The Baptist Bible Hour now comes to you under the direction of Elder Lasser Bradley Jr. Before that. Does that seem? My great Redeemer's praise, the glories of my god and king, the triumphs of his race. This little Sarah Bradley Jr., inviting you to stay tuned for another message of God's sovereign grace.
Praise Him, praise Him, Jesus, our blessed Redeemer. Sing O earth His wonderful love proclaim. Hail Him, hail Him, by his archangels in glory, strength and honor, give to His holy name. Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard His children. In His arms He carries them all day long.
Praise Him, praise Him, tell him gentlemen greatness. Praise Him, praise Him, memory and joyful song. Praise Him, praise Him, Jesus, our blessed Redeemer. For our sins He suffered and bled and died. He our hope of eternal salvation.
Jesus was crucified.
Sound his praises, Jesus who bore our sorrows, loved, loved him, wonderful, deep, and strong. Praise Him, praise Him, tell His excellent greatness. Praise Him, praise Him, every joyful song. Praise Him, praise Him, Jesus, our blessed Redeemer. Heavenly mortals, love with us as ring.
Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever and ever. Crown Him, crown Him, prophet and priest and King. Christ is coming over the world victorious. Power and glory unto the Lord belong. Praise Him, praise Him.
Praise Him tell of His excellent greatness. Praise Him, praise Him every joyful song. It's a great source of encouragement to receive letters from our listeners that tell us about how they're being blessed by the messages that come from God's Word. If you've never taken time to write, I hope you'll do that this week. And those of you who are regular in your writing and support of the program, we appreciate hearing from you.
Our mailing address is the Baptist Bible Hour, Box 17037, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45217. Children all Heavenly Father, safely in his bosom, gather nestling bird or star in heaven, such a refuge eer was given. Neither life nor death shall ever from the Lord His children sever under them his grace he showed, and their sorrows all he know. Though he gave a thor he taken not his children there forsaken is the lover of soul. I love this time of year.
We've had a beautiful autumn season. Bright. Sunshiny days, blue skies, Gentle breezes. But I particularly look forward to it. because of the Thanksgiving season.
Dodge people. should be thankful, of course. every day of their life. I trust that we all give thanks at mealtime. But certainly we should give thanks even when we get up in the morning.
Thanking the Lord for another night's rest and a due day. Thank him. Throughout the day for the many benefits that we receive. from his gracious hand. And I think it's good.
that our country has a day designated Thanksgiving Day.
Now some people may say, I'm thankful. But they say it in a generic sense. I'm thankful, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they are giving thanks to the one true and living God. We are to thank him. And to praise him.
And I hope that. Thanksgiving Day. It will be a special day for you. For many, it is a time for families to get together and enjoy a special meal. But above all, we want to truly Give thanks to God.
for his abundant blessings. My subject is the voice of Thanksgiving. The text, Psalm Twenty-six. Verses six and seven. I will wash mine hands in innocency.
So I will come past thine altar, O Lord. That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving. and tell of all thy wondrous works. that I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving. And that publishing is going to be to tell of the wondrous works of God.
Three things we want to think about as we look at this. First of all, simply to be thankful. Secondly, to pray. Thankfully. And thirdly, to speak.
With the voice. of Thanksgiving. The importance of being thankful It's saying throughout both the Old and New Testaments. After the building of the wall in the days of Nehemiah, It says in Nehemiah 11, 17, Asaph was the principal to begin the thanksgiving prayer. They had built the wall in record time.
They had faced opposition from those who sought to interfere with their work and to greatly discourage them. But now they want to give thanks to God. for the building. of that wall, so that the city might again be inhabited. Psalm 100.
Verse 4. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto him and bless his name. Psalmist speaks of entering into the courts of God. We come here to his church today.
and certainly should enter it with Thanksgiving. Coming here to praise God. You've done that. in the hymns that you have sung. Hopefully we do that.
As we come to Him in prayer. We praise him and we acknowledge the truth of his word. Seek to make application of it. to our life. Psalm 105, verse 1 says, O give thanks unto the Lord.
call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. And so many of these references to Thanksgiving There is also connected this thought. that we should be telling others about the greatness of our God. talking about His mighty works from days past. Acknowledging His providence.
The unfolding of his wonderful blessings in our lives today. Often we're intimidated. We hesitate. to talk to others about the greatness of our God. for fear that They're going to be offended and they're not going to accept us.
But when we think about how great our God is. What wonders he has performed. What blessings he has showered upon us. How can we hold back? That faithful testimony.
The talk. of his goodness. Make known his deeds among the people. And then coming to the New Testament. The book of Colossians.
Is full of references. to giving thanks. Chapter 1, verse 3. We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you. Paul loved the people in these churches to whom these epistles were written.
