1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:02,480 OK, I want to ask tonight, Anybody here grow up on a farm? 2 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:07,040 Anybody raise your hand? Anybody 1-2, Not too many 3 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:08,400 people. OK? 4 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:10,800 You know the excitement at harvest time. 5 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:12,840 You probably don't know the excitement at harvest time 6 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:14,920 though. But anybody here grow vegetables 7 00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:17,080 in their backyard? Anybody. 8 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:19,680 Anybody. OK, a lot of you grow vegetables 9 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:22,280 in your backyard. Isn't there something special 10 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:25,000 about it? When you plant it, you water it, 11 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:28,680 you fertilize it, you weed it and you keep watering and after 12 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:32,080 many months, Lord willing, you have a bounty of vegetables, 13 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:34,000 right? Well, that didn't happen with 14 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:37,600 me. Couple years ago I decided I 15 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:39,160 would get into the farming business. 16 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:43,920 So I bought these giant tins in the backyard, put them in the 17 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:45,320 backyard. I don't have a big backyard. 18 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:50,880 So I got the raised planters and I bought the fertilizer, the 19 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:58,520 manure and, and planted I think 4 crops and watered it, weeded 20 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:00,240 it and kept watering and watering. 21 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:03,120 And it's, it's exciting when you see the carrot sprout, right? 22 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:06,080 When you see the cucumber sprout, it's exciting. 23 00:01:06,960 --> 00:01:10,480 But I kept watering and watering and all of a sudden on the back 24 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:13,520 of the cucumbers and the the green Peppers, they, they got 25 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:15,840 black. So I guess it was a calcium 26 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:21,160 deficiency. So I figure I spent $300.00 and 27 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:25,240 got about this much of carrots. So I'm not a good farmer. 28 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:27,640 Farmer's not for me. So I hope you're better than I 29 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:30,080 am. But tonight we have a, a very 30 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:31,960 interesting Psalm. It's, it's a harvest Psalm, at 31 00:01:31,960 --> 00:01:36,360 least the last few verses are. And it's about being thankful at 32 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:38,840 harvest time. So I wasn't too thankful with my 33 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:42,560 handful of carrots. But hopefully you, when you get 34 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:45,440 bushels of tomatoes and things are hopefully you did better. 35 00:01:45,960 --> 00:01:48,760 This is a Psalm that's to be sung when the crops are gathered 36 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:51,640 in. This Psalm focuses on praising 37 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:55,480 the Lord for his manifold blessings and for his gracious 38 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:59,800 dealings with his people. So let's read Psalm 65 tonight. 39 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:05,720 To the choir master of the Psalm of David, a song, Praise is due 40 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:10,000 to you, O God in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed. 41 00:02:10,759 --> 00:02:14,320 O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. 42 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:18,560 When iniquities prevail against me, You atone for our 43 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:21,960 transgressions. Blessed is the one you choose 44 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:24,320 and bring near to dwell in your courts. 45 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:27,920 We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the 46 00:02:27,920 --> 00:02:31,600 holiness of your temple. By awesome deeds You answer us 47 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:34,400 with righteousness, O God of our salvation. 48 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:38,200 The hope of all the ends of the earth and of all the farthest 49 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:40,600 seas. The one who by His strength 50 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:44,200 established the mountains, being girded with might, who stills 51 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:47,480 the roaring of the Seas, the roaring of their waves, the 52 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:51,960 tumult of the peoples, so that all those who dwell at the ends 53 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:54,920 of the earth are in awe at your signs. 54 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:59,760 You make the going out of the morning and evening to shout for 55 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:02,040 joy. And here's the harvest part. 56 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:04,160 You visit the earth and water it. 57 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:07,360 You greatly enrich it. The river of God is full of 58 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:10,120 water. You provide their grain, for so 59 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:12,800 you have prepared it. You water its furrows 60 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:16,880 abundantly, setting its ridges, softening it with showers, and 61 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:20,440 blessing its growth. You crown the year with your 62 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:22,800 bounty. Your wagon tracks overflow with 63 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:25,320 abundance. The pastures of the wilderness 64 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:28,480 overflow, and the hills gird themselves with joy. 65 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:32,160 The meadows clothe themselves with flocks, and the valleys 66 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:36,120 deck themselves with grain. They shout and sing together for 67 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:38,000 joy. Let's pray, Father, thank you 68 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:41,640 for the hardest Psalm. For a thank you Psalm, may we 69 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:45,880 leave here tonight realizing just how blessed we are and how 70 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:49,600 dependent we are on you in Jesus name, Amen. 71 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:52,960 We have a superscription of course, it says to the 72 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:55,720 choirmaster a Psalm of David and a song. 73 00:03:56,080 --> 00:04:04,840 And if you notice Psalm 656667 and 68 all say that they all and 74 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:06,760 they're all kind of like you can read them together. 75 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:10,800 Psalm 65 verse 8 says so that those who dwell at the ends of 76 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:13,000 the earth are in awe of your signs. 77 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:18,160 Psalm 66 one says shout to the joy to God all the earth. 78 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:23,520 Psalm 67 two says that your way may be known on earth. 79 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:30,160 And Psalm 6832 says, O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God or 80 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:32,960 Psalm tonight is a song of worldwide praise to God. 81 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:36,400 All the nations of the world will praise God for three 82 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:39,360 reasons. And whether you're a farmer, 83 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:42,400 whether you're a vegetable grower in your backyard, or 84 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:44,920 whether you don't farm at all, we need to give thanks to God 85 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:47,920 and praise to God. So the type of Psalm tonight, 86 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:50,680 it's quite different. I think we've had a lot of 87 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:54,440 lament Psalms this year, and that wasn't by design. 88 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:58,480 But lament Psalms, you know, are David's in trouble, David's got 89 00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:02,000 a crisis, or the sons of Korra are in crisis and they're crying 90 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:06,280 out for deliverance from some battle, some war, or Saul is 91 00:05:06,280 --> 00:05:09,600 chasing David. There's, you know, about 65 of 92 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:12,000 the 150 psalms are lament psalms. 93 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:14,880 Some of them are individual lament, others are the whole 94 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:18,120 congregation is lamenting. Those can get old after a while, 95 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:20,240 can't they? They're kind of like the same 96 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:22,400 lament psalms. But tonight we really got a 97 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:25,720 blessed one, I think, because tonight's Psalm is about joy. 98 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:28,760 It's about excitement because something had gone well, 99 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:33,480 circumstances were good. The people had reason to render 100 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,280 thanks to God for His faithfulness, for His 101 00:05:36,280 --> 00:05:38,600 protections, and for His benefits. 102 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:42,440 Thanksgiving Psalms help a person or a group express 103 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:45,000 thoughts and feelings of gratitude. 