The God of Thanksgiving
1 Chronicles 29:10-13
“Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.” vs. 13
Affirmations
Have the congregation find someone they did not come with and give that person an affirmation. Gather the congregation back and ask them how they felt giving the affirmation.
I bring this up today because everyone like to get an affirmation but I propose to you today that sometimes giving an affirmation is just as rewarding and just as encouraging as getting one. We often come to church hoping to get something and to put it more specifically, to get something from God. To tie this into the exercise we just did, I suggest that we can get just as much in coming to church to give to God than just looking what we can get. We can get energized, encouraged, and lifted up by giving our praise and thankfulness to God.
If you are able, please stand as we read the Word of God from 1 Chronicles 29:10-13:
Read Passage – 1 Chronicles 29:10-13
David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,
“Praise be to you, Lord,
the God of our father Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
11 Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.
12 Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
13 Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name.
Doxology
As we approach 1 Chronicles 29 King David’s life is coming to a close. He knows his days are few and he has a chance to worship God one more time with many people assembled around him. In the verses we read David speaks a wonderful poem of praise to God. A better word for this is a doxology. A Doxology is an offering of praise to God in worship. The term comes from the Greek roots “duxa” and “logia” and means “words of glory.” These “words of glory” focus on the general and larger character traits of God and builds to accumulation and climax of praise. A key theme is the eternal kingdom of God but I would emphasize that idea of the words of glory because that is such a cool idea. To gather and give to God, words that glorify him.
It’s important to note that David does this in a public and open setting with many people around him. We have that same opportunity-every week. It is amazing to be here every week with the opportunity to lift our “words of glory to God.” Think about how unique that is. You can’t do this at school, you can’t do this at the mall, you can’t do this at the gym, you can’t do this int he post office…you get the idea. This is the place we get to come, every week, to express words of glory to God.
Now three weeks ago I challenged you to 24 days of praise and thanksgiving. I asked you to list one person or thing each day. I also challenged you to tell that person and then express that in prayer to God as well. Those are specific things you praise and thank God for. And sometimes our prayers and thanks need to be specific. But…there are times when praise and thanks can be more general and more large. That is what David did in his doxology here. This doxology helps us understand how and why we can praise God.
Why Praise God? He Is…
This really gives us a guide for praising and worshipping God in a general and larger sense. So, why praise God?
- Forever
First, God is forever. David says in verse 10:
“Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.” vs. 10
We live in a world of temporary things. Most of what he have doesn’t last too long and some of the things that do, we usually end up getting rid of. If we are lucky things like our couches, beds, etc. last 15-20 years. Think about things like clothes. Would you really want to be wearing the same clothes or even style of clothes you wore 20 years ago? he is one thing we can count on lasting forever.
Ex. Retro jacket – Claudia and I met a young woman on the trail not long ago and she complimented us on our “retro jackets.” She thought they were new but we actually bought them in the 80’s.
There is one exception; God. He is forever. There is one investment you can make, one thing you can count on, trust in, and rely on and it’s the only thing we know lasts forever; God. David also says in psalm 102:12:
“But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations.”
Psalm 102:12
No matter how far back you go and how far forward you look, God is there. Every generation since the beginning of this world has had God in it. He is forever.
- Greater Than Anything We Know or Can Imagine
A second reason we praise God is that God is greater than anything we know or can imagine. David expresses that in verse 11:
“Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.” vs. 11
Now this is an incredible list of God’s attributes all in one verse. Take a pen or pencil or highlighter and circle them on your outline. Listen to these again; greatness, power, glory, majesty, and splendor. Can you feel how enormous these qualities and traits are? This is almost too big and vast to grasp. I know that sometimes in the middle of our struggles and trials we might not feel these attributes of God. But I want to encourage you with these. Just naming these attributes brings hope and strength.
Challenge: Grab the verse card & encourage the congregation to memorize this verse this week.
