1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,280 I'm gonna invite you, if you can go with me, 2 00:00:02,280 --> 00:00:05,580 I have a message I would like to share with you 3 00:00:05,580 --> 00:00:10,580 found in the book of Psalms, Psalms chapter 119 and verse one. 4 00:00:11,140 --> 00:00:15,440 Excuse me, 116, chapter 116 and verse one. 5 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:22,920 As I was meditating on the word of God 6 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:28,720 and my time of devotion, the Lord brought me to this Psalm. 7 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:31,360 There's a couple of verses in this Psalm 8 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:36,360 that are known, well known and used for different occasions, 9 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:40,040 different reasons, but the Lord brought me here 10 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:42,600 and I just wanna share with you a few thoughts. 11 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:46,280 How many of you are ready for the word of God today? 12 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:49,580 Amen, somebody say amen, amen. 13 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:56,160 The Psalmist writes in verse one, I love the Lord 14 00:00:56,160 --> 00:01:01,160 because he has heard my voice and my supplications 15 00:01:03,660 --> 00:01:06,900 because he has inclined his ear to me. 16 00:01:07,700 --> 00:01:12,700 Therefore I will call upon him as long as I live. 17 00:01:14,580 --> 00:01:16,540 The pains of death surrounded me 18 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:22,480 and the pains of Sheol lay hold of me. 19 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:27,480 I found trouble and sorrow, then I called upon 20 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:32,240 the name of the Lord, oh Lord I implore you, 21 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:35,200 deliver my soul. 22 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:40,480 Now would you look at verse 16 and 17 with me. 23 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:47,800 Oh Lord, truly I am your servant, I am your servant, 24 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:51,960 I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. 25 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:57,920 You have loosed my bonds, amen. 26 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:03,920 I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving 27 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:10,040 and will call upon the name of the Lord. 28 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:12,880 Can someone say amen? 29 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:16,120 Gonna preach today for a few moments on the thought 30 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:18,960 of the cost of thanksgiving. 31 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:20,960 I'm gonna invite you to pray with me right there 32 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:22,640 where you are just for one moment. 33 00:02:22,640 --> 00:02:24,160 Let us go before the Lord today. 34 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:27,200 Father, we thank you for your presence that we feel 35 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:29,760 so bound to flee in this place. 36 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:32,120 And we need your spirit to continue to move. 37 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:34,840 God, as we open our hearts, our minds, 38 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:39,200 our spirits to your word, God, that you would impart 39 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:43,480 something that would transform us, that would edify us. 40 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:46,960 Today, God, encourage us and remind us of all the reasons 41 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:50,600 why we ought to be thankful, God, for the loosening 42 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:54,800 of the bonds in our life, God, the redemption of our souls, 43 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:57,200 the salvation of our lives, God. 44 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:01,720 I pray today, God, that you would anoint my lips of clay, 45 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:03,760 that you'll put your word in my mouth, Lord, 46 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:05,920 that I would glorify you in this hour. 47 00:03:05,920 --> 00:03:08,080 In your name we pray. 48 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:11,040 In the name of Jesus we pray. 49 00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:14,080 Some would say, amen. 50 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:16,840 Amen, you may be seated in the presence of God. 51 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:24,040 After Christmas, Thanksgiving is the second biggest holiday 52 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:27,400 for spending. 53 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:28,600 That's right. 54 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:32,720 After Christmas, this is the second biggest holiday 55 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:37,080 where many families all around have got to open up 56 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:41,080 their wallets and spend a little cash. 57 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:41,920 Why? 58 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:45,800 Because it's not cheap if you wanna have 59 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:48,240 a good Thanksgiving meal. 60 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:53,240 This year, Americans will spend an estimated $1 billion 61 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:59,240 on Thanksgiving turkeys and other items. 62 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:02,360 And I hate to break it to you, but with inflation still up, 63 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:07,360 you're going to spend about 19% more than you did last year. 64 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:09,720 So you better enjoy that turkey 65 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:13,320 and you better save some for leftovers, amen. 66 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:15,480 How many of you like leftovers from Thanksgiving? 67 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:18,400 Amen, amen, I like some leftovers. 68 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:21,240 So Thanksgiving dinner is, 69 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:22,960 and I hope I don't make anybody hungry here 70 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:25,160 with this picture, but hallelujah. 71 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:28,560 Thanksgiving dinner is not cheap. 72 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:31,720 And neither is Thanksgiving praise. 73 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:34,360 When we look at the whole concept of Thanksgiving 74 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:36,160 and what it represents, what it means, 75 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:38,600 it is rooted in the word of God. 76 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:42,080 And I want to, for a few moments, take us back 77 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:44,800 to where I believe Thanksgiving finds its root. 78 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:47,960 In scripture, Thanksgiving is more than a holiday, 79 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:51,680 more than a feeling, but it is an act of worship. 80 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:55,360 It is a sacrifice of the heart. 