Message for THE LORD'S DAY MORNING, November 24, 2013 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, NC by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister TOPIC: THANKSGIVING or GRATITUDE

I Will Magnify The Lord With Thanksgiving Psalm 69:30-32 (NKJV)

Please turn with me in your Bibles to our scripture text in Psalm 69. And let's read verses 30-32. Psalm 69:30-32 (NKJV) 30 I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving. 31 This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull, Which has horns and hooves. 32 The humble shall see this and be glad; And you who seek God, your hearts shall live. PRAYER >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> INTRODUCTION ILLUSTRATION Nine-year-old Charlie was asked to say the blessing for the family Thanksgiving dinner. Charlie began his prayer by thanking God for his family and friends, naming each and every one of them. Then he began to pray for the food. food He mentioned every single item on the table by name: the green beans, the mashed potatoes, the dressing, the pumpkin pie, and the dinner rolls.

Then he began to pray about the turkey.

He prayed, “That turkey looks so juicy and

delicious. Thank you mom for preparing it! And I'm thankful for the car that brought the turkey home from the grocery store.

And I'm thankful for the man at the grocery store who

bagged our groceries and carried them out to the car. And I'm thankful for the truck driver who brought the turkey from the turkey farm to the grocery store. And I am thankful for the farmer who raised the turkey. By now the family was wondering if Charlie's prayer would ever end. Then Charlie paused and under his breath he said, “Let's see, have I left anyone out?” His sarcastic little brother, Billy said, “Well you've thanked everyone but God!”

Charlie said, “Oh, I was getting to

Him.”

You know, we should be thankful for our family and our friends, and all the people that have been a blessing in our lives, but we must never forget that ultimately we owe a debt of gratitude to our heavenly Father. Father. God is the true source of all the blessings in our lives. The scriptures tell us “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, Who does not change like the shifting shadows.” ****************************************************************************************** TRANSITION

INTO

SCRIPTURE

TEXT

****************************************************************************************** David writes, “I will praise the name of God with song, and I will magnify Him with thanksgiving.” PRAISE and THANKSGIVING are the hallmarks of every true child of God. As God's people our lips are not to be filled with whining and complaining and grumbling and groaning, our lips are to be filled with PRAISE and THANKSGIVING!

For our thoughts this morning, let's focus our attention on that one phrase in verse 30, “I will MAGNIFY HIM with THANKSGIVING!” First David says................

I.

I Will Magnify Him (v.30b) 1. By “Him” David is of course referring to God.

“I will magnify Him!”

“ I will magnify God.” PSALM 40:16 (NKJV) “Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; let such as love Your salvation say continually, “The LORD be magnified!” PSALM 34:3 (NKJV) “Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.” 2.

Now this brings up a question: What does it mean to “magnify the LORD?” There are two types of “magnification.” (A) One type of magnification is MICROSCOPIC. Think of looking at tiny little cells under a microscope. What you are doing is making something that is very little look much bigger than it actually is.

(B) The other type of magnification is TELESCOPIC. Think of looking at the moon or looking at the stars through a high-powered telescope. What you are doing is magnifying the true wonder of those heavenly bodies and looking at them in all their splendor and glory. 3. So when David says, “I will magnify the LORD,” he doesn't mean, “I will make a small GOD look much bigger than He really is.” He means, “I will magnify the true greatness of the LORD so you can see Him in all of His splendor and glory. 4.

Brothers and sisters, as children of God that should be our greatest aim in life..............TO life..............TO MAGNIFY THE LORD SO OTHERS OTHERS CAN SEE HIS TRUE GREATNESS, SPLENDOR AND GLORY!

5.

Our WORDS should magnify the LORD! Our ACTIONS should magnify the LORD! Our HABITS should magnify the LORD! Our PRIORITIES should magnify the LORD!

6.

As John the Baptist said of Jesus, “He must increase and I must decrease.” As you and I grow in the LORD people ought to see less and less of US and more and more of THE LORD.

May our prayer be, “LORD, may you be MAGNIFIED in my life!”

As we move on, David tells us the best way to “magnify” the LORD . He says.............

II.

I Will Magnify The LORD With THANKSGIVING (V.30b) 1. How much does our THANKSGIVING mean to God? David tells us in the very next verse.............. Verse 31 “This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull.” 2. What is David saying there? He is saying our THANKSGIVING means more to God than our sacrifices. Our thanksgiving means more to God than the sacrifice of our time, talents and treasures. Our giving is important, but it is a THANKFUL HEART that magnifies God more than the money we put in the offering plate. Our faithful Church attendance is important, but it is a THANKFUL HEART that magnifies the LORD more than our physical presence in a Church pew. Our good deeds are important to God, but it is our THANKFUL HEART that magnifies the Lord more than our good deeds.

3.

The Bible repeatedly stresses the importance of giving thanks to GOD. -EPHESIANS 5:18b-20 (NKJV) “But be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the LORD, GIVING THANKS ALWAYS FOR ALL THINGS to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” -COLOSSIANS -COLOSSIANS 3:17 (NKJV) “ And whatever you do in word or deed, do all things in the name of the LORD JESUS, GIVING THANKS TO GOD THE FATHER THROUGH HIM.” -I THESSALONIANS 5:18 (NKJV) “In everything GIVE THANKS for this is the will of GOD in CHRIST JESUS for you.”

4.