104 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:50,680 There are 6 what they call Group Community Songs of Thanksgiving 105 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:59,040 and that would be tonight's Psalm 6567, Seventy, 510-7124, 106 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:02,600 and 1:36. And then there are 10 individual 107 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:15,240 Psalms of Thanksgiving 1830, 3234, forty, 6692116118, and 108 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:17,640 138. So those are the Thanksgiving 109 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:19,560 psalms. And tonight we're looking at one 110 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:21,680 of them. Call it a Thanksgiving Psalm, 111 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:23,400 but also call it a harvest Psalm. 112 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:25,800 Your outline tonight is 3 simple points. 113 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:28,640 Got our Savior verses one to four. 114 00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:32,800 Got our Creator verses 5 to 8 and got our Sustainer verses 9 115 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:35,520 to 13. Let's begin with .1 God our 116 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:37,800 Savior. And there's 4 sub points there. 117 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:43,040 He answers prayer, He atones for sin, He accepts worshippers and 118 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:45,840 he assigns blessings. Let's look at sub .1. 119 00:06:45,840 --> 00:06:50,960 He answers prayer. It says in my Bible, praise is 120 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:54,800 due to you, O God in Zion. Now I know a lot of you out 121 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:58,080 there have NASB Bibles, right? So your, your first sentence is 122 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:01,280 a lot different. It says there will be silence 123 00:07:01,280 --> 00:07:05,960 before you and praise in Xylan and the LSV. 124 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:10,080 The new translation says to you there will be silence and praise 125 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:12,000 in Xylan. So what's what's the difference? 126 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:13,920 Why? Why the different translations? 127 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:17,680 Why doesn't the SV say silence? Well, the Hebrew word for 128 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:22,440 silence is very similar to the words for fitting for proper. 129 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:28,000 So most translations say praise is fitting for you or praise is 130 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:32,240 due for you and they omit that silence, but praise is due for 131 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:34,560 you. Probably the greatest praise 132 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:37,960 Psalm there is, is Psalm 150. Psalm 150. 133 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:41,440 If you want to turn there real quick, it's it's has the word 134 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:46,240 praise I think 13 times in six verses. 135 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:52,040 Psalms 150 says Praise the Lord. Then you ask the question, where 136 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:54,040 do we praise Him? Well, we praise God in His 137 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:56,280 sanctuary. We praise Him in His mighty 138 00:07:56,280 --> 00:07:58,200 heavens. Why do we praise Him? 139 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:00,760 That's verse 2. We praise Him for His mighty 140 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:02,840 deeds. We praise Him according to His 141 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:05,320 excellent greatness. How do we praise Him? 142 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:07,240 We praise Him with the trumpet sound. 143 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:08,720 We praise Him with the lute and heart. 144 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:10,720 We praise Him with tambourine and dance. 145 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:12,280 We praise Him with strings and bite. 146 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:14,280 We praise Him with sounding symbols. 147 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:17,080 We praise Him with loud clashing symbols. 148 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:20,880 And verse 6 is the climax says let everything in his breath, 149 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:23,560 praise the Lord, praise the Lord. 150 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:27,280 Praise is due to our great God and Savior because he's the 151 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:30,200 creator God. He's a standard God and he's our 152 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:34,159 savior God. It's my Bible says praise is due 153 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:36,600 to you, you. If you were to count all the U's 154 00:08:36,799 --> 00:08:39,640 in the ESV, it would be 14 times. 155 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:43,760 Speaking of God, the LSV actually will read a piece later 156 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:47,560 19 times. It says you you EU is God. 157 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:52,400 Verse one continues and says that praise awaits in Zion or 158 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:55,280 Jerusalem. Later this year we will look at 159 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:57,560 Psalm 87, which is all about Zion. 160 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:01,280 But that's where the great Jewish feast of the Tabernacles 161 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:03,840 or Boost was held. And most commentators believe 162 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:08,120 that Psalm 65, the harvest is talking about the festival of 163 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:11,080 Boost or called the festival of Tabernacles. 164 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:14,800 Today there's no temple, but someday that temple will be 165 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:18,200 rebuilt and they will praise will be given to God there. 166 00:09:18,560 --> 00:09:23,120 So praise is due to our Lord #2 there's is vows are due. 167 00:09:23,560 --> 00:09:27,760 This is this is still under. He answers our prayers, He says, 168 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:31,000 and to you shall vows be performed. 169 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:34,160 You know the Old Testament believers made vows. 170 00:09:34,560 --> 00:09:39,400 These were pledges to offer sacrifices of Thanksgiving when 171 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:42,200 prayers were answered. You have some good example, 172 00:09:42,560 --> 00:09:44,720 Hannah and First Samuel. Remember she couldn't have the 173 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:47,880 baby and she's crying out in the temple. 174 00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:50,920 And Eli thought she was drunk, but she said to God that if 175 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:53,480 you'll give me a son, I will give him to you, the Lord. 176 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:56,600 And that was a good example. Then you got a bad example of 177 00:09:56,840 --> 00:10:01,360 rash and stupid vows. Jephta and Judges vowed to if 178 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:04,280 God gave him the military victory, whatever came out of 179 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:05,880 his tent he was going to sacrifice. 180 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:08,080 And you remember his daughter came out of his tent. 181 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:10,880 That was a bad rash example of vows. 182 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:14,440 I don't think we take vows very seriously today, even wedding 183 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:17,320 vows. Isn't the divorce rate somewhere 184 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:19,760 around 50%? But what's what's the difference 185 00:10:19,760 --> 00:10:23,920 between a vow and a covenant? In modern English they mean the 186 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:28,080 same intention. A covenant is a written sign 187 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:33,160 agreement, whereas a vow is a solemn spoken promise made to 188 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:36,560 either another human being or as in marriage, to God. 189 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:39,720 I think we New Testament Christians don't think about 190 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:42,880 vows and I don't think we sometimes think about covenants. 191 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:48,680 But Jesus said in Luke 923, if anyone would come after me, let 192 00:10:48,680 --> 00:10:53,320 him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 193 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:56,560 When you come to Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. 194 00:10:56,920 --> 00:11:01,080 You're a new creation in Christ. Are you not making a vow to 195 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:04,320 follow Jesus Christ? Last week we had two baptisms 196 00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:08,360 and those two men are made a public profession in front of 197 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:12,280 our church that they're going to follow Jesus and for their life, 198 00:11:12,920 --> 00:11:16,080 even to the end, Luke 923 says even to death. 199 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:20,560 So I think when we when we make a vow to follow Jesus Christ, 200 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:25,520 that includes our prayers. Jude 20 says, But you beloved, 201 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:29,560 build yourselves up in the most holy faith and praying in the 202 00:11:29,560 --> 00:11:31,920 Holy Spirit. You have a relationship with the 203 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:35,200 God of the universe and we need to pray to Him next. 204 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:36,960 Second, we need to give Him our lips. 205 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:41,960 Hebrews 1315 says let us OfferUp a sacrifice of praise to God 206 00:11:42,560 --> 00:11:45,560 That is the fruit of the lips that acknowledge His name. 207 00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:49,160 We sing songs on Sunday, but I hope that's not the only time 208 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:53,680 you praise Him our bodies. First Corinthians 316 says don't 209 00:11:53,680 --> 00:11:56,720 you know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit 210 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:59,760 dwells in you? We are to keep our body holy 211 00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:02,880 because the Holy Spirit lives in you and we're to serve. 