The Believers Great Cause for Thanks

And take a practice smile.

Come on.

Everybody look up here.

Give me a practice smile.

!

Psalm 136.

Let me read just a couple of the verses and have you follow along.

And then we're going to come to the Lord in prayer and ask the enabling of the Spirit of God

that I may preach with His enabling and you may hear and apply with His enabling.

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods for His steadfast love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords for His steadfast love endures forever.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, for us, we are so comforted by the many reminders in Scripture

of the glory of Your name and the sufficiency of Your person,

of the satisfaction that we have in knowing You as our Father and as our God and our Savior,

and for the encouragement of Scripture that we in our frailty may rely upon the Spirit of God to help us,

that we can worship You.

And so this morning I'm reminded of what the prophet Zechariah spoke when he says,

not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit.

And this morning we ask, Lord, that as I preach, it may be an evident work of the Spirit of God

and that as Your people listen, that the Spirit would enable them.

And then we pray for those that are here that do not know Christ,

that this would be the day when by Your loving kindness and Your mercy,

You draw them out of the pit into everlasting life.

We are thankful.

We are thankful.

We are thankful.

That which we cannot do ourselves,

You sent the Lord Jesus Christ to do for us.

And that which we cannot do for ourselves today,

even in the matter of corporate worship,

we are thankful that we can rely upon You,

that You might be glorified here among us as You are in heaven.

And we ask this in Your precious name.

Amen.

Well, I'm going to tell you that Thanksgiving,

as we celebrate it here in America,

or as celebrated in many different countries,

was not really on the Jewish calendar.

If you were looking at the Jewish calendar

and trying to make a determination as to what you were going to do

to be a good Jew in your corporate worship,

you wouldn't find Thanksgiving like we celebrate it.

And I'm not going to belabor the point

that we could go back in the history of our country

and we could get some ideas about how Thanksgiving came into being.

It's an appropriate day for us to celebrate.

But more important than the history of our culture

is an understanding that God cares a great deal

about the thankfulness of His people.

I, earlier today, was kind of reading and reminding myself

of what it says in Romans 8,

in which it talks about the fact

that all of creation kind of groans in travail,

waiting for the adoption of the sons of God.

The truth of the matter is,

is we live in a world that is filled with frustration

and difficulty and disappointment,

and there's not a one of us here

that on occasion has not found good reason

to frown in the present circumstances that we are.

And yet we know that one of the characteristics

of a Spirit-enabled person,

and we know that from Ephesians 5, verse 18 on,

Ephesians 5:18

is that a characteristic of a believer

who knows Christ and is enabled by the Spirit of God

is that they live a thankful life.

In fact, it's commanded.

It's an expectation that the thing

that kind of sets us off from the chicken littles in the world

is the fact that we know the Lord Jesus Christ,

and there's evidence of that in the Spirit

and the decorum with which we go through life.

We look at this passage,

and we are looking at a passage

that was richly appreciated and enjoyed

by the nation of Israel

in the times in which they engaged in giving thanks.

Now, if you were a good Jew,

you would know that there would at least be,

I think, three different days

in which you were supposed to gather formally

and do big all-church dinner kind of things.

Feasts.

They would gather in Jerusalem

for the Passover and other celebrations,

and it was a time when the entire nation

would just really enjoy the blessing

of all that God had done for them

and who He was and their relationship with Him.

And no doubt, I shouldn't say in every case,

but in many cases,

this psalm in particular

was one that the nation of Israel would have sung.

Psalm 136, we know for a fact,

was one that was greatly appreciated.

It was sung, for example,

in 2 Chronicles 7,

when the dedication of the temple took place.

It was one of the songs

that was sung on that special day.

Interestingly enough,

we also find that Jehoshaphat

instructed the Levites

to use this song as a battle strategy.

Now, can you imagine that?

I mean, battle is generally some,

a very gutsy, you know,

stick each other with swords and spears

and try to clunk each other on the head

with heavy objects.

Very brutal.

And God says,

hey, we're going to use

a little different strategy here.

I want the Levites

and the rest of the people

just to sing Psalm 136

and it's over.

And guess what happened?

They sang

and they gained the victory.

And Psalm 136,

this one that we're going to look at today,

was the one that they sang

in that passage.

The Jews called it the great Hallel.

That means praise.

And as we take up this song

this morning,

this psalm,

I want you to remind yourself

in essence

that it is a reflection

of many of the good things

that cause us

to be a people

or remind us

of why we should be a people

that are thankful.

