Why Are You They Thankful?

I want to begin this morning with a limit bit of a test. The way this test is going to work is that you will need to raise your hand if the answer is yes. To make sure that your hands are working let’s all raise at least one hand to makes sure that our test is going to fair and accurate.

Ask them to raise their hands.

Okay, here is the question...

If you are a morning person, will you raise your hand?

Thank you for participating.

Illus.: Tell about how when Julie and I frist got married, I was not a morning person at all. I didn’t like them. I was not a very good person to be around until I had been awake for a while. And Julie woke up like a Disney princess with all the birds chirping and everything was happiness and rainbows.

To be honest I didn’t get it. I didn’t understand why she was do chipper and I felt like death warmed over. Parts of me were jealous and the others parts wanted to turn her morning personness down a notch. And I am sure my not so morning person did just that.

We all have moments in life when we wonder why we can’t be more like that next guy. We wonder this...

academically

financially

career wise

relationally

even waking up in a better mood

Some of us wonder this stuff about those that we worship with...

why are they in a good mood all the time?

why do they lift their hands in worship?

why are they always talking about the Lord?

why are they always praising God?

It can make as feel like there is something wrong with us.

It can cause us to ask - Why are they so thankful?

Will you join me in Psalm 107 today as we seek to answer that question and discover...

Four Better Motivations For Thankfulness...

Background:

Israelite Exile (North and South)

Four descriptions of their experience and deliverance

The Cycle (Difficulty, Cry out, Deliverance, Thanksgiving Discovered)

So, let’s look at the first morivation for thankfulness...

Your Soul Has Found Satisfaction In God. (v. 4-9)

False Satisfaction. (V. 4-5)

God shows up. (v. 7)

True Satisfaction Found (v. 9)

You’ve Experienced The Freedom That Only God Can Give. (v. 10-16)

Darkness and Bondage Experienced. (V. 9-12)

God shows up. (V. 14)

True Freedom Described. (V. 16)

You’ve Discovered That God Is The Only True Source of Joy. (v. 17-22)

False joy pursued. (v. 17-18)

God shows up. (v. 20)

True joy is found. (v. 22)

You’ve Discovered That He Is The Only One Worthy of Worship. (v. 23-32)

The Worship of Wealth & Gain. (v. 23-27)

Note: The storm that was attached to misplaced worship.

God shows up. (v. 29-30)

cf - Mark 4:35-41

The true object of worship is discovered. (v. 32)

So, what now?

I want to simply ask you...

Has you soul found satisfaction in God?

Have you experienced the freedom that only God can give?

Have you discovered that God is the true source of joy?

Have you discovered that God is the only one worthy of worship?