Transition: Video Testimonies from SOKM - Giving thanks through testimony for God’s faithfulness!
Series: Finding Joy in The Journey
Sermon 12: Finding Joy in the journey through Giving Thanks!
Thesis: This message explores how God's love is expressed to us in the context of our troubles in the journey of life and how those experiences should birth a heart of thanks, of praise and of joy in our hearts for God’s help. It also reminds us how God does intervene in our lives so we can tell others the stories of how the Lord has helped us so they too can be encouraged to ask Him for help.
Scripture:
Psalm 107:
NIV
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say this—those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.
CEV
1 Shout praises to the Lord! He is good to us, and his love never fails.
2 Everyone the Lord has rescued from trouble should praise him,
3 everyone he has brought from the east and the west, the north and the south.
Message
1 Oh, thank God—he’s so good! His love never runs out.
2 All of you set free by God, tell the world! Tell how he freed you from oppression,
3 Then rounded you up from all over the place, from the four winds, from the seven seas.
Introduction:
Psalm 107:1-3 - Encourages us to tell our Story of what God has done for us in the journey of life – it is a great way to “Give thanks to the Lord” and encouraged by this Psalm – Oh by the way - we call those stories testimonies!
The Bible reveals two mighty weapons in our arsenal against Satan's accusations: First is the, "the blood of the Lamb" and the second is "the word of their testimony" (Rev. 12:11).
For those of you who listened last year to my series on Revelation we discovered that , the blood of the Lamb is pretty straightforward and connected with The Covenant of the Law between God and Israel – it was a sacrificial system – a phrase in Leviticus stated “Life was in the blood.” A blood sacrifice was required to be made for sins – so the people would be forgiven. But in the New Testament Jesus became the one time sacrifice for sin for all of us – His sacrifice – A blood sacrifice was for your sin and my sin – The sacrifice of His life gives us the victory over sin, the fall and the Devil. The cross represents the ultimate sacrifice and extravagant bloodshed of Christ as a sin offering for us. This was God’s plan and order to remove our sins and cancel the records of wrongs that Satan uses to accuse us see (Col. 2:14). It is a mighty weapon to defeat the lies and attacks of the Devil on our identity-destiny and relationship with God – when we partake of being a part of this sacrifice by faith – by believing in Jesus’ sacrifice – His death and His resurrection we find the power to overcome the enemy of our soul.
What isn't as obvious to many today within and outside the church is how "Our personal testimony" is also used as a weapon against the Devil and his lies. A testimony is extremely effective to silence Satan in your life and to introduce the power of God into the lives of others. Did you hear that? Your testimony has the same power behind it that raised Jesus from the dead – same Holy Spirit!
Today I want us to understand that “Giving Thanks to God for His goodness and love is the best way to honor Jesus at Thanksgiving.” Sharing our story is giving public thanks to God for His faithfulness and His connection in us in the journey of life.
The following message is inspired and gleamed from https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/print?sermonId=210118 sermon: “God Will Fix It For You” - Contributed by Richard Tow on Jul 7, 2017
It is also taken from Kyle Winkler who equips people to live in victory. His mobile app, Shut Up, Devil!, is the #1 spiritual warfare app; and his recent book, Silence Satan, has helped thousands shut down the enemy's attacks, threats, lies and accusations.
In telling our story about how God helped us in times of trouble - we in essence attack and defeat Satan in at least three amazing ways:
Sharing your testimony connects you with others. (Note: This is one of our core values here at CHC Connecting with God and Connecting with others).
Do you want to connect with God and others – be willing to share your stories, the times God helped you answered a prayer – or even delivered you!
Reference Prayer Wall and the answered prayers. We put them on the board to Give God thanks for helping us – It's a testimony to His faithfulness!
A struggle that all pastors, teachers or speakers face is how much to share about their own personal lives.
Some fear that if they are too transparent or honest people will lose respect for them and their authority.
Kyle states this, “But I've found the opposite is true of this thought. We need to share our stories because God uses our stories to deliver others – to show them God Loves, God cares, God listens to our prayers, and there is Hope.”
Share story of me while I was preaching of a argument Kathy and I had and the comment from a couple in the congregation – I thought it was just us!
I promise that you'll notice the same in your journey when you share your story and your struggles with others!
Point: to connect with others and God requires you to open your life up as a testimony to God’s faithfulness and love.