212 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:06,800 First Corinthians 12/7 says to each is given the manifestation 213 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:08,840 of the Spirit for the common good. 214 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:12,520 God gave every believer a spiritual gift and you have to 215 00:12:12,520 --> 00:12:15,480 unwrap that gift and use that gift in the body of Christ. 216 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:19,560 And lastly, tithing. Proverbs 39 says honor the Lord 217 00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:24,080 with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your produce. 218 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:27,520 It was an agricultural economy, so their money was in the grain 219 00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:30,480 and the wheat and the barley and the olives and and the wine. 220 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:34,440 We have a covenant card here at Christ Community Church and I'm 221 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:38,480 afraid that when you join Christ many church, maybe you haven't 222 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:40,880 joined Christ many church, so you haven't seen that covenant 223 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:42,680 card. But when you make a covenant 224 00:12:42,680 --> 00:12:44,920 card, you're coveting to do these things. 225 00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:49,040 If you love the Lord, you'll love His bride, which is the 226 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:53,000 church, and you will attend, you will serve, you'll sing, and 227 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:55,840 you'll love one another. So I hope that you will perform 228 00:12:56,040 --> 00:12:58,640 your vows and start thinking about that. 229 00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:03,480 Psalm 66, which is the next Psalm after 60, verses 13 to 15 230 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:07,480 says I will come into your house with burnt offerings. 231 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:12,440 I will perform my vows to you that which my lips uttered and 232 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:14,480 my mouth promised when I was in trouble. 233 00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:17,880 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals 234 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:20,440 with the smoke and sacrifice of Rams. 235 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:23,840 I will make an offering of bulls and goats. 236 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:26,920 So prayers are due, vows are due. 237 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:31,240 I'm sorry, praise is due, vows are due, and thirdly, prayers 238 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:34,560 are due. Verse 2 says, O you who hear 239 00:13:34,560 --> 00:13:37,840 prayer, to you shall all flesh come. 240 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:41,880 In verse one the praise was due for Israel, but here in verse 2 241 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:44,680 the praise is due from all the world. 242 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:50,000 We have a wonderful description of God here. 243 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:54,920 O you who hear your prayers, you know we read our Bibles, we 244 00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:57,880 study theology and try to get a better understanding of of who 245 00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:00,680 God is. But one thing I know is that God 246 00:14:00,680 --> 00:14:03,640 hears our prayers. We just the first Psalm we 247 00:14:03,640 --> 00:14:05,960 looked at this summer was Psalm 5. 248 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:07,680 So I don't have to talk a lot about it. 249 00:14:07,680 --> 00:14:10,360 But I said then God hears our prayers. 250 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:12,880 He doesn't sleep, He doesn't take a holiday. 251 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:15,760 There's no answering machine in heaven that says I'm currently 252 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:17,120 awake. Now leave a message. 253 00:14:17,640 --> 00:14:20,920 One verse from that Psalm 5 which we looked at Psalm 5 verse 254 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:25,240 one says answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness, you 255 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:27,520 have given me relief when I was in distress. 256 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:30,400 Be gracious to me and hear my prayer. 257 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:35,400 And I probably quoted this quote from AW Tozer 20 times in the 258 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:38,120 last five years, but it's my favorite prayer quote. 259 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:45,520 And AW Tozer said man is at his highest and greatest when he is 260 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:49,520 on his knees where he comes face to face with God. 261 00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:51,680 That's what happens when you're praying. 262 00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:56,280 So prayers are due, praises due, and vows are due. 263 00:14:56,800 --> 00:15:01,880 Some point #2HE atones for sin. It says in verse 3, When 264 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:04,960 iniquities prevail against me, I'll stop right there. 265 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:09,200 Some translations say our record of sin overwhelms me. 266 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:13,760 Iniquities or sin is described in his verse as overwhelming or 267 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:17,480 burning him a heavy burden of guilt and misery. 268 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:21,320 And it immediately reminds me of David in Psalm 32. 269 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:25,360 Remember, David would not confess his sins with Bathsheba 270 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:29,160 and the murdering Uriah for almost nine months. 271 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:33,080 And it says that in Psalm 32, verses 3 and 4. 272 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:39,040 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning 273 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:42,440 all day long. For day and night your hand was 274 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:46,000 heavy upon me. My strength was dried up as by 275 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:49,120 the heat of summer. So God's heavy hand was upon 276 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:51,800 David when he would not confess his sins. 277 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:57,040 Psalm 130 verse 3 says, If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, 278 00:15:57,040 --> 00:16:00,920 or count iniquities, or keep a record of iniquities, O Lord, 279 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:03,520 who could stand? But with you there is 280 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:05,760 forgiveness, that you may be feared. 281 00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:12,040 It then says, You atone for our transgressions. 5 beautiful 282 00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:15,600 words literally means You. You cover our transgressions. 283 00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:20,640 Atone means to make amends, to provide or serve as reparation 284 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:23,040 or compensation for something bad. 285 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:27,880 Our sins are bad, and our Psalm tonight says that God atones for 286 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:31,720 our transgressions. If the personal pronoun you is 287 00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:35,600 emphatic, it says God alone can forgive transgressions. 288 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:40,880 Psalm 51 for another one by David says against you only have 289 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:43,360 I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. 290 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:46,840 Yes, he sinned with Bathsheba. Yes, he sinned against Uriah, 291 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:49,240 but ultimately he's sinned to God alone. 292 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:56,720 This verse here Psalm 65 verse 2 is the Romans 5 verse eight of 293 00:16:56,720 --> 00:16:59,560 the Old Testament. You all know Romans 5/8. 294 00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:02,760 I hope, right? But God shows His love toward us 295 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:06,359 in this. While we were sinners, Christ 296 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:09,240 died for us. It's the Romans, 5/8 of the Old 297 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:13,200 Testament. You know, we talked a lot in our 298 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:15,560 Psalm studies about the penitential psalms. 299 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:19,119 We've looked at Psalm 32. We've looked at Psalm 51. 300 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:21,119 We're going to look at Psalm 1O2. 301 00:17:21,119 --> 00:17:22,480 We've already looked at Psalm 1:30. 302 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:26,160 There are 6 what they call penitential psalms that talk 303 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:30,160 about forgiveness of sins. It strikes me odd that with this 304 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:33,960 verse, Psalm 65 verse 3, it's not one of the penitential 305 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:36,080 Psalms. I don't know why they left it 306 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:38,800 out, but that's just a category people put. 307 00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:42,120 But atonement is mentioned three times in Psalms. 308 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:46,120 It means to cover or wipe away. Next time you read that 309 00:17:46,120 --> 00:17:51,800 wonderful book of Leviticus, you'll see the word atonement 48 310 00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:54,760 times out of the 90 times in the Bible. 311 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:58,520 So Psalm 65 three says you atone for our transgressions. 