And take a practice smile.
Come on.
Everybody look up here.
Give me a practice smile.
!
Psalm 136.
Let me read just a couple of the verses and have you follow along.
And then we're going to come to the Lord in prayer and ask the enabling of the Spirit of God
that I may preach with His enabling and you may hear and apply with His enabling.
Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods for His steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords for His steadfast love endures forever.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, for us, we are so comforted by the many reminders in Scripture
of the glory of Your name and the sufficiency of Your person,
of the satisfaction that we have in knowing You as our Father and as our God and our Savior,
and for the encouragement of Scripture that we in our frailty may rely upon the Spirit of God to help us,
that we can worship You.
And so this morning I'm reminded of what the prophet Zechariah spoke when he says,
not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit.
And this morning we ask, Lord, that as I preach, it may be an evident work of the Spirit of God
and that as Your people listen, that the Spirit would enable them.
And then we pray for those that are here that do not know Christ,
that this would be the day when by Your loving kindness and Your mercy,
You draw them out of the pit into everlasting life.
We are thankful.
That which we cannot do ourselves,
You sent the Lord Jesus Christ to do for us.
And that which we cannot do for ourselves today,
even in the matter of corporate worship,
we are thankful that we can rely upon You,
that You might be glorified here among us as You are in heaven.
And we ask this in Your precious name.
Amen.
Well, I'm going to tell you that Thanksgiving,
as we celebrate it here in America,
or as celebrated in many different countries,
was not really on the Jewish calendar.
If you were looking at the Jewish calendar
and trying to make a determination as to what you were going to do
to be a good Jew in your corporate worship,
you wouldn't find Thanksgiving like we celebrate it.
And I'm not going to belabor the point
that we could go back in the history of our country
and we could get some ideas about how Thanksgiving came into being.
It's an appropriate day for us to celebrate.
But more important than the history of our culture
is an understanding that God cares a great deal
about the thankfulness of His people.
I, earlier today, was kind of reading and reminding myself
of what it says in Romans 8,
in which it talks about the fact
that all of creation kind of groans in travail,
waiting for the adoption of the sons of God.
The truth of the matter is,
is we live in a world that is filled with frustration
and difficulty and disappointment,
and there's not a one of us here
that on occasion has not found good reason
to frown in the present circumstances that we are.
And yet we know that one of the characteristics
of a Spirit-enabled person,
and we know that from Ephesians 5, verse 18 on,
is that a characteristic of a believer
who knows Christ and is enabled by the Spirit of God
is that they live a thankful life.
In fact, it's commanded.
It's an expectation that the thing
that kind of sets us off from the chicken littles in the world
is the fact that we know the Lord Jesus Christ,
and there's evidence of that in the Spirit
and the decorum with which we go through life.
We look at this passage,
and we are looking at a passage
that was richly appreciated and enjoyed
by the nation of Israel
in the times in which they engaged in giving thanks.
Now, if you were a good Jew,
you would know that there would at least be,
I think, three different days
in which you were supposed to gather formally
and do big all-church dinner kind of things.
Feasts.
They would gather in Jerusalem
for the Passover and other celebrations,
and it was a time when the entire nation
would just really enjoy the blessing
of all that God had done for them
and who He was and their relationship with Him.
And no doubt, I shouldn't say in every case,
but in many cases,
this psalm in particular
was one that the nation of Israel would have sung.
Psalm 136, we know for a fact,
was one that was greatly appreciated.
It was sung, for example,
in 2 Chronicles 7,
when the dedication of the temple took place.
It was one of the songs
that was sung on that special day.
Interestingly enough,
we also find that Jehoshaphat
instructed the Levites
to use this song as a battle strategy.
Now, can you imagine that?
I mean, battle is generally some,
a very gutsy, you know,
stick each other with swords and spears
and try to clunk each other on the head
with heavy objects.
Very brutal.
And God says,
hey, we're going to use
a little different strategy here.
I want the Levites
and the rest of the people
just to sing Psalm 136
and it's over.
And guess what happened?
They sang
and they gained the victory.
And Psalm 136,
this one that we're going to look at today,
was the one that they sang
in that passage.
The Jews called it the great Hallel.
That means praise.
And as we take up this song
this morning,
this psalm,
I want you to remind yourself
in essence
that it is a reflection
of many of the good things
that cause us
to be a people
or remind us
of why we should be a people
that are thankful.
