgiving is first of all a North American feast.  This nation is affluent and has more than it needs.  The realization that what we have is a free gift can deepen our desire to share this gift with others who cry out for help.  When we bless the fruits of the harvest, let us at least realize that blessed fruits need to be shared.  Otherwise the blessing turns into a curse.”  Let’s realize the blessings we have and then share them with others.  It is easy in our surroundings of plenty and hard work to forget God.  It is easy for us to think that we have all these things coming to us as a reward for our hard work.

Martin Marty tells a joke about a Swiss which I share not because I enjoy ethnic humor – I don’t – but because it pictures all of us in our ingratitude to God.  After God had created the first Swiss, He asked him what he would like to have in his country.  “I would like some mountains,” said the Swiss and with a wave of His hand God created the Alps.  “I would also like some farmland,” said the Swiss, and God promptly created the beautiful meadows of Switzerland.  “And now some cows,” said the Swiss, and God filled the meadows with the best milkers in the world.  “Tell me, God,” asked the Swiss, “is there anything I can do for you?”  “Yes,” said God, tired by his labors, “just bring me some milk to drink from one of the cows.”  “Certainly,” said the Swiss, and he went to milk the cow.  Five minutes later he returned and gave God a glass of milk.  “Here it is,” said the Swiss.  “That will be four francs fifty.”

These things we are thankful for are not ours because we have a right to them or we earned them.  Let’s remember this evening that we have these things only because God has given them to us.

IV. Thanksgiving Today

Why is it important to give thanks to God daily?  As is true with celebration, giving thanks gives us perspective with respect to God.  We live in a culture where it is all about self-sufficiency and being independent.  It’s easy to begin to think that we can take care of ourselves very well, thank you.  Thanking God daily and in a meaningful way reminds us that we don’t have life apart from God.

Giving thanks also gives us perspective with respect to others.  We aren’t here living all by ourselves, but we are living in a community of believers and in the world.  Earlier this month, we received a letter from a collection of churches who are in the global south.  In this very pointed letter to the churches in North America, we were reminded of just how much we have and how great our blessings are.  When we combine thanking God for the blessings we have with the knowledge that there are millions who are suffering and who do not have such material blessings, it snaps it into perspective that God has blessed us to be a blessing.

So how do we give thanks practically?  Pray!  Be in constant communication with our Father in heaven.  The Heidelberg Catechism says that prayer is the chief way we can show our gratitude to God.  We show God our thankfulness for all God has done by praying to Him and being in constant communication with God.

Second, live our lives daily thanking God for all the things we have and for God’s provision every day.  Thank God for safety in driving each day and for protection from the cold and elements.  Thank God for the work we have and for the things that such work enables us to buy.  Thank God for the love of family and friends each and every day.

And then immediately after you have given thanks for a specific gift, our very next breath should be, “Now what should I do with this gift?”  God gives us gifts so that we can use them to bless others.  So as you daily give thanks, pray that God will show you how you can use that gift to help others.  Share you house by extending hospitality.  Share your food with those who may be hungry.

We have so much to thank God for and so many things we can do with the things God has given us.  This week, let’s gather together and give thanks.  Let’s then prayerfully and earnestly consider what God may be calling us to do with the blessings He has given to us.

Philippians 4:6-7  

Rev. Jerry Hoek

Introduction:

This morning we conclude our study of the spiritual disciplines.  We have been looking specifically at the corporate disciplines of confession, worship, guidance and celebration.  These are disciplines we do together as a body of Christ. Today we look at the spiritual discipline of celebration.            A few weeks ago, we celebrated our 25^th anniversary as a church.  We reflected back on God’s faithfulness and truly celebrated!  But then the routine returned.  There were still bills to pay, work to do, jobs to go to and frustrations and disappointments to endure.  We celebrated and then got back down to work.  The same thing is true for us individually.  We have special days like birthdays and the like that we celebrate, but then we return to normal and resume our normal lives with all of its demands and challenges.

Now there is an element of that in the spiritual discipline of celebration.  We as individuals and especially as a body of Christ should celebrate important things, but there is more to celebration than just specific events.  The spiritual discipline of celebration is not just learning how to celebrate certain events, but to have a life of celebration.  How can we get to the point of such celebration where we live day by day in celebration?

