This is the Truth Network. My dear Christian friend, what is it that God enjoys more than other sacrifices? And what is it that releases his hand to deliver us in times of trouble?
Well, stay with us, listen, and learn. You're listening to Until He Comes, a blend of prophetic and practical biblical studies with Dr. Greg Hinnant, author of The Second Coming of Christ, His Appearing, His Return, Our Preparation. And now, author and teacher Greg Hinnant. Welcome to the broadcast today.
We're going to talk about, again, the most important subject of Thanksgiving.
Now in our last lesson, we talked about The fact that Thanksgiving sets us apart from unthankful Christians. And I will add, we live in a most unthankful day. My friend, if you're an American Christian, If you're born again and you live in America, you should be praising God every morning when your feet hit the floor. That number one, your soul is saved by the grace of God eternally. You are saved now in time.
You are living eternal life now in time and space. And the second thing you need to be thankful for is that you live in this nation which, despite all its grievous errors and sins, and God knows they are legion, You still live in a country where you're free to worship, you're free to spread the gospel. You're free to go on missions to other countries and ministers to those who are not. As blessed and free. Please thank God for your salvation every day.
And that you live in this nation. and pray for the nation. Every day.
Now today, we're going to move on to the point that Thanksgiving Prevents Complaining. and I will add, the habit. of complaining, which God Hates. Our text is 1 Corinthians 10, verse 10, a most important text. Paul says to the Corinthians and through the letter to us, Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed by the Destroyer.
Clearly the references to Israel in its wilderness wandering period. Clearly, Paul is mentioning one of the prime sins that brought them down spiritually and prevented. The generation that came out of Egypt From going into the promised land and enjoying its blessings and beginning the process. of revealing the glory of Yahweh, through their exalted living and worship.
Well, this was the spoiler. They murmured. They murmured And I will add confidently they'd formed a a habit of murmuring. They murmured about the manna. It wasn't delicious enough.
They remembered the fish and the garlics and all, and all the herbs and foods they had in Egypt.
Somehow they forgot that bondage they were in. You know, murmuring will make you forget the blessing. And as they murmured about the blessing God had given them, They forgot the bondage you brought them out of.
So Paul says, don't Play The Israelite. Don't murmur against the goodness of God and his blessings in your life. Why? Because this is a direct slur against God. When you and I are complaining, oh, the weather's terrible.
Oh, nothing goes right in my life. Oh, another test. Oh my goodness, I prayed about this for two weeks and it hadn't happened yet. Oh my goodness. That is a direct slur against the goodness of your Father God.
It is a sheep standing up on its little hoofs and saying, Shepherd! You have a fault You're not watching out for me like you should. You're not caring for me as you should. When day and night the Lord's eyes are on you all the time, thinking what's best for you, His love is Unchecked, it is flowing like a mighty river. He wants to guide you into what's best.
for not only his purpose, but for your human good. And to complain about your circumstances is to complain about God who controls them. Because even if they are difficult, and they will be, my friend, if you want to grow and know Jesus and glorify him, I promise you they will be difficult. Even in those circumstances, he's there with you. Ready to speak to you in your heart and bring you to the Scripture that shows you what to do, how to think, how to react.
He's there with you at all times. He said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. In the Psalms Psalm forty six says, Our God is our refuge and strength. And then the next phrase says, A very present help In trouble.
So God is present with us at all times. Jesus said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. But He's very present when you're in trouble.
So don't complain. The trouble this calm Really? If you receive it, it's going to press you into God. Closer, deeper, You'll hear his voice speaking, but that still small voice. in your heart.
with greater clarity, and soberness The Word of God will be open to you. You will see insights in the Bible you never saw before, a passage you read a hundred times. Suddenly, A vital life changing truth leaps out of that text. And changes you forever. In your walk, in your family, and others through you.
So What we're dealing with here is a habit of complaining.
Now, the text this entire series is based upon is 1 Thessalonians 5:18. In everything give thanks this. Is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you? Through Paul. God is saying, I want my people to be thankful.
And I will add what I've mentioned previously. in these in this series. Paul was teaching right out of his own heart and right out of his own experience. How could he have lived? Through the Endless adversities, so it seems, that he experienced in Acts thirteen to twenty eight.
How could he have lived through these things without having formed a habit of thanksgiving. The answer is, he could not have. He could not have. Friend, you have to be afraid. You cannot go through your adversity.
grumbling and complaining, I promise you that In the blessed name of our Lord, I promise you. You cannot do it.
