Practice extravagant obedience to show your thankfulness.
2 Chronicles 4-5, 7
4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the Lord. 5 King Solomon offered as a sacrifice 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. . . 7 And Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord, for there he offered the burnt offering and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar Solomon had made could not hold the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat.
Offerings were not unusual to the people of Israel. Throughout their wilderness wanderings and their initial years in the land, the people of Israel already knew of the different kinds of sacrifices and offerings that God required. So when we see offerings being made by Solomon and those under his leadership, what we see is the people of God responding to the revelation of God with obedience to God.
But the obedience that you see here is not some sort of drudgery. There is no sense of an unpleasant duty that nobody really wanted to perform. There is a clear delight that Solomon and the people have in obeying God. How do we know that? We know that there is delight here because the obedience is so extravagant, so rich, so giving.
“King Solomon offered as a sacrifice 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep” (v5a). This was not your average, everyday, ordinary sacrifice. This is sacrifice to the max. This is Solomon thinking, not how little can I give to God, but how much can I offer. What can I give that will really show the world that God is important to me. It is Solomon saying, “I want to obey God so much that everybody around me will grasp that God is super significant.”
These people went so far in their sacrificing that they had to set aside extra room in order to be able to accommodate the offerings. Solomon ordered so many animals sacrificed as a gift to God that there was no way that they could all be sacrificed on the one altar. This was a big-time offering that the king made.
And let’s be sure that we do not miss the point. Every day, you are supposed to obey God. How will you do it? Specifically, how will you obey God as this Thanksgiving holiday approaches? Will you begrudgingly drag yourself out of bed and read a couple of verses so that you can say you did your duty? That doesn’t really honor God. Will you give your offering in such a way that your face will show that you really wish you could keep that money for something else? That doesn’t honor God. No, what honors God is when we obey him, but not just a little bit. It honors God when we obey him extravagantly.
Right now, think of something you know that you are supposed to be doing in obedience to God: giving thanks, sharing Jesus, loving your spouse, studying his word, singing his praises, giving to support ministry, praying, forgiving others, etc. Plan to obey God, but not just a little bit. If you glimpse God’s glory and remember his greatness, you will want to obey him more than just a little. How can you obey with extravagance? Pray and ask God, “Lord, help me to do what I should, but to do it with joy and to do it to the extreme.” Obey with extravagance as part of giving thanks.
Express Genuine Worship as Part of Thanksgiving (2 Chronicles 7:3)
2 Chronicles 7:3
When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”
At the Temple’s dedication, the people did exactly what they should have done in their setting. When they saw the glory of God, when they saw the fire fall from the sky, they all hit the deck. They bowed down with their faces to the ground. They worshipped god. They declared that God is good and that God’s love endures forever. They remembered who God is, and they lowered themselves in his presence to display that he is higher and greater than them.
True worship involves us performing reverential acts. True worship involves us showing that God is our King and that we are submitted to him. True worship involves us bowing down and showing that he is greater than us. True worship involves us declaring God’s character for others to hear. True worship involves us doing what God has called us to do in his word in order to show that he is our king and we are his followers. True worship is what the people did in this passage, and it is what we need to do if we are going to be rightly thankful to God.
As this Thanksgiving approaches, do not neglect worship. It is easy to get caught up in the preparation of all the food and getting ready for the Christmas shopping. But make sure that you take time to worship your God. Seek his glory. When God reveals his glory to you either in his word, in nature, in your memory, in a sermon, or wherever, right there, bow your heart before God and declare him to be worthy. Honor him. Focus on him. Declare his praise. Worship God. Express genuine worship as part of thanksgiving.
Seek God’s Glory to Give Thanks (2 Chronicles 7:1-2)
2 Chronicles 7:1-2
1 As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2 And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house.
When Solomon finished praying at the temple’s dedication, God did something amazing. God sent fire down from heaven and totally consumed the burnt offerings and sacrifices.
