This sermon was preached at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Cherry Log, Georgia on Sunday, November 24, 2013 by Pastor Paul Mims. You can hear this sermon at www.csbccl.org

Psalm 92:1-15 The Sunday School Teacher asked little Tommy if he prayed every night. He said “No Mam. Some nights I don’t need nothing.”

A man dreamed he went to heaven and Saint Peter gave him the tour. The first room they stopped at was large and full of bustling activity with angels flitting to and fro. The man asked “What’s going on?” Peter answered “This is RECEIVING where all the prayer requests come in, get processed by angels and forwarded to God.” Then they walked to the next room which was also large, and busy with angels. “What’s this room?” asked the newcomer. Peter answered “This is SHIPPING, where all of the answers and blessings are prepared and shipped out.” Then they came to a third room that was small and cramped, with one angel sitting there looking bored and lonely. “What is this room?” asked the man. Peter answered, “This is ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. This is where we receive all of the “thanks” for the answered prayers and blessings.”

Of course, this is a fanciful way of viewing the question of “Where do blessings come from?” but it does make the point for believers that all blessings come from God. But many do not see it that way.

I. THE WORLDLY VIEW. “The senseless man does not know, fools do not understand, that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed.” (vv.6-7)
The secular view is that man makes his own blessings and that if you don’t look out for yourself no one else will. When God is left out of the question the only alternative is to see yourself as the source of your blessings.

The world, meaning people who see things from a natural perspective rather than through a spiritual perspective, believe as did the philosopher Epicurus. He sought freedom from pain and emotional disturbance through pleasure. He rejected any thought of the afterlife or the influence of the gods on human affairs. So, man was in the world for a brief period. His life was filled with trouble. There were few pleasures to dull the pain and then life would be over. And that was it – so he developed the motto, “Eat, drink, and be merry! For tomorrow we die.”

Alongside of this was another philosophy that was somewhat fatalistic. It was known as Stoicism and it held that humans should be free from passion and calmly accept all occurrences as the unavoidable result of the will of the gods.

In both of these philosophies man was the victim. He was either alone or the gods were out to get him.
The secular view today is that by our own ingenuity we have developed a complex civilization and arrived at where we are today. With this view man is still alone and is the captain of his own fate. Life is what we make it. We create our own opportunities, but there are times when lucky breaks come out way.
This was expressed to our children in a cartoon called THE SIMPSONS. Young Bart sits down to a meal with his family. It is his turn to pray and he says, “Lord, my dad earned the money to pay for this food, and my mom worked hours to prepare it. What did you do? Thanks a lot for nothing!” That is how some people feel today.

Pastor H.A. Ironside had lunch in a crowded restaurant. Just as he was about to begin his meal, a man approached and asked if he could join him. Dr. Ironside invited his to have a seat.

Then, as was his custom, Dr. Ironside bowed his head in prayer. When he opened his eyes, the other man asked, “Do you have a headache?” Ironside replied, “No, I don’t.” The other man asked, “Well, is there something wrong with your food?” Ironside replied, “No, I was simply thanking God as I always do before I eat.” The man said, “Oh, you’re one of those, are you? Well, I want you to know I never give thanks. I earn my money by the sweat of my brow and I don’t have to give thanks to anybody when I eat. I just start right in!” Ironside said, “Yes, you’re just like my dog. That’s what he does too.”

II. THE GODLY VIEW. “It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night…For you make me glad by your deeds, O lord; I sing for joy at the works of your hands.” (vv.1,2,4)

The Godly view is that all blessings come from God. God acts on behalf of his people. He has plans for you. If you will wait on him, you will see the things that he has in mind for you. Isaiah 64:4 says, “Since ancient times, no one has heard, nor ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.”

How do we know this? In I Corinthians 2:12, we read, “We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.”

It is through God’s Spirit that we know the blessings that come from him. Our lives are not left to chance. We do not just get lucky breaks. God blesses us in the realm of the spirit in which we are granted peace, joy, purpose, and meaning to life. He blesses us in the provisions for our necessities. He gives us life itself. He is interested in the smallest detail of our lives. The Christian can see that all we are and have is by God’s grace.

