Keys To A Thankful Heart

 

KEYS TO A THANKFUL HEART

Steve W. Reeves

steve@wschurch.net

stevereevesoutlines.blogspot.com

 

INTRODUCTION:
A. How many of you are ready to see the year 2020 come to an end?
    1. COVID 19 has affected all of us. It has affected everything from how we do school,
        how we assemble for worship and how we shop. It has affected people at the local,
        state, national and international levels.
    2. 2020 has been a contentious year politically. We have seen Civil unrest and a
        brutal presidential campaign.
    3. It is fair to say that not many people will be looking in the rearview mirror as we
        drive into the new year.
B. Are you finding it difficult to be thankful as Thanksgiving approaches?
    1. The apostle Paul lived through situations that were far more serious than ours.
        Through all of them he maintained a thankful heart.
    2. Giving thanks is a common thread in Paul’s letters.
        a. In Ephesians 5:20 he wrote, “Always giving thanks for all things in the name of
            our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father.”
        b. I find special comfort in Paul’s words in Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious
            about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let
            your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses
            all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
        c. To the Colossians he wrote, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in
            the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”
        d. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 he summed it up by writing, “In everything give thanks;
            for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”
C. Neil Strait said, “He who forgets the language of gratitude can never be on speaking
    terms with happiness.” A thankful heart does not depend on outward circumstances.
    Thankfulness is a mindset, a state of the heart and a pre-determined outlook on life. 
D. By investigating Paul’s life we can discover three keys to a thankful heart.
 
I. THANKFUL FOR PEOPLE
    A. A common trait in all of Paul’s letters is mentioning individuals who had special
        meaning to him.    
        1. Sometimes this was done in a generic sense.
            a. Ephesians 1:16, “Do not cease giving thanks for you while mentioning you in
                my prayers.”
            b. Philippians 1:3 – “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.”
            c. Colossians 1:3 - “We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
                praying always for you.”      
        2. On other occasions Paul mentioned specific individuals by name.
            a. The most prominent example of this is in Romans 16. This chapter is not
                deep in theology. Rather, it is about relationships. In this chapter Paul
                specifically mentions by name 24 people who were precious to him.
            b. In Philippians 2 he expressed appreciation for two men who had been
                important to him: Timothy (vss. 20-24) and Epaphroditus (vss. 25-29).
    B. May I encourage you to look for tangible ways to express thanks to people? One
        morning recently when my wife arrived at school she found a small white bag with
        a thank you card attached taped to her door. The card was from another teacher
        thanking her for the love she shows to her students. In the bag were six “donut
        holes.” How special was that?
        1. There are so many people who perform tasks for which they never receive
            thanks. When I preached at Newport I was talking to one of our deacons who
            was in charge of the building. As he changed filters in the furnaces he said,
            “You know preacher, it takes a lot of behind the scenes work to have church.”
        2. I would like to challenge you with a thirty-nine-day challenge. Each day until
            December 31, I challenge you to think of one person who works “behind the
            scenes.” It could be someone in a restaurant, someone at school, someone who
            works for the power company, someone who delivers your mail, someone who
            works in your doctor’s office or in the hospital. Take a moment to send them a
            text, make a phone call, write an email or send them a card. It doesn’t have to    
            be long. It will make a difference in their life – and in yours.
                
II THANKFUL FOR PROBLEMS
    A. If you think you have to have a problem free life in order to be thankful, think
        again! A man was asked to give his first public speech. He arose and said, “My
        subject is problems. You have ‘em. I have ‘em. Adam had ‘em.”
    B. Paul encountered difficulty every step of his way.
        1. In Acts 14 during his first missionary journey Paul was stoned and left for dead.
        2. In Acts 16 in Philippi he and Silas were arrested and imprisoned.
        3. In the opening verses of Acts 17 he had to secretly escape from Thessalonica
            because of opposition from the Jews.
        4. In Acts 19 he was accused of inciting a riot in Ephesus.
        5. He was accused of inciting a riot in Jerusalem and put on trial, ultimately
            appealing his case to Caesar. On his way to Rome he was shipwrecked.
        6. In the clearest autobiographical sketch we have of Paul he wrote in 2
            Corinthians11:24-28, “ Five times I received from the Jews thirty-  
            nine lashes. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three
            times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent adrift at sea. ²⁶ I have
            been on frequent journeys, dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers
            from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in
            the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers; ²⁷ I have
            been in labor and  hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst,
            often without food, in cold and exposure. ²⁸ Apart from such external things,
            there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.”
    C. Not only did Paul view his problems with thankfulness, he saw beyond them to
        greater opportunity. In Philippians 1:12-18, he wrote about his imprisonment in
        Rome and said that his chains had actually worked out for good because the
        gospel was preached to the whole palace guard.
    D. A five-year old boy was diagnosed with very poor vision and prescribed glasses
        with thick, cumbersome lenses. His mother, concerned about what other children
        might say, asked him how his first day at kindergarten went with the new glasses.
        “Great,” he said! “Now the boys won’t hit me and the girls won’t kiss me.” In every
        difficulty there is always an opportunity.
 
