Participants: Dwight K. Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP151128A
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00:08 Good morning and happy Sabbath.
00:11 It is good to see all of you here this morning. 00:14 I assume all of you ate enough for Thanksgiving, 00:17 though I did speak to a couple of the youth 00:20 who assured me they did not. 00:23 But I hope that wasn't the case for everyone. 00:25 I like to invite you 00:27 to turn to page 10 in your worship bulletin, 00:29 where we will worship together in the Call to Worship. 00:35 The Lord is our light and our salvation. 00:38 Whom shall we fear? 00:41 One thing we have asked of the Lord, 00:44 and that we will seek after 00:47 that we may dwell in the house of the Lord 00:50 all the days of our lives, 00:52 to behold the beauty of the Lord 00:54 and to inquire in his temple. 00:58 I believe that we shall see the goodness of the Lord 01:01 in the land of the living. 01:03 Wait for the Lord, be strong, praise the name of our God. 01:09 I would like to now invite you to sing, 01:11 stand to sing the doxology. 01:27 Praise God, from whom all blessings flow 01:33 Praise Him, all creatures here below 01:38 Alleluia! Alleluia! 01:44 Praise Him above, ye heavenly host 01:49 Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost 01:54 Alleluia! 01:57 Alleluia! Alleluia! 02:02 Alleluia! Alleluia! 02:14 Our Father in Heaven, two days past Thanksgiving, 02:17 but we could still smell the wafting aroma 02:20 of about a flea spread table. 02:23 We are still basking in the glad joy 02:25 of having others to share with. 02:27 And we still feel thankful, 02:29 really we do Lord we feel thankful, 02:31 we're not just saying it, are we? 02:34 It's true. 02:36 Black Friday sort of knocked 02:37 the stuffing out of our spirit of gratitude, 02:39 but God will get it back, we really will, won't we? 02:46 Oh, God, teach us please, 02:49 help us to find in Christ reason enough 02:52 to live in gratitude, 02:54 not just next week, next year, 02:57 but right now, right here as we bow in worship 03:01 before our God through Jesus, our Lord. 03:05 Amen. 03:53 Now thank we all our God 03:57 With heart and hands and voices 04:04 Who wondrous things hath done 04:09 In whom His world rejoices 04:15 Who, from our mothers' arms 04:20 Hath blessed us on our way 04:26 With countless gifts of love 04:31 And still 04:33 is ours today 04:38 All praise and thanks to God 04:44 The Father, now be given 04:50 The Son, and Him who reigns 04:56 With them in highest heaven 05:01 The one eternal God 05:07 Whom earth and heaven adore 05:12 For thus it was, is now 05:18 And shall be evermore 05:32 In a time of Thanksgiving to be reminded, 05:35 for thus it was, is now and shall be evermore. 05:41 As we worship our God of eternity, 05:47 I'd like to invite you to come forward 05:50 to not only celebrate the things we're thankful for, 05:53 but also to lay 05:55 before this God of eternity our temporary burdens. 06:00 So at this time as we sing, Blest be the tie that binds. 06:03 I would like to invite you to come forward 06:06 as we worship together in prayer. 06:24 Blest be the tie 06:29 That binds 06:32 Our hearts in Christian love 06:38 The fellowship 06:43 Of kindred minds 06:47 Is like to that 06:51 Above 06:57 Before 07:00 Our Father's throne 07:05 We pour 07:07 Our ardent prayers 07:12 Our fears, our hopes 07:16 Our aims are one 07:21 Our comforts 07:24 And our cares 07:34 Dearest Heavenly Father, 07:36 God of the universe, supreme ruler, 07:40 for every wild animal of the forest is Yours, 07:44 the cattle on a thousand hills, 07:47 You know all the birds of the air, 07:49 all that moves in the field is Yours. 07:53 You've promised to open the windows of heaven 07:54 and pour down for us an overflowing blessing. 07:59 And yet, we have been content with things of this earth, 08:04 confusing them for wealth. 08:07 Forgive us. 08:08 Help us realize that we are wretched, 08:11 pitiful, poor, blind and naked, 08:15 and remind us 08:17 You are the provider of all things. 08:20 It is this time of year 08:22 we celebrate with Thanksgiving all of the gifts 08:24 that You have given us, thank You. 08:28 For our health, we thank You. 08:31 For our nourishment, we thank You. 08:34 For our safety, we thank You. 08:36 For our lives, we thank You. 08:39 For Your love, we thank You. 08:43 And dearest Heavenly Father, as You hear our prayers, 08:47 so where Your people have come to You. 08:50 We also pray that You will pour out Your Spirit 08:54 on this place 08:56 and on Your servant Pastor Dwight 08:57 to speak Your words this morning. 09:01 In Your gracious name, amen. 11:20 Amen! 11:29 My name is Innocent Rutabanzibwa. 11:32 I'm from Tanzania. 11:34 I was raised as a Catholic in Tanzania. 11:40 I came around to meet one friend of mine 11:42 who we actually grew together, his name is David. 11:46 David, he really didn't get that much of his life, 11:50 ready to teach me about Bible. 11:52 I remember one day he gave me this verse. 11:55 It was Psalm 119:105, verse 105, 12:01 "Your word is a lamp to my feet, 12:04 and a light to my path." 12:07 This verse really changed my life. 12:09 I really made my decision to be baptized 12:11 because I wanted to share... 12:13 I really wanted to give up myself to Jesus, 12:16 I want to surrender my life to Jesus. 12:18 I wanted everybody to have it as a testimonial to me. 12:22 I surrendered myself to Jesus. 12:25 This is me, 12:26 but I wanted to be as a confession, 12:28 I wanted to clear my mind, 12:30 I wanted to clear it in front of people, 12:32 I wanted to clear in front of God, 12:35 that the real me is the real me to save others. 12:40 I'm the real Innocent to save others, 12:43 I'm not the real Innocent to be saved anymore. 