Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, Pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. As we, the redeemed people of God, gaze on his character and work, our hearts will be drawn to thankfulness. He is just, right, good and powerful.
He uses his power and sovereignty to work for our good and for his glory. When we find ourselves prone to a complaining spirit, we must run to our Savior's feet to remember and reflect on who he is and what he's done. Let's listen to this message from Psalm 107 titled, Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So. This is part four of a message that was first preached on November 24th, 2024 at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. So hear now, hear the words of Jesus, the Son of God, who came to us, man as God, God as man. And he is the one who said, he invites you, hear him inviting you this morning, come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden. And I will give you rest. Don't miss this next part. Take my yoke upon you.
What is that? He is calling you to surrender. You don't try, Jesus. God, the Son of God did not leave his throne of glory and come to earth and be born as a baby and live a perfect life and die a sacrificial death on a cruel cross.
Just so you could give him a try. His demand is surrender, and when you surrender to him in faith, all, all of his righteousness becomes yours. And you become acceptable to an infinitely holy God. And he justifies you, he reconciles you, and he lavishes his pleasure and his grace upon you. That's the gospel.
The God who redeems. Take my yoke upon you, and you will find rest unto your souls. The psalmist ends this psalm now in the fourth. We've covered three sections. Now this is the fourth section.
The fourth section is one verse. Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things. Let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord. Gratitude is a key to wisdom. Gratitude is a key to wisdom.
Let me make a point here very, very clearly. Okay, wisdom and intelligence are not the same thing. You can be a very smart person and be very unwise.
They are not the same thing. What do we mean by wisdom? Wisdom means it can mean a lot of things. Plainly speaking, practically speaking, wisdom means a life lived well. A life lived well.
And there is a standard that defines well, and that is God's character and purpose. Wisdom is a life lived well. Gratitude is a key to wisdom.
I want you to consider Proverbs chapter 2, verses 6 through 11. The Lord gives wisdom. From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.
Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity and every good path. Those come from God. He is the law giver. He is the grace giver. He is the wisdom giver. And anything in our human kingdom that reflects goodness, justice, equity, every good path, all of it is a reflection of his character and his purpose.
And anything that does not is an abandonment of his character and purpose. So gratitude is a key to wisdom. You become wise by studying the acts of God. That's what the first part of this Psalm is about. This is why he calls his people to give thanks, because God is good, because his steadfast love endures, because he redeems and restores. You become wise by studying the acts of God, and you will become grateful for his faithful love. That is a guarantee, right?
That is a guarantee. You want to know God? You have to know him in the way that he has made himself known. If you do not know God in the way that he's made himself known, you will worship a God of your own imagination. And that God at best looks like you.
That's not okay. Because you are not worthy of worship, and nor is a God made in your image. You become wise by studying the acts of God, and you will become grateful for his steadfast love. This is how God forms through discipline and restoration. This is what he did with his people. That's why this Psalm is written.
God forms his people through his discipline and restoration. Let me turn that on its head here. As far as becoming wise by studying the acts of God and becoming grateful for his faithful love. Get this, an ungrateful person will generally act foolishly. An ungrateful person will generally act foolishly. What does acting foolishly look like?
Two main things. Number one, God becomes small. God becomes small. And your life becomes characterized by acts of self-importance. When I act foolishly, it's because I become big and God becomes small. And an ungrateful person will act foolishly. First of all, God becomes small. Secondly, his love is forgotten. His love is forgotten. And what happens when I forget God's love for me?
I go looking for love in all different other places that will not satisfy. If you find yourself this morning, if you find yourself drifting, if you find yourself dry, thirsty, if you find yourself prone to complain. Two recommendations for you this morning from the Psalm. One, study what God has done. Study what God has done.
You will become wise by studying the acts of God. Contemplate his justice and his grace. And secondly, remember his faithful love. That word faithful love, as I said last Sunday, is the word chesed. Used many, many times in the Old Testament, it is God's chief self-description. He is a God of steadfast love. So if you find yourself drifting or thirsty or prone to complain, study what God has done and remember his faithful love.
But let's not participate. We are prone to do that, aren't we? We are prone to forget.
We are prone to wander. But this is why over and over and over again in scripture, we are called to remember the Lord and give thanks to him. And that's what this psalmist does for us.
He'll give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Let's stand and read that all together one last time this morning.
Let's read it together. Oh give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble. Father, know you. Because you have turned your light on into our darkness, you have rescued us from our darkness.
You have rescued us from despair, from doubt, from distraction. Father, may we be a people who diligently study you by studying what you have done and remember your steadfast love. Father, I pray for anyone in this room this morning that does not know you and does not know your love and your forgiveness and is not under your grace. Father, I pray that your goodness would draw them to repentance, that they would see you for how good and holy you are and be drawn to you to surrender to you in trust. Thank you, Father, for the joy that it is to come together and fellowship with each other as we worship you. Shape and fashion us now, Father, in our attitudes and our affections, so that as we leave this place our actions will reflect your goodness and your steadfast love. And we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Thanks for joining us here at Delight in Grace. You've been listening to Rich Powell, the lead pastor at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The Delight in Grace mission is to help you know that God designed you to realize your highest good and your deepest satisfaction in him, the one who is infinitely good. We hope you'll join us again on weekdays at 10 a.m.