III. THANKFUL FOR PROMISES
    A. Nearing the end of his earthly life Paul knew his time was short. Unlike his
        previous imprisonment during which the letters of Ephesians, Philippians,
        Colossians and Philemon had been written, this imprisonment was not “house
        arrest.” Persecution of Christians in Rome was now intense and harsh. Paul spent
        his final days in a dark, dreary, desolate cell. Yet, in his final letter there is no hint
        of gloom or grumbling.
        1. Rather, there was a renewed sense of expectation. Earlier in Philippians 1:21
            Paul stated, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
        2. Now, notice his departing words from 2 Timothy 4:6-8, “For I am already
            being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. ⁷ I
            have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; ⁸ in
            the future there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
            the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also
            to all who have loved His appearing.”
    B. Poem: “God Has Not Promised.”
 
God has not promised skies always blue. Flower strewn pathways all our lives through.   
 God has not promised sun without rain. Joy without sorrow peace without pain. But God has promised strength for the day. Rest from the labor, light for the way. Grace for the trials, help from above. Unfailing mercy, undying love.”
 
CONCLUSION:
A. The year was about 1991 or 1992. It had been a few years since the collapse of the
     Soviet Union and the lifting of the iron curtain across eastern Europe. Tami and I
    along with our four children were at her aunt and uncle’s house in North Carolina
    along with a large number of family members. Tami’s uncle, Don, served for several
    years as a member of the North Carolina legislature. That particular year a group of
    Russians had come to the United States on an international exchange program and
    one of these couples were special guests at our Thanksgiving meal. They spoke very
    little English and none of us were fluent in Russian so communication was
    difficult. After the food had been placed on the buffet line with various salads, meats,
    vegetables, breads, and a separate table for desserts the family gathered as Uncle
    Don led the prayer. Suddenly, the Russian woman left the room in tears with her
    husband following her. What had happened? Had we offended them? Was she ill? It
    was none of those. She was overwhelmed. She told Tami’s aunt , “We have never
    seen so much food in one place.”
B. Before you begin to moan about hardships like a lack of paper goods in the store or
    the requirement to wear a mask or do something that is different from your normal
    routine I hope you will consider how very small our inconveniences are – even during
    this time – and turn the keys to a thankful heart.
 
 
 
           

what Does Jesus Say About Marriage?

 

“What Does Jesus Say About Marriage?”

Steve W. Reeves

steve@wschurch.net

stevereevesoutlines.blogspot.com

INTRODUCTION:

A. The teaching of Jesus challenged the status quo of His day. He challenged religious

    leaders. He challenged long-held traditions. He challenged popular thought. He never

    backed down from telling the truth. Today, the teaching of Jesus continues to

    challenge us. Nowhere is this seen more readily than in what Jesus says about

    marriage.

B. There is a proliferation of ideas today about marriage.

    1. In 2015 the United States Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges, ruled in

        favor of same-sex couples having a constitutional right to marry citing the 14th

        Amendment.

    2. Earlier, in 2013 the court struck down the Defense of Marriage act passed by

        congress and signed into law by President Clinton in 1996 which had specified that

        marriage was between a man and a woman.

    3. What we would call “traditional” marriage has been under attack for decades

        through rising divorce rates and a dramatic increase in couples choosing to live

        together without being legally married. According to a report by on CNN on April 4,

        2013 between 2006 and 2010, 48% of women between the ages of 15 and 44

        moved in for the first time with a man to whom they weren't married, according to a

        report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National

        Center for Health Statistics.

    4. Everyone has an idea about marriage.

        a  J. Paul Getty – “would give my entire fortune for a happy marriage.”

        b. When the actress Gwenneth Paltrow divorced her husband Chris Martin several

            years ago, she did not refer to it as a divorce but as a “conscious uncoupling.”

        c. In our county more people take their cues on marriage from Dr. Phil  than they

            do the Lord Jesus Christ.