81 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:58,680 And as we consider the Psalm, 82 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:02,760 which I read from this afternoon, Psalms 116, 83 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:06,120 as this Psalm describes, true Thanksgiving 84 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:10,200 often emerges not from a place of abundance, 85 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:14,280 but from a place of adversity, true Thanksgiving. 86 00:05:14,280 --> 00:05:17,400 I want to dispel the notion in our minds today 87 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:20,520 that Thanksgiving is what we render 88 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:23,320 when things are going well. 89 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:26,440 It is perhaps what some would consider 90 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:30,240 like a bonus even, something that we do 91 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:34,400 with the leftovers of a good year, 92 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:38,920 something that we do when things are going well, 93 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:43,720 and when it's a time of plenty good times 94 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:47,840 and wonderful times, and those times are the times 95 00:05:47,840 --> 00:05:51,440 that people think are the times of Thanksgiving. 96 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:53,600 But when we look at the scripture, 97 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:56,800 we will find that Thanksgiving is born 98 00:05:56,800 --> 00:05:58,600 in many other places. 99 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:02,200 In Psalm 116, this Psalm is part of 100 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:05,560 what is called the halal Psalms, 101 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:10,560 which comprise Psalms chapter 113 through 118. 102 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:14,280 And these Psalms were special because they were sung 103 00:06:14,280 --> 00:06:17,200 during Jewish feasts, such as Passover. 104 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:19,880 These were the Psalms that the Jewish, 105 00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:22,800 devout Jews would sing during festivities, 106 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:26,680 during holidays, and so they were important to them. 107 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:28,840 They were momentous for them. 108 00:06:28,840 --> 00:06:32,200 They were significant to their celebration, 109 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:33,440 their festivities. 110 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:38,440 And while the author of this particular Psalm is unknown, 111 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:42,840 it strikes a familiar chord with some of the Psalms 112 00:06:42,840 --> 00:06:47,600 pinned by King David with the imagery and its tone. 113 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:52,200 So David is not typically attributed to this Psalm, 114 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:56,360 but as you begin to read it, it strikes a familiar tone. 115 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:58,640 It has some of the same languages, 116 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:02,200 some of the same terminology and imagery 117 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:06,120 often found in the Psalms of David. 118 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:09,640 And the Psalmist here begins to probe, 119 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:12,040 whether it's David or not, he begins to probe 120 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:15,120 into the depths of his personal trauma. 121 00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:18,240 As you begin to read it, it does not announce itself 122 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:20,800 as being a Thanksgiving Psalm. 123 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:23,840 In fact, as I was meditating and praying 124 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:27,600 and looking over this Psalm, I gotta be honest with you, 125 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:30,760 there was a bit of tension in my heart. 126 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:35,360 I thought, well, this is not your typical Thanksgiving Psalm. 127 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:37,800 This is not your typical Thanksgiving message. 128 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:41,920 And so there was a bit of resistance in my flesh at first. 129 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:46,720 I thought, where are you taking me on this chapter, Lord? 130 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:48,480 Where exactly are we going with this? 131 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:50,960 Because as you begin to read it, 132 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:53,800 it starts in a rather dark place. 133 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:57,080 It starts in a rather contrary place 134 00:07:57,080 --> 00:07:59,560 to what we think of Thanksgiving, 135 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:03,240 when we think of a time of celebration 136 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:05,280 or a time of festivities. 137 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:08,200 But this is exactly where the Psalmist begins. 138 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:11,560 He begins in the depths of his personal trauma, 139 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:16,560 a place that he describes as the pains of Sheol, 140 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:18,720 the pains of Sheol. 141 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:21,400 Now, I need to break this down for you a little bit 142 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:26,240 so you can understand where the Psalmist is coming from. 143 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:30,600 In the original Hebrew, the word for pain 144 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:35,600 means an oppressive state of physical, mental, social, 145 00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:40,760 or economic distress or affliction. 146 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:45,200 And this word, pain, is so mind-numbing, so painful 147 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:50,200 that it only appears in two other places in Scripture. 148 00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:55,120 It's such a profound, such a problematic word, 149 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:59,440 such a painful word, that it's only mentioned three times, 150 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:02,520 including this one, in all of the Bible. 151 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:05,880 And as you begin to understand what this represents 152 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:09,640 in the Psalmist's life, we can get a picture as to why. 153 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:14,240 We get an idea as to why this word is used so sparingly 154 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:18,680 because it really does reflect some of the darkest places 155 00:09:18,680 --> 00:09:20,240 that one may find themselves. 156 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:25,000 It gets worse as you look at the Psalmist's words 157 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:30,000 as he ascribes his pain to a particular place called Sheol. 158 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:35,040 He says the pains of Sheol. 