3 Thieves of Thanksgiving
Comparison
CCCAG November 19th, 2017
Brief explanation of series- three conditions that steal our ability to be a thankful person.
Scripture- John 21:18-23
The day before Thanksgiving an elderly man in Phoenix called his son in New York and said to him, "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; 45 years of misery is enough. We’re sick of each other, and so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her."
Frantic, the son called his older sister, who exploded on the phone. "They are not getting divorced," she shouted. "I’ll take care of this."
She called Phoenix immediately, and said to her father. "You are NOT getting divorced. Don’t you do a single thing until I get there. I’m calling my brother back, and we’ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?"
The man hung up his phone and turned to his wife. "Okay, honey- you got your wish. The kids are coming for Thanksgiving and paying for their own flights."
The Thanksgiving holiday brings to mind family. Some of my most cherished memories are being in my grandparents home during this time of the year- the time in the woods with my grandfather and uncle followed by coming home to a huge supper my grandmother had made for us.
The idea of thanksgiving is not just wrapped around a holiday that happens to coincide with Wisconsin’s Deer Hunting season.
Thanksgiving- is defined as the ability to give thanks to God. It is an essential spiritual attribute that is missing from most people today.
We are going to spend the next three Sunday’s looking at the 3 Thieves of Thanksgiving in our lives, and today we will begin by looking at the first thief- Comparison
Turn in your bibles to John 21:18
Set up- Before we go there, we need to see the context of what are about to read.
Peter rejecting Jesus x3, then the death, burial, and resurrection where Jesus is seen by hundreds of people.
However, this is the first intimate time Jesus had with His disciples.
Jesus uses this time to restore Peter by asking him three times if he loved HIM- three times to cancel out in Peter’s mind the three denials that Peter did.
Jesus also tells Peter his future. This is where we pick up the story in John 21
Scripture Text- (Restoration of Peter)
Joh 21:18 (Jesus said) Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.”
Joh 21:19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”
Joh 21:20 Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?”
Joh 21:21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?”
Joh 21:22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”
Prayer
Big idea- I want to talk to you this morning, and over the next three weeks about the three Thieves of Thanksgiving. We are not talking about someone breaking into your house and stealing your turkey, but some of the devices that satan uses to bring your focus down… off of God and onto the things of this world and the problems of this life.
This morning we are going to focus on the first of the three thieves of thanksgiving - comparison.
When I say comparison, I’m speaking of looking to what you don’t have in something, someone, or some situation. It’s focusing on the lack of something instead of being thankful of what is there for you.
To put it another way- It’s longing for another’s blessing while ignoring what God has for you.
I. Causes of comparison
Back to the biblical account we just read- let’s look at Peter
A. First cause of comparison is Inferiority- Peter was in essence a bully
I use that term not so much as describing the guy (or girl) in school that would push you around, but the big guy we all know that is loud, brash, and wants everyone to know that he is the man.
Peter is that kind of man. I was researching Peter this week and found several definitions for his given name Simon depending on the language used. Most of us know the name Peter comes from the Greek word Petros which means Rock. One of the Greek meanings of Simon is “snub-nosed” meaning stubborn, or in Aramaic Simon, or Cephas in that language could mean cackling hyena- or one who speaks rashly and without knowledge.
This describes Peter perfectly, and in a culture where people were named for very specific reasons these meanings would have shaped who he was as a person.
Before Jesus called him to be a disciple, he was a brash, rough, cussing fisherman.
Once he became a disciple
- he became the leader among the other 11 disciples. Remember when Jesus asked his disciples who they thought he was?
Peter comes up with the right answer- You are the messiah, the son of God.
Jesus is so thrilled that someone finally figured out who He was, that he proclaims that because of Peter’s confession of faith he changes his name from snub nosed, stubborn cackling hyena to Rocky, that on that statement of faith and that heart Jesus said I will build my church.
Peter’s hat size increased about 10 times it’s normal. He was the man- the prophet who got the answer right. James and John can have their mom try to jockey them into positions within Jesus’ kingdom all they want, but Jesus said I’m the rock, I’m the blessed, I’m the man.
Then a few hours later, Jesus speaks of his dying for everyone’s sins and Peter decides that Rocky needs to sit Jesus down for a talk and pulls him aside and rebukes him for talking about dying. Jesus turns to Him and calls him satan and tells him to get away from Him.
