Giving
Welcome to Refinery Life Australia.
Join me in The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
The biblical teaching of stewardship involves more than the practice of tithing faithfully and bringing generous offerings.
“Stewardship Includes Everything” is what we will be discussing over the coming weeks.
Today we are talking about The Secret of Giving Thanks.
Prayer
Father, it is right to give thanks to you, O God.
Even those who come today with heavy hearts can rejoice in the knowledge of Your love for them and for Your presence with them.
We lift our voices today happily giving thanks to You, for You have blessed us in so many ways.
We thank You for giving us an appetite for Your Word and a thirst of the living waters of eternal life.
May we, like Your Son, Jesus Christ, not only speak love but show it as well.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
Text
Psalm 107:1 NKJV
107 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
Scripture Reading
Psalm 107:1-9 NKJV
Thanksgiving to the Lord for His Great Works of Deliverance
1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
3 And gathered out of the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south.
4 They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way;
They found no city to dwell in.
5 Hungry and thirsty,
Their soul fainted in them.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He delivered them out of their distresses.
7 And He led them forth by the right way,
That they might go to a city for a dwelling place.
8 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.
Philippians 4:4-13 NKJV
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Meditate on These Things
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippian Generosity
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity.
11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:
12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Introduction
The Psalms have been for faithful Christians the source of song and praise and, along with the Lord’s Prayer, the pattern for our most joyful and earnest prayers.
It has been said that Christians cannot really learn to pray unless they come to the Psalms, and that it is a dangerous error to think that the heart can pray by itself.
It is then that we can confuse wishes, hopes, laments, and rejoicing, all of which the heart can do by itself, with prayer.
And we confuse earth and heaven, man and God.
Prayer does not mean to simply pour out your heart.
It means to find the way to God and speak with Him, whether the heart is full or empty.
The Psalms are full of the range of human emotions, all offered to God in prayer.
In the Psalm today, the prayer is one of joyous thanks giving to the Lord.
In this text we will discover the secret of giving thanks.
The first secret is that we are able to do the following.
- We are able to celebrate the goodness of God.
- God’s goodness is illustrated in different ways throughout the Psalm.
He delivered them from their distress
He brought them out of darkness and gloom, and broke their bonds.
He healed the sick and delivered His people from destruction.
He made the storm still and the waves of the sea were hushed.
He raises the needy out of affliction.
B. The people of God are called to be thankful to a God who is good.
The joy of giving thanks to a good God is too much for a solo voice.
It requires choirs of people.
So this Psalm is sung as well prayed.
The Lord is good.
Let His people praise His name.
The second secret to giving thanks is to do the following.
2. Focus on the main issues of life.
- The Psalmist painted four pictures of people who have been forced to consider the main issue in life.
First there are travellers who lost their way in the desert wilderness.
They circled in a desert where there were no familiar landmarks.
Alone, hungry, and thirsty, they were ready to give up when they called to the Lord, and “He led them by a straight way, till they reached a city to dwell in.”
The second picture is of captives who suffer in terrible prisons, covered by darkness and bound in irons.
The third window is a view of the extremity of life revealing those who are sickened barely able to keep out of the grave.
Though all sickness is not a result of sin, sinful ways do bring deadly illness.
The fourth description of terror is of sailors who are helpless before a relentless storm in verses 23-27.
The Jews were not known for their sailing ability.
The sea was a special terror to the Hebrews.
In these illustrations the Psalmist reminds us of the primary issues of life.
A person may complain for not having expensive shoes to wear until he sees someone with no feet.
Another person might complain about not being admitted to a prestigious university until they meet a child who is mentally challenged.
Giving thanks wells up in the hearts of men, women, and children who know the difference between necessities and luxuries, and who have learned to be grateful for the basic joys of life itself.
B. The New Testament gives its own word of grace to those trapped in the despair described in the four pictures of this Psalm.
For lost travellers in the desert, Jesus is both the Shepherd and the Way.
For captives in dark prisons, Jesus is the one who gives “deliverance to the captives.”
For those who are sick, Jesus is the Great Physician who cared for the sick and healed the ones who came to Him.
For those at sea who fear for their lives, Jesus is the one who spoke to the storm, “Peace, be still.”
When you can’t do anything else, pray!
When the world caves in on us, we can cry out to the Lord and He will hear us.
The secret of giving thanks is partly discerned when we face trouble and realise that all things are not equally important.
When the basics of life are provided, then is the time to start thanking God.
The third secret to giving thanks is this.
3. Remember the source of our help.
The people of Israel understood, as this Psalm clearly shows, that God was the source of their strength and deliverance.
He had brought them out of bandage, He had led them through the wilderness, He would bring them safely home.
If we are to be thankful, we must remember from whom the blessings flow.
Who do we thank for the joys of life?
Who do we thank for each and every day?
Who do we thank for our children?
Only God is worthy of this gratitude!
The fourth secret to giving thanks is the following.
4. Take time for gratitude.
After God’s deliverance of the people, they took time to be grateful.
We have often wondered with amazement that of the ten lepers who Jesus healed, only one returned to say thank you.
We are often guilty of the same carelessness.
When we do not give thanks, it is simply because we are not willing to do so.
Conclusion.
Finally as we finish up today, the secret of giving thanks is simple.
Firstly, you must be open to the goodness of God.
Second, you must be willing to focus on what really matters.
Third, you must remember where your help originates.
Fourth, you must be willing to take time to say thank you.
Now you know the secret to being thankful, what are you going to do about it each day?
Until next time
Stay in the Blessings
Giving
I really want to encourage you to be diligent with your Bible study time, because God has so much more for us than we can get from just going to church once or twice a week and hearing someone else talk about the Word.
When you spend time with God, your life will change in amazing ways, because God is a Redeemer.
Theres nothing thats too hard for Him, and He can make you whole, spirit, soul and body!
You’re important to God, and you’re important to us at www.refinerylife.org
When it comes to prayer, we believe that God wants to meet your needs and reveal His promises to you.
So whatever you’re concerned about and need prayer for we want to be here for you! Or even if you just want to say Hi, you can contact us
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