159 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:38,960 And this word is also very difficult 160 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:42,600 and hard to digest. 161 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:47,600 Sheol means the grave, the pit, or the tomb. 162 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:53,160 And in Scripture, Sheol refers to the underworld 163 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:55,640 or the realm of the dead. 164 00:09:55,640 --> 00:10:00,640 Sheol is sometimes translated as hell or Hades. 165 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:06,760 And this tells us about the Psalmist's state of mind. 166 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:10,960 It gives us an idea of just how dark and how lonely 167 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:14,880 and how painful the place that he is describing 168 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:19,880 in this Psalm, he describes the pain of Sheol 169 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:23,680 or the oppressive state of this grave, 170 00:10:23,680 --> 00:10:25,760 this tomb that he is in. 171 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:30,280 And he is in such a bad place, such a forsaken place 172 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:34,320 that he is convinced that his hour of death has come. 173 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:37,760 He is so engulfed in the waves of adversity, 174 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:40,800 so engulfed in the grip of his affliction 175 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:43,800 and the deafening sound of God's silence. 176 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:47,600 He is so wrapped up in his place of despair 177 00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:51,320 and of distress that he doesn't see a way out. 178 00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:53,600 He doesn't see the light of day. 179 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:58,160 He cannot even begin to imagine what life could look like 180 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:00,720 outside of this trial that he is in. 181 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:04,280 Now, of course, he doesn't go into the specific details 182 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:08,240 of what it was, but he is describing to us a terrible place, 183 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:10,160 a place that nobody here today 184 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:12,080 would wanna find themselves in. 185 00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:15,880 He describing, if I can put it this way respectfully, 186 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:20,200 his own personal hell, his own personal Hades, 187 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:24,200 his own personal underworld, like the gravest self 188 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:28,520 is dragging him into this pit of an experience, 189 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:29,680 this pit of life. 190 00:11:29,680 --> 00:11:33,080 And so this is where, of all places, 191 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:35,800 this Psalm of thanksgiving begins. 192 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:39,520 And it is in that terrible hell of Sheol 193 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:43,480 that the psalmist begins to layer upon layer 194 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:46,280 reveal to us some important keys, 195 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:50,440 some truths about what real thanksgiving is all about. 196 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:52,360 And this afternoon, I'm only gonna point out 197 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:53,320 just two of them. 198 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:55,800 There's probably many more you can find 199 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:59,080 when you search and dissect these verses, 200 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:01,920 but just two really stuck out to me. 201 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:04,480 And the first is this, is that thanksgiving, 202 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:06,760 someone say thanksgiving. 203 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:09,240 Come on, let's say that again, thanksgiving. 204 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:13,240 Thanksgiving is born in pain. 205 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:16,360 If this Psalm had been written by David, 206 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:19,200 which some scholars believe it was, 207 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:23,240 and as I read through it, I lean that direction as well. 208 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:27,480 I think I might be in that same school of thought 209 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:29,360 that this was written by David. 210 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:31,120 And had it been written by David, 211 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:33,960 he might have been reflecting on some of his own 212 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:37,200 personal Sheols in his life. 213 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:41,880 One might have been the time where he fled from King Saul, 214 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:46,720 the man who initially took him in like a son, 215 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:49,640 but quickly turned against him 216 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:52,800 and made him public enemy number one 217 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:56,320 and caused David to flee for his life. 218 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:59,040 He may have been reflecting on that very dark moment 219 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:02,120 where everything was going good and overnight, 220 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:06,760 he found himself running from the spear of a man 221 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:11,440 he thought might be like a father figure in his life. 222 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:15,800 And that would, I think, constitute as a personal Sheol. 223 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:18,280 And when life doesn't go the way you think 224 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:21,000 it's supposed to go and the people that you thought 225 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:23,760 you can count on, hallelujah somebody, 226 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:27,000 you can't count on them or the systems or the structures 227 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:29,640 you thought you can lean upon, the things that you thought 228 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:33,040 were trustworthy, all of a sudden turn against you. 229 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:37,000 You could find yourself in a personal Sheol, 230 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:39,320 a pain of Hades. 231 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:41,920 You could find yourself there when the thing 232 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:45,680 that you thought would be there or the people, 233 00:13:45,680 --> 00:13:47,800 the friend you thought would always be your friend 234 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:50,720 or the person you thought would always love you 235 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:52,520 all of a sudden turns their back. 236 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:55,320 When you find yourself in a place of betrayal, 237 00:13:55,320 --> 00:13:58,640 find yourself someone perhaps stabbing you in the back 238 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:01,600 or doing you dirty, doing you wrong. 