The Baptist Bible Hour now comes to you under the direction of Elder LeSaire Bradley, Jr. O for a thousand tongues to sing, my great Redeemer's praise! The glories of my God and King, the triumphs of His grace!
This is LeSaire Bradley, Jr. inviting you to stay tuned for another message of God's sovereign grace. We are blessed in the law of the Lord, undefiled in our walk on His way. We are blessed to keep the Testament's Lord, with our whole heart we seek Him each day. We are blessed in the law of the Lord, free from sin as we walk in His ways. Teach us how to give Thy judgments, O Lord, teach the righteous to walk, Lord, we pray. I will never of thee be ashamed, when I have that respect of Thy word. I will praise Thee with the brightness of heart, O forsake not Thy children, my Lord. The thanksgiving season is a special time of year, certainly for God's people. Every day ought to be a day of thanksgiving, but I think it's good that there is a day designated for us to stop and give thanks.
It's a time for families to get together and enjoy their company and friendship. But even as we do that, may we be careful to give attention as we ought to giving thanks to our God. When upon thy stills your Lord's hand is tossed, when you are discouraged think His law is lost. Count your many blessings, think them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. Count your blessings, think them one by one, count your blessings, see what you have done. Count your many blessings, think them one by one, count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
Are you ever burdened with the law of care? Does the cross seem heavy, you are known to bear? Count your many blessings, every doubt go far, and you will be shaking as the days go by. Count your blessings, think them one by one, count your blessings, see what God hath done. Count your blessings, think them one by one, count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
When you look at others with their hands and gold, think that Christ has promised you this wealth untold. Count your many blessings, money cannot buy, your reward in heaven are your home on high. Count your blessings, name them one by one, count your blessings, see what God hath done. Count your blessings, think them one by one, count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
So amid the conflict, whether greater or small, do not be discouraged, God is all for all. Count your many blessings, angels fill a lot, and help and comfort give you to your journey's end. Count your blessings, name them one by one, count your blessings, see what God hath done. Count your blessings, make them one by one, count your blessings, see what God hath done. We'll be continuing the message today entitled, The Voice of Thanksgiving. The text is Psalm 26 verse 7. That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving and tell of all thy wondrous works.
So first we've considered the fact that we are to be thankful, and then we will consider the fact that we are to pray thankfully, and finally to speak with the voice of thanksgiving. Thankful for the work of redemption, we were under curse, under the curse and condemnation of the law because we were violators of it. Born with a sinful nature, just moving according to what we were inclined to do, we did our own thing, we wanted our own way.
Hopefully we had parents that corrected us and restrained us, but that old rebel nature was still inside, still violating the law of God, still yielding to the desires of the flesh, dishonoring him. Great debt was incurred, we couldn't pay it, but Jesus Christ came in the fullness of time to redeem us. First Peter 1 19 says, redeemed with the precious blood of Christ.
You're not redeemed with silver and gold and that which perishes, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. We think about his suffering at the cross, we think about the physical pain with the nails in his hands and in his feet and the crown of thorns down upon his head. That was excruciating pain, but the pain that was far beyond that was that the sins of all of his people were put upon him and the wrath of God was poured out in an excruciating manner that we could not even imagine. To know that this one who was without sin, this one who was the only perfect man that ever lived, had all the sins of all of his people put upon him and he suffered in those hours to put them away before he went to the cross. The prophet had said years before he shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied. He saw the suffering, he knew the anguish, yes as a man he dreaded it when the time was near. He said, father if it be thy will let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not my will, thine be done. And he went on to the cross and he suffered all of that, paid the price, but he got what he paid for.
He secured a people, all that were given to him by the father. Oh how we should be thankful for that. We sing hymns about his redemptive work, but let us never forget to continually give thanks. Lord thank you for your redeeming grace, for the great price that was paid to save my soul, to secure me and bring me into your family and fellowship. Thankful for the message of the gospel.
I'm thankful every time I have the opportunity to preach, to know that I can come before people with a message of hope. I can tell fallen ruined sinners that there is hope. The word gospel means good news. We have good news.
Oh there's some bad news that precedes it. The bad news is that you by nature are a sinner, you are guilty before God, you deserve nothing but his wrath, but the good news is there is hope for sinners. Paul said this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came to the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. Jesus in talking to Nicodemus in the third chapter of the gospel of John set forth the truth of the gospel and as Moses was lifted up John chapter 3 and verse 14, and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the son of man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life. No doubt when that serpent was lifted up because the people had been bitten by serpents and many were dying what message of hope it was look and live.
