Echoes of Grace
Be Ye Thankful and Rejoice
Lesson by Espn McCall, Preacher at Wickett Church of Christ
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Duration:
- 51m
- Broadcast on:
- 18 Nov 2024
- Audio Format:
- other
good morning sadly my fancy font on the word rejoice didn't quite transfer over from PowerPoint to Linux software however the title of the lesson this morning is be thankful and rejoice be thankful and rejoice we've gone over a lot of lessons in this past two months actually to the date since I left Wisconsin we've gone over lessons since then about how to become a Christian what it means to be a Christian what it takes to be a Christian and ultimately how to be baptized and then of course we looked into desiring things and being joyous being happy well now we're gonna look at being thankful and rejoicing there's a song that sadly not in our song books that I have been listening to lately and we have to ask ourselves how can we not be happy the song is how can I keep from singing in here are the words how can I keep from singing your praise how can I ever say enough how amazing is your love how can I keep from shouting your name I know I am loved by the king and it makes my heart want to sing or and it make my heart to sing right how can we not be happy we have a song that was made by a Christian it's not even in the song book I have here I actually found it listening to gospel music over the week while I'm up here doing my studies I found this song and it's a beautiful song and it really shows right how can I ever say enough how can you not be happy he's done so much for us for I'm gonna tell you now God is our protector turn with me to Psalm chapter 100 the one hundred Psalm will read verses two through five for God is our protector and Psalm 102 through five as normal we're gonna have it up on the board except this time it will all be and the King James version unless otherwise stated so please I encourage you to open up your Bibles with me to Psalm chapter 100 verses 2 through 5 it says oh oh now you're gonna have to open up your Bibles because it's not fitting on the screen says serve the Lord with gladness come before his presence with singing know that the Lord he is God it is he who has made us and not we ourselves we are his people and the sheep of his pasture enter into his gardens with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise be thankful to him and bless his name for the Lord is good his mercy is everlasting and his truth endures to all generations so here we're gonna fix it here in just a second but here it says we are his people and the sheep of his pasture which means that the Lord is a shepherd and a shepherd tends for his flock he takes care of his sheep he protects them the Lord protects us that one should fit it my dad's power points and my power points are not friendly together on one slide click that to escape not me pull the power point back up in a fitting manner here I apologize but the Lord is our shepherd which means he's our protector and whenever the Lord protects us because we are his sheep he cares for us turn with me to Exodus chapter 13 Exodus chapter 13 and in Exodus chapter 13 we'll read verses 21 and 22 Exodus 13 21 and 22 states and the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light so as to go by day and night and he did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people so here we have God once again protecting his people at this point in time or in the Bible God has just taken his people out of Egypt and in doing so in taking his people out of Egypt he has decided to protect them he has decided to get them moving to take care of his people it's not gonna fit I'll deal with it another time instead of continuing to fight with it well he continues to protect his people he sends them a cloud by day in a pillar of fire he's going to lead his people now if you go to the next chapter with me Exodus chapter 14 and the first three verses Exodus chapter 14 verses 1 through 3 says now the Lord spoke to Moses say speak to the children of Israel that they may turn in camp before say I'm sorry before pihah-hirah between Megal and the sea opposite Beel Zephan you shall camp before it by the sea for favor will say of the children of Israel they are bewildered by the land and the wilderness has enclosed them so God tells them here's where you're gonna go and he says you're going to camp before pihah-hirah between might all in the sea opposite of Beel and Zephan now if you don't know where that is I've decided to give you a map so we have Egypt off to the right of the map there's an arrow down at the bottom that you probably can't see but Egypt is that way it's off to the right of the map and then we have the crossing route where they would have crossed the Red Sea here this is all evidence for the Bible and then we have Saudi Arabia on the other side now wadi what tear is the wilderness and that which they were that is where God told them to be he said go here next to the sea or rather on this side of the sea the opposite of Beel Zephan and you shall camp there so they're gonna camp right here roughly not exactly right there but they're gonna camp roughly here between the wilderness and the sea now turn with me one more chapter in Exodus we're gonna stay in Exodus a lot of the first 15 minutes of the lesson here Exodus chapter 15 Exodus chapter 15 verses 1 and 2 which says then Moses and the children of Israel saying the song to the Lord and spoke saying I will sing to the Lord for he has triumphed gloriously a horse and its writer he has thrown into the sea the Lord is my strength and some and he has become my salvation he is my God I will praise him my father's God and I will exalt him so what does it save here right it says he is my God you say well that doesn't quite make any sense how is how is he is my God mean God's our protector right it says he has triumphed gloriously that's what it says the horse and its writer he has thrown into the sea so at this point he has closed the sea on Egypt he has protected Israel he