So let's take the text
and work our way through it
and allow it to become
something that is woven
into our heart and character
so that we are
not thankful just today
or on Thanksgiving
and we have kind of a pattern
maybe in our homes
where when we're having
Thanksgiving dinner
and you've got all that food
spread out
and you've got your family together,
you go around the table
and say,
what are you thankful for?
What are you thankful for?
I want this psalm
to be one of those things
that just frames
and affects
what our genuine
heart thoughts are
regarding the matter
of thanks.
Well, let's recognize first
that we are commanded here.
We're commanded
to give Thanksgiving
or to give thanks.
You look there
in the passage,
it says,
give thanks to the Lord
for he is good
and this psalm begins
with three explicit commands,
verse 1,
verse 2,
and verse 3
and when you stop
and think about a command
to be thankful,
how many of you
on occasion
have had somebody say
or maybe someone
who's leading singing
saying,
hey,
you guys need to brighten up
a little bit
and you're sitting there
in a really moody spirit.
How many of you know
what I mean by moody?
And you're just,
who are you talking
to me about being thankful?
I don't want to be thankful.
There are some of you
out here specialists at that.
It's all right.
I understand.
I was born with the glass
seven-eighths empty.
I'm on your side.
But here's the truth.
The one who is giving
this command is not Bubba.
It happens to be God.
And he who instructs us
and has authority over us
is the one who says,
you be thankful.
Now,
think about this with me
a little bit.
Some commands
are nothing more
than instructions
from rather perverse people.
As I was studying this week,
I thought about
some of the individuals
that over the years
have commanded people
to be happy
when they're really not.
And my favorite place
when I'm thinking about that
is North Korea.
You know,
I recognize that Kim,
I might get the name right here
because I'm going to forget it,
Kim Jong-un.
He is the third.
There was Kim Jong-il.
And now we have Kim Jong-un.
And if you were in North Korea
and Kim Jong-un said
that you should be happy,
guess what you would be?
You'd be happy or dead.
I mean,
choices are simple.
I mean,
that's the truth.
People,
when he walks into a room,
guess what everybody's
supposed to do?
Glad you're here.
You know,
he is a very,
very particular individual
when it comes to watching
people's emotional display.
When his father died,
and I think I've told you
this before,
there were some
of the North Korean generals
that did not show
adequate sorrow
at the passing
of Kim Jong-un
or whatever his name was.
And as a result of that,
they were tied
to 155 millimeter
cannon shells.
And then someone backed
way,
far away
and just pulled the lanyard
and guess what happened?
So,
when
he says
be happy,
it's just to make
him feel good.
When God
tells us to be happy,
he is commanding us
to do something
that is righteous
and good
and for which
he has given us
all kinds of reasons
to engage in it.
Now,
why don't you think
with me just for a moment
about what the word
actually means
in the text
when it says
give thanks.
We use the word
thank you
pretty freely.
Thank you
for opening the door.
Thank you
for plugging in my crockpot.
Thank you
for whatever.
You know,
there are things we say
and we're just expressing
an appreciation
for what someone
has done.
The Hebrew word
that's used here
actually is carrying
the idea
of acknowledging
something about God
that's true.
Think about that.
Give thanks
to the Lord.
In essence,
it's saying
that you
are to think
consciously
and deliberately
about who he is
and what he has
done for you.
To give thanks
than is really
to gladly admit
what is wonderful
and awesome
about God.
That's what it is.
And so,
just kind of stop
and realize,
now think with me
here just for a moment,
this is God
giving instruction
to people
that he has redeemed
from the fiery furnace,
he has delivered
from the pit,
he has granted
eternal life,
and he says to you,
you are to be
thankful.
Why should we be thankful?
Because of who he is.
And when he tells us
to be thankful,
he is asking us
to think consciously
and deliberately
about who he is
and what he's done
for us.
Now,
as you work your way
through this passage,
we're going to break it down
that it has
this set of commands
at the beginning,
and then it immediately
gives us
theological reasons
to be thankful
that are framed
in the character
of who God is.
So look with me,
if you will,
in verse 1, 2, and 3,
and it's kind of very quickly
we're going to touch on this.
It says,
why should we be thankful?
Because he is the Lord
and he is good.
He is the Lord
and he is good.
Verse 2,
he is the God of gods.
It says also,
he is the Lord of lords.
I'm not going to break
these three separate titles
down this morning
and go into great detail
as to what their significance
is,
though there is value
in doing that
because we're going to
take a larger look
at what this passage
has to say to us,
but recognize
that at the beginning
what the psalmist
wants to understand
or have us understand
is that the reason
for our thankfulness
is not rooted
in the things
we have received
but in the relationship
we have.