312 00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:05,080 Psalm 78 verse 38 says, yet he being compassionate atone for 313 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:07,680 their iniquity and did not destroy them. 314 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:12,240 Psalm 79, nine says, Help us, O God of our salvation, for the 315 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:17,080 glory of your name, deliver us and atone for our sins for your 316 00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:20,600 name's sake. Probably the best description of 317 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:23,920 atonement in the Bible is that beautiful chapter. 318 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:26,640 Lance read it recently. I even read it recently, a few 319 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:30,160 weeks ago, Isaiah chapter 6. And if you don't want to turn 320 00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:34,120 there, you remember the story Isaiah 6 in the year that King 321 00:18:34,120 --> 00:18:37,840 Uzziah died, it says, I saw the Lord sitting upon the throne 322 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:40,840 high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the 323 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:43,480 temple. Above him stood the seraphim. 324 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:47,960 Each had six wings, and two he covered with his face, and with 325 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:50,840 two he covered with his feet, and with two he flew. 326 00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:56,120 And one called the another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the 327 00:18:56,120 --> 00:18:58,640 Lord of hosts. The whole earth is filled with 328 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:00,840 his glory. And the foundations of the 329 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:04,640 threshold shook at the voice of him who called, and the house 330 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:08,760 was filled with smoke. And verse 5 Isaiah says, And I 331 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:13,360 said, Woe to me, for I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, 332 00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:17,160 and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for my 333 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:19,440 eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. 334 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:23,080 I would wager to say that Isaiah was probably the most righteous 335 00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:26,400 man in all of Jerusalem. Yet when he saw God on the 336 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:29,720 throne, he says I am a man of unclean lips. 337 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:34,560 But verse 6 says of chapters. Verse 6 of chapter 6 Then one of 338 00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:38,320 the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that 339 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:41,400 he had taken with tongues from the altar, and he touched my 340 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:43,720 mouth. And he said, behold, this has 341 00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:48,200 touched your lips, your guilt is taken away, and your sin is 342 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:51,440 atone, for God took his sins away. 343 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:55,120 The last time the word atonement is used in the Old Testament is 344 00:19:55,120 --> 00:19:59,480 in Daniel 924, that great chapter of Daniel 9 which says 345 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:03,680 70 weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city to 346 00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:09,400 finish the transgressions, to put an end to sin, and to atone 347 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:12,320 for iniquity. We know that was when Jesus 348 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:15,760 Christ hung on the cross and He would provide atonement for 349 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:19,400 everyone who would believe. That alone is reason to praise 350 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:21,600 God. That alone is to give to to make 351 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:23,320 vows. That alone is the reason to pray 352 00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:25,320 everyday thanking Him for his atonement. 353 00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:28,200 You know the word atonement does not appear in the New Testament 354 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:32,760 but there is a like minded word called propitiation and that 355 00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:35,760 means what? What God is now for us, His 356 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:38,000 anger against sinners has been taken away. 357 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:40,320 Our relationship has been restored. 358 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:45,040 Jesus died in her place and bore the wrath of God's punishment. 359 00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:49,760 So have you believed in Christ's atonement? 360 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:54,000 Don't leave here tonight without seeing me, Tom, Mason or Lance. 361 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:58,240 If you're not sure if you have Christ's atonement, it ought to 362 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:02,360 'cause you as verse one and two, say to give praise that's due to 363 00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:06,280 make vows or covenants and pray. People all over the world need 364 00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:09,600 to know that God has provided atonement for sin through Jesus 365 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:12,120 Christ. Either God provides atonement 366 00:21:12,120 --> 00:21:16,480 for your sins or you will pay the penalty for your sin in 367 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:19,120 hell. Let's look at some point #3 He 368 00:21:19,120 --> 00:21:23,400 accepts worshippers, says blessed is the one you choose 369 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:26,000 and bring near to dwell in your courts. 370 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:29,000 You all know the beatitudes in the New Testament, right? 371 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:32,480 Matthew 5 says blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is 372 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:34,800 the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for 373 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:37,160 they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they 374 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:39,560 shall inherit the earth. You all know those beatitudes, 375 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:41,840 right? Well, do you know there's 25 376 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:44,400 beatitudes in Psalms and this is one of them. 377 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:49,120 Blessed is the one you choose and bring near to dwell in your 378 00:21:49,120 --> 00:21:52,320 courts. We are blessed because God chose 379 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:55,880 us to bring us near to Him. You know, visiting the sanctuary 380 00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:59,280 or the temple in the Old Testament, Israel was a badge of 381 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:00,880 membership. That was something that they 382 00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:03,480 would be proud of. True believers found 383 00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:07,560 satisfaction in that holy place. You know, the Lord hears our 384 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:10,320 prayers. We talked about that in .1 and 385 00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:13,000 he's chosen people to bring near to him. 386 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:16,960 If you have Jesus Christ in your heart tonight, He's drawn us 387 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:19,680 near for you to, to be near. You know, we don't go to the 388 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:21,320 temple. We come to the the physical 389 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:23,760 building of the church. Now some of you might ask, who 390 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:25,960 are these people here? Could they be priests? 391 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:30,160 Well #16 five, Jeremiah 3021 make a claim. 392 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:33,880 It could be priests, but equally they might be the entire 393 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:38,440 covenant people of Israel because Exodus 19, six says to 394 00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:41,400 the children of Israel, you shall become a Kingdom of 395 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:44,040 priests. And you know that we are a 396 00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:45,760 Kingdom of priests in the New Testament. 397 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:50,920 When God Forgives our sins, we begin a new relationship with 398 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:53,480 Him by worshipping Him in His presence. 399 00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:57,400 What the Jewish worshippers had in their sanctuary, we believers 400 00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:00,960 today have in Jesus Christ. We come to church to worship. 401 00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:03,720 You know, there are no Lone Ranger Christians. 402 00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:05,960 There's no what we call bedside Baptist. 403 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:08,040 There's no saying I don't need to go to church. 404 00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:11,880 I can have church in my home. You all know Hebrews 10/25 says 405 00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:15,640 that we are not to collect meeting together as the habit of 406 00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:17,960 some. We ought to encourage one 407 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:20,880 another all the more as you see the day approaching. 408 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:25,840 Do we realize how blessed we are that God has chosen us to bring 409 00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:30,280 us near to Him and some point #4 He assigns blessings. 