INTRODUCTION
When we go to the grocery store we watch and wait while the clerk rings up our orders. When they finish they tell us the total amount that that we owe for our purchases. A trip to the doctor usually ends with the words, “How much do I owe?” When our teenager smashes the fender of our car on the side of our garage, we take the car to the body shop to be repaired. The body shop manager gives us an estimate of the cost of repairs. We learn how much we owe before we authorize the body man to begin work on the automobile. Unless we are skilled handymen, we then have to get a carpenter to repair the garage door. Our first question to him is, “How much will I owe you for labor and materials?”
In Psalm 116, the Psalmist relates that God had delivered him from physical death(V.3); that God had saved his eternal soul from spiritual death(v.8); that God had dried his tears and steadied his stumbling walk(v.8); that God had freed him from the chains of slavery and sin…(v.16) Because of God’s compassion, grace, mercy and love the Psalmist said, “I love the Lord…”(v.1) In a prayer of gratitude and thanksgiving he asks: “How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me?”(v.12)
This Thanksgiving in the United States of America, every American is wonderfully blessed. Modern medicine, clean water, better diet, etc. have raised the life expectancy of every American.(I am still not sure why a majority of men die before women… Would it be politically correct for me to make a joke about this phenomenon?) We live longer. We have freedoms that are only dreams too much of the world’s population.
This Thanksgiving in the church, every born again from above Christian has been blessed in ways that the sinner does not experience or even comprehend. God has delivered our souls from eternal suffering and death in hell. Through faith alone in Jesus Christ he has given us eternal life, both now and in heaven. His compassion comforts us in trials and he wipes the tears of hopelessness from our eyes. We have all been sinners stumbling hopelessly and sinfully through our lives… But when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Messiah he picked us up out of the muck, mire, quagmire, the ooze and shameful slime where our sins had dragged us and he set us on the firm, solid, straight and narrow highway of holiness.
When we love someone, we want to do good things for them. Out of genuine love, the Psalmist asked, “How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me?”(v.12) We New Testament Believers, Christians, ask, “How can we repay the Lord for all of his goodness to us?” Certainly, we can follow the example of the Psalmist who said: 1. “I will lift up the cup of salvation.”(v.13) 2. I will “call upon the name of the Lord.”(v.13,17) 3. “I will fulfill my vows to the Lord.”(v.14,18) Let us apply his repayment plan to our modern lives.
I. I WILL LIFT UP THE CUP OF SALVATION.(v.13)
Sadly, many people have heard the gospel and know that Jesus promised that if we accept and obey him that we will never thirst again. They see the cup of salvation, but they never lift it up to taste and see that the Lord is good. We could never repay Jesus for his death on the cross for our sins. He loved and died even when we did not care or seem to notice. He is the living water, our river of life. He satisfies our desires in ways that this world never could offer. He gives us life and makes us produce good fruit. The fruits of the Spirit. His satisfies our every need with good things.(See Psalm 37)
(Illustration: “Some time ago I saw a travelogue on television concerning a group of explorers who were searching in Africa for a vanishing tribe. In the course of their travels they came across some natives who for centuries had made their home on the banks of this one particular river. This in itself did not cause wonder, until they were showed the polluted stream. It was filled with dirt and every contamination imaginable. The natives had developed a method of swishing over the top of the water to get the bigger chunks out before scooping it up to drink. One of the explorers took his canteen and poured out a large cup of crystal-clear water and handed it to one of the aged women of the tribe, whose face was as wrinkled as a prune. She took the cup, pressed it to her lips, and didn’t put it down until she had drained it. Then through an interpreter she said that she had never dreamed that there was anything in this world as sweet and wonderful as that. I thought then: how like the world without Christ! They too drink from polluted streams—just swishing the ‘chunks’ out of the way because they have never known anything better. However, when they finally taste the crystal waters of eternal life, they proclaim that they never before realized there was anything so sweet and wonderful That old woman was forced to go back to her polluted waters. But, thank God, we who have partaken of the ‘living waters’ of salvation need never go back.”(Our Daily Bread)
As Christians, we lift the communion cup in witness of our acceptance of Jesus as Messiah and as the forgiver of our sins. God’s present and promised blessings far outnumber the trials of this world.