And so he says, I am praying always for you, and I'm giving thanks to God the Father. I'm thankful for you, and I thank God for you. Then verse 12, Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Chapter 2. Verse 7.
rooted and built up in him, and 'stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Not just giving thanks, but abounding in thanksgiving. This is such a basic truth. It's easy for us to pass over it as though, well, this is something I know. I know I ought to be thankful.
I know I ought to be more thankful than I have been. But The scripture puts such tremendous emphasis on it. We have to look at it as a significant major Bible teaching. Obviously, just going through a few verses from the Old Testament and a few from the New, we're not beginning to scratch the surface about how many references there are to it throughout the Word of God. But certainly as the Apostle writes here, We are to be abounding with thanksgiving.
That means we're going to frequently be going to the Lord expressing our gratitude. and we're going to be ready to express it to others. about how thankful we are. for the goodness and mercy of God. Then Colossians continuing in chapter 3.
Verses 15 to 17. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts. to the which also ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful.
Sometimes people say, well, the Bible is so difficult to understand. That text is not difficult. That's very concise. Very basic. You can understand that.
Be ye 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. The original word in the Greek language that is here translated grace. also carries with it the very thought of thanksgiving.
You are the same. with thanksgiving in your hearts, with grace in your hearts. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. And whatever you do. in all things.
Whether you're Going to work. Weather year. going to school. Whether you're interacting with friends and neighbors, whether you're eating a meal. Whatever you do, in all things, do all to the glory of God, giving thanks.
to God the Father. And then chapter 4, verse 2. Continue in prayer and watch in the same with Thanksgiving.
So the emphasis Throughout the scripture is very evident, and certainly here in the book of Colossians. It is a major theme. What does it mean to be thankful?
Well, for one thing. It means not to complain.
Now we covered that subject. at great length. In our message a year ago on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, But we're just going to read once more a text pertaining to the fact. that complaining is a problem. If God's people are complaining.
They're clearly violating. A specific Commandment. In His word, that we are to avoid such a spirit. First Corinthians chapter 10. Reading in the tenth verse.
He'd been talking about the experience of the children of Israel. Talking about the fact that God provided for them. They drank water out of a rock, and that rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased, and they died in the wilderness. because they were complainers.
So now he says Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
Now, all these things happened unto them for ensembles. and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. These people Enjoying miraculous blessings. abundant blessings, a great deliverance.
continued to complain. Whatever God did for them, it wasn't enough. They wanted more. They wanted an easier path. Full of complaints.
Okay. Here the inspired writer is telling us. that God was so displeased with their conduct, with their constant murmuring and complaining that he destroyed them. Only a remnant. that came out of Egyptian bondage finally entered the promised land.
And the reason was their discontent. their complaining spirit. They were not thankful. They were disobedient to God. And then he reminds us.
Let him that thinketh he standeth, if a person catch the idea, whatever the subject may be. If somebody said, well, I can tell you right now, I'm going to be guilty of being a complainer. Or, if there's some particular sin that has troubled you in the past, and now you say, well, that'll never bother me again. I know I can stand. Or there's certain things you're sure I would never go down this path.
Just remember that if you reach the place you are sure of yourself, you're confident in yourself. I know that I can stand, I can resist whatever temptation comes my way, you're treading dangerous ground. Let him that thinketh he standeth. Take heed. Less default.
So What does it mean to be thankful? means not to complain. To be thankful means to acknowledge that we are not worthy of God's blessings. Genesis chapter 32, verse 10, Jacob says, I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies and of all the truth which thou hast showed unto thy servant. Not worthy.
Soon as you get the idea that I feel like I'm entitled to some things. I'm I'm not as bad as some people. That spirit of the Pharisee creeps in. Lord, I think that I'm not as other men. I'm not unjust.
I'm not an extortioner. Fast twice of the week, give tithes of all that I possess. And you enumerate all the things you haven't done. As far as Great sins that would have offended God.
So, somehow, down deep, you get the idea. I deserve something. You know, if you have some kind of a setback or difficulty, you know, why did this happen to me? I don't think this is fair. That spirit of entitlement is prevalent in our culture today.
or people have the general attitude. I deserve something. People ought to do something for me. The government ought to do something for me. I'm entitled to it.
That's a terrible spirit. God would have us entertain the spirit of the patriarch Jacob. I am not worthy of the least of thy mercies. And if you lived... With that attitude and that spirit, you will be thankful.
Because you know that whatever blessing you have, I didn't deserve it. Or somebody might say, well, I've worked hard for what I have. And why was it you were able to work? God gave you a healthy body to be able to do the job. God gave your mind capable of reasoning as to what you had to do to finish the task before you.
God provided for you so that you had something to eat and had sufficient strength to go on the job.
So still comes back to the fact that what you have is yours because God has graciously given it to you. What are some of the things for which we should be thankful? We know that we ought to be thankful for our daily bread. And we give thanks for that at the table. We ought to be thankful when we wake up in the morning for a new day and the breath that God has given us to breathe, so we're still alive.