12:46 I've already saved by God. 12:48 God's really wants me to tell others 12:53 that I'm ready to help them. 12:57 I'm ready to receive God's hand to help others as well. 13:06 And, Innocent, 13:08 we're so privileged to be able to hear your story 13:11 and to be a part of your story. 13:13 And before coming into the baptistery, 13:15 you said something really interesting, 13:17 it's kind of caught me a little bit off guard, 13:18 but you said, I didn't sleep last night. 13:22 You were so excited that God's Spirit kept you up 13:27 and you basically just spent time 13:29 with God all night long. 13:32 And I can tell that God's Spirit is moving 13:34 on you right now. 13:36 So praise God for the heart that has given you 13:39 and we know and believe 13:40 that God is going to use you in a powerful way. 13:44 And I know there's lot of people, 13:46 my bother Innocent, that have been supporting you, 13:49 and been excited about your faith journey. 13:51 And some of them are here today, 13:52 I want to invite them to stand, 13:54 would love to just acknowledge them 13:55 for just a moment, 13:57 if you've been supporting and walking with him. 13:58 Amen. Amen. 14:00 So there you see them throughout the congregation. 14:02 You may be seated, thanks for being here. 14:05 And, of course, 14:06 how many of the Pioneer Memorial Church family 14:09 are excited and honored to welcome him 14:12 to be part of our family. 14:14 Lift up your hands wherever you are. 14:15 Amen. 14:17 That's all part of your family now as well. 14:21 So let's pray, church, 14:22 please join me 14:23 in praying silently in your hearts 14:25 as we pray that God would bless him. 14:26 Let's pray together. 14:30 Our Father, here is Your son, 14:33 the one that You have died for, 14:37 Innocent. 14:39 He's working on this computer science degree 14:42 here at Andrews, but when he finishes, 14:45 he feels called to go back 14:46 to his home country of Tanzania. 14:49 And, Father, may You use him in that same way 14:53 that you used that other African brother 14:55 as recorded in The Book of Acts, 14:57 that Ethiopian, 14:59 who he encountered Jesus on the way 15:02 and he went back, 15:04 and we know that You used him 15:06 to begin a whole movement of Christianity 15:08 in that country. 15:10 And so, Father, in that same way, 15:12 I know that You have prepared a missionary right here. 15:17 He has sensed 15:18 Your Spirit moving upon his heart, and yes, 15:21 he's gonna do this IT degree, and we thank You for that. 15:24 Oh, but he knows 15:26 that he's going to be missionary for Jesus, 15:28 no matter what he does. 15:30 And so even today 15:32 as he goes under these waters of baptism 15:35 that represents this death, 15:36 burial and this resurrection of life, 15:38 may You continue to mightily pour out 15:41 Your Spirit upon his life, 15:44 bless him, thank You for being with him, 15:47 in the name of Jesus. 15:48 Amen. 15:56 And, Innocent, because of your love for Jesus, 15:59 your desire to follow Him and be as His disciple, 16:02 it's my honor to baptize you now 16:04 in the name of the Father, 16:06 and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 16:24 All right, boys and girls, 16:26 nice to see you on this Thanksgiving weekend, 16:30 Thanksgiving Sabbath. 16:32 Oh, I can tell you, 16:33 you had a blessed Thanksgiving day. 16:35 And you know what? 16:36 Thanksgiving here in America, come on, 16:37 let's talk about America, it's about the pilgrims coming, 16:41 and the pilgrims met native North Americans, 16:45 that's what they met. 16:46 Those we call them in the past, we call them the Indians. 16:52 Well, lo and behold, I have a Grow Group this fall. 16:54 And in our Grow Group 16:55 we have the joy of having Morningstar Moore. 16:59 Now I want you look right over here, 17:00 you hear my voice? 17:02 Yeah, right here. 17:03 Because this lady is a Native North American, 17:05 she's a Canadian, 17:07 so it would be a Native Canadian. 17:08 I guess you would say, yeah. 17:09 And she is dressed, look at this... 17:12 Morningstar, before you tell this wonderful story, 17:14 just a word about the dress. 17:17 This is a paddle dress that I'm wearing. 17:19 Okay. And can you see these? 17:21 They look like little paddles. Can you see them? 17:24 And this is a gift from a lady, an elder, 17:27 we call them an older lady, 17:28 who made my dress and she is a Cowichan Indian 17:31 or Kw'amutsun Indian from Vancouver Island 17:35 where I worked counseling children. 17:39 And I still like 17:40 to counsel children now with my stories. 17:42 We are so glad to have you, happy Thanksgiving to you. 17:44 Boys and girls, listen, 17:46 as she tells us a story about... 17:47 Happy Sabbath, and I'm so glad that you're here today. 17:50 I'm going to tell you a story today 17:53 about two characters, 17:55 one is about your age 18:00 and her name was Singingstar, 18:02 and she had a brother and his name was Redhawk. 18:05 And he was a little bit older, probably about your age. 18:09 They lived a way, way up north in Canada, 18:12 in Sault Ste. Marie. 18:13 Now they were used 18:15 to all kinds of trees, lots of forest, 18:17 Lake Superior 18:19 which is the largest great lake that there ever was. 18:22 And you can sit right here. Good. Thank you. 18:27 And their father was the chief of the tribe. 18:32 Well, one day he came to them and he said, 18:35 "You know, I know about a tribe, 18:39 they live in Arizona. 18:41 They don't have a whole lot, they don't have enough clothes, 18:44 they don't have enough food. 18:47 And do you know how they lived? 18:48 In the back of the camper 18:52 that goes on to sometimes a half ton truck, 18:55 but it wasn't on the truck, 18:57 it was just stuck on posts and that's where they lived. 19:01 Can you imagine? Not very pleasant. 