INTRO.- ILL.- I am reminded of the story about the two boys who came to the breakfast table. The mother asked her first son, "What would you like for breakfast?" He said, "I want some of those blankety-blank, Post Toasties." His mother just hauled off, backhanded him and knocked him into the floor. To her second son she asked, "And what would you like for breakfast?" He said, "I don’t know but I sure don’t want any Post Toasties!"
Where have our manners gone? I think in some cases they’ve gone out the window, so to speak. Don’t people ever say "thank you" any more? And how about "please," "You’re welcome," and even "God bless you." Of course, we can’t expect the non-Christian public to say "God bless you," but other forms of politeness should be evident and expected.
ILL.- I have opened doors for people going into the mall and other places, only to be passed by like I wasn’t even standing there. Not a word of thanks came from their lips. I don’t open doors just so people can say "thank you." I open them to be polite, which is something my parents tried to teach me to be and to do. And most of you were taught the same.
ILL.- Nearly 70 percent questioned in an Associated Press-Ipsos poll said people are ruder than they were 20 or 30 years ago. Peggy Newfield, founder and president of Personal Best, said the generation that came of age in the times-a-changin’ 1960s and 1970s are now parents who don’t stress the importance of manners, such as opening a door for a female. A whopping 93 percent in the AP-Ipsos poll faulted parents for failing to teach their children well.
ILL.- Here is what an ABC News 20/20 survey discovered about rudeness or rude behavior in America. This survey is what Americans are saying about various forms of bad behavior in others.
Making Annoying Cell Phone Calls 87%
Being Rude and Disrespectful 84%
Using Bad Language 80%
Using Words Like B.S. and Freaking 77%
Using Cell phones in Mid-Conversation 74%
This survey is saying that about 80 percent of the time people are seeing these various forms of bad behavior or rudeness.
If bad manners and rudeness are problems in America, what can we do about them? 1- Set a proper example for our children. Example is still probably the form of teaching there is. 2- Teach our children proper manners and discipline them for rudeness. 3- Slow down in life. Be courteous. Realize that rudeness is a poor witness for Christ. When we’re in a hurry it says we are only concerned about ourselves and we don’t care about others.
Not only are we guilty of rudeness toward people, but also toward God! How so? By failing to slow down and acknowledge Him daily. By failing to show proper gratitude. By failing to say "thank you" and give Him praise. If anyone ever deserved respect and gratitude, it’s our God!
If we ever felt insulted by people’s rudeness, how do you think God must feel about our rudeness and ingratitude toward Him?
Let’s think about the courtesy, the praise, the worship, etc. that we owe our Creator, God and Father. Can we ever praise Him enough? I don’t think so.
PROP.- Our text in Psalm 8 reveals some things for which we should give thanks.
1- Thank you, Lord, for your majesty
2- Thank you, Lord, for your children
3- Thank you, Lord, for your rulership
I. THANK YOU, LORD, FOR YOUR MAJESTY
1 "O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place..." How majestic is your name.
II Pet. 1:16-17 "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
The apostles were eyewitness of the majesty of Jesus. When did that happen? At His transfiguration.
Matthew 17:1-2 "After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light."
What a sight that would have been? We can’t even begin to understand how magnificent a sight it was/he was. The apostles were privileged to see the Lord in His majesty, which came from the Majestic Glory Himself, meaning God the Father. Jesus got His glory, His majesty from His Father. And what glory and majesty it was!
ILL.- Some of you may have recently watched the Country Music Awards on TV. If so, you probably know that Carrie Underwood who won the American Idol Contest in 2005 also won two awards this year. She won the Female Vocalist of the Year award and also the best single of the year. In accepting her awards, she said, "God has blessed me with so many wonderful things. If you told me a few years ago I had been nominated with the people I’m nominated with, I would have called you absolutely insane."
I think in that small moment we Americans saw just a little bit of Carrie Underwood’s true glory. How could that be? She wasn’t singing but rather she was singing the praise of God who gave her that astounding voice to sing.
And it is only when we point to Him who blesses us and gives to us and saves us, that we experience our highest moment of glory.
To be perfectly honest about all this, our glory is not important. What is important is His glory and majesty!
I Cor. 1:30-31 "It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."
I Cor. 10:31 "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
So whether you eat, drink, sing, teach, preach, go to work, give birth to babies, mow grass, cook a meal, go to Walmart, or WHATEVER YOU DO, do it all for the glory of God or for God’s majesty and not for self!
1 "O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place..."
ILL.- On a clear night, the human eye can see between 2,000 and 3,000 stars in the sky. (not mine!)
- Our sun is over 2.5 million miles around at its equator.
- The Amazon rain forest supplies one-fifth of the world’s oxygen!
- The ice that covers 98% of Antarctica holds 90% of the world’s fresh water.
- 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered with water.
- 97% of the earth’s water is undrinkable!
- The earth is over 330,000 times smaller than the sun.
- The Earth is 93 million miles away from the sun.
- Hummingbirds consume half of their weight in food daily.
- Polar Bears are capable of jumping as high as 6 feet and can run as fast as 25 mph.
- A cow gives nearly 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime.
- A woodpecker can peck 20 times per second.
- Dragonflies are one of the fastest insects, flying 50 to 60 mph.
- Flea’s can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air.
Where is God’s majesty seen? Everywhere! In nature, the starry universe, plant and animal life, the human body! The author Brennan Manning wrote: “Creation discloses a power that baffles our minds. We are enamored and enchanted by God’s power. We tremble before God’s majesty."