Paul gives us some good insights about celebrating lives in Philippians 4:6-7.  In this passage we learn that the key to living lives of joy is to trust that God will care for us as we live in prayerful obedience with Him.  The result is that we will have peace, which enables us to celebrate.  Let’s read Philippians 4:1-9.

I. Be Anxious in Nothing

II. Pray About Everything

III. The Peace of God in Our Lives

IV. The Discipline of Celebration

I. Paul begins by saying Be Anxious in Nothing.

Let’s understand first of all what Paul does not mean in this statement.  He does not mean that we should not care about anything.  He is not encouraging a stoic attitude in which we go through life ignoring needs or becoming numb to the needs around us.  “There are so many problems in the world and in the lives of the people around us that I just can’t handle it. So I’m just going to try to tune everything out and just not care about anything.”  That is not the attitude Paul is describing.

Nor is Paul saying that we should prescribe this attitude to others.  When someone is hurting, Paul is not telling us to tell that person, “I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you; it’s really no big deal.”

I think I have mentioned that I tried that approach with Claire when we were first married.  I don’t even remember what the problem was.  But I said that she really shouldn’t worry about that; it was no big deal.  I was wrong and she let me know that it was in fact a big deal.  We should care about the needs of others and not brush them off.

What then does Paul mean?  “Anxious” here means the kind of worry which results when we forget God.  We forget that God is completely in control of all things.  We loose the Biblical perspective that God is King of all and has all things in His hands.  Then we become anxious because we are not trusting in God.

And we become anxious when we are not obeying God.  If we are not doing what God wants us to be doing, we will be anxious because we will not have peace with God.  We are not to be anxious and forget that this is God’s world and that we serve in His kingdom.

Also, this verse literally says, “Be anxious in nothing!”  This means that there is not a single solitary thing for which you should not place your trust in God.  We trust in God when we think about the future of our children or the state of the economy.  We trust in God when your job is threatened or if there are marriage or health problems.  We trust in God when the person you voted for did not become the president and so you are worried about the future.   We must not be anxious but trust in God.

Now this all sounds really good and all but it is much easier to say than to do, isn’t it?  When we face a problem that seems so large, it is not easy at all not to be anxious.

Carl Henry describes the time he stayed with a professor friend in South Korea.  One Sunday morning as he left very early to preach, the professor said, “Don’t worry about a thing!”  Soon however, Dr. Henry heard strange noises in that unfamiliar house and on investigating found the water pipes in the basement were leaking, in fact, leaking furiously!  He and his wife gathered the leaking water in buckets and emptied them as fast as they could, but the situation grew worse since they couldn’t find the main shut off valve.  Carl Henry said that “Don’t worry about a thing” was scant comfort when things seemed to be completely out of control and there was nothing you could do about it.

There are many things to worry about in this world!  So how can we place our trust in God in a very real way?

II. The answer is simply Pray About Everything.

To be anxious in nothing means that we are to pray in everything.  And “everything” means everything!  There is nothing too big or small for God.  There are the big problems of injustice, poverty and hunger throughout the world.  There are the smaller problems of taking care of your children or work pressures.  No matter how large or small the problems may be, we are to be praying about those needs.

But how are we to pray in everything?  Paul gives 4 guidelines to help us.  We are to do this by means of prayer.  Prayer here means having the right attitude with respect to God.

Ben Patterson tells of the time his doctor prescribed total rest because of a ruptured disc in his back.  He was not to get up for anything, except to go to the bathroom.  He writes:  “My first thought was, at least I’ll get some reading done.”  But he was wrong.  Laying on his back caused his eyes to mis-focus and the only reading he did was one book, which took him the full six weeks to get through.  He was helpless.  He was also terrified.  What was all this going to mean?  How was he going to take care of his family? What about his church?  He was the sole pastor and he could do nothing for it.

He writes, “Our of sheer desperation I decided to pray for the church.  I opened the church directory and prayed for each member of the congregation daily.  It took nearly two hours, but since there was nothing else I could do for the church, I figured I might as well pray for it.  It was not piety that made me do it, it was boredom and frustration.  But over the weeks the prayer times grew sweet.  One day near the end of my convalescence, I was praying and I told the Lord, ‘You know, it’s been wonderful, these prolonged times we’ve spent together.  It’s too bad I don’t have time to do this when I’m well.”

