Please turn in your Bibles this morning to Psalm 39 as we take a departure from our study in the book of Revelation this week and we take a look at how we as a nation, we as Christians have become very unthankful. This is not necessarily one of those touchy-feely type messages as you can tell by the title, “Spoiled Christians?” Today is the last day of 2006 and as we begin a new year tomorrow, 2007 we look forward to what it may bring. You see, with the New Year comes many resolutions, much anticipation of all the good that should come our way.
I believe 2006 started the same way, and 2005, and 2004, 2003 and-so-on, but they quickly deteriorated into something we never wanted, we never planed for, we never asked for. We were looking to by happy and it just didn’t work, how come? Folks, here me out on this, I believe it is because we have truly lost perspective of things and because of that, we are never satisfied. We tend to complain about this and complain about that, which tends to make unbelievers think that our God is not good or if He is that He can’t do anything to help us. There is nothing wrong with our God, the problem folks, is with us, with our hearts and our attitudes, and because of that we truly don’t see things clearly! Think about it, when was the last time you were thankful?
Let me explain by trying to put things in a proper perspective for us. Back on November 20, 2006, prior to Thanksgiving, Craig Smith wrote an article for World Net Daily that truly summed things up for me. It put things into perspective. In fact, it truly caused me to re-evaluate my life. Listen carefully to what he had to say, what he wrote because I truly believe it is an eye opener. This is what he had to say in this article:
The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. . . . The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the president. In essence 2/3’s of the citizenry just ain’t happy and want a change.
So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, “What we are so unhappy about?”
Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job? Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfu has seen in the last year?
Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state? Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter? I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all involved. Whether you are rich or poor they treat your wounds and even, if necessary, send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.
Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home, you may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of having a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TV’s, a burglar or prowler intrudes; an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.
How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.
Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don’t have and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.
I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me?
Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn’t have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a “general” discharge, an “other than honorable” discharge or, worst case scenario, a “dishonorable” discharge after a few days in the brig.
So why then the flat out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells. Just ask why they are going to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book and do a TV special about how he didn’t kill his wife but if he did . . . insane!
Stop buying the negative venom you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad.
I close with one of my favorite quotes from B.C. Forbes in 1953:
“What have Americans to be thankful for? More than any other people on the earth, we enjoy complete religious freedom, political freedom, social freedom. Our liberties are sacredly safeguarded by the Constitution of the United States, ‘the most wonderful work every struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.’ Yes, we Americans of today have been bequeathed a noble heritage. Let us pray that we may hand it down unsullied to our children and theirs.”
I suggest this Thanksgiving we sit back and count our blessings for all we have. If we don’t, what we have will be taken away. Then we will have to explain to future generations why we squandered such blessing and abundance. If we are not careful this generation will be known as the “greediest and most ungrateful generation.” A far cry from the proud Americans of the “greatest generation” who left us an untarnished legacy.
- Craig R. Smith, World Net Daily, November 20, 2006
I am sorry to say many Christians are no different than the unsaved when it comes to complaining, when it comes to being thankful. I mean, really, what do we have to be thankful for? That God loves us so much that He died for our sins so that the judgment of God that was due us was placed upon Him and we can live with Him for eternity! I mean how unfair is that! Or maybe that God has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Is that all there is? Or maybe we are upset that He will never leave us or forsake us. Come on, I need some space!
Folks, we can spend a lifetime looking at all God has given to us and still we have hearts that are unthankful. I know, you are thinking, “Man, you don’t know what I am going through, the difficult times I am facing!” Yes, maybe you have health issues, maybe some financial issues, maybe some family problems or whatever. David, in Psalm 39 was struggling also and let’s see what we can glean from these verses this morning and see if we can get a clear perspective of things and learn how to be thankful. With that said, let’s begin reading in Psalm 39, beginning in verse 1 and see what the Lord has for us this morning.
Back in Psalm 38 David was dealing with his enemies that were coming against him and now, here in Psalm 39 it seems that this fighting with his enemies is over and he is suffering from some kind of health problems, some illness that may have brought him close to death or he may have felt that he wanted to die! And as David is going through this tough time he doesn’t want to give his enemies any ammunition to come against God with. He doesn’t want to complain about what is happening to him because that would be a golden opportunity for the wicked to mock God, to come against Him!
