Psalm 116:12-13-What shall I render to the Lord For all His benefits toward me?
I will take up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the Lord.
What Shall I Render To The Lord-What can I give to the Lord that He hasn’t already given me? Money, Time, Talents, Work!!
If I have any of these it’s because God has given to me!
It’s like when your kids are little and they want money from you, to buy you a gift!!
So the psalmist knows that somehow he needs to give back to God, because of all the benefits, the blessings God has given him!
He is not doing it to get something, he is not motivated by receiving something, he wants to give God something because of all the things he has already received!!
Benefits-Advantage, Compensation over and above salary given to some employees, A charity.
When somebody gets a new job, people will ask, “How the benefits?”
What Kind Of Benefits Have You Gotten From God?
Job, Home, Love ones, Friends, Health, Financial, Spiritual?
All the above!!!
How does he repay God for all His kindness?
I Will Take Up The Cup Of Salvation-In other words, he will take what God is offering!
You see God is a giver, and if you want to please Him, to make Him happy, to bring Him joy, then you need to take what He is offering!!
When you buy your love one a gift, you are picking out that special gift, not because or because of, so that you will receive a bigger gift…No!
You are getting that perfect gift so when they receive it, you can see the joy and excitement in their face! (I don’t know about you, but I can’t hardly wait to give it to them, to see the expression on their face when they open their present.)
There is a stage in life, when it’s all about giving instead of receiving!
It brings you happiness to see them happy! Especially when it’s a child!
God is the same way, He wants to offer us so much more than we got!
But we have to take, we have to accept it, we have to receive it!!
Spiritually we are living on Ramen noodles, when we could be having a thanksgiving banquet!!
If you are waiting on your problems not to exist before you can be happy, that’s never going to happen in this life!
You got this problem and you will have one after it, if you live long enough!
My happiness may not be found in my circumstances but they can always be found in the Lord!!
I don't have to be happy about my situation but I can be happy about the Lord.
Philippians 4:4-Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18-Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
In Everything-Not just good things, not just pleasant things, not just the enjoyable thing but in everything!!
How can I be with all the problems I got?
No, question is…How can you not be happy in the Lord?
For This Is The Will Of God In Christ Jesus For You-Have you ever given a gift and a person you gave it too didn’t appreciate what you gave them, they didn’t even appreciate all the time and effort you spent in getting them a gift. (Getting up early, standing line, fighting the crowds, going in debt)
Well, didn’t that hurt?
Don’t you think it hurts God, that when we turn down what He has to offer?
He wants you to appreciate what He is offering you, He want you to think about the sacrifice that He made so that you could have eternal life and all the blessings that go with it!
What is He Offering Besides Eternal Life?
He says
