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Content type: Sermon Poem / Prayer Service / Tribute Incomplete Biography
Body: Sing chorus twice; Count Your Blessings: Count Your Blessings, name them one by one. Count Your Blessings, see what God has done! Count Your Blessings, name them one by one. Count Your many blessings, see what God has done. As we continue to observe Thanksgiving 2022, read along with me Psalm 65, if you will. **Psalm 65** **For the choir director: A song. A psalm of David.** **1**What mighty praise, O God, belongs to you in Zion. We will fulfill our vows to you, **2** for you answer our prayers. All of us must come to you. **3**Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, you forgive them all. **4**What joy for those you choose to bring near, those who live in your holy courts. What festivities await us inside your holy Temple. **5**You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, O God our savior. You are the hope of everyone on earth, even those who sail on distant seas. **6**You formed the mountains by your power and armed yourself with mighty strength. **7**You quieted the raging oceans with their pounding waves and silenced the shouting of the nations. **8**Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your wonders. From where the sun rises to where it sets, you inspire shouts of joy. **9**You take care of the earth and water it, making it rich and fertile. The river of God has plenty of water; it provides a bountiful harvest of grain, for you have ordered it so. **10**You drench the plowed ground with rain, melting the clods and leveling the ridges. You soften the earth with showers and bless its abundant crops. **11**You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance. **12**The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture, and the hillsides blossom with joy. **13**The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep, and the valleys are carpeted with grain. They all shout and sing for joy! Let’s look at these verses and see what we can get from them. 1) "Mighty praise, O God, belongs to you" (We are worthy of our praise) vs. 1 God is worthy of all our thanksgiving. Not just because of the things He has done, but simply because of who he is, God Almighty. To think that the same God that said, "Let there be light", and there was light, that God, Loves me. The All-Mighty God. Listen to the words to the song "Who Am I" by Casting Crowns. Who am I? That the Lord of all the earth, Would care to know my name, Would care to feel my hurt, Who am I? That the Bright and Morning Star, Would choose to light the way, For my ever-wandering heart, Not because of who I am, But because of what You’ve done, Not because of what I’ve done, But because of who You are. Thank You God for Being God! 2)"You answer our prayers" (You listen and answer, You care) Vs. 2 We are not in this alone. God listens to us. Anytime, anywhere. I know that from time to time we all feel alone. But there is no need to. God hears us. Look at Hebrews 4:16: "So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it." We have a privilege Old Testament believers didn’t have. We don’t have to go to a priest. Anytime, anywhere, we can go directly to God. And He listens and answers us. Thank You God for hearing our prayers! 3) You forgive (We don’t deserve it but, you show mercy, you are gracious) vs. 3 We are sinners in need of forgiveness. We can never find forgiveness apart from Jesus. He purchased our forgiveness on the cross. (From another sermon here on Sermoncentral.com) On New Year’s Day, 1929, Georgia Tech played UCLA in the Rose Bowl. In that game a young man named Roy Riegels recovered a fumble for UCLA. Picking up the loose ball, he lost his direction and ran sixty-five yards toward the wrong goal line. One of his teammates, Benny Lom, ran him down and tackled him on the one-yard line just before he scored for the opposing team. Several plays later UCLA had to punt. Georgia Tech blocked the kick and scored a safety, demoralizing the UCLA team. The strange play came in the first half. At halftime the UCLA players filed off the field and into the dressing room. As others sat down on the benches and the floor, Riegels put a blanket around his shoulders, sat down in a corner, and put his face in his hands. A football coach usually has a great deal to say to his team during halftime. That day Coach Price was quiet. No doubt he was trying to decide what to do with Riegels. When the timekeeper came in and announced that there were three minutes before playing time, Coach Price looked at the team and said, "Men, the same team that played the first half will start the second." The players got up and started out, all but Roy. He didn’t budge. The coach looked back and called to him. Riegels sat and Coach Price said, "Roy, didn’t you hear me? The same team that played the first half will start the second. "Roy Riegels looked up, his cheeks wet with tears. “Coach," he said, "I can’t do it. I’ve ruined you. I’ve ruined the university’s reputation. I’ve ruined myself. I can’t face the crowd out there." Coach Price reached out, put his hand on Riegels’ shoulder, and said, "Roy, get up and go back. The game is only half over." Riegels finally got up. He went onto the field, and the fans saw him play like he’d never played before. And even though UCLA lost the game Roy was never the same. Later that same year "Wrong Way Riegels" was elected team captain. All of us have run a long way in the wrong direction. Because of the forgiveness offered in Jesus Christ, however, the game is only half over. No matter what you’ve done, you are not out of the reach of God’s forgiveness. Thank You God for Your forgiveness of our sin! 4) You choose to bring near (You are with us, Living in us and it’s Your choice) vs. 4 God wants me! He chose me! I don’t know why he would, But God wants to be near me, and He chooses to live IN me. God the Holy Spirit indwells me. As to the "nearness of God" James tells us: "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, double-minded people!" Listen to this illustration about a husband and wife riding along in the car and she says to her husband, "Honey you know, we used to sit so close together in the car, now look at us, sitting so far apart." and