has protected the people of Israel he has become my salvation he has saved me it says for he is my God right my God protected me is what it says I will praise him and I will exalt him so our God is our protector another verse of the same song I was telling you about before I will lift my eyes into the darkest night for I know my Savior lives and I will walk with you knowing you will see me through right it's I will lift my eyes for I know my Savior lives I'll walk with you I'll follow you go with me to Matthew chapter 11 Matthew chapter 11 in verses 28 through 30 it says come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest in your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light right he says come with me all ye that labor and are heavy laden of course we have a song in our song books that uses these words right but it says I will walk with you knowing you will see me through and he says come with me and I will give you rest right I will see you through it's what he says and first Peter chapter 5 and verses 6 through 7 and then verse 10 is what we're gonna look next first Peter chapter 5 verse 6 it says humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God that he may that he may exalt you and do time humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God is what it says that he may exalt you and do time verse 7 casting all your care upon him for he careth for you God cares for you right humble yourselves therefore under his mighty hand because he cares for you verse 10 now says but the glory of all grace who have called us into his eternal glory by Christ Jesus after that ye have suffered a while make you perfect establish strengthen and settle by the God of all grace that's who this is the God of all grace who has called you into his eternal glory right who has called you to protect you sin his son to suffer so that we might be made perfect that he might establish us that he might strengthen us and he might settle us into him that we might be perfect in God that we might be protected by God now I'm gonna put the exact same thing back on the board for you I'm gonna put it right back up and sadly you can't see it but it's the exact same slide except I've underlined and highlighted a few things in verse 10 is where we did it but the God of all grace will make you perfect establish you strengthen and settle you and that he might protect you is what it is so I want you to understand something without God there is no true happiness without God there is no true happiness and you say well how does that make any sense let me explain for an order to or when you know God you know peace me back my house or don't when you know God you know peace okay which means if there's no God there is no peace and it gets a lot easier if you know God you know happiness and if you do not know God or there is no God then there will be no happiness what did that say back in verse 10 but the God of all grace who has called you into his eternal glory by Christ Jesus after he have suffered a while make you perfect establish you strengthen you and settle you without God there is no true happiness you have to know God to actually no happiness turn with me to Jeremiah chapter 8 Jeremiah chapter 8 and verse 18 it says when I would comfort myself against sorrow my heart is faint within me and Jeremiah he says when I comfort myself against my sorrow right when I try and be happy with myself my heart is faint within me now go with me to verse 20 scroll a few verses with me well read verses 20 through 22 go back thank you the harvest is passed it says in verse 20 the summer is ended and we are not saved for the herd of the daughter of my people am I hurt I am black or sorrowing is what that means I am sorrowing astonish mist has taken hold on me is there no balm and gillied is there no physician there when I comfort myself my heart is faint within me the harvest is passed the summer is ended yet we're not saved times passed why aren't we saved right that's what he's that's essentially what he's saying the time has been passing by and yet we're not saved for the herd of the daughter of my people I am hurt I am sorrowing astonishment has taken hold on me right there's nothing he can do on his own is there no balm and gillied is there no physician there he's not happy by himself know if made a song the 137th song will read the first four verses of it Psalm 137 beginning in verse one it says by the rivers of Babylon there we sat down yet we wept when we remembered Zion we hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof for there they carried us away captive required of us song and they that wasted us required of us mirth saying seeing us one of the songs of Zion and how shall we sing the Lord song in a strange land by the rivers of Zion I'm sorry by the rivers of Babylon therefore we sat down and we wept this is what it says we wept when we remembered Zion so we hung our harps right for how will we sing the Lord song in a strange land is what it says how are we gonna sing a song to the Lord when we don't know the Lord go with me to John chapter 4 John chapter 4 look at verse 21 John chapter 4 and verse 21 it says Jesus said under her woman believe me the hour cometh when ye shall enter into this mountain I'm sorry when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem shall worship the Father yet worship ye know not what we know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews but the hour cometh and is now when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth for the Father seeketh such to worship him there it is I figured it out okay so it says Jesus said under her this is the lady at the well right you're not going to have to go to a mountain you're not gonna have to go to Jerusalem to worship God anymore or the time is coming when you're not gonna have to do that right but the time is coming when true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth for the Father seeks such to worship him he says the time is coming when people will know God and you won't have to go to a