410 00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:33,960 That's the last part of verse 4. We shall be satisfied with the 411 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:36,920 goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple. 412 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:40,520 The Lord promised to reward those who are devoted to Him, 413 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:44,400 and whoever is is loyal to the Lord is blessed with good 414 00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:47,240 things. You know, I could give a lot of 415 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:48,800 verses here tonight, but I get to keep going. 416 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:53,240 But Psalm 23, six, the last verse in Psalm 23 says surely 417 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:57,800 goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and 418 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:00,200 I shall dwell in the House of the Lord forever. 419 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:03,520 God's gifts include spiritual benefits, of course, the 420 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,480 forgiveness of sins that we just talked about when Christ atones 421 00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:09,480 for our sins. And we'll see later in verses 9 422 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:13,240 to 13 the blessings that God gives us by sustaining our 423 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:15,360 earth. You have Christ in your heart. 424 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:19,240 You will enjoy God's blessings in this life and especially the 425 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:23,000 life to come. Let's look at point #2 God is 426 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:25,920 our Creator, and He causes great things. 427 00:24:26,360 --> 00:24:31,360 He created the world, He calms the nations, and He calls for 428 00:24:31,360 --> 00:24:33,240 praise. And I'm going through these real 429 00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:36,680 quickly because I want to get to those choice verses in nine to 430 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:41,760 13. Number one, He causes great 431 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:45,280 things. Verse 5 he says by awesome deeds 432 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:46,800 you answer us with righteousness. 433 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:50,200 Oh God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the 434 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:54,200 earth and the farthest seas. Not sure what the psalmist is 435 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:55,960 talking about. Could it be the Exodus? 436 00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:58,800 Maybe Could it be the the greatest miracle in the Old 437 00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:00,440 Testament when they part of the Red Sea? 438 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:02,360 Could it be the conquest of Canaan? 439 00:25:02,360 --> 00:25:05,840 Maybe God answered all Israel's prayers and He established 440 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:09,720 Israel in the Promised Land, and they were to be the hope of all 441 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:12,280 the ends of the earth. But we know they fail in that. 442 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:17,160 So God #1 'cause our Creator causes great things #2 He 443 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:21,400 created the world. Verse 6 says by one who by His 444 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:24,160 strength established the mountains, being girded with 445 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:26,440 might. In the poetry books of the 446 00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:30,760 Bible, especially Psalms, when it speaks of mountains, it's 447 00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:34,320 Speaking of strength or the omnipotence, the unshakable 448 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:37,080 power and ability of God's created order. 449 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:41,400 Yahweh's power is demonstrated and that He created and sustains 450 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:45,600 the mountains which are the strongest and most solid parts 451 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:48,480 of the earth. God wants you to know that He is 452 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:52,600 the Creator. Psalms 1/15/15 says May you be 453 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:55,720 blessed of Yahweh who made the heaven and earth. 454 00:25:56,200 --> 00:26:00,840 Psalm 121 two says, My help comes from the Lord who made the 455 00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:04,760 heaven and the earth. Psalm 124 eight says our help is 456 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:08,040 in the name of Yahweh who made the heaven and the earth. 457 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:13,160 Psalm 134 three says, May Yahweh bless you from Zion who made the 458 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:17,160 heaven and the earth. And Psalm 146 six says, Who made 459 00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:20,320 the heaven and the earth, the sea, and all that's in them, who 460 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:23,720 keeps truth forever? So He caused great things, He 461 00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:26,840 created the world, and then next He calms the nation. 462 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:31,360 Verse 7, it says Who steals the roaring of the Seas, the roaring 463 00:26:31,360 --> 00:26:33,680 of the waves, the tumult of the people. 464 00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:37,760 Again, in the poetry books of the Bible, when it speaks of 465 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:41,880 seas, it's commonly used to describe figuratively the 466 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:46,640 nations of the world, especially those nations that oppose God, 467 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:51,760 Israel and God's program. He controls the turban elements 468 00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:55,520 of nature and the tumultuous host of the nations which they 469 00:26:55,520 --> 00:26:58,840 symbolize. Psalms 2, Psalm, we looked at a 470 00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:00,960 long time ago. We don't have time tonight, but 471 00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:05,480 you know, Psalms 2, God mocks God, laughs at the nations that 472 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:10,320 will not obey him or follow him. Let's look at #4 He calls for 473 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:13,200 praise. Verse 8, He says that So all 474 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:15,680 those who dwell in the ends of the earth are in awe of your 475 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:18,240 signs. You make the going out in the 476 00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:20,760 morning and the evening shout for joy. 477 00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:23,720 So maybe your Bible began verse one. 478 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:25,520 There will be silence before you. 479 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:28,600 Well, verse 8 ends with shouts of joy. 480 00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:31,760 Begins with silence, and verse 8 ends with joy. 481 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:36,360 The whole world is to be an awe of God signs, not just Israel. 482 00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:40,520 And that should cause there to be shoutful joys, shouts of joy. 483 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:43,720 You know, when I look at creation, sometimes it's the 484 00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:46,600 rivers, sometimes it's the waterfalls. 485 00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:50,600 You know, it might be the Grand Canyon or some National Park 486 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:53,480 like Death Valley. It might even be going down via 487 00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:58,640 Verde when you can see Mount Baldy after the snow. 488 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:01,160 It's just spectacular. It's beautiful. 489 00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:07,240 And when I see that I I usually recite 2 Psalms and, and Tim 490 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:09,240 already wrote the first one, Psalm 19. 491 00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:14,560 The heavens declare the glory of God and the skies above proclaim 492 00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:17,200 his handiwork. And the other one is Psalms 8. 493 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:19,360 And I'll just read you the 1st 4 verses. 494 00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:22,960 O Lord our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. 495 00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:26,760 You have set your glory above the heavens, out of the mouth of 496 00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:28,920 babes and infants. You have established strength 497 00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:32,040 because of your foes to steal the enemy and the avenger. 498 00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:35,760 And verse 3 says, when I look at your heavens, the work of your 499 00:28:35,760 --> 00:28:40,480 fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, it 500 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:44,240 calls for praise, doesn't it? All right, let's get to the best 501 00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:48,920 part of our message tonight. Verse #3 God is our Savior, God 502 00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:51,760 is the Creator, and finally God is our sustainer. 