Right now, stop and make sure that you are picturing this. If you’ve ever seen a ceremony for the opening or dedication of a new building, I guarantee you that this is different. Instead of having a few photographers from a local paper, a ribbon, an over-sized pair of scissors, and a smiling person who wants to be seen as important making a speech, all we have here is the king praying and then, bam! Fire falls from heaven. The sacrificial animals that were on the altar are totally consumed in an instant.
And if the fire from the sky is not enough, the glory of God fills the temple. This brilliant, bright, glorious cloud covers everything. This picture has been seen in Israel before at the dedication of the tabernacle in the wilderness. And this picture serves to tell the Israelites that God is present and that he is setting apart the temple as special, a sanctuary.
The priests, the men whose job it was to work inside the temple making sacrifices and caring for the items in the temple, were unable to enter the temple. God’s glory was there. They knew that to walk into such holiness would be deadly. So, until the cloud went away, the priests had to do what the crowd did; they had to stand back and simply marvel at the presence of the glory of God.
Looking at what happened right here, we have our first lesson for thanksgiving. If you really want to be thankful as God wants you to be thankful, you must first be captivated by a picture of the glory of God. God has designed us all with a hunger to see and to be inspired by things that are amazing, that are beautiful, that are bigger than we are. The greatest thing we can ever imagine is the glorious presence of God. So, if you want to be truly thankful, you need to first seek a glimpse of the glory of God.
So, what should you do. Let me suggest a couple of ideas. If you want to see the glory of God, the first and best place you can look is the word of God. Our Lord has revealed his glory to us in the Bible. The Bible is where we look to hear the account of fire consuming offerings on the altar and the glory of God filling the temple. The Bible is where we look to learn about the waters of the Red Sea sliding apart, about entire armies being put to flight before tiny groups of men, about giants falling before teenagers, about the dead being raised to life, about the son standing still in the sky, and about so much more. The word of God shows us the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and all of the glory of God dwelling in bodily form. So, if you want to glimpse God’s glory before giving thanks, start with the Scripture.
But you can look other places to glimpse God’s glory.
Psalm 19:1
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
God’s glory is seen in his creation.
We can also see God’s glory as we look back over our lives and remember the things that God has done for us in the past. Perhaps we can learn more about God’s glory as we talk to one another about the things that God has done in our lives.
And let me suggest that, if you want to see the glory of God, you pray that God show you his glory. God loves his children. He will answer your prayer to see him at his best. He will allow you to glimpse his majesty if you are genuinely wanting to know him more. He stands at the door of your heart and knocks as Revelation 3:20 says, and he is anxious to come in and fellowship with you. So, if you want to sense more of God’s glory, ask God to help you to see his glory. Before giving thanks, seek the glory of God.
Antichrist (1 John 4:2-3)
1 John 4:2-3
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
We live in a world in which religious tolerance is at a premium. Why can’t we all just get along? Why can’t we see that we all worship the same God? The answer to that last question is easy: We don’t worship the same God. We can’t get along because, fundamentally, people of differing world religions disagree about the central point of who God is.
John, in writing 1 John, did not have a problem spelling out the reason for the trouble and conflict between different religions. It came down to one simple question. Do those who believe a certain religion acknowledge Jesus? This, of course, is more than saying that a man named Jesus lived years ago. The question was a question of the nature of Jesus. Do you recognize Jesus as fully God and fully man? If you deny both the deity and humanity of Jesus, you cannot be Christian.
IN fact, look at John’s words. When speaking of those who deny the fundamental nature of Jesus, John speaks pretty harshly. Those who deny that Jesus has come in the flesh are antichrist. To miss the identity of Jesus is to miss God. To lower Jesus to mere humanity is to blaspheme God. To miss the fact that Jesus did become human is to deny key elements of the atoning work of Jesus. Simply put, if you want your religion to be the religion of God, you had better get the person of Christ right
There are lots of ways in which people in the world ought to be tolerant. We should be kind to those who see the world differently than we do. However, if someone denies the identity of Jesus, we cannot call them in any way people of God. God’s word says that to deny Jesus is antichrist, and that is a very serious thing.