special place in order to actually worship God and why is that right why if you can't be happy without God and you only have to go to two places either a mountain or Jerusalem in order to know God and you cannot be happy without knowing God then how does that make any sense that's the point that's exactly what he's saying you don't have to go anywhere special to know God anymore you can know God and know the happiness in which God provides from gonna tell you brethren God has given us so much more so much more than we will ever know so much more than we will ever be worthy of go with me to Hebrews chapter 11 Hebrews chapter 11 and we'll begin in verse 38 Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 38 it says of whom the world was not worthy they wondered in deserts and in mountains and in dims and caves of the earth and these all having obtained a good report through faith received not the promise God having provided some better thing for us that they without us should not be made perfect now let me explain that to you because it might not make a lot of sense yet they wondered in deserts and in mountains and in dins and caves of the earth this was the Israelite people whenever they left Egypt they wondered in the deserts they wondered in the mountains they were in the wilderness it's what they were that's who Abraham was to Moses was to David was that's who the prophets were that's what they did they wonder it says and these all having obtained a good report through faith received not the promise well what promise the promise of salvation that's what promise right they had a good report of faith they had that good report they were one with God in fact one of them was the friend of God and God having provided something better for us and he had a plan for all of mankind that they without us should not be made perfect he had a plan for all mankind so much so that whenever he sent his son and his son died on the cross it made all perfect his blood his salvation flowed both ways through time it flowed back to Abraham back to Isaac and it flowed back to Adam and it flows all the way through time that anyone with a good report of faith might be made perfect at the same time so that nobody had something over the other go to Hebrews chapter 13 with me Hebrews chapter 13 and verses 14 and 15 it says for here we have no continuing city but we seek one to come if we stock right there here we have nothing that's gonna last that's what that says here we have no continuing city but we seek one to come everything we have here is not gonna last forever so we look for the one that will by him it says in verse 15 therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continuously or continually that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name let us sacrifice a praise to God right let us praise God by the things we say let us praise God and give thanks to his name and the things that we say that's what we are to do for he has made us all perfect at the same time as we saw in Hebrews 1140 he gave us salvation go with me to Romans chapter 15 I'm sorry Romans chapter 8 clicked on the wrong slide Romans chapter 8 verses 38 and 39 Romans chapter 8 in verse 38 it says for I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principital nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of the Lord which is in Christ Jesus our Lord so what does God give us that's the question right we have God has given us everything and without him there's no true happiness or rather he's given us so much more than we want to admit it says nothing shall be able to separate us from his love he loves us so much he has given us so much that nothing can take it away nothing can separate us from that from that love in which he gave us from Jesus Christ our Lord continue with me now we'll go to Romans chapter 15 Romans chapter 15 verses 8 through 11 it says now I say that Jesus Christ was the minister of the circumcision of truth for the truth of God to confirm the promises made unto the fathers the promises made unto unto the fathers be the promises to Abraham the promise to Moses the promise to David the promise to Adam the promise to Eve verse 9 as we continue it says and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy as it is written for this cause I will confess to the among the Gentiles and sing unto thy name and again he saith rejoice ye Gentiles with his people and again praise the Lord all you Gentiles and load him all ye people what does it say here it says Jesus Christ was the minister of the circumcision for the truth of God and what did he come to do what did he minister he came to confirm the promises made to everyone the promises made to the Israelite people to the fathers as they call them and that promise was that the Gentiles might also be able to glorify God that we Gentiles might have the salvation says sing unto thy name I will confess to the Gentiles and sing unto thy name Lord I will tell the Gentiles about you and again he saith rejoice ye Gentiles right he's spreading the word to the Gentiles praise the Lord all ye Gentiles he gave the Gentiles salvation as well he didn't just give it to the Israelite people he gave it to everyone there's another song it's also not in our songbook but I do have a songbook that has it this is the Psalms hymns in spiritual song song book it's called we shall assemble says we shall assemble on the mountain we shall assemble at the throne with humble hearts into his presence we shall bring an offering of song glory and honor and dominion unto the Lamb unto the King oh hallelujah hallelujah we sing the song of the redeemed brethren when we assemble what are we supposed to sing glory and honor and dominion unto the King unto the Lamb hallelujah right we sing the song of the redeemed it says we sing the song of the redeemed we are the redeemed back in Romans chapter 15 and verses 9 10 and 11 right and I will sing unto thy name glory and honor and dominion unto the Lamb and we will rejoice hallelujah and we will praise the Lord hallelujah we sing the song of