I Am So Glad I’m A Part Of The Family Of God

Philippians 2:1-11

Good Morning and HAPPY THANKSGIVING, once again!

Four weeks ago after sharing thoughts from the book of Titus with you, I began to think about what I was going to preach on this morning. You who were here that day might remember that God wants us to love what is good, teach what is good, set an example by doing good, go about doing good, and to be eager to do what is good.  If you went home and looked up the eight times the word ‘love’ is used in Titus maybe you realized that I misspoke, it was the word ‘good’ that was used 8 times.

But as I thought about Thanksgiving, my thoughts turned to things for which I am thankful. I had been thinking a great deal about the Holy Spirit and how He is the indwelling Spirit, our guide and helper. He is the One who makes the Father and the Son real to us.

So, I thought I would share why I am thankful for the Holy Spirit. But that is likely too large a subject to tackle in a single sermon.

One morning as we sat out in the back yard of the cottage, June had what some now call “an earbug.” Do you know what that is? She had the Gaither song, “I’m So Glad I’m a part of the family of God” running around in her mind. But she mentioned this to me saying, “but I can’t remember all the words.” So later I played the song on my IPad. In fact I played it a couple or three times. I think it was the next day, June said, “maybe that could be part of your message on thanksgiving.” It had crossed my mind as well, so I began to think further about that as a topic for today. So, the question arose, “Why, how, for what, am I thankful to be a part of the family of God?” And it became clear that this subject is also a broad subject to cover.

The portion of Scripture we read earlier reminds us that the church is to work and serve God together in humility and harmony in the same way as Christ lived his life for us. To receive the full benefits of belonging to the church we must give of ourselves for the sake of others. It can be costly, but we can never out-give our loving God. Jesus humbled himself and served his father at great cost and pain in his life. That will be reflected in our own experience.

So, why am I thankful to be part of the family? Well, for starters just look around the church this morning. We might have a lot in common, but we also have a great deal of diversity. As you look around maybe there are one or two or more here in worship with you that have a special place in your life. Who are you thankful to have in your family of God?

And if you take time to think about the church where you attend during the rest of the year, there would be many more that you are thankful for. And what about when you begin to think about all the fellow believers you have memories of over the years past. Maybe you have memories of the one who led you to Christ or was a mentor as you went deeper into your Christian life. Maybe you think of a long-term pastor who preached meaningful, life changing messages week after week or someone who, today, at this present time in your life, leads your Bible study fellowship, a young-adults group, or a seniors’ group and assures it is more than just a good social time together. It is a meaningful time of interaction and a time of growing. Maybe there was a choir director or music teacher who helped you fall in love with the great hymns of the church. And that still blesses your life.

Or maybe there is a person of prayer whom you depend upon for prayer coverage day after day. Whatever happens you know they have prayed for you. Perhaps you are thankful for godly parents or grandparents, or maybe it was an uncle or aunt who helped direct you forward in Christ. And how much do you value the one who nursed you through some difficult days of illness or accident? People who were there for you day after day. Maybe you have a friend who most people would not think of as special, whom you love dearly and is always there for you.

Maybe you are one who came to faith in Christ later in life and are grateful for those who have lovingly received you in as one of the family. And you have found a place of love and peace.

As a missionary I think of the blessing of belonging to a local church and a denomination that supported and nourished us in our vision, who gave of their hard-earned money to support us while in the Philippines, not for two weeks or a month, not for a year, but 36 years. And they prayed. And they prayed. People from churches across Canada who we did not even know, or had met when speaking in their church once upon a time, and they gave and prayed. For friends whose kids remember always having our prayer card on the fridge and their parents regularly remembered to pray for us and taught their kids to do the same.

We could go on talking about the family of whom we are a part as a church. But maybe right now you would like to take a moment to share with someone sitting nearby the name a person or persons for whom you are thankful and why.

(Give a moment.)

But, as we think about why we are thankful for being a part of a family, what about our awesome, truly awesome, Father? And what about Jesus, our Lord and Saviour? And the Holy Spirit? And the Holy Scriptures? What about the Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs we use in worship? And it is not just about our past or present, but about our future, heaven and all its delights?

I am thankful for our Heavenly Father. He is the giver of every good gift. He is the author of our salvation. He loves us so much that He sent his only son to rescue us from sin and shame and destruction. If he loved us so much when providing salvation, can we doubt that he loves us right now, whatever our situation. Yes, it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of a holy God. But for us it is good to remember that we can approach our loving father without fear. To cuddle up on his lap and know his peace. And in his presence there are pleasures forever more. He is our strong fortress in whom we can find security and peace.