God’s answer can swift and blunt.  He said to me, “Ben you have just as much time when you’re well as when you’re sick.  It’s the same twenty-four hours in either case.  The trouble with you is that when you’re well, you think you’re in charge.  When you’re sick, you know you’re not.”

That exchange changed his attitude toward prayer completely.  He writes, “Though I’m not the man of prayer I should be, I’m not the man I was either.”  We need to cultivate the proper attitude with God.

Next, we pray by means of petitions; what does this mean?  If we approach God with awe, humility and reverence, we may actually ask God with boldness to answer our petitions and help us in our needs.  Petitions are the individual needs that each one of us has.

Third, we must pray with thanksgiving.  We must show our gratitude to God by acknowledging that God has richly blessed us.  Thanksgiving is the way that we show that God truly is in full control and not ourselves.

Finally, as we pray, we must present our requests to God.  What do we want God to do specifically to help the need?  We must learn to pray more than just “God be with;” We must be specific.  Give a good job to the unemployed.  Bring healing or wisdom to the sick.  Give the money needed to help us press on in our mission.  Now when we pray specifically and with the right attitude, what result can we expect?

III. Paul says that we can expect The Peace of God in Our Lives.

We will have the kind of peace that God himself has.  This is more than knowing that our sins are forgiven and that we are justified before God.  It is a marvelous thing to have our sins forgiven and it brings us peace but this peace is more.

This peace is the kind of peace that God Himself has within His own being.  God has peace within Himself because He knows that He is God.  He is calm and serene because He knows all things are under His control and all will be done to His glory and purpose.

God gives this peace to us.  For example, perhaps you know someone whom you really admire.  They have their life put together and they know who they are and what they are doing.  If you are struggling, it can mean a great deal for them to encourage you.  But if they could somehow give you what they have, how much better that would be.  That is what God gives us; His peace in our lives.

That is why Paul says that this peace is one that transcends all understanding.  Our minds cannot comprehend it or explain it.  “Here I am facing this overwhelming need, and I am at complete peace.”  “It doesn’t make any sense and I can’t explain it but it is there.”

And this peace which God gives reflects solutions to the problems that we could never come up with.  We could never achieve this peace if we tried to solve the problem on our own.  When we turn the controls over to God, He deals with the issue and gives us His peace.

And this peace will then “guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”  The word to guard is the same word that describes a group of soldiers standing guard over a city.  In fact, there was such a group of Roman soldiers stationed in Philippi.  Paul’s words brought to mind a strong military force that would protect the readers from harm.

God’s peace will protect their hearts and minds.  Heart and mind describes the very center of the Philippians’ being.  As such it would include people’s thoughts, emotions and attitudes.  They need not fear discouragement and doubts if they have this peace in their lives.  God will protect us from such doubt which so easily makes us ineffective in our work as Christians.

But there is one final key phrase that we must not forget.  This peace will protect only those who are in Christ Jesus.  Only if we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord can we expect to receive this peace.  This peace is not for the nominally religious.  This peace is not even for those who are very pious and religious but who are trusting on their own religious acts to save them.  This peace comes only to those who have given their life to the Lord Jesus.  And when we have this peace, then we can live in celebration!

IV. The Discipline of Celebration

What are the very practical benefits of celebration?  First, we will not take ourselves too seriously.  We should not become so focused on these spiritual disciplines that we become stuffy and boring.  Believers of all people should be free, alive and very interesting!  Jesus said that He came so that those who believed in Him might have life and life to the full.

Moreover, having a life full of celebration can be a good antidote to periodic sadness in our lives.  Let’s be honest.  There are a lot of things that are very depressing and frustrating in our lives.  A Christian should be free to enjoy things in life and have fun.

Another benefit of a life filled with celebration is that it gives us perspective.  When we see ourselves in the light of the powerful God and realize that He holds all things and will do as He will in our lives, we won’t take ourselves so seriously as we tend to do.  Richard Foster writes, “In celebration the high and mighty regain their balance and the weak and lowly receive new stature.”  No matter how we view ourselves, when we view ourselves in the setting of the power and wonder of God, we cannot help but gain perspective.