So let's take the text

and work our way through it

and allow it to become

something that is woven

into our heart and character

so that we are

not thankful just today

or on Thanksgiving

and we have kind of a pattern

maybe in our homes

where when we're having

Thanksgiving dinner

and you've got all that food

spread out

and you've got your family together,

you go around the table

and say,

what are you thankful for?

What are you thankful for?

What are you thankful for?

I want this psalm

to be one of those things

that just frames

and affects

what our genuine

heart thoughts are

regarding the matter

of thanks.

Well, let's recognize first

that we are commanded here.

We're commanded

to give Thanksgiving

or to give thanks.

You look there

in the passage,

it says,

give thanks to the Lord

for he is good

and this psalm begins

with three explicit commands,

verse 1,

verse 2,

and verse 3

and when you stop

and think about a command

to be thankful,

how many of you

on occasion

have had somebody say

or maybe someone

who's leading singing

saying,

hey,

you guys need to brighten up

a little bit

and you're sitting there

in a really moody spirit.

How many of you know

what I mean by moody?

And you're just,

who are you talking

to me about being thankful?

I don't want to be thankful.

There are some of you

out here specialists at that.

It's all right.

I understand.

I was born with the glass

seven-eighths empty.

I'm on your side.

But here's the truth.

The one who is giving

this command is not Bubba.

It happens to be God.

And he who instructs us

and has authority over us

is the one who says,

you be thankful.

Now,

think about this with me

a little bit.

Some commands

are nothing more

than instructions

from rather perverse people.

As I was studying this week,

I thought about

some of the individuals

that over the years

have commanded people

to be happy

when they're really not.

And my favorite place

when I'm thinking about that

is North Korea.

You know,

I recognize that Kim,

I might get the name right here

because I'm going to forget it,

Kim Jong-un.

He is the third.

There was Kim Jong-il.

And now we have Kim Jong-un.

And if you were in North Korea

and Kim Jong-un said

that you should be happy,

guess what you would be?

You'd be happy or dead.

I mean,

choices are simple.

I mean,

that's the truth.

People,

when he walks into a room,

guess what everybody's

supposed to do?

Glad you're here.

You know,

he is a very,

very particular individual

when it comes to watching

people's emotional display.

When his father died,

and I think I've told you

this before,

there were some

of the North Korean generals

that did not show

adequate sorrow

at the passing

of Kim Jong-un

or whatever his name was.

And as a result of that,

they were tied

to 155 millimeter

cannon shells.

And then someone backed

way,

way,

way,

way,

way,

far away

and just pulled the lanyard

and guess what happened?

So,

when

he says

be happy,

it's just to make

him feel good.

When God

tells us to be happy,

he is commanding us

to do something

that is righteous

and good

and for which

he has given us

all kinds of reasons

to engage in it.

Now,

why don't you think

with me just for a moment

about what the word

actually means

in the text

when it says

give thanks.

We use the word

thank you

pretty freely.

Thank you

for opening the door.

Thank you

for plugging in my crockpot.

Thank you

for whatever.

You know,

there are things we say

and we're just expressing

an appreciation

for what someone

has done.

The Hebrew word

that's used here

actually is carrying

the idea

of acknowledging

something about God

that's true.

Think about that.

Give thanks

to the Lord.

In essence,

it's saying

that you

are to think

consciously

and deliberately

about who he is

and what he has

done for you.

To give thanks

than is really

to gladly admit

what is wonderful

and awesome

about God.

That's what it is.

And so,

just kind of stop

and realize,

now think with me

here just for a moment,

this is God

giving instruction

to people

that he has redeemed

from the fiery furnace,

he has delivered

from the pit,

he has granted

eternal life,

and he says to you,

you are to be

thankful.

Why should we be thankful?

Because of who he is.

And when he tells us

to be thankful,

he is asking us

to think consciously

and deliberately

about who he is

and what he's done

for us.

Now,

as you work your way

through this passage,

we're going to break it down

that it has

this set of commands

at the beginning,

and then it immediately

gives us

theological reasons

to be thankful

that are framed

in the character

of who God is.

So look with me,

if you will,

in verse 1, 2, and 3,

and it's kind of very quickly

we're going to touch on this.

It says,

why should we be thankful?

Because he is the Lord

and he is good.

He is the Lord

and he is good.

Verse 2,

he is the God of gods.

It says also,

he is the Lord of lords.

I'm not going to break

these three separate titles

down this morning

and go into great detail

as to what their significance

is,

though there is value

in doing that

because we're going to

take a larger look

at what this passage

has to say to us,

but recognize

that at the beginning

what the psalmist

wants to understand

or have us understand

is that the reason

for our thankfulness

is not rooted

in the things

we have received

but in the relationship

we have.

