Sunday Morning in the Word November 20 2016

Sunday Morning in the Word November 20, 2016

of PRAISE and THANKSGIVING November 2016

30 Days of Praise and Thanksgiving

PRAISE and Psalm 145 Sunday mornings in November (9: 00 and 10: 30)

Hebrews 4: 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

We live in a very noisy world!

1 John 5: 19. . . the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. John 8: 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Dual Spiritual Disciplines of Praise and Thanksgiving Strong defines praise as “the acknowledging of His perfections, works, benefits, and excellences. ” Strong defines thanksgiving as “being thankful at what God has done historically in your life. ”

Psalm 145 A Song of Praise. Of David. (an acrostic) English acrostic: A - Z (26 letters – 26 verses) Hebrew acrostic: aleph – tav (22 letters – 22 verses)

Psalm 145: 1 -2 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. 2 Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Psalm 145: 3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. Yahweh (Occurs 10 times in the Psalm)

Two Grand Realities about God Two Far-Reaching Roles

Two Grand Realities about God #1 – God is GREAT

#1 – God is GREAT Psalm 145: 3 -6 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. 4 One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. 5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. 6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness.

#1 – God is GREAT Psalm 145: 3 -6 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is UNSEARCHABLE. 4 One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. 5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. 6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness.

How deep is the ocean? 100 meters (328 feet) – diving can be fatal if not careful due to decompression sickness 332 meters (1, 089 feet) – scuba diving world record

500 meters (1, 640 feet) – deepest dive depth of Blue Whale and Sea Wolf class of nuclear submarines

850 meters (2, 788 feet) – Ocean would cover the world’s tallest bldg: The Burg Khalifa in Dubai.

1, 000 meters (3, 280 feet) – enter The Scary Zone. Light from surface unable to penetrate beyond this depth, shrouding the depths below in perpetual darkness! The Giant Squid!

2, 250 meters (7, 282 feet) – maximum dive depth of Sperm whales and the Colossal Squid

A Sperm Whale Over 50 feet long and 40 tons

2250 meters (7282 feet) – maximum dive depth of Sperm whales and the Colossal Squid

4000 meters (13, 123 ft) – The Ocean’s Abyssal Zone ---- inhabited by alien-like creatures such as: Angler Fish and the Viper Fish

4267 meters (14, 000 feet) – The bottom of ocean floor. But there are even deeper crevices and canyons which are massive in size – these are called “deeps”!

6000 meters (19, 685 feet) Now closing in on 4 miles deep!). This is the beginning of the Hadal Zone (named for Hades). Life still exists! Ocean water pressure at this depth – 1100 times greater than the 14. 70 psi of air pressure at sea level!

747 Jumbo Jet

10, 916 meters (35813 feet) – The deepest point man has ever gone with an underwater unmanned submarine (staying at this depth a mere 20 minutes before being forced to return due to cracked window). This is the average altitude at which commercial airliners fly!

10, 994 meters (36, 069 feet – almost 7 miles) This is the deepest “known” part of the ocean (and since only somewhere between 5 -10% of ocean floor mapped, it may very well NOT be the deepest part of the ocean!)

Two Grand Realities about God #1 – God is GREAT #2 – God is GOOD

#2 – God is GOOD Psalm 145: 7 -9 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. 8 The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

#2 – God is GOOD Matthew 5: 45 For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. “Common grace”

#2 – God is GOOD Psalm 145: 7 -9 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. 8 The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

#2 – God is GOOD Ephesians 2: 4 -5 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

David as he begins this psalm of praise … praises God for these two grand realities about God: God is GREAT and God is GOOD!

God’s Two Far-Reaching Roles #1 – God is our Eternal King!

#2 – God is the Eternal King! Psalm 145: 10 -13 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! 11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, 12 to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. 13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

God’s Two Far-Reaching Roles #1 – God is the Eternal King! #2 – God is our Benevolent Provider!

#2 – God is the Benevolent Provider! Psalm 145: 14 -17 The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. 15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. 16 You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. 17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.

#2 – God is the Benevolent Provider! Psalm 145: 18 -20 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. 20 The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

Psalm 145 David in this great Psalm of praise. . . praises God That he is GREAT! That he is GOOD! And for the fact that he is both Our Eternal King Our Benevolent Provider

Psalm 145: 21 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

Today’s Takeaways Don’t content yourself with the kingdom of this world and buy into the lies of its ruler. . . . pursue instead the kingdom of heaven ruled by our Eternal King Jesus!

Today’s Takeaways Matthew 16: 25 -27 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

Today’s Takeaways Don’t content yourself with the kingdom of this world and buy into the lies of its ruler. . . . pursue instead the kingdom of heaven ruled by our Eternal King Jesus!

Today’s Takeaways Do look to God to meet your needs, whatever the need might be. He is our Benevolent Provider who loves to give far more than we think to ask!

Today’s Takeaways Psalm 145: 16 You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. Psalm 145: 19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.

Today’s Takeaways Do look to God to meet your needs, whatever the need might be. He is our Benevolent Provider who loves to give far more than we think to ask!