503 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:54,440 And this is where we get our title, the Harvest Psalm, verses 504 00:28:54,440 --> 00:28:57,880 9 to 13. One commentator, HC Leopold, 505 00:28:57,880 --> 00:29:02,760 says of these verses, we venture the claim that this is the most 506 00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:06,760 eloquent and beautiful description of the blessings 507 00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:11,840 that God bestows on field and Meadow to be found anywhere in 508 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:14,360 such a brief compass. Just saying, these are the most 509 00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:19,120 beautiful verses in the Bible about the harvest and I think 510 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:21,560 the legacy standard Bible. I'm not trying to sell you that 511 00:29:21,560 --> 00:29:27,160 Bible up here, but verses 9 to 11 in the legacy standard Bible, 512 00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:30,360 listen carefully what it says. By the way, you can, you can get 513 00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:34,200 an online free on your iPhone, Samsung or iPad. 514 00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:38,320 You can download that Bible free and look at it and compare it to 515 00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:41,480 your translation. But the legacy standard Bible 516 00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:45,840 says here in verse 9 to 11, you visit the earth and cause it to 517 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:48,560 overflow. You greatly enrich it. 518 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:51,120 The stream of God is full of water. 519 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:55,680 You establish their grain, for thus you establish the earth. 520 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,040 You water its furrows abundantly. 521 00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:01,680 You smooth its ridges, you soften it with showers, you 522 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:06,000 bless its growth, you crown the year with your goodness, and 523 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:10,840 your paths drip with richness. You, you, you, You know praise 524 00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:14,040 is all about God, who he is and what he's done. 525 00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:17,040 True worship is theocentric, God centered. 526 00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:20,640 And let's look tonight at how God sustains us. 527 00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:27,120 And #1 he brings the water and he, he, he, he, he brings the 528 00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:30,640 crops, He beautifies the hills, and he celebrates in our 529 00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:34,200 rejoicing. So #1 he brings the water, says 530 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:37,640 you visit the water and you greatly enrich it. 531 00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:40,560 The river of God is full of water. 532 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:42,000 And then you got to go to verse 10. 533 00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:45,280 You water its furrows abundantly, setting its ridges 534 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:49,440 softening with their showers. Water is the greatest blessing I 535 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:52,200 think God can give us. There's a beautiful verse in 536 00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:55,400 Isaiah 55. The whole chapter of Isaiah 55 537 00:30:55,400 --> 00:30:57,560 is, is some of the best poetry in the Bible. 538 00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:01,840 But Isaiah 5510 and 11 says, For as the rain and the snow come 539 00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:05,040 down from heaven and do not return there, but water the 540 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:09,720 earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower 541 00:31:09,840 --> 00:31:13,880 and bread to the eater. So here people prepare the land 542 00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:16,560 before the early rains. There's two rains, there's early 543 00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:20,040 rains, and there's latter rains, but the people will make its 544 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:23,480 furrows and ridges, so they prepare it, and then they 545 00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:27,040 rejoice when the early rains come that soften the ground. 546 00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:30,000 And those rains usually would arrive in Israel somewhere 547 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:33,640 around October, November, and that would cause the vegetation, 548 00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:36,360 the main crops of barley and wheat to grow. 549 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:40,360 They rejoice even more when they get the latter rains or the 550 00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:44,680 heavy rains which would be from December through February, which 551 00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:46,400 would make the crops really grow. 552 00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:51,800 Zechariah 10 verse one says ask rain from the Lord in the season 553 00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:55,200 of the spring, rain from the Lord who makes the storm clouds. 554 00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:59,600 He will give them showers of rain to everyone, the vegetation 555 00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:02,440 in the field. So those rains permit the crops 556 00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:05,360 to mature and produce an abundant harvest. 557 00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:11,600 Jesus said in Matthew 545, for he makes his sunrise on evil and 558 00:32:11,600 --> 00:32:15,080 on the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust. 559 00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:18,880 The whole world is under common grace because God gives them 560 00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:20,400 rain. You know, there's another 561 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:24,000 harvest Psalm in the in the Psalms and that harvest Psalm in 562 00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:27,200 addition to Psalm 65 would be Psalm one O 7. 563 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:30,320 It's a very long Psalm, but I just want to read a few verses 564 00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:33,000 in it. This other harvest Psalm, Psalm 565 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:36,160 one O 7 verse one begins with the words the Lord for he is 566 00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:39,440 good for his steadfast love endures forever. 567 00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:43,440 What are we thankful for? Well, one thing is go to verse 568 00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:47,800 33 to 38 and it says he turns the rivers into a desert, 569 00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:52,240 springs of water into a thirsty ground, a fruitful land into a 570 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:55,360 salty waste because of the evil of its inhabitants. 571 00:32:55,600 --> 00:33:00,120 He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into 572 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:03,960 springs of water, and there he lets the hungry dwell and they 573 00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:07,240 establish a city to live in. They sow fields and plant 574 00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:09,360 vineyards and get a fruitful yield. 575 00:33:09,920 --> 00:33:12,920 By his blessing. They multiply greatly and He 576 00:33:12,920 --> 00:33:15,320 does not let their livestock diminish. 577 00:33:15,320 --> 00:33:19,440 So Psalms one O 7, God brings the rain, just like in Psalm one 578 00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:21,640 O 5. So he brings the rain, and then 579 00:33:21,640 --> 00:33:25,120 sub .2 he blesses the crops. You know, we take it for 580 00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:28,400 granted. I read the e-mail from Pastor 581 00:33:28,400 --> 00:33:30,480 Kizza. His tomatoes are gone, His 582 00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:33,160 cabbages are gone. He's struggling financially. 583 00:33:33,880 --> 00:33:36,600 But do you know the Bible? I was researching this Psalm. 584 00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:40,240 You know that the Bible mentions 14 famines. 585 00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:42,920 And there's a guy named Steve Shirley. 586 00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:45,400 He did a study on these 14 Psalms. 587 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:47,560 And I was looking at it and it's fascinating. 588 00:33:47,760 --> 00:33:50,840 Now, some of them aren't outright called famines, but 589 00:33:50,840 --> 00:33:52,480 they have the characteristics of the salmon. 590 00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:55,320 I'm just going to run down to them because we don't realize 591 00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:58,080 how many famines there are in the Bible or how many there are 592 00:33:58,080 --> 00:34:01,000 going to be in the future. Genesis 1210, You know that 593 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:03,160 story? Famine was in the land, so 594 00:34:03,160 --> 00:34:06,120 Abraham went down to Egypt without God's approval. 595 00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:10,880 Genesis 26, verse one, there was famine in the land, so Isaac 596 00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:13,760 went to Gear, our Amalek, king of the Philistines. 597 00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:18,000 Genesis 41 to 47, You know the story of Joseph, there were 598 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:22,000 seven years of famine and that's when Isaac came with his family 599 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:26,280 to live in, in Egypt. Ruth, chapter one, verse one, in 600 00:34:26,280 --> 00:34:29,320 the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. 601 00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:33,199 So Emmelec took Naomi and his two sons to Moab. 602 00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:37,760 Second Samuel 21, One I mentioned this last week, I 603 00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:41,000 think there was famine in the land because Saul had killed the 604 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:44,440 Gibbonites. First Kings 17 to 18. 605 00:34:44,719 --> 00:34:47,679 There was famine in the land for 3 1/2 years. 606 00:34:47,679 --> 00:34:50,840 The heavens were shut up because Elijah prayed that it would not 607 00:34:50,840 --> 00:34:53,719 rain punishment for Israel's sins. 608 00:34:53,920 --> 00:34:59,360 Then in Second Kings 438, Elijah came to Gilgal where there was 609 00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:03,520 famine in the land. And then in Second Kings 624 to 610 00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:06,400 33 there was a great famine in the land. 611 00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:13,160 Second Kings 25, verse 2 and 3, the famine was so severe when 612 00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:16,920 Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem and then Nehemiah 613 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:20,360 verse 5, verse one to three people were merging their 614 00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:24,880 fields, their vineyards, their houses to get grain because of 615 00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:28,240 the famine. Jeremiah 14, one to six, the 616 00:35:28,240 --> 00:35:31,600 words of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought. 