Now I'm talking to you today, and Christ is talking to you through the Spirit. He sang, Give me thanks in that pit, give me thanks in that fire, give me thanks in that overflowing river, but it won't overflow you. If you give me thanks. Give me thanks when you're rejected by the unbelievers. Give me thanks when you're misunderstood and rejected by your own brothers and sisters in Christ.
You say that shouldn't happen. I agree, it shouldn't. But it does.
Some of our deepest wounds come from the house of God. But if you'll give thanks. The grace of God will see you through that trial. To a successful issue, listen to me. Every time.
This is how Paul lives. This is why the learned and inspired apostle told us to give thanks in every circumstance. because it's the will of God, and I'm sure he could have added And it's the way I've lived. It's the way I've overcome. And it's the way for us.
Now, here is a fact: you will either form a habit of thanksgiving. or you will form a habit of complaining.
Now, the text tells us that God hates complaining and he sent destruction. He loosed the destroyer among his own people, because they were complaining, about his care in the wilderness. The same will happen to us. Because if you form the habit of complaining. and murmuring.
You are destroying you are loosing the destroyer in your own life. There's a gap in your armor. And Satan sees it. and he will shoot destruction through that harms you and your family because you're grumbling and gripping. To the only thoroughly good one in the universe.
God your personal father and shepherd. This habit of complaining is so destructive.
Now, let me specify. It will destroy your spiritual capacity. It will not destroy your salvation if you're truly born of God. It will rob you of your blessing of knowing God in this life. It will rob you of your rewards in the future.
That I promise you. If you're a complaining Christian, don't expect to be commended at the judgment seat of Christ.
Well done, thou good and faithful servant. No. You're going to hear some unpleasant words. from our blessed Lord. Mm, you don't want that, do you?
So you can do something about it today.
So do something about it. Start giving thanks right where you are while you're listening to this podcast or broadcast. Raise your hands and begin to praise God for what He's done in your life. What he's doing right now in your life, praise him for your adversity. You mean praise him because the doctor told my husband he's got cancer?
Yes, that's what I mean. You mean praise him because my son just had an automobile accident and destroyed his car and didn't have any insurance? Yes, praise him for that. Why? Because God is going to work it and turn it for good If you just continue to submissively trust him and obey him.
and you will see exactly how he turned that adversity into a joyful Reward and Victory And A crown for you. And A vital spiritual lesson to help everyone. around you.
So As we form the habit of Thanksgiving, listen to me. It is displacing. Driving out. Because the two cannot be in one place at one time. That evil habit of complaining.
And may I say That complaining has perhaps become the national pastime. We complain about everything. And again, I'm going to say to you, as I said at the onset of this episode, if you live in America, my friend, and you're born again, you know God, you're living eternal life, you have the chastity of Jesus Christ while you're here in time and space, And you're living in this wonderful country, which, with all its faults, is still a haven for Christianity? It is still a sanctuary for the kingdom of God at present. And you're complaining?
Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. That's destructive. I'm going to say this, it's evil. This month, for a gift of any amount, receive Dr.
Hinnant's book, Gold Tried in the Fire. It is filled with spiritually rich biblical teachings, tested truths for trying times that will help you buy the gold tried in the fire Jesus challenged us to obtain in Revelation 3:18, this book. Will change your life. For a gift of $60 or more, we'll send you the complete four-volume Hinnant End Times Prophecy Collection, The Second Coming of Christ, The Tribulation Story, Revelation Notes, a verse-by-verse commentary on Revelation, and the Day of the Lord commentary, which interprets all Old Testament prophecies and foreshadowings of the end times. And if you are a Logos Bible software user, you may purchase all four of these books from the Logos Online Bookstore.
You may give your gift today by visiting the donation page at greghinnantministries.org or sending your checks to Greg Hinnant Ministries, PO Box 788 High Point, North Carolina, 27260 or by calling 336-882-1600.
Now again, Dr. Hinnant. Oh. Wow. Why would you say that?
Because Jesus is going to say to some, Christians, thou wicked and slothful serpent.
So you knew that I reaped where I did not sow, did you? Why then? Did you not? Take that talent I gave you and put it to use, so that when I came I could gain something from it. Jesus was catching the slothful servant in a lie.
Now I'm speaking now from Matthew twenty five. which tells us about the judgment seat of Christ. If you live a complaining life, you will not receive a commendation, you're going to receive. A deep correction, a rebuke. from the Son of God.