the redeemed brethren because we are redeemed and it's a beautiful song if you want to look at it I will gladly pass the songbook around after services and you can look at the song but now proceed with me let's go to Psalm 147 where we have the commandment to praise God through song because if you haven't noticed in every lesson I've given for the past three weeks I've given you a song and this one I've given you two and you have to ask why all right why would I give you a song well there are two reasons for that one we have the command we have a command to praise God through song and the other reason is because we have to understand what we sing do you understand whenever you sing a song a song that you don't sing here we shall assemble right do you understand what this song means you understand what you're saying with any song with the song that I led with which again you don't know that song either but do you understand what the song means or is it just empty words to you are they just empty words go with me to Psalm 147 the 147th Psalm and verse one says praise the Lord for it is good to sing praises to our God for it is pleasant and praise is beautiful so we can praise God through song for it is pleasant and praising God is beautiful and of course the one I'm sure everybody knows Colossians 3 16 let the word of Christ dwell in you britually and all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another and songs and hymns and spiritual songs singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord and whatsoever you do in word and deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving him or giving thanks to God and the Father by him whatever you do in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord it says in Psalm 17 what's again we have a song all about that what are you do in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord those are the words of the soft they come from Colossians 3 17 and yet if you read 16 with it teaching and admonishing one another and Psalms hymns and spiritual songs singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord and whatsoever you do in word or deed you all in the name of the Lord the songs you sing the hymns the songs when you sing them do all in the name of the Lord do you do it in the name of the Lord's question or do you just do it because it's something you do you just sing it because oh it sounds pretty right that it says in your hearts to the Lord singing with grace in your hearts it doesn't mean singing with a banjo or singing with a piano or singing with a guitar or an entire heavy metal band and fog machines and laser pointers no it's a singing with grace in your heart that's how you sing and whenever you sing or you glorifying God are you doing it in the way God has asked you to do it are you just doing it because it sounds good go with me to Philemon chapter 4 for brethren we have the promise of peace Philemon chapter 4 in verse 6 oh I skipped Philemon 4 in verse 6 but I had it so go with me there Philemon chapter 4 in verse 6 and then we'll go to John here in a minute Philemon chapter 4 in verses 6 and 7 it says be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God and the peace of God which path it passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus so here's our promise and the peace of God which path is all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus that's our promise we have another promise in John chapter 14 and verse 27 the same promise Jesus says peace I leave with you my peace I give unto you not as the world giveeth give I unto you let not your hearts be troubled nor let it be afraid he says peace I live with you I've left you peace that your heart might not be troubled and that you might not need to be afraid turn with me a few pages in your Bible to John chapter 16 John chapter 16 and verse 33 says these things I have spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace and the world ye shall have tribulation but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world it says that in me ye might have peace that's a promise in peace is what I leave with you right peace I leave to you in John 14 and John 16 in me you might have peace for again he has a promise in the world ye shall have tribulation you will experience tribulation you're gonna be tested you're gonna be tried that's a promise right there from Jesus but be of good cheer well why should you be of good cheer because in Christ you may have peace because he overcame the world he was trying he was tested the same way we are and yet he overcame it go with me to Romans chapter 5 Romans chapter 5 we'll read the first two verses Romans chapter 5 and verse 1 it says therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ once again it says we have peace by being justified through faith and verse 2 it says by whom we also have access by faith into this grace where and we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God we can rejoice in this hope of the glory of God because we have peace through God or with God through Jesus Christ so whenever you do what Jesus says then we get that peace and we get that peace we get hope and we can rejoice and that hope for brethren rejoice because salvation is ours that's why you be thankful you be thankful for everything we've said up to this point and you're gonna be thankful for everything we say after this point because God has done things for us that we couldn't begin to understand go with me to first Peter we like first Peter if you've noticed almost every one of my lessons I have you turn to first Peter it's a very important book for Christians today it's a very important book for Christians in the future and Christians in the past because everything Peter writes in this book does not have a time restraint on it and first Peter chapter one and verses three through fourth says blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and to an inheritance and corruptible and undefiled that does not fade away reserved for you reserved in heaven for you so back in Romans