Finally, a life of celebration yields more celebration.  Joy begets joy and laughter begets laughter.  The more we celebrate in life, the more we will see opportunities and reasons to celebrate.  The problem is that we often become so serious that we lose our sense of humor.

In a presentation at Goshen College, Garrison Keillor said, “Some people think it’s difficult to be a Christian and to laugh, but I think its the other way around.  God writes a lot of comedy, it’s just that he has so many bad actors.”

So how can we have the joy and peace of celebration more and more?  Look at what people do when they celebrate something and imitate them.  Children sing, dance and shout for joy when they celebrate something.  When a football or basketball team wins, what do the fans do?  The same thing!  Look at what David did in 2 Samuel 6:14-15.  He shouted and danced! Allow yourself full and spontaneous expressions of joy!

Take advantage of fun things and learn how to laugh.  Jesus had a sense of humor and I think he must have loved to laugh.  Read a funny book or watch a good comedy movie and laugh!

Enjoy creativity both in yourselves or in others.  Play an instrument or do some art or go someplace where you can enjoy the gifts that others have.  I love listening to music and it just lifts my spirit in so many ways.

We can also celebrate the Christian holidays in a meaningful way.  In a few weeks we celebrate Christmas and my challenge to you is to let the beautiful story of how God came to earth to save us wash over you in a powerful way.  In gift-giving, find a way to give of yourself to others, not just exchange presents.  On Easter we can celebrate the defeat of sin, death and the powers of death!

Celebration gives us the strength to live in all the other disciplines.  This is the end of our study of the spiritual disciplines, but in reality it is only the beginning.  When we put all these things together, we will begin to be the kind of followers of Jesus that he would have us be.  When we live in closer communion with Him and with each other, we will find joy and fulfillment beyond what we can imagine.

But as I said at the beginning, we must not do these in a legalistic way.  The disciplines can become yet another set of laws if we are following only the letter of them.  But if we use these as a means to follow our Lord, we will grow individually and as a body of Christ as God sends us out into the world to make a difference in the lives of those around us.

Responsible Kingdom Citizens

This has been one of the most spirited and engaging election years that I can remember.  Even the run up to the primaries was filled with various twists and turns until we finally arrived at the two major candidates.  And now we vote this month.

Election years have always engendered a lot of debate and high feelings as long as I can remember, but that seems to be even more so this year.  I’ve heard people express shock and almost outrage that a person would or could even possibly consider voting for one candidate or the other.  It’s as if even considering voting for someone from a different party makes you anti-Christian.

Well, I’m not going to risk our non-profit status and reveal how you should vote.  Nor will I tell you how I have voted, but I do want to lend a bit of biblical perspective on the whole process of government that I think is sorely needed especially this year.

First, there are Peter’s words in 1 Peter 2:17 where he says, “Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.”  I must say that in much of the comments I’ve heard, respect certainly seems to be in short supply both for the candidates and for our current president as well.

That does not mean that we have to agree with everything they say or do, but it does mean that we should at the very minimum honor them and show respect for the office they hold.

Then there are Paul’s words in Romans 13:1 – “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”  That applies especially to those situations where the one in office is not the one we would choose and may even do things that we do not agree with.

Remember that these words by Paul were written to Rome and the governing authorities were none other than Caesar himself who was a godless pagan and who would soon be persecuting the church for their Christian beliefs.  Nero was hardly a model of the kind of leader that we would want to be governing us, and yet Paul says that even in such a situation, we must submit to such governing authorities.  God has placed governments of all kinds, whether pagan, secular or Christian, as tools to keep sin and evil in check.  We may not agree with the government’s values, but we must still recognize it as a means through which God keeps evil in check.

However, our nation, any nation for that matter is not our kingdom.  Pilate had a hard time grasping that during Jesus’ trial when he was trying to sort out exactly what Jesus was king of.  In John 18:36, Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”  Jesus intent was not to take over the Roman Empire or to become king of a Jewish state.  His mission was to establish His kingdom which supersedes all earthly nations and kingdoms.