239 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:04,640 And you find out that they weren't really your friend 240 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:07,120 or things aren't always as they appear. 241 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:09,640 You might be in a place like that. 242 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:12,560 If it were written by David, if it wasn't that part 243 00:14:12,560 --> 00:14:14,800 of his life, it could have also been 244 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:18,440 the fate of his child with Bathsheba. 245 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:22,240 The Bible says that his child was born very sick 246 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:25,080 and that he prayed and that he fasted 247 00:14:25,080 --> 00:14:30,080 and he wept for his child that God would spare this baby, 248 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:33,240 but he ultimately perished. 249 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:37,680 And this was a deep and a dark place for David 250 00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:42,680 that this would constitute as a Sheol in his life. 251 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:45,760 It would definitely qualify as a deep 252 00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:50,680 and painful dark place, a place that is overwhelmed 253 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:54,560 and engulfed with affliction and with problems 254 00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:57,480 and with anguish and distress. 255 00:14:57,480 --> 00:14:59,880 It could have definitely been that because he prayed. 256 00:14:59,880 --> 00:15:02,680 And it could be the same with us when God doesn't answer 257 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:05,960 the prayer that you want him to answer, amen. 258 00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:08,600 When God doesn't do the thing that you want here, 259 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:10,720 you could find yourself in a place like that. 260 00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:13,640 Somebody may find themselves in a place like that today, 261 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:16,480 maybe not quite as dark, maybe not quite as deep 262 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:19,720 as David found himself, but you might find yourself 263 00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:24,720 a bit disconnected or discouraged, 264 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:28,360 just disoriented and disillusioned by the fact 265 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:31,520 that God's not doing what you asked him to do 266 00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:35,280 or he's not doing it in the way that you want him to do it. 267 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:38,720 And it's not happening according to your thoughts 268 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:39,840 and your plans. 269 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:41,880 And you might find yourself dealing 270 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:44,280 with that frustration today. 271 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:46,840 You might say, well, you know what, Pastor Jacob? 272 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:48,640 Yeah, I know it's Thanksgiving 273 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:50,840 and everyone's gonna carve some turkey, 274 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:53,440 but I'm really having to search for reason 275 00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:56,040 to be thankful this year because I've got some things 276 00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:58,160 that didn't quite go my way this year. 277 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:00,080 It just wasn't my year. 278 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:02,560 I didn't get the promotion I thought I was gonna get. 279 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:05,120 I didn't get that job, I didn't get that car. 280 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:08,200 I thought I would be further along in the process 281 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:12,160 that I am again, and here we go, hit the reset button again. 282 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:14,880 Here comes another new year and it doesn't quite feel 283 00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:16,960 because God didn't do what I can. 284 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:18,880 Can we be real here today, amen? 285 00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:21,560 God didn't really do what I thought he was going to do. 286 00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:23,720 You might find yourself in a place like that. 287 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:27,560 Another possible paying of Sheol, 288 00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:29,520 if in fact David did write this song, 289 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:32,160 would have been the painful rebellion 290 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:35,400 and death of his beloved son, Absalom, 291 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:39,720 which would have tore David's heart in two. 292 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:44,200 It tore his heart in two because the apple of his eye, 293 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:47,400 his beloved Absalom, this son of his 294 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:50,000 with so much potential, so much promise, 295 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:52,800 a son that he, if all things would have worked out, 296 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:56,440 perhaps would have given him the kingdom after him, 297 00:16:56,440 --> 00:16:57,920 but he rebelled against him 298 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:01,680 and it couldn't pass all the gruesome details. 299 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:05,280 I can tell you that it ended up in Absalom being killed 300 00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:10,120 and for David it was a, it was bittersweet in many ways 301 00:17:10,120 --> 00:17:14,360 because in a political sense it was a victory, 302 00:17:14,360 --> 00:17:17,160 but in a personal sense it was a failure 303 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:20,880 because in a political and a military sense, 304 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:24,200 he overcame his son's rebellion against him, 305 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:28,160 but in a personal sense he lost his son over it. 306 00:17:29,360 --> 00:17:31,520 How can you even celebrate that? 307 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:33,960 And someone, you might find yourself in a Sheol like that. 308 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:37,160 You know, on the one hand, I've got reasons to be thankful. 