Dean Perowne put it this way. He said, “The holy singer had long pent up feelings; and though busy thoughts were stirring within him, he would not give them utterance. He could not bare his bosom to the rude gaze of an unsympathizing world. And he fear lest, while telling his perplexities, some word might drop from his lips which would give the wicked an occasion to speak evil against God. And when at last, unable to repress his strong emotion, he speaks to God and not to man, it is as one who feels how hopeless the problem of life is, except as seen in the light of God.” I think we all can take heed to that lesson and apply it to our life.
With the rest of our time this morning we are going to look at these verses here in Palm 39 and see what lessons we can learn from them, what we can apply to our own lives. My prayer is that we could have heats of thankfulness because we have a correct perspective of things. That no matter what we are going through, no matter what comes our way, we know that God has a plan, He has a purpose although I might not understand it, I will trust in Him and rest in His arms.
1. LIFE IS SHORT – PSALM 39:1-6
When you look at this life, we may have some 60 or 70 even 80 years or a little more to live, life is short. And when compared with eternity, it is like comparing apples and oranges because they don’t mix! And so, in these 6 verses I see two main points that we are going to look at.
A. I TRIED TO KEEP SILENT
– PALM 39:1-3
Again, we don’t know exactly what David was going through but it was tough. First of all he did not want to sin with his mouth by complaining and he especially didn’t want to complain before his enemies! Now picture what David is doing here. He wants to complain, his is upset but he shuts his lips. Even though his heart wants to burst forth and scream, “God why are you doing this to me?” and complain about what he is going through, he kept it in. But the more he held it in, the more he contemplated what he was going through, what was happening to him and that only made it worse. He was like a teakettle that was ready to blow! Job also went through some tough times, as David did and we are told of Job, “In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.” Job 1:22.
Have you ever been in that place before, where like David you are just ready to blow? And the reality is, as we try to accomplish this on our own, through the power of the flesh, there comes a point where, like the teakettle we blow! And then, coming out of our mouth are all kinds of things that are not for edification but they end up bringing about destruction. Not only that, but then you give the enemies of God a chance to mock God, to question the providence or divine intervention of God!
What can we do about it? Some of you may remember the song, What a Friend We Have in Jesus. It is a song that is beautiful and it truly puts things into perspective for us, even showing us why we fail. The song goes like this: “What a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and grief’s to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. Oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh, what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”
That is what David is now going to do, carry his pain, his hurts to God in prayer and that is what we need to do as we go through these times.
B. I CRIED OUT TO GOD
– PSALM 39:4-6
David is asking the Lord to help him to learn these lessons and not just to learn them but to learn them quickly so that he can move on, so that he doesn’t have to continue in this condition. David realizes that life is short and all that time that is spent gathering riches is empty because you can’t take it with you. Jesus said in Luke 12:15,
“ . . . ‘Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.’” And yet look at the time, the money, the energy that is put forth by people to gather an abundance of things and yet they have not spent a moment preparing to meet their Maker!
Moses said in Psalm 90:12, “So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.” What a great prayer as we prepare for the New Year, that God would help us to live out our days to the fullest. That we would not get hung up on things that waste our time, sap our energy but our focus would be the Lord. We need His wisdom especially in the days we are living in!
Now as you read this it seems like David is at the end of his ropes, he can’t take it any longer. Life to him, as brief as it may be, is just overwhelming to him. I am sure we have all been there before and maybe some of you are there right now where you feel that you just can’t go on any longer, you can’t go any farther. How did David get to this point in his life, how did he reach this point of despair?
I believe he had an “I” problem and not an “eye” problem. You see, he was so focused on himself, he was so consumed over what was going on in his life, he lost sight of the bigger picture. Our hope is not in this life, not in the things we possess, but in the God in whom we trust and David is now going to focus on that.
