THEME: OUR GOD IS GOOD
TOPIC: LORD, WHY ME!?
TEXT: Ps. 139: 1-24; Job 23: 1-17
SPEAKER: Dixon Olu. DAVID
DELIVERD: 12th December, 2004
Introduction
In every probability, each one of us would have sometimes asked the question, “Lord, Why me?”
Consciously or unconsciously, directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, knowingly or unknowingly, politely or ignorantly, voluntarily or involuntarily, one time or the other, by reflex action or otherwise, we would have ‘queried’ God as we demand an answer to that golden question: “Lord, why me?”
This question, more often than not, would have been a means of expressing our anguish and pain. Sometimes, even without receiving an answer, by mere expression, we get a temporal relief from the burdens we are carrying.
But, wait a minute. Have you ever look at the other side?With all the blessings, mercies and grace of God all around you, have you ever ask God, “Lord, Why me?” “Why are you so kind to me, Lord?” “What have I done to attract such unmerited favor?”
Today, I want you to be at liberty to ask God, “Lord, why me?”
1.Know that your attitude determines your appreciation
What is attitude?
- the opinions and feelings that you usually have about something.
- Jeff Keller, owner of "Attitude Is everything, Inc." has defined attitude as: the “mental filter” through which you experience the world. He says: “There are many filters you might have. For instance, some people see the world through a filter of optimism; others through a filter of pessimism. Some see opportunity wherever they go; others see obstacles around every corner.”
In Psalm 139, David marvelled at the Omniscient (all-knowing), Omnipresent (all-seeing), and Omnipotent (all-powerful)attributes of the Lord God. Knowing David for all the bad side of life that he had, He did not allow the bad experiences to becloud him of the good side.
Look at his confession about God in these verses:
Psa 139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
Psa 139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
Psa 139:17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
Psa 139:18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.
1Ch_29:14 But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. (1Ch 29:14)
Charles Swindoll said: "The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past, we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string that we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you. We are in charge of our attitudes."
David had a good attitude towards the goodness of God, and he magnified them.
If only you can have another view of your experiences, you’ll have cause to be "thank-full."
**Illustrations on Thankfulness
a. When Matthew Henry was robbed, that very night he prayed:
"I thank Thee, first, because I was never robbed before; second, because although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, and not I who robbed."
b. A mother took her three children to a restaurant to eat breakfast one morning. The smallest of the three children sat at the very end of the row. She saw other people being served and eating right away without stopping to say thanks. It surprised her. When the food was served to her, she shouted out to her mother: "Mommy, don’t people ask the blessing in this place?" You can well imagine the embarrassment of those present. Her mother tried to hush her. But, the waitress said to little Mary, "Yes, we do, sister! You give thanks!"
Amazingly, at that very moment everybody else also bowed their heads and offered thanks.
Embarrass them and maybe you will bring them to their senses to say "Thank you, God."
c. Observing Thanksgiving
"Count it all joy" (Jam_1:2).
Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Count on God instead of yourself.
d. I Give Thee Humble Thanks
"Giving thanks for all things..." (Eph_5:20).
For all the gifts that Thou dost send,
For every kind and loyal friend,
For prompt supply of all my need,
For all that is good in word or deed,
For gift of health along life’s way,
For strength to work from day to day-
I give Thee humble thanks.
For ready hands to help and cheer,
For listening ears Thy voice to hear,
For yielded tongue Thy love to talk,
For willing feet, Thy paths to walk,
For open eyes Thy Word to read,
For loving heart, Thy will to heed-
I give Thee humble thanks.
For Christ who came from heaven above,
For the cross and His redeeming love,
For His mighty power to seek and save,
For His glorious triumph o’er the grave.
For the lovely mansions in the sky,
For His blessed coming bye and bye-
I give Thee humble thanks.
Benjamin Franklin once said, "The sentence which has most influenced my life is, ’Some persons grumble because God placed thorns among roses. Why not thank God because He placed roses among thorns?’
Listen to some Wise sayings:
· If you can’t be grateful for what you receive, be grateful for what you escape.
· He who forgets the language of gratitude can never be on speaking terms with happiness.
· Adversity causes some men to break and others to break records.
Pro 24:10 If you faint in a crisis, you are weak.
Pro 24:15 You wicked one, do not lie in ambush at the home of a righteous person. Do not rob his house.
Pro 24:16 A righteous person may fall seven times, but he gets up again. However, in a disaster wicked people fall.
2. Know that your attitude determines your altitude!
The story had been told of two shoe salesmen in a land where shoes are not used. The first salesman in that land saw the problem and returned to his Headquarters that shoes are not used in that land, hence they don’t need shoes there. The second salesman saw an opportunity. He went to the land, offered the King of the land a pair of shoes, and before long, the whole inhabitants were making fashion with shoes!
Have an attitude that sees opportunities and not obstacles.
**You Find What You Look for!(adapted)
It is said that a hummingbird and the vulture were flying over a desert.
All the vulture can see is rotting meat because that is all he looks for. He thrives on that diet. But the hummingbird ignores the carcasses and the smelly flesh of dead animals. Instead, he looks for the tiny blossoms of the cactus flowers. He buzzes around until he finds the colorful blooms almost hidden from view by the rocks. Each bird finds what it is looking for.
What are you looking for? Better still-what are you finding? What you are finding tells what you are really looking for. Your expectations of life will determine your outcome. Look for the flowers, the roses among thorns!
**My Future
Someone said, "My past is gone; my present is passing; my future is arriving."
The best thing about the future is that it comes upon us by degrees, a day at a time. We can manage that! Whatever it holds, my future is mine: if it be fair weather, let me bask in the sun; if it be storms, let me bend with the wind.