Faith, Action, Reward (John 11:39-40)
John 11:39-40
39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”
When Jesus gives the command to remove the stone from the entrance of the tomb, Martha is aghast. Thinking that Jesus just wants a look at her brother’s body, Martha moves to stop Jesus from opening the tomb. She knows it has been four days. She believes that Lazarus’ body will be in a state of decay. Simply put, she warns Jesus not to open the tomb, because the rotting body will stink.
But Jesus turns to Martha and asks her if she remembers what he has taught her. If she will believe in him, having genuine faith in him, she will see the glory of God. He does not tell her how she will see it. He does not tell her what he is up to. But he does ask her to display genuine, true faith in him in order to see something marvelous.
What will happen if Martha believes in Jesus? Two things will occur. First, if Martha believes in Jesus, she will take action. She will not simply hear Jesus’ words to have the stone removed, she will go along with that command and order those around her to do what Jesus said. This teaches us something: true faith in Jesus always requires action.
Second, if Martha will truly believe in Jesus, she will see the glory of God. If she believes, she will experience the highest of possible human joys. Simply put, true faith in Jesus always reaps a reward.
The same faith that Jesus commands Martha to have is the faith he commands you to have. Do you believe in Jesus? Do you have the kind of faith in Jesus that God commands you to have? If you do, two things will be true. If you really have faith in Jesus, you will take action in your life. You will live differently because of your faith in Jesus. You will desire to know God more. You will study God’s word. You will attend church regularly, joining in worship with joy. You will learn to love others. You will share your faith. You will give of your resources to the ministry of God’s kingdom. You will turn away from sinful activities and thoughts and you will turn to right living and right thinking. If you have genuine faith in Jesus, you will take action based on that faith.
Also, if you have genuine faith in Jesus, you will reap a reward. You, like Martha, will see the glory of God. If you have the kind of faith in Jesus that changes your life and saves your soul, you will experience the highest of possible joys. You will live for the joy of experiencing the glory of God. You will joyfully find that your life exists for God’s glory. You will live to get more and more of the joy of glorifying God. And, when you go to the grave, you will find ultimate fulfillment, eternal life in Jesus Christ.
True faith in Jesus requires action and reaps a reward. Have such faith, and you will live differently and find true joy for your heart.
A Bigger View of Jesus (John 11:23-27)
John 11:23-24
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
Still in the middle of the drama of a dead Lazarus and weeping sisters, Jesus tells Martha very plainly what is about to happen. Jesus came with the plan to raise Lazarus from the grave. But Martha cannot imagine this concept. She knows that Lazarus will rise from the grave at the end of history when God raises all the dead. But she has no category in her mind to think that Jesus could bring Lazarus back right now.
John 11:25-27
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
Now Jesus says something of massive importance. Instead of pointing Martha’s hope to a coming day of resurrection, Jesus gives her a powerful “I am” statement. Jesus tells Martha that he is the resurrection and the life.
Five times now in John’s Gospel, we have seen Jesus say that he is something. He said he is the bread of life in 6:35, the light of the world in 8:12, the door in 10:7, the good shepherd in 10:11, and now the resurrection and the life in 11:25. In each of these statements, Jesus is calling the people to think much bigger about these issues. He does not want the people to look for a handout of bread; Jesus is the bread of life. Don’t just look for light to guide you; Jesus is the light. Don’t just look for a door to heaven; Jesus is the door. Don’t just look for guidance; Jesus is the good shepherd who lays down his life for you. And now, amazingly, don’t just look forward to a day when the dead rise; Jesus is the resurrection. He does not want you to look for something out there to find hope in, he is the one in whom your hope finds its life.
Jesus asks Martha what she believes. Martha declared that she believed that Jesus could do anything he wanted. Yet, she had no category in her mind of him raising the dead. She looked forward to a day of resurrection, but her looking forward to that day made her miss something crucial about the person of Jesus. Jesus is bigger, greater, more glorious than Martha had ever imagined.
