THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP - How We Should Then Live - "With A Thankful Heart" (Part 3)

“Be thankful in all things, for this is the will of God for you who are in Christ Jesus.” (I Thess.5:18) “At all times, and for everything give thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.” (Eph.5:20) Thanksgiving is coming in two weeks. I have already done some baking and put it all in the freezer so I won’t have so much to do at the last minute. We should be thankful every day for all God’s benefits; I will mention a few. Today I am thankful for many things we take for granted like: electricity which runs my freezer; it runs my fridge, lights, heater, hot water heater, etc. I am thankful for my warm, safe and beautiful home the Lord has given us. I thank God for my husband of 56 years; for our three children, seven grand children and ten great-grand children – we are blessed! God loves a grateful heart! I am thankful for the beauty of the season – the yellows, golds, reds, rusts and greens mixed in are spectacular! I am very thankful I have my eyesight to enjoy all of God’s creation, even the armadillos who bore holes in our lawn and flower beds, and the raccoons who crawl up the post of the “squirrel-proof” bird feeder to steal the seeds. We enjoy seeing the grey and red fox as they come out of the back woods and cross our property, walking so arrogantly and determinedly toward their focused destination; and the deer who are so prolific. This time of year is the “rutting” season so we have been able to enjoy watching the big racked bucks as they “hang around” the does. How we enjoy watching all the wildlife in the water with their created uniqueness and purpose – the wood ducks, the diving ducks, the turtles who line the bank on sunny days, the jumping fish and even rare sightings of beavers. We enjoy watching the hawks that come to sit on an old “snag” down by the water to watch for fish they can quickly swoop down to catch for their meal. I am very thankful for all my senses to enjoy God’s wonders! I am thankful for my good health. I am thankful for the country in which I live where I am not persecuted or tortured for my faith; for freedom to worship my God as I choose; for freedom for opportunity to follow my dreams; for freedom to choose my doctor, my school, my church, etc. Most of all I am thankful for God’s love for me and His plan of salvation and all the package of benefits that comes with becoming a child of God. I hope you know who you are in Christ and what your inheritance is. You are a child of God because you “know” Him. Most inheritances come into effect after the death of the benefactor. God’s inheritance can be enjoyed, even though the Benefactor (Jesus, our Savior) died on the cross, He rose from the grave and is now alive, and is sitting on the right hand of the Father. The greatest gift of inheritance for which to be thankful is that we who have been born-again into God’s family receive is the gift of the His Spirit, and He brings all the treasures of our inheritance with Him. The Holy Spirit is forever with us and within us to empower, comfort, guide, teach, and protect us from Satan’s tactics to steal from us, to kill us (if he could), and destroy us. How thankful I am for the Holy Spirit Who lives forever within me! If you don’t recognize your full inheritance in Him, I will name some of your other treasures by virtue of simply being born into the family of God. Because of the abundant grace in which we can firmly and safely stand, we have inherited joyful and confident hope – hope of eternal salvation which will never disappoint, because His love is poured out in our hearts (Rom.5:2-5). Because He has chosen to make us His child (His choice) (I Jn.5:1), we have hope because He has become our heavenly Father to live with Him in heaven some day. Part of our inheritance is that “place” in heaven Jesus is preparing for us (Matt.25:34; Jn.14:2). What a wonderful treasure we have in Jesus Who has become our friend (Jn.15:14); and the Holy Spirit is our Helper (Heb.4:16). He will help us to grow in our faith and go on to stronger maturity (Heb.12:2). We can be thankful and rejoice greatly because we have been reconciled to the Father (Rom.5:1-11). Because of our sin we were once estranged from God, but since Jesus paid the price for our reconciliation, through His death and resurrection, and our sins are forgiven, we now can have fellowship (I Jn.1:3-7) with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit! This fellowship is with the God of the universe – doesn’t that blow your mind?! In fact, He invites us to come boldly right into His presence to receive His mercy and grace (Heb.4:16). These are both inherited gifts also. Grace is “God’s gift to us that we do not deserve” (Eph.2:8-9). Mercy is “God’s restrained justice that we do deserve” (Rom.9:22-23). I am thankful for God’s reconciliation, fellowship, mercy and grace. Jesus came to give us His peace (Jn.14:27). Peace is the absence of fear, worry, anxiety and emotional turmoil (II Tim.1:7). Depression is a big “enemy” to a growing number of people. We all have struggled with it at some time or another, and there are those who are clinically depressed. But in Jesus there is hope for victory over depression. Jesus is Jehovah-Shalom, the “Prince of Peace” (Isa.9:6). If we trust Jesus we can have “perfect peace” (Isa.26:3). If we keep our minds off of what others think and try to please only God we can have peace. What a wonderful gift from God’s inheritance basket. Our world may be in great turmoil; the stock markets may be falling; jobs may be vanishing; our health may be failing; our family may be falling apart; our children may be in trouble; our church may be cold and indifferent; but if we stay focused on the Word of God, and His promises to remain with us, provide for us and keep us, rather than spending our time watching the fear-mongering news broadcasts and listening to the negative nay-sayers of what is going to happen tomorrow, we can have this perfect peace by keeping our minds “stayed”on God. We must keep our minds on His Word that tells us of His love for us – to keep us, protect us and provide for us in every way, spirit, soul and body. If we take this anecdote for fear and worry, then Isaiah 26:3-4 promises us “perfect” peace because He is our Everlasting Rock. I am so thankful for God’s perfect peace. Another gift from our inheritance for which to be thankful is the fact that “He leads us in triumph in all things” (II Cor. 2:14). We have no worth, no abilities, and no goodness on our own. But God blesses us with inadequacies so we may show His strength through our weaknesses; His strength is made perfect in our weakness. (II Cor.3:5-6; 12:9). As Charles Stanley teaches, “Our inadequacy forces us to live our weak lives in the power of