We need to show our scars! Why? When we open up - real opportunities to heal the brokenhearted will come your way. People will come looking for your story and how you were helped, healed, delivered or even provided for.
They want to hear that God is real – not a myth – but a person who will connect with them like He connected with you.
Sharing your testimony with others raises you above the influence of your past, the shame of the past and the pain of the past.
Some believer’s like myself know that we are completely healed of our previous wounds, freed from sin and freed from our pasts, yet many are too embarrassed to speak about these with others. They fear that people will treat them differently if they know the truth of their past.
Share Todd Whites thought on testimony and honesty of what God has done for Him and others.
He says I was a drug addict but God delivered me and now I am a child of God – not a drug addict anymore.
Reference how he disagrees with AA’s rule of introductions “Hi my name is Mike I am alcoholic” and how Todd disagrees with this when we become born again in Jesus.
Share the same from last ministerial meeting and Mike’s comment.
It’s important to draw our attention to how the Bible boasts about the power of our testimony to defeat the accuser (Satan), it ends with “and they loved not their lives unto death” (Rev. 12:11,).
Something happens to a believer who knows who they are in Christ and is bold enough to tell others about what God has done!
They become bold –courageous - they are no longer afraid of death – but instead they seek to please the Lord and to help others be set free from sharing their stories - testimonies. They tell the world!
To me this describes the Spirit filled life and the crucified life. If your past is completely nailed to Christ's cross and covered by His blood, then there's no reason for shame or embarrassment. If you are empowered with the Holy Spirit your testimony has power to impact others. Your record of wrongs should no longer haunt you, and you should no longer fear the opinion of others. You should choose to share your story as a way of praising God and giving Him thanks for what He did for you. We need to be living sacrifices for God and tell our story so others find life!
Remember --- "Old things have passed away; all things have become new" will be your new reality and identity (2 Cor. 5:17).
But you have to believe it – and stand on this verse!
Sharing your testimony releases hope and the power of the Holy Spirit into other’s lives.
Each one of us was rescued from sin, from bondage and brought out of something for a reason! You may be thinking what is the reason? Glad you asked -- "so that you may declare the goodness of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Pet. 2:9, MEV).
We were delivered – healed –forgiven – blessed - encouraged - touched – blessed – strengthened to tell others what God did for us in that moment of life. It has divine purpose and meaning! Don’t let the Devil steal your story away! Don'’t let the Devil stop you from sharing the power of the Gospel with others!
Quote from Kyle: “In these dark days, it's critical that people see the hope of the resurrection. More than ever, people need confidence that God is real, that He loves them and that He can truly transform their lives into something of value. As one who's experienced that transformation, your testimony has the power to release that hope.” Did you hear this – your story has power!
Perhaps your story will encourage the addict that freedom can be received – that they can be freed from the drugs with the Help of the Holy Spirit.
Share Claytons thought on Meth with you!
Meth has a haunting voice with it and without Jesus and the Holy Spirit I could not resist it!
It’s possible that someone sick needs to hear your story of healing – Why? So that there understand their symptoms are not the final answer but God has the final answer. And they need to encouraged to press on.
Maybe a depressed person needs to hear your story that there is a place of exceeding joy and that God can deliver them from depression, negative thoughts, and even suicidal thoughts.
Share Brett’s Story – Our comedian coming on December 10th !
You story could impact the outcast that there is acceptance and love found in Jesus and that they are not alone or rejected by God.
Your story could impact those in fear and overwhelmed with worry and see that God will provide like He did for you.
No matter how big or small, your story might be just the hope that someone needs to make it through whatever he or she faces today!
But all these stories of hope-healing-provision- deliverance should compel us to give God thanks this Thanksgiving by sharing our own personal stories.
So don't hold it back – give God thanks by telling others what God has done for you.
T.S. – We are going to see and hear how God has been faithful to so many and I pray it encourages you today – it inspires you today to really see the hand of God at work today – I pray you are encouraged to give God thanks for his mercy, love and connection.
Kids give words that show why they are thankful to God for _________?
Video testimonies – 2 share of God’s intervention in their lives.
Jamonica’s Testimony
T.S. – We just heard how faithful God is and seen people giving Him thanks through sharing their stories – did you enjoy hearing these stories – seeing these kids being thankful to the Lord?