Let me ask you, is your picture of Jesus too small? Do you think of him as an important part of your private life, but not someone who changes the very fabric of your being? Do you think of him as a nice story, or do you see Jesus as the one for whom all of the universe exists? I challenge you to ask yourself if your picture of Jesus is too small. If it is, learn to believe that Jesus is more than you have ever imagined.
Sexual Detox – A Review
In his book, Sexual Detox, Tim challies offers simple, biblical counsel for men who are struggling with the tragic impact of pornography on their sexuality. Challies understands the prevalence and the destructiveness of pornography, and he speaks in his book to the hearts of men who need God’s help to again view sex rightly.
Positives
Challies writes in a way that is open and frank without crossing the line into being crude. Often, in a book on this topic, the author, in order to prove he is a real guy with real guy struggles, will share too much with his readers in too descriptive a way. Challies does not fall into this pattern. This is good, as Challies performs the rare feat of talking about issues of lust without stirring up dangerous images in his readers’ minds.
Challies plan of organization in this work is also effective. Before he gets into the nuts and bolts of what men need to do, he spends two chapters helping guys to develop a biblical theology of their sexuality. This is good, as men need to first understand what God has taught on this issue before they can make lasting changes that honor God.
This book is also an extremely easy read. A pastor could give Sexual Detox to a young man who is struggling and not fear that the terminology will be too much. This book could possibly even be used with youth so long as the youth minister or a parent worked with the young men to get through some of the issues in the text.
Negatives
A slight negative that I have regarding this book is that, because of its readily accessible writing style, arguments are not always as thoroughly made as I might prefer. On occasion, Challies will tell us that “This is the reason that…”and I might feel that more reasoning should be given.
Challies also writes much about how men need to rely on others in their local church to help them with their struggle. This is absolutely right advice. However, Challies does not have as much to say to help those men whose local churches may not be ready to help them due to unbiblical leadership, lack of counseling, lack of church discipline, etc.
Recommendation
If you want to read the absolute best book on Christians and dealing with lust, I would recommend Josh Harris’ Sex Isn’t the Problem, Lust Is. However, if you want a very good book that is shorter and a bit more modern, I would certainly highly recommend Challies’ Sexual Detox. This really is good material to help men recognize the destructiveness of pornography and how they can begin to get away from it.
Audio
I listened to this book for free as a part of ChristianAudio.com’s reviewers program. Christian Audio always puts out great-sounding recordings. This book is read by its author. I personally seldom like recordings read by the author. There just seems to be something a little awkward in the delivery. It is as if the author wants to emphasize his thoughts, but is too bound by the text he has to read word-for-word. With that said, Challies’ Canadian accent is fun to listen to. And, if you have a player that will allow you to speed up the rate of the files, you might find this feature helpful to utilize.
How Could This Be God’s Plan? (John 11:11-13)
John 11:11-13
11 After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep.
This, I have to say, is one of my favorite verses in this section simply because I find it so funny. Jesus tells the disciples that Lazarus is asleep, and Jesus is about to go and wake him up. The problem is that Jesus is using a figure of speech, and the disciples don’t get it. Jesus was using a euphemism for saying that Lazarus is dead, but the disciples just don’t follow.
One of the factors as to why the disciples may not have followed Jesus’ meaning could be that they simply do not see how this is possibly God’s plan. How could Jesus be going to Lazarus if he’s dead? That makes no sense. So, it must be that Jesus is talking about sleep. But it’s dangerous to go to Judea, and Lazarus is clearly resting. We shouldn’t go.
People often do not understand what is going on when God works mysteriously through hardship and tragedy. And when you go through a tough time in life, do not find it at all surprising when your friends and loved ones say things to you that show you that they have no actual clue as to the reality of the situation. They may say something that seems to minimize your sorrow. They may say something that shows that they really do not grasp that God is in control. My counsel to you is this: Expect it. Know that people around you will not necessarily understand or trust what God is doing. But you will know. You may not know all the reasons why, but you can know that God is in control, that he will be glorified, and that his glory is your source of joy.
