WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.339 the seats and now just for a few moments perhaps we can turn in our bibles to that sam to sam 9 00:00:09.339 --> 00:00:16.379 and we're just going to think about those first couple of verses the words are also on our screen 00:00:16.379 --> 00:00:21.280 so we've been thinking about habits of a healthy church together for the last few weeks but 00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:28.359 just for this evening i will change our theme somewhat and recognize here in these verses that 00:00:28.359 --> 00:00:36.780 a healthy christian is a thankful christian so let me read these words for us again i will give 00:00:36.780 --> 00:00:47.299 thanks to you lord with all my heart i will tell of all your wonderful deeds i will be glad and rejoice 00:00:47.299 --> 00:00:58.219 in you i will sing the praises of your name oh most high so in these couple of verses we have 00:00:58.219 --> 00:01:10.000 a help towards spiritual health because a healthy heart for us as christians is to be a thankful heart 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:17.900 thankfulness of course is an important value for us it's something we teach our children we value the 00:01:17.900 --> 00:01:24.700 respect that is shown the appreciation that is there but this is a particular kind of thankfulness 00:01:24.700 --> 00:01:31.620 in these verses it's christian thankfulness it's thankfulness that's devoted to the lord and notice 00:01:31.620 --> 00:01:38.920 too in verse one it's wholehearted thankfulness i will give thanks with all my heart it's not just 00:01:38.920 --> 00:01:45.060 going through the motions it's not just playing a part rather it's hearts full of appreciation for who 00:01:45.060 --> 00:01:52.439 god is and what god has done because what we see in these two verses are the reality that there are two 00:01:52.439 --> 00:02:01.939 main springs of christian thankfulness two main sources for our thankfulness in verse one we see 00:02:01.939 --> 00:02:11.639 the wonderful deeds of god and in verse two our psalmist simply rejoices in his wonderful god 00:02:11.639 --> 00:02:19.579 and shouldn't that be the case for us as well for us to be thankful especially in the time that we live 00:02:19.580 --> 00:02:26.900 to be thankful for the wonderful deeds of god in the lord jesus to be thankful for him as our wonderful 00:02:26.900 --> 00:02:37.660 god and savior so very briefly consider these verses to seek for good spiritual health for real thankfulness 00:02:37.660 --> 00:02:45.900 and joy that comes both from god and is found in god so a couple of questions first question am i thankful 00:02:45.900 --> 00:02:53.760 for god's wonderful deeds and because you see the connection in verse one between these wonderful 00:02:53.760 --> 00:03:03.040 deeds that lead to thankfulness in david that leads to his joy and that leads him to want to tell others 00:03:03.040 --> 00:03:10.439 about the wonderful things that god has done in the same way as when we find something we particularly 00:03:10.439 --> 00:03:13.139 value it's our instinct to want to share that with others it's our instinct to want to share that with 00:03:13.139 --> 00:03:20.759 others david has discovered these wonderful things that god has been doing and it leads him to joyful praise 00:03:20.759 --> 00:03:27.280 in sam 9 these wonderful deeds are are focused on redemption 00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:35.039 in verses 3 and 4 we have his his testimony his great hope 00:03:35.039 --> 00:03:41.419 in god in god that my enemies will turn back they stumble and perish before you for you have upheld 00:03:41.419 --> 00:03:46.840 my right and my cause sitting enthroned as a righteous judge 00:03:46.840 --> 00:03:54.439 verses 13 and 14 we see his ongoing hope is the salvation that god brings 00:03:54.439 --> 00:04:03.899 so verse 13 begins lord see how my enemies persecute you have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death 00:04:03.900 --> 00:04:11.020 that i may declare your praises in the gates of daughter zion and they rejoice in your salvation 00:04:11.020 --> 00:04:21.079 so the redemptive works the redemptive character of god gives him joy and praise the fact that god judges 00:04:21.079 --> 00:04:26.439 his enemies that god will act against evil as we thought about this morning that god saves his own people 00:04:26.439 --> 00:04:30.379 by his power and for his glory that leads him to thankfulness 00:04:30.379 --> 00:04:39.000 and by extension then for