2. CONFIDENCE IN LIFE’S ONLY HOPE
– PSALM 39:7-13
Does it really matter what you hope in as long as you hope in something, as long as you put your faith in something or someone? Of course it does because if that which you are putting your trust in is not able to help you, then it is a faulty hope, a fruitless hope, it is empty. But, if that which you are putting your hope in is able to help, then there is that confidence which leads to a place in your life where nothing is going to stop you, nothing is going to get in your way of you completing the course that is set for you by God. Paul put it this way in Romans 4:20-21 as he was speaking of Abraham, “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.” You see, our God is more than able! Now, in these last 7 verses there are 3 points that are being made and we are going to look at them.
A. HOPE IN THE LORD
– PSALM 39:7
That is the perspective we need to have, that our hope is in the Lord. Too often our hope is in our strength, our resources, our abilities and then, when that doesn’t work, our hope turns to the Lord! Folks, the Lord is the first place we need to go!
I love what David said in Psalm 61:1-4 as he was going through a tough time. He said, “Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.” You see, when the storms come crashing in, when the water is going over your heard, we need to stand upon the Rock who is higher than we are, He is a shelter to us, a place where we can rest, it is the Lord, it is Jesus!
And when you have that correct perspective, you won’t be moved no matter how hard those storms come crashing in as David said in Psalm 62:2, “He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.” I think many times we are moved from the course that God has set for us because we are not standing upon the Rock, we are not looking to Jesus and thus, situations get us off course! Don’t fall prey to Satan’s schemes, his devices, his traps but look to Jesus who is our strong tower and we will not be shaken, we will not be moved from the course that God has for us!
Now I do realize that the things in our lives can easily become overwhelming but I also think that too often we miss the bigger picture and we major on the minor. Let me give you an example of someone who served the Lord faithful and endured all kinds of difficult times. In fact, Paul lets us know what some of those things were. We are told in II Corinthians 11:23-33, and this is from The Amplified Bible, “Are they [ministering] servants of Christ (the Messiah)? I am talking like one beside himself, [but] I am more, with far more extensive and abundant labors, with far more imprisonments, [beaten] with countless stripes, and frequently [at the point of] death. Five times I received from [the hands of] the Jews forty [lashes all] but one; [Deut 25:3.] Three times I have been beaten with rods; once I was stoned. Three times I have been aboard a ship wrecked at sea; a [whole] night and a day I have spent [adrift] on the deep; Many times on journeys, [exposed to] perils from rivers, perils from bandits, perils from [my own] nation, perils from the Gentiles, perils in the city, perils in the desert places, perils in the sea, perils from those posing as believers [but destitute of Christian knowledge and piety]; In toil and hardship, watching often [through sleepless nights], in hunger and thirst, frequently driven to fasting by want, in cold and exposure and lack of clothing. And besides those things that are without, there is the daily [inescapable pressure] of my care and anxiety for all the churches! Who is weak, and I do not feel [his] weakness? Who is made to stumble and fall and have his faith hurt, and I am not on fire [with sorrow or indignation]? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that [show] my infirmity [of the things by which I am made weak and contemptible in the eyes of my opponents]. . . .
. . . The God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ knows, He Who is blessed and to be praised forevermore, that I do not lie. In Damascus, the city governor acting under King Aretas guarded the city of Damascus [on purpose] to arrest me, And I was [actually] let down in a [rope] basket or hamper through a window (a small door) in the wall, and I escaped through his fingers.”
Now you would think Paul would be a man who had a lot to complain about, but he didn’t. He rejoiced in the Lord, he gave thanks to the Lord, he did not let those things move him from the course that God had set for him. In fact, in Philippians 4:11-13 Paul tells us, “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Can you say that, “Lord, in whatever state I am in, I am content in you because I know you will see me through, you will strengthen me no matter what happens”? Often we don’t, often we complain about the car not working, the job is too much work, the kids are monsters, my husband is a bum or whatever. It may be true, but can you be content and see the salvation that the Lord can bring to the situation you are in, not in your time, but in His time! It is as the song goes, “He makes all things beautiful, in His time.” You see, He wants us to trust in Him, He wants us to have thankful hearts! Listen to this story that was in Our Daily Bread booklet. We are told:
God sometimes allows us to enter into discouraging situations for the primary purpose of testing our faith. At such times we must refuse to give up in despair. Like Jonah in the belly of the great fish, we must turn to the Lord when our soul is fainting within us, trusting Him completely. James H. McConkey wrote, “What can you do when you are about to faint physically? You can’t DO anything! In your weakness you just fall upon the shoulders of some strong loved one, lean hard and rest until your strength returns. The same is true when you are tempted to faint under adversity. The Lord’s message to us is ‘Be still, and know that I am God?’ (Psalm 46:10). Hudson Taylor was so feeble in the closing months of his life that he said to a dear friend, ‘I’m so weak that I can’t work or read my Bible, and I can hardly pray. I can only lie still in God’s arms like a little child and trust.’ And that is all the Heavenly Father asks of you when you grow weary in the fierce fires of affliction.”