chapter five in verse two it said and rejoice in hope of the glory of God here is the hope that we rejoice in it's a living hope all right that's Jesus he's alive he was raised from the dead and ascended to heaven he is our hope through the resurrection it even tells you that a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead it tells you that Christ is alive he's who we have hope in and that hope is an inheritance that's what we hope for it's incorruptible it's undefiled it's perfect it's something that's never gonna fade away and it's reserved for us in heaven if we continue reading in first Peter you go two more verses down you go to 1 Peter 1 6 and verse 6 through 8 it says and this you greatly rejoice though now for a little while if need be you have been grieved by various trials that the genuineness of your faith being much more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire made me found to praise honor and glorify at the revelation of Jesus Christ whom having not seen you love though now you do not see him yet believing you rejoice with joy and expressible and full of glory now I mentioned I told you that Peter is a book to every Christian it's a book to now it's in a book to the future and it's a book to the past this is why this is why right here this verse verse 8 says whom having not seen you love the people Peter is writing to have not seen Christ yet they love Christ which means you can love Christ without seeing Christ we haven't seen Christ yet we love Christ though now you do not see him we don't see him right now but we believe him we believe in him right the question is do we rejoice with joy and expressible and for are we full of glory we don't see Christ we are going to see Christ anytime soon and we haven't seen him yet I say anytime soon it's Lord willing we continue to exist here on the planet spreading his word but we might come at any time but we don't see him we haven't seen him in the past and yet the brethren first Peter is talking to still rejoices with joy and it's unexpressible joy now verse 9 I want to put a lot of emphasis on verse 9 and first Peter chapter 1 and verse 9 receiving the end of your faith even the salvation of your souls is what that says and he rejoices with joy unspeakable and full of glory receiving the end of your faith now if you keep reading it's of which salvation the prophets have inquired in search diligently right this salvation has been known about since the days of old and they're not going to receive it until they die it's the salvation of their soul it's not the salvation of the mortal body growth me to Psalm chapter 126 the 126th psalm with me the first three verses and these will be out of the new King James version that I put up on the board and Psalm 126 and verse 1 it says when the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion we were like them that dreamed then was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue was singing then said they among the heathen the Lord has done great things for them the Lord has done great things for us where of your glad says when the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion we were like them that dream we dreamed we dreamed of that salvation says then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with singing they're glad they are rejoicing they're in captivity and they are rejoicing they tell the heathens the Lord has done great things for you right look at the land you've conquered you didn't conquer that by yourself the Lord let you conquer that the Lord has done great things for us and that's why we laugh that's why we sing that's why we rejoice says the Lord has done great things for us the Lord has done great things for us brethren do you rejoice in that the song that I brought to you this morning how can I keep from singing how can I keep from singing your praise how can I ever say enough how amazing is your love how can I keep from shouting your name I know I am loved by the king brethren the Lord has done so much for us that I feel most of us don't pay attention to I heard between Bible study and the beginning of worship this morning they were talking about guardian angels that the Lord is still active today so it's not only the Lord has done so many things for you the Lord is going to continue to do things for his people he takes care of his people so I ask you at the beginning I ask you a question how can you not be happy the Lord protects you because he protects his people Psalm 100 in verse 3 we are his people and the sheep of his pastor he protects us he protects his people through God we have true happiness for without God we cannot have happiness brethren that last verse it says I am no I am loved by the king and it makes my heart to sing I know I am loved by the king and I rejoice so brethren there's the question how can you not be happy for we are to be thankful and to rejoice the Lord has done things for us to normal to count brethren if you want oh I'm better get back there if anyone feels as though they have fallen away or they do not understand what the Lord has done or they do not understand the salvation brethren then you must ask yourself did you understand the salvation when you were baptized did you understand the reason to have been baptized to have put your trust in God now this is not a lesson on the first principles but if you did not understand that salvation when you were baptized and brother I'm here to tell you that you might not have been baptized for the right reason and if you have not lived a joyous life if you not have not sung praising the Lord if you not have not given thanks to the Lord if you don't follow his commandments then you're not living your life according to God now of course he has given us the way to get out of that that's through repentance and if anyone feels as though they need to ask for repentance or for prayers if you'll come forward as we stand and we sing the song that has
Lesson by Espn McCall, Preacher at Wickett Church of Christ
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