Alright, if you take your Bibles
and turn with me to 1 Chronicles. 1 Chronicles chapter 16. 1 Chronicles chapter 16. And our text will be found in
verse 8. Give thanks unto the Lord. Call upon His name. Make known
His deeds among the people. And my message is easily seen
and divided into three parts in this verse. Give thanks, pray
and declare. Give thanks, pray and declare. Now, this text is the beginning
of a song that David had given to Asaph and his brethren to
sing. before the Ark of the Covenant.
You remember the Ark of the Covenant was lost. And now then the Lord,
by David, has brought the Ark of the Covenant back and restored
the worship of God. This was a very joyful time.
It was a time of great rejoicing. Israel had been without the worship
of God. They had been without the Ark
of the Covenant for many years. And now then it is restored.
And David, in his heart of joy, writes this song. He writes this
song and says, Give thanks unto the Lord. And this is my first
point to us this morning, is give thanks. Give thanks. The children of God, as believers
in the Lord Jesus Christ, saved by the grace of God, touched
by the Spirit of God, given life and faith to believe in Christ,
saved, given eternal life, justification, redemption, wisdom, sanctification. God has given us all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We of all people
should be the most thankful people on the face of God's earth. We
should be the most thankful. We should give thanks and glory
to God. And here's why, if you go over
to verse 35, it says, And say ye, save us, O God of our salvation,
and gather us together and deliver us from the heathen, that we
may give thanks to thy holy name and glory in thy praise. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
forever and ever." And all the people said, Amen. We should
give thanks because God deserves thanks. He is worthy of our thanks,
our praise. And in Psalm 18, part of this
is recited, it says, Give thanks unto the Lord for His mercy endureth
forever. If there's not another reason
that you can find to give thanks, that's one you can hang on to.
His mercy endureth forever. If we have one thing as every
believer knows and feels, to be the greatest need of our
life, it is mercy. How often do we cry to God for
mercy? Very few times when I read the
Scriptures am I not crying for mercy. Mercy. The saints of God know that we
are, by our nature, sinners against God. We know this more than anyone
else. We know ourselves. We are given
light concerning our own nature. We are sinners. We know that
one That there is no good thing in our flesh. The Apostle Paul
declares that, that there is no good thing that dwells in
our nature. There is nothing in us that is
righteous by itself and of itself. We are by nature like all other
men. We were born dead and depraved
just like other men. There is nothing that excels
us above other men. We know that by nature that we
are haters and rebels of God. But God, who is rich in mercy,
but God, who is rich in mercy, hath quickened us together with
Christ. This is by grace you are saved. By grace you are saved. He has
regenerated us and given us life by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Why would God show His mercy to sinners such as we are by
nature? So that we might know our need
of salvation. How is it that you have come
to understand your need of mercy? We know that this is completely
and absolutely the work of the holy and righteous and all-powerful
God. It is His work alone that reveals
to man what He is. This is by the divine mercy of
God in providence to make us aware of our condition. If God will ever show a sinner
mercy and forgiveness, He must first show him to be a sinner. This is so wonderful about the
Scriptures, is that the Lord Jesus Christ did not come to
seek and save the righteous. He came to seek and to save sinners. Sinners. The psalmist said in
Psalm 116, verse 6, the Lord preserveth the sinful. I was
brought low and He helped me. This is always the way. A man
must first be brought low. before the Lord will help. The
man must come to the end of himself. Oh, that God would bring sinners
to the end of themselves. When a man comes to me and he
is keenly aware of his sin, I begin to rejoice. I don't know if the
Lord will have mercy, if the Lord is just giving him a little
light of providence, or maybe it's guilt of conscience, I don't
know. But I'm excited because if he's never known his sin,
God would never save him. God must first make us keenly
aware of our need of mercy. He must expose our sin. I like that saying, Blessed is
a sinner, for the Holy Ghost hath made him one. Oh, a sinner
is a sacred thing, that's what it is. A sinner is a sacred thing,
for the Holy Ghost hath made him one. The Holy Ghost reveals
what we are. We pray this concerning those
that we love. We pray that God would show them
their lost condition. And we know no matter how skilled
our arguments are, we know this, that we cannot convert them.
We cannot beat them into this understanding of their sinful
nature. We could tell them all their
sins. And they may feel guilty for a little while, but we could
not give them this conviction that the Holy Ghost can give.
That only He can give. Why? Because the imagination
of the hearts of men are evil continually. continually. In us is no righteousness at
all, no goodness, no ability to seek God, nor can we merit
God's acceptance by the obedience of the law. There's nothing wrong
with the law. The problem is not the law. The
problem is us. We've broken the law. The law
reflects God's character, doesn't it? We see God's holiness in
the law. But the law gives no hope of
life. So when a man is convicted of his sins, if he runs to the
law, he'll find no hope. He'll find no security. He'll
find no comfort. Just as we found no comfort.
We who believe on Christ, did you find comfort in the law?