My challenge for you is to step into your faith this week by naming and claiming these traits of God. I am not asking you to say something that is not true, we know from God’s Word that these are true. But sometimes you might not feel them and you might need to vision these out in your life. The more you talk about them, claim them, look for them, the more you will see them and experience them as well. Look at another verse from Psalm 145:3:
“Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.”
Psalm 145:3
Remember we started by telling one another affirmations. You see those in others and just by telling them to each other you get energize and affirmed. The same is true with God. His traits are amazing. His love is amazing. He truly is greater than anything we can know or imagine but that doesn’t stop us from experiencing his greatness.
- Our Provider
A third reason we praise God is that he is our provider; verse 12:a:
“Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things.” vs. 12a
I like this verse a lot because it mentions wealth but it also mentions honor. We somehow have fooled ourselves into believing that all that we have we have earned ourselves. I got this job, I worked the hours, I earned the money, I earned the promotion, etc. But let me challenge you on this.
Questions: Did you…
-choose where you were born?
-choose your parents?
-choose your talents and traits?
-More questions
There are many things that God has provided for us and that we had nothing to do with but they are gifts from God, our provider. He also gives us a voice with others and that is where the honor comes in. God could have chosen lots of ways to spread the gospel but he choose for you and I to tell others; with our words, our actions, and our lives. We have honor with others because of who He is on our lives and that allows us to be His voice in the world. Each of us have honor in our circles of influence. You can reach people I can’t. Some people won’t give me the time of day but they love you. They will listen to you.
Now here is the thing; we need to do our part.
Ex. Matt Damon and his quest to provide toilets for everyone in the world. Did you know…more people in the world have cell phones than toilets? That is crazy but true. We need to be God’s hands in this world and we can do that by affirm others and using our influence and resources to shoe that to the world.
Ill. Operation Shoe Box – We provided over 60 boxes this year that will go all over the world to help others.
God has provided for us and we in turn can use our resources to show the world who our God is.
1 Timothy 6:17 says:
“…put (your) their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” 1 Timothy 6:17
Circle the word “richly.” God gives us so much. Make a commitment to focus on what you have and what you can share not on what you don’t have.
- Our Strength
Finally, David reminds us the we praise God because He is our strength; verse 12b:
“In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.” vs. 12b
David knew that God always had his back. God was his strength. But you know what? Jesus hadn’t come yet and David didn’t have the experience of having the Holy Spirit live within him. We do. We have the spirit of the living God living right here (point inside). Let me bring another verse into this that will really add to this, Exodus 15:2:
“The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” Exodus 15:2
The really cool thing about this verse is that it’s from the song of Moses; another doxology. Remember Moses spent the first 40 years of his life in royalty but circumstances changed. He spent the next 40 years wandering in the desert, learning humility. And learning to trust God. Then, and only then, could God use him for the next 40 years to lead his people from captivity to freedom and the promised land.
Moses had to learn, as do we, that we don’t have to do it alone. As David knew, God has our back. Remember God will never leave you. But we also have to learn, as Moses did, that when we feel weak, that is when God can shine. He is strong. As we heard in verse 11, he is powerful, great, and strong. And we can be as well when we allow him to be our strength.
The God of Joy and Thanksgiving
So, this is why I wanted to focus on this passage today. I challenged you almost three weeks ago to choose one thing or person to thank God for everyday; to tell them and to tell God as well. This week I am going to make it easy for you to complete the challenge. You can make this week a week in which you acknowledge God as the God of joy and thanksgiving. Listen to how David ends this section in verse 13:
“Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.” vs. 13
When we focus on the magnitude and greatness of God is culminates in joy and thanksgiving. You can use verse 11 to finish the challenge. Focus and name these attributes of God this week:
Sunday: God’s greatness
Monday: God’s power
Tuesday: God’s glory
Wednesday: God’s majesty
Thursday/Thanksgiving: God’s splendor
Closing Song
After closing song read 1 Chronicles 29:10-13 together aloud.