C. Jesus recognized the importance of marriage.

    1. His first miracle was performed at a marriage feast (John 2).

    2. Revelation19 pictures Jesus as a bridegroom and the church as his bride.

    3. Thus, we need to ask, “What does Jesus say about marriage?”

 

I. THE PLAN FOR MARRIAGE

    A. According to Jennifer Baker of the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in

           Springfield, Missouri, 50% percent of first marriages, 67% of second, and 74% of

           third marriages end in divorce.

    B. Like us, Jesus lived in a time when marriage was under siege.

        1. There had been no divorces recorded in the Roman Empire during its first 520

            years. The first record of divorce in the Roman Empire was in 234 B.C. By the first

            century, however, divorce was rampant. Seneca wrote, “Women are married to  

            be divorced and divorced to be married.”  He said that women would refer to time

            not by the date of the year but by the husband to whom they were married.

            Juvenile wrote of a woman who had been married eight times in a five-year span.

        2. Among the Jews there was controversy about the reasons a man could divorce

            his wife. Two prominent Rabbis had vastly different opinions about the

            interpretation of Deuteronomy 24 where Moses spoke of giving a wife a bill of

            divorcement if he found disfavor with her.  

    C. Whenever Jesus addressed the subject of marriage He referred to God’s intent.

        1. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:31-32), Jesus said, “Now it was said,  

            ‘Whoever sends his wife away is to give her a certificate of divorce’; ³² but I say

            to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual

            immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman

            commits adultery.” (cf. Mark 10:11-12; Luke 16:18).

        2. Why would Jesus make such a statement? The answer is found in Matthew 19.

            a. Beginning in verse 3 some Pharisees came to Jesus testing Him by asking, “Is

                it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?” They knew the

                controversy surrounding this question. What would Jesus say?

            b. Jesus went back to God’s original plan. In verses 4-6 He said, “Have you not

                read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and

                female, ⁵ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother

                and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶ So they are

                no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no

                person is to separate.”

    D. What did Jesus say about God’s plan for marriage?

        1. It is God’s idea.

            a. Notice two words in verse 4. “made” and “said.” God made them male and

                female and said…

            b. Marriage is so much more than a civil legality. It is a covenant ordained by

                Almighty God.  

         2. It is for a man and a woman.

            a. Jesus recognized God’s design found in Genesis 1:27- 28, “So God created

                man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female

                He created them. ²⁸ God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and

                multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and

                over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

            b. You do not have to have an advanced course in anatomy and physiology to

                understand that the multiplying and filling the earth requires male and female.

            c. When Paul wrote to the church in Rome he described the spiritual and moral

                condition of pagans. Romans 1:26-27 says, “ For this reason God gave them

                over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged natural relations for

                that which is contrary to nature, ²⁷ and likewise the men, too, abandoned natural

                relations with women and burned in their desire toward one another, males with

                males committing shameful acts and receiving in their own persons the due

                penalty of their error.”

            d. Suppose a group of people got together and protested the laws of physics.

                Maybe they were tired of being bound to earth by gravity and wanted to float

                around freely. They might hold rallies. They might scoff at those who believe in

                the law of gravity. They might even get congress to pass a bill saying, “we

                outlaw gravity.” Everyone should be free to decide if they want to walk or float.

                You and I know how foolish this would be. It is no less foolish to think you can

                change God’s plan for marriage than you can the laws of physics.

        3. It is for keeps.

            a. Neale Pryor told the story about himself as a boy. He and a friend were playing

                marbles and the friend said, “Let’s play for keeps.” Neale said, “I didn’t know

                what that meant but said ‘okay.’” When the game was over Neale had lost and

                the boy took all the marbles. He said, “That’s when I learned what “keeps”

                meant. He also said it was the first time he lost all of his marbles.

            b. Jesus said, “Therefore, what God has joined together no person is to separate.”

 

II. THE PURPOSE FOR MARRIAGE

    A. Jesus recognized that marriage was the first human relationship ever created.

        Because of this it is the foundation of society. There is nothing glamourous or glitzy

        about foundations. When you build a house, you do not go to a building supply and

        spend hours looking at samples of foundation material. You never hear anyone

        compliment the digging of a footing or the pouring of concrete. Most people never

        give any thought to the foundation of their house - unless something goes wrong in

        which case the entire structure is affected.

