← ArchivePsalmsPsalms -The Insanity of Thanksgiving (Psalm 34:1-3)DateJuly 24, 2022SpeakerDr Josh BurnhamTextPsalms 34:1–3Passages in this sermonPsalms 343:50Psalms 236:041 Samuel 218:40TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00Music.0:30Again, if you have your Bibles, and I hope that you do, join me in the book of Psalms. We are gathering today as we gather every week because Jesus died on the cross and he rose again. So we say it this way. We gather because of the gospel. Jesus in our place. We're not here because we're self-righteous. We're not here because we're self-made. We're here because we are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. For the next two weeks, we are going to look at Thanksgiving.0:56Today we're going to look at private Thanksgiving, and then next week we're going to look at public Thanksgiving, corporate Thanksgiving. And if you've been around for the last several weeks, we've been looking at different Psalms throughout the summer. It's our Summer in the Psalms message series. You see, Psalms are very much man's response to God's glory. So you have different Psalms. It depends on where that individual was in that moment.1:25Maybe historically, contextually, spiritually. You have Psalms that say, God, you are the good shepherd. I shall not want. God, you will plant me by streams of water, and my leaf will never wither, and my fruit will always grow in season. Then you have other Psalms that say, my God, why have you forsaken me? You have other Psalms that say, God, may my enemy's wife be a widow.1:51May his children be fatherless. May you destroy their home, and may the creditors come seize the home that was destroyed. Because we all go through different moments in our life. And the reminder from the Psalms is that God is always with you, no matter what day it might be. A jazz musician named Lionel Hampton, they call him Hemp for short, once said this.2:18He said that gratitude is what happens when memory is stored not in the mind, but in the heart. Gratitude is what happens when you store memory in the heart. And I believe the same is true spiritually. Thanksgiving is what happens when faith is not stored simply in the mind, but in the heart. It's easy to store scripture and store faith in the mind.2:45But we're reminded in Romans that we confess with our mouth, and we believe with our... Some of you wanted to say mind, because I pointed to it. We believe with our heart, but many of us want to believe with our mind, because that's, in many ways, the easier task for us.3:04Gratitude is very much faith stored in the heart. Now listen, that does not mean that we check our minds at the door. By all means, God, who created us intellectually and cognitively, wants us to think deeply about our faith. But there has to be a point in our lives when faith reaches your heart.3:31And it is from the heart that the overflow of our mouth speaks. So today is about the heart. Biblical thanksgiving occurs when faith is stored in the heart. Psalm 34. This is a full circle sermon for me. Because some of you reminded me that my very first sermon ever in St. Clair County, actually in Alabama, was Psalm 34.3:56If you don't remember that, you're in luck, because I don't remember what I preached either. But I do know it was Psalm 34, an individual psalm of thanksgiving. Today's message is simply entitled, The Insanity of Thanksgiving. The Insanity of Thanksgiving. I'll read verses 1 through 3.4:26Just hearing that makes me want to stick out my chest and swell with spiritual pride. This is a call for God's people to be thankful for the one who gave all for us.4:53Let's pray. Father, we have so much to be thankful for. Lord, would the memory of faith, would the memory of goodness reach our hearts in a way that the Spirit of the living God would use faith as a wellspring of gratitude, a wellspring of thanksgiving.5:08Lord, today we ask simply that we would not leave here thinking about thanksgiving, but that we would leave here a thankful people, that your Son would change our hearts and our minds and our lips, and that we would give you praise, that we would give you honor.5:26We ask all these in Jesus' name. Amen. The Insanity of Thanksgiving. Now, you might ask, well, where does that title come from?5:54Well, often in the Psalms, we know little about the historical context. You know very little about where the Psalm 23 was written. Most likely it was David while he was a shepherd boy watching over the flock, but you don't know that to be true. And if you know anything about the Psalms, sometimes we get a tune, right? This is the doe of the dawn, which I have no clue what that is, but it was a tune in ancient times, or you know the author.6:22Maybe it's the Psalm of David or Asaph or Korah. Maybe you know the time or the place or the meter, but rarely do you have a historical context. But today is your day. Because look at the historical context of this Psalm concerning David when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech.6:43Now, historians would tell you that he was not in the presence of Abimelech. He was in Gath with the Philistines. This was likely a title given to any king of the Philistines who drove him out and David departed. So here's a context.7:13David is acting a fool, as the young people would say. You know, it's like the old Mr. T saying, I pity the fool. Well, David made himself foolish, and the king literally expelled him from his presence. Now, if you understand anything about Gath, and you might not, you realize that Gath was one of the five cities that belonged to the Philistines. You might think, well, I know that name, Philistia, Philistines. Ah, they had a very large man that was famous in Philistia.7:42His name was Goliath. But