RECEIVE EVERYTHING WITH THANKSGIVING  

When Billy Graham came to a crisis of faith, he was thirty something and already a very famous evangelist.  Could he believe the Bible to be the Word of God?  His close friend Chuck Templeton, particularly, and others around him were raising doubts in his heart.  In his autobiography, Just As I Am, Billy Graham tells the story of what happened next.  
He took a walk in the moonlight of the San Bernardino Mountains in California.  He dropped to his knees in the woods, opened his Bible and put it on a tree stump before him.  He prayed, "O God!  There are many things in this book I do not understand precisely.  

There are many problems for which I have no solution.  In this Bible, there are many seeming contradictions.  In the Bible there are some areas which cannot be reconciled with modern science.  To be sure, the Bible contains a lot of things that are not credible to comtemporary human beings.  Lord, I cannot answer some of the philosophical and psychological questions Chuck and others are raising."
Finally, he was able to say, "Father, I am going to accept this as Thy Word by faith!  I am going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts, and I will believe this to be Your inspired Word."

He says, "When I got up from my knees at Forest Home that August night, my eyes stung with tears.  I sensed the presence and power of God as I had not sensed in months.  Not all my questions were answered, but a major bridge had been crossed.  In my heart and mind, I knew a spiritual battle in my soul had been fought and won."
Billy Graham was absolutely right.  Our Methodist founder John Wesley was often called "a man of the one Book," that is, "a man of the Bible."  The Methodist Church, according to teachings of Wesley, always believe in the absolute preeminence of the Bible.  We believe that every word in the Bible is the Word of God.

 Among all the messages from God contained in this Bible, I would like for us to pay particular attention to verse 4 from the 4th chapter in First Book of Timothy.  "For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving."  Just like our benevolent Father, all things in this universe which were created by Him are, taking after His character, benevolent.  Therefore, if we were to receive all things with thanksgiving, there would be nothing left for us to cast or throw away.  I hope that this verse from the Bible will become the impetus for us to be truly and spiritually enlightened during this service today.

The fourth chapter in First Book of Timothy records the warnings directed against false preachers who brought much confusion and chaos to the early churches.  The distinguishing characteristic of these false preachers was that they obeyed the instructions of deceiving spirits and demons; in other words, they were hypocrites, whose outward appearance often belied their true personalities and characters.  To put it in a different way, although their outward appearance may have had the aura of sanctity and holiness, their true nature was completely opposite.  Their hypocrisy, as listed in verse 2, resulted when they were "speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron."

 It was not that they did not have any conscience; rather, their conscience became severely distorted as a result of this searing by a hot iron.  Hence, according to verse 3, they preached by "forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created."  To reiterate, they taught that living in celibacy and solitude, and refraining from eating were the only truth paths to a life of sanctity and wholesomeness.  Paul taught that all Christians must remember two things in order to effectively fight against these hypocrites.

First, we must receive everything God gives us with benevolence and thanksgiving.  The biggest and most controversial issues facing the early churches some two thousand years ago were in regards to the proper attitudes towards marriage and food. Since marriage was often associated with carnal desires, heated arguments and debates ensued among Christians as to which was the correct path:  Whether to minimize the opportunity for indulging sensual desires and live in celibacy, or to marry.  

Paul, through chapter 7 of the First Book of Corinthians, teaches us that when possible, living in celibacy is desired for a life of Christian faith; however, if the carnal desire is such that it cannot be suppressed, such desires should be relieved through marriage.  Although he himself lived a long life of celibacy, he recognized and condoned marriage amongst Christians.  Nowhere in the Bible is it stated that marriage is bad; rather, marriage is referred to in the Bible as a sacred union, as created by God, for procreation.  Despite these teachings of the Bible, the false preachers of the early churches believed that only spiritual things were holy and all else evil; this belief led them to preach that Christians were not to marry.  
The second controversial issue of the day was regulations governing food.  According to the Hebrew laws, there were many rules that governed food.  Hence, the Hebrew laws pertaining to food bled into Christianity, and some Christians went as far to advocate that true Christians were not to touch nor eat any type of food.
Disciple Paul warns us not to heed the words of these false preachers, who advocate the adherence to such complex, difficult religious regulations.  He implores us not to fall prey to the lies that tell us only those who do not marry and obey intricate rules governing food are true Christians.