617 00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:36,720 Joel 11 to 20 Locusts that's the locusts chapter 4 kinds of 618 00:35:36,720 --> 00:35:40,160 locusts had devoured the land and there was no food to eat. 619 00:35:40,920 --> 00:35:45,560 Haggai 110 to 11 God called for a drought because the people 620 00:35:45,560 --> 00:35:49,160 cared only for their houses and not for the House of the Lord. 621 00:35:49,560 --> 00:35:54,400 And of course Acts 1128 Agabus prophesied that there would be a 622 00:35:54,400 --> 00:35:59,680 great famine all over the world. So the the brothers sent aid to 623 00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:03,480 Judah, the Christians did. But the Bible prophecy also says 624 00:36:03,480 --> 00:36:05,760 that there will be famines in the in the future. 625 00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:11,520 Matthew 24/7, Mark 13/8, Luke 2111 are all the same story and 626 00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:15,120 they say that there will be famines and earthquakes in very 627 00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:19,400 places in the last days. And Revelation 6-8 in the 628 00:36:19,400 --> 00:36:23,320 tribulation says, and I looked and behold A pale horse, and 629 00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:26,720 it's rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him, and they 630 00:36:26,720 --> 00:36:29,760 were given authority over a fourth of the earth to kill with 631 00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:34,240 the sword and with famine, and with pestilence, and by wild 632 00:36:34,240 --> 00:36:37,640 beasts of the earth. And Revelation 18-8 says for 633 00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:41,240 this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and 634 00:36:41,240 --> 00:36:44,720 mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire. 635 00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:47,480 For mighty is the Lord God who judged her. 636 00:36:47,800 --> 00:36:50,320 So I just tell you that because there are a lot of famines in 637 00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:54,120 the Bible, many of them because God judged Israel or God judged 638 00:36:54,120 --> 00:36:56,400 the nation's. Other times we don't know why 639 00:36:56,720 --> 00:36:59,600 there was famine, but famines happen quite often. 640 00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:02,960 But in our Psalm, God provided the reins. 641 00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:05,800 God provided the grain and the crops. 642 00:37:06,080 --> 00:37:10,240 Verse 9 says you provide their grain for so you have prepared 643 00:37:10,240 --> 00:37:12,360 it. I read 1 commentator today that 644 00:37:12,360 --> 00:37:17,040 said 50% of the diet of the Israelites would be wheat and 645 00:37:17,040 --> 00:37:18,280 barley. They would be in the main 646 00:37:18,280 --> 00:37:20,600 staple. So if anything happened to those 647 00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:25,000 crops they'd be in big trouble. Verse 10 says, and you and 648 00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:28,160 blessed its growth. Verse 11 says you crown the year 649 00:37:28,160 --> 00:37:30,920 with your bounty. So the opposite of famine was an 650 00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:33,880 abundance. So in our Psalm it says your 651 00:37:33,880 --> 00:37:37,800 wagon tracks overflow with abundance. 652 00:37:37,880 --> 00:37:40,640 What's that mean? You all know the Oregon Trail 653 00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:44,600 when the the wagoners would gum through all the way up to Utah. 654 00:37:44,840 --> 00:37:48,280 There's actual places you can go where you can see the wagon 655 00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:52,160 tracks in the limestone of rocks where the wagon tracks have 656 00:37:52,160 --> 00:37:54,200 burrowed. And I want to go visit one of 657 00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:56,000 those national parks and see that for myself. 658 00:37:56,400 --> 00:37:59,080 But so many wagon tracks went through the limestone that 659 00:37:59,080 --> 00:38:01,360 there's a rut now. And you can see that today in 660 00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:02,920 our national parks here in America. 661 00:38:03,240 --> 00:38:06,400 But it's here, it's talking about the wagon tracks of Israel 662 00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:09,760 were so overflowed with abundance, with the bounty of 663 00:38:09,760 --> 00:38:12,720 the crops, that they too were making ruts in the grounds. 664 00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:15,200 Your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. 665 00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:18,200 It was just a time of joy, a time of excitement. 666 00:38:18,960 --> 00:38:23,160 Deuteronomy 8 versus 7-8 promised Israel that when they 667 00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:26,760 got to the promised land, it's said for the Lord your God is 668 00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:30,760 bringing to a good land, a land with brooks of water, of 669 00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:34,800 fountains and springs flowing out in the valleys and hills, a 670 00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:38,160 land of wheat and barley and vines and fig trees and 671 00:38:38,160 --> 00:38:40,360 pomegranates and a land of olives and honey. 672 00:38:41,240 --> 00:38:44,040 You know, we too, aren't we, dependent upon God's manna. 673 00:38:44,600 --> 00:38:46,880 Just a few months ago we had an egg shortage, right? 674 00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:50,520 So I was at Trader Joe's at 8:00 AM because I had to get dark 675 00:38:50,520 --> 00:38:52,800 yolk eggs, which my daughter Tessa likes. 676 00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:54,400 But then sometimes they didn't have them. 677 00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:56,840 Now that's a crisis, right? We didn't have eggs. 678 00:38:57,200 --> 00:39:00,480 But, you know, we, we, we get our food at Albertson's. 679 00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:01,800 I mentioned we get our food at all. 680 00:39:01,800 --> 00:39:04,680 These are Trader Joe's. So I'm not sure we're as 681 00:39:04,680 --> 00:39:07,320 thankful as these Jews were in Psalm 65. 682 00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:10,720 You know, I was thinking, I do thank God for my food when I 683 00:39:10,720 --> 00:39:14,040 pray for my food and I pray thank God for my wife who made 684 00:39:14,040 --> 00:39:16,520 it or whoever made it. But I don't know if I've ever 685 00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:21,640 thanked the farmers who grew the food, and Psalm 65 tells me that 686 00:39:21,640 --> 00:39:24,120 maybe I need to. But because we have such an 687 00:39:24,120 --> 00:39:28,440 abundance of food, we have so much food available, that I 688 00:39:28,440 --> 00:39:30,920 sometimes think we just take it for granted and we're not 689 00:39:30,920 --> 00:39:33,320 thankful. And the phrase in that in verse 690 00:39:33,320 --> 00:39:37,320 11 says you crown the year. That suggests that this Psalm 691 00:39:37,320 --> 00:39:41,760 was written at the harvest festival in October, which would 692 00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:46,040 be the Feast of Tabernacles, which is described in Leviticus 693 00:39:46,040 --> 00:39:49,960 17 and Leviticus 23. Let's move on. 694 00:39:50,360 --> 00:39:53,960 He beautifies the hills, the pastures of the wilderness. 695 00:39:53,960 --> 00:39:57,760 Verse 12, Overflow and hills gird themselves with joy. 696 00:39:58,160 --> 00:40:02,280 You know when I drive up to Tulare to see my in laws Hwy. 99 697 00:40:02,280 --> 00:40:05,320 on both sides going through that valley, there's just crops. 698 00:40:05,320 --> 00:40:07,400 And I'm always wondering what is that crop? 699 00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:09,760 What is it? Sometimes it's easy to know. 700 00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:14,280 But then when I when I lived in Thailand and Myanmar, the most 701 00:40:14,280 --> 00:40:17,720 beautiful sight is the rice paddies on the mountains and 702 00:40:17,720 --> 00:40:19,560 hills. Maybe you've seen a picture. 703 00:40:19,920 --> 00:40:22,640 You know, they will, they will cut ridges and they'll build 704 00:40:22,800 --> 00:40:26,200 furrows and, and build a wall and they will build the rice 705 00:40:26,200 --> 00:40:29,240 paddies right on the hills. And you see it, it's just, it's 706 00:40:29,240 --> 00:40:35,040 just majestic and beautiful. So you can hit see here that the 707 00:40:35,040 --> 00:40:36,840 pasture and the wilderness overflow. 708 00:40:37,040 --> 00:40:39,640 Maybe you can think about the Super bloom. 709 00:40:39,640 --> 00:40:42,160 You know what that is? When we have a huge rain, 710 00:40:42,160 --> 00:40:45,840 usually I think in February, we get what's called a super bloom. 711 00:40:46,080 --> 00:40:48,040 And you can run. Used to be able to rundown the 712 00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:52,200 Lake Elsinore, Lancaster has it, Death Valley has it. 713 00:40:52,200 --> 00:40:56,320 But you, you drive and they're just hill after hill after hill 714 00:40:56,480 --> 00:40:59,240 of beautiful flowers. And it's just spectacular. 715 00:40:59,440 --> 00:41:03,160 So God beautifies the hills, even if it's flowers and not 716 00:41:03,160 --> 00:41:08,240 just food that we eat. And then lastly #4 there he 717 00:41:08,240 --> 00:41:11,480 celebrates with our rejoicing. It says the meadows clothe 718 00:41:11,480 --> 00:41:14,960 themselves with flocks. The valleys deck themselves with 719 00:41:14,960 --> 00:41:18,240 grain. They shout and sing together for 720 00:41:18,240 --> 00:41:21,240 joy. So our Psalm begins verse one 721 00:41:21,640 --> 00:41:25,680 with with with praise, and it ends here in verse 13 with a 722 00:41:25,680 --> 00:41:29,160 crescendo of praise, with shouting and singing for joy. 723 00:41:29,480 --> 00:41:33,000 It's a happy time. Now we know that meadows, 724 00:41:33,080 --> 00:41:37,760 valleys, flocks, and grains don't really shout for sing for 725 00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:42,000 joy, but in the harvest splendor, the abundance of 726 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:44,720 splendor, and the excitement of the Israelites gathering the 727 00:41:44,720 --> 00:41:47,400 bounty of their crop, It seems like they do. 728 00:41:47,960 --> 00:41:49,680 It's like they could literally cry out. 729 00:41:49,920 --> 00:41:54,280 The point here is, is since that inanimate objects cannot 730 00:41:54,280 --> 00:41:59,720 literally praise God, we who are made in God's image should and 731 00:41:59,720 --> 00:42:03,480 can praise God. What can I give you application 732 00:42:03,480 --> 00:42:05,200 tonight? I just want to give you 2 things 733 00:42:05,200 --> 00:42:09,400 tonight #1 let's talk about thanks and Thanksgiving. 