as the kid saying goes, right, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Goliath was taunting the people of God. And one day, a young man with God by his side killed this hero, this demigod of Philistia. The man's name was David. So now David has fled to Philistia to flee King Saul, because Saul is the king.8:11David is the anointed king. So he flees to the place where they say, isn't this, isn't this the man, the song goes, something like, Saul has killed his thousands, but David has killed his ten thousands. Isn't this the young man that, wait, did he kill Goliath? And so David fears for his life in 1 Samuel 21.8:40So David comes up with a good idea. He says, I'm going to scribble on the door and I'm going to drool on my face. And hopefully they'll ask me to go away. And that's exactly what happens. I think it's verse 15 of 1 Samuel 21. I love it because the king says, he says, don't I already have enough insane people here that you brought me another one? He says, get out of here. And so David, under God's protection and God's provision, is expelled from that location.9:09All of this happens in the context of Psalm 34. And David, after he is delivered, writes a letter of gratitude and thanksgiving from the heart to Yahweh. And what we just read is part of that. This is memory lodged in the heart. This is David saying, I was dead and God delivered me.9:38I was crazy and God rescued me. So let's look at the insanity of gratitude. In Israel, it was common for any person who was thankful to give thanks. And they would do so by bringing an offering to the Lord at the temple. What's fascinating about that offering, they would bring a cup and they would pour Baptist closure ears. Okay, put your earmuffs on.10:08They would bring wine, earmuffs off now, to the temple. And they would pour that wine to the Lord and they would sing a song as they were doing it. Because for Israel, they were called the vineyard of the Lord. And they would pour that out and they would sing a song. And it's likely this hymn was sung in those contexts. But the cup, the cup that they would pour out was called the cup of salvation.10:36So anyone who was thankful to God could come to the temple, come to the priest. They would say, priest, I need to let you know I'm thankful God delivered me. And they would pour out that libation offering to God. And they would sing a song to the Lord. The cup was called the cup of salvation. First spiritual application for you and me. Thanksgiving is a natural response to anyone who was born again.11:04If you've been born again, you can't help but raise the cup of salvation and say, God, thank you for new life. That's exactly what David is doing. Very literally, God saved his life from his enemies. And David is saying, God, I thank you. So when should we give thanks?11:34When should we give thanks? I'm glad you asked. Verse one. I will bless the Lord on good days. At all times. I will bless the Lord when my teeth are brushed and my face is shaved and the axe body spray is flowing. When I have it together. But we should also bless the Lord when jewels on our face and we're scribbling on the door and we say, God, I don't know how I'm going to survive today.12:01But I will bless your name. It's a reminder that Christian faith, faith in Yahweh transcends everything that's happening in your life. David tells us over and over again, there's going to be difficult days ahead.12:26And some of you are walking through those difficult days today. You've been in the hospital with a loved one or you've lost a husband or a wife or a father or a child. Or you've had the diagnosis that you are dreading that you've received that today. Some of you are walking through that this week. And let David remind you, God is still faithful on your darkest day.12:51And God is faithful on your best day. Gospel thanksgiving overflows at all times. Because God's faithfulness never ends. God's faithfulness never ends. As the hymn says, as Lamentation says, His mercy is new every morning.13:18I think some of us need to hear that today. We need to be thankful because God is faithful to us at all times. Verse 2. I will boast in the Lord. The humble will hear and be glad. Proclaim the Lord's greatness with me. Let us exalt His name together. Now, what an odd phrase to use.13:47You could read this and think, well, does God need us to make His name greater? Does God need us to prop Him up? And C.S. Lewis in his life wrestled with that question. He often wondered, why would God command us to praise Him if He doesn't need praise? What kind of God would do that? And then he realized when he gave his life to Jesus14:16that we don't give praise to God because He needs it or as if you can add anything to the deity of God by the words that you utter. But praise is the logical exclamation point to our Thanksgiving. There's something about verbal praise in our life that makes our soul aware of God. There's a principle that I like to use in my life14:46and that people use against me. It's called say it out loud. Because there are often times in my life where I think crazy thoughts. Now, this is not the time for audience participation. Just listen to me. I don't need any amens, hallelujahs. And I think it sounds good. But then when I say it out loud, I realize how poor that thought is. Have you ever had that in your life where you're thinking,15:16man, you know what? This person needs to hear this. And you say it to the mirror and you say, they don't need to hear that. I think that praise and thanksgiving is that spiritual application in our life. There are times that we know God is faithful. We know he's there at all times. But to say it out loud brings our soul back into alignment to God's grace. God doesn't need you and