Giving Back to God
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Text: Psalm 116
Title: Giving Back to God
Introduction:
Our home church - just celebrated their 51 (50th plus 1) anniversary last week.
I praise God for my home church
- I'm sure I owe them much for where God in His grace has put me.
- I was thankful that my mum and dad were able to be there last Sunday.
Our home church helps our family in many ways.
- one way is that they put together our print and mail our prayer letter.
- the teenagers help stuff the envelopes.
note: It is a great help to us and a ministry for them.
exp. God will reward them for that - but every now and then I get burdened to give something back. (Pizza party or some such thing....)
WHEN SOMEONE DOES SOMETHING FOR US, IT'S NATURAL TO WANT TO GIVE BACK ...as a thank you for what they have done for us.
our text: Psalm 116
exp. Most commentators believe King David is the author of this Psalm.
The Psalms asks in v.12 What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?
def. to render - is to provide or give (as a service, help, etc.)
exp. King David is asking the question we all should ask.
WHAT SHALL I GIVE BACK TO GOD WHO HAS GIVEN SO MUCH TO ME?
ill. David was a man who thought about what He was giving to God.
The water from the well of Bethlehem.
2 Samuel 23:14 And David was then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.
15 And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!
16 And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the LORD.
17 And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.
exp. That water was priceless - it was retrieved at the risk of his men's lives.
Provisions for the building of the house of God.
1 Furthermore David the king said unto all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great: for the palace is not for man, but for the LORD God.
2 Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.
3 Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house,
4 Even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses withal:
5 The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the LORD?
exp. David had a great affection for God's house, which He would never see.
Again, King David is likely the one who asks in our text....
12 What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?
note: We are going to focus our main consideration on the resolutions of David found at the end of this Psalm as he contemplates that question. (They are I WILL statements.)
WE OUGHT TO GIVE BACK TO THE LORD WHO HAS GIVEN SO MUCH TO US.
What have you given to God?
Prayer
v.12 What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?
I. Give Him your conversion.
13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.
exp. We call salvation at times - conversion. It is to change one's religious beliefs.
Obviously - in true religion - is our rejection of the world and our acceptance of the Saviour.
ill. Jacob's conversion was a response to God's graciously reaching out to Him.
Genesis 28:20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
21 So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:
note: similar to our consideration - he immediately wanted to commit to give back to God for the benefit He would give unto Him.
22 And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
exp. Our conversion to FOLLOW THE TRUE GOD by faith in Jesus Christ - is the least we can do for the God who has given AND WILL GIVE so much to us.
A. To be converted, first you must understand your need.
3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me:
4 Then called I upon the name of the LORD;
exp. He didn't call UNTIL he understood his need.
ill. In 2004, a 9.4 magnitude earthquake was recorded off the coast of Indonesia, the waters around Sri Lanka receded. As the waters went out, people were intrigued and walked out on the beaches. The reason they went out was because a tsunami was coming.
exp. 230,000 people died - many of them didn't know their need. They should have ran away.
question: Billions of people in our world today - don't understand their need.
ill. I'll find out when I get there. Nobody has died and come back to tell me.
1. You are bound by death.
3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me:
exp. There is both a physical and spiritual aspect to this psalm. We're focusing on the spiritual.
A MAN WITHOUT CHRIST IS COMPASSED ABOUT WITH DEATH.
ill. Covid 19 has brought death often before us.
- NHS doctor - not everybody comes out who comes in to be treated.
exp. we have great sympathy for those who are facing certain death. We want them to be spared.
exp. A man who is not saves is facing something far worse.
Revelation 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
app. Nobody has to be terminally ill with sin today. But, they won't grab the remedy if they don't acknowledge the need.
2. You will face incredible difficulties in life.
3. ...I found trouble and sorrow.
ill. Tommy - addictions background.... said he knows 50 people in the cemetery....