734 00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:11,600 You know, it's usually a Thanksgiving. 735 00:42:11,960 --> 00:42:16,880 We talk about Thanksgiving, we step back, maybe we we count our 736 00:42:16,880 --> 00:42:21,080 blessings one by one, name them. We we realize just how good we 737 00:42:21,080 --> 00:42:24,800 have it and we give thanks to God for his abundant goodness. 738 00:42:25,280 --> 00:42:27,400 God is good because it's all powerful. 739 00:42:27,400 --> 00:42:30,680 He's sovereign the universe. He's able to do good things and 740 00:42:30,680 --> 00:42:32,800 shower us with blessings. So we thank him. 741 00:42:33,640 --> 00:42:36,600 But I didn't write this. I got this from 1 commentator. 742 00:42:36,600 --> 00:42:41,200 But he says we need to be reminded to focus on giving God 743 00:42:41,200 --> 00:42:46,040 thanks because our society presents 2 very real threats to 744 00:42:46,040 --> 00:42:48,600 Thanksgiving. Number one, we live in a 745 00:42:48,600 --> 00:42:52,640 negative age. We live in a very critical age. 746 00:42:52,960 --> 00:42:57,600 There's scandals that grab our attention, the newspapers that 747 00:42:57,760 --> 00:43:02,160 every day there's a new scandal, whether it's this week or 60 748 00:43:02,160 --> 00:43:05,040 Minutes or even the latest church scandal. 749 00:43:05,040 --> 00:43:08,920 You just heard about G3 in the ministry that just got destroyed 750 00:43:08,920 --> 00:43:11,400 a few weeks ago. Maybe it's the latest church 751 00:43:11,400 --> 00:43:14,800 split or the greatest tragedy. There's just negative, negative. 752 00:43:14,800 --> 00:43:16,280 There's always abundance of negative. 753 00:43:16,560 --> 00:43:20,560 So we're so full of negative. We talk about negative a lot. 754 00:43:20,960 --> 00:43:23,840 Secondly, we live in a very prosperous society, don't we? 755 00:43:24,760 --> 00:43:27,640 You would think that we would be an encouragement to give thanks 756 00:43:27,640 --> 00:43:32,880 to God, but it actually presents a special trap to sit around 757 00:43:33,520 --> 00:43:37,680 with all that fat and happy thinking that we deserve all 758 00:43:37,680 --> 00:43:41,120 this abundance and actually complain that we don't have as 759 00:43:41,120 --> 00:43:44,160 much as someone else. We tend to forget the goodness 760 00:43:44,160 --> 00:43:47,160 of God, don't we? I was thinking about it that 761 00:43:47,160 --> 00:43:51,720 when I was a kid, McDonald's was a blessing, but we only got it 762 00:43:51,720 --> 00:43:56,360 maybe once every six months and it was a $0.25 hamburger fries, 763 00:43:56,360 --> 00:43:57,960 and I didn't remember if we got the Coke. 764 00:43:58,160 --> 00:44:03,040 We weren't rich, but today your kids want wings and pizza and 765 00:44:03,040 --> 00:44:07,720 sushi, all those things, and I wonder, are they really thankful 766 00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:12,400 we have it so good? Thanks is mentioned 128 times in 767 00:44:12,400 --> 00:44:16,000 the Bible, and there's no book of the Bible that even mentions 768 00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:20,600 thanks more than Psalms. Psalms has 51 verses about 769 00:44:20,600 --> 00:44:25,680 giving thanks. Psalms 136, every verse of 26 770 00:44:25,680 --> 00:44:29,000 verses alone says give thanks. Let me just give you some things 771 00:44:29,000 --> 00:44:31,960 we need to be thankful for. Psalm 17, I'm sorry. 772 00:44:32,280 --> 00:44:37,440 Psalm 717 says I will give to the Lord that thanks do His 773 00:44:37,440 --> 00:44:40,440 righteousness. I will sing praise to the name 774 00:44:40,440 --> 00:44:44,040 of the Lord, the Most High. So we need to thank God for His 775 00:44:44,040 --> 00:44:46,920 righteousness. He is holy, holy, holy. 776 00:44:47,520 --> 00:44:50,320 Psalm 9 verse one, I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole 777 00:44:50,320 --> 00:44:54,400 heart I will recount all your wonderful deeds. 778 00:44:54,800 --> 00:44:57,760 When was the last time you thank God for His wonderful deeds? 779 00:44:58,320 --> 00:45:00,360 We need to give thanks for His wonderful deeds. 780 00:45:00,840 --> 00:45:04,560 Psalm 33 verse 2 says give thanks to the Lord with the 781 00:45:04,560 --> 00:45:08,360 lyre, make melody to him with the harp of 10 strings. 782 00:45:08,800 --> 00:45:11,960 We need to give thanks when we sing songs, and we do that quite 783 00:45:11,960 --> 00:45:14,560 often, right? But not just on Sunday, but 784 00:45:14,560 --> 00:45:18,400 throughout the week. Psalm 3518 says, I will thank 785 00:45:18,400 --> 00:45:22,880 you in the great congregation, in the mighty throng, I will 786 00:45:22,880 --> 00:45:25,880 praise you. So we as a congregation must 787 00:45:25,880 --> 00:45:28,680 give him thanks together in corporate worship, and we do 788 00:45:28,680 --> 00:45:30,760 that on Sunday and Wednesday night. 789 00:45:31,360 --> 00:45:35,160 Psalm 54 verse 6 says with a free will offering, I will 790 00:45:35,160 --> 00:45:38,320 sacrifice to you. I will give thanks to your name, 791 00:45:38,320 --> 00:45:42,120 O Lord, for it is good. Another way of giving thanks is 792 00:45:42,120 --> 00:45:45,080 to giving back to God with our ties and our offerings. 793 00:45:45,360 --> 00:45:49,000 He has actually all His money. We give back to Him because He's 794 00:45:49,000 --> 00:45:52,080 blessed us. Psalm 100 verse 4 says, enter 795 00:45:52,080 --> 00:45:55,520 his gates with Thanksgiving and His courts with praise. 796 00:45:55,880 --> 00:45:58,560 Give thanks to Him, bless His name. 797 00:45:58,800 --> 00:46:02,320 We thank Him for His holy, holy name. 798 00:46:02,920 --> 00:46:06,280 Psalms one O 7 verse 8. Let them thank the Lord for his 799 00:46:06,280 --> 00:46:10,280 steadfast love for his wondrous works to the children of man. 800 00:46:10,600 --> 00:46:13,400 We thank him for his love. And the greatest demonstration 801 00:46:13,400 --> 00:46:16,880 of that love was when he hung on the cross and died for your sins 802 00:46:16,880 --> 00:46:19,480 and my sins if you have Jesus Christ in your heart. 803 00:46:19,920 --> 00:46:23,920 And Psalms 138 two says, I bow down towards your holy temple 804 00:46:24,160 --> 00:46:27,400 and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your 805 00:46:27,400 --> 00:46:29,960 faithfulness. For you have exalted above all 806 00:46:29,960 --> 00:46:34,640 things your name and your word. This is the first verse on the 807 00:46:34,640 --> 00:46:36,640 Christ Community Church statement of faith. 808 00:46:36,840 --> 00:46:42,800 We thank God for his word. And then lastly, it says Psalm 809 00:46:42,800 --> 00:46:47,040 142 seven says, bring me out of prison and I'm going to give 810 00:46:47,040 --> 00:46:50,240 thanks to your name. The righteous surround me for 811 00:46:50,240 --> 00:46:54,160 you deal bountifully with me. I love that word you deal 812 00:46:54,160 --> 00:46:57,520 bountifully, meaning as God dealt bountifully with you, we 813 00:46:57,520 --> 00:47:00,040 need to thank Him because he's dealt bountifully with us. 814 00:47:00,520 --> 00:47:06,040 In verses one to four, I said God, God is due praise, vows, 815 00:47:06,040 --> 00:47:09,440 and prayers, but we also need to thank Him for the harvest, for 816 00:47:09,440 --> 00:47:12,200 the many blessings. Whether you're a farmer, whether 817 00:47:12,200 --> 00:47:15,080 you're a vegetable grower in the backyard, or whether you're just 818 00:47:15,080 --> 00:47:18,720 a person who shops at Aldi's or Trader Joe's, we need to thank 819 00:47:18,720 --> 00:47:23,600 Him for the harvest #2 then we need to let people know that God 820 00:47:23,600 --> 00:47:27,360 has made atonement for our sin through Jesus Christ. 821 00:47:27,800 --> 00:47:32,240 I said Psalm 65, verse 3 was the Romans 5/8 of the Old Testament. 822 00:47:32,760 --> 00:47:37,800 When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our 823 00:47:37,800 --> 00:47:41,320 transgressions. Romans 623 says for the wages of 824 00:47:41,320 --> 00:47:45,440 sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus 825 00:47:45,440 --> 00:47:48,200 Christ our Lord. We need to tell people that they 826 00:47:48,200 --> 00:47:51,760 are under the penalty of sin. We need to tell him Romans 5/8 827 00:47:51,760 --> 00:47:55,080 which says that God showed his love toward us, that in this 828 00:47:55,080 --> 00:47:57,040 while we were sinners, Christ died for us. 829 00:47:57,320 --> 00:47:59,160 Jesus Christ died for us on the cross. 830 00:47:59,440 --> 00:48:02,320 And then we need to tell him Romans 10/9 and 10 which says if 831 00:48:02,320 --> 00:48:05,720 you confess with your mouth Jesus Christ is Lord, and 832 00:48:05,720 --> 00:48:08,160 believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you 833 00:48:08,160 --> 00:48:10,600 will be saved. For it is with the heart 1 834 00:48:10,600 --> 00:48:14,880 believes and is justified, and with the mouth 1 confesses and 835 00:48:14,880 --> 00:48:17,800 is saved. People need to know that God has 836 00:48:17,800 --> 00:48:21,680 made atonement for their sin through Jesus Christ. 837 00:48:22,000 --> 00:48:25,120 Either they will pay the penalty for their sin in hell or Jesus 838 00:48:25,120 --> 00:48:27,280 Christ paid it already on the cross. 839 00:48:27,440 --> 00:48:29,800 But we have to tell people for that let's pray. 840 00:48:30,400 --> 00:48:32,880 Father in heaven, we thank you tonight that we can have AI 841 00:48:32,880 --> 00:48:38,360 think a beautiful Psalm. It's a Psalm of praise, a Psalm 842 00:48:38,360 --> 00:48:40,800 of Thanksgiving. Father of all the people in the 843 00:48:40,800 --> 00:48:44,160 world, we have it so good when we look at the wars that are 844 00:48:44,160 --> 00:48:48,280 going on in Israel and, and Myanmar and Ukraine, Russia, 845 00:48:48,280 --> 00:48:51,640 when we look at the, the food shortages that maybe are 846 00:48:51,640 --> 00:48:55,120 happening in Gaza, if it's true, when we see around the world the 847 00:48:55,120 --> 00:48:57,200 earthquakes and famines and pestilence. 848 00:48:57,200 --> 00:49:00,920 And we are so blessed, Father, because we have a great nation 849 00:49:01,160 --> 00:49:04,120 and you founded that nation. And you, you like the children 850 00:49:04,120 --> 00:49:07,480 of Israel in Psalm 65, you blessed the United States of 851 00:49:07,480 --> 00:49:10,840 America with so many blessings. And then we, Father, are so 852 00:49:10,840 --> 00:49:14,120 blessed that we want to give back to men like Pastor Jonathan 853 00:49:14,120 --> 00:49:17,040 Kizza. So Father, may we raise our 854 00:49:17,040 --> 00:49:21,400 children, our grandchildren to be thankful, to understand just 855 00:49:21,400 --> 00:49:25,480 how blessed we are because you will sustain us, your God, our 856 00:49:25,480 --> 00:49:28,040 Savior. You are our Creator and you are 857 00:49:28,040 --> 00:49:29,720 a sustainer. And Father, give us 858 00:49:29,720 --> 00:49:32,560 opportunities as we live here tonight to tell people that 859 00:49:32,600 --> 00:49:36,320 Jesus Christ has a tone for their sins if they will repent 860 00:49:36,320 --> 00:49:39,520 and believe in Him in Jesus name, Amen.