309 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:40,200 I've got, because yeah, we won on this end, 310 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:43,520 but on the flip end, maybe you've still got 311 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:46,120 some pain in your body and maybe you, you know, 312 00:17:46,120 --> 00:17:49,280 you kind of go to bed at night and it's not all that bad, 313 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:51,520 but man, if it just wasn't for this one thing 314 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:53,640 that just won't go away, and I don't know 315 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:55,280 if there's somebody here today that feels like that, 316 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:57,600 like man, if I could just, if this is one thing 317 00:17:57,600 --> 00:17:59,160 just got resolved in my life, 318 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:01,160 it would just be so much better. 319 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:03,640 Y'all kind of quiet on me out there. 320 00:18:03,640 --> 00:18:06,080 That's all right, hallelujah. 321 00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:10,520 But that's what it was like for David when he lost to Absalom 322 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:13,400 and that would have been a pang of Sheol 323 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:16,960 while everyone else was celebrating, hey, we won, we won. 324 00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:20,120 We overcame the revolt and the opposition. 325 00:18:20,120 --> 00:18:23,520 He was kind of like at the celebration party, 326 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:25,280 the after party where everyone's, you know, 327 00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:27,840 shooting confetti and dropping confetti, 328 00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:29,080 and hey, we won the war. 329 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:33,360 He's just like, yeah, guys, and he goes back to his room 330 00:18:33,360 --> 00:18:37,960 and he realizes that while we may have won this, 331 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:41,080 I've lost something that is very important to me, 332 00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:43,880 and maybe you've lost some things this year. 333 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:48,080 Maybe this year has been a time of addition 334 00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:50,440 and also a time of subtraction, 335 00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:53,200 and that's got you in this place where you're just not sure 336 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:55,880 how much thanksgiving can I give, 337 00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:58,000 but I want you to understand something today 338 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:01,080 that no matter what it was, this psalmist, 339 00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:04,480 he found the secret and it all started in prayer. 340 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:06,360 Someone say prayer. 341 00:19:06,360 --> 00:19:07,800 It all started in prayer. 342 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:10,360 He declares, I love the Lord, he writes. 343 00:19:10,360 --> 00:19:13,920 I love the Lord despite the pangs of Sheol, 344 00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:17,160 despite the personal hell that I've been going through, 345 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:20,040 despite everything that I've been through this year, 346 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:24,400 and yeah, I'm still alive, but I'm not quite, you know, 347 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:28,080 what I once was or it's not quite the way I wanted it to be, 348 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:32,320 but he said, I love the Lord because he heard my voice 349 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:36,880 and my supplications because he inclined his ear to me. 350 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:39,760 I wanna tell you today that the beginning of thanksgiving 351 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:44,000 is not the abundance of blessings, but the depth of pain. 352 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:46,720 Real thanksgiving is not born. 353 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:49,280 It's not born in those times of abundance, 354 00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:50,880 but those times of adversity. 355 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:54,040 Real thanksgiving is born in the depths of Sheol 356 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:56,400 with the revelation that despite everything 357 00:19:56,400 --> 00:19:57,880 that may be coming against you, 358 00:19:57,880 --> 00:19:59,720 despite everything you might be facing, 359 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:03,600 despite the ups and the downs, that God is still God 360 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:06,680 and God has not left you nor forsaken you. 361 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:08,640 I've come to tell somebody today 362 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:11,040 that no matter what kind of day you're having, 363 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:13,120 no matter what kind of year you had, 364 00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:16,960 no matter what kind of moment or season you've had, 365 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:20,720 financially, emotionally, spiritually, physically, 366 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:23,280 you can still be thankful today 367 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:27,840 because at the end of the day, God heard your voice 368 00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:32,840 at the end of the day, God's ears were open to your cry 369 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:34,680 and to your prayer. 370 00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:38,360 Someone here might be in the pains of Sheol, 371 00:20:38,360 --> 00:20:42,360 in the grip of fear, in the pain of a family issue, 372 00:20:42,360 --> 00:20:45,520 in a trial of sickness or the weight of sin, 373 00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:48,400 but God sent me here today to tell you 374 00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:53,400 that he heard your voice and he hears you when you cry. 375 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:56,040 Somebody should give God some glory 376 00:20:56,040 --> 00:20:58,320 and some praise today for that. 377 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:03,880 I don't know about you, but I'm thankful 378 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:05,720 that he still hears me when I call. 379 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:09,880 He may not give you what you want, brother, 380 00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:13,680 but he's always on the other line when you call on him. 381 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:18,080 Life may not always go according to plan, 382 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:23,800 but when you understand that God has control of all things 383 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:25,760 and he holds the world in his hands 384 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:30,640 and your life included, and that when you call on him, 385 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:33,920 he is listening, that right there is enough 386 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:36,000 to be thankful, hallelujah. 387 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:40,280 And the psalmist said, he has heard my supplications. 388 00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:44,280 My supplications, what are supplications? 