And our relationship
with God
is the first reason
for us to be thankful.
Let me add to that
and have you think with me.
When I bump into individuals
who are not thankful,
who are professing believers,
the real problem
that they are having
is not with their circumstances
that they are in
but in the attitude
and relationship
they have
with the one
who is the Lord of glory
and their Savior.
So think with me about that.
As we look here,
we find
that really the thing
that causes us
to be thankful
above all other things
is our relationship
with Him.
And above all else,
we who are His children
have been blessed
with salvation
and all the forgiveness
that we have
as a result of that.
We have been made
to be His own beloved ones
and at the center
of our joy,
at the center
of the thing
that makes us
thankful people
is the fact
that He is our God
and Savior
and we are in
relationship with Him.
And I trust
that is characteristic
of you this morning
as you sit
where you are
kind of pondering
the complexity
of the life
that you're living.
The most important
thing is this,
is that Christ
is your Savior
and you have
a personal relationship
with Him
and you know
how the story ends.
There's something else
I want you to notice
in this passage.
You can't miss it.
Twenty-six times.
By the way,
is that repetitious?
How many would you agree?
Twenty-six times.
Well, we won't go there
right now.
But anyway,
twenty-six times.
Here it says it.
Look at it.
For His steadfast love
endures forever.
That's verse one, right?
Let's try verse two.
See if it's a little different.
For His steadfast love
endures forever.
Verse three.
For His steadfast love
endures forever.
Remember,
the fact
that we see
this pattern
of repetition
of perms
that there are times
when repeating something
is not bad at all.
I have heard
on occasion
some individuals
kind of have
a negative attitude
towards songs
that have
a certain amount
of repetition in them.
You ever heard
about 7-11 songs?
Kind of the overly
critical spirit
that says,
well,
you take 7 words
and sing it 11 times.
And I'm thinking
to myself,
well,
that person
probably has
Psalm 136
taken out of their Bible
because it's not 11 times,
it's 26 times
in which we find
that the Spirit of God
decided that it was
appropriate for us
to say the same thing
again and again.
Now,
why is that okay?
When Christ
spoke about
the danger
of vain repetition,
he was talking
about saying things
without thought
behind them
and also believing
that saying it more
is actually more effective.
How many of you
ever bumped into
people who say,
well,
I'm really concerned
about this
so I'm going to get
200 people
to pray about it?
Question.
In the economy
of God,
are 200 people
really more significant
in praying
than one righteous man?
What's the answer
from the Bible?
Don't worry
about the numbers.
And so the idea
that saying it more
or having more people
involved,
that's not the key.
The issue is the heart
with which you say it.
Furthermore,
when the heart
is right,
repetition
is a blessing
and an encouragement.
How many
of you as parents
have decided
that you're not
going to tell
your children
that you love them
very often
lest repetition
kind of dull
their affection?
Judith and I,
when we go
to sleep at night,
standard protocol,
that means what
we do all the time,
is that I will say
to her,
I love you.
She will say
to me,
I love you.
Let me tell you,
I was thinking about this,
whether I should tell you
or not,
but I will.
There are occasions
where Mr. Moody,
do you know who that is?
decides that it would
be appropriate
just to let her know
that I'm a little
miffed about something.
How many of you
have done that before?
Anybody?
Please raise your hand
so I know I'm not
the only one here.
Okay?
It's like,
okay.
I'm thinking to myself,
there she is too.
She knows this anyway,
so I'll tell her.
But you know,
I'm sitting there
lying in bed thinking,
what she said to me
really wasn't very nice.
I wanted someone
to say something nice.
You know,
it's like,
Tim,
you're wonderful.
And she says,
you know,
she didn't say that
and so I think
I'm going to pay her back.
I'm going to lie there
in bed
and I'm not going to say
I love you.
Oh,
I can't go to sleep.
Holy Spirit
is bearing down on me
saying,
you petty little guy,
you know,
suck it up
and act like
a decent person.
I love you.
Will you forgive me
for being moody
and pouty again?
You know,
you know what?
Hey,
listen to me.
I like her
to tell me
that she loves me.
How many of you there?
Regularly.
A couple times a day
doesn't bother.
That's too many.
Okay,
no.
And so,
let's get this straight.
I have no doubt,
particularly when we think
about what the scriptures
have to say about
the steadfast love of Christ,
that the repetition
of his love
is a capstone
for our thanksgiving.
It's a thing
that kind of brings it together
and helps us focus in.
The fact that
this passage
is chosen
to be communicated
again
and again
means
that
the Father
in Heaven
wants you
to be struck
significantly
by the unfailing,
unchanging,
absolutely consistent
love
of Christ
for you.
