Being Thankful

Scripture Text

Psalm 103:1-5

Intro: In one week this nation will celebrate Thanksgiving Day. It's a day to be thankful to God as a nation for the benevolent gifts He has given this nation and to each of us individually. In this message I would like to mention from God's word some things we need to thank God for not only once a year but all year long.

  I. We should remind ourselves to bless the Lord for all His benefits. Psalms 103:1-2 (NKJV) ¹ A Psalm of David. Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! ² Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:

a. David told his spirit man to praise the Lord with all his being, that is, to put his whole heart in his praise of God’s holy name. This was certainly warranted in view of the Lord’s many benefits and blessings. The purpose of this was so he would not forget what God had done. It is a needed reminder because all too often we do forget. We forget to thank Him for soundness of body, soundness of mind, sight, hearing, speech, appetite, and a host of other mercies. We take them too much for granted. All the material and spiritual blessings. [Ephesians 1:3]                                                                                               II. David began to list some of God's benefits. Psalms 103:3-5 (NKJV) ³ Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, ⁴ Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, ⁵ Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. God forgives all your iniquities> Gross Wickedness and evil. It's an unspeakable miracle of divine grace that crimson red sins can be made whiter than snow. I can understand the man who chose one word for his tombstone—FORGIVEN. To know that our sins have been put away forever by the precious blood of Christ, past, present, and future—well, it’s just too much to take in. God heals all your diseases. All genuine healing is from God. If you have been sick, and then have recovered, you can thank God for your recovery because He is the source of all healing. One of the names of God in the Old Testament is Jehovah Rophi—the Lord your Healer. Every instance of true healing comes from Him. Second, the Lord is able to heal all kinds of diseases. There is no such thing with Him as an incurable disease. Third, the Lord can heal by the use of natural means over a period of time or He can heal miraculously and instantly. No limit can be placed on His power to heal. Fourth, when He was on earth the Lord actually healed all that were brought to Him (Matt. 8:16). Fifth, during the Millennium He will actually heal all diseases except in the case of those who rebel against Him.     God redeems your life from destruction. He redeems our lives from the Pit, or destruction. Of course, this can be applied to His saving us from going down to hell. But I think that the meaning here is rather that He continually delivers us from dangers, accidents, tragedies and thus from going down to the grave. Only when we get to heaven will we realize how often we were protected by the personal intervention of our God from premature death. God crowns you with loving kindness. Tender kindness motivated by or expressing affection. And tender [soft, delicate] mercies. Acts of kindness, compassion, favor and blessings. It is a wonderful crown for those who were once the loveless and guilty. We are loved with everlasting love and showered day by day with His mercy. God satisfies “your years” with good things as long as we live. The literal translation is He “satisfies “your years” or “as long as you live.” The truth is there that the Lord satisfies the longing heart, and that He does not withhold any good thing from those who walk uprightly.

Conclusion: The result of these five benefits—forgiveness, healing, preservation, coronation,and satisfaction—is that our youth is renewed like the eagle’s [v:5] Sickness and violence may affect the body but they cannot touch the spirit. “Though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16). On earth there is no fountain of eternal youth as far as the body is concerned, but the spirit can go from one degree of strength to another.

Invitation: If you don't know God, be thankful that you right now have another opportunity to get to know Him by confessing your sins to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you of your sins and save you, so when this life is over you can live with God the Father forever.