We have to make sure that we grasp that while we may be citizens of an earthly nation, our real citizenship is in the Kingdom of God.  That is what we must be most concerned about and what we must be working the hardest and most earnestly for.

However, in the meantime, as Jesus says in Matthew 22:21, we must “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”  There are things that we must do as citizens of earthly nations.  However, we must never forget that our ultimate allegiance is to God.  No matter what party you belong to or how you vote, you must always answer to God as king for whatever you do.

So what do we do as responsible kingdom citizens?  First, respect our leaders.  I know that is easier said that done many times, but to not do so is to flatly reject a very clear teaching of Scripture.  In 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Paul says, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone– for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”  We must pray for our rulers, even when we don’t agree with them or even like them!

Second, participate in the process.  If it’s not too late, vote for the person that you feel would best serve in the various offices.  Be a part of the process rather than just complaining about it.  If you think that it could be done better, then do something about it and at the very least vote.

Finally, it comes down to respect once again.  To disrespect or to dishonor our leaders is again going contrary to what Scripture teaches.  I admit it’s hard to respect those we may think have done or will do things that we believe are just wrong or unwise.  Yet the teaching from Scripture is clear.  We must pray, respect and obey those who are in authority over us.  To fail to do this is to disobey and in many respects dishonor our real King, our Father in heaven.

Pastor Jerry                                                                                          

November 2008

2 Kings 4:1-7:  Is There Unending Oil Today?

Rev. Jerry Hoek

Introduction:

“How can I help you?”  We may hear this when we go into a store and the clerk approaches us.  In that setting we may or may not want someone to ask us that.  If we are just browsing and don’t want anyone to help us, we may view this as an intrusion.  However, imagine another setting.  Your car stalls on the interstate in the rain.  Other cars are flying by and no one is stopping.  Your cell phone is dead and you are clueless as to what the problem is or what to do.  After sitting there for several minutes, a car pulls up in back of you.  The driver gets out, runs to your car and asks if you are ok.  You explain the situation and he listens and then asks, “How can I help you?”  His question makes it clear that he really wants to help.  The question is one that brings comfort and relief.  Someone is going to help me!

In the story of Elisha this morning, we hear Elisha ask this question to a widow in tremendous need.  We see in this story how God shows genuine compassion and care for those who continue to follow him in faithful obedience.  God takes what little the woman has and turns it into an amazing answer to her tremendous need.

This morning we lift our eyes to the needs of the poor and hungry around the world.  We not only want to see the needs that are there but to ask in a real way, “How can we help?”  This is something that followers of Jesus Christ are to be doing as well.  Let’s read 2 Kings 4:1-7.

I. The Problem  

II. Two Questions  

III. The Powerful Answer 

IV. Oil For Today

I. The Problem is very evident as we see in verse 1.

This passage begins by saying that the wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha and in this verse we learn several things about her husband.  First, he was from the company of the prophets, which was a group of believers in Israel who had remained faithful to God during a time of tremendous rebellion against God.  We don’t know in this case where this particular company was.  Some have speculated that it was near Jericho, but we simply don’t know.

Second, we learn is that he is dead.  Widows were tremendously vulnerable in this culture since they would have no legal protector.  Moreover, a widow was financially vulnerable since she had no means of support.

The third thing we learn about the husband is that he had severe credit problems.  In fact, the creditors were about to come and take away the woman’s sons as slaves.  This was a fairly common feature of life in the ancient world.  If you went into debt and you couldn’t repay it, you could sell yourself, your wife or children into slavery to the person.  That way you could work off the debt by working for the person.

This woman is about to lose her two sons because of this debt.  A man by the name of Earl Wilson once said, “If you think nobody cares if you’re alive, try missing a couple of car payments.”  This widow’s creditors were breathing down her neck.

The final thing we learn is that he was a man who revered the Lord.  One gets the impression that this was a man who stood out among the sons of the prophets.  In fact, the Jewish Targum suggest that this man was in fact Obadiah.

Obadiah was the man who worked for wicked King Ahab, but who was a believer.  In fact, he hid 100 of the Lord’s prophets during Ahab’s reign of terror.  In fact, Josephus suggests that the reason this man was in debt, if it was Obadiah, was because he had borrowed money to help feed these companies of the prophets.  Whatever the case, this man was deep in debt and now has left his already vulnerable widow even more vulnerable.  This widow is in desperate need and cries to Elisha and asks him to help her.