I cannot tell you
how many times
as a pastor
I've had individuals
sitting in my office
and I've thought
to myself,
I wish I were a doctor
where I could write
a prescription
and then push
a little bottle
across the table
that says
Jesus loves you pills,
you know,
and have the people
take those
and have those pills
cure their heart.
The theme
of the unfailing,
unchangeable
love of God
for us
is something
that runs
through the scriptures
in relationship
to those
that are believers.
His love
will never change.
His love
is constant.
His love
is not conditional.
His love
is that
which gives us
stability
in a very
unstable
and frail world
and when
everything else
is uncertain
and we are
struck by the
insecurity
of the circumstances
we are in,
here's the truth,
He loves us
and won't
change His mind.
And so above
all other things
as you kind of
think about this passage,
I want you to
understand
that 26 times
the psalmist
says
His
steadfast
love
endures
forever.
In addition
to that
we find
that the psalmist
having made
this profound
statement
about the
reality
of the
person of God
at the heart
of why
we have
reason to be
thankful,
he then adds
some reasons.
So I want you
to look at
the added
reasons for
thanks.
For one,
the one who
loves us
is our
creator.
If you will
look at
verse 4
and kind of
carrying down
on through
verse 9,
we're going to
press it
together here
just for a
moment,
it says,
to Him
alone who
does great
wonders,
to Him
who by
understanding
made the
heavens.
As I was
studying this
week,
I was thinking
about just
how finely
tuned creation
is and how
dependent we
are on
everything
working exactly
the way God
has ordained
it to work.
Whether it
has to do
with anatomy
and physiology
or it has to
do with
astronomy,
in the details
that God has
ordained,
is our
safety and
our well-being.
And here the
psalmist,
he says,
man,
the one who
loves us is
the one who
put it all
together.
He's our
creator.
I can't help
but think this
morning about
Psalm 8.
Keep your
finger there
and go back
just for a
moment to
Psalm 8
verse 3
and 4.
And as you
look at this
passage,
you're just
overwhelmed by
the reminder
of God's
care for us
personally.
Verse 3
says,
when I look
at your
heavens,
the work
of your
fingers,
the moon
and the
stars which
you have
set in
place,
what is
man that
you are
mindful of
him and
the son
of man that
you care
for him?
Does he
know when
you're having
a bad day?
He does.
Does he
know when
your heart
is broken?
He does.
Does he
know when
you're
discouraged?
He does.
And as
you think
about this
this morning,
as the
psalmist gives
us reason to
have thankful
hearts in the
person of our
God and Savior,
he says,
I want you to
understand that
the one who
loves you is
your creator.
We also find
that the one
who loves us
is our
deliverer.
If you were
to read through
verse 10
through 22
later on your
own, you would
find that in
those verses,
the psalmist
has kind of
rolled out for
us kind of
an overview,
a little
historical snapshot
of God
taking care
of his
people who
started out
in a
position of
slavery and
in great
hardship.
Verse 10,
to him who
struck down
the firstborn
of Egypt,
what's that
talking about?
The last
plague.
Who brought
Israel out
from among
them with a
strong hand and
outstretched arm,
who divided the
Red Sea in
two.
The psalmist
reminds the
nation of
Israel and
reminds us,
the one who
loves us is
our deliverer,
and as we
stop and
consider how
many reasons
we have to
thank him,
in addition to
the fact that
he is God
and supreme,
he's also
cared for us
personally.
He has an
interest in
you, and
he has brought
you out of
the difficulties
that you're
in.
You know,
at the end
of the day,
when our
life comes to
a conclusion,
I think that
we will end
up, if we're
able, to make
a very similar
statement to
what Jacob
did when he
came to the
end and he
blessed the
two children
of Joseph,
Ephraim and
Manasseh.
Do you
remember what
he said as
he brought
blessing to
those two
boys?
Listen, this
is good.
He said,
the angel of
the Lord who
has delivered
me from all
evils, bless
the lads.
Do you know
what he was
saying?
He was saying,
I'm not the
hero of my
journey or my
story, and
the one who
has blessed
me, the
God who
has blessed
me, I can
trust to care
for you as
well.
The angel of
the Lord who
has delivered
me from all
evils.
You know
what?
Every one of
us here,
really, when we
tell our story,
we're Jacobs.
perverse,
unsettled,
uncertain,
troubled, and
yet when we
look back across
our shoulder and
we see what's
happened, we
see that the
one who has
brought us
step by step
in the journey
of life is the
one who is
faithful and who
is our God and
our Savior, and
he is the one
who has delivered
us.