389 00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:48,760 Supplications are, it is to ask or plead for something 390 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:52,840 earnestly over an extended period of time. 391 00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:56,360 A supplication is that prayer that you pray, 392 00:21:56,360 --> 00:21:59,120 that thing that you have been asking of God, 393 00:21:59,120 --> 00:22:03,160 even begging or bugging of God to do on your behalf. 394 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:06,560 It is that heart prayer, it is that life prayer. 395 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:09,720 It is that breath prayer that you pray 396 00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:11,520 with everything you have, 397 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:15,240 earnestly asking God fervently to do it. 398 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:20,160 And it is that type of heart cry coming from the depths 399 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:23,240 of your soul that you so desperately need God, 400 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:26,840 that if God doesn't do it, it won't get done. 401 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:29,840 A supplication is the type of prayer 402 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:32,640 that you pray over and over, 403 00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:35,320 and you're waiting for God to answer, 404 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:37,760 and yet maybe he has not answered, 405 00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:42,760 but you need to know that God hears your supplications, 406 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:46,800 that your prayers are not falling on deaf ears today. 407 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:49,920 Can I just tell somebody, can I encourage you today 408 00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:52,880 and tell you that whatever you've been supplicating, 409 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:54,840 whatever you've been praying, 410 00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:58,280 even if God has not answered you yet, 411 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:00,840 keep praying, hallelujah. 412 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:03,280 I said, keep praying. 413 00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:05,920 And after you're done praying, my friend, 414 00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:08,720 pray some more, hallelujah. 415 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:12,760 And after you've prayed more, pray again. 416 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:14,560 Keep praying, you know why? 417 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:18,560 Because God is listening and you never know, 418 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:20,320 oh my God, I wanna preach now. 419 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:23,880 You never know the day or the hour, 420 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:27,920 the moment where God will answer that prayer. 421 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:32,320 It's your job to pray and it's his job to answer. 422 00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:37,200 And whenever he answers, it'll be according to his purpose, 423 00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:42,200 according to his plan, but don't give up on your prayer. 424 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:45,560 Don't give up because God is listening. 425 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:47,400 Amen. 426 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:50,120 God is listening and the psalmist says, 427 00:23:50,120 --> 00:23:54,880 hey, because he's listening, because he's there, 428 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:58,120 because he's right there, he's listening, 429 00:23:58,120 --> 00:24:03,120 he's on the other line, I've got a reason to be thankful. 430 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:05,960 The second key truth that we glean from this psalmist 431 00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:10,960 is that thanksgiving is born not only in pain, 432 00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:15,800 but is perfected in sacrifice. 433 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:21,920 Thanksgiving is perfected in sacrifice. 434 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:26,920 Once the psalmist is delivered from the bounds 435 00:24:28,120 --> 00:24:33,000 that held him down, once he is delivered from this sheol, 436 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:37,240 from this place of pain, this place of frustration, 437 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:41,360 this place of disappointment, he comes to this realization 438 00:24:41,360 --> 00:24:44,760 about thanksgiving, he begins to understand 439 00:24:44,760 --> 00:24:48,800 what true thanksgiving is, that it's not just a feeling, 440 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:52,320 but it is indeed an act of worship. 441 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:56,120 He said in verse 17, I will offer to you 442 00:24:56,120 --> 00:25:01,120 the sacrifice of thanksgiving and will call upon 443 00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:04,160 the name of the Lord. 444 00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:08,040 Why does the psalmist call it a sacrifice? 445 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:11,400 Because it cost him something. 446 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:17,520 It's not a sacrifice until it has cost you something, 447 00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:22,960 something of value, something of worth, 448 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:27,960 not just a lamb on the altar, not just a goat on the altar, 449 00:25:28,360 --> 00:25:32,280 not just some unleavened bread sprinkled with oil 450 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:35,520 for a physical offering, which is how they would offer 451 00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:37,360 thanksgiving in the Old Testament, 452 00:25:37,360 --> 00:25:40,880 but it cost him something personally. 453 00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:44,800 It cost him something emotionally, something spiritually. 454 00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:49,000 The reason why this thanksgiving was different perhaps 455 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:52,680 from all the other thanksgivings that this psalmist 456 00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:55,440 had experienced in his life, had offered unto God, 457 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:58,560 what made this thanksgiving different from all the rest 458 00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:03,560 is that this thanksgiving wasn't just a giving 459 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:06,520 of an offering, but a giving of himself. 460 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:08,160 This thanksgiving was different 461 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:10,640 because he had paid a price. 462 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:16,720 He had gone through some things and he had lived to tell it. 463 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:21,400 He had gone through some things and made it on the other side. 464 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:23,920 He had suffered and he had endured 465 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:28,920 and he'd learned the value of thanksgiving. 466 00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:33,400 He learned the difference between giving, 467 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:38,920 giving an offering and becoming an offering. 468 00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:43,160 He learned the difference and he had gone through 469 00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:46,920 a period of sheol. 