19:06 Well, Singing started no, 19:07 but that she didn't want to go so badly 19:11 that she decided before 19:12 she even got there that she hated it, 19:14 and she used that word, 19:17 "I don't want to go, daddy, I just don't want to go, 19:20 I hate the thoughts of leaving all the stuff that I have here. 19:25 Please don't make me go." 19:27 So her dad said to her, 19:29 "Singingstar, that's just the way it is. 19:31 Sometimes we have to do things that we don't want to do. 19:35 And that we don't think are very pleasant." 19:39 She didn't have a choice, 19:40 she knew better 19:41 than to not do what her father wanted her to do. 19:45 So off they went. 19:46 They drove a long, long way and they had collected 19:48 all kinds of good stuff for them. 19:50 They had collected clothes, they had collected food, 19:53 they had collected money, and they were taking 19:56 a whole bunch of tracks with them to pass out 19:58 because daddy 20:00 who was a chief knew Christ as a Savior, 20:03 and he was going to hold meetings for them. 20:05 Well, she got there, happy? 20:09 She was not. She didn't like it at all. 20:12 There was no forest there, there was no water, 20:17 there are no lakes much, 20:19 and if they are, they are manmade. 20:22 She didn't even like the people 20:25 because she didn't take a chance 20:27 to get to know them. 20:29 So they went around door to door with the tracks. 20:34 And pretty soon 20:36 she found a few friends 20:40 that she really liked. 20:43 And her brother said to her, 20:44 "See, I told you it wasn't going 20:46 to be so bad, isn't this great?" 20:50 Well, she wasn't sure. 20:51 She found a little shrub out in the middle of the desert 20:55 and she sat under there, and she cried, and she cried, 21:00 and she cried. 21:02 She didn't want to stay there at all. 21:06 After a while she decided, 21:08 well, maybe this will be all right. 21:09 So she went around and she helped the family, 21:13 deliver all of the things that they had brought. 21:16 And lo and behold, 21:18 three of those people came to the meetings 21:22 that daddy was holding. 21:24 And guess what? 21:26 They accepted Christ as their Savior, 21:31 as Jesus into their hearts. 21:34 And one day daddy noticed that she was missing. 21:38 Now he had noticed 21:39 that she was missing before and so, 21:41 he sent her brother out in order to find her. 21:46 And when he went the second time, 21:49 he didn't see her crying underneath 21:51 that little shrub. 21:52 Lo and behold, how do you think he found her? 21:56 He found her laughing and having such a great time, 22:01 and even showing her new friends, 22:03 the Indian dance that we do up north. 22:09 Three of those people accepted Christ. 22:12 Now, if you don't have Jesus in your heart, 22:15 you can do that this very moment. 22:20 Who would like to come and pray? 22:24 Thank you. 22:30 Can you pray and thank Jesus for coming into our hearts? 22:35 Thank You, God, for everything You gave us for today. 22:41 And we ask and thank You for the children who came here. 22:47 And we ask Your forgiveness for wrongdoings, 22:50 in the name we pray. 22:52 Amen. Amen. 22:54 Thank you so much 22:55 and you can go back to your seats now. 22:57 Thank you for coming. 23:00 The scripture reading this morning 23:02 is found on page 11 23:04 based on Psalm 100:16. 23:08 Page 11 in your bulletin. 23:14 And we will read it responsibly. 23:19 "I love the Lord, for He heard my voice, 23:22 He heard my cry for mercy. 23:25 Because He turned His ear to me, 23:27 I will call on Him as long as I live." 23:31 Return to your rest, my soul, 23:34 for the Lord has been good to you. 23:37 What shall I return to the Lord for all His goodness to me? 23:42 I will lift up the cup of salvation 23:45 and call on the name of the Lord. 23:49 Amen. 23:50 Brother Jose and son Joseph, well done. 23:54 There's a... 23:55 just a lifting 23:57 Thanksgiving hymn tucked away in our hymnal, 23:59 I want you to turn there now, it's number 560, 24:03 just two stanzas. 24:05 But it has this, 24:06 just this updraft of praise and gratitude. 24:09 And we need to sing it, 24:10 as we are in the heart of the Thanksgiving weekend. 24:14 Hymn 560, please. 24:43 Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving 24:50 To God the Creator triumphantly raise 24:56 Who fashioned and made us 25:00 Protected and stayed us 25:03 Who guideth us on to the end of our days 25:10 His banners are o'er us 25:13 His light goes before us 25:17 A pillar of fire shining forth in the night 25:24 'Til shadows have vanished and darkness is banished 25:30 As forward we travel 25:33 From light into light 25:39 His law He enforces 25:43 The stars in their courses 25:46 The sun in his orbit 25:49 Obediently shine 25:53 The hills and the mountains 25:56 The rivers and fountains 25:59 The deeps of the ocean 26:02 Proclaim Him divine 26:06 We too should be voicing our love and rejoicing 26:13 With glad adoration a song let us raise 26:20 'Til all things now living unite in thanksgiving 26:27 To God in the highest 26:30 Hosanna and praise 26:39 And so, Father, we unite our voices 26:41 with all things living. 26:43 One common thread 26:46 through all the praise, 26:49 gratitude, Thanksgiving. 26:53 In the few moments we have in the word, 26:56 come flip the coin for us. 26:59 Let us see the other side of Thanksgiving. 27:03 Give us a whole new reason to give thanks, 27:05 we pray in Christ's name, amen. 27:08 Speaking of Thanksgiving, 27:10 I need to give thanks to somebody, 27:11 but I can't, somebody dropped this by the office, 27:14 a delightful essay written by Jessica Shaver. 27:19 But no name on it, 27:21 just two words at the top very good 27:22 and then two lines under it and a circle around it. 27:25 And I agree, it is very good, 27:26 and I'd give you the credit for it, 27:28 if I knew who you were. 27:30 But let me just... 27:31 I want to share this with everybody, 27:32 just a few lines to get you, 27:34 to help you pick up the flavor of this. 27:36 The title of it is, "Thanks for nothing". 