One other thing
that I want you
to notice towards
the end, the
one who loves
us, knows
our baggage, and
loves us anyway.
Where do I get
that?
Look at verse
23.
He who
remembered us
in our low
estate and
rescued us
from our foes.
Now look at
verse 1 of
chapter 136.
By the waters
of Babylon, there
we sat and
wept.
When we
remembered Zion,
on the willows
there we hung
our liars, for
there our captors
required a
song, and
our tormentors
mirth.
What was going
on in Psalm
137?
The Babylonian
captivity was in
full cry.
They were
suffering because
of their, what,
disobedience to
God, right?
And in that
particular affliction,
the Babylonians
came along and
kind of with a
spear point would
say, hey, why
don't you smile
today?
How do you like
being in Babylon?
Go ahead and sing
a happy song.
You know, it's
like, can you
do that?
How many of
you can sing
when you're
unhappy?
And Psalm
136 is an
overarching
statement about
you cared for
us even when
we were
suffering.
And why were
we suffering?
Look at verse
23.
You remembered
us in our
lowest state.
You rescued
us from our
foes.
And why were
we enduring
all of that?
It was because
of our own
sin and our
own disobedience.
Let me say
it again
slowly.
The one who
loves us knows
our baggage.
And he loves
us anyway.
And beloved,
when you think
about that this
morning, that
gives you great
comfort, doesn't
it?
Stop and think
about what it
says here.
Verse 136 or
chapter 136, it
says, for his
steadfast love
endures forever.
Above all, the
reason that I
am happy this
morning is that
I know for
certain that the
lover of my
soul who has
given me
everlasting life
in the finished
work of Christ
on the cross
will not change
his mind about
me.
Is that a
comfort?
Is that a
consolation?
Is that an
encouragement?
It is.
And the
psalmist says,
here's the reason
for you to give
thanks, because
the God of this
universe, the
one who's
created all, the
God of this
universe who
has rescued you
from the pit, the
God of this
universe who has
not changed his
mind about your
recurring failures,
that's the God
that loves you, and
that's the God that
has made this
abiding commitment
to never change
his mind and
never turn his
back on you.
And so what is
to be the
characteristic of
the believer who
has confidence in
his salvation and
a certainty of
where his
eternal destiny is?
What is it to
be?
Give thanks unto
the Lord for he
is good.
The normal
characteristic for
the believer who
is thinking
intelligently and
biblically is to
be a thankful
person.
Let me close up
this way.
If you are here
this morning and
the truth of the
matter is, is
that you have no
confidence of where
your eternal destiny
is.
It is not an
accident that you
sit here this
morning under the
preaching of the
word of God
because the God
who loves his
children this
morning says to
you, you
desperately need the
complete forgiveness
of the Lord Jesus
Christ for all of
your sins.
God seeing your
absolute inability to
save yourself sent
Christ into the
world to die in
your place and to
satisfy the debt of
your sin and he
stands ready to
forgive you and to
make you his child
and you know what it
takes?
It takes a broken
heart that is humble
enough to say I'm a
mess.
I cannot save
myself and I've had
enough of the pit
that I'm in.
I need Jesus as my
savior.
It's not hard.
It's just humbling.
It's not hard but it
makes the world a
difference and it
would be a sad thing
that on this day when
we celebrate
Thanksgiving together
that those of you
who are here that
do not know Christ
would wander out
saying no to the
God of this universe
who willingly sent
his son to be the
sacrifice to pay the
price for your sin
and you have a sense
of the darkness of
your heart.
He sent Jesus to
die in your place
and I plead with you
this morning in
Christ's stead don't
say no.
Humble yourself and
trust him.
Let's close in prayer
as John comes to
lead us as we sing.
Our Father God
this morning as we
think about the
issue of why we as
believers are thankful
and we have so many
reasons let us be a
people that are
genuine in our
thanksgiving.
Draw us to delight in
the Lord Jesus Christ
and to do so by the
power of the spirit of
God.
I pray for those that
sit here this morning
under the teaching and
the preaching of the
word of God that your
spirit would convict
those that do not
know Christ.
That the misery of
their soul, the
fearfulness of their
eternal destiny would
bring them to the
place where they would
willingly choose in all
humility to trust in
what Christ has done for
them.
They would stop saying
no and they would
trust you.
And even as we sing
this song in closing
Father you work in their
heart to draw them to the
cross.
We ask this in your
precious name.
Amen.