I to be thankful as if we make him more godly.15:45God wants us to be thankful because our soul needs to hear it. God wants us to be thankful because our ears need to hear the memory of faith that is in our lives. That's why David says, I will bless the Lord. As if you can bless an infinite, perfect, righteous God. I will boast in the Lord.16:15I will proclaim his greatness. Let us exalt his name together. What if thanksgiving was God's way of supercharging your soul for his glory? I believe that thanksgiving is that in our lives. Be thankful, church. It creates newness in our lives. Okay, verse four. That's the insanity of thanksgiving. Now we see the insanity of God's mercy.16:44I sought the Lord and he answered me and he rescued me from all my fears. How many fears? All. Those who look to him are radiant with joy. Their faces will never be ashamed. This poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him from how many troubles? All. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and rescues them.17:09For the psalmist praising God is not an abstract religious exercise. David has real life rescue in his mind. He says, The Lord answered me. He rescued me. When I looked, my face changed. When I was poor, he heard me.17:39When I was in trouble, he saved me. No one could tell David that this was a Sunday school only lesson. David would say, you don't understand God's mercy. The insanity of God's mercy is that there is no trouble that he cannot deliver you from. The insanity of God's mercy is that there's no sin that he will not forgive you because of Jesus Christ. This is God's continual loving kindness towards you and towards me.18:06This is David's invitation, is it not? David would say it like this. Are you in need? Call to God and he will answer you. Are you fearful with concerns that terrorize your soul and occupy your mind? The Lord will rescue you. Are you living in guilt and shame?18:34Those who look to the Father will never be ashamed. Are you in the midst of crisis? Yahweh is the one who saves. Are you vulnerable and in danger? The Lord will send his holy angels to encircle you. Talk about protection. Can you imagine, as we see in one episode in Elijah and Elisha's life, right there fearful, the servant's fearful,19:04and the prophet says, Lord, here's my prayer, open his eyes. And the servant opens his eyes and there are angels encamped around. Can you, sometimes we read this and we simply gloss over that. Can you imagine if God opened our eyes fully to his power in our lives? Can you imagine when you got home today, you would look and there's an angel on the left side and the right side of your driveway? What fears would you have if that happens? I believe we're going to get to heaven one day19:34and we're going to say, God, you remember that really bad day? How did you deliver me? And he's going to say, open your eyes. And we're going to see the encampment of the spiritual messengers around us. And we're going to say, God, I know you were doing something, but I couldn't believe it then and I still can't believe it now. God, your mercy is never ending. The Lord's salvation is real and it is tangible.20:03If you are in need today, call out to God. Call out to him and find him faithful. The insanity of Thanksgiving, we see the insanity of mercy. Now we see the insanity of holy fear. Look at verse 8. Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the person who takes refuge in him.20:33You, who are the holy ones, fear the Lord. For those who fear him lack nothing. So those who fear him lack what? Lack nothing. We like to read Psalm 23, right? The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Lord, give me. But no single verse is read in isolation.21:01Those who fear him will lack nothing. We should be praying, God, let me fear you with the holy fear. And when I fear you and see you as you are, I will never lack anything in my life. Young lions lack food and they go hungry. But all who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing. Come, children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord.21:30Who is someone who desires life? Loving a long life to enjoy what is good. Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech. Turn away from evil. Do what is good. Seek peace and pursue it. Over and over again, the word of God links theology with faithfulness. You see, the right knowledge of God should not stay lodged in your mind, but it should flow to your hands.21:57Right thinking should always lead to right living. I would say it like this. Show me what you do and I'll show you what you believe. I'll never forget Pastor Jeremiah Castile several years ago here said that Bear Bryant would always tell his team. He says, son, I can't hear you because your life's too loud.22:25It was his way of saying, I know what you say, but your life won't let me hear what you're saying because you're acting out on your beliefs. David is saying the exact same. He's saying those who fear God will never live without him. So you who fear God never live without him. We are in danger often of what we call practical atheism.22:53We come on Sunday morning. We sing songs about God's glory. We sing songs about the blood of the lamb. We leave through these doors and we live as if God is not present in our lives. So tell me, how is that not atheism? It is. May we never live as if God is not present in our life. I want to have a holy fear that when I live, not a fear of messing up, but a fear of God that says, God, let me see you in your beauty.23:21I want to have a holy fear that when I live, not a fear of messing up, but a fear of God that says, God, let me see you in your beauty.← Previous in PsalmsPsalms – Do Not Be Silent! (Psalm 109:1-5)More sermons on Psalms →