27:38 This year I'm thanking God 27:40 for the things that did not happen, 27:42 all right. 27:43 My brother once said 27:45 that the trouble with being an atheist 27:46 is that when your motorcycle plunges off a cliff 27:49 into the Colorado River and you aren't killed, 27:51 there's no one to thank. 27:56 I'm a Christian, but sometimes 27:57 I forget to thank God for the things 27:58 that haven't happened. 28:00 Okay, so now she's going to have two columns worth, 28:01 let me just share a handful with you. 28:04 I'm grateful for the accidents I wasn't involved in, 28:08 the illnesses that never developed, 28:09 and the times 28:11 I could have been mugged but wasn't. 28:13 I'm thankful my house didn't burn down, 28:14 when I left the iron on for five hours. 28:17 We all have done that. 28:19 I'm thankful that when we left the garage door up all night, 28:21 nothing was taken. 28:23 I thank God for the time our neighbors found 28:24 the convicted rapist... 28:26 This is kind of creepy. 28:27 You found the convicted rapist be outside our bathroom window 28:30 before he could get in the house. 28:34 I'm thankful that the phone call 28:36 in the middle of the night was a wrong number 28:38 and not someone calling to tell us 28:39 about a death in the family. 28:41 Now how many times as the phone rang at, 28:43 what 2 o'clock in the morning and you're absolutely, 28:45 just adrenaline rush, and it's the wrong number. 28:50 Yeah, this idea of thanks for nothing. 28:56 Let's confess that as American Christians, 28:58 we're pretty much programmed to thank God for what we got. 29:02 I got this, I got that, 29:04 I got this and I got that this year, 29:05 and I got this, and oh, God, thank You, thank You. 29:07 But what would happen if we flip the coin over 29:10 and we thank God 29:12 for what we didn't get this year. 29:15 Wouldn't that be a novel thought? 29:17 In fact, I bet you, 29:18 we could sit around the dinner table today 29:20 at the end of another great Thanksgiving to dinner. 29:24 And I imagine we could fill up a list of 100 reasons 29:28 why we are grateful something didn't happen. 29:31 In fact there's a... 29:33 There is a study guide in today's worship bulletin, 29:34 pull it out. 29:36 I filled in the first three, 29:37 but I came up with a list of ten, 29:39 so I'm gonna give you three, 29:40 then the fourth through ten is blank, 29:41 you could easily just do this at the end of a dinner today. 29:44 Yup, just go around to serve, 29:45 "Hey, guys, let's just thank God 29:47 for what didn't happen this year." 29:49 The flip side of Thanksgiving 29:50 is the title of this little homily, 29:52 the flip side of Thanksgiving, thanks for nothing. 29:56 As it turns out thanks for nothing 29:58 is embedded in the song 30:00 that our father and son team just read. 30:03 I want to go to that song with you. 30:04 Psalm 116, just one psalm away 30:07 from the shortest chapter in all the Bible 30:08 which would be Psalm 117. 30:11 Psalm 116 just two, three, three chapters away 30:14 from the longest chapters, Psalm 119, 30:17 but we don't read Psalm 116 much, do we? 30:21 I want to take you there embedded in this Psalm, 30:23 three thanks for nothings. 30:25 Three thanks for nothings, 30:26 kind of prime the pump for us as we think about thanks... 30:33 we can be thankful that didn't happen. 30:35 But the Psalmist opens up, 30:36 this is Psalm 116, I'm in the NIV. 30:38 By the way, you didn't bring your Bible, 30:39 grab the pew Bible in front of you, 30:40 it'll be page 416. 30:43 "I love the Lord, for he heard my voice, 30:46 he heard my cry for mercy. 30:48 Because he turned his ear to me, 30:50 I will call on him as long as I live." 30:52 The Psalmist just begins with this burst 30:55 of spontaneous unabashed adoration. 31:00 Because it's really... 31:02 I need to tell you this is rare to come 31:03 across these words in the Psalter, 31:05 in the Psalms. 31:07 I mean, in Psalm 119, David is all over God. 31:10 He says, oh, I love Your precepts, 31:12 I love Your law, I love Your commandments, 31:13 I love Your testimonies, I love Your name, 31:15 elsewhere in the Psalms, I love Your house, 31:18 I love Your salvation. 31:19 But for David... 31:20 Now, we don't know who wrote this, 31:22 but for David only one Psalm he composes begins 31:27 with the word Psalm 18:1, "I love You, Lord." 31:32 I mean, this is not a prayer, this is a testimony. 31:34 Hey, guys, I want you to know, 31:35 I just love God with all my heart today. 31:37 That's what's happening here. 31:39 Only once, David begins, "I love You, Lord." 31:44 In the Old Testament, it was just a little, 31:45 you know, a little less free to express love. 31:49 But, boy, you get to the New Testament, 31:51 you, Peter, 31:54 do you love me? 31:57 Come on, do you love me? 32:00 Do you love me? 32:02 Three times you spit on my name, 32:05 I'm asking you, boy, do you really love me? 32:10 And the big fisherman's eyes dropped to the ground, 32:14 his bare toe scratching 32:17 in the sand beside Galilee that early morning. 32:21 Finally Peter finds his voice and he said, 32:25 "You know everything, Lord. 32:27 You know my heart. You know I love you." 32:32 Why are we so reticent about telling God 32:34 that we love Him? 32:36 You know, when we're kids... 32:38 Let me tell you as a parent, as a grandparent trust me, 32:40 there's the sweetest sound in the world 32:42 as far that little child to throw his 32:44 or her arms around you 32:45 and then whispering in your ear, 32:47 "Daddy I love you. 32:48 Papa I love you." 32:50 Can you imagine what it does to God? 32:53 Do you think God enjoys it? Are you kidding? 