Thanks be to God for His Indescribable Gift

Thanks Be To God For His Indescribable Gift!

II Corinthians 9.6-15

v.15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

We are called to be thankful by the LORD. We are instructed in the Word of God that all the good things we enjoy here on earth are a result of the Gracious Hand of God upon us, a lovingly Heavenly Father Who withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD and praise the Name of the Most High.

We ought to be the most thankful people on earth in America but often we appear to be very ungrateful. As believers we are not to be conformed to this world. We ought to be giving thanks continually, in all circumstances. That comes from the renewing of our minds.

So this week in America we encounter Thanksgiving as a Day...

Great Epochs In American History, a set of books that belonged to my great grandfather, who was a seminary professor in New Jersey. In volume two which covers 1562-1733, there is a chapter entitled “The First Voyage of the Mayflower”. It is Governor William Bradford ‘s account. He had been a leading member of a little dissenting congregation in England. Throughout the 15 pages are phrases such as “for the glory of God, the will of God, it pleased God, God’s providence, sustaining Spirit and grace of God, good providence of God, LORD be merciful to them…”

Let me read a few lines from my great grandfather’s book, “But though this had been a day & night of much trouble & danger unto them, yet God gave them a morning of comfort and refreshing (as usually He doth to His children)…gave thanks to God for His mercies, in their manifold deliverances.” Governor William Bradford

American Thanksgiving- This is our day. While other countries have harvest type of celebrations, ours is focused on Almighty God.

While it began with the Pilgrims it was President Abraham Lincoln who signed the proclamation of an Annual Day of giving Thanks to Almighty God.

Thanksgiving is an action as well as an attitude.

As far as Thanksgiving we need to at the very least capture it in our own hearts and share it with the children around us.

This passage focuses in on God's Indescribable Gift and how the gift of His Son, Christ Jesus causes the grace of giving to operate in our lives. Thanksgiving, the giving of thanks... thankfulness, generosity-giving.

1. The Seeds We Sow. vs. 6-11

God  created the earth.

God provides the seed.

God causes it to rain and the sun to shine.

God makes the seeds grow. 

I Corinthians 3.6-7

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, Who makes things grow.

He is LORD of the Harvest. Matthew 9.38

Praying the LORD of the Harvest

We will reap proportionately.

What about sacrificial giving?

v. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

Pumpkin seeds. You can roast them and eat them or you can set them aside (or  a bunch of them) and have them to plant next year. Say you plant 100 seeds. You will multiply your seeds you have by 100 times as much.

The harvest in giving is our needs being met but spiritually growing in Christlikeness. It is a win win. 

Generosity begets spiritual growth. Planting produces a harvest.

2. Our Giving to the LORD and Others Is a Direct Reflection of Our Spiritual Lives. v.7

Giving is from the heart.  That is where the decision to give is made, to give and how much.

Jesus said:

Matthew 6.2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  

cheerful =  hilaros. 

Walking with the LORD is a life of joy and peace. Our giving is to be joy filled. 

Much of our walk with the LORD is quiet, private, secret prayer... giving is an overflow of the heart which results in Thanksgiving to God.

The church is funded by God through His people. They give and the needs are met. God provides through His people for His work. He works with us. We are hilarious because He multiples blessings. He multiplied the bread and fish, turned the water into wine!

Yet with all these amazing provisions and gifts, One is not worth comparing with the others...

3. God Gave Us the Greatest Gift Imaginable. v.15

He gave us His Son. John 3.16

Abraham and Isaac

His Son Gave up Himself for us. Ephesians 5.25 Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.

Thanks Be To God

His Indescribable Gift 

Unspeakable above all others, In Command of everything else

God, our Father in Heaven, demonstrates how we should give by giving His one and only Son so we could become His children. We need to look at the manager and the cross when it comes to our giving, when we are tempted to hold back... Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold! 

As little children

We would dream of Christmas morn

Of all the gifts and toys

We knew we'd find

But we never realized

A baby born one blessed night

Gave us the greatest gift of our lives

As the years went by

We learned more about gifts

The giving of ourselves

And what that means

On a dark and cloudy day

A Man hung crying on a cross

All because of love, all because of love

Interestingly as Paul writes to the Corinthians about the offering for the church in Jerusalem, he ends with speaking of God's gift, Christ's sacrifice.