But let's think about some other things.
Well to be thankful that we know the Creator.
Some 19 verse 1. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. You look all around at the beauty of God's creation. The sun, the moon, the stars. The trees, the flowers.
the oceans, the mountains. All of these things testify. That God is a God of power. The great creator. Six times in the first chapter of the book of Genesis it says, and it was so.
God said, Let there be light, and there was light. He spoke, and it came to pass. And not only do you stand, I hope. in admiration of what God has done. And think about what a remarkable Astounding thing it is that God created all of this just with the word of His power.
But think of the fact that you know him. You know the Creator. Hitler. Generally people If they know somebody that has accomplished a great work, Know somebody who is prominent in politics or business or whatever. That they like to let you know.
I know that man. I know the man that designed that building. I know the painter that painted that scene. I know where. But think about your situation.
You know the Creator. He happens to be your Heavenly Father. Should you not give thanks for that? Thank you, Lord. But I know you.
the creator of all things. Spurgeon said in the expanse above us. God flies, as it were, his starry flag to show that the King is at home. Ever since I read that statement years ago, every time I look up into the sky at night and I see the stars, I think the king is at home. He's put the flag out to let us know he is there.
Turn to the book of Revelation. Reading in the fourth chapter, the 11th verse. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure. They are and were created. Thankful.
to know the Creator. Thankful for his sovereign rule. I've talked to people who would admit that God is the Creator and then suggest that at that point. He took hands off and just let it run as he set it up. I'm glad to know he's still in charge.
I'm glad to know that he's still ruling and reigning. Psalm 115, verse 3 says, But our God is in the heavens, he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Nothing is too hard for the Lord. Whatever he is determined to accomplish, he has done it and he will do it. He's never frustrated, he's never defeated, and never has to back off and say, Here's something that I would like to have done, but it just didn't work out.
I heard a preacher say on the radio not long ago. He's talking about a particular thing and says, Friends, let me tell you something. That's what God Himself cannot do. I cringed when I heard it. There is nothing.
But what God can do it, all things are possible with Him. We ought to give thanks for that.
Sometimes it looks like The world seen is in chaos. There's trouble everywhere you turn. There's violence, uprisings. But God is in control. The Lord is in his holy temple.
Let all the earth keep silence before him. And then to be thankful for his promises. Colossians chapter 1 of the 20th verse. For all the promises of God in him are yea and in him, amen. Unto the glory of God by us.
It simply says that all of the promises of God are yes, yes. They are reliable. You can count on them. How wonderful are those promises? A promise like this: I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper.
What a promise. Underneath are the everlasting arms. No matter how low you may sink. No matter how difficult the way, Still underneath. Are the everlasting arms.
of the God that you worship. What a promise when he says, casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. You can be at a place sometime where you feel nobody understands and nobody cares. But for the child of God, you're never justified to make such a declaration because he cares. And he invites you to cast your care on him.
How often we take our burdens to the Lord and then we pick them up and carry them back again. We're to leave them with him. What a promise. What he says That you're in the Father's hand, and no man can pluck you out. What a promise.
when he tells us that though there are many who would stand in opposition, to the children of God that nothing can separate us from his love. What a promise. When he tells us we need not fear, because he said, I will come to deliver you in Isaiah 35. Over and over again. We can see the marvelous promises.
that God has given us.
Sometimes promises are made. and quickly broken. But not so with God. Every promise he has ever made, he has kept. Every promise that he has made, he will continue to keep.
Thankful. for the promises of God. Thankful for the love of God. 1 John chapter 3, verse 1. What love the Father hath bestowed or lavished upon us that we should be called the sons of God.
What love is that? Loving us so much. Though by nature We were rebels. By nature, we're described as being at enmity with God. Not his friend.
not loving him, not seeking him. But it loved us nevertheless. What love that now we should be called the sons of God, a part of His family. He is our Heavenly Father. He has bestowed or lavished That love on us.
Mother God. God is greater. Far than tongue or pen can ever tell. It goes beyond the highest ar and reaches to the lowest hell. The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win His erring child directly and pardoned from his sin.
O love of God, how rich and pure, how measureless and strong, it shall forever warm. Endure the saints and angels soar. Surely. when we give consideration to the greatness of our God. the blessings of His sovereign mercy.
how he supports us and holds us up from day to day in our travels here. We have so many reasons for which to give thanks. May we respond, even in the words of our texts, to be speaking with the voice of thanksgiving.
Now, until we greet you again next time, this is Le Serre Bradley Jr. saying, May God richly bless you. The Baptist Bible Hour has come to you under the direction of Elder Lasser Bradley Jr. Address all mail to the Baptist Bible Hour, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45217. That's the Baptist Bible Hour, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45217.
Love of God, how rich and pure, how measureless and strong. It shall forevermore endure the saints and angels song. Oh, love of God.