I am thankful for Jesus, the Christ, the promised one, the saviour not just of the world but of me and you. The one who was, and is God, but who chose to become a man, not for any benefit to himself, but to my benefit, our benefit. He enabled us to become sons and daughters of our Father God. The everlasting Son of God became the Son of man, the son born to his very ordinary and human mother. We need to be thankful that Mary was an extreme example of a woman of immense trust and submission to God. And she remained completely faithful to the end, standing at the cross certain that this was not the end. She was there in the upper room on the day of Pentecost. The first of a whole host of women who have given their all to Jesus. And we are glad to be a part of the same family.

I am thankful for the Holy Spirit of God. The third person of the trinity. How creative God is. While men and men-made religions try to find ways and means to appease God, or to please God, to do something that would have a god pay attention to their good deeds and bless them, our God, by contrast, comes and lives in us to enable us to live and enjoy God’s blessing supernaturally, which is natural for us. But before he indwells us, He is the one who draws our attention to our need for salvation. He brings the truth of the Gospel to bear in our lives. Convicts us. Draws us toward Jesus and truth. Enables us to repent and receive our salvation. Then He comes and dwells within. He is the presence of Jesus in our lives. He makes everything we are and do and believe possible. What an amazing and creative way to bridge the gap between our humanity and the Divine Godhead. In a sense He is our inside track with the Father and the Son with whom he is one.

I am thankful for prayer. Are you? We certainly should be! But prayer is effective in large part because the Holy Spirit, who understands everything about us first-hand, interprets our prayers, the words and emotions of our hearts and minds and bodies to the Father. I don’t really understand why that interpretation is necessary, but I am glad that it happens. And it gives us great freedom to truly express our hearts needs to God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Spirit knows your feelings, your emotions, your fear or peace and includes all that is necessary for complete understanding of your requests even when you cannot adequately express it in words. And we pray for each other. We take time to listen to prayer requests and praise in our services. And you can rest assured that some here remember your needs in their prayers. I would encourage you to let people know that you have prayed for them. It is a great encouragement. If you ask them later about the results of prayer, they will likely be glad to know that you not only prayed but were interested in knowing what happened because of prayer.

I am thankful for the gifts of the Spirit. God does not just ask us to serve him and then leave us to our own devices. He prepares us for service in and out from the church by giving us our own combinations of gifts and talents and abilities. The gifts are personal and given as a spiritual preparation for service to others. And no one in the church, the body of believers, is without a gift or gifts. It seems that most gifts are part of a combination that complements each other. It is a good thing to be sure of what your gifts are because it will help you to understand something about your role in the church and its ministries.

The whole family is blessed when each one ministers according to their gifting. It makes life in the church more fulfilling. We each do our own part. When we don’t then someone else has to pick up the slack. So, when I say I am thankful for the spiritual gifts, I don’t just mean my gifts, but yours as well. Together we are the team, the body, the church God wants us to be.

I am thankful for the Scriptures. I am thankful that in this day many people may have a copy of a Bible in their own language. I am thankful for folks who are translating the Word into the remaining languages that until now do not have a Bible in their own heart language. At the present time 99% of the language groups now have a Bible or a portion of the Bible in their own language.

As I was writing this I was reminded of the Scripture I had read the day before about the reformation that took place when the Book of Law was found in the temple. Josiah, the king took it to heart and transformed Judah, and the Scripture says that he served God and brought Judah into line with God’s desire, more than any other king of Judah ever (2 Kings 23:25). The book was unknown to the other kings. It made all the difference.

The Bible is our source of the knowledge we have about God, creation, the fall, salvation, righteousness, truth, life, death, heaven and eternity. It is our guide on how we are to live as part of God’s family. It is our guide in how we become a part of God’s family, why we need to become a part of God’s family, and the benefits of being a part of God’s family.

“Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee.” “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, so that whoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” The Bible is filled with such powerful words.

I am thankful for my family and for God’s guidance in my life. My love affair with the church began when I was just a kid. I remember walking to church, The Lakeview Alliance Church, in what is now Mississauga. We walked from our house to the church, about 6 blocks, not once but three times each Sunday. Worship was at 11, Sunday School at 3, and the evening service at 7 and that was our routine. Somewhere in my years of documents there is a certificate I earned for having perfect attendance at Sunday School for 7 consecutive years.

When missionaries came to our church my mom and dad always made sure to have them at our house for a meal. We didn’t have the facilities to have them stay in our home, but the meal was a regular thing. I remember sitting at the table and listening to the stories of the missionaries. Missionaries in Ecuador who were from Ottawa and had been classmates of our pastor, who became heroes and friends. I remember the Oldfields, missionaries to China, who regaled us with stories too good to forget. On a lighter level, Mr. Oldfield told of being captured by a gang who then demanded a ransom to set him free. One of the meals they fed him were some small birds taken from a nest. After they were cooked you just held them by the beak and swallowed them. He said that this taught him that ‘at the end of every meal, there is a bill.’

