SF730 - GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD! (Psalms 136 1)

Psalms 136:1

1A.      Two Classes of People

1B.       Those Who Are Not Grateful to God

The atheist does not thank God.

Ø       A man does not give thanks to the God in whom he does not believe.

Ø       It has been said, “There are no grateful atheists.”

2B.       The skeptic or agnostic does not thank God.

Ø       That person who is unsure in his own heart about the existence of God would not be expected to thank God.

3B.       The forgetful person will not thank God.

Ø       Thanking God demands remembering .

Ø       When one forgets God’s blessings, then he cannot be grateful for those blessings.

4B.       The one who feels self-sufficient will not be grateful to God.

Ø       One man asked why he should thank God for the food on  his table, when he worked hard to put it there.

Ø       He failed to recognize his dependence upon God.

5B.       The greedy person will not be grateful to God for his blessings.

Ø       He is too consumed with what he wants to be grateful for what he has  (1 Timothy 6:9-10)

6B.       The envious person will not be grateful.

Ø       This individual is too busy coveting what another has to be thankful.

Ø       Envy is called “the rottenness of the bones” (Proverbs 14:30).

2A.      Those Who Will Be Thankful to God

1B.       Grateful people have a strong belief in God.

Ø       A strong faith in God causes Christians to thank God.

2B.       Grateful people feel dependent upon God.

Ø       We have no room for pride or self-sufficiency since every blessing, physical, or spiritual, comes from God. (James 1:17).

3B.       Grateful people remember what God has done for them.

(Philippians 1:3 NIV)  "I thank my God every time I remember you."

Ø       Without remembering there is no thanksgiving.

4B.       Grateful people have hearts filled with love.

Ø       Just as pride, greed, and envy produce ingratitude, so love produces thanksgiving.

Ø       The more love we possess, the more abundant our gratitude will be.

5B.       Grateful people will take time to say thanks.

Ø       An expression of gratitude may not consume much time, but it demands some.

6B.       Grateful people find a blessing in every event of life for which to be thankful.

After Matthew Henry was robbed he wrote the following in his diary:”Let me be thankful first because I was never robbed before; second, because, although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because although they took all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.”

Which am I, grateful or ungrateful?

3A.      How to Observe Thanksgiving

“Giving thanks for all things...” (Eph. 5:20)

“Count it all joy” (James 1:2)

Count your blessings instead of your crosses;

Count your gains instead of your losses.

Count your joys instead of your woes:

Count your friends instead of your foes.

Count your smiles instead of your tears;

Count your courage instead of your fears.

Count your full years instead of your lean;

Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.

Count your health instead of your wealth;

Count on God instead of yourself.

4A.      We Give Thee Humble Thanks

For all the gifts that You send,

For every kind and loyal friend,

For prompt supply of all my need,

For all that’s good in word or deed,

For gift of health along life’s way,

For strength to work from day to day,          

I give You humble thanks.

For ready hands to help and cheer,

For listening ears Your voice to hear,

For yielded tongue Your love to talk,

For willing feet Your paths to walk,

For open eyes Your word to read,

For loving heart Your will to heed,

I give You  humble thanks.

For Christ who came from heaven above,

For the cross and his redeeming love,

For His mighty power to seek and save,

For His glorious triumph o’er the grave,

For the lovely mansions in the sky,

For His blessed coming by and by,

I give You humble thanks.