1). Cicero, the Roman orator &
philosopher said, "A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but
the
parent of all other virtues." Perhaps that explains the large part that
gratitude plays in most of
Paul's
letters that he wrote in the N.T. He begins with Thanksgiving when he
writes to the Romans,
the
Corinthians, the Ephesians, the Philippians, the Colossians, and the Thessalonians.
2). When Australian aborigines wished to
thank the earth for its' gifts, they would open a vein
and let
their
blood spatter to the ground. When we want to thank our God we open our mouths
in song,
and
prayer and praise, especially for Christ who let his blood spatter the ground
for our sin!
3)Squire
Boone, younger brother of Daniel Boone, was wounded 11 times in Indian battles.
He finally
settled in
"My God my life hath much
befriended. I'll praise Him till my days are ended."
"The
Divine Deliverance That Created a Thankful Heart"
Text I Sam. 21:10-22:2; Psalm 34:1-8 11-23-05
PM
A. Surrounded by enemies, David
experienced fear for the 1st time. It's only natural. He's human.
1. But after having gone to the Lord in
prayer, something strange began to happen to David.
2. Without even the 1st acting lesson,
David put on the performance of a lifetime, one that would
have
been worthy of an "Academy Award."
B. He acted insane so that King Achish would not keep him imprisoned.
1. King Achish
wanted nothing to do with a raving mad lunatic.
2. Insanity was viewed as contagious
back then, so obviously no one wanted a madman around,
even if
the madman was locked up.
C. Some feel that God inspired David to
act insane, some suggest it wasn't much of a stretch
for him
to
pretend to be crazy, and Siskel & Ebert give him
2 thumbs up for creativity.
1. He escapes to a cave where he gathers
a band of followers 400 strong.
2. And somewhere along the way He is
divinely inspired by God to write Psalm 34 a grateful heart.
I. DAVID'S GREAT
TESTIMONY OF DELIVERANCE.
A. 34:6 - "This poor man cried, the
Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles."
1. Desperately, David cried out to God
for help, and his cry was heard.
2. James E. Gibbons, editor of The
SWORD and STAFF, has written, "Until a Christian has prayed,
the
most important thing that a Christian can do is to pray."
3. My prayer is that we would make
prayer such a regular, consistent, daily part of our lives so that
we can
"Pray without ceasing" as Paul said, so that when a crisis comes, we
don't panic. And that
going to
God in prayer would seem as natural as anything else we do on a daily basis.
That it
would not
seem like we're using prayer as a last resort, but as our very first step in
dealing with each
and
every problem that comes our way. That we would always be
ready to pray at a moments notice.
4. And not only that, but that prayer
would not be seen just as a way to deal with problems, but to
have
such a prayer life that we love going to God in prayer because we love Him, and
just naturally
want to
speak with Him, because we can't go a day without Him.
B. "A man must recognize his need
before God can save him." (Ivor Powell)
1. This may very well be a key
ingredient in coming to God: NEED (or admitting we need Him).
2. When Man has unlimited confidence and
thinks he is self-sufficient, he may feel no need for God.
3. Many today trust in their own
abilities, intelligence, education, etc. and feel no need for God.
4. But a sense of insufficiency or need
begets a desire to pray, and prayer is the key that unlocks
the
resources of heaven.
a. Prayer is our "Declaration of
Dependence" on God.
b.
Depending on Him rather than ourselves is one of the highest obstacles for MAN
to overcome,
but
depending on Him is one of our greatest needs.
5. David was delivered i.e.
"saved" when he recognized his need for God & turned to Him for
help!
6. Do you need Him tonight? Do you
stubbornly resist His call for you to "Come"?
II. DAVID'S GREAT
SECURITY SYSTEM.
A. 34:7 - "An angel of the Lord
encamps around those who fear Him (GOD)."
1. How else could he explain his divine
deliverance from King Achish or even from King Saul?
2. He had avoided the spears thrown by
Saul who was an expert at Spear throwing!
3. David never had an acting lesson but
he acted like a professional.
4. No explanation is possible except for
one: God is never far from the one in need of His Help!
B. Consider vs.15-19 concerning the
closeness of God to His people.
1. The greatest security system in the
world is not Brinks or ADT!
2. But a close relationship with God
thru faith in His Son Jesus Christ certainly is!
III. DAVID'S GREAT
PRAISE FOR GOD!
A. 34:1-3 - Exalt and glorify the Lord's
majesty and greatness!
1. David's rejoicing stems from a
thankful heart.
2. People who truly turn to God cannot
help but become thankful people.
3. Consider for a moment that God has
delivered, "saved" each one of us from something far worse
than
calamity, catastrophe, captivity. He has delivered us from sin & death,
eternal death that is.
4. We can be rescued from all sorts of
things by different people in a variety of ways. But there is only
One Who can
save us from the One thing that can destroy us forever, and that is Jesus
Christ!
a. It's one thing to be spared from
physical pain caused by violence, war, disease, natural disasters,etc.
b. It's an entirely different matter to
be spared the spiritual pain caused by sin, death, and hell.
5. We actually have much more to be
thankful for than people rescued from floods or spared from
hurricanes and
tornado's. We have been given new life, eternal life by the Grace of God!
6. How much more than should our praise
and thanksgiving fill the air each and every day!
B. I read a study a few years ago about
how Christian people who pray are the most mentally stable
people in
society.
1. Turning to God should bring peace to
our soul and mind. "Peace that passeth all
understanding"
2. A Christian who is bitter is probably
not praying with a thankful heart, probably not praying at all.
3. A depressed Christian who worries is
not praying thankfully or maybe not praying at all.
4. Let bitterness, anxiety, and mental
illness plague others!
5. We Christians have every reason to
rejoice and praise God!
6. We Christians have every reason to
give thanks to God.
7. If this Psalm teaches us anything, it
ought to show us that all that is best and most wonderful in life
is
entirely and solely the result of the grace of God. If God's grace doesn't make
us thankful people,
than
nothing ever will!
C. "Be Thankful" (from the
internet) "BE
THANKFUL"
Be thankful that you don't already have everything
you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward
to?
Be thankful when you don't know something,
for it gives you the
opportunity to learn.
Be thankful for the difficult times. During those
times you grow.
Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you
opportunities for improvement.
Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your
strength and character.
Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach
you valuable lessons.
Be thankful when you are tired and weary,
because it means you've made
a difference.
It's easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who
are also thankful for the
setbacks.
Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
and they can become your
blessings.
(author unknown)
IV. DAVID'S GREAT
TRUST IN GOD!
A. 34:8 - "Taste and see that the
Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him."
1. V.22 - "The Lord redeems His
servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in Him."
2. "To taste for a moment is to
trust forever!"
B. Trusting in God doesn't mean we are
spared trials and hardships. It means we have committed
our
lives to God in faith and we prove our faith by our obedience to Him and His Word.
1. It means that we know that ultimately
God will take care of us with provisions & protection.
2. We will have what we need in this
life to do His will and He will take care of us in the next life also.
3. Let us show our thankfulness to God
by not only our words of praise & thanksgiving, but also in
our
behavior and deeds of thanksliving!
C. A story is told of a man and woman
who gave a sizeable contribution to their church to honor the
memory of
their son who lost his life in the war. When the announcement was made of the
generous
donation, a
woman whispered to her husband, "Let's give the same amount for our
boy!" Her hus-
band
said, "What are you talking about? Our son wasn't killed!" She said,
"That's just the point! Let's
give it
as an expression of our gratitude to God for sparing his life!"
(That's thankfulness in action!)