us as christians our thankfulness where does it begin it begins doesn't 00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:45.060 it with christ crucified and risen christ is our means of salvation 00:04:45.060 --> 00:04:52.259 we are thankful that god in his grace and kindness has sent jesus to be our mediator 00:04:52.259 --> 00:04:58.759 that left to ourselves we could never know god we could never have peace with god we could never 00:04:58.759 --> 00:05:06.199 have sins forgiven from god but god sent jesus to bring peace to break down the barrier of sin 00:05:06.199 --> 00:05:12.980 to remove the curse that we are under to defeat the powers of sin that held us in chains 00:05:12.980 --> 00:05:20.639 that in the work of jesus a righteousness that is not ours is credited to us 00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:28.800 so that god the father can love us as he loves his son that in this great work of salvation a new life 00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:36.599 has been provided for us that's where our thankfulness begins these wonderful deeds of god and salvation 00:05:36.599 --> 00:05:44.039 and so for us to have healthy hearts to have thankful hearts we we need to be close to christ and the cross 00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:50.920 stay by day now we can never afford to move away from that great demonstration of the love of god 00:05:50.920 --> 00:05:55.680 but it's not just in those great acts of redemption 00:05:55.680 --> 00:06:03.020 in psalm 71 there's another reflection on god's that wonderful works 00:06:03.020 --> 00:06:07.879 in in psalm 71 verse 17 00:06:07.879 --> 00:06:16.620 the psalmist there says since my youth god you have taught me and to this day i declare your marvelous deeds 00:06:16.620 --> 00:06:22.639 the fact that god has had this ongoing commitment to teach and instruct 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:27.219 this believer is a cause of thankfulness 00:06:27.219 --> 00:06:33.980 god's active involvement in our everyday life is cause for thankfulness 00:06:33.980 --> 00:06:40.520 that might show up in it the right friend who comes and brings just the word that we need 00:06:40.520 --> 00:06:46.900 it might be that we that we pull a book off the shelf and it happens to speak to our hearts and bring 00:06:46.900 --> 00:06:51.200 transformation it might be that we pick up our bibles at the beginning of the day 00:06:51.200 --> 00:06:57.180 and that devotion is just exactly what we need all of these two 00:06:57.180 --> 00:07:01.579 are god's wonderful deeds in and for his people 00:07:01.579 --> 00:07:07.800 and so psalm 9 i guess to go back to the the old hymn writer would encourage us to count our blessings 00:07:07.800 --> 00:07:14.680 to consider for our own spiritual health so the sake of being a worshiping people 00:07:14.680 --> 00:07:17.319 those reasons we have to be thankful 00:07:17.319 --> 00:07:25.719 so in verse one he's thankful for for those wonderful deeds our second question am i thankful 00:07:25.719 --> 00:07:32.100 for a wonderful god because look at what he moves to in verse two i will be glad 00:07:32.100 --> 00:07:39.539 and rejoice in you i will sing the praises of your name almost high 00:07:39.539 --> 00:07:46.539 now we would consider it rude i think um if we saw somebody perhaps a child or somebody else 00:07:46.540 --> 00:07:54.160 enjoying a gift but not giving any thanks to the giver we encourage a younger generation to say 00:07:54.160 --> 00:08:02.540 thank you to write notes of appreciation we're here in psalm 9 our psalmist moves to the second spring 00:08:02.540 --> 00:08:09.420 the second foundation of thankfulness and it's god himself not just what god does but who god is 00:08:09.420 --> 00:08:20.480 his person his character he is rejoicing in god and that parallels with it singing the praise of your name 00:08:20.480 --> 00:08:27.960 oh most high because he recognizes there is no one greater than our god 00:08:27.960 --> 00:08:32.039 that's his true source of joy 00:08:32.039 --> 00:08:42.199 god's name is revealed god's character is revealed in and through his deeds and that causes him to praise 00:08:42.199 --> 00:08:46.139 that's where christian thankfulness finds its foundation again 00:08:46.139 --> 00:08:54.360 in the character of our god revealed to us in the person of the lord jesus christ 00:08:54.360 --> 00:09:03.940 notice in verse one that he's giving thanks to the lord covenant name of god he's thankful that god by his 00:09:03.940 --> 