he, being behind the wheel says, "I haven’t moved". If you aren’t feeling "near" to God, He hasn’t moved, you have. Draw near to Him. He chooses to be with us and in us. Thank You God for choosing to live in me! 5)Answer our prayers with awesome deeds (You do AWESOME deeds, working for us and with us) vs. 5a Not only do You hear and answer our prayers. You do so with Awesome deeds. Awesome is a word that is way overused. Everything is “Awesome" now days, "that chocolate pie was awesome", “the UNC/NC State football game was awesome” or as our grandkids might say “Mammaw is awesome”. Which Estella’s chocolate pie is FANTASTIC, and Fridays football game (to me anyway) was GREAT, and of course Mammaw is VERY SPECIAL! But when applied to God....GOD DOES DO AWESOME DEEDS. God doesn’t do things halfway. Because God answers our prayers with awesome deeds. I don’t know what God has in store for this meeting, but I know it’s AWESOME. If we only ask, the Bible says, "You have not because you ask not". Thank You God for Your awesome deeds! 6) You are the hope of everyone on earth (You give us hope, hope for everyone) vs. 5b No matter what situation you find yourself in this morning I can tell you there is HOPE. I don’t care how bad things are, there is hope. If you’re sick, there is hope. If you are having trouble making ends meet, there is hope. If you can’t see a way out, there is hope. 1 Peter 1:3 tells us there is a LIVING HOPE, and His Name is Jesus. And Jesus is the Hope of everyone on earth if they will just turn to Him. Thank You God for the Hope we have in You! 7) You formed the mountains by your power (You are all Powerful, and that power is available to us) vs. 6 God is "Omnipotent", all powerful. We may feel powerless at times, but God is all powerful. Take a second and consider the POWER of God. (pause). That power is available to us. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me...I can say to the mountain "go jump into the sea" and it will. IF....I do them in God’s Power, not mine. Thank You God for Your power! 8) You quieted the raging oceans (You bring us peace) vs. 7 If there is one thing we need in this crazy world it is peace. God gives us peace that doesn’t make sense, or "peace that surpasses all understanding". Our world is insane. War, Natural disasters, Covid, Crime and on and on. The pace of today is frantic. Sometimes I’ll say to Rhonda, "What is going on tonight?" and sometimes she’ll answer "nothing". To which I say, "thank the Lord". We are so busy. We need peace. Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you." Thank You God for giving us peace! 9) You inspire shouts of joy (You bring us joy) vs. 8 Jesus said in John 15:11 "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full." Jesus’ Joy...He brings us joy. When you get down in the dumps, you need to remember the Joy of the Lord. Ok, easy to say. But joy has to be cultivated. It doesn’t just happen. And how do we cultivate joy? What did the verse say? "These things I have spoken to you" Jesus’ words bring joy. Reading God’s Word helps us cultivate joy in our lives. You show me a Christian with no joy, and I’ll show a Christian that isn’t reading God’s Word. Thank You God for bringing us joy! 10) You take care of the earth and water it (You care for the earth, FOR us, rich and fertile, not run dry, bountiful harvest of grain…. the earth is for us to enjoy) vs. 9-13 1 Chronicles 29:11 Says "Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things" The earth is the Lord’s, he takes care of it. Why? (Read vs. 9-13) 9 You take care of the earth and water it, making it rich and fertile. The rivers of God will not run dry; they provide a bountiful harvest of grain, for you have ordered it so. 10 You drench the plowed ground with rain, melting the clods and leveling the ridges. You soften the earth with showers and bless its abundant crops. 11 You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance. 12 The wilderness becomes a lush pasture, and the hillsides blossom with joy. 13 The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep, and the valleys are carpeted with grain. They all shout and sing for joy! HE DOES THIS FOR US!! Back in Gen 1:28 God blessed them and told them, "Multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. Be masters over the fish and birds and all the animals." God has given us the earth to enjoy. Rich and fertile, not run dry, bountiful harvest of grain…. the earth is for us to enjoy. Thank You God for the earth and Your care of it so we can enjoy it. 11) They all shout and sing for joy! (Counting your blessings leads us to shout and sing for joy) vs. 13 In counting your blessings, "it may surprise you what the Lord has done". Thank You God for Being God. Thank You God for hearing our prayers. Thank You God for Your forgiveness of our sin. Thank You God for choosing to live in me. Thank You God for Your awesome deeds. Thank You God for the Hope we have in You. Thank You God for Your power. Thank You God for giving us peace. Thank You God for bringing us joy. Thank You God for the earth, and Your care of it so we can enjoy it. Yes, we have reason to be Thankful. And yes, we have reason to Celebrate. As President of the United States, George Washington proclaimed the first nationwide thanksgiving celebration in America marking November 26, 1789, "as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors (blessings) of Almighty God", and calling on Americans to "unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions.". And in 1963, President John F. Kennedy acknowledged both the Virginia and Massachusetts claims. Kennedy issued Proclamation 3560 on November 5, 1963, stating, "Over three centuries ago, our forefathers in Virginia and in Massachusetts, far from home in a lonely wilderness, set aside a time of thanksgiving. On the appointed day, they gave reverent thanks for their safety, for the health of their children, for the fertility of their fields, (blessings) for the love which bound them together, and for the faith which united them with God." And so, let us count our many blessings bestowed by the All-Mighty God, the God of Moses, the God of our forefathers, the same God that lives within each one of us today!
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