32:55 And some of us are so sophisticated 32:56 that we think we outgrow, 32:58 happen to never tell God that we love Him. 32:59 Hey, come on, I'm not a child anymore, 33:01 I'm mature now. 33:03 Kid a life. 33:06 Be it... 33:07 Is there ever time when you quit telling 33:09 your mother that you love her? 33:11 Of course not, you tell her out until you die. 33:16 God's the same way. 33:18 Do you love Me? 33:19 Hey, Dwight, I need to hear this 33:21 in your prayers more, do you love Me? 33:23 Tell Me, tell Me. He loves it. 33:28 I love the Lord. 33:30 My testimony today for "He heard my voice, 33:31 He heard my cry for mercy. 33:33 Because He turned his ear to me, 33:35 I will call on him as long as I live." 33:37 Now Derek Kidner in his masterful commentary 33:42 in the Book of Psalms, two volume commentary. 33:44 Kidner, I put these words on the screen for you. 33:47 Kidner says, what's happening right here, 33:49 "It is a resolve," you see there, 33:51 "It is a resolve to trust God exclusively 33:54 and worship Him explicitly." 33:57 Oh, I like that, to trust Him, 33:59 to trust God exclusively and worship Him explicitly. 34:05 I was visiting with a man in prison last week. 34:08 And he was sharing with me his earnest testimony 34:11 of how his adversity has been drawing him nearer 34:14 and nearer to God by teaching him to trust God. 34:18 And I said to him, "Are you serious?" 34:21 I am not inside these walls, but God is working on 34:23 that very same lesson in my life, 34:25 He's is trying to teach me to trust Him more. 34:29 And I have a feeling of this, that kind of a family Sabbath, 34:31 we pass the microphone up and down the pews, 34:33 give a testimony. 34:34 I have a feeling most of us would testify, yup that's it. 34:38 I'm still trying to learn 34:40 how to trust Him even in adversity. 34:44 Kidner, I like that line, 34:45 "It is a resolve to trust God exclusively 34:48 and worship Him explicitly." 34:52 I called on the name of the Lord, 34:53 four times in this Psalm, 34:55 I called on the name of the Lord, 34:56 I will call on the name of the Lord, 34:58 I call on the name of the Lord. 35:01 So with this little introductory salvo now, 35:03 here they come. 35:04 Three thanks for nothings, 35:05 now here's a little study guide, 35:07 I give you a list of ten... 35:09 I give you three that only means seven after dinner. 35:11 You come up with seven, that'd be great. 35:13 Pull out your study guide, let's go. 35:15 Here's the first one thanks for nothing number one. 35:17 Let's read it first here verse three, the Psalmist, 35:20 "The cords of death entangled me, 35:23 the anguish of the grave.." 35:24 that would be Sheol, 35:25 "The anguish of the grave came over me, 35:27 I was overcome by distress and sorrow. 35:29 Then I called on the name of the Lord: 35:32 'Lord, save me!'" 35:35 Thanks for nothing number one, jot it down. 35:39 Death and the grave did not snatch me. 35:42 Write it down, 35:43 death and the grave did not snatch me. 35:46 I made it to the year, the grave did not get me, 35:48 I am still alive, hallelujah. 35:51 In fact that's the very last word 35:52 of this Psalm in Hebrew. 35:54 Hallelujah, praise be to God, hallelujah. 35:58 The grave... 35:59 some of you, oh, boy I know your story. 36:02 Some of you here have had a very close call 36:05 with death this year. 36:08 Sheol came and knocking at your door. 36:15 And you thought this was it, 36:17 I'm gonna die, but you didn't, hallelujah. 36:21 Look, I could flip a picture on the screen right now 36:24 of a Honda minivan like an accordion 36:28 with two Andrews University students in it, 36:30 members here should have been dead, 36:33 hit a truck, hit a truck from behind, it's over. 36:37 Some of you know that this was the year 36:39 that could have been your last year on this planet. 36:43 Praise, thank the Lord, hallelujah. 36:46 The grave and death did not snatch me. 36:49 When's the last time 36:50 we thank God for what we didn't get? 36:53 I got this, I got that, I got this, no. 36:55 When is the last time we thanked God 36:57 for what didn't happen to us? 36:59 That's what the Psalmist is doing here. 37:02 Death did not get me, 37:03 death and the grave did not snatch me, 37:05 hallelujah. 37:07 Thanks for nothing number one. 37:08 Here comes, thanks for nothing number two, jot it down. 37:10 Evil and tears did not overcome me. 37:15 Death and the grave did not snatch me, 37:17 evil and tears did not overcome me. 37:19 What's that all about? 37:20 Let's go to verse 5, 37:22 "The Lord is gracious and righteous, 37:24 our God is full of compassion. 37:27 The Lord protects the unwary," 37:28 that's the key word, we're coming back to that word. 37:31 "The Lord protects the unwary, when I was brought low, 37:33 he saved me." 37:34 Verse 7, "Return to your rest," 37:36 a little bit of self taught now. 37:38 "Return to your rest, oh, my soul, 37:40 for the Lord has been good to you." 37:43 Anybody saying amen to that one? 37:45 Come on, He's being good to me this year. 37:51 Now that a word, fairly knew how good He's been to us. 37:54 That little word unwary in the NIV. 37:56 Some of your translations render it simple, 37:58 as open minded, 38:00 open to the instruction of wisdom or folly, 38:02 it actually includes a touch of naivete. 38:07 So that if we had a good sense, bad sense, meter right here, 38:09 your needle would be passed midpoint leaning 38:12 towards bad sense. 38:15 You're not careful, 38:16 you're not watching, an evil almost, 38:20 the evil one almost took you down. 38:23 That's what he's describing here, 38:24 the Lord watch me unwary though I was. 38:30 Boy, it can happen, can it? 38:32 I'm reading a book right now, 38:33 entitled Philosophers Who Believe: 38:35 The Spiritual Journeys of 11 Leading Thinkers. 