The Reason To Shout

Introduction

Good Morning! How are you all doing? In a few days, many of us are going to be enjoying a time with family and friends for one of the great holidays of the year. We’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving! It’s fun when we come up on major holidays, because seeing some of the funnies that people post online deserve a good laugh. This Thanksgiving I came across a list that I’d like to share with you:

For automatic dishwashers. The make it possible to get out of the kitchen before the family comes back in for the after-dinner snacks.

For husbands who attack small repair jobs around the house. They usually make them big enough to call in professionals. (I’ve been there and done that!)

For the bathtub. The one place the family allows Mom some time to herself. (Guys make sure you have some candles on hand!)

For gardening. It’s a relief to deal with dirt outside the house for a change.

For teenagers. They give parents an opportunity to learn a second language.

For smoke alarms. They let you know when the turkey’s done. (I’ve only been there a couple times) (Some times it’s lead to laughter trying to cut through the smoke)

One exciting aspect about the Thanksgiving season is that it’s a time to reflect back on this past season in how God has provided and blessed. As children of the King, we ought to be excited about this! There are many reasons to be excited about Jesus! And, plenty of reasons to praise His name! This past year all of us were pushed in new ways. Some of us were required to look at situations from a different perspective, perhaps somethings we weren't use to. Just about all of us were required to adopt something new. In a lot of regard, God got many of us off the bench. Part of having to adopt new characteristics, some of us had to re-invent ourselves. We had to think creatively and constructively. The best part of the “rearranging of the living room” was seeing how God was revealing Himself. To many of us, God revealed new things. And that’s EXCITING! Many of us in this room are strong believers in Jesus Christ, and have been believers for decades. Hearing some the testimony, both private and public, has been powerful. Together we’ve been able to see the awesome power of God displayed, and not just for some of us individually, but for others. Seeing God work in mighty and powerful ways, for others, it has strengthened our faith. And, for others, it has brought praise and encouragement. Which highlights the title of our message this morning — The Reason To Shout! We can still have The Reason To Shout at times when God seems to be silent. This is because of how God has shown Himself time-and-time again in our past. We know God was there, and we know God will continue to be there!

The sermon today will be a bit different. We’re going to travel through an entire section of Scripture instead of drawing on the marrow of a few verses (you’ll need your Bibles this morning, as the slides will not capture all verses). Our discussion today is going to take us into the 5th book of Psalms. I’d like to invite you to open your bibles to the 136th Psalm. Let us begin this morning with “a call to praise.”

Psalm 136:1 ESV

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Psalm 136:2 ESV

2 Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Psalm 136:3 ESV

3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever;

Pastoral Prayer

Psalm 136 is a unique psalm. It’s what you might call part of a package. Psalm 136 is often packaged with Psalm 135. These two Psalms share a recital. That recital rests with the words “endures forever.” Both hymns bring praise to the Lord for His deeds. Psalm 135 focuses on the Lord and His people, where Psalm 136 focuses on the steadfast love of the Lord. And, that’s where we are in this Thanksgiving season — focusing on the steadfast love of the Lord.

Verses 1 through 3 give us an exhortation, or reason, for thanksgiving. It begins to frame our call to praise. Verse 1 is recognizing the goodness of God. We see that with the words, “give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.” We see the goodness of God in all that He does and all that He is! His goodness can be seen springing forward in His mercy. For some it might be hard to understand that we have no claim to the mercy of God. It’s not like the first 10 amendments to our Constitution that make up our Bill of Rights. We don’t have right to mercy. When we come to the understanding of this fact and its implications, this is when we can gain a deeper appreciation of God’s goodness to us. We are enabled with confidence to approach the throne of grace. Which has echo to:

Hebrews 4:16 ESV

16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

When we hear about this, it can start to be seen that the writer of Psalm 136 has the intent to invite the whole community to praise the Lord! That’s the main point our writer is trying to bring forward — our call to give thanks to Him. If you’re following along in your Bible, we can begin to see the divine titles our writer uses in verses 1 through 3. We see the words “LORD, God of gods and the Lord of lords.” This is a powerful reflection. It’s reflecting on His deity. But! It’s also knowing that He alone is God! The writer knows the God of Israel is the Lord and Master all packaged in unlimited sovereignty and freedom. Things might seem like they’re spiraling out of control. This shouldn't cause alarm. Because, we know that everything is in the might hand of Almighty God! In our next group of verses, our writer reflects on this.

