Psalm 118New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 118
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let Israel say:
“His love endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say:
“His love endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the LORD say:
“His love endures forever.”
On July 27th In Indiana a policeman, Lieut Aaron Allen was shot by a man he was trying to help. He was killed and he had a five year old son. Not long after police including the police chief drove cars 1- 2 hours down highway 31 in Indiana and arrived in a town with their sirens going.
They travelled down one street lights flashing sirens going and stopped outside – no not a stakeout – but a lemonade stand run by a five year old boy called Malachi.
Malachi had heard of the terrible event and the fact that the officer had a five year old boy and decided to start up a lemonade stand on the side of the street to raise funds. This five year old boy raised more than 1000 dollars and the police were so touched they all travelled to Malachis town to say thank you and to just give him a big hug.
When something touches us we want to give thanks.
Luke chapter 17 In the New Testament we read about ten leppers that Jesus healed but only one – one in ten came back and said thakyou.
Listen to how the one acknowledges Jesus 15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
This spontaneous thankfulness is overwhelming and complete.
Sometimes in matters of faith though our thankfulness becomes ritualistic and second rate.
This morning I would like invite you to look at psalm 118 and explore with me some key principles for thankfulness
The first core reason is the Goodness of God:-
Psalm 118
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
I don’t think you really understand how to give thanks to God until you understand how Good God is.
To be thankful – Understand the goodness of God.
Ephesians chapter 3 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth of His love, 19and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.…
God has given us so many things – but it isn’t until we lose one of those things that we then realise how good he has1, been to us – if it is restored to us then we are more inclined to give thanks
A BRAZILIAN BOY SAYS THANKS
Max Lucado tells about living as an American in Brazil. One day, as he was walking along the street on his way to the University to teach a class, he felt a tug on his pants leg. Turning around, he saw a little boy about 5 or 6 years old with dark beady eyes and a dirty little face. The little boy looked up at the big American and said, "Bread, Sir."
He was a little beggar boy and Lucado said, "There are always little beggar boys in the streets of Brazil. Usually I turn away from them because there are so many and you can’t feed them all. But there was something so compelling about this little boy that I couldn’t turn away. So, taking his hand, I said, `Come with me’ and I took him into a coffee shop." Max told the owner, "I’ll have a cup of coffee and give the boy a piece of pastry…whatever he wants."
Since the coffee counter was at the other end of the store, Max walked on and got a cup of coffee, forgetting about the little boy because beggar boys usually get the bread and then run back out into the street and disappear.
But this one didn’t. After he got his pastry, he went over to the big American and just stood there until Lucado felt his staring eyes. Lucado said, "I turned and looked at him. Standing up, his eyes just about hit my belt buckle. Then slowly his eyes came up until they met mine. The little boy, holding his pastry in one hand, looked up and said, ‘Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.’”
Lucado said, "I was so touched by the boy’s thanks that I would have bought him the store. I sat there for another 30 minutes, late for my class, just thinking about a little beggar boy who came back and said, `Thank you.’"
SOURCE: Max Lucado. Citation: Quoted by Steve Shepherd in "Thanksgiving" on In the worship song This is the air I breathe we begin to understand how blessed God is.
The other night at men’s group a bunch of us were listening to Louis Giglio who was talking about the universe – In that presentation you just realise how the whole universe is so organised that this little spec called earth that we stand on is the most blessed bit of dust in the cosmos.
Psalm 19 verse 1 puts it well The Heavens Declare the Glory of God
1For the choir director. A Psalm of David. The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. 2Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.…
New American Standard Bible
If only we can look into the heavens and understand God is speaking to us through him of his majesty and his love – but more than that we look around us in awe at creation – at he emergence in spring of daffodils and birds – the beauty of grass and crops calves and the precious babies that God created for his glory = There is much to give God thanks for.
But so many people focus on their inconveiniences and our so called educators cast doubt on the glory of God preferring to tell you that you are star dust and I am sstar dust and that our future is oblivion although all of creation points all ten fingers back to God who made them
God looked at what he has made says Genesis and said it is Good.
creation is good and God is good don’t you think that we should thank him?
