Give Thanks - part 4
To Tell the Story
preached Nov. 24, 2019
There is a direct relationship between those who consistently give thanks to God and those who consistently witness. It may not be a common talking point in a witnessing class, but it is true nonetheless. The reason is simple: you cannot tell others what you have not experienced yourself. How can I tell my lost neighbors and family about the transforming power of Christ, if I have not been transformed myself? It can’t be done. But, once someone has received eternal life, and the peace and joy that comes from it, they can’t help but join in Psalm 9:1:
“I will give thanks to the Lord, with all my heart; I will recount all your wonderful deeds.”
Today, as we end this series on Thanksgiving, I would like us to focus on this relationship.
Psalm 66
All the Earth Rejoices : 1-4
Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise!
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
All the earth worships you
and sings praises to you;
they sing praises to your name.”
Psalm 66:1-4
All the earth worships the Lord. Creation declares the glory of God. There is beauty in Nature, and we must remember to enjoy that beauty. Each time we discover something new about our Universe, it is one more testament to the glory of God. Its intricacies and amazing design not only point to the realty of the Creator, but also the amazing power of the Creator.
Be thankful for Creation which points us to the Creator.
The greatness of our God cannot be denied even by His enemies. Look at verse 3. The ESV says “your enemies come cringing to you.” The KJV has “submit themselves to you.” The Hebrew word there is from the root for ‘lying’ or ‘lies’. The picture here is that God’s greatness cannot be denied, and though God’s enemies may not want to kneel at His power, they must nonetheless. It is a false submission, because their hearts are not in it, but they must obey, because they have no power to overthrow the rightful Master.
As we talk to our neighbors and family, remember they know God is out there somewhere. As Solomon wrote, “He has put eternity into man’s heart.” Human beings have an innate sense of the eternal and the Divine, because our Creator has designed us for eternity. The one who denies the existence of their soul is like an eagle denying the existence of their wings. They become no better than a chicken.
He Watches the Nations : 5-7
Come and see what God has done:
he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
He turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the river on foot.
There did we rejoice in him,
who rules by his might forever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
let not the rebellious exalt themselves.
Psalm 66:5-7
The psalmist turns to God’s attention to the children of man. Undoubtedly, the psalmist is referring to the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. The Israelites can rejoice and tell the nations about the One true God, because the Lord brought them out of Egypt and made them their own nation. And, He continues to watch the nations, so the rebellious nations should not exalt themselves. God is watching if they do.
Be thankful the Lord is still Sovereign over the nations.
How much more can we give thanks and tell of God’s wondrous deeds today? We may have not crossed a sea divided by God’s hands, but thanks to Him, we have been delivered out of the slavery of sin. He has given us eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ. He continues to watch the nations, because out of every nation, there will be those who have turned their hearts to Christ. We will all be one nation, and one people, eternally grateful and praising our God who saved us.
Be thankful the Lord has led out of the slavery of sin.
Be a Blessing to God : 8-15
Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard,
who has kept our soul among the living
and has not let our feet slip.
For you, O God, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
You brought us into the net;
you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
you let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.
I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
I will perform my vows to you,
that which my lips uttered
and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals,
with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats.
Psalm 66:8-15
"Bless our God". Countless times we ask for blessing from God, but how many times do we seek to be a blessing to God? How can we bless God? One way is to let the sound of His praise be heard. That means we sing loud enough for people to hear. We don't relegate our worship to simply inside the building. We let everyone know how great and wonderful our God is by letting our worship flow out of this building and into our daily lives.
Daily thanksgiving is a daily witness.
He "has kept our soul among the living". God has granted us eternal life, and "not let our feet slip". God is guiding us throughout our lives in the way we should go. We will not slip into destruction if we will simply trust Him and step where He steps.
As we think about God leading our steps, consider 2 Corinthians 2:14:
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.
2 Corinthians 2:14
On this side of the cross, we have an even greater reason for our faith. Christ has already won the victory over sin and death. We are not attempting to keep God’s law so that we might be saved. We are trusting in the finished work of Christ, who grants us salvation based solely on grace. For the Christian, it is not about pleasing God hoping He grants us eternal life. It is about receiving the free gift of eternal life offered by Christ and merely living out the reality of walking in life and not death.
So even the act of witnessing is not necessarily an act of obedience, it is an act of thanksgiving. Christ leads us in procession as the conquering King. We follow behind as the fragrance would follow the king. Consider the next verses:
For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?
The illustration conjures up the Roman procession. When the Romans would conquer a land, they would bring back the leaders of the conquered army as spoils of war. The captives would follow behind the Roman king and his army with the priests following with incense burning. Paul is saying Christ is the conquering king. What did He conquer—sin and death. In verse 15, he says that we, the Christians, are Christ’s aroma among those being saved and those perishing. As Christians, we emit a scent to the world around us. When we live as Christ calls us to live, that life permeates the air around us. For those who are being saved, it is a beautiful fragrance, but for those perishing, it is a stench that reminds demons their time is limited.
Be mindful to smell like Christ.