Introduction 2:
I want to look at Psalm 107 again and help you see the 4 types or groups of people mentioned here who were experiencing struggles in the journey of life and how God helped them in their time of need! Remember we are looking at them so we understand He can do the same for us today and when He does – Let me say it again “When He does” we need to give Him thanks and praise and pass on our stories!
Scripture Text: Psalm 107:4-42
Group 1:
4Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle.
5They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away.
6Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
7He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle.
8Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men,
9for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
Group 2:
10Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains,
11for they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.
12So he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
13Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.
14He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains.
15Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men,
16for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.
Group 3:
17Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
18They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death.
19Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.
20He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.
21Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.
22Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy.
Group 4:
23Others went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters.
24They saw the works of the LORD, his wonderful deeds in the deep.
25For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves.
26They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away.
27They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits’ end.
28Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.
29He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.
30They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.
31Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.
The four groups of people who should “Give thanks to God” for helping them does not reflect and exhaustive list of all people groups it is just a few! These Four groups of people were experiencing trouble in life and God came and helped them in their time of need and the Psalmist tells us they need to Give God Thanks for what He did for them and tell their story to others.
Group 1 : We will call the drifters – those who drift, wander in their journey of life, the lost, the nomads, the loners, the homeless.
Wanderers as the Scripture calls them in verses 4-9.
These were people wandering, drifting through life just trying to find their way!
They just drifted from place to place – nomads with no destiny – no direction, they were just living in a wasteland of nothing and they had no purpose.
They were hungry, thirsty, unsatisfied—yet unable to find a place of contentment and satisfaction in their journey of life –they were frustrated and unfulfilled with their lives. They were homeless!
They did not know what to do or were to go – they were lost in the wilderness of nothingness – no identity – no purpose – no destiny – no relationships which really mattered.
Verse 4, “Some wandered in desert wastelands….”
Verse 5 “They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away.”
Anybody here feel your life is ebbing away—you need purpose and direction—you need God to lead you into fulfillment? You are adrift?
Can you identify with this group of people?
T.S. – Let’s get a look at the second group of people:
Group 2 – are the ones in bondage – they are trapped – caged - they are imprisoned – they are in chains!
The Prisoners as called in our text in verses 10-16 are very depressed, living in a state of doom and gloom. No hope of escape!
Circumstances have closed in on them like financial woes, sin, relational breakdowns, addictions, war, dysfunction and other complications.
These people in bondage see no way out of their chains – they are trapped in the pit off despair and bound in chains of hopelessness.
They see no solution in sight.
Verse 11 specifically says they got themselves in the mess “for they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.”
They had rejected ways of God for their own sinful choices and the actually chained themselves to the dungeon of misery.
Richard Tow states this about our 2nd group of people: “Most of my troubles have been self-imposed—the consequences of my own bad choices—following my own desires instead of doing what I knew to do.”
He uses the example of; Jonah got into the belly of a fish because he rebelled against the words of God. God told him to go one way; he chose to go his own way. God Himself sent a storm into Jonah’s life—a storm designed to turn him around.
Also David said in Ps 119:67 “Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now have I kept thy word.” And in verse 71 “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.” The chastening or correction David experienced from the Lord was painful at the time; but in it he humbled himself and learned the lesson to be learned and later he could see the goodness of his Heavenly Father in it all (Heb 12:11).”
This second group has inflicted wounds on themselves – there wrong choices are seen on their faces and in their lives – addictions of various kinds have them wrapped up in the ropes of doom and gloom – they tried to dull the pain with the wrong things only to make it worse – they are trapped in porn – in alcohol and drugs – in sin – in lust – in greed – they have committed crimes – all their own choices – their choosing to deal with the troubles in the journey of life were only sinful ways and it hurt them more and more – they are imprisoned.
Can you relate to this group of travelers through the journey of life?
T.S. – Let’s look at the 3rd group of people:
Group Three - The foolish ones – the ones who rejected spiritual nourishment in their journey!
Verse 17 calls the next group Fools in our text , “Some became fools” (How) through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.”
This group made foolish choices and they are suffering the consequences of their foolish choices.
They buried themselves in debt!
They choose work over family!
They choose to not follow the teaching of God’s Word!
They neglected the commandments of God.
Thye refused to honor God!
They rejected the truth and embraced the lies.
They neglected to eat the spiritual food which would keep them alive and it brought them to the cliff of death!
