Thanksgiving Eve Service

We are here tonight we are here to celebrate Thanksgiving. And for Christians, Thanksgiving isn’t just a time for family, friends, and Turkey Dinners, it’s a time when we stop and reflect upon all of the wonderful blessings God has given us. Now, don’t get wrong, this is something we should always do, but if you’re like me, you can often get so caught up with the business of life, that you forget to stop and reflect upon God’s goodness in our lives. All the ways God has blessed us, in ways we absolutely do not deserve. Sometimes we forget to stop and reflect upon all the things God has blessed us with.

Looking at our church, we have much to be thankful for. I don’t think any of us expected that God would bless us as He has this past year. Last Easter, we had a lot of people get sick with Covid, and praise God they are still here with us. Not every church can say that. As a church, though we have problems as every church does, though we have struggles, though we have many ways we still need to grow in as a church, by far, we have something to praise God for, which is unity. And our unity isn’t unity over potluck meals. Nor is it unity over being Minnesotans, Vikings fans, or even our commitment to loving others. No, our shared unity is over the Gospel Message of Jesus Christ, and understanding God better through His written Word.

And while we have much to thank God for, still, it’s not always easy is it. Especially when we are going through times of hardship in the midst of all of the other blessings we have. Sometimes as Christians we feel inadequate, inferior, or undeserving of God’s blessings in our lives. And so I’d like to remind us again of what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians chapter 4.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

2 Corinthians 4:7 ESV

In this verse, Paul is comparing Christians to jars of clay - he’s not talking about the band, he’s talking about clay pots. As Christians, Paul is telling us that we have a reason to have hope and joy in no matters what our circumstances are. Jars of clay, or clay pots, were very common in Paul’s day. Jars of clay, or clay pots, were very common in Paul’s day. They were plain, everyday items - there was nothing special about them! Unlike metal jars that don’t break easily, clay pots were extremely fragile and cheap - and once broken, you couldn’t really fix them, and so they were thrown away.

And so Paul is saying, that’s you Christians - you’re a plain old, fragile clay pot, because on your own, you are nothing special You are extremely fragile! But, even though we are fragile, God has placed something in us that makes us NOT FRAGILE. And what is that? The power of an all-powerful God. Which is incredibly powerful!

Why did God decide to put His mighty power inside of such weak vessels? In the last part of verse 7, Paul writes:

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

2 Corinthians 4:7 ESV

A few chapters later Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV

It is not the pot that is valuable, but what is stored within the pot, which is valuable - which is the power of God. Can circumstances change that? No. What about when our bodies start to chip away and cracks appear, Will the power of God leak out and we’ll loose it? No. And it won’t, because God won’t let it.

We must never forget, that there is a DIVINE purpose to our weakness! And what is it? It highlights the mighty power of God Which is a power that was given to us through the gospel which will never fade or weaken! It doesn’t matter how weak we get, it remains strong in us.

In verses 8-14, Paul writes:

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you. Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.

2 Corinthians 4:8-14 ESV

As Christians, we serve a CRUCIFIED KING. Which means, the person we follow went through terrible circumstances! Terrible suffering, hurt, loss, and pain. And as we are going to see this Sunday from Matthew chapter 10, why should expect things to be any different for us? In John 15:20-21 Jesus says: John 15:20-21 (ESV) Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

The truth is, as followers of Christ, our path, in a way, is Christ’s path. And what was Christ’s path? The cross. However, did His path end there? No it didn’t, for His path though it went through the valley of the shadow of death, ultimately led to glorious resurrection. And so though right now we are on the path of suffering and death - because the reality is, everyone here is going to die - as Christians our path doesn’t end there, does it? No, as God’s children our hardship leads to unspeakable joy! In fact, it leads to glory! What kind of glory? A glory we cannot possibly fathom!

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV

Right now, we live in a world that is fallen and very broken, which results in our “outer self wasting away,” as Paul says. But just as the outer self of a caterpillar must be shed so the inner self may be come forth as a beautiful butterfly, our inner self too is “being renewed day by day.” And so what Paul is saying is here is that the reason he doesn’t lose heart, is because he knows that the riches, treasure, and absolute wonder that God has laid up for Him is so amazing that it makes these troubles in life look like NOTHING AT ALL by comparison!

If your house burns down, you lose your job, your car is totaled, that’s pretty stressful right? BUT what if all of that happens and you know for certain that you have 50 million dollars coming your way in 6 months, does that change the level of your worry? It absolutely does.

This is what Paul realized about his future that impacted his present. Paul looked at his present suffering and realized how weightless it was compared to the weight of glory that had been deposited in His bank account, which was going to clear very, very soon! He realized what was in him, and what was in Him was Christ!

Could Paul see the glory that was coming? Nope, and none of us can yet, at least not with our physical eyes. Which means we must have eyes of faith in order to see the unseeable. Which is what Paul is saying in verse 18.

as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:18 ESV

Have you ever re-watched an old sports game of your favorite team winning the big championship game? Do you get stressed out about the fumble in the first quarter? How about when your quarterback throws that interception? Of course not… That would be ridiculous...

Yet how many times as Christians do we find ourselves getting stressed out about the fumbles in our life, or interceptions we’ve thrown? What is the point? We know the end of the game, and we win at the end of the game! And in that victory we will experience a GLORY that is beyond our wildest imagination! And with eyes of faith we must set our gaze upon that coming reality, not our current temporal one.

In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

How do we do keep our heart’s from being troubled? Or as Paul puts it, “not lose heart.”

John 14:2 ESV

By simply remembering how good we have in this life and all of the things we have to be thankful for? Ultimately, no. By remembering how much worse it could actually be? No.

We keep our hearts from being troubled by dwelling upon the promises of God.

Practically, what does this look like? It looks like this. Daily speaking the promises of God to our hearts. Promises that our head probably already knows but our heart so easily forgets! And the promise we need must daily remember is this: glory is coming!

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV

Whether our jar of clay body breaks or not, the same result is coming for all who trust in Christ, and that’s an eternal glory beyond our wildest imaginations!

Also, in 1 Corinthians 15:52 Paul writes this:

in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.

1 Corinthians 15:52 ESV

The reality is, when we become unthankful, we forget this wonderful truth. And so what’s the solution for worry, anxiety, and unthankfulness? The solution is with eyes of faith, setting our gaze upon the unseen riches & glory that are coming! Riches and glory that come to us, because Christ Jesus was willing to set aside His riches and glory, so that He could die for clay pots, in order to bring us His Glory. And to the degree that you remember that, is the degree by which you’ll be able to look any chips or cracks that occur in our clay pot lives, and rejoice with both thankfulness and praise to our Savior who died for us so that we might one day rise in Glory, just as He did.

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” -

1 Corinthians 2:9 ESV

This is the manuscript the sermon was preached from, so the recording may differ in places.