 In Genesis, it is stated that God made the human race into two sexes, male and female, and established marriage as the sacred union and means to procreation; hence, marriage is good.  God also created food; for those who receive it in thanks, it becomes vital nourishment.  Hypocrites often try to display their sanctity and faith through the types of food they eat and refrain from; however, true believers of Christianity show their faith through their acts of love and fruits of the Holy Spirit, not by the external, trivial methods.

As we live, we often find ourselves asking this question:  "Why was this created, which brings forth such inconvenience and nuisance?"  In American churches, there is no early morning prayer.  Early morning prayers are germane to Korean churches.  The fact that Christianity greatly evangelized in Korea through early morning prayers during the time of Japanese colonization is a well known fact.  One American Presbyterian Minister, upon visiting some of the large churches of Korea, was greatly graced by the early morning prayers conducted by the congregations.  He was able to realize that early morning prayers were vital vehicles in evangelizing Christianity in Korea; upon return, he instituted similar prayer service at his church.  Determining that everyday prayer service would be difficult to conduct, this minister advertised that early morning prayer would take place every Sunday, before the service.  

The first Sunday's early morning prayer service attracted several elders of the church.  The second week, however, drew only two in audience:  The minister and his wife.  During the third week, the minister's wife could not get out of bed in time; it was only the minister who offered early morning prayers, and the early morning prayer service was cancelled after three weeks.  There are mornings when my body feels like it weighs a ton, and I have no desire to get out of bed.  During those mornings, I often think, "who thought of this early morning prayer service?"  However, for the growth of our faith and spirituality, and for the advancement of our church, the early morning prayer services are essential.  If we receive all this through thanks, it will become not only a big boost for our faith, but a guide post for a giant blessing in the future.  

I believe that the same applies to the new members and visitors to this congregation, who walk in through the doors of this church.  I believe that if we receive all visitors with thanks, there will be no one who will be cast out.  If we start judging people based on our individual sets of standards, to determine who is worthy to remain and who is not, there will not be a soul left in this church.  

No matter who it is, if God gave them the impetus to come through that door, we must receive them with thanks.  The biggest problem facing churches in immigrant societies is parochialism--the tendency to form cliques.  I believe that our church must become a true Christian church, where anyone who calls the name of Christ can be welcomed through a wide open door.  Our church must become a church in which we can receive and welcome, with thanks, anyone who comes to this church as God has opened the window to their hearts.  

As we lead our lives, we meet people whom we do not like, and situations we do not want to be in.  However, if we start considering those people and those conditions as given to me by God, receive it with thanks, then nothing would be left to cast out, and God will turn all things benevolent.  During the course of life, everyone goes through pain and suffering, poverty and despair, dilemma and problems.  If we receive all those with thanks, I believe that God will turn those things into even greater blessing.  The thing that we need is the attitude and the mind set to accept all things with thanks.

Second, in verse 5, it is stated "for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer."  Throughout the course of life, people tend to accept good and pleasant things or events, and desire to ignore and cast out all those they find unpalatable and disdainful.  Disciple Paul was a human, and understood this fact better than anyone else.  Therefore, he states in the latter part of verse 4 that if received in thanksgiving nothing could be thrown away, and stressed in verse 5 the importance of "word and prayer."  If we encounter things we find unacceptable, prayer can allow us the wisdom and sanctity of acception those things with thanks.

As it was stated in today's scripture, I believe that rather than trying to show our spirituality and faith through abstaining from marriage and food, we must evidence our faith and spirituality through silent prayers and heeding the Word of God.  Through the four books of Gospel, Jesus strongly criticizes the prayers, salvation, and sanctity offered for others to see--for showmanship.  This is because if hypocrisy is to become the staple of our faith, our inner sanctity can and will become damaged.  Jesus warned us that those who receive praise and exaltation on this earth cannot receive the same in the heaven.  

Too many people yearn for recognition and praise from others, and display exhibitionism and showmanship during the course of their lives.  But remember the fact that greater the glory sought here on earth, the less the award in the heavens.  The true things that God desires from us is for us to love and seek our lord from the depths of our hearts, and for us to love our neighbors.  All things which God has created is benevolent and good; this morning, I hope we all can believe that if we receive everything through thanks, there is nothing to be thrown away.  Amen!