I still find no comfort there. I find comfort in this, that
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believe it. The end of the law. I find great
comfort in that because cursed is everyone that continueth not
in all things that are written in the law do them. We live in
such an age to where men who teach the law, they have
no idea what they are teaching. They teach the law as a option. They teach the Law as something
that men can have, you can do your best, and God will just
accept the best efforts that you can put forth. That's not
what the Law says. The Law said, Cursed is everyone
that doesn't do everything that is written in the Book of the
Law. And therefore, by the deeds of
the Law shall no flesh be justified in His sight. Why? Because when
I read the Law, you know what I see? Sin. Thou shalt not lie. And what do I hear? Liar. Thou
shalt not covet. What do I hear? You covetous
man. The law is the knowledge of sin. Have you been brought to see
this? If you've been brought to see this, this is the work
of God. This is not the work of the preacher
to make you feel guilty. This is the work of the Spirit
of God in a man to just reveal what's there. I'm not telling you anything
new. You who know yourselves know this to be true. And if you are a sinner, and
you realize that you have no hope, then I say repent and believe
the gospel. Believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is not an offer. This is
a command. Believe on the Son of God. That's a command. That's a command. You stand in need of mercy. Hear
the word of God. I will have mercy. God says I
will have mercy who on who on whom I will have mercy. That's
who God will have mercy on whom he will. Behold, the mercy of
God is never merited, but is given by the sovereign will of
God alone. If you have mercy, it is because
God decreed you should have mercy. That's the only reason you have
mercy. Sinner, God does not show mercy
if God would not show mercy to you. Do you know that God would
still be just as holy and righteous as He ever was? Mercy is not
something that God has to give you. Otherwise, it wouldn't be mercy. It wouldn't be mercy. But we
all who know our sinful nature, we come seeking sovereign mercy. because we have nothing to give. We have nothing which to pay
for mercy. We who are bankrupt sinners by
nature come to God only with our sins, pleading for His sovereign
mercy, recognizing that He could give it or withhold it. But listen to the grace of the
Gospel. Go over to Isaiah 55. The Gospel
according to Isaiah. Not like that. The Gospel here in Isaiah 55
says, Ho! Stop! Listen! Everyone that thirsteth,
come to the waters. Who's bidden? Who's bidden to
come to the waters of life? The thirsty. And he that hath no money, come
ye, buy and eat. Ye come and buy wine and milk
without money, without price. Who's bidden? Him without money. Him without price. The sinner. The unrighteous. The one who
is in need of God's mercy. Wherefore do you spend money
for that which is not bread, and labor for that which satisfieth
not? Hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself
in fatness. Incline your ear and come unto
me, here, and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting
covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." The gospel
is for thirsty sinners. Thirsty for righteousness. Thirsty
for acceptance with God. Thirsty for the forgiveness of
sins. Come and buy. How? Without money,
without price. Come as you are. Here, incline
your soul to Me and live. Oh, what a blessed joy the Scriptures
give us of great mercy. Unlimited, free mercy. I'll tell you, men love everything
for free except mercy. What a depraved nature man has.
God says, here's free mercy, free forgiveness by the blood
of my own Son, free righteousness that my Son has provided. And
yet, men, there's a catch somewhere. Catch is God's got to do it.
God's got to do it. And when God shows a man who
he is, he won't go anywhere else but Christ. He won't come to
anyone else but Christ. Because Christ is the sure mercy. Believer in Christ, we don't
have, I guess so, mercies. I hope so, mercies. Gee, I wish,
mercies. We have the sure mercy. of David, the sure mercies of
David's Son, the sure mercies of David's Lord, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Our mercy is wrapped up in a
person, in a man, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The mercy that God gives us is
in the Lamb of God. Remember that these, in David's
time, in our text, they were worshipping. They had the Ark
of the Covenant with pictures of the Lord Jesus Christ. They
shed the blood on the ark, which pictures the shedding of the
blood of Christ. And what does the Apostle, what
does David say concerning this? He says to us who have mercy,
give thanks, give thanks unto God. Give thanks unto the Holy
One of Israel, for He has provided all our righteousness. All our
righteousness. And that day, saith the Lord,
he shall come, and his name is Jehovah Tiskanu, the Lord our
righteousness." Just as we sang in that hymn, by one man sin,
death came. Even so, by one man came righteousness. Did you see the sin of Adam?
No. Were you there when Christ was
righteous? Did you see it with your physical
eyes? No! But it's true because God has
revealed it to me in my heart. He's given me a new nature so
that I can see this by faith and know that Jesus Christ is
not part of my righteousness. He's all of it. He's all of it. He's obtained my righteousness. Behold Jesus Christ, who is our
redemption. Not only is He our righteousness,
but He is our offering to God. By His shedding of His blood,
He put away sin forever. He put it away. It's gone. In
the eyes of God, your sin is gone. Gone. God give us grace to believe
that. Because daily I'm bombarded by my own conscience. Daily I'm
conflicted with my own nature. This old man, this old sin nature,
he has not changed one bit. He is still just as vile and
sinful as he ever was, and he drags me down to the earth. But I know this, I have a new
nature. And this nature is created in true righteousness and holiness
because of the shedding of the blood of Christ. For without
the shedding of blood, there is no remission. But friends,
with the shedding of blood, there is remission. There is remission. Jesus, who knew no sin, was made
sin for us, so that we, through Him, might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. He was made sin by the imputation
of the Father. And His offering was so powerful.