And our relationship

with God

is the first reason

for us to be thankful.

Let me add to that

and have you think with me.

When I bump into individuals

who are not thankful,

who are professing believers,

the real problem

that they are having

is not with their circumstances

that they are in

but in the attitude

and relationship

they have

with the one

who is the Lord of glory

and their Savior.

So think with me about that.

As we look here,

we find

that really the thing

that causes us

to be thankful

above all other things

is our relationship

with Him.

And above all else,

we who are His children

have been blessed

with salvation

and all the forgiveness

that we have

as a result of that.

We have been made

to be His own beloved ones

and at the center

of our joy,

at the center

of the thing

that makes us

thankful people

is the fact

that He is our God

and Savior

and we are in

relationship with Him.

And I trust

that is characteristic

of you this morning

as you sit

where you are

kind of pondering

the complexity

of the life

that you're living.

The most important

thing is this,

is that Christ

is your Savior

and you have

a personal relationship

with Him

and you know

how the story ends.

There's something else

I want you to notice

in this passage.

You can't miss it.

Twenty-six times.

By the way,

is that repetitious?

How many would you agree?

Twenty-six times.

Well, we won't go there

right now.

But anyway,

twenty-six times.

Here it says it.

Look at it.

For His steadfast love

endures forever.

That's verse one, right?

Let's try verse two.

See if it's a little different.

For His steadfast love

endures forever.

Verse three.

For His steadfast love

endures forever.

Remember,

the fact

that we see

this pattern

of repetition

of perms

that there are times

when repeating something

is not bad at all.

I have heard

on occasion

some individuals

kind of have

a negative attitude

towards songs

that have

a certain amount

of repetition in them.

You ever heard

about 7-11 songs?

Kind of the overly

critical spirit

that says,

well,

you take 7 words

and sing it 11 times.

And I'm thinking

to myself,

well,

that person

probably has

Psalm 136

taken out of their Bible

because it's not 11 times,

it's 26 times

in which we find

that the Spirit of God

decided that it was

appropriate for us

to say the same thing

again and again.

Now,

why is that okay?

When Christ

spoke about

the danger

of vain repetition,

he was talking

about saying things

without thought

behind them

and also believing

that saying it more

is actually more effective.

How many of you

ever bumped into

people who say,

well,

I'm really concerned

about this

so I'm going to get

200 people

to pray about it?

Question.

In the economy

of God,

are 200 people

really more significant

in praying

than one righteous man?

What's the answer

from the Bible?

Don't worry

about the numbers.

And so the idea

that saying it more

or having more people

involved,

that's not the key.

The issue is the heart

with which you say it.

Furthermore,

when the heart

is right,

repetition

is a blessing

and an encouragement.

How many

of you as parents

have decided

that you're not

going to tell

your children

that you love them

very often

lest repetition

kind of dull

their affection?

Judith and I,

when we go

to sleep at night,

standard protocol,

that means what

we do all the time,

is that I will say

to her,

I love you.

She will say

to me,

I love you.

Let me tell you,

I was thinking about this,

whether I should tell you

or not,

but I will.

There are occasions

where Mr. Moody,

do you know who that is?

decides that it would

be appropriate

just to let her know

that I'm a little

miffed about something.

How many of you

have done that before?

Anybody?

Please raise your hand

so I know I'm not

the only one here.

Okay?

It's like,

okay.

I'm thinking to myself,

there she is too.

She knows this anyway,

so I'll tell her.

But you know,

I'm sitting there

lying in bed thinking,

what she said to me

really wasn't very nice.

I wanted someone

to say something nice.

You know,

it's like,

Tim,

you're wonderful.

And she says,

you know,

she didn't say that

and so I think

I'm going to pay her back.

I'm going to lie there

in bed

and I'm not going to say

I love you.

Oh,

I can't go to sleep.

Holy Spirit

is bearing down on me

saying,

you petty little guy,

you know,

suck it up

and act like

a decent person.

I love you.

Will you forgive me

for being moody

and pouty again?

You know,

you know what?

Hey,

listen to me.

I like her

to tell me

that she loves me.

How many of you there?

Regularly.

A couple times a day

doesn't bother.

That's too many.

Okay,

no.

And so,

let's get this straight.

I have no doubt,

particularly when we think

about what the scriptures

have to say about

the steadfast love of Christ,

that the repetition

of his love

is a capstone

for our thanksgiving.

It's a thing

that kind of brings it together

and helps us focus in.

