How to Say Thanks? Psalm 116:7-17
Introduction: Considering all the things that God had done for him in delivering him from the hands of death, the Psalmist asks the question “How can I repay the LORD for all the good He has done for me?” Perhaps this verse inspired Andre Crouch’s song, “My Tribute”. I would have you to look at several ways to say “thank You” to the Lord for all that he has done for you. But first consider a few of the things God has done for us.
I. Consider the Bountiful Blessings we have received from the Lord.
A. Psalms 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation! Selah
B. Consider the daily material blessings we enjoy
1. Think of the blessings of your home.
a. Most of us live in warm homes that enjoy decent if not good insulation. Compare that with life that many of our ancestors lived in medieval Europe. In England, the peasant class lived in cruck houses which had a wooden frame onto which was plastered wattle and daub. This was a mixture of mud, straw and manure. The poorest people lived in one-room huts. Slightly better off peasants lived in huts with one or two rooms. There were no panes of glass in the windows only wooden shutters, which were closed at night. The floors were of hard earth sometimes covered in straw for warmth.
b. If we are too hot or too cold walk over to a central thermostat and turn up the furnace or turn on the air conditioning. In the middle of a peasant's hut was a fire used for cooking and heating. There was no chimney. Instead smoke escaped through a hole in the thatched roof. At night in summer and all day in winter the peasants shared their huts with their animals. Parts of it were screened off for the livestock. The body heat of the animals helped to keep the hut warm.
2. Think of the clothing you wear
a. Most of us take for granted the multiple changes of clothing that we own.
b. Peasants probably had only one set of clothing, two at most. Men wore coarse tunics, and long stockings or leggings. Women wore long dresses of coarse wool, and stockings. Some peasants may have worn linen undergarments to offset the uncomfortable wool clothing. The outer garments were almost never washed, though the undergarments were laundered regularly. Wood smoke permeated the clothes and acted as a kind of deodorant for peasants. The base for the cloth was usually a russet (brown), so most clothing was a fairly drab combination of browns, reds, and grays, with only small variations.
3. Think of the food you enjoy.
a. We complain about our grocery stores yet in medieval Europe poor people ate a simple and monotonous diet. For them meat was a luxury. If they were lucky they had rabbit or pork. They also ate lots of coarse, dark bread and cheese. They only had one cooked meal a day. In the evening the mother mixed grain with hot water. She added vegetables and, if available, meat or fish to make a kind of stew called pottage. In the autumn peasants gathered fruit and nuts.
b. Every year 15 million children die of hunger.
c. I Timothy 6:7-8 “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
C. Consider the daily spiritual blessings
1. Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
2. Access to the Written Word of God
a. Statistics show in the past 10 years, 250 million copies of the Bible have been sold. The Harry Potter series, not counting the last book, has sold 325 million copies over 10 years
b. The Roman emperor Diocletion (303 A.D.) passed a law that made it illegal to possess a Bible.
c. The freedom we have to read the word of God in our own language was paid for with the price of sweat and blood. In 16th Century England having a Bible in English carried the death penalty.
d. Until 1870, it was illegal to possess a Bible in Italy
e. More than 90% of American households have at least one Bible, according to Zondervan, a publishing company based in Grand Rapids, Mich., that estimates many families are looking to buy more. Statistics, however, show a wide gap between owning and reading the Bible. About 20% of respondents read the Bible daily, according to a 2005 survey by Princeton Survey Research Associates International for Newsweek. - copied
3. Right of Corporate Assembly and Worship
a. We must constantly remind ourselves of our freedoms and how fortunate we are to have the freedom to worship God! We have the freedom to worship Him openly without fear of harassment, persecution or arrest.
b. Around the world in repressive regimes and in Islamic countries as well as in Western countries that have bowed at the altar of “political correctness” the right of worship and the proclamation of the Gospel is either expressly forbidden or legislatively encumbered.
c. There are 16,228,438 members in more than 42,000 Southern Baptist Churches not to mention other Bible preaching Baptist and various Evangelical churches in America.