Secondly - Give thanks in all circumstances because God gives you hope
his love endures forever.
All sort of circumstances swirl around our lives and our own sinfulness and backsliding become an issue. Yet at the heart of Psalm 118 is this incredible promise of renewal in Jesus.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
23 the LORD has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
Jesus himself uses this very verse to describe himself – Jesus = rejected by men – murdered on a cross finds the solution for human suffering through his death and resurrection. WE give thanks to God for the cross and yet we are thanking God for Jesus suffering. Sometimes we also need to give God thanks for our difficult circumstances because through them also God is working out his purposes.
Psalm 18 - 27 The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine on us. I have noticed that many people are being wonderfully blessed by God. Since the fall we live in a dark world but as John chapter one says the light shines in the darkness. How wonderful it is tocome into a place where the light of Christ shines. You immediately sense the peace and blessing of God. This week I had the privilege of visiting St Andrews church in South Invercargill and was deeply touched by one of our DTS students this year magz and her two colleagues working with at risk kids you sensed they were bringing the light of Christ to shine in some very dark places.
Have you ever been part of helping one troubled soul to become part of the Kingdom of God and seen their utter transformation.
When Matthew quotes Jesus saying Matthew 6:33
"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. You understand the transformational power of God as the light of Christ begins to shine on a life.
Last week Foliaki and myself visited a number of dairy farms and the meals at the Hub saw many people come more than we might expect on the first night – I self congratulated Foli and myself until it dawned on me that the night was not a result so much of our efforts but the blessing of god it is not until you realise again the source of the blessing that you can be truly thankful.
Thankfulness without a connection to the blessings becomes ritualistic and tedious.
Thirdly: Thankfulness conquers your circumstances.
Habbakuk3.17Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the oliveshould fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be nocattle in the stalls, 18Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.… Habakkuk obviously knew all about figs as he ends his short book
with a song referring to them
The prophet decides to wait to see how God will respond (2:1). Something like an
answer comes in the form of a vision suggesting that God has things in hand but it may take
some time to develop. Nevertheless, Habakkuk gathers that though there will be delays, he is
to wait for God’s action, for it will surely come before too long. The reckless will lack an
assured future, he is told, while the righteous will live by being faithful. (2:2-4) This verse
is used in the NT, twice by Paul (Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11) and once in Hebrews 10:38-9, so
becoming a central part of the early preaching of the gospel.
Having chided God for keeping silent, Habakkuk later (2:20) says ‘The Lord is in his
holy temple; let all the earth keep silent in his presence.’ In spite of all the difficulties he has
in understanding God and His purpose, he lays great stress on being faithful to God, by
trusting Him to bring about the salvation of mankind from the injustices which were so
apparent to Habakkuk in the world of his day. In some respects, the world is still much the
same and can we do better than join Habakkuk in his firm intention to continue to rejoice in
God even when we experience want, violence and injustice in our lives? Even though we
may wrestle with God and the injustices of this world, can we still, like Habakkuk, embrace
God!? and pray and sing:
Though the fig tree does not blossom
. . .
Yet will I rejoice in the Lord, the God of my salvation!
May the next fig you eat be a joy to you!
Les Boddy
John 6:1-13, 35
A SPIRIT OF THANKSGIVING BRINGS BLESSING
John 6:11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks (Eucharist) to God, and passed them out to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate until they were full.
This miracle of multiplication and addition is a result of the supernatural breaking into the natural. Not only did God’s power produce enough food to feed five thousand people, not counting the women and children, but there were twelve baskets of left over, twelve tribes of Israel - in effect, this story tells us that there enough leftovers for all of God’s people.
It takes faith at times to have an attitude of thanksgiving but God rewards our faith by doing more than we could ever imagine.
We can see here that being thankful and giving acknowledgement to God is very powerful. But what is most important is giving him the Glory for absolutely everything.