Such is the Apostle Peter. Peter was a man who needed to be recognized.
Those who suffer from this type of need are ALWAYS deeply stuck with a sense of inferiority- they place their self-worth on how other people feel about them.
So they compare-
All of us have this at some level. Don’t let people fool you- The people that say they don’t care what other people think are the ones most deeply affected by the comparison problem
I was deeply affected by this when I was younger, and although it’s much much less than it used to be, I still struggle with it today.
Early in my ministry at our first church, called Lakeshore, I was the interim pastor and taught on Wednesdays and preached some Sunday’s. Lakeshore was a “Revival Church” where often the more exciting a preacher is the more “anointed” they appear.
I had been taking the congregation through 1 Cor 13- the love chapter and how we could learn to love one another. It was very strong, very biblical, and very convicting series of lessons.
Then the elder board scheduled several meetings with an evangelist who was moderately famous within the Assemblies at the time, and he came and blew everyone away with the breath of his teaching, and his energetic delivery. I really was blessed, but during his last service with us, I got to thinking, “Wow, tomorrow night I have to return to my lesson, and I’m nowhere near the level of this guy, and I’m going to be a major let down in comparison.” As he was leaving to drive to the airport, I told him I was really blessed by his ministry and then jokingly said, “Thanks for making my job harder as I have to preach tomorrow after you blew everyone away.”
He stopped, and sat me down and told me this- “Fulfill Your ministry”
You can’t compare yourself with me. You haven’t lived my life. You haven’t had my experiences. You haven’t experienced my failures.”
He said “I tried pastoring 3 times and blew up three churches until I realized God didn’t call me to pastor- I’m really really bad at pastoring. God called me to live on faith and be an itinerant revival preacher” Grab onto what God has told you to do, trust what He has told you to do, and don’t deviate 1 degree from the direction he is leading you and you will live in His blessing.”
That’s excellent advice for all of us. Not just for those in ministry, but for everyone in life. Where ever your life has taken you, remember this- God has called you to such a time as this and to such a place as this right here.
You and I are all called to do something for the Kingdom. Some of you might have lost vision of what God has for you, but be encouraged in this-HE has not forgotten you. You just may be in the training and preparation time.
Even though you might feel like you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death this morning, and all the light has gone out of your life, there are some promises in God’s word for you to hold on to-
Rom 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.
You’ll get there, as long as you don’t short circuit the process.
The quickest way to kill that progress is comparison.
Peter hears that he is going to die like Jesus did. Remember, Peter saw the whipping. He witnessed the beating, the humiliation, and the torture that Christ went through. Peter saw the crucifixion, and all of that was on his mind when he immediately pointed at John and asked- “What about him?”
That leads us to the consequence of comparison-
II. Consequence-
If you chose to compare yourself with others, you will develop these three consequences in your spirit-
A. Lack of Trust
People who compare their lives with others are often people who desire the applause of others
This comes from having deep trust issues, and it affects the way that they see God. I’m speaking from deep experience here so if this is you please understand I’m right there with you.
Peter didn’t completely trust Jesus because Peter wanted and needed recognition. That need that exists within us all is really a desire to receive the worship that is only due to God.
The desire for fame, which is another word for recognition is the most poisonous thing a human soul can pursue. It is more addictive then any drug, and will cause you to turn your back on God faster than any other sin a human can be ensnared by.
And it starts with a lack of trust.
A lack of trust in God’s timing
A lack of trust in God’s provision
A lack of trust in God’s plan
A lack of trust in God’s sovereignty over your life.
When you start comparing your life, your family, your possessions, your job, your church, your pastor, your spouse, your kids, your car, or whatever you treasure most in life with what someone else has- you start down this road.
That leads us to the second consequence of comparing ourselves with others and that is-
B. Lack of understanding oneself and gifts that God has given you
I’m going to start with showing a brief video of Pastor Matt Chandler of the Village Church in Dallas describing his friend and megachurch Pastor Mark Driscoll’s preaching style.
YouTube Video- “Matt Chandler impersonates Mark Driscoll”
That’s actually fairly accurate of how in his early days that Mark Driscoll would preach, and he grew a church from 10 in his living room to several thousand in Seattle- which has been voted the least Christian city in America…even beating San Francisco. God raised up Pastor Mark with a unique gift that was only going to work in that time and place.
Just like Pastor Matt said there- If I compare myself to Pastor Mark and try to imitate his gift here in Whitehall, this church would be closed in a month, and I’d be run out of town.
