Sermon Central
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How To Have A Thankful Heart
Contributed by Rick Crandall on Dec 23, 2017 (message contributor)
Summary: How can we have thankful hearts? 1. By speaking (vs. 1-2, 5). 2. By singing (vs. 1-2). 3. By seeking (vs. 3-4).
How to Have a Thankful Heart
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - Nov. 19, 2017
BACKGROUND:
*Please open your Bibles to Psalm 105, as we explore how to have a thankful heart. King David possibly wrote this whole Psalm, and he certainly wrote the first 15 verses. David did that in a time of great thanksgiving for the Kingdom of Israel. For the first time in history, God's holy Ark of the Covenant was bought to stay in the City of Jerusalem.
*The Ark was built at God's command during the days of Moses. By David's time, the Ark was about 400 years old. It was a gold-covered box about 4 feet long, 2 feet wide and 2 feet high. The Ark contained a golden pot of the miraculous food called manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the Ten Commandments written in stone by the finger of God.
*The Ark was so holy that if you improperly touched it, God would strike you dead. For 400 years, the Lord had manifested His glory over the Ark. But it had never been brought into Jerusalem. And now it was!
*Listen to part of the story from 1 Chronicles 15-16:
15:3. David gathered all Israel together at Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place, which he had prepared for it.
15:15. And the children of the Levites bore the ark of God on their shoulders, by its poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.
15:16. Then David spoke to the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers accompanied by instruments of music, stringed instruments, harps, and cymbals, by raising the voice with resounding joy.
16:1. So they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God.
16:2. And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord.
16:3. Then he distributed to everyone of Israel, both man and woman, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins.
16:4. And he appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to commemorate, to thank, and to praise the Lord God of Israel:
16:7. And on that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the Lord.
*With this background in mind, please stand in honor of God's Word, as we read the first 5 verses of David's Song of Thanksgiving from Psalm 105. And as we read, think about how to have a thankful heart.
INTRODUCTION:
*It's amazing how many times we see the words "thank," "thanks" and "thanksgiving" in the Bible. In the KJV, these three words are found 128 times. Jesus certainly gave thanks to the Father, and Paul often gave thanks to God. For example, in 1 Corinthians 15:57, Paul said, "Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." And in Philippians 1:3, Paul said: "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you."
*God wants us to be thankful, and God commands us to give thanks. Philippians 4:6-7 tells us to:
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.
*1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 tells us to:
16. Rejoice always,
17. pray without ceasing,
18. in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
*In every season and in every situation, God wants us to have thankful hearts. But how often are we truly thankful? I've got to say I am not nearly as thankful as I should be.
*Sometimes I'm really, really thankful. But other times I'm pretty ungrateful for all God has done in my life. And a lot of the time, I just sort of coast along in neutral. I know I'm not the only one. So, how can we be thankful? How can we be more thankful to the Lord?
1. Today's Scripture can help us, and first, it's by speaking.
*This is God's message for us in vs. 1-2, where David said:
1. Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples.
2. Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works.
[1] At the beginning of vs. 1, David urges us to speak to God.
*"Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name. . ." God wants us to tell Him thanks. But also notice that He wants us to call on Him even when we're not thankful. God knows we get sad and mad. God knows we have setbacks and disappointments. He knows that we sin, and fall short of the glory of God. He knows that we have terrible tragedies in life. And God wants us to take all of our troubles to Him.