You say Jesus doesn't rebuke people.
Well, my friend, just read your New Testament a little better. Read the lessons in Revelation two and three, Jesus dealing with the seven churches of Asia Manor. There you're seeing Christ in judgment mode. You see, I don't like that portion. I'd rather read His Sweet Promises.
I'd rather read the good things in the Bible.
Well, those things are good too. When you stand before Jesus, it's that same Jesus. That you will give account to. You want that to be a pleasant experience. You know, Paul says: if we would judge ourselves, We will not be judged.
1 Corinthians 11.
So I say to you, my friend, if you will judge your life, and when you start complaining, You judge yourself. and you say, Wait a minute, stop. carnal man within me. Carnal woman within me. You're not going to say another word.
Be silent. Get he behind me. And then start saying this Lauren. I don't understand what in the world you're doing in my line. I don't know why this email came with the bad news in it.
I don't know why my phone is ringing off the hook from people who. Don't agree with me and even hate me? I don't understand why my children have failed again in this endeavor, that endeavor, or why they're on drugs. I don't understand. While the petitions I have made before you have not yet come in In sight, I've not seen them.
But I'm going to be obedient to you at this moment. I'm going to start forming a habit. A Thanksgiving. My friend, that will be the day your life turns for the better. That will be the day that you cease to be a succomber and begin to be an overcomer.
You know, if I may say to you, The New Testament clearly says, in particular Revelation 2 and 3, where Jesus was speaking, that they are overcoming Christians, well what about the rest of us? I would say If they're overcomers, There are also Underachievers. You say, wait a minute, wait a minute, Dr. Hennett, don't tell me that. I don't like that.
That smacks of. Salvation by works.
Well, hold on just a minute, my dear friend. I'm not teaching salvation by works, but I am teaching that by your works you will be rewarded, both in this life and in the next. You see, in this life, Galatians 6, 7 is in constant operation. Whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap. Today, you're reaping the fruit of your life last month, last week.
Next month. You reap the fruit of your life today. Oh, yes. Oh, yes. And also, Jesus said in Revelation 22:12, Behold, I come quickly and My reward is with me, and listen to this, Real, to give.
Every man According to his works. I'm not speaking of works Offered in a vain attempt to gain salvation. No, no. We're talking about the works that James says. And he says essentially in his epistle.
that if you say you have faith, let me see your works. Meaning, if you say you're a believer. Let me see the fruit. of faith in your life. Let me see the evidence that you are genuine.
You are the real article. You are not a counterfeit.
So, these are the works of obedience and trust. These are the works of ministry which we. Which we walk in in obedience to God and His call on our life.
Now, So if you're forming the habit of Thanksgiving, you're displacing the habit of complaining. Instead of destroying your spiritual capacity to know God and bear fruit, you're cultivating. You're cultivating. You're watering the seed in your heart. You're pulling the weeds of worldliness out.
and of indifference and of carnal reasoning. And the word is having full way in your heart and life. and your capacity to know God, experientially. is going to just explode. And you're going to bear fruit of every kind, fruit of the Spirit.
and fruit of good works in your life and Ministry works that help build the kingdom. of God. Thanksgiving prevents complaining. which God hates. And it will enable you as you press ahead in this habit of thanksgiving.
to become a totally different creature. Shall I say, a Pauline? Christian. In Acts thirteen through twenty eight. Christian, no longer A spiritual underachiever, failing to walk in the nature of Christ and the Holy Spirit giving you by grace.
and bring forth fruit. No, no but now an overc an overcomer.
Now, one more point on this. Habits are not formed accidentally. You don't fall into habits. You identify what you want to make a habit of. You identify where your current life does not fit that.
And then you set about to make that habit. part of your life.
Now habits are formed by starts, and repeated restarts. That is, you just rent the habit, you determine what you're going to do, you start about it. And then, of course, an interruption will come. I would just say this right out. Satan will try to just knock you off your stance.
Okay. Let him take his shots at you. But when you get knocked off, what do you do? You get back up into your place, you remember the habit, and you make a restart. You say, Well, what what if the devil knocked me off there again?
Well, guess what, my friend? Listen carefully. You just make another restart, and another, and another, because you are determined To rise above that old destructive habit of complaining. You've heard this said before. A thankful soul will always find something.
to give thanks about. and a complainer? will always find something. to find fault with. Let me give you a recent example.
