Bible: John 3: 17-21

Main verse: REVELATION 3: 20 – Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

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We thank God for giving us the opportunity to praise Him during Thanksgiving season. It is time for us to remember His love as He has protected us throughout the year and blessed us tremendously. Even if we have faced many hard trials, God is still with us. That’s why tonight we have sung much more songs than usual, because we want to follow the spirit of ancient psalmist on Thanksgiving night:

PSALM 9: 1 – I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvelous works.

The other reason that makes us praise God much more tonight is also because it is the 36th birthday of this church. In more than three decades, God has blessed this church so much that we couldn’t be able to recount all of them tonight, but you as our guests can see those blessings by looking at new faces and other decor in the church.

Life always changes, but God is the same for those who are faithful to Him. That’s the reason that we have united in spirit to praise Him in this Thanksgiving season and encourage each other to love Him and serve Him to the end.

Tonight, we will consider the reason why God wants to have His churches to be present everywhere in the world. When we know the reason, we will have more determination in reaching out to unbelievers and tell them about the love of God and the salvation in Jesus Christ.

The main verse for tonight reminds us about God’s love for mankind by the image of Jesus Christ knocking on a door:

REVELATION 3: 20 – Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

This image lets us know that even at the end, like our present days, Jesus is still knocking on mankind’s heart. He is willing to come, if people let Him in, and He will change their lives for the better so that they can experience true peace and happiness.

People have said that because science is more advanced than before, mankind would not need religion anymore, especially the faith in God and Jesus Christ. They suppose religions as a way that mankind invented to explain nature phenomenon that they fear and could not understand.

They have expected that because science has discovered and explained many secrets of the Earth and in nature, religions would become irrelevant, but that is not true. The faith in God and in Jesus have grown stronger in many parts of the world.

Those people never abandon their attempts and in present days, they continue to say that because science and technology are so advanced nowadays that mankind does not need the faith in Jesus Christ anymore. They suppose that science and advanced technology will help mankind to be better.

The reality is quite the opposite. As science and technology become more advanced, people become more sufficient in hurting each other. In the ancient times, wars did not cause too many casualties, but in modern times, with the advance of technology, wars have caused much more death than before.

It shows that technology cannot make people better morally, instead they give mankind the tool to commit more sins. That’s why God still wants His churches to be everywhere in the world in order to tell mankind of His love and His power to change life to be better.

There are some examples to show us that science and technology alone cannot make people good. For instance, in the ancient times, thieves used to dig under a house and to make hole in the wall to steal. It was a hard task.

MATTHEW 6: 19-20 – Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.

Nowadays, thieves do not need to dig under a house or to make a hole in the wall anymore, they can have an office and use computers to hack into other people’s accounts and steal money or personal information. Thieves in the modern time can be people who have higher education. The point is, it is stealing. No more, no less.

We should know that in the present time, people have used technology to install hidden cameras disguised as nails, screws or wall hangers to film people in private in hotel rooms and in public restroom for their amusement.

There are hundreds of examples to show that science and technology cannot make people better morally. They instead would make people commit sins more easily. The problem is the human heart, and it can only be changed by the power of God.

That’s the main reason that churches should be planted everywhere in the world to help mankind to know God because they still need the power to change from Jesus Christ. To this day, mankind still needs Jesus to come into their hearts to make them better and stop committing sins.

Therefore we Christians should be more eager in proclaiming our love for God and the salvation in Jesus Christ to the whole world. Only in Him and by Him can the world be a better place to live.

May God bless us in this Thanksgiving season much more than the past years and may Him help us to evangelize the world with more success so that future generations can enjoy this Earth happily until the time He comes. Amen.