There might have been some at a great distance wondered if they were able to see it clearly some might have wondered if they had enough faith but that wasn't the issue look and live. He says Jesus was lifted up just like that serpent was lifted up in the wilderness and now whosoever believeth person might say I feel my faith if I have any is weak and trembling but it's not the strength of your faith which saves you it's Jesus he that believeth on him should not perish but have eternal life. And then chapter 6 and verse 37 all that the father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. So if there's a trembling soul who says I fear to come I wonder if my faith is enough I don't know that I am understanding it clearly as I would like he says him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. What is it to come to Jesus? It's to repent of your sin and to believe on him the one that comes I'll not cast him out couldn't bring a message of greater hope than that what good news for the worst of sinners the most despicable fallen creature that have ever lived the message you come to me says Jesus and I will not cast you out are you thankful for the gospel you've heard it over and over again throughout your life I hope you never get tired of hearing it want to hear it again and again for it's the greatest message ever told and then certainly in conjunction with that we should be thankful that salvation is by grace. 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 9 God who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began he saved us how did he save us he called us how did he call us called us not according to our works nothing that you've ever done would merit the favor of God it's not your effort he called you not according to your works but according to his own purpose his purpose which was given us in Christ Jesus God determined it before the foundation of the world sent his son in the fullness of time purchased those who were given to him in the covenant calls us now by the effectual drawing of the Holy Spirit so that we have to say if indeed I'm saved the Lord saved me I didn't save myself I didn't help to save myself he did it so I rejoice in the good news that salvation is by grace be thankful for it every day that you live and thankful that he will complete the work Philippians chapter 1 verse 6 says he that hath begun of good work in you will perform it under the day of Jesus Christ we may sometimes get disgusted with ourselves we at times may be frustrated with others but the Lord never gives up on us we may say here's a wandering soul what's the use why not give up why try to help them they're not responding are we not thankful that our savior doesn't give up on us how many times have you wandered how many times have you failed how many times have you asked God to forgive you and you still stumbled again but he didn't give up on you he that started the work will finish it and one day Jesus will stand in the presence of the father and say behold I am the children that thou has given me they'll all be there not one missing not one soul lost along the way all of them there because salvation is by his sovereign grace and thankful that one day you're going to be with Jesus the more I think about that the more I marvel at it to think someday you're going to be in the presence of Jesus Christ see him face to face you you couldn't even endure it today because in these natural bodies by the brilliance of his glory we would be consumed but there you'll have a glorified body conformed to his image so that you can see him and enjoy his presence and be a part of that triumphant chorus that's saying thou art worthy for thou was slain and has redeemed us to God by thy own precious blood Jesus said in John 14 let not your heart be troubled you believe in God believe also in me in my father's house or many mansions if it were not so I would have told you I'd go to prepare a place for you think about that if you are a child of God he's gone to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am there ye may be also that where Jesus is there you will be what a wonderful truth are you thankful for that today when when the way gets rough here to know this is temporary we certainly have to be concerned each day that we live that we honor the Lord in our attitude and in our conduct but how wonderful to know that though the valleys here may be deep this covenant day you will be at home with Jesus be thankful and then pray thankfully what's it mean it means before the requests are made that we are giving thanks to God often our hearts are heavy our burdens are numerous we have a tendency to rush right to the throne of grace in the name of Jesus and begin to pour out the burdens of our heart but we need to follow the teaching that Paul gave us in Philippians chapter 4 when it tells us to rejoice always in the Lord and then verse 6 be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God when you get ready to make those requests just stop say Lord I want to give you thanks I want to thank you and you can enumerate some of the things we've just talked about and then you can talk about the special things that have been going on in your life and how he has blessed you I want to give you thanks make your request known with thanksgiving what does it mean it means to acknowledge that every good thing you have comes from God James chapter 1 verse 17 tells us that every good and perfect gift cometh down from the father of lights in whom there is no variableness returning God is faithful he doesn't he doesn't change he's the same yesterday today and forever and every good gift everything that you have every material thing that you have every spiritual thing that you have every good and perfect gift cometh down from the father above so if you're going to pray thankfully you're going to start there you're going to thank him for his abundant mercies thank him for the gift of his son thank him for the redemptive work at the cross thank him for the hope that he's given you that you anticipate the day of some time being with him and then go down the list as best you can thank you Lord may not be in perfect health but I thank you for what measure of health I have thank you Lord for family and friends and a job thank you for my church on and on the list can go it means to praise God for what he has given you and what he has done for you it means to remember his faithfulness Jeremiah the prophet was in a low state said my hope has perished from the Lord but then he said this I recall to mind therefore have I hope we need to recall the mercies of God don't forget about them sometimes it's a special blessing just to go back over years past and recall how God has blessed I was talking to some of the folks at Pontiac Michigan the other night some of them could recall that I'd been up there to preach in the Detroit area many years ago I think about 1955 was my first trip up there and the next day I was scheduled to speak at one of the elementary schools this was before the days of the Princeton system and it was an elementary school in Sharonville one of our members was the principal there and I was looking forward to speaking to that school you know they don't do that these days but back then they invited preachers in to speak so on the way to the airport that morning the man driving me got lost by the time