00:09:09.600 grace has committed himself to his people he did not have to but he chose to have mercy and grace 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:15.740 a wonderful reality of the covenant that moves all the way through the bible and in 00:09:15.740 --> 00:09:21.460 the new testament with the coming of jesus we have this new covenant that's established 00:09:21.460 --> 00:09:29.720 in his blood that blood that forgives us of our sin that blood that makes atonement 00:09:29.720 --> 00:09:36.400 that sacrifice of the lord jesus that replaces our hearts of stone that is cold and hard towards 00:09:36.400 --> 00:09:46.400 god and gives us a heart of flesh that covenant that promises eternal life in relationship with our god 00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:54.480 there's a reason to be thankful that the god in heaven the holy god has entered into covenant with 00:09:54.480 --> 00:10:04.679 his people with his church and we can be thankful that this wonderful god has revealed himself as the 00:10:04.679 --> 00:10:08.000 most high to us in his son the lord jesus 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:17.919 and so when we apply the realities of sam 9 to our day we recognize that it's the lord jesus 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:20.720 who brings judgment and who brings salvation 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:28.620 he is the messiah king he is the one in verse 8 who rules the world in righteousness 00:10:28.620 --> 00:10:35.200 jesus is in verse 9 the lord who is a refuge for the oppressed 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:41.600 jesus is the lord who never forgets those who seek him 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:51.800 jesus is the lord god who will never forget the needy the hope of the afflicted will never perish 00:10:51.800 --> 00:11:00.820 we are thankful we are called to be thankful for a wonderful god who has revealed himself 00:11:00.820 --> 00:11:03.379 in his son the lord jesus 00:11:03.379 --> 00:11:11.700 so i guess it's easy and i'm sure we all recognize the importance of thankfulness but i suppose the 00:11:11.700 --> 00:11:17.660 question is how do we develop if we recognize that spiritual health is tied up with thankfulness how do 00:11:17.660 --> 00:11:25.260 we develop these thankful hearts how do we find that wholehearted joy in god's actions and in god 00:11:25.259 --> 00:11:32.840 himself well there's one final psalm where wonderful deeds marvelous deeds are reflected upon 00:11:32.840 --> 00:11:41.980 psalm 119 verse 18 that is that prayer perhaps it's a prayer that we often use before reading the bible 00:11:41.980 --> 00:11:47.659 perhaps in a church service maybe you use this at home it's a great prayer to use before reading the bible 00:11:47.659 --> 00:11:54.079 there we have open my eyes that i may see wonderful things in your law 00:11:54.079 --> 00:12:02.199 that's where we discover the wonderful acts of god that's where we discover the wonderful character of god 00:12:02.199 --> 00:12:09.259 in his word and so if we are to grow in our thankfulness we need to grow in our appreciation of god 00:12:09.259 --> 00:12:12.339 as he has revealed himself in his word 00:12:12.340 --> 00:12:20.220 that this prayer from psalm 119 should be our daily prayer our longing every time we pick up the bible 00:12:20.220 --> 00:12:27.500 show me more of your goodness show me more of your great work show me more of the lord jesus 00:12:27.500 --> 00:12:33.960 because that's where spiritual health comes from that's where thankful hearts come from 00:12:33.960 --> 00:12:39.740 so what we're going to do just now is we're going to spend a little bit of time 00:12:39.740 --> 00:12:48.019 in small groups they're just giving thanks together for our wonderful god and for his wonderful deeds 00:12:48.019 --> 00:12:52.139 whether that's in our own lives whether that's in the context of our church whether that's as we look 00:12:52.139 --> 00:12:58.860 around the world um so we'll divide into i guess three groups and we can maybe have a group that's at 00:12:58.860 --> 00:13:06.480 the front and and one in each corner and we'll maybe spend a 10 minutes or so praying together and 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:13.279 then we'll come back together and we'll sing a hymn of praise so let's break into little groups 00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:20.399 so that we can give thanks to our god for what he has done and for who he is