In our fellowship just this past Sunday, One of our Brothers said that. He had had a polyp. cutting uh cut out of his um colon. And the test had indicated that there was some cancerous. Uh matter in the polyp.
Well, he had just been through a year. of the whole nine yards of um treatment for cancer. He had had colon cancer. And he went through Came up. And then he went through radiation?
Then he had a um Is a colon was uh severed. The cancerous part was removed. and he had a colostomy, and the bag was put in. And he had that for about three months. And then he was the bag was removed.
And they stitched him up And uh He completed an entire year of this whole process, and it was about three weeks after this That what I was describing a moment ago occurred. He got the news that he had had a colonoscopy and one polyp was removed and it was possibly cancerous.
So he was challenged. But you know, all through this year, his faith had been growing. He had been giving thanks and all thanks. And he was a different man today than he was a year ago.
Well When he came to our fellowship on Sunday, We stop. And it's a fellowship. We examined his experience. And we decided to give thanks. In This thing.
Now remember I told you in an earlier episode Paul's instructions were that we're to give thanks in the circumstances, not wait till the trial is over and then give thanks.
Sometimes we want to defer Thanksgiving.
Okay, Lord, I'll give you thanks.
Okay. Just bless me first, and then I'll give you thanks. God's saying, no, no, no, no. I want you to. Bless me now by faith.
You see, the just shall live By faith not only are we saved, By grace through faith, but we should live by faith.
So, anyway, we took this situation and we embraced it. Are you listening carefully to me, my friends? We gave this situation a big hug.
Now either we were stark raving mad, Oh, we were deciding to obey the New Testament. And Further form the mind of Christ in our life. And we chose the latter. And so we gave God praise, and we gave him thanks, and we had, I would say, a very full-throated session of praise and worship. And then during the testimony time.
We identified things that we could be thankful for. First of all, we said, Lord, we want to thank you, that our dear brother. His name is Chris. We want to thank you that Chris is alive today and he's not dead. We want to thank you that he didn't die.
From the large tumor that was removed a year ago. Praise you, Lord. This is a victory. Then we said, Lord, we want to thank you. That this polyp That he has had did not also grow To be a large, very disruptive, and potentially life-threatening cancer.
We only give you thanks for that. Thank you that you limited that. We want to thank you. That By your unrealized leading, Our brother? Submitted to the colonoscopy.
And realized he had this trouble.
So we want to thank you that the pilot was found. Then we want to say, Lord, we want to thank you also. that there were not more polyps in there, three or four or five. Only one. Only one.
And so we gave him thanks for all these things. And then The next day, He got a report from the doctor. that the polyp in question was not cancerous. Only it contained material that could become cancerous. and so our dear brother Chris, and our whole fellowship.
Then praise God. for what he had done. And you might say, well, that's a great victory. And I'd say, absolutely, it was a great victory to know that he did not have active cancer in his body. Praise God.
Only those who are cancer survivors, I'm sure, can fully understand that joy. and those in their immediate family and their friends. But I'm going to tell you this now. Listen carefully to what I'm going to tell you. That wasn't.
The victory. The victory. Was that our precious brother? and our fellowship with him, We're praising and thanking God in the trial. before we got the report.
You know why we did that. First, as a matter of obedience to this very text that is the text for the whole series here: In everything give thanks is the will of God. That's why we did it. But also because. We understood, and I want you to think about this, my friend.
And we were convinced of. The unchanging character. of God. The nature of God. It never changes.
He never changes. He's always good. He cannot be malevolent. He must be Benevolent, always intended good. He is faithful, he cannot be unfaithful.
He is holy. He cannot have sinned. He is Love he cannot ever Act out of anything but love. And all of your trials, my friend, right now. are coming because of his love.
He wants to Build your character as you respond in faith and obedience. He wants you to be ready for Christ's coming. But before that, he wants you to be changing your own life and world. by being a thankful Christian and helping others do. The same.
So we were rejoicing over the spiritual victory that came prior to. The natural victory. Let me encourage you. as we close this podcast. Do the same.
Prove the text and the wonderful nature of your God. We are so glad that you joined us today for the broadcast. In our next episode, we will discover that Thanksgiving is, well, easy and it enables us to draw near God. If this message has blessed you, tell your friends and please consider helping us stay on the air by sending your tax-deductible donation to Greg Hennett Ministries. Also, remember, you may download the Until He Comes podcast from your preferred podcast app.
May you walk closely with Christ and trust and obey Him in your daily tests of faith and patience until He Comes. This is the Truth Network. Uh