The fact that

this passage

is chosen

to be communicated

again

and again

and again

means

that

the Father

in Heaven

wants you

to be struck

significantly

by the unfailing,

unchanging,

absolutely consistent

love

of Christ

for you.

I cannot tell you

how many times

as a pastor

I've had individuals

sitting in my office

and I've thought

to myself,

I wish I were a doctor

where I could write

a prescription

and then push

a little bottle

across the table

that says

Jesus loves you pills,

you know,

and have the people

take those

and have those pills

cure their heart.

The theme

of the unfailing,

unchangeable

love of God

for us

is something

that runs

through the scriptures

in relationship

to those

that are believers.

His love

will never change.

His love

is constant.

His love

is not conditional.

His love

is that

which gives us

stability

in a very

unstable

and frail world

and when

everything else

is uncertain

and we are

struck by the

insecurity

of the circumstances

we are in,

here's the truth,

He loves us

and won't

change His mind.

And so above

all other things

as you kind of

think about this passage,

I want you to

understand

that 26 times

the psalmist

says

His

steadfast

love

endures

forever.

In addition

to that

we find

that the psalmist

having made

this profound

statement

about the

reality

of the

person of God

at the heart

of why

we have

reason to be

thankful,

he then adds

some reasons.

So I want you

to look at

the added

reasons for

thanks.

For one,

the one who

loves us

is our

creator.

If you will

look at

verse 4

and kind of

carrying down

on through

verse 9,

we're going to

press it

together here

just for a

moment,

it says,

to Him

alone who

does great

wonders,

to Him

who by

understanding

made the

heavens.

As I was

studying this

week,

I was thinking

about just

how finely

tuned creation

is and how

dependent we

are on

everything

working exactly

the way God

has ordained

it to work.

Whether it

has to do

with anatomy

and physiology

or it has to

do with

astronomy,

in the details

that God has

ordained,

is our

safety and

our well-being.

And here the

psalmist,

he says,

man,

the one who

loves us is

the one who

put it all

together.

He's our

creator.

I can't help

but think this

morning about

Psalm 8.

Keep your

finger there

and go back

just for a

moment to

Psalm 8

Psalms 8:3

verse 3

and 4.

And as you

look at this

passage,

you're just

overwhelmed by

the reminder

of God's

care for us

personally.

Verse 3

says,

when I look

at your

heavens,

the work

of your

fingers,

the moon

and the

stars which

you have

set in

place,

what is

man that

you are

mindful of

him and

the son

of man that

you care

for him?

Does he

know when

you're having

a bad day?

He does.

Does he

know when

your heart

is broken?

He does.

Does he

know when

you're

discouraged?

He does.

And as

you think

about this

this morning,

as the

psalmist gives

us reason to

have thankful

hearts in the

person of our

God and Savior,

he says,

I want you to

understand that

the one who

loves you is

your creator.

We also find

that the one

who loves us

is our

deliverer.

If you were

to read through

verse 10

through 22

later on your

own, you would

find that in

those verses,

the psalmist

has kind of

rolled out for

us kind of

an overview,

a little

historical snapshot

of God

taking care

of his

people who

started out

in a

position of

slavery and

in great

hardship.

Verse 10,

to him who

struck down

the firstborn

of Egypt,

what's that

talking about?

The last

plague.

Who brought

Israel out

from among

them with a

strong hand and

outstretched arm,

who divided the

Red Sea in

two.

The psalmist

reminds the

nation of

Israel and

reminds us,

the one who

loves us is

our deliverer,

and as we

stop and

consider how

many reasons

we have to

thank him,

in addition to

the fact that

he is God

and supreme,

he's also

cared for us

personally.

He has an

interest in

you, and

he has brought

you out of

the difficulties

that you're

in.

You know,

at the end

of the day,

when our

life comes to

a conclusion,

I think that

we will end

up, if we're

able, to make

a very similar

statement to

what Jacob

did when he

came to the

end and he

blessed the

two children

of Joseph,

Ephraim and

Manasseh.

Do you

remember what

he said as

he brought

blessing to

those two

boys?

Listen, this

is good.

He said,

the angel of

the Lord who

has delivered

me from all

evils, bless

the lads.

Do you know

what he was

saying?

He was saying,

I'm not the

hero of my

journey or my

story, and

the one who

has blessed

me, the

God who

has blessed

me, I can

trust to care

for you as

well.

The angel of

the Lord who

has delivered

me from all

evils.

You know

what?

Every one of

us here,

really, when we

tell our story,

we're Jacobs.

perverse,

unsettled,

uncertain,

troubled, and

yet when we

look back across

our shoulder and

we see what's

happened, we

see that the

one who has

brought us

step by step

in the journey

of life is the

one who is

faithful and who

is our God and

our Savior, and

he is the one

who has delivered

us.