How could anything compare to that?!

As the hymn, When I Survey The Wondrous Cross says,

Were the whole realm of nature mine,

That were a present far too small;

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Give Thanks to God. Give Him your all. Sow generously.

Thanksgiving Events:

God has been good to us: a whole new heating system, new roof, costs being covered, new church built down in Haiti.

When this building we are in was being constructed  without ever going to a bank for a mortgage so was one in upstate Southwestern NY, a chapel, which I would come to pastor in 1979. It grew and we built. Miracles happened there.  Plans drawn up, reached a wall. City said we didn't enough parking spaces, Oil company said we could rent, there was this piece of land adjacent to us, neighbors said they would never sell.  I asked, I asked for a gift and they gave it. The land given by Olean American Tile- Thanksgiving 1982 Al Heinz, the builders, the check mailed to us.

Homeless ministry- Joe Infranco's building on Main Street- how I met Rudy.  Cold weather was coming. How would we continue to feed the needy and homeless people in the park?

Now we enter a new chapter... a time of new beginnings

Triumphant Here And Now

Triumphant Here And Now!

II Corinthians 2.12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the LORD had opened a door for me, 13 I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.14 But thanks be to God, Who always leads us in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of Him everywhere. 15 For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? 17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the Word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.

Christ Jesus was victorious over everything! Demons, Disease and Death. He forgave those who put Him to death. You never hear Him talking about the injustices of His trial, His death as being a victim. He conquered it all.

So can we! Love keeps no record of wrongs. Those who do, I pity. They do not realize they are drinking the poison of their own death. Martin Luther believed in keeping short accounts with God and others... asking God’s forgiveness for himself and no record of wrongs by others. God help us. Help us to be triumphant over our enemies by loving them. Help us LORD to realize the power of love is infinitely greater than the power of hate.

He was victorious over depression, discouragement and disappointments.

As we serve the LORD...

1. There will be Disappointments in Our Service to God. vs.12-13
12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the LORD had opened a door for me, 13 I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.

Paul, the apostle, was very close to Timothy and Titus. They were his sons in the Gospel. Shirley and Emmanuella are my daughters in the Gospel, Jhon, our Project Coordinator is my son. Interestingly all three of them are orphans! I care about these children. The girls call me “Daddy”. He has said that I am like a father to him. I have a similar relationship with him that my Dad had with me at that age. I remember when I came here 35 years ago. I was in my late 20’s. My Dad was near 60.  

If I got to Haiti and could not find these kids, or if I stepped out of the plane and Jhon was not there I would get very concerned. I would look for him. If I could not find him I would have no peace.

Remember this letter is being written in the middle of the first century where communications were by letter or word of mouth.
No telecommunications no mass communications. The only way to track someone down was by foot.

Paul was disappointed.

Paul was without peace over Titus, not knowing where he was.

And yet...
2. We always are Triumphant In Christ.

A perpetual victory parade! (MSG)
I love a parade! Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade!

Give thanks.

God’s sovereignty.

Christ’s Promise
“I will build My church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”

Christ’s victory.
Over death!
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! I Corinthians 15.57

Remember God is a Promise Maker and a Promise Keeper! The Resurrection is a perfect example of this.
Jesus told them that He would rise on the third day and He did!
They were downcast, disappointed and depressed after He died. Then Jesus appeared to them! He is alive! They were overjoyed!

God can turn things around in a moment! The whole tide of our lives can be brought into a new way in the blink of an eye!
He is working all things together for our good (Romans 8.28).
This can happen inwardly as we think about Christ always leading us in Triumphal Procession, another Triumphal Entry for us, a spiritual one. Some of us need this today! We need to live in this. It is our inheritance!

The Resurrection shows us that we may have lost hope. We had hoped that He would be the one to redeem Israel.
(Luke 24.21)
He was walking with them! He had come to redeem the world. We are hoping for something and the LORD makes it even more wonderful than we could have ever dreamed. This with us being part of His plan in ways we never dreamed of! In ways we would not believed if He told us!

Isaiah 43.18-19

18 “Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.