470 00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:49,800 He had gone through his own personal trauma, 471 00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:51,880 his own personal disappointment, 472 00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:55,200 his own personal despair and anguish. 473 00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:58,320 And he came through the other side and he said, 474 00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:00,840 when I offer this kind of thanksgiving, 475 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:04,000 you know, when you go through a life altering 476 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:07,600 or a near death experience, you wake up each day 477 00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:11,080 with a different appreciation for your life. 478 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:15,320 When you've lost your job and you're running out of money, 479 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:17,760 you have a different appreciation for the food 480 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:20,200 that's on your table, amen, somebody. 481 00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:22,960 When you go through hard times, see anybody can praise them 482 00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:25,040 on the mountaintop, hallelujah. 483 00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:28,040 But it takes faith to praise them in the valley. 484 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:30,400 I said it takes faith to praise them in the valley. 485 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:32,960 Anybody can be thankful when you have everything 486 00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:35,320 that you wanna have, but when you've gone through 487 00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:38,480 some personal sheols and you've gone through some times 488 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:41,040 of distress and affliction and you've gone through 489 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:43,920 some seasons of difficulty and everything 490 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:46,840 hasn't added up the way and you're still able 491 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:49,160 to offer up God a praise. 492 00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:52,440 That my friend is what a sacrifice of praise 493 00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:55,280 is all about, the fruit of your lips. 494 00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:58,680 If you can praise God when you've got money in the bank 495 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:00,880 and you got food on the table and you've got 496 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:04,360 a clean bill of health, oh wonderful, that's great. 497 00:28:04,360 --> 00:28:07,240 But when you can praise him when not everything 498 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:10,200 in your life is going right, when you can praise him 499 00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:12,920 and you got pain in your body, you can praise him 500 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:15,560 and you're not sure where your next rent check 501 00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:18,200 is gonna come from, when you can praise him 502 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:20,600 and you're not sure how everything is gonna work out 503 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:23,200 in your family, when you can praise him 504 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:25,400 and know that not everything in your life 505 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:28,400 is kosher and clear, but thanks be to God 506 00:28:28,400 --> 00:28:30,760 that I still got breath in my lungs. 507 00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:34,280 Thanks be to God that I can still lift up my hands. 508 00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:35,880 Oh, I got a witness here today. 509 00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:39,280 Thanks be to God, oh hallelujah, 510 00:28:39,280 --> 00:28:41,000 that I can still bless his name. 511 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:44,560 That's why the Bible says let everything that has breath 512 00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:48,400 praise the Lord, because even when that's all 513 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:51,840 that you may have left is my breath and my body, 514 00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:54,720 you've got reason enough to give God glory. 515 00:28:54,720 --> 00:28:56,440 Why don't you clap your hands 516 00:28:56,440 --> 00:29:00,360 and let's just be thankful to God today. 517 00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:08,280 The psalmist had the kind of thanksgiving that comes 518 00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:13,280 when you realize that if it had not been for the Lord 519 00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:20,880 who was on your side, you don't know where you would be. 520 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:23,840 He has the kind of thanksgiving 521 00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:27,680 that you may have to have this year. 522 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:31,680 When you sit down hopefully with your family, 523 00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:34,680 your loved ones or your friends and you have a moment, 524 00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:38,720 whether it's a home cooked meal or you go somewhere 525 00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:41,280 or someone cooks for you, whatever it is you do, 526 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:44,280 but I pray that you'll take a moment to be thankful. 527 00:29:45,160 --> 00:29:47,280 But it may be one of those types of thanksgivings 528 00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:48,480 where you say, you know, 529 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:54,560 I may not have everything I want, 530 00:29:54,560 --> 00:30:02,160 but I have all that I need. 531 00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:07,160 I might be suffering a little bit in my body, 532 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:10,160 but I'm not dead. 533 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:18,160 I may not have a house on a hill, 534 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:23,160 but I got a roof over my head. 535 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:28,160 Jesus, hallelujah. 536 00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:33,160 Oh, I may not be everybody's friend. 537 00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:35,160 I may have some enemies, 538 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:38,560 but I got at least one friend. 539 00:30:38,560 --> 00:30:41,560 I got at least a few people in my life who love me. 540 00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:46,560 I may still have some prayers that need to be answered, 541 00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:49,560 still waiting on God to do some things, 542 00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:55,560 but in the meantime, God's brought me this far 543 00:30:56,560 --> 00:31:01,560 and the same God who brought me to this point. 544 00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:03,560 Oh, hallelujah. 545 00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:05,560 Someone say that I'm a good friend. 546 00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:06,560 I'm a good friend. 