Does this mean that God answers every prayer need that we have for work or finances of the moment. No, but for the person who waits on him and trusts him with the situation, the Bible says that he is now working all of the events together for our good and his glory. For instance, our family owned a sailboat for thirty-six years. It was our family sport. We spent our vacations on it sailing to beautiful places. Then it came time to close that chapter of our lives. The broker told me that we could sell it for $10,000. For two years we had it on the market and spent over $5,000 just in dockage, insurance, and taxes during those two years. We had asked God to provide us a buyer, but it did not happen. So, we gave it to the Sea Scouts.

What was the blessing in all of that? We had wonderful experiences aboard as our children were growing up. We sailed the Chesapeake Bay, the Sounds of North Carolina, the East Coast to Florida, the Bahamas, Virgin Islands, and Lake Lanier for many years. We had Divine protection in the midst of all the storms we encountered. Do I feel not blessed because God did not send me a buyer on my timetable and I lost a little money? Absolutely not! It was a blessing to give it to young people who could use it after us.
Moses reminded Israel of these same truths in Deuteronomy 8; “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land – a land with streams and pools of water, with streams flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills. When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws, and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery…You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.”

Did Moses have any doubt that all blessings come from God?

A little girl, whose father was a radio announcer, was asked to pray as she visited a friend’s house for dinner. She cleared her throat and said, “This food, friends, is coming to you through the courtesy of Almighty God.”

Where do blessings come from? We have looked at the world’s answer and the believer’s answer. Now, let’s look at:

III. YOUR ANSWER.

The blessings of your life – did you create them with your own hands or do you believe that they came from the hand of God upon you?

If you know the Lord Jesus Christ personally, and have His Spirit living in you, your answer will be different from those with a secular mindset.

Did you get what you have by your own initiative or did God give you the ability to procure it?
If we say “I did it myself” – this is a form of practical atheism.

If we do not honor the Lord with our substance and trust him in all of the minute details of our lives we are not living the faith life.

Is your answer like that of the Psalmists in verses 12-15? Under God’s blessing he says, “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

A 4-year-old boy was asked to return thanks before Thanksgiving dinner. His family bowed their heads in expectation. He began his prayer, thanking God for all his friends, naming them one by one. Then he thanked God for Mommy, Daddy, brother, sister, Grandma, Grandpa, and all his aunts and uncles. Then he began to thank God for the food. He gave thanks for the turkey, the dressing, the fruit salad, the cranberry sauce, the pies, the cakes, even the cool whip. Then he paused, and everyone waited–and waited. After a long silence, the young fellow looked up at his mother and asked, “If I thank God for the broccoli, won’t he know that I’m lying?”

It is Thanksgiving and it is time for us to understand anew how gratitude can create a wholesome attitude about our life circumstances.

Thanksgiving can turn what we have into enough. Giving thanks to God can change our outlook on a desperate situation. Gratitude can turn our denial into faith. Thanksgiving can turn our turmoil into peace.
Gratitude can relieve our anger about our past. Can You say, “The favor of God is upon me?” Sometimes, all it takes to get right with God is to acknowledge his will with gratitude and do it. One cannot truly live abundantly without a proper sense of God’s favor upon his or her life. We often misunderstand what God is doing or not doing in our lives. One afternoon a shopper at the mall felt the need for a coffee break. She bought herself a little bag of cookies and put them in her shopping bag. She then got in line for coffee, found a place to sit at one of the crowded tables, and then taking the lid off her coffee and taking out a magazine she began to sip her coffee and read. Across the table from her a man sat reading a newspaper. After a minute or two she reached out and took a cookie. As she did, the man seated across the table reached out and took one too. This put her off, but she did not say anything. A few moments later she took another cookie. Once again the man did so too. Now she was getting a bit upset, but
still she did not say anything. After having a couple of sips of coffee she once again took another cookie. So did the man. She was really upset by this – especially since now only one cookie was left. Apparently the man also realized that only one cookie was left. Before she could say anything he took it, broke it in half, offered half to her, and proceeded to eat the other half himself. Then he smiled at her and putting the paper under his arm, rose and walked off. Was she steamed! Her coffee break was ruined and thinking ahead of how she would tell this offense to her family, she folded her magazine, opened her shopping bag, and there discovered her own unopened bag of cookies.

Our Lord so wondrously provides for us. Let’s not misunderstand his grace but do what the psalmist said, “…proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night.”

Praise Be To His Name!