- either died from addiction
- or took their own life - one this past week.
ill. 49 year old - in Princess St. Gardens - smoking and drinking. "I like my life. What right does God have to tell me what to do."
exp. God desires to set you free from what is destroying you - physically and spiritually.
ill. Another man I witnessed to - had broken up with his highschool sweetheart of 13 years.
exp. I told him, Let God use this to bring you to Himself. Often it's the tough things that draw us to God.
app. I pity the person today who is having a great life without God. It's God's mercy to allow men to understand the TROUBLE AND SORROW of life to help them understand their need.
B. To be converted, you must call upon God.
13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.
hymn: The Royal Telephone - Frederick Lehman.
1 Central’s never “busy,” always on the line;
You may hear from heaven almost any time;
’Tis a royal service, free for one and all;
When you get in trouble, give this royal line a call.
Refrain:
Telephone to glory, oh, what joy divine!
I can feel the current moving on the line,
Built by God the Father for His loved and own,
We may talk to Jesus through this royal telephone.
app. Praise God - we just need to pick up the phone.
1. Call out verbally.
4 Then called I upon the name of the LORD;
ill. My mum sent me pictures of the 60th at our church. One man pictured there was Mr. Hassman. He was a deacon in our church - he took me out sailing - positive flotation sail boat - 20 foot sail - I didn't want to take the till.... The first things I said, "Mr. Hassman, can we pray?"
I RECOGNIZED MY NEED AND I WANTED TO VERBALIZE IT TO GOD.
exp. It's good for someone needing salvation to pray out loud.
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
app. Most believers in their testimony of salvation know of a time where they prayed to get saved.
2. Call out specifically.
v.4 ....O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
ill. It reminds me of the cry of the repentent thieving tax collector.
Luk 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
exp. There is no doubt that this man was crying out to God for salvation.
3. Call out dependently. (in faith)
10 I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted:
11 I said in my haste, All men are liars.
note: The Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Spirit of God - saw saving faith - in this verse.
1 Cor. 4:13 We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
exp. The Psalmist testimony was one of faith in God.
- He had a great affliction.
- Men had been unable to help him. "I said in my haste, all men are liars."
Psa 60:11 Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.12 Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.
app. If you think the answer to your mental, physical, spiritual, emotional, health is in man - you will find out someday - it's a lie.
IF YOU YOU WANT SALVATION
- YOU MUST TURN IN DEPENDENCE UPON GOD ALONE.
- HAVE YOU SAID TO GOD - "I believe...."
C. To be converted you must receive the cup of salvation.
13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.
ill. You'll remember that at the cross - Jesus took a cup..... of suffering, sin and sorrow.
Mat 26:39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
exp. He drank it for you and me.
ill. Tonight - we'll observe the Lord's table - we will also take a cup - a cup of life.
A symbol of the blood that Jesus shed.
1Co 11:25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
exp. BY FAITH - we must drink that cup of salvation.
Joh 6:56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
1. God is ready to hear you.
1 I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
exp. The Psalmist is on the SALVATION side. He loves God because God heard his cry.
ill. In 1981 as a child I bowed my head and asked Jesus to save me - I praise God that he heard me.
app. When someone cries out in faith - God is listening - HE WILL SAVE YOU.
2. God is JUST WAITING to help you.
2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
ill. My family visited the Lego Land shop in St. James Quarter - they had shopkeepers ready to wait on you - if you needed help - they were inclined toward you.
app. I think at times people think God is leaning away. I believe God is leaning towards.
ill. Memory verse from kid's club - Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
transition: Jesus did an incredible work for you on Calvary. Give Him your conversion.
II. Give Him your consecration.
def. consecrate - set apart as holy unto God.
A. Consecrate your vows.
14 I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.
note: When people go through a difficult time - they may say to God - if you'll get me through this, I will live for you, follow you....
exp. when God gets them through it - it's time to keep their vow of consecration.
Ecclesiastes 5:4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
note: David would keep what he vowed to the Lord.
app. Are you paying your vows? Have you followed through since God saved you?