How many times did those priests have to do that offering? At
least twice a day there was an offering. And none of those ever
stopped because none of those ever took away sin. How many
times did Jesus offer Himself? Once. He offered himself one
time unto God, and he said, it's finished. And God put an exclamation
point at the end of that when He raised him from the dead.
It's over. It's done. Victory accomplished. Justice satisfied. Give thanks. Secondly, call upon the name
of the Lord. Look at your text. He says, give thanks unto the
Lord. Call upon His name. Not only give thanks for His
mercy, But make wise use of His mercy. Prayer is a wise use of
mercy. If you have obtained the mercy
of God, use it by prayer. How often are we cast down and
in despair because we've not made use of our access to God? Is it true with you that it seems
we go to God last? I always seem, when I'm in trouble,
I try to find every way around it but to go to God. And only when I seem to be so
bound up in it, then I call out. And He graciously comes. Not
like we would come. How would you come? Tell your
children you need help? They say, no, I got it. I got
it. Then they get all messed up and
everything's a mess and then they say, I need help! And you
walk in and you say, I told you so. God never says that. Never. He graciously comes in
and He delivers His people. with a gentle rebuke. How gentle
are His... When His disciples woke Him up,
He says, have you no faith? Just the simple words. Just stab
us through the heart. And we beg for His mercy. And
you know what? He said, peace be still. I'll take care of it. And He does. He's gentle and
merciful. The Scripture says, be careful,
be anxious for nothing. Are you anxious? If we're anxious, usually it's
because we're thinking about something that we're going to do in the
future. We're anxious about a trip. We're
anxious about events. We're anxious... I'm anxious
all the time. I always feel anxious. And the
Scripture says, be anxious for nothing. What's the cure for such anxiety? But in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving. Let your request be made known
unto God. Can you complain and be thankful at the same time? Can't murmur and be thankful.
I know we try. Lord, I'm thankful, but... I
sure think you could have handled that a better way. I think that
could have been done some way. No. It was the best way. It was the best way. Make your
request. No. Be thankful for what you
have. Be content with what you have.
And if you have a request, because we have needs, don't we? Do you
have needs? I have needs. God knows we have
needs. He's not deprived of this information,
but yet He says, I will be inquired of these things. Make your requests
known unto God. I was reading George Mueller,
a man who had an orphanage and really trusted God. for his wages. People thought he was crazy.
They said, why would you give up your salary? Why would you
trust that God would provide these things? You know, he's
already given you... He trusted God daily. He learned
so much more from that. Just trusting God. And every
time he had a need for money, all he would do was ask. And
you know what his report was? God gave it. God gave it. We should believe God. We should
trust God. We should inquire of Him, knowing
that He has our best interest at heart. And I know this. He
has always given more than I've ever asked. I think of when the Lord called
me to preach. And I was so anxious. I didn't
know what in the world was going to happen. And I prayed that God would give
me a church, that He would call me to preach and be a pastor.
I had that desire in my heart. But you know what? I never thought
of you. You see, God gave me more. by
giving me you than I could have ever asked for. I couldn't have asked for more.
I could have never thought of such a wonderful gift. And I wouldn't trade you for
millions. Because gift, it's God's gift. And so when we pray, we know
this, God will give us more than we ask. And lastly, declare His
gifts. Declare His wondrous works. That's
what He says. Make known His deeds among the
people. Make known what great things
God has done. Scott, I appreciate you coming
yesterday. We had a wonderful visit. You
know what we did? We talked about what great things
God did for us. You know what? He did the same
thing, didn't He? He did the same thing for me as He's done
for you. He showed mercy to you. He showed mercy to me. And yet
I like hearing you tell me how He showed mercy to you. And you
like hearing how? That God showed mercy to me. Tell each other what great things
God has done for you. And this encourages us. This
strengthens us. I'm thankful that God saves sinners.
And I'm thankful I'm not alone. I'm thankful God has saved you. And we should tell others of
this. And I know this, all our telling,
all our telling of others, we have the hope that God would
use our word, that God would make us a witness and that he
would use us to call out his people. But friend, tell anyone. what great things God has done
for you, and let the falling out of the matter be with the
Lord. Don't force it. Otherwise, you're trying to rob
God of His glory, and He won't have it. I like that story of
the demoniac. Do you not think he wanted to
be with the Lord Jesus Christ in that boat? You don't think
it broke his heart when he said, you're not coming with me. I
know it did. He said, you go home and tell
your friends what great things God has done for you. Show them
by being thankful, being a prayerful people, and be a witnessing people. And I know this, God would give
us hearts to sing His praise. Do you desire that? I desire
hearts to sing His praise. Sometimes my heart feels like
steel, it feels so cold and indifferent, and I hate that. I despise that. I want my heart to melt before
God. I want my heart to rejoice before
Him. Give thanks, pray, and then tell
others. I pray that God would bless this
to your heart.