ThankLiving

Psalm 116:1–19 NIV

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save me!” The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me. Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I trusted in the Lord when I said, “I am greatly afflicted”; in my alarm I said, “Everyone is a liar.” What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants. Truly I am your servant, Lord; I serve you just as my mother did; you have freed me from my chains. I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord— in your midst, Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.

Introduction: How do you Thank God?

26 - God has Saved Us.

Not really a prayer (not addressed to God) - but a poem/hymn describing prayer and its effects so can teach us wisdom and the power of prayer.

A Psalm of Re-Orientation

Not really a prayer (not addressed to God) - but a poem/hymn describing prayer and its effects so can teach us wisdom and the power of prayer.

When we preached on - I made the claim that it is actually a person with deep Faith that cry’s out, “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me.” because it is the person who feels forsaken by God, but believes God is good who can approach God with their feelings.

We see it in this Psalm - vs. 10, “I believed when I spoke, “I am afflicted greatly.”

This Psalm Re-Orients the Psalmist in their Faith because God proves himself to be Faithful and to save the Psalmist from death or something like death.

This psalm praises God for deliverance from death and trouble. It recalls the nearness and help of God in a specific situation. In verse 7, the singer tells his own soul (his mind, will, and emotions) to “be at rest…for the Lord has been good to you.” When we intentionally recall the specific ways God has come through for us in the past, our confidence will grow in his faithfulness to come through for us again in our current circumstances. Our hearts can be at peace, truly at rest, when we are trusting God. -

Holy Ghost Stories - How has God saved you?

Share the Gospel Story - With Benefits

God’s Creation - Life, the resources to support life, family, friends, work, purpose.

Jesus’ Birth - We have a savior who knows, cares, has walked our walk, identifies with us.

Jesus’ Life - We have a savior who Heals and restores, who rids the world of evil and injustice, who teaches us a way of life.

Jesus’ Death - We have a savior who removes our sin and our shame, who adopts us into his family, who takes the punishment of sin for us.

Jesus’ Resurection - We have a savior who conquered death, who promises eternal life and our own resurrection, who has defeated sin and death and evil in this world.

Jesus’ Ascension - We have a savior who is alive and leading us, guiding world history toward full redemption of our world. - We can have a relationship with.

The Holy Spirit - We have a savior who sends the spirit to speak with us, guide us, minister God’s love to us, empower us, remind us of all that Jesus is doing and will do, renew us.

Jesus’ Return - We have a savior who will save all of creation - root out all evil, suffering, and death wants and for all, and bring us into eternal presence with God.

Verse 7 - a temporary rest. a Foretaste of...- When Christ Comes again an Eternal Rest.

We really have a lot to Thank God for.

27 - We Want to Thank God.

Last Week - ACTSS - Adoration is Praising God for Who He is. Thanksgiving is Praising God for What he has done or going to do. - Love Your Spouse for Who they are not what they have done, but We do Thank our Spouse for what they have done to show appreciation.

The Proper Response is Gratitude

28 - Scientific evidence confirms what the Bible already teaches: joy and peace are the result of thankfulness. “It’s not joy that makes us grateful; it’s gratitude that makes us joyful” (Researcher Brenè Brown talks about her findings in this brief video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IjSHUc7TXM). Praying through the thanksgiving psalms can fuel our prayers by lending us solid Biblical kindling to speak to God when we need help getting to a place of authentic gratitude.

29 - Check our Motivation - Here the Psalmist seems to want to Pay God back for his salvation - impossible. We can not out give God. The Best motivation is that we “get to live for God,” to know why God saved us so that we can have a relationship with him so our Thanks is all about growing our relationship with God.

That is that we live lives full of Thankfulness - Thanks Living.

28 - We Thank God by Living for God.

Three ways in which this Psalm Thanks God - There are more, but these are general categories. If you are talking with anyone or mentoring anyone about how to Thank God these three are a great general guideline.

We Do what the Psalmist is doing - We Praise Him. - Corporate Worship, Personal Worship - Introduce Thank you notes.

Lifts up the cup of Salvation. - We Proclaim Him

Tie in to Communion and the Passover Supper - This psalm also mentions the “cup of salvation” (v. 13) and offering a “sacrifice” that’s referred to as a “thank offering” (v. 17). These images likely refer to the Old Testament sacrificial system, more specifically, a thank offering that was made after the Lord provided deliverance. The thank offering was accompanied by a cup of wine drunk at the festive meal, all in celebration of God’s giving a victory (Kenneth Barker, gen. ed., The NIV Study Bible, (Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI), ). While the Old Testament’s animal sacrifice system is no longer necessary because of Jesus’ completed sacrifice, these verses are still helpful for believers today. It is good for us to remember that sometimes thanksgiving is a sacrifice. It may be mixed with grief or loss; it may cost us something. But we still need to bring it as we approach the Lord because he is always worthy of our thanks and praise.

Communion - We Remember and Give thanks to What God has done - We proclaim his death and resurrection till he comes again.

Proclaiming Him does not just happen when we have communion - Celebration as a re-enactment - It encourages us to live it out - So Share the Good news - Thank You note - Pray for your neighbors.

3. Serve Sacrificially for God. - The Psalmist ties his thanks to giving a thanks offering (ie. as part of passover) - Paul connects the dots to living a life of sacrifice.

English Standard Version Chapter 12

12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

31-35 - A million ways you can do this. Here is a video of our Love INC. Missional Community doing that very thing.

36 - Find out your God-Given Passion, Learn what your spiritual gifts are, so you know what you are called to, and sacrificially live for God.

When You serve, do it with Jesus so that you are growing in your relationship (not out of obligation, or to pay him back, or to look good in front of others) - Be in communication with the H.S. “H.S. how can I serve? H.S. what are you doing through me? H.S. what are you doing through those I serve? H.S. let’s have fun together serving. etc....

Thank You Note - Ask the H.S. how he would like you to serve. The H.S. often speaks through other people, talk to someone you trust has the H.S. as a sounding board to help you discern how to serve.

Application Point:

We can Thank God by - Praising Him (Growing in Faith), Proclaiming Him (ie sharing your faith) (to build new disciples), Serving Him. (Serve in Christ’s Name)

Conclusion: Thank you Notes

Reference the Reformed Confessions: The Reformed Confessions are statements of faith written to clarify the Gospel at times when the Church was in crisis. Heidelberg Catechism: Q&A 2, 19, 21-22 81, 86, 90-91, 114 Belgic Confession: Articles 20, 22, 24 Canons of Dort: Head I, Articles 2-6; Head II, Article 5; Head V, Article 12