Just Plain Thankful!

November 23, 2014

Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church

Sermon Series: The I Am Statements of Jesus

Sermon 8 of Series:

“I Am the Vine”

Thanksgiving Service

Psalm 95:1-6 CEB

Psalm 107:29-32 CEB

John 15:1-8 CEB

Matthew 7:16-20 CEB

“Just Plain Thankful!”

Let us pray…Pray for the Spirit’s leading and that God’s word would be heard…

Good morning. Well here we are…I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is only 4 days away. The time has passed so fast. It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating Easter. Now here we are at the holiday that we give thanks for all that God has done and provided for us. We are at a time when we gather with friends and family to celebrate another year of God’s goodness and mercy.

Over the past couple weeks I have been thinking a lot about how God has provided for me and my family. I have been thinking about how God has been there for me giving me strength and hope. It has been a difficult time with my mom and God has given me so much in order to endure and be that “adult in the room” when I thought that there was no way for me to do that. I am thankful for His mercy and grace. I have hope because through it all Jesus has been with me as I have drawn closer to Him. As long as I have been drawing closer to Him by spending time with Him I have felt ever closer to Him. “For a time such as this” God has prepared me…strengthened me…so that I can be His hands of healing…His feet of purpose…His voice of comfort. As the Psalm that I read this morning resounds…I am just plain thankful that God is the one who is in control and I need not fear…

We, as Christ followers, have a hope and can be thankful that He is always with us. Even in the tough times…those desert times…we can identify with the Psalmist in Psalm 107:29-32:

29 God quieted the storm to a whisper;

    the sea’s waves were hushed.

30 So they rejoiced because the waves had calmed down;

    then God led them to the harbor they were hoping for.

31 Let them thank the Lord for his faithful love

    and his wondrous works for all people.

32 Let them exalt God in the congregation of the people

    and praise God in the assembly of the elders.

So…what happens as we draw closer to Jesus? What are the benefits of staying close to Jesus? Why would we even want to stay close to Jesus? Well…I think one of the benefits of drawing closer to Jesus can be found in His last of the I Am statements in the Gospel of John. Jesus states in John 15:1-8:

15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vineyard keeper. 2 He removes any of my branches that don’t produce fruit, and he trims any branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit. 3 You are already trimmed because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch can’t produce fruit by itself, but must remain in the vine. Likewise, you can’t produce fruit unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, then you will produce much fruit. Without me, you can’t do anything. 6 If you don’t remain in me, you will be like a branch that is thrown out and dries up. Those branches are gathered up, thrown into a fire, and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified when you produce much fruit and in this way prove that you are my disciples.”

We can be thankful that because of Jesus and His words that are spoken in the assembly of God, as we draw close to Jesus He will draw close to us…as we remain in Jesus He will remain in us. How awesome and faith-giving is that? If we draw close to Jesus…as we turn to Him in those times of trouble He is with us and helping us through. We can feel the presence of the Vine as we work in the vineyard. But if we decide to not remain in Jesus…well, we can do nothing…we dry up and wither just like the branch of a tree does if it is cut from the strong, life giving trunk…

Jesus also states in Matthew 7:16-20:

16“You will know them by their fruit. Do people get bunches of grapes from thorny weeds, or do they get figs from thistles? 17 In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, and every rotten tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit. And a rotten tree can’t produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore, you will know them by their fruit.”

We are known by our fruit…people know that we are disciples of Christ by what we do and say. We are given the name Christian because we act and speak as Christ.

This reminds me of something that Rick Hill said in our Thanksgiving letter about the Saints of this church. These saints lived their lives on and in the vine of Jesus. They showed others who Christ is by the lives that they lived. These are the ones who made Stetson Memorial UMC what it is… a hope and life giving church. We owe a debt of thanks to God and to them because of their service and love.

We are all saints in Christ but these saints stood out in the world in which they lived and still live. They have left us a legacy to continue the good work and bear fruit that they began so long ago. They gave their tithes and their service to Christ so that His work could be continued. As we remain in the vine we become so thankful that we too want to produce good fruit…we too want to leave a legacy to those who are with us and those who will come after us. As the world sees us producing good fruit they will give thanks to God for His goodness and mercy in and through us.

But…there are many “disciples of Jesus” who don’t produce that fruit that lasts. They produce worldly fruit in their lives instead of eternal fruit that gives glory to God. They have forgotten the legacy that was left to them from the saints in their own lives. They have broken away from the vine and now are withering in the chaos of the world. They may think that they are producing fruit of heaven but in reality they are producing the rotten fruit of the world. Like all fruit…one bad piece can make the whole bunch go bad. That is why when we find the bad fruit we throw it out to preserve the good that is left…

We have so much to be thankful for. We are thankful to God for all that He has done…is doing…and will do in the future in our lives. We can be thankful to the saints that have gone before us who have showed us how to produce that fruit that lasts. We can be thankful that they remained in the vine…remained in Jesus…and gave of their lives so that others may have. We can be thankful of their gift of faith that they shared in a world full of chaos and hopelessness. And we can show our thankfulness by taking their example in life and life it out in our own.

Life on the Vine may be hard…and we may be asked to do things that may cause us fear of the unknown but as we remain in the Vine we are provided for with abundance. How do you want to be remembered? As one who gave or one who took? What will we do with the legacy that was left for us? These are tough decisions but they are ones that have to be made. Perhaps as we remember those saints in our lives we will be encouraged to model our lives as they did. Maybe, just maybe, if we, as disciples of Christ, begin to live more fully on the Vine we too will be remembered for our fruit we produced in our lives and for the lives of others. Just think about the lives we would live as we lived a fruitful life on the vine being nourished and cared for by the Master Gardner our God and King. Let us leave a legacy for those who come after us…a legacy that can only be found living on and through the Vine of our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. My question to you today is this. What will you and I be remembered for? The choice is ours to make. What will you choose?

Let us pray…pray about living in and on the Vine…

Amen!