Thanksgiving should permeate our speech, our songs, our prayers, and our worship. That is why we exist! That is why we are here. Our whole purpose in life is to MAGNIFY, MAGNIFY, and GLORIFY and EXALT the name of God!

5.

Do you know when you and I express thanksgiving daily, not only does it magnify the LORD in our own minds and hearts, it magnifies the LORD in the minds of those who don't know Him.

(A) For one thing, our thanksgiving magnifies the GENEROSITY of God. PSALM 145:16,17 (NKJV) “You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all His ways, gracious in all His works.”

-A thousand stars in the skies would have been plenty, but God generously gave us over 70 SEXTILLION stars. (that's a seven with 22 zeroes behind it) -One -One galaxy would have been enough, enough, but God has generously given us over 10 billion galaxies. galaxies. And the more research the the scientists do, space just keeps getting bigger and bigger. -One -One hundred species of flowers would have been plenty, but God has generously given us over 270,000 known species of flowers. flowers. -A -A dozen or so species of trees would have been plenty, but God has generously given us over 100,000 species of trees.

Think how generous God has been with you. -One child would have been a wonderful blessing, perhaps God has generously given you two...or three or more. -Sixty or seventy years here on earth would be a great blessing, and yet God has generously given some of you eighty or ninety years or more. -Four walls and a roof over your head would have been a wonderful blessing, and yet God has generously given most all of us nice homes that many in the world can only dream of.

But God's generosity extends far beyond material things. God has generously given us the gifts of His UN-MERITED GRACE.......UN-CONDITIONAL LOVE... UN-DESERVED FORGIVENESS AND MERCY........ UN-DYING HOPE.......and AN UN-ENDING LIFE in heaven. You see, God has been so generous with us we should never run out of things to thank Him for. Our thanksgiving “magnifies” the GENEROSITY of GOD!

(B) Our thanksgiving also magnifies the GOODNESS of God. Psalm 31:19 (NKJV) Oh, how great is Your goodness, Which You have laid up for those who fear You, Which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men! Psalm 33:5 (NKJV) The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. Most of the people in this world don't even believe in Jehovah God, and many of those who do have an erroneous view of Him. Many view God as a cold, detached God who could care less about what happens to us. Many even view God as being “cruel and heartless” because He allows so much evil and suffering to go on in the world. The truth is GOD IS NONE OF THOSE THINGS! The truth is GOD IS FULL OF GOODNESS and He expresses His goodness towards us every day. Out of His goodness, GOD allows it to rain upon the just and the unjust. Out of His goodness, GOD allows the saint and the sinner to feel the warmth of His sunshine and enjoy the shade of His trees and the comforting refreshment of His gentle breeze. Out of His goodness, GOD blesses the SAINT as well as the SINNER

with the bountiful harvest from the fields and the blessing of having food on the table.

But the difference between the saint and the sinner is that the sinner will never acknowledge God or thank God for His goodness, while the saint acknowledges that every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father above. And by our thanksgiving we “magnify” the GOODNESS of God. Our thanksgiving “magnifies” the GENEROSITY of GOD. Our thanksgiving “magnifies” the GOODNESS of GOD.

And.......... .

(C) Our thanksgiving magnifies the GREATNESS of God. On the very first page of the Bible we see THE GREATNESS OF GOD. Genesis 1:1 (NKJV) “In the beginning GOD created the heavens and the earth.” Without strain or fatigue, GOD SPOKE and called the whole world into existence. GOD SPEAKS and it is done! GOD SPEAKS and nations rise. GOD SPEAKS and nations fall.

GOD SPEAKS and armies win;

GOD SPEAKS and armies are defeated.

GOD SPEAKS and the

earth shakes. GOD SPEAKS and the heavens roll with thunder. GOD SPEAKS and the sea opens; He speaks again and the sea closes. GOD SPEAKS and the storm rages, He speaks again and the storm ceases. He is a GREAT and AWESOME GOD!

How “big” is your God? Do you limit God's greatness? Do you believe with all your heart that GOD IS GREATER

than any TRIAL you go through? THEN THANK HIM FOR HIS GREATNESS! Do you believe with all your heart that GOD IS GREATER than any SICKNESS or DISEASE that afflicts your body? THEN THANK HIM FOR HIS GREATNESS! Do you believe with all your heart that GOD IS GREATER than any ENEMY or OBSTACLE that stands in your way? THEN THANK GOD FOR HIS GREATNESS! Do you know the more thankful you are the bigger and greater God becomes in your mind and heart, because THANKSGIVING MAGNIFIES THE LORD! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> CONCLUSION One day the father of a very wealthy family took his son out to the rural area to show him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what many would consider a very poor family. On their way home, the father asked his son “How did you like the trip? The son said, “It was great dad, I loved it!” His father said, “Well what did you learn about poor people these last couple of days?” The son said, “Well, I saw they had four dogs, and we only have one.” “We have a swimming pool that reaches to the middle of our garden, they have a creek to swim in that has no end.” We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go as far as the eye can see. We have servants to serve us, but they serve each other. We buy all our food, they grow all theirs.' We have walls all around our property to protect us, they have friends all around their

neighborhood to protect them.” The father was totally speechless. Then the son said, “Dad, thanks for showing me how poor we are.”

The moral of that story is that thanksgiving is really all about “perspective.” If you truly believe God has richly blessed you then never cease to thank Him! Thank Him for His generosity! Thank Him for His goodness! Thank Him for His greatness!

Let us “magnify” the LORD with our thanksgiving each and every day!