I walked up to the ticket counter man said I'm sorry your plane just took off I said well Lord here I am I'm available if you'll get me to Cincinnati I'd sure like to speak at that school so I just stood there a little bit the man came back and said I told you your plane is gone I said I know but if you don't mind I'd just like to stand here and wait and see what God does so a little bitch came back and says I don't believe this but your plane's on the way back they said it won't it's got just a little problem it won't take them 10 or 15 minutes to fix it so if you'll follow me I'll put you on that plane while it's on the ground and I got on that plane and got back to Cincinnati and preached at that school that morning I think back on some of those events and Lord I don't want to forget about those things they were they were good things special things and I'm sure that every one of you can think about some unique things that have happened to you where God has blessed and intervened how does praying thankfully influence our prayer right you approach God with thanksgiving even in the deepest trials job in response to his great trouble said in job chapter 1 the 21st verse naked came out of my mother's womb and naked shall I return thither the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away blessed be the name of the Lord now obviously he had some difficult times following this but here his initial reaction to his trouble was exactly what it should have been and all this job did not charge God he came with a thankful heart he was praying thankfully to his God he was giving God praise for his sovereign majesty even in the darkest of times in other words you don't come if you're praying thankfully you don't come protesting that your path has been too difficult Lord I don't understand while this has happened to me I'm I'm terribly upset you don't begin to complain against God job further said in the 23rd chapter the look of job verse 10 but he knoweth the way that I take when he hath tried me I shall come forth as gold I don't understand what all is going on now but I know he does he knows the path he knows the way I take and he's going to bring me through it in a positive manner you give thanks even in the midst of your trials to know that God is at work Romans 8 28 and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them that are the called according to his purpose knowing that you can pray thankfully doesn't mean that you never pray that God will help you to get well when you're sick or if you have the thorn in the flesh that God will remove it Paul prayed that but God's answer was after three prayers my grace is sufficient for thee but if you're praying thankfully you're thanking God that even in those dark times that you may be experiencing God is leading you God is at work now the third thing we are to speak with the voice of thanksgiving we are to express to others how we thank God for his rich blessings while Jonah is a classic example of one that was a complainer there was a moment that he said what he should have said in Jonah chapter 2 and verse 9 he says but I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving I will pay that which I have vowed salvation is of the Lord look pretty dark for Jonah he admitted I'm the problem on this ship throwing overboard even the sailors didn't want to do it they they were pagans but they were compassionate but finally he said there's no other hope or this ship's going to go down and God provided him transportation sent a great fish to swallow him there might have been some fear when he saw that thing coming at him with his mouth open didn't know he was going to be chewed up or what but he lands safely in the whale's belly and begins to cry out said yet once more while I look toward thy holy temple oh how good to know that on the second time around God will hear us still I'll cry once more there's nothing else I can do I'm sure he didn't have his direction straight to know left from right but he knew he needed to cry that God might hear him in his holy temple and God heard him delivered him and after three days and three nights in that fish which no doubt was an unpleasant ride but it was better than drowning in the sea and he said the seaweed was wrapped around his head and finally God directed that whale to spit him out on dry land and when Jonah came out he's saying salvation is of the Lord now friends I think that includes a lot salvation from the storm salvation from the ocean salvation from the fish salvation in every category is of the Lord in fact they tell us that in the Hebrew language the word here has an extra little signal to it that indicates he wasn't just talking about temporary things he was talking about salvation in its fullness the salvation of his soul salvation is of the Lord aren't you glad that's the case it's not left up to us it's not what we have done or can do salvation is of the Lord speak with the voice of thanksgiving that's what Jonah's telling us here I will sacrifice with the voice of thanksgiving praising him for salvation we should speak with the voice of thanksgiving to others we're not just holding back we're not just saying I'm thankful or just speaking it to the Lord speak out put your thanksgiving for your thankful heart be ye thankful but be ye thankful by putting it into words don't be one who is always complaining always telling somebody about what a bad day you've had cheer others up encourage them help them by expressing your gratitude to God for his abounding blessings upon you back to our text he says in Psalm 26 I will compass thine altar oh Lord that I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving and tell of all thy wondrous works the voice of thanksgiving are you regularly speaking of his wondrous works do you delight in talking about God his greatness his glory the deliverances that you've enjoyed in your life do you talk about it do you share it with others singing with grace or with thanksgiving in your heart we want to sing the truth as we sing number 155 in our books ye servants of God there are two of the verses that are not in our book I'm going to read those along with verse one ye servants of God your master proclaim and publish abroad his wonderful name the name all victorious of Jesus extoll his kingdom is glorious and rules over all the waves of the sea have lift up their voice sore troubled that we in Jesus rejoice the floods they are roaring but Jesus is here while we are adoring he always is near when devils engage the billows rise and horribly rage and threaten the skies their fury shall never our steadfastness shock the weakest believer is built on a rock i hope that as we have emphasized the importance of thanksgiving in this message that you will keep in mind these wonderful truths as you meet with family and friends on thanksgiving day may we all be able to say that we are speaking with the voice of thanksgiving now until we greet you again next time this is lacerre bradley jr saying may god richly bless you the baptist bible hour has come to you under the direction of elder lacerre bradley jr address all mail to the baptist bible hour cincinnati ohio 4 5 2 1 7 that's the baptist bible hour cincinnati ohio 4 5 2 1 7 while i draw this fleeting breath when my eyes shall close in death and then i rise to worlds unknown and behold me on my throne rock of asia