Tow states, “Verses 17-22 describes their experience. It’s important to recognize that the troubles are a consequence of their own choices. A mean old devil didn’t do it to them. They are not victims of fate. They got themselves into the trouble.”
The choices they made led to their spiritual starvation! They are on the brink of destruction – nothing but a skeleton dying of spiritual nourishment!
Tow adds, “In our society everybody is a victim and nobody is responsible. That leaves the door to freedom locked—because the key to freedom is an old-fashion thing called repentance. And the first step toward repentance is to acknowledge that you’ve been going the wrong way—you walked into trouble because you were moving in the wrong direction—now you are ready to turn around and walk out of the mess going the right direction.”
This group choose not eat or drink of the Word of God – of spiritual food and drink – spiritual nourishment and it caused them to slide down the slippery slope to death – it also caused their loved ones to slide into the slope with them – it looked like they were going to go over the edge and they could not stop their slide and they would fall to their death.
Share story of the hike with kids two summers ago and the drop off.
Can you relate to this group?
T.S. – Let’s look at group 4:
Group Four – the businessmen, the retailer, the merchant – the tradesman – stressed!
The Merchants as named in our text in verses 23-32 are the last group. These people are just busy making a living – working 12 hours a day – making money – work – work - work.
Tow states, “They were not doing anything overtly wrong—except that sometimes we get so busy with our natural lives that we forget about the most important thing of all— a relationship with God.”
This group is a large group in our society today – life is all about work – making money – living the American dream!
Scripture says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these other things will be added unto you.”
Many know this Scripture but do not believe it – why because I see people consistently putting God behind their work.
Some who did not do this:
S. Truett Cathy Chick Fi la founder - S. Truett Cathy
Hobby Lobby founder CEO-David Green
Others?
J.C. Penney
John D. Rockefeller
Thomas Bramwell Welch
John Tyson
Tow states, “So when trouble comes we really feel the whole thing is very unfair—what did I do to deserve all this? …The focus Psalm 107 is man’s tendency to go his own way, do his own thing, and God’s work in our lives to lead us in the way we ought to go.”
Conclusion: Psalm 107:
We see mankind (men and women) dig their own ditches with God, mankind walks away from God right into trouble – many makes wrong choices – mankind does the wrong things – we sin and the ravages of sin overrun us BUT – the Psalmist tells us that even though we do foolish things God delivers us – helps us – catches us and loves us – when we ask to be delivered - that’s amazing! But we should make sure we Give Him Thanks for saving us when He does and one of the best ways is by telling others how He did it!
Let’s read why we need to give thanks and share our stories:
32Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders.
33He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground,
34and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there.
35He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs;
36there he brought the hungry to live, and they founded a city where they could settle.
37They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest;
38he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased, and he did not let their herds diminish.
39Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled by oppression, calamity and sorrow;
40he who pours contempt on nobles made them wander in a trackless waste.
41But he lifted the needy out of their affliction and increased their families like flocks.
42The upright see and rejoice, but all the wicked shut their mouths.
43Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD.
Look with me at the last verse (43) of this Psalm. “Whoever is wise, let him heed these things….” What things?
This verse is repeated 4 times in our chapter: “Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men (women).”
What do we need to heed? – We need to Give Thanks to God for helping us in the journey of life – for forgiving us – for restoring what we lost - for delivering us out of chains of bondage – for rescuing us financially – giving us places to live - for feeding us at the point of spiritual starvation – We need to thank God and praise Him and tell others our story!
We have an action step for Giving Thanks to the Lord today as our Psalm describes:
The ushers have Passed out “Give Thanks Cards” and I am requesting you to put this Psalm into practice today by taking the time to fill out the “Give Thanks Cards” . Let’s remember what God has done for us – once you filled out the Card please bring them to the altar during worship time – hold them up to God and thank Him and praise Him for His love and kindness REMEMBER – Psalm 107: 22 said , “Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy.” So, let’s do this and once you are done lay your cards on the altar as a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.
Once you have done this – be determined to share you stories – tell your testimonies with others this Thanksgiving - share them with friends, family and others as another way to Giving God Thanks this season and let the Holy Spirit use your story to touch others!
Altar time:
Worship – Give Thanks!
Closing:
Brennan comes up shares instructions on our Thanks Giving back outreach today!