1 "O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! Thank you, Lord, for your majesty!
II. THANK YOU, LORD, FOR YOUR CHILDREN
1 "O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger." From the lips of children come many things.
ILL.- A little boy, at a wedding looks at his mom and says, "Mommy, why does the bride wear white?" His mom replies, "The bride is in white because she’s happy and this is the happiest day of her life." The boy thinks about this, and then says, "Well then why is the groom wearing black?"
ILL.- A woman got on a bus with seven children. The bus conductor asked: ’Are these all yours lady? Or is it a picnic?’ ’They’re all mine,’ she replied. ’And it’s no picnic!’
ILL.- Chris Minch of Stuart, FL wrote: At Math time, I told the kids that we were going to talk about Even and Odd. One boy yelled out- "I know that story. It’s in the Bible!" After I quit laughing, I said- "I think you mean Adam and Eve."
As we all know, children are funny, candid, curious, full of life, and generally, very loving. Why? Because they are from God. They are gifts from God to us.
Psalm 127:3 "Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him." Children are a reward from the Lord.
ILL.- I admit that I feel blessed that both of my children are Christians and are involved in church and serving the Lord with the talents and abilities that God gave them. However, I don’t feel like I did anything special in order for the Lord to reward me with them.
CEV "Children are a blessing and a gift from the LORD."
That’s more like it. Children are a gift from the Lord whether we deserve them or not. Honestly, I’m not convinced that we DESERVE any good thing that the Lord gives us.
"From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger."
ILL.- A little boy’s prayer: "Dear God, please take care of my daddy and my mommy and my sister and my brother and my doggy and me. Oh, please take care of yourself, God. If anything happens to you, we’re gonna be in a big mess." ISN’T THIS THE TRUTH? Smart kid.
ILL.- Johnny had been misbehaving and was sent to his room. After a while he emerged and informed his mother that he had thought it over and then said a prayer. "Fine", said the pleased mother. "If you ask God to help you not misbehave, He will help you."
"Oh, I didn’t ask Him to help me not misbehave," said Johnny. "I asked Him to help you put up with me."
ILL.- A five-year-old said grace at family dinner one night. "Dear God, thank you for these pancakes..." When he concluded, his parents asked him why he thanked God for pancakes when they were having chicken. He smiled and said, "I thought I’d see if He was paying attention tonight."
I believe that God pays very good attention to us and especially when we pray in sincerity. AND ESPECIALLY WHEN CHILDREN PRAY.
Is there anything better than watching a child pray? Or sing praise to the Lord? It humbles us and silences the enemies of the cross. What can they say? They have no defense against a children who sings praise to the Lord.
"From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger." Thank you, Lord, for your children!
III THANK YOU, LORD, FOR YOUR RULERSHIP
ILL.- Child On White House Tour Momentarily Seizes Control Of Nation, October 31, 2007.
WASHINGTON, DC—In an event unprecedented in American history, Brandon Myers, a relatively obscure Iowa 10-year-old with no previous experience in domestic politics, took advantage of a clear leadership void and seized control of the United States Tuesday after he slipped away from his White House tour group and locked himself in the Oval Office.
The bloodless coup occurred when Myers, a fifth-grader at Mulberry Elementary School, stormed into the empty office and seated himself at the president’s desk, thereby toppling the world’s longest-running democracy. Myers spent much of his reign, which lasted from approximately 2:00 p.m. to 2:15 p.m., spinning in circles in the president’s chair before proclaiming that he was "President Brandon" with a handwritten decree scrawled in cursive on White House stationery.
"Earlier this afternoon, sometime between a description of the James Buchanan portrait in the Main Hall and the question-and-answer session, a pre-adolescent boy overthrew the president and gained executive authority over the United States of America," White House press secretary Dana Perino said at a news conference Tuesday. "Several minutes ago, our nation’s new leader made his first statement: ’Brandon rules.’"
Whether we realize it or not, we all rule. We all exert a certain amount of authority and rule in life, which is given to us by God.
4 "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet."
The Living Bible reads "You have put him in charge of everything you made..."
In some ways, you are in charge of your life. In other ways, God is in charge. The important thing to remember is how are you going to use your God-given power to rule your life?
ILL.- Recently, Hollywood writers went on strike and most actors would not cross their picket lines. One exception was Ellen DeGeneres who crossed picket lines to tape her show. On a blog called Surgical Strikes, a person purporting to be a former writer for "The Ellen Show" says he’s not surprised that she crossed picket lines, given that she treated her writers "like [expletive]."
He said, "We’d watch her in rehearsals, smiling and winning us over with her charm and comic timing. Then the director would yell cut, her face would fall, and she’d level a glare at the writers. ’Why do you keep writing these unfunny jokes?.’"
It sounds like Ellen DeGeneres is abusing her authority and rule.
God gives us rulership in life but how are we going to use it? Are you going to use your life to bless others and praise God or are you going to use your authority to please yourself? Jesus came not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for others. Thank you, Lord, for the rulership you give us!
CONCLUSION------------------------------------
Psalms 103:1-3 "Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases..."
Our benefits from the Lord are many. Countless. Let’s be quick to thank God for His greatness, for the children He give us and the privilege to mold their lives, and for the rulership He gives in so many areas of life.
Let us not stop thanking Him. Let us never stop praising Him! In everything give thanks for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus!