the Holy Spirit. Awareness of our limitations can relieve us of the burden of trying to do God’s will in our own strength. Without the Holy Spirit, we will be crushed by weights we cannot carry. Such awareness “frees” the Lord to use us to the maximum of our potential. When we are lowly (humble) enough to feel our need, then God will raise us to great heights. Acknowledging our shortcomings allows God to get all the glory for His work. Inadequacy can enable us to live in contentment and quietness of spirit. Either we will give God our burdens and cease striving, or we will proceed in our own strength and become overwhelmed. We should not claim competence in ourselves but rather acknowledge that our adequacy is from God” (II Cor.3:5). Thank You, God, for causing us to Triumph in all things. A treasure we may not have considered is what we think of as “our influence.” Do you want to be a strong influence in someone’s life – a child, spouse or a friend? God even uses our weaknesses to make us a strong influence. How can that be? I Cor.1:25:31 answers that question – “God has chosen the weak and foolish things of this world to shame the strong and wise.” Look at how this truth proves true in the stories in the Bible of Rahab, the harlot, and she became an ancestor of the Messiah. An infertile woman named Hannah cried out to God about her inadequacy and she becomes the mother of Samuel the prophet. Ruth, who was an alien and a Gentile, became the great-grandmother of King David. Abram trusted God, leaves his native land and people behind and becomes the Father of all who believe. Then there is Mary, the unclean woman, who poured expensive perfume on Jesus’ head and gains for herself an eternal monument in Biblical history. To encourage you when you have feelings of insignificance, just remember all those in Jesus’ genealogy. Some were righteous, some not, some were Jewish and some Gentile; one was from an enemy country; one was an adulterer; one a murderer; and one was even a prostitute from an enemy nation. But God made all of them to be influential in His plan for the lineage of Jesus, His Son. Don’t be deceived by outward appearance by those who may appear to be strong influential people in this world. The ones who make the real impact are those who recognize their inadequacies. They trust God completely for His adequacy and have proven themselves to be “blameless and innocent children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom they appear as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15. You may not think that your light is very bright by this world’s standards, but when the Lord calls you a luminary, you can agree with Him and keep on shining (Charles Stanley). If we just love and trust Him, Jesus will lead us to triumph in all things, even in our small influence to make a difference in someone’s life. God can use “anyone” to accomplish His perfect will. We are all “called” to be a godly influence in our world. “Thank You, Jesus, that we don’t have to be exceptionally smart, attractive or gifted. If we just love and trust You, You will cause us to be a godly influence in someone’s, life. Thank You, Jesus, for even our small influence, and may all who come behind us find us faithful. I am forever thankful for the Bible – The Truth - God’s Word, and though heaven and earth may pass away His Word is everlasting. The Father has given us His Word and all of His precious Promises from the Word as part of our inheritance. “God is not like man that He should lie. Has He said and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken and shall He not make it good” (Num.23:19). We can trust His every word explicitly, without fear of His failing or disappointing us. Heb.6:18 tells us that “there are two things that are unchangeable - His promise and His oath and it is impossible for Him to lie or deceive when He promises something or takes an oath He will perform it.” Titus 1:2. He is“the ever truthful God.” Jehovah God is a god of integrity, He is “the Truth.” There is a popular saying, “If God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.” There’s no debating God’s Word. Even the most trustworthy man will fail to be completely truthful at some time, but “Jesus never fails.” What a rare jewel that God has given us – His Precious Promises – and they will not fail. There are so many more gifts of our inheritance in Christ, but the last I would like to mention at this setting, is the gift of our citizenship in heaven. I read a story from one of my devotional books about a family who came to the U.S., from India in 2006. After the required five years they inquired about U.S. citizenship. They learned they had to pay fees to cover the cost of fingerprints taken and to have an interview to answer 100 questions. It was difficult for them to prepare for the interview because they had no spare time since they worked full-time jobs, taking care of everything just to live and function in this society; and reading and meditating on God’s Word. By their own testimonies it was only by God’s grace they obtained citizenship. This story demonstrates the vast difference between receiving an earthly country’s citizenship and that eternal citizenship in heaven given freely by the love, grace and mercy of God Who gives to all Who trust in Him, and eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come to take us HOME. To be a citizen of heaven a person need only accept Jesus’ invitation – to be born again by repentance and confession of his sins. Thank You, Jesus for providing our heavenly citizenship, and it is never too late to prepare for citizenship in heaven – “Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation” (II Cor.6:2). Thank You, Jesus, for our citizenship in heaven. Thank You, Father, for making me Your child and for all Your gifts of inheritance: 1) Redemption and forgiveness through the blood of Christ (Rom.3:24) and because we have been redeemed and forgiven we have: 2) Deliverance from the power of sin (Rom.1:16) 3) Grace and mercy extended to us abundantly (Rom.3:24) 4) His wisdom and understanding of the Truth, and to know the mystery of His will, if we ask in faith believing we receive, and all of His precious promises - all we find in His Word (Jas.1:5-8; Eph.1:9) 5) The indwelling Holy Spirit (another Comforter) (John 14:26) 6) Eternal Salvation (John 3:16) 7) Mercy, Grace, Reconciliation, Fellowship (Romans 5:1-11) 8) Hope (Romans 5:2-5) 9) Peace of God (John 14:27) 10) Triumphant in all things (II Cor.2:14) 11) Strong influence in this life (our witness) (Phil.2:15) 12) Our heavenly citizenship (Eph. 2:19) Because of who we are in Christ – “a child of God,” these are our benefits – our inheritance! Thank You, Jesus!! “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is deepest within me bless His Holy Name”!! (Ps.103:1)