Forget Not All His Benefits

MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER

RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK

Text: Psalms 103:1-22; Ephesians 5:19-20; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

ILL. Thinking about his childhood, Chuck Swindoll wrote: "I recall, as a little barefoot boy…, standing erect in my classroom & repeating the 'Pledge of Allegiance.' Our nation was at war & times were hard.

"My teacher had lost her husband on the blood-washed shores of Normandy. As we bowed our heads for prayer she wept aloud. I did too. All the class joined in. I still remember her praying. She stumbled through one of the most moving expressions of gratitude & praise that ever emerged from a soul plunged in pain.

"Lost in sympathy & a boy’s pity for his teacher, I walked home very slowly that afternoon. Although only a child, I had profound feelings of gratitude for my country. . . my friends . . . my school . . . my church . . . my family.

"I swore before God that I would fight to the end to keep this land free from foes who would want to take away America’s distinctives & the joys of living in this good land. I have never forgotten my childhood promise. I never shall."

(Charles R. Swindoll, Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life, Grand Rapids: Zondervan) p. 424)

You know, there is so much in our lives as Americans that we take for granted. When I get up in the morning, I can step into my shower & enjoy the hot water.

Then I can get dressed, go out & get into my car & drive anywhere I want to go. When I get low on gas I can pull into a gas station & fill up again.

Then when I go home, I can enter the house, flip a switch, & the lights come on. When I open my refrigerator I’ll find all kinds of foods to eat. And like most Americans I tend to just take all these things for granted.

ILL. But that isn’t the way things have been recently in some of our larger cities. Riots have erupted, statues & memorials torn down, stores & businesses looted & burned, houses destroyed & people terrorized. Whether accidental or deliberate, people have been injured, & lives have been lost.

And the country that I, & millions of others, love & have pledged our allegiance to, is constantly being condemned as an evil, racist society.

ILL. One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days & nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?" "It was great, Dad." "Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked. "Oh yes, I did," said the son. "So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog & they had four. We have a pool that fills half of our backyard, & they have a creek that stretches way past their property. We have lanterns in our yard & they have the stars at night.

"We have a small piece of land to live on & they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them."

The boy’s father was speechless. Then his son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me just how poor we really are."

It makes you wonder what would happen if we gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don’t have.

I. DAVID STARTS OUT PRAISING GOD

In the 103rd Psalm David starts out praising God & then says: “Praise the LORD, O my soul, & FORGET NOT all his benefits.” Psalm 103:2

If we forget God’s benefits - if we forget the blessings He’s given us - we can end up being ungrateful, taking what we have for granted.

ILL. We can become like the woman who walked into a grocery store a day before Thanksgiving & was very upset with the size of the turkeys that were left. She turned to the stock boy & asked snippishly, "Don't these turkeys get any bigger?" To which he calmly replied, "No ma'am. They're dead!” (Jeff Strite on Sermon Central)

That woman had more food in front of her than people in most 3rd world countries would ever see. And yet, she was angry because what she saw wasn’t BIG enough.

ILL. Back in 1988, a Polish worker named Jan Grzebski was hit by a train. He lived, but only barely. For the next 19 years he was in a coma.