II. I WILL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD.(v.13,17)
As a husband I enjoy doing nice things for my wife.(Now I will admit that sometimes her idea of romantic and my idea of romantic do not coincide.) As a father and grandfather I look forward to doing kind and helpful things for my children and grandchildren. If a friend, whom we know really means it, tells us to call if we need anything—He may be insulted if we never ask for anything. If we never contact him… God is our friend…
The Apostle Paul tells us that when we accept God’s gift of eternal life that God has promised to meet our needs. “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”(Philippians 4:19) Jesus told us not to worry about food, clothing, or even life. “ But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”(Luke 12:31)
This Thanksgiving we all can learn to pray better. We can remind ourselves to pray before we speak or act. To pray before we worry. To learn that God keeps his word. To really trust someone is to repay their trust with faith. “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”(Hebrews 11:6) If we want to show God our appreciation, even though we could never repay him completely for our salvation, we can take time to learn to pray and trust our dependable and loving God. He should be the first in our love and the first to whom we turn.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”(Philippians 4:6) When we follow this command we enjoy the peace of God.
III. I WILL FULFILL MY VOWS TO THE LORD.(v. 14,18)
When we ask Jesus to forgive our sins we tell him that we are sorry for sinning against his wonderful love. We vow that with his help we will quit sinning. And then what??? Sin is willful transgression against God’s known law. Sin is falling short of the mark God has set for us. Sin is not doing what God tells us to do and doing what he tells us not to do…
Man is born in sin and serves sin: But when man is born again he vows to serve a new master, Jesus. Has the Holy Spirit been leading us to become a better witness? Have we been trying and seeking to learn how to better present the gospel to the unbeliever? Has the Lord been encouraging us to develop and use certain gifts and talents that he has given to us? Are we making full use of what he has given and told us to use? How often have we said, “OK Lord, I’ll do better the next time,” and then broken that vow? Now the Bible teaches us that we are saved by faith alone. But it also tells us in James and in most other books that we must express our faith by our good works. If we love Jesus, we will live like him and we will live for him.
(Illustration: “A little lame boy was once hurrying to catch a train. In the press of the crowd he experienced real difficulty in manipulating his crutches, especially as he was carrying a basket full of fruit and candy. As the passengers rushed along, one hit the basket by mistake, knocking oranges, apples, and candy bars in all directions. The man who caused the accident paused only long enough to scold the cripple for getting in his way. Another gentleman, seeing the boy’’ distress, went to his aid. Quickly he picked up the fruit and added a silver dollar to the collection, saying, ‘I’m sorry, Sonny! I hope this makes up a little!’” With a smile he was on his way. The young boy who had seldom been the recipient of such kindness called after the ‘good Samaritan’ in gratitude and awe, ‘Mister—please sir, are you Jesus?’ “No,’ replied his new-found friend, ‘I’m only one of His followers.’ So too the people whose lives we touch need to see the Lord in our acts of compassion and Christian kindness.”(Our Daily Bread)
This Thanksgiving will we take time to remember our vows?
CONCLUSION
Today, time does not allow us to study the ways the Old Testament instructed the Jews to take a Thanksgiving offering to the temple to show their fellow men that they wanted to celebrate thanksgiving to God in a way for all to see. The Psalmist said that he would try to repay the Lord by lifting the cup of salvation, calling on or praying to the Lord and to the Lord alone, and by keeping his vows. He said, “I will sacrifice a thank offering to you(God) and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord—in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.”(v.17.18.19)
Basically we can do the same, by living for God in his house or church among our fellow Christians. By also living out the gospel in the streets of our Jerusalem, really our city or town or neighborhood. We try to repay the Lord for his love, compassion, mercy, grace, provision…by telling others of his love. By praising the Lord in all places and in all situations. By living by faith. We know that we can never fully repay God for the debt of love that we owe—But out of love we try…
(Illustration: “Billy Bray was saved from a terrible life of drunkenness and sin. After his conversion he experienced one trouble after another, but he never ceased praising the Lord. At last he came to the place where all he had to eat was a mess of very small potatoes which a friend had given him. Billy Bray had bowed his head to offer thanks when the Devil said to him, ‘How can you thank God for such small potatoes?’ But Billy replied, ‘Go away, Devil—when I was serving you, I didn’t even have small potatoes—I had no potatoes at all!’ Yes, praise the Lord even for small potatoes!”(Our Daily Bread)
In the time remaining in this service, I want to invite as many of you, as time permits, to stand and briefly thank God for his “goodness” to you. In the “courts of the house of the Lord,” stand and give “Praise (to) the Lord.”(v.19B)—Briefly, but sincerely.
(Ron Keller 11/23/03)
(Scripture Quotes NIV)