- Our Daily Bread, Monday, March 26
Thus, our hope needs to be in the Lord during the good times and during the bad times, no matter what comes our way because we can rest in the shelter of His wings! David did not wait for anyone or anything else but the Lord and so should we! It is as Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!”
B. CHASTENING OUT OF LOVE
– PSALM 39:8-11
David understood that his sin caused this chastening from God and now he is asking God to stop the chastening. Yes, God allowed this upon David not because He hated David, but because He loved David and wanted David back on track and thus, this chastening was one of correction and not punishment.
Remember what Paul said in Hebrews 12:5-11, “And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: ‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.’ If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Because God is our Father, He chastens us, and we may not like it when we are experiencing it, but the end result is righteousness in our life!
Now please understand that not all difficult times are the result of sin in our lives, but God does allow these things to help us to grow because He does love us. It is as Paul said in II Corinthians 4:16-18, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
C. HEAR MY PRAYER – PSALM 39:12-13
David once again seems overwhelmed by what he is experiencing and he cries out to God to hear his prayer and to stop this chastening. Now why does God let things go so far? I think many times it is because we have to come to the end of ourselves. You know what I mean, the end of our resources, our abilities, our strength, and when that is exhausted, and it may take a long time, then we will turn to Him, something that He has been waiting for. Think about this, Jonah was 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the great fish before he started to pray! That is a hard heart. And God won’t go beyond what He knows we can handle as Paul tells us in I Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
The Lord is not trying to destroy us but to build us up in the faith and there is nothing wrong in asking God to stop the trial but if He doesn’t, we need to trust in Him to continue on, learning and growing in Him as we trust Him! Let me give you an example of what I mean. We are told:
A young woman named Anne Steele had encountered one trial and disappointment after another. Being a devout Christian, she continuously sought to praise God - even in sorrow. She was engaged to be married, and had looked forward to her wedding day with eagerness. The big day finally arrived and so did the guests – but the groom was missing. After about an hour of waiting, a messenger brought the tragic news that Anne’s fiancé had drowned. The sudden shock was almost too much for her, but after a while she regained her spiritual composure.
Later Anne Steele penned the song that is still found in many hymnbooks:
Father, whater’er of earthly bliss, Thy sovereign will denies,
Accepted at Thy throne of grace, let this petition rise:
Give me a calm, a thankful heart, from every murmur free!
The blessings of Thy grace impart, and make me live to Thee.
- Our Daily Bread, April 29
That truly brings us back to where we started this morning, a thankful heart. In this coming year, 2007, can we have a thankful heart in spite of what we face? We are so blessed that I truly believe we take so much for granted in this life. And, if you can’t think of anything to thank God for, then thank Him for His Son, Jesus Christ who saved you and cleansed you from your sins. You see, the reality is, if God did not bless us with anything else besides eternal life with Him through Jesus Christ, that should be more than enough to thank Him for. But, He has blessed us exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. Thus, may we not be spoiled Christians but Christians who have a thankful heart!
As I begin to close this morning, listen to these words from Paul in Colossians 3:12-17. He wrote, “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
Folks, you can end 2006 with a heart that is filled with thanksgiving unto God and then begin 2007 with that same heart filled with thanksgiving. And as you do, then the things you manifest in your life will be good, they will be edifying, they will be of God and as His peace fills your life, you will be able to thank Him for all He has done in your life, where He has brought you so far and look forward to ultimately going home to glory! I am so excited to see what God has in store for me, for you in the coming year, but I also don’t want to lose sight that no matter what, He is still on the throne and thus, I need to have a thankful heart. May the Lord richly bless you and your family in the coming year as you walk with Him!