        1. When families are torn apart it brings personal and societal pain.

        2. When marriage is destroyed it weakens emotional roots. The giant redwood trees

            in California are supported by intertwined roots. When you weaken the roots, the

            trees are susceptible to falling.

    B. How much time and effort do we put into strengthening marriages?

        1. When Prince William and Kate Middleton married it cost 40 million dollars. I am

            amazed at how much we put into weddings but invest nothing in preparation for

            and strengthening of marriage.       

        2. If you choose to marry it will be the biggest investment you will ever make in your

            life. It will have a greater impact on the quality of your life than anything you do.

    C. The apostle Paul wrote that the relationship between Christ and the church provides

         the standard for the relationship between husbands and wives. In Ephesians 5:22-

         25 he wrote, “Wives, subject yourselves to your own husbands, as to the

         Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the

         church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. ²⁴ But as the church is subject to

         Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. ²⁵ Husbands,

         love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.”

     D. According to Jesus, marriage, like everything else in your life, should seek first the

         kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). Your marriage is not for your personal sensual

         gratification. It is not for excitement and pizzazz (although these things are not

         wrong). First and foremost, it is to glorify God and to help the person to whom you

         are married to go to heaven.

       1. When the nation of Israel was preparing to enter Canaan, God gave them specific

            instructions about not marrying the people of the land. Why? They were pagans

            who would turn the hearts of the people away from God.

        2. What happened when Solomon married foreign women in 1 Kings 11? They

            turned his heart away from God resulting in Israel being torn apart.  

        3. In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul answered several questions the Corinthians had about

            marriage. His answer was, “your marriage is to honor God.”

            a. Concerning widows he said they had the right to remarry but only “in the Lord”

                (vs.39). 

            b. In 1 Corinthians 9:5, Paul said he had a right to marry “a sister” (believer).

            c. In 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 Paul wrote, “Do not be mismatched with unbelievers;

                for what do righteousness and lawlessness share together, or what does light

                have in common with darkness? ¹⁵ Or what harmony does Christ have

                with Belial, or what does a believer share with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ Or what

                agreement does the temple of God have with idols?”

                1.) I was preaching in a meeting in Oklahoma and mentioned this verse. An

                     older gentleman came to me after the sermon and said, “I am glad my wife

                     didn’t hear you before she married me. I wasn’t a Christian but she

                     converted me.” I am thankful she did.

                2.) Jimmy Allen once said that in his experience, for every instance in which

                     the believer converted the non-believer, he could name four where they did

                     not and a substantial number in which the Christian became unfaithful.

                3.) Note: At this point I might add that for those married to non-believers the

                     greatest testimony you can offer to your spouse is that of your personal

                     faithfulness to Christ.

   

III. THE PERMANENCE

    A. In each of the passages we have considered from the gospels, Jesus said the same

        thing about the permanence of the marriage relationship. He said that the only

        permissible reason a person might be divorced and remarried is the sexual infidelity. 

        1. The word Jesus used in Matthew 19:9 is “porneia” meaning “sexual immorality.”

        2. Jesus recognized the trust and intim `ate bond of the sexual union in the

            marriage of a husband and wife. He understood the seriousness of breaking that

            trust.       

    B. When you say “I do” you are making a life-long commitment. A marriage license is

        not like a driver’s license, a hunting license or a fishing license that must occasionally

        be renewed. It is a lifelong commitment. Do not say “I do” without understanding the

        weight of your words.  

 

CONCLUSION:

A. I began my first full time preaching ministry when I was twenty-one years old and had

    been married for five months. In the interview I was asked only two questions. “How

    much money do you need,” and “What is your view on marriage, divorce and

    remarriage?” In answer to the first question I said, “whatever you give me,” and in

    answer to the second I said, “I believe what Jesus said.” They hired me.

    1. Forty years have come and gone.

    2. If I were asked those same questions today I would respond in the same way,

        particularly to the second. “I believe what Jesus said about marriage, divorce and

        remarriage.”

        a. I am not interested in finding a loop-hole or seeking to water-down the seriousness

            of the Lord’s teaching.

        b. Another thing these forty years have taught me is to have great appreciation for

            God’s grace and forgiveness regardless of our past if we are willing to repent and

           come to Him.

B. Will you listen to what Jesus says about marriage? Will you put Him first in your

    marriage? For you who are contemplating marriage will you make a commitment that  

    your marriage will be based upon the Word of God?      

C. Come to Christ today!