Suffering and Jesus’ Friends (John 11:1-3)
John 11:1-3
1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”
Lazarus is a man that we know almost nothing about. His sisters, Mary and Martha appear in the Gospel According to Luke, and so we know that this family loved Jesus dearly. And, from the words used by the sisters in verse three, it is clear that the family understood quite clearly that Jesus loved them dearly too.
There is, however, a problem. Lazarus is sick. He is very sick. In fact, the sisters fear for his life. So, they send word to Jesus. They do not tell him what to do. They do not try to manipulate him in any way. They simply call to him with the message that Lazarus, their brother and Jesus’ dear friend, is very sick.
There is a lesson to be learned for us as we read this text, even before we see Jesus respond. Many Christian teachers out there would have us believe that, if we are true followers of God, we will be relieved of the burden of suffering in this life. There are many teachers who call us children of the King, and surmise that king’s children always have the best things in life. But these teachers mislead their followers.
Lazarus, Mary, and Martha were dear friends of Jesus. Lazarus was beloved of Jesus. And if the friends of God were to be free from suffering and granted success in all things, there is no question that Lazarus would not be going through what he presently suffers.
Followers of God are by no means exempted from suffering in this life. Honestly, the follower of God is actually open to more suffering, because we go through all the troubles that others in life may have, but we are also open to the persecution of a world that despises God and those who follow him. Both Paul and Jesus promise us hardships in this life, and we dare not assume that the love of God will keep us from suffering hardships.
With that said, I also want to point out that God gives us what we need to survive our hardships. We may suffer, but we suffer not as the world suffers. The world suffers without God and without genuine hope. We suffer, when we suffer, with the presence of God’s Holy Spirit living within us. If we are the members of a local church, when we suffer, we suffer in a community of others who are present to encourage us, to comfort us, and to ease our burdens. No, we do not suffer as the world suffers. But make no mistake, the love of God is not a magic talisman that frees us from the pains of this life.
Suffering Losses (John 9:34-38)
John 9:34-38
34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
Jesus healed a blind man and caused quite a scandal on the Sabbath day. After a fascinating back-and-forth, the Pharisees have had enough. They cast out the healed man. This casting out is a bad thing. They are not just telling him to get out of the room. The Jews are telling the man to get out of the community, out of the synagogue, out of the Jewish social circle. He has been blacklisted.
As soon as he hears about the man’s experience, Jesus goes to the formerly blind man and asks him if he believes in the Son of Man. The formerly blind man, who has been through quite a lot, rightly asks exactly who is the Son of Man. Jesus answers in a clever way, “You have seen him.” You’re looking at him. He’s the guy who healed you. I’m the Son of Man.
In a very real sense, Jesus reveals his identity as the Messiah to this man who has just been kicked out of the religious establishment. It is much like what we saw in…
John 4:25-26
25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
The formerly blind man realizes that he is in the presence of God’s promised king, the Savior himself. So, the man does what is appropriate for anyone who truly understands who Jesus is, he worships Jesus.
Christians, take note of this event and take heart. The man who stood his ground before the skeptics suffered greatly at their hands. They hurt him. Probably he had wanted for all of his life to simply be normal. Likely he had wanted nothing more than to live a life of not begging, of attending worship with everyone else, of experiencing the glories of the temple life. But he lost all those wonderful things because he stood his ground for the truth about Jesus. But Jesus did not leave this man hanging out to dry. Jesus came to him. Jesus revealed himself to him. Jesus brought this man a lasting joy that far surpassed any suffering he would ever go through.
Are you afraid that you will suffer losses for the name of Christ? You very well might. But let me assure you, no one will lose more in this life than Jesus will abundantly repay in eternity.
28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
You may suffer for the gospel, but the suffering will pale in comparison to the glory, the joy, the astounding grace of God that you will experience both in this life and especially in the one to come. You can never suffer so much here on earth to outweigh the glory of heaven.
Pastor Travis Peterson 