This is one more reason why Christians should not worry too much about what a lost world thinks about them. Of course the world thinks you stink. It smells its own death.
The next few verses in Psalm 66 conjure up a series of images that point to us being tried and tested. We are refined like silver, caught in the net like a fish, burden-laden like a mule, men ride on our heads—we even go through fire and water. All—for what?—for God to bring us to a place of abundance! As we discussed a couple of weeks ago, and mentioned last week, the trials in our lives are for our benefit. It is through fire and water that God refines us and molds us into the design we are meant to be.
Be thankful for the trials, because through them you are blessed.
Verses 13-15 speak of coming into the House of God with offerings. Now, you may say we don’t bring animals to the offering. Maybe not, but we do bring our offerings. And where do these offerings come from? They come from the abundance we’ve been given after those trials. Paul told us to be a living sacrifice. Our lives are a sacrifice to God. Consider also what Paul wrote in Colossians 3:16-17:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:16-17
We are to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly, by teaching and admonishing one another, but also through singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, all with “thanksgiving in [our] hearts to God.” And whatever we do, we in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. It is thanksgiving that permeates and drives everything we do for the Lord. And notice also the songs we sing should come from thanksgiving. Whether we sing the psalms, hymns, or spiritual songs, we should be singing from thanksgiving—not to entertain others or ourselves, but to bless God by giving thanks. That is why we are also told to make a ‘joyful noise’. It doesn’t matter how well you sing, just sing. And it doesn’t matter if the songs you sing are from the psalms of Scripture, the hymns from the past, or some spiritual song you heard on the radio. The purpose of our praise is to thank God for all that He has done—not to perpetuate our favorite style of church music. So let Christians praise God how they see fit.
Whatever you do, do it for the Lord, but also be sure to do something.
He Hears our Prayers and Loves Us : 16-20
Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
I cried to him with my mouth,
and high praise was on my tongue.
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened;
he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me!
Psalm 66:16-20
The last section deals with the soul. Perhaps the biggest disconnect between what Christians say they believe and how they act on those beliefs is what God has done for our souls. Just consider how quick we are to praise Him on Sunday for sending His Son, only to worry about what we will eat, drink, and how we will dress, and who is running for what political office, and the wide variety of anxieties that we can find on earth. If God has saved us, if Jesus has come to earth and taken our sins from us, if the Holy Spirit lives within us and gives us eternal life and power, then what do we have to fear?
If the Lord can fix your eternity, He can fix your today.
Instead, join with the psalmist who cries out to God with high praise! Do not cherish iniquity—don’t focus on the evils and trappings of this world. The Lord listens to the prayers of those who seek Him and not this world. Consider how amazing this truth is—the Lord of Heaven and Earth hears your prayers. Not just hearing, but look at verse 19, He “attended to the voice” of the prayers. Not only does the Lord hear your prayers, but He pays attention to them!
The Lord pays attention when you pray, so pray for that lost loved one.
Look closely at the last verse. Blessed be to God, because He has not rejected our prayer or removed His love. Despite our best efforts at times, God continues to love us. That will not change. But, remember also earlier the reason the psalmist’s prayers were heard was because he did not cherish iniquity. So many times our prayers go unanswered because we are praying as James told us not to pray. We are double-minded. We want the blessings of God, but not the responsibility to live according to His purpose and His plan. I am firmly convinced the reason we don’t see God working in our lives like we would like is because we aren’t allowing Him to.
We ask for the blessings, but refuse to go the trials and testing necessary for the blessing.
We want to see people saved from their sin, but refuse to take the time to tell them about Christ. How will they believe if they have not heard, and how will they hear if we will not tell them?
Look at our last two verses for today:
Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!
1 Chronicles 16:8
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble
Psalm 107:1-2
What do they have in common?—Thanksgiving and evangelism. Give thanks to the LORD for all He has done! And the best way to thank the Lord is to go tell someone about all that He has done!
Give the Lord more than just lip service, put hands and feet to your faith.
The invitation today is quite simple. If you have been redeemed by the Lord, then say so! Go find that person God has been telling you to talk to, and go talk to them. Where has God been telling you to serve? Go serve there! “Whatever you do, do it for the Lord” only works if you’re doing something.
If you aren’t in a Sunday school class, join one. There you’ll find like-minded people that will help you find a place to serve.
If you aren’t serving in a ministry of this church, join one. Don’t worry about whether you’re qualified, we’ll train you. If you don’t want to teach, that’s fine, we have teachers that need helpers.
Sing in the choir.
Listen to a kid recite a memory verse on Wednesdays.
Host an event for the youth.
Join with a few men or women for prayer and brainstorm ways to reach our neighbors with the love of Christ.
Go knock on a door with a plate of cookies, and when they thank you for the cookies, tell them about Christ.
Whatever you do, do it for the Lord. And, if you don’t know what to do, find someone that looks really busy in the church, and ask them what you can do. Because I guarantee you, the handful of people that are running the ministries of this church will find you something.
That’s the invitation today. Stop just saying you love the Lord, and show Him!