One other thing

that I want you

to notice towards

the end, the

one who loves

us, knows

our baggage, and

loves us anyway.

Where do I get

that?

Look at verse

23.

He who

remembered us

in our low

estate and

rescued us

from our foes.

Now look at

verse 1 of

chapter 136.

By the waters

of Babylon, there

we sat and

wept.

When we

remembered Zion,

on the willows

there we hung

our liars, for

there our captors

required a

song, and

our tormentors

mirth.

What was going

on in Psalm

137?

The Babylonian

captivity was in

full cry.

They were

suffering because

of their, what,

disobedience to

God, right?

And in that

particular affliction,

the Babylonians

came along and

kind of with a

spear point would

say, hey, why

don't you smile

today?

How do you like

being in Babylon?

Go ahead and sing

a happy song.

You know, it's

like, can you

do that?

How many of

you can sing

when you're

unhappy?

And Psalm

136 is an

overarching

statement about

you cared for

us even when

we were

suffering.

And why were

we suffering?

Look at verse

23.

You remembered

us in our

lowest state.

You rescued

us from our

foes.

And why were

we enduring

all of that?

It was because

of our own

sin and our

own disobedience.

Let me say

it again

slowly.

The one who

loves us knows

our baggage.

And he loves

us anyway.

And beloved,

when you think

about that this

morning, that

gives you great

comfort, doesn't

it?

Stop and think

about what it

says here.

Verse 136 or

chapter 136, it

says, for his

steadfast love

endures forever.

Above all, the

reason that I

am happy this

morning is that

I know for

certain that the

lover of my

soul who has

given me

everlasting life

in the finished

work of Christ

on the cross

will not change

his mind about

me.

Is that a

comfort?

Is that a

consolation?

Is that an

encouragement?

It is.

And the

psalmist says,

here's the reason

for you to give

thanks, because

the God of this

universe, the

one who's

created all, the

God of this

universe who

has rescued you

from the pit, the

God of this

universe who has

not changed his

mind about your

recurring failures,

that's the God

that loves you, and

that's the God that

has made this

abiding commitment

to never change

his mind and

never turn his

back on you.

And so what is

to be the

characteristic of

the believer who

has confidence in

his salvation and

a certainty of

where his

eternal destiny is?

What is it to

be?

Give thanks unto

the Lord for he

is good.

The normal

characteristic for

the believer who

is thinking

intelligently and

biblically is to

be a thankful

person.

Let me close up

this way.

If you are here

this morning and

the truth of the

matter is, is

that you have no

confidence of where

your eternal destiny

is.

It is not an

accident that you

sit here this

morning under the

preaching of the

word of God

because the God

who loves his

children this

morning says to

you, you

desperately need the

complete forgiveness

of the Lord Jesus

Christ for all of

your sins.

God seeing your

absolute inability to

save yourself sent

Christ into the

world to die in

your place and to

satisfy the debt of

your sin and he

stands ready to

forgive you and to

make you his child

and you know what it

takes?

It takes a broken

heart that is humble

enough to say I'm a

mess.

I cannot save

myself and I've had

enough of the pit

that I'm in.

I need Jesus as my

savior.

It's not hard.

It's just humbling.

It's not hard but it

makes the world a

difference and it

would be a sad thing

that on this day when

we celebrate

Thanksgiving together

that those of you

who are here that

do not know Christ

would wander out

saying no to the

God of this universe

who willingly sent

his son to be the

sacrifice to pay the

price for your sin

and you have a sense

of the darkness of

your heart.

He sent Jesus to

die in your place

and I plead with you

this morning in

Christ's stead don't

say no.

Humble yourself and

trust him.

Let's close in prayer

as John comes to

lead us as we sing.

Our Father God

this morning as we

think about the

issue of why we as

believers are thankful

and we have so many

reasons let us be a

people that are

genuine in our

thanksgiving.

Draw us to delight in

the Lord Jesus Christ

and to do so by the

power of the spirit of

God.

I pray for those that

sit here this morning

under the teaching and

the preaching of the

word of God that your

spirit would convict

those that do not

know Christ.

That the misery of

their soul, the

fearfulness of their

eternal destiny would

bring them to the

place where they would

willingly choose in all

humility to trust in

what Christ has done for

them.

They would stop saying

no and they would

trust you.

And even as we sing

this song in closing

Father you work in their

heart to draw them to the

cross.

We ask this in your

precious name.

Amen.

Amen.