38:38 It's a collection of 11 testimonies 38:40 from these philosophers who embraced faith in God 38:43 and faith in Christ from Mortimer Alder 38:45 to Alvin Plantinga, 38:47 taught at Calvin College for years, 38:48 and then ended his career teaching down here 38:50 for just as long at Notre Dame University, 38:52 Nicholas Wolterstroff, still teaching Yale University. 38:56 One of the philosopher, 38:57 you know, I don't move in those areas circles 38:59 and I had never heard his name 39:00 before Frederick Suppe, S-U-P-P-E. 39:04 He describes in his testimony, 39:05 how he grew up in a home with an abusive father, 39:08 not sexually abusive, but verbally abusive. 39:12 Physically abusive at times, 39:14 and how at the age of 18 he ran away from home. 39:17 Said, I'm gonna just go off to college on my own, 39:19 he bumped into a youth pastor who got him into a youth group, 39:22 and so here's this kid, 39:23 a freshman in community college, 39:25 but he finds Christ, he also discovers 39:28 that he has a love for philosophy, 39:30 things of the mind 39:31 and it just keeps blossoming for him until academically, 39:34 professionally now, 39:36 he's in the thick as a philosopher. 39:39 But as it would happen, 39:40 speaking of unwary or simple minded, 39:44 Suppe became a master in a relationship 39:46 that spiraled out of control. 39:48 Years later he described his unraveling, 39:51 the unraveling of his fate 39:52 as a consequence of this relationship. 39:56 I'm gonna put his words on the screen for you. 39:58 Frederick Suppe. 40:00 "It was no dramatic, 40:01 decisive decision to leave the Church. 40:05 When it finally came... 40:06 Rather it was as Downing once observed: 40:09 'The erosion that precedes 40:10 the major lapse is seldom publicly visible.'" 40:15 Some of you right now are going through an erosion 40:16 that you might not even be aware of yourself. 40:19 It's just quietly eroding, you're unwary, 40:22 you're being a little simple minded, 40:23 you're being a bit naive in the way 40:24 you're living your life 40:26 and somebody is just drawing you 40:27 to the edge of a precipice, a moral precipice. 40:31 It just happens, you don't see it. 40:33 People outside of you don't see, 40:34 it it's just this quiet erosion, 40:38 seldom publicly visible, keep reading. 40:40 "Characters dissolve much as they are built up, 40:43 by a slow accumulation of seemingly unimportant deeds. 40:47 Keep reading. 40:48 As our relationship that we just spoke about, 40:50 as our relationship moved along its counterproductive course, 40:53 doing immeasurable harm to both of us, 40:56 I gradually moved 40:57 from nonpracticing to nonbelieving, 41:00 and eventually to positive disbelief. 41:02 Toward the end I became an atheist, 41:03 and viewed the very possibility of eternal life as a bad joke." 41:09 Unwary, unsuspecting, gotcha. 41:14 The Psalmist is saying, I could have been there, 41:20 but it didn't happen for me. 41:22 Keep reading here, verse 8, 41:24 "For You, Lord, have delivered me," 41:26 unwary though I have been, you delivered me from death, 41:29 you delivered my eyes from tears, 41:31 you delivered my feet from stumbling 41:33 over the moral precipice that I may walk 41:36 before the Lord in the land of the living." 41:38 It could have been worse, the Psalmist is exclaiming. 41:41 And as you read 41:42 Frederick Suppe's torture testimony, 41:45 that spiritual spiraling out of control, 41:48 you realize, man, this could be a lot worse, 41:51 thank God, I've been through, 41:52 what I've been through, but I didn't go there, 41:54 You kept me unwary though I'm, you stopped me, 41:58 thanks for nothing God. 42:00 Thanks for nothing. 42:02 Number one, death 42:03 and the grave did not snatch me. 42:05 Number two, evil and tears did not overcome me. 42:08 And finally now number three, thanks for nothing. 42:11 Here it is in verse 12. 42:14 "What shall I return to the Lord 42:15 for all his goodness to me?" 42:17 By the way, there's a great thanks... 42:19 There is a great Thanksgiving. 42:20 Go back please to the verse 12. 42:23 There's a great Thanksgiving thought right there 42:25 because the way we do Thanksgiving it's... 42:27 I got this, I got that, I got that, 42:28 we got this missed, list a mile long. 42:31 Okay, so here's the question. 42:33 The Psalmist just raises it, what are you gonna do to God 42:35 to show your gratitude for His generosity? 42:38 That's what he's asking. What is he saying here? 42:42 What should I return to the Lord 42:43 for all His goodness to me? 42:45 Hey, listen, ladies and gentleman, 42:46 God has already given away. 42:47 Listen, listen, listen, 42:49 He's already given away, it's called tithe. 42:52 It's called tithe. 42:53 He says, you return that to Me, it's already mine anyway. 42:56 You want to show me your generous, 42:57 you want to show me 42:58 that you're grateful for My generosity, 43:00 return to Me, return to Me your tithe, 43:02 your offerings out of a heart of grateful love. 43:05 I love the Lord, I give this to you. 43:08 It's a good question to ask at Thanksgiving time, 43:10 this year of bountiful blessings. 43:12 What shall I return? 43:13 Just read it again verse 12, 43:14 "What shall I return to the Lord 43:16 for all his goodness to me? 43:17 Ah! 43:18 Here comes verse 13, 43:20 "I will lift up the cup of salvation 43:22 and call on the name of the Lord." 43:25 Thanks for nothing number three, 43:27 would you write it down please? 43:29 Grace and salvation did not abandon me this year. 43:34 You kept your grace going, 43:37 you kept your salvation within reach. 