B. Consecrate your life.
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
note: A saint is someone who has been sanctified by God.
exp. This verse has RIGHTLY taken a prominent plase at the funeral of the godly.
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
exp. - Precious because it ushers us into His presence.
- Precious because it is the doorway into our eternal life.
- Precious because sin can no longer separate us from him.
- Precious because He cares about our sorrow. (Jesus wept)
- Precious because He can say - well done - good and faithful servant.
- Precious because He didn't have to all them home early with chastening.
- Precious because they died long ago and lived unto God with their life.
Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
App. Is your life consecrated to God? Have you died to live unto Him?
C. Consecrate your servanthood.
ill. I'm thankful for the home God allowed us to purchase. I've met the previous owner one time and invited him into the house to see what we had done (new kitchen.)
exp. If he didn't like what I have done, he couldn't object. He certainly couldn't tell me what to do.
IT'S NO LONGER HIS HOME - IT IS MY HOME.
1 Cor. 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
exp. It was your body and your life before you got saved. You no longer rule over it. It is God's.
1. Be God's servant.
16 O LORD, truly I am thy servant;
exp. If you are God's servant....
- You don't decide whether or not you go to church - God does.
- You don't decide what you can or can not watch - God does.
- You don't decide what you are going to do or not do - God does.
app. Can you say this morning - OR LORD - truly - I AM THY SERVANT. Give back to God!
2. Be like God's servant.
I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.
exp. This text seems Messianic - No death was as precious in God's sight as the death of Jesus.
- Jesus was the son of Mary. "the son of thine handmaid."
- Jesus was loosed from the bonds of death which he took as God's servant.
Acts 2:24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
app. If we are really consecrated to God, our life would be like the life of Jesus.
transition: Give Him your conversion, your consecration.
III. Give him the credit.
exp. David - v.10 "I believed THEREFOR HAVE I SPOKEN."
18 I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people,
19 In the courts of the LORD'S house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.
exp. The Psalmist wasn't a secret SAINT
- HE MADE IT KNOWN IN THE PRESENCE OF ALL THE PEOPLE.
- HE WENT INTO THE LORD'S HOUSE AND DECLARED IT.
app. If you are saved, you ought to make it known.
GIVE CREDIT TO WHOM CREDIT IS DUE!
Psa 107:2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
A. Give Him credit with thanksgiving.
17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.
ill. When someone thanks you - it is meaningful. MISSION TEAM....
(Back in the days when we could have groups over.... man in wheel chair - big man....)
exp. I pushed him up the cobblestones of the royal mile, down to Princess. St., etc. I didn't mind - he was a very thankful man who recognized what I was doing for Him.
app. Are sacrifices of thanksgiving on your lips? Give the LORD credit with thanksgiving.
B. Give Him credit with praise.
5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.
6 The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.
ill. When you are given deserved praise - it is meaningful. (To a child - well done,...)
GOD IS GRACOUS, RIGHTEOUS, MERCIFUL, HELPFUL - have you praised Him?
C. Give Him credit with testimony.
1. Testify of God's goodness.
7 Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.
2. Testify of God's salvation.
8 For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.
9 I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
ill. I loved being in the South during testimony time - "I'd just like to say - God's been good to me - I praise God for my salvation....."
app. It can be quiet at times when we ask for testimony. Is there really so little to say? Or have we failed to give God the credit.
conclusion:
King David was a man who was thoughtful about what He gave to God.
ill. Do you remember King David's sacrifice at Araunah's threshing floor.
2 Samuel 24:21 And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
22 And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood.
23 All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee.
24 And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen....
exp. How can I give back to God something so cheap - I won't do it - I'll pay for it, then give it.
exp. King David - is likely the one who asked in our text.....
12 What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?
WE OUGHT TO GIVE BACK TO HIM WHO GAVE SO MUCH TO US.
ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN GIVE BACK TO GOD THIS MORNING?
1) Will you give Him your conversion?
2) Will you give Him your consecration?
3) Will you give Him the credit He deserves?