I am thankful for the church. And at a very important time of my life, the church functioned as it is supposed to and made an indelible impression on my life. Dad died when I was 14. Mom and dad had plans for the next summer to replace our house with a new one. After Dad died in December she decided, with godly counsel, to proceed with that construction the next summer. It would be then or never.

The pastor, Eddie Holt and the elders of our church constructed our new home, coming to work on the house together after working on their jobs during the day. They worked under the direction of my uncle, Aylmer Harris, who came from Goderich every Monday to lay out the work of the week. The church stepped up and built our home. Ross Bendel, Bob Winfrey, and the rest were not recognized by the world, but they were saints in action to me, my Mom and siblings. I saw the church in action and never forgot.

Meanwhile June was being taught and nourished in the ways of the Lord in the Alliance Tabernacle in Belleville, (now, Quinte Alliance Church). That is where she received her call to serve God as a missionary.

June and I met at Canadian Bible College, both of us set on pursuing missionary service.  We were married in September 1957. And in the words of my brother Bill, repeated over the years, “She is the best thing that ever happened to you (me).” And she really is! June is a woman of faith, who is always eager to do good. God blessed us with five children: Ron and Debbie were born in Canada, and Stephen, Kevin and Diane were born in the Philippines. And they have added ten grandchildren and four great-grandchildren to the family. We are thankful for wonderful relationships with all of them, their spouses and families. God has blessed us richly over our 68 years of marriage. I am greatly indebted to the Lord for our years together.

I don’t often mention that as a young 23-year-old pastor, my pastoral career came to a screeching halt. We were asked to pack up and leave by the District Superintendent after a meeting with the church elders.  Pastoring was done and so missionary service would not happen. Some months later, the new district Superintendent phoned and asked if I was still interested in pastoring. We were called to serve the Sudbury Alliance Church. We were there almost 4 years and then went to the Philippines as missionaries of the Christian and Missionary Alliance Churches in Canada. The church came through for us once again. Bill Newell’s phone call resurrected our career and dreams. And we are forever thankful. As we discussed this in the past few days we realized anew that our lives were always centered around the church.

I am thankful for co-workers. Today, if you looked through our list of friends on Facebook, you would find many, many Filipinos who are real friends, co-workers, and students, who became Facebook friends. The family of God who have enriched our lives. And there are many fellow missionaries who remain fast friends and are another reason that I am glad I am a part of the Family of God.

Edwin and Lolita Ansang were very special to us. Edwin was the Blaan pastor who became our partner in church planting in our third term of missionary service. In just over two years working together we planted 17 churches and had baptized 751 people. We had no pastors, so we began a Lay Preachers Institute to train men in the churches to lead the churches. We trained them to plant other churches. They continue until today. Some lay people have served as pastors from the late 70s until recently. The Blaan have their own district in the CAMACOP, and have well over 210 congregations and still adding new churches every year.

Edwin and I traveled a lot together and had great times together. We served together, prayed together, played together, laughed and cried together. I remember coming home at the end of that term. I remember thinking that first night back in Mississauga, that I love my brother and sister, who were not following the Lord at that time, but I was closer to Edwin than to my family. June and I had so much more in common with our Blaan church family than with our own families. Later my brother and sister returned to the Lord and that made a huge difference. I am so glad that I am, that we are, a part of the family of God. As I typed this section of the sermon, there is a note on Messenger from Grace, the Ansangs’ daughter. We continue to communicate thanks to modern technology.

Earlier I mentioned about friends who always had our family prayer card on their refrigerator. Lloyd and Irene Draper were from the Owen Sound area and attended Canadian Bible College and we became good friends. They pastored churches in various places ending up in Penticton, B.C. Just before we left for the Philippines in 1965, we spoke at their church, the Kingston Alliance Church as we shared our calling to missions. We saw them at times at General Council when we came home on home assignments. At one point when our youngest daughter was living in Oshawa and attending the Alliance church she sent a letter to the C&MA headquarters. She told them that for many years she had been prayed for by people she did not know, and she was thankful for their prayers. She asked them to give her the name and address of a young missionary couple so she could arrange to receive their prayer letters and pray for them even though she did not know them. They gave her the names of Ric and Ruth-Anne Gilbertson in South America. She wrote them explaining why she wanted to pray for them as others had prayed for her. Ruth-Anne wrote back explaining that it was amazing the way the Lord works. She was the daughter of Lloyd and Irene. She wrote explaining they always had our prayer card on their refrigerator. She added, “I grew up praying for you and your family almost every day for years. And now you are going to be praying for me and our family.” What about that! Is that not amazing! Again, I am so glad that I am a part of the family of God. He is such a neat, neat, father.

Some of June and my experiences as a part of the family of God are different than yours, but every one of us have many reasons to be thankful that we are a part of His family. And we are also glad that you are part of our family of God.

Ron MacKinnon