There are times when we feel in desperate need as well.  As individuals, there are times when we feel like we simply don’t know what to do.  Families may be in crisis from stresses and fractures in relationships.  You may be feeling overwhelmed by financial burdens or your job is in trouble.

The world in which we live has urgent needs.  The election this Tuesday has many people really worried about the direction our nation is going.  There are needs all over the world where there is fighting and violence.  There are refugees in Darfur, displaced people in Kenya and people living in huge slums all over the world.

There are many areas of our lives and many reasons for having feelings of despair like the widow had.  Let’s look at how Elisha answers her cry for help in the next verse.

II. In verse 2, Elisha asks Two Questions.

First, he asks, “How can I help you?” – a response of great compassion and care.  He sees and understands her tremendous need and genuinely wants to help.

What a great question for God’s people to ask!  How can I help you?  We often hear of so many needs from people we know and from all over the world.  So often we feel so helpless and many times we don’t know what to say or do?  Sometimes there is little we can do, but at least we can ask the question, “How can I help you?”  When we went to Kenya last year, just by us being there representing you we were asking, “How can we help you?”

Now maybe all we can do is something very small or seemingly insignificant.  Maybe we can just listen or watch the children.  Or maybe we have some advice based on our experience.  And, of course, we can always pray.

But the point is that when we ask the question, we are offering ourselves to help someone else.  And in doing so we are offering God’s grace to someone else in a very tangible and real way.  And that is offering a lot.

The second question takes a slightly different tack: “Tell me, what do you have in your house?”  Now Elisha zeroes in on a way in which he can help by building on what she already has.  He wants her to participate in this wonderful miracle that is about to happen.  What can she bring to the solution that will help Elisha help her?

The widow thinks she has very little at all to offer.  All she has is a little bit of oil.  In fact, notice that she says that she has nothing at all except a little oil.

But Elisha wants her to realize what she does have and be willing to submit that to God for Him to use.  In that respect it is like the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath we saw a few weeks ago when she was told by Elijah to take all she had and give it to Elijah as God’s representative.  That command is not as explicit here, but has a similar intent.

She is take what little she has so that God can turn it into something far greater.   The Olympic runner, Eric Liddell, as seen in the movie, “Chariots of Fire,” once said this about tremendous burdens and difficulties in life and how God responds.  “Circumstances may appear to wreck our lives and Gods plans, but God is not helpless among the ruins. Our broken lives are not lost or useless. God’s love is still working. He comes in and takes the calamity and uses it victoriously, working out his wonderful plan of love.”  God takes this woman’s hopeless condition and turn it into a powerful demonstration of His love.

III. God’s Powerful Answer is seen in verses 3-7.

First, Elisha lays out his plan to the woman.  She must first gather as many jars as possible from her neighbors.  And notice that he says, “Don’t ask for just a few,” which is a test of faith for the woman as well.  The more she gathers, the more she is trusting that God is going to do a great thing.  The amount of oil she will receive will be limited only by what she has gathered in faith.

Then Elisha tells her to go inside and shut the door.  Elisha’s purpose in this miracle is not to draw attention to himself or to have a public display.  Moreover, this means it will be a miracle from a distance for Elisha is not present during it.  This will increase her faith in the Lord who provides for her and her sons.

Once inside she is to start pouring oil from the little jar she has into the jars she has borrowed.  He tells her to start pouring and when one is full, take another and keep filling the containers.

What happens is really amazing!  She starts pouring and fills one container from her little jar and it’s full.  Now imagine taking this glass of water and pouring it into a punch bowl.  Then another punch bowl, then a cooler, then whatever bowls, containers you can find.  Soon you have gallons and gallons of water and it all came from this one small glass.

The widow kept pouring and pouring and filling container after container.  Finally when she is told that there are no more containers, the small container is empty.  The oil stopped coming from that jar when all the other containers were full.

Elisha tells her to now use that oil to solve her problem.  She can pay off her debts and so redeem her sons from possible slavery.  And in fact, there is so much oil that she and her sons can live off whatever remains!  Elisha asked the widow to trust in God and have faith that He would provide.