43:38 The Hebrew actually should be translated, 43:40 now I take up the cup, it's not lift up. 43:44 I take up the cup 43:45 that has been placed in front of me. 43:47 I take the cup of salvation up now. 43:50 Can you imagine all the ways, God has poured out Himself, 43:54 His grace, the floodgates of heaven have opened up, 43:57 He's poured out His grace on you and me. 44:01 Reminds me of that old hymn, 44:03 Oh, to grace how great a debtor 44:07 Daily I'm constrained to be 44:12 Let Thy goodness 44:14 Like a fetter Bind me closer 44:19 Lord to Thee Now 44:20 come on keep going. 44:21 Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it 44:26 Prone to leave the God 44:29 I love Here's my heart 44:33 O take and seal it 44:36 Seal it for Thy courts above 44:42 Thanks for nothing God. 44:44 You didn't take the grace away. 44:47 I'm the one that left you this year 44:48 when you had every right to leave me, 44:50 thanks for nothing, thanks for staying, 44:52 thanks for Your grace and salvation in this cup, 44:55 thank you God. 44:57 Wow. 44:58 Back to Frederick Suppe for one more moment. 45:03 So here's this philosopher who finds God, 45:05 then walks away from God, and then God finds him, 45:10 no he refines God again. 45:13 Now he's writing, he's back to God now. 45:15 And this is choice, put it on the screen. 45:17 My problem, so he's speaking 45:19 as if very candid now, very candid. 45:20 "My problem, his emphasis, is that I am scared, 45:24 now that I am back, 45:25 that if I don't indulge in spiritual exercises, 45:28 in good works, in various acts of faith, 45:30 I will once again reject God. 45:33 I do not delude myself here. I fully have within me." 45:37 Now he's making a very significant point 45:38 that you and I had very well for us to get. 45:42 "I have fully within me 45:44 the capacity to turn my back on God 45:47 and to walk away once again." 45:52 Free choice is so highly valued in this universe 45:56 that you get free choice all the way through your life. 45:58 There never comes a moment, God said, 45:59 "Okay, you're locked in, 46:01 you can't be lost now, it won't happen." 46:02 No. 46:03 God says, "You have the free choice, 46:05 you have the choice 46:06 until the last day if you wish." 46:08 I'm wooing you, I'm winning you. 46:11 I want you to stay, 46:13 but if you want to walk away again? 46:16 That's what this brilliant mind is saying. 46:17 You can walk away. 46:20 I have the capacity in me to walk away again. 46:23 So he's concerned. 46:24 Now keep reading, 46:25 "In my disconsolate over that realization, 46:27 through dark nights in which I become so desperate 46:30 that I have to pray to God for extra grace merely 46:34 to be able to open 46:35 the sufficient grace already granted me." 46:37 My God give me that grace 46:38 just to take the grace you already have given me. 46:42 "I came to realize that I lack in myself 46:45 even the resources to accept God." 46:47 Now, ladies and gentlemen, 46:49 this is the gospel, keep reading. 46:50 "My very faith, my very acceptance of God, 46:53 is not in my power. 46:55 It is a gratuitous gift of God, 46:57 and I struggle to make that realization 47:00 more than episodic, 47:01 more than just another episode in my life." 47:05 Everything we have even in salvation, 47:08 even our faith is a gift, 47:10 you can't conjure up enough faith. 47:12 Well, I just screw up enough faith 47:14 and then God will save me, you kidding? 47:16 The faith you have is already from Him, 47:18 to every man and woman 47:19 has been granted a measure of faith, 47:21 the scriptures are clear, 47:22 just a mustard seed that's all you need, 47:24 but you have enough to reach out to Me. 47:28 But it's your call, it is your choice, 47:31 you may walk away 47:32 and break my heart, but I let you. 47:36 Wow. What kind of God is this? 47:38 Oh, we need to thank Him today 47:40 for what didn't happen this year. 47:41 Here they are again, thanks for nothing number one, 47:45 death and the grave did not snatch us this year. 47:48 Thanks for nothing number two, 47:49 evil and tears did not overcome us this year. 47:52 And finally, thanks for nothing number three, 47:54 grace and salvation did not abandon us this year. 47:57 Read it one more time with me. 47:59 Verse 12, 48:00 "What shall I return to the Lord 48:02 for all his goodness to me? 48:04 I will take in my hands the cup of salvation 48:07 and I will call on the name of the Lord." 48:09 It's very interesting that word 48:11 for salvation in the Hebrew is this, Yeshuw`ah. 48:14 What name does that sound like by the way Yeshuw`ah? 48:17 Joshua. 48:18 And Joshua is the Hebrew name of Jesus. 48:22 So that the Psalmist is saying, 48:24 I take in my hands the cup of Jesus. 48:27 For Frederick Suppe, for you and me that's it, 48:30 the reason for Thanksgiving everything, 48:33 everything can be laid 48:35 at the feet of a God name Jesus. 48:38 I take up the cup of Jesus, Yeshuw`ah. 48:44 And I call upon the name of the Lord. 48:48 Who laid down, yes He did. 48:51 Who laid down His life for me. 48:54 The man with the story, you didn't hear their story 48:58 because we, two Fridays ago we were so caught up 49:02 with the immense tragedy of Paris, France 49:06 that we missed the story, that 24 hours before Paris, 49:11 France there were two terrorist bombings 49:13 in the port city of Beirut, Lebanon. 49:17 The world missed this story, but thanks to a doctor's blog, 49:21 the editors of the South Bend Tribune 49:23 did something very... 49:24 I've never seen them do this. 49:25 They wrote a signed editorial in which they say... 49:28 Listen, we're not going to put this as a little story 49:31 in a three inch column somewhere, 49:32 we're going to tell you the story in our editorial 49:35 because you haven't heard it. 49:36 Here's the story. 49:39 This is the day before the Friday, 49:41 so that would be Thursday. 49:43 Father is an auto mechanic, he's got two kids, 49:46 little eight-year-old daughter. 