4. God’s Wondrous Grace
a. God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense
b. 2 Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
c. My heart echoes with the words that Jacob said in Genesis 32:10 “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant...”
d. "To be loved by God is the highest relationship, the highest achievement, and the highest position in life." — Henry Blackaby
II. We can say Thank You Lord by living a life of obedience
A. Our heavenly Father’s heart breaks when we disobey Him. To cause Him such grief in light of all that He has done for us in Christ is the height of ingratitude. – Youngblood, The Book of Genesis, 84.
B. John 14:15 “ If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
C. The Puritan Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University wrote “Our obedience to the law is nothing else but the expression of our thankfulness to God who has freely justified us, that 'being redeemed, we might serve Him without fear” - Samuel Bolton, The Moral Law, a Rule of Obedience
D. Obedience – real obedience – is always an act of love. We love the One who first loved us. Out of that love we do what the Lord requires. Out of that love we give him the very best of who and what we are. As we lovingly follow Jesus in the way of the cross we are gladly willing to turn our lives, our fortunes, and our futures over to him to use as he will. Jesus comes first; everything else is secondary. Not because it has to be, but because that’s how we want it to be. - copied
III. We can say Thank You Lord by loving that which He loves.
A. Imitation is the highest and most sincere form of flattery
B. 1 Corinthians 11:1 “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”
C. John 13:35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
D. In what ways do I demonstrate my love Christ in my love for and service in the Body of Christ?
E. "Can I be a Christian without joining the church?" Answer: Yes, it is as possible as being: A student who will not go to school. A soldier who will not join an army. A citizen who does not pay taxes or vote. A salesman with no customers. An explorer with no base camp. A seaman on a ship without a crew. A business man on a deserted island. An author without readers. A tuba player without an orchestra. A parent without a family. A football player without a team. A politician who is a hermit. A scientist who does not share his findings. A bee without a hive. - Robert G. Lee, Sermonic Library, pp. 115-16.
IV. We can say Thank You Lord by offering songs of praise in the Body of Christ
A. Psalms 42:4 “When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.”
B. Hebrews 10:25 “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching”
C. Worship that is accepted by God is a privilege unique to the Christian.
D. Ephesians 5:18-20 “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
E. Consider briefly the significance of worship:
• It is obedience to a divine command.
• It is a means of nourishing the spirit.
• It assists in achieving spiritual growth.
• It encourages others in their spiritual development.
• It shows the world where my priorities are.
• It is one means of expressing my love for God.
• It is an avenue God has provided by which I can praise His name.
• It is the offering of spiritual sacrifices.
• It is a way of showing my thanksgiving to God for all He has done for me.
• It is a period of communion with God with the world shut out entirely.
• It is an experience that should make the heart of every Christian glad! - copied
V. We can say Thank You Lord by bringing those who have not heard to Christ
A. John 15:8 "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
B. Psalms 107:2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy
C. The woman at the well after encountering Christ out of gratitude told everyone what Christ had done for her.
D. Paul out of a debt of love and thanksgiving for Christ’s redemptive power said he was a debtor to all men in their need of hearing the good news of Christ.
E. Your testimony is to be a testimonial to the grace of God.
F. The ancient Batavians wore a ring of iron about their necks until they had slain an enemy in battle. After this achievement, it was broken off, being considered an emblem of sloth. The Christian who has not won a soul for his Lord is burdened with a badge of humiliation, which can not be removed until he has at least made an honest effort to lead a sinner to the Cross. - G. P. Eckman
VI. You can say Thank You Lord by receiving his unspeakable gift if have not done so
A. 2 Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”
B. Ephesians 1:12-14 “that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
C. Dr. Walter L. Wilson tells of using John 3:16 to help a boy receive Christ. He quoted the verse and stressed the word "gave." Showing the lad that Christ was God's gift, he asked, "Does the giving of a gift make it yours?" The boy replied, "You must take it if it is to become yours." "True," said the doctor, "and so Christ must be taken as God's gift, if He is to become yours. I am a doctor," he went on, "but I am not your doctor, am I?" "No," said the lad. "Why not?" asked the doctor. "Because we never took you as our doctor," replied the boy. "Very well, then, Jesus Christ is a Saviour, but He is not your Saviour unless you take Him. Will you do so now?" With bowed head, the boy told the Lord Jesus that he would take Him as his Saviour then and there.—Sunday School Times.
D. Psalm 116:12-13 “What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.”