In this story, we see a marvelous picture of the abundant blessing of God!  God, through Elisha, sees this poor widow and opens up the storehouses of heaven to help her.  God responds personally and powerfully to the need of one of his special children.

More than that we see God responding to the social needs of that society.  God had always maintained in His Law that the widows and orphans were to be taken care of.  God, through Elisha, is showing just how seriously He takes that law in providing for the widow.

IV. Oil For Today

The first thing I want us to see is how Jesus powerfully fulfills this in the New Testament.  So often Jesus responded to the urgent needs of his society’s downtrodden.  He reached out to the sinners, the tax collectors, the poor, the rejected of the society.  He offered to help them.

Look at what happens in Luke 7:11-17.  “Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him.  As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out — the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.  When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”  Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”  The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.  They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared  among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.”  This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.”

Here Jesus sees a woman much like the woman Elisha helped.  She was a widow without any children, very vulnerable in her society.  Jesus sees her in her deepest need and raises her son, gives her son back to her.

In a real sense, Elisha points to Jesus.  In the Old Testament, Elisha is the one who brings life, help and hope to God’s people.  In the New Testament, Jesus brings life as the Way the Truth and the Life.  What Elisha could do only for a short time and in very limited ways, Jesus did once and for all and continues to do today.

Moreover we are reminded that God continues to take care of his people today.  God comes to us and asks us, “How can I help you?”  He came to us in Jesus first of all and gave us eternal life through Him.  But God continues to offer help and hope to His children in the every day things of life as well.  Sometimes that help comes through prayer and in very miraculous ways.  Sometimes God’s help comes to us through another person.

One night during the Crimean War Florence Nightingale was passing down a hospital ward. She paused to bend over the bed of a wounded soldier.  As she looked down on him with eyes of compassion, the young man looked up and said, “You’re Christ come to me.”  Our great and compassionate God is able to help us in our deepest needs through other believers.

But we must hear a similar question to the question Elisha asked the widow: “Tell me what do you have?”  God wants us to take stock of our situation.  He wants us to realize what little we have and then to offer it to Him fully.

All we have is our time and some gifts but what is that in the face of so many needs?  God says, “Use it for me and I will make it multiply and do things you couldn’t imagine.”  All we have is our little church, financially struggling with people working hard.  God says, “Give it to me and I will multiply it so that you may truly serve powerfully.”

Our tendency is to say like the woman: “We have nothing except this small thing, but it is nothing.”  This passage forces us to take whatever we have, large or small, and say, “God, you can take this and do amazing things with it!”  “In fact, you can do things with it that we simply can’t imagine.”  We need to have faith that stretches our minds in order to receive the blessings.

But let’s remember that God is calling us as followers of Christ to look beyond ourselves.  God will provide for us, but He also calls us to look to those around us who are in need.  There are poor and hungry all over the world.  There are hungry here in Nashville and through our benevolent fund we can help them.  There are people living in slums and refugee camps who are in desperate need of help.

What would Jesus have us do to help the poor and the hungry?  We need to first examine our priorities and how we spend what we do have.  Tony Campolo writes, “Nothing is more controversial than to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Nothing is more dangerous than to live out the will of God in today’s contemporary world. It changes your whole monetary lifestyle. … Let me put it quite simply: If Jesus has $40,000 and knew about the kids who are suffering and dying in Haiti, what kind of car would he buy?”

So let’s ask, “How can we help others?”  Let’s be willing to be used by God in whatever way He would use us.  Perhaps it is through prayer or perhaps God will show us yet another way to serve.

Let’s also ask ourselves, “What do we have?”  We have the expertise to help people who desperately need water to get clean water and our Missions Team is working on a way to drill a well for people in Marich, Kenya.  We can continue to use our banks to provide help to hungry and poor children so they can go to school and get the food that they need.  We may not have a lot, but God is calling us to give what we can to help others help themselves.

God is willing to help us as we do this, but  He asks us for what we have to give to Him.  Let’s do more than offer him a glass for Him to fill.  Let us in faith, gather together jars from all over and say, “Lord, fill them!”