We see the common thread that is tying verses 4 through 9 together, “for his steadfast love endures forever.” Lets focus on the main points spread across these verses. We see, “to him who alone does great wonders, by understanding made the heavens, spread out the earth about the water, made the great lights, sun to rule over the day, moon and start to rule over the night.” You’ve heard to some degree where there’s an action there’s an action causing effect. That is what we’ve entered here. In verses 1 through 3, we talked about the call to praise. That was the effect. We have come the beginning of a three part series that is causing the praise. In verses 4 through 9, we just read over and paraphrased an extensive life. The writer of Psalm 136 reflects on what God has made and done. Another way to think about this, the writer is summarizing the creation account which we can find all the way back into Genesis Chapter 1. We see thanksgiving begin expressing in His wonderful personal uniqueness and in vastness of His universe.

A couple weeks back we talked about a Hebrew word חֶ֫סֶד (he’sed). It was said that He’sed is a word with rich meaning. It means love with a strong element of loyalty. If we expand that, it can include meanings of kindness, steadfast love and favor. These words begin guiding us to the word and meaning of mercy. If you’re following along in your Bible, and you Bible is a KJV or NKJV version, you’ll see the word “mercy” where earlier we read “steadfast love.” Mercy is another way steadfast love can be translated. The Amplified is similar in that it translates it to “mercy and loving-kindness.” That’s what we see in verses 10 through 20. These verses are also about praise to God for His control of all things. Verses 10 through 20 is a reflection back on the Israelite Exodus. That comes to the surface when we look at the first part of each verse through verse 15. He struck the enemy, He saved His people, He brought them out “with a strong hand and outreached arm.” He separated His people! This means He delivers His people! As we look back on the past month, perhaps past year or perhaps as you reflect back on your life testimony, how has He delivered you? What has He pulled you from? How has He demonstrated that He’s everywhere and in everything?

Many of us can agree that faith has been fortified on many levels. I want you all to know something. I am Truly grateful for each one of you! I’m just not just saying that to gain favor. I really mean it. I know there has been times where we could have felt like a pair of dice being tossed around. But! The faith of our family has remained strong. That has encouraged me on so many levels, it would be hard to express. This is all due because of the One who we look to and build upon — Jesus Christ! Verse 16 talks about thanksgiving “to him who lead his people through the wilderness.” Remember at times the Israelites were guided by pillars of cloud and fire. The Lord directs His people in all ways. This is a “fast-charge” for our batteries, because we know the child of God NEVER travels alone! When our Lord was outlining the work of the Great Commission, he said in the last verse of the gospel of Matthew:

Matthew 28:20 ESV

20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

WHOOO! Jesus is there with us! Not just some of the time, but “to the end of the age.” The wilderness maze of tall grass, trees and mountains can look scary, but we have a guide in Jesus Christ. Just like the guides that help the bowling ball travel down the lane. Sure there might be a few bumps along the way. Jesus is right there guiding and protecting. Although our Lord is right there. It’s important to remember not just His providence but also His provisions. Verses 23 to 25 is about how our Lord remembers, rescues and refreshes! When we are fallen, frail and forgetful — we have the confidence that He never forgets that we are His children. One of my favorite book of the Bible are the letters to Timothy. Yes, there is much to be learned from these two letters. But there is also much encouragement woven into the fabric of each letter. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2:13, “if we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself.”

He provides and sustains us. We see herein verse 25 that He gives food to all flesh. The word “food” is broad. It includes everything from the physical stuff we call food that nourishes and provides energy for our bodies to the food our soul needs. He knows what we need when we need it to make the journey. He refreshes us when we need it. He knows the type of “food” we need. He knows when we need that encouraging call, text or card in the mail. He knows when to come and wrap His arms around your life. He knows when to whisper that sweet peace to our souls. Why does He do this? It’s simply and solely because of His mercy, that’s demonstrated nowhere more clearly or completely than on the cross of Calvary! That’s a reason to shout this Thanksgiving season! And, that’s what our writer of Psalm 136 does with verse 26. This is where Psalm 136 comes full circle. This is our challenge and call to praise the LORD!

Application

We come with praise and thanksgiving in our hearts with “reason to shout,” seeing what He has done. Seeing Him in everything from the air we breathe to the rain drops on the window pane. We give thanks to Him! It also means we bring thanks to him for who He is.

Who Am I In Christ?

I am His creation.

I am His beloved.

I am His forgiven.

I am a branch of the One True vine.

I am His redeemed by His Blood!

I am a child of the Most High!

I am alive in Jesus Christ!

That’s a reason to shout this thanksgiving! When we are aware of who He is, all that He’s done, doing and will do, we look forward to praising His name!

If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, the Bible says that is just one thing to do — and that’s believe. Believe in Jesus Christ. He will lift you in mercy!

Closing Prayer