547 00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:07,560 I'm a good friend. 548 00:31:07,560 --> 00:31:11,560 I'm a good friend of God at this point. 549 00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:12,560 Oh, hallelujah. 550 00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:15,560 Someone say the same God. 551 00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:17,560 The same God. 552 00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:18,560 Would you stand with me today? 553 00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:19,560 Hallelujah. 554 00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:20,560 Would you stand with me? 555 00:31:20,560 --> 00:31:30,560 The same God who got me here will get me there. 556 00:31:30,560 --> 00:31:35,560 All in all, true thanksgiving and worship are perfected 557 00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:40,560 in the offering of our whole lives unto God. 558 00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:42,560 Paul tells us in Romans 12.1, 559 00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:47,560 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, 560 00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:53,560 that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, 561 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:58,560 wholly acceptable to God, 562 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:06,560 which is your reasonable service. 563 00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:07,560 Another translation says, 564 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:19,560 which is your spiritual worship or your act of worship? 565 00:32:19,560 --> 00:32:26,560 God doesn't just want us to just offer him a thanksgiving. 566 00:32:26,560 --> 00:32:28,560 He wants us to offer ourselves, 567 00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:35,560 and he wants the sacrifice of praise. 568 00:32:35,560 --> 00:32:41,560 He wants for you and I today to say, God, I give you everything. 569 00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:44,560 I withhold nothing, Lord. 570 00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:48,560 I give you it all. 571 00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:51,560 I render it unto you, Jesus, 572 00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:56,560 because of all that you've done for me, 573 00:32:56,560 --> 00:33:01,560 all that you have done for me, my life God, 574 00:33:01,560 --> 00:33:07,560 because you've given me all I can give you all, 575 00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:10,560 and I will give you all today. 576 00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:12,560 I will give you all today. 577 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:16,560 How many of you want to give him everything today? 578 00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:21,560 The sacrifice of thanksgiving is that we were once bound. 579 00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:24,560 Would you for a moment think about the places 580 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:27,560 where God has delivered you from? 581 00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:31,560 Would you think about the shiols, 582 00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:34,560 those places of torment, those places of pain, 583 00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:39,560 those places that you perhaps never thought that you would get out of? 584 00:33:39,560 --> 00:33:42,560 Depression you never thought you would get out. 585 00:33:42,560 --> 00:33:45,560 Fears you never thought you would shake. 586 00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:48,560 Sickness you never thought you would get over. 587 00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:54,560 Pain and heartache you never thought you would get over. 588 00:33:54,560 --> 00:34:00,560 But yet here you are today by the grace of God. 589 00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:02,560 Can you think of those places? 590 00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:05,560 Can you think of those, hallelujah, 591 00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:09,560 those pits that he brought you out of? 592 00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:12,560 Hallelujah. 593 00:34:12,560 --> 00:34:15,560 Those low places that he found you. 594 00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:17,560 Where did God find you? 595 00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:21,560 And when you discover that it was the hand of God 596 00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:25,560 and his hand alone that lifted you up out of that place, 597 00:34:25,560 --> 00:34:27,560 that is where thanksgiving was. 598 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:29,560 And you might be somewhere there right now. 599 00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:31,560 Someone here today might feel like, 600 00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:34,560 you know, I feel like I'm in a place of shio a little bit. 601 00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:37,560 Well, you don't got to wait until everything gets better 602 00:34:37,560 --> 00:34:39,560 to give God thanksgiving. 603 00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:41,560 You don't got to wait until every prayer is answered. 604 00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:43,560 Right there where you are, 605 00:34:43,560 --> 00:34:47,560 you can give God the glory that is due his shift. 606 00:34:47,560 --> 00:34:50,560 I wonder if somebody today can begin to worship him. 607 00:34:50,560 --> 00:34:53,560 I wonder if someone can help me appear on the platform 608 00:34:53,560 --> 00:34:55,560 as we begin to worship the Lord. 609 00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:58,560 I wonder if somebody can give God thanksgiving 610 00:34:58,560 --> 00:35:00,560 that he is worthy of. 611 00:35:00,560 --> 00:35:03,560 Oh, I will bless the Lord at all times. 612 00:35:03,560 --> 00:35:05,560 Oh, hallelujah. 613 00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:09,560 And his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 614 00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:11,560 Hallelujah. Come on right there. 615 00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:13,560 Will someone begin to lift up your hands? 616 00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:16,560 Will somebody begin to open up your mouth 617 00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:19,560 and begin to offer him up the sacrifice of praise, 618 00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:21,560 the fruit of your lip? 619 00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:24,560 Somebody today will join with me 620 00:35:24,560 --> 00:35:27,560 in the chorus of all the saints 621 00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:29,560 and begin to thank the Lord 622 00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:31,560 for what he has done in your life. 623 00:35:31,560 --> 00:35:33,560 Thank you, Lord. 624 00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:35,560 Thank you, Jesus. 625 00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:37,560 Thank you, thank you. 626 00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:39,560 Let's be thankful today. 627 00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:41,560 If this altar is open, 628 00:35:41,560 --> 00:35:43,560 if there's somebody that wants to come and render 629 00:35:43,560 --> 00:35:46,560 and offer up that thanksgiving praise unto God, 630 00:35:46,560 --> 00:35:49,560 I invite you to this altar today if you would like to come 631 00:35:49,560 --> 00:35:51,560 and you would like to lift up your hands, 632 00:35:51,560 --> 00:35:55,560 you would like to offer up that thanksgiving praise today. 633 00:35:55,560 --> 00:36:08,560 Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, God.