The take away for us-
Fulfill your ministry, with your gifts, that where given to you for this time, this place, this situation, and for this outpost of the Kingdom of God we call the church in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin.
Because when you get to comparing, you’ll be miserable, and that leads us to the 3rd consequence of comparing-
C. Comparison is the thief of Joy
If you can’t learn to be satisfied with what you have, you will never find satisfaction with what you can get.
Let me give you an example-
You’re 12 years old. If you can’t remember that far back, think of your children or grandchildren.
For months they have been begging you for the toy that “everyone else has or is getting for Christmas this year”
Everytime you walk into a Walmart, Target, Shopko, or Kmart they pull you over to the toy section to stare at the thing they are convinced will fulfill their wildest dreams.
Christmas comes, and they open their presents and behold, that gift is finally theirs. They hug it, they play with it, they bring it with them in the car to be with them.
Fast forward a month. The toy is under their bed by all the mismatched socks the dryer keeps getting blamed for eating, and they are begging for the next cool toy and they are miserable until they get it.
Now, do you think that is just a condition that children have?
With adults, it’s just more expensive.
Expensive in cost, and not just financial-
A woman is convinced that married guy will bring her joy, so she cheats on her husband because she is convinced he will make her complete.
A man works 90 hrs a week and has no time for family, pursuing that promotion because he knows it will make him happy and complete to get it.
A couple refuses to give to others in need, to charity, or even their church because they need a new car, a better retirement, or bigger house to make them feel fulfilled.
I call this type of thinking expensive because you won’t find out the real cost until it’s too late.
That cost is-
Broken marriage and children who now distrust authority and are cynical toward marriage.
Families that learn that they are second place to success in your career.
Pursuing material gain will always lead you to want more, and you will never find that gold at the end of the rainbow while you run after more and more and more.
It all started with a comparison of some type.
We’ve seen the problem, let’s look at the solution-
III. Cure for comparison
A. Magnify God
Many of us will hit the woods this year with a rifle. On top of that rifle is a scope.
What is the job of a rifle scope? To make things faraway look bigger.
Magnifying God does the same thing- it speaks of focusing on HIM to make HIM bigger in your life.
There is a critically important point in life that we need to understand.
Too many people are focused on the pursuit of happiness. Happiness is a fleshly or earthly condition caused by circumstances in life that you find favorable.
The problem with pursing happiness is that we are spiritual beings first, (pause) not flesh and blood. Our bodies are just vehicles to house a spirit.
What people are really craving is the spiritual gift of joy- joy is a spiritual condition that can only be found in God.
All these things in life that we pursue to find joy can’t ever work because they are finite, and joy is a spiritual condition that is infinite, and the only thing that can fulfill and infinite need it is the infinite one we call God.
That is why we need to magnify God in our lives- to make HIM the largest thing we focus on to find true joy, true peace, true fulfillment, and true satisfaction in this life HE has given us.
Jesus said, “Seek First the Kingdom of God, and all these things will be given to you as well”
Make God the biggest thing in your life, and He will blow you away with how much of those “other things” you think you need because if HE is first, He can trust you with the rest.
B. 2nd cure- Develop Gratitude
Be thankful.
I have homework for you. Grab a pen, right it down on your bulletin…I’ll wait.
I want you to go home and start a list of everything you have to be thankful in life. I’ll give you a hint- #1 should be Jesus and what He has done for us (Magnify God), but just make that list and hang it somewhere where you will see it a lot.
Everytime you see it, just stop and thank God for something on that list and you will be surprised how your attitude changes and how your mind and heart will refocus on what is right and true.
So do that for me, and we will ask in a few weeks how it is going.
Finally
We picked on Peter a lot in this message, but I want to tell you the end of the story.
Peter learned to put aside the sin of comparison and we see that in words he wrote at the end of his life-
2Pe 1:13-15 I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, (14) since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. (15) And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
No fear of death and no fear of man’s opinion. Peter had magnified God to such a degree and developed that attitude of gratitude to such a point in his life that he could be at peace knowing that Jesus’ words were going to come true soon-
but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.”
It is said that Peter was crucified like His LORD with one exception- Peter asked to be crucified upside down because he didn’t feel worthy to be crucified like his master.
Maybe there are something here you need to crucify this morning.
Altar call
Make your thankful lists!
