Reasons to Give Thanks
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Intro; This morning we looked at Job giving thanks to God in the trials and tribulations of life. I want to remind you that the song, “Blessings” by Laura Story, reminds us that “the trials of life are often God’s mercies in disguise.”
[Optional Intro;] As we draw close to Thanksgiving the more we see our culture being less thankful and more greedy. In the culture we live in today the world views holidays as a time they get off from work, party and go shopping. Very seldom does this “woke” generation stop and give thanks for the blessings we have here in America. Thanksgiving is the first holiday that our country ever celebrated.
The Pilgrims celebrated “Thanksgiving” as part of their religion as days of prayer and fasting, not necessarily feasting. Our national holiday really stems from the feast held in the autumn of 1621 by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians. The 1621 Plymouth feast and thanksgiving was prompted by a good harvest. The Pilgrims celebrated this with the Wampanoags, a tribe of Native Americans who, along with the last surviving Patuxet, had helped them get through the previous winter by giving them food in that time of scarcity, in exchange for an alliance and protection against the rival Narragansett tribe. Thanks was given to God for His providence, provisions, fellowship and alliances in the new world.
Tonight I want us to look at another great man of faith that gives thanks to God for delivering him from the trials in his of life. His name is David.
The word “thanks” is used 140 times in scripture and David uses it more than anyone in the Bible. I want us to look at “Reasons to Give Thanks” to God in our life.
Text: Psalm 18 1-3
1 I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.
1. David’s Declaration; 1-2
1. David’s Declaration; 1-2
I will love the Lord and I will call upon the Lord;
David writes this psalm as a thanksgiving because God has delivered him from all his enemies, the hand of Saul, and has sustained him in times of trouble!
In these 3 verses David uses the pronoun “my” nine times confirming his intimate relationship with God.
I will love You, O LORD! Love [re-ham] to seek the well being of another.
David loves God because God has sought David’s well being. I just want to hug You God, like hugging children because they make your day better.
My Strength [used twice, vs. 1&2]- God is the source of our strength/ability to face life
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.
Outside of Job, David and the apostle Paul probably suffered more physical and spiritual trials in scripture as followers of Christ than anyone. But yet God is their strength to persevere day in and day out!
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
My Rock- stability, and permanence. God is my only constant in life. When everything else in life is changing and doesn’t make sense, God still does!
2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.
6 “For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
My Fortress- a secure dwelling place protected by a walled defense. God is David’s fortress as well as ours!
14 And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.
1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”
My Deliverer- One who rescues and saves. If there is no other reason we can think of to praise/thank God, here’s one! If you are a christian, Jesus has rescued, saved and delivered you from your most powerful enemy, SIN!
John 3:16 (NKJV)
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,
4 who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
18 And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!
My God- “I AM is in control”
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
My Shield- a barrier that protects. God often steps in between us and the storms of life.
12 For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.
But God also requires that we use our faith as a shield, a barrier against the storms and trials of life
16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
Horn of My Salvation- Horn means strength, power and security. The LORD is all three parts in salvation. He is the Strength that defeats SIN, the Power of the Resurrection and the Security of Eternal Life!
50 Now Adonijah was afraid of Solomon; so he arose, and went and took hold of the horns of the altar.
51 And it was told Solomon, saying, “Indeed Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; for look, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’ ”
52 Then Solomon said, “If he proves himself a worthy man, not one hair of him shall fall to the earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.”
53 So King Solomon sent them to bring him down from the altar. And he came and fell down before King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”
Adonijah placed himself under the saving grace of God
John 10:27–30 (NKJV)
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
30 I and My Father are one.”
In Christ we are eternally secure
My Stronghold- The high towers of the city walls were strongholds stocked with supplies to fight the enemy from a point of advantage. God gives us spiritual armor to wear to keep our advantage over our enemy Satan.
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
2. David’s Praise; 3
2. David’s Praise; 3
David says “I will call upon the LORD” because of His worth.
Worthy- value, deserving attention and respect, showing qualities or abilities that merit recognition in a specified way:
David is saying “God is the only One deserving of my praise and thanksgiving because He has saved me from my enemy and sustains me in life!” Therefore I will call upon the Lord! [Continually seek and praise Him!!]
1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.
2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?”
3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.
4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.
5 But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”
9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”
Close;
This Psalm of David is 50 verses of praise and thanksgiving to God for His deliverance. But David would have never written this Psalm unless he had gone through storms and trials of life, like Job. So enduring afflictions and being delivered from them, gives one more than Reason to Give Thanks to God, it actually deepens our intimacy with God. Let me remind you of a line in the song “Blessings”
“What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy”
[Optional Close] This Psalm has 50 verses of praise and thanksgiving to God for His deliverance. But there is one verse in here that stands out that gave David and us as well, the reason why we should give thanks to God. It is found in verse 19.
19 He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.