49:48 They've just gone to prayers in the mosque, 49:51 they've been praying, 49:52 they've come out of the mosque now, 49:55 and spread out before them is an open air market, 49:57 I mean, all the merchants 49:58 are hawking their wares, their goods, their produce, 50:02 and daddy and little girl are walking along, 50:06 admiring this and admiring that, 50:07 when all of a sudden in a split second 50:09 there is a blinding flash yards away, 50:13 fortunately far enough. 50:15 A suicide terrorist has detonated 50:17 his bomb vest taking his life 50:20 and killing all those around him, 50:22 the dust settles, father has his daughter. 50:28 And as the father is watching where the dust has settled, 50:31 he sees a man beginning to run, 50:35 and the man is running straight for the mosque 50:39 where the father and daughter have just emerged from, 50:42 the man with a look of determination, 50:44 and that daddy one split second realizes 50:47 what's happening, this is a second bomber, 50:50 he's going to go into that packed mosque. 50:55 And without thinking further, 50:58 the young father starts running as fast as he can run, 51:01 he's running behind the terrorist 51:03 and coming from behind 51:04 he tackles the bomber to the ground 51:07 and when they hit the ground the father throws himself 51:10 over the bomber to somehow shield 51:13 what is inevitably next and it was next. 51:17 And his little girl watched as her father disappeared. 51:23 That night a Lebanese physician said 51:28 I need you to hear a story you will not hear now 51:31 with all the preoccupation up there. 51:34 And the South Bend Tribune actually 51:36 is a Lebanese doctor's blog and they quoted here, 51:39 and I read the words, these words. 51:41 "Tonight Adele that would be a Adele teramosque, 51:43 the one who gave his life for the sake of the others. 51:47 Tonight Adele is no longer of this world, 51:49 but his legacy will live on for years 51:51 and the repercussions of his heroism 51:53 will become a tale to tell, Adele is the reason 51:55 we are not talking about fatalities 51:57 in the three digits today, 51:59 he is a reason for some families 52:01 that some families 52:02 still have their sons, daughters, 52:04 they still have their fathers and mothers, 52:06 he is a Lebanese hero whose name should be in front 52:09 and center of every single news outlet on earth. 52:14 He died a savior. 52:16 He gave his life, so that others might live. 52:24 We know the truth, same truth. 52:27 Desire of Ages 52:29 in the familiar words captures... 52:35 This Thanksgiving theme. 52:37 Put it on the screen for you, 52:39 "To the death of Christ we owe even this earthly life. 52:43 The bread we eat 52:44 is the purchase of His broken body. 52:46 The water we drink is bought by His spilled blood. 52:49 Never one, saint or sinner, eats his daily food, 52:52 but he is nourished by the body and the blood of Christ. 52:54 The cross of Calvary is stamped on every loaf. 52:58 It is reflected in every water spring." 53:04 What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me? 53:08 I will lift up the cup of salvation 53:11 and I will call on the name of the Lord. 53:17 Let us pray. 53:20 Oh, God, thank You for this, thank You for that, 53:24 thank You for this, thank You for that, 53:25 we've been doing it the whole weekend long, 53:29 but somebody flips the coin for us 53:32 and suddenly we remember 53:36 thanks for nothing is a huge prayer to pray. 53:40 Truth is, our thanks for nothing prayers 53:44 because of Calvary become a thanks for everything, 53:46 prayer all over again, 53:47 and we do thank You for the cup of Yeshuw`ah, 53:51 the cup of Jesus, 53:53 that His salvation and grace that we cling to today, 53:56 don't ever let us let go of Him. 54:01 Ever, ever, ever 54:02 and we will thank You forever and ever and ever. 54:08 In Christ, amen. 54:12 I'm gonna sing a stirring Thanksgiving prayer, 54:14 you've never sung these words before ever. 54:16 We've never sung them together. 54:17 So we're putting them to a very familiar tune, 54:20 open your hymnal to 556. 54:22 The words would be on the screen, 54:23 but I found with a new song 54:25 that if I read it from the hymnal, 54:26 subconsciously I'm able to go ahead 54:28 and I can get the whole drift of a thought. 54:31 556, you'll recognize the tune, 54:34 we're gonna stand as we sing that soon 54:36 as this introduction is over. 55:12 As saints of old their first-fruits brought 55:16 Of orchard, flock and field 55:20 To God, the giver of all good 55:24 The source of bounteous yield 55:28 So we today first-fruits would bring 55:32 The wealth of this good land 55:36 Of farm and market shop and home 55:42 Of mind, and heart, and hand 55:49 A world in need now summons us 55:53 To labor, love, and give 55:57 To make our life an offering 56:01 To God, that all may live 56:05 The church of Christ is calling us 56:10 To make the dream come true 56:14 A world redeemed by Christ-like love 56:21 All life in Christ made new 56:27 In gratitude and humble trust 56:32 We bring our best today 56:36 To serve Your cause and share Your love 56:40 With all along life's way 56:45 O God, who gave Yourself to us 56:49 In Jesus Christ Your Son 56:54 Teach us to give ourselves each day 57:00 Until life's work is done 57:11 Now in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, 57:14 and the love of God, 57:16 and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit 57:17 be with you all. 57:19 Amen. 57:22 I wanted to take an extra moment 57:24 to let you know how grateful I am you joined us today. 57:26 I hear from viewers and listeners 57:28 like you all across this nation and literally around the world, 57:31 and I'm thankful, 57:33 because it's through the generosity of the members 57:34 of this congregation and people like you, 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Revised 2024-04-23