3. Remember what we are to God. vs.15-16

The pleasing aroma of Christ...
His death, burning of incense to God during the sacrifice.
Moses consecrated the altar with the anointing oil when the Tabernacle was dedicated (Exodus 40:9). Incense was burned daily on this altar at the time of the morning and the evening sacrifices. ... The burning of the incense was symbolic of the prayer of the people rising up to God (Psalm 141:2; Revelation 5:8; 8:3-4).

Ephesians 5.1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.


To the one we are an aroma that brings death. To those who are living on son, who are perishing.
Judgment. Guilt. Condemnation.



4. Integrity in the Ministry is a blessing!  v.17
Unlike so many, we do not peddle the Word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.

So many do not have it!
Jesus spoke of those:
Matthew 7.21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father Who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of iniquity.’

They are among the church today! so many

Follow the money!

Be a Berean!
Acts 17.11 Now the Bereans were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

Triumph over the world, the flesh and the devil.

Pray for the ministers with integrity.
To be faithful.
To hold to the deep truths of the faith.

Psalm 44.4-8
You are my King and my God,
    Who decrees victories for Jacob.
5 Through You we push back our enemies;
    through Your name we trample our foes.
6 I put no trust in my bow,
    my sword does not bring me victory;
7 but You give us victory over our enemies,
    You put our adversaries to shame.
8 In God we make our boast all day long,
    and we will praise Your name forever.


We may be facing some pain or sorrow or wondering what God is doing but we rest assured that Christ is leading us in a Triumphal Procession.
Victory
We walk by faith
God is good.
God loves me.
God is in control.

T

Does God ever give us more than we can handle?

Does God Ever Give Us More Than We Can Handle? You Bet He Does!

II Corinthians 1.8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, Who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us again. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

We hear this untruth often, “God will never give us more than we can handle.”
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself.  Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death.

Where did the untruth come from?

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
II Corinthians 10.13

The difference between trials and temptation.

Trials without.
Temptations within.

Example of Trial = Three Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace.
Example of Temptation = David and Bathsheba

We face both.
Temptations will not be more than we can bear.

Trials will be overwhelming at times.
“How much more can a person take?”
“I’m going to start calling you, Job.”
“No one is going to blame you if you quit.”

Here are some of those who were given more than they could handle:
Noah
Lot
Abraham
Jacob
Joseph
Moses
Habakkuk
Jeremiah
David
Jesus
Paul
John

I Peter 4.13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed.


1. The Purpose of Trials

*Refining Process
Fire burns off impurities.
Job 23.10
But He knows the way that I take: when He has tried me, I will come forth as gold.


*Comfort
We are able to comfort others with the comfort we have received from God.
II Corinthians 1.3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,4 Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
It is a comfort for others to know that they are not going through these situations alone. Jesus is with them. He has brought us through them.

*Reliance on the LORD
 But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, Who raises the dead v.9
Our trials cause us to cry out to God.
Our trials make us search the scriptures.
We ought to be doing this without trials. This is Christian Maturity.

*Make Us Like Jesus
Hebrews 6.we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in His holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.



2. The Pressure of Trials

Beyond all measure

We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death.
Jesus felt this.
"My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," He said to them. "Stay here and keep watch.” Mark 14.34


Persecuted suffering church
China
Cuba
Nepal
Sudan
North Korea
Nigeria

God does at times give us more than we can handle.

*History validates it.
Fox’s Book of Martyrs
Voice of the Martyrs

*Current events prove it.
Haiti
Iran
Nigeria

*Scripture attests to it.
From Genesis to Revelation!
Abraham and John


3. Answers To Prayer
One of the blessings to come out of trials of others is the prayers offered and the  answers to prayer that come as a result of those prayers.
He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us again. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. vs.10-11


We carry souls on hearts and bring their needs to the LORD.

People appreciate prayer.
It shows God’s love.

Answers to prayer are a great blessing.
It shows God’s power.
It blesses God’s people. To Haiti With Love Prayer Warriors... blessing to Jhon, the church there.
The comfort of Christ.
Praying... need to engage today
Sending positive thoughts, sending prayers... to whom?
Praying to the God of Heaven and Earth!

Does God ever give us more than we can handle? You bet He does! But not without purpose and help and victory!