The future belongs to those who can make adjustments.
- John Foppe, an American, was born 34 years ago without arms. But today, he eats, cooks, drives and swims with his legs! He does not see the fact that he has no arms as a disaster. “My life is never in my disability, but in my head”, Foppe notes. He adds that whatever adverse condition one faces in life can be overcome and that “living a full life is just using your God-given talent to make the best you can out of life.
Foppe says he believes very much in God… “My faith in God has played an incredible role in my life. I believe there is a reason why God created me the way I am. I may not be able to find the reason till I die and go to heaven.” – Culled from Financial Standard, November 8 2004, page 14.
You can overcome your challenges. Let a right attitude lift you over and above your load of cares. Thank God for His goodness.
The legacy of Frances Jane “Fanny” Crosby
Frances Jane Crosby was born into a family of strong Puritan ancestry in New York on March 24, 1820. As a baby, she had an eye infection that a quack doctor treated by placing hot poultices on her red and inflamed eyelids. The infection did clear up, but scars formed on the eyes, and the baby girl became blind for life. A few months later, Fanny’s dad became ill and died. Mercy Crosby, widowed at 21, hired herself out as a maid while Grandmother Eunice Crosby took care of little Fanny.
Frances Jane "Fanny" Crosby (1820-1915) was an American hymn writer and poetess, who wrote over 9,000 hymns during her life. One time a preacher sympathetically remarked, "I think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when He showered so many other gifts upon you." She replied quickly, "Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I should be born blind?" "Why?" asked the surprised clergyman. "Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior!"
Fanny did not look on her blindness as a terrible thing. Even at eight she composed this little verse:
Oh, what a happy child I am,
Although I cannot see!
I am resolved that in this world
Contented I will be!
How many blessings I enjoy
That other people don’t!
So weep or sigh because I’m blind,
I cannot - nor I won’t.
Amazing outlook
Blindness never produced self-pity in Fanny. In her adult years she would say, "It was the best thing that could have happened to me" or "How in the world could I have lived such a helpful life as I have lived had I not been blind?"
Today many of her hymns continue to draw souls to their Savior for both salvation and comfort: " Blessed Assurance," "All the Way My Savior Leads Me," "To God Be the Glory, " "Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior," " Safe in the Arms of Jesus," "Rescue the Perishing," "Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross," "I Am Thine, O Lord," and many more.
What happened when Fanny died? Perhaps one of her later hymns tells it best:
When my lifework is ended and I cross the swelling tide,
When the bright and glorious morning I shall see,
I shall know my Redeemer when I reach the other side,
And His smile will be the first to welcome me.
Chorus:
I shall know Him, I shall know Him,
And redeemed by His side I shall stand!
I shall know Him, I shall know Him
By the print of the nails in His hand.
Frances Jane “Fanny” Van Alstyne (Crosby) died in 1915 at the age of 95
(Culled from Biographical Resources on Fanny Crosby.)
I have tried to modify the wordings of Job 23 to reflect our thoughts in respect of the topic for today.
LORD, I ponder, Why me!
2 Even to day is my praises sweet: Your blessing overwhelms my need.
3 Oh that I knew where I might find You! that I might come even to Your seat!
4 I would order my heart before You, and fill my mouth with thanksgivings.
5 I would know the words which You would answer me, and understand what You would say unto me.
6 Will You plead against me with Your great power? No; but You would put strength in me.
7 There the righteous would call unto You with gratitude; so should I be delivered through praises for ever from my judge.
8 Behold, I go forward, but You are there; and backward, I cannot but perceive Your steps with me:
9 On the left hand, where You doth work, I can behold You: You reveal Yourself on the right hand, that I can see You:
10 But You know the way that I take: when You have tasted my sacrifices of praise, I shall come forth overwhelmed with Your love.
11 My foot has spread Your good-news, Your testimonies have I kept, and not declined.
12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of Your lips; I have esteemed the words of Your mouth more than my necessary food.
13 But You are JEHOVAH YAHWEY, and who can query your deeds? and what decreed, even that You bring to pass.
14 For You performs the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with You.
15 Therefore am I rejoicing at Your presence: when I consider, I fall down in awe of You.
16 For You God makes my heart soft, and the Almighty gladdens me:
17 I was not cut off because of my sins, neither hath Thou kept me away from Your presence for my unworthiness.
18 All these, just for me? Lord, why me!?
I encourage you today to write your own verses to God on “Lord, Why Me!” to recount how you appreciate His uncountable blessings.
CONCLUSION: Andre Crouch sung: “I don’t know why Jesus loves me.” Surely, you can now join in exclamation: “LORD, WHY ME!!!!”
WORSHIP HYMN
When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
Refrain
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.
Refrain
When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings. Wealth can never buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.
Refrain
So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be disheartened, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.
Refrain
DEDICATION HYMN (From Fanny Crosby’s Hymns)
All the way my Savior leads me
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my Guide?
Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well;
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.
All the way my Savior leads me
Cheers each winding path I tread,
Gives me grace for every trial,
Feeds me with the living Bread.
Though my weary steps may falter
And my soul athirst may be,
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see;
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see.
All the way my Savior leads me
O the fullness of His love!
Perfect rest to me is promised
In my Father’s house above.
When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day
This my song through endless ages:
Jesus led me all the way;
This my song through endless ages:
Jesus led me all the way.
I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith,
And be closer drawn to Thee.
Refrain
Draw me nearer, nearer blessèd Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died.
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessèd Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the power of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.
Refrain
O the pure delight of a single hour,
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God;
I commune as friend with friend!
Refrain
There are depths of love that I cannot know,
Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach;
Till I rest in peace with Thee.
Refrain
(By Fanny Crosby)
