for it. But I've entitled this sermon, Give Me Eyes to Behold and Lips to Praise. And I'll read a few verses in this. I read the entire passage last week and will continue to read scriptures in this entire psalm as I go throughout the message this morning. Lord willing, we'll finish it. But Psalm 107 was written for a joyous celebration of God's people. After 70 years of captivity in Babylon, they're on their way home. They get to go home. And they get to bring about Israel's release. God did a wonder here. Only 42,000-ish people would make their way. Others were comfortable staying in Babylon. But of those 42,000, some of them priests and servants and other such things in the society, that number of people, they said, I want to go home to where we belong. But it was a hard trek, and 500 miles they had to walk over a roughly four-month period. Difficult, challenging. And in all of this journey that they're walking, and they get home, this is a review from last week, they find their homeland destroyed. And now they must rebuild. They rebuild the second temple. After a year of exhausting work getting this city ready, they begin to work on the temple. I want to tell us on this Lord's Day, God is worthy of all praise. Can I tell you, I was just listening to a message before here, and I was a preacher down in the South of the States, and I'm talking about all the devastation that happened with Hurricane Helene. Bringing our tears, our cries to God, but God is still good. I want to read a few verses here. In Psalm 107, if you found your place in God's Word, would you follow along with me? It says, O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good. For His mercy endureth forever. Let the redeemed, that's talking about believers. And I talked about that last week. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Whom He hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy and gathered them out of the lands from the east and from the west and from the north from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way. They found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. It goes through a whole bunch of different things back and forth here, and we're going to talk about that today. Talk about some thanks, and then we're also going to talk about robbers of your joy. Look with me at verse 41. Yet saideth he the poor on high from affliction, maketh him families like a flock. Verse 42, Psalm 107. The righteous shall see it and rejoice, and all iniquity shall stop her mouth. Whoso is wise and will observe these things, even they shall understand the love and kindness of the Lord. And from the title comes from verse 42, will observe these things, even they shall understand the love and kindness of the Lord. Can I tell you, we can get so blinded by our problems, our situations, you and I overlook the vast blessings and promises that we receive from God's gracious hand. Circumstances and emotions are many times the dominant force in our lives and they consume our thinking rather than the praises of God. It takes a concerted effort to deny myself and say, I'm just going to praise God. I want you to think about all the things that God does and his loving kindness towards you. May we all be able to follow verse 2, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. The psalm begins with a narrative of an oppressed people being freed and unified as they travel home through the wilderness. And God uses this hardship as they're all together in a very small group of people relative to the entire population of the Jewish people. They're going home through 500 miles of vast wilderness over there in obviously desert. They're struggling with food, they're struggling with water, probably irritation because they're tired and some of them sore from what they're going through. In this process, as they're all going through the various struggles of coming out of captivity, coming away from a captive mind thinking, we're now a free people under God. God's unifying these people as they come back to their land that's devastated. God wants to do something great. Their deliverance is just a heart cry away. My friend, could it be that we've ceased to cry out to God in prayer? We've stopped to look at where we came from. We've ceased to realize that there were co-laborers opening their eyes, crying out to God, thanking Him for His wondrous works. I want to say this psalm today speaks of the need to praise and the resistance to praise as being rebellious and worthy of the Lord's wrath, and we're going to talk about that. It's easy to scowl or complain, but a praising and thankful attitude requires a determined observation of all the good that God does and a focus on Christ and others beyond ourselves. I want to have a time of silence here this morning, and then I'll pray. Maybe in this time of silence, just give you a quiet time where you're seated. Just pray and talk with God. Lord, I pray you'd help me to praise you above any circumstance. And Lord, show me what I need to know this day. So we're gonna have a time of silence here, just about a minute or so. I'll give you some time, just with heads bowed and eyes closed, just a time for you and God to talk. or you can just sit there silently, whatever the case is, whatever is on your heart and mind, but just prepare your heart, God, I wanna hear from you today. So with heads bowed and eyes closed, and then I'll pray, and then we'll continue our study this morning. Our Father, I thank you for this day. Lord, I thank you for the love that we receive from Jesus on the cross. Lord, I thank you for the privilege that we have to enter into relationship with the very one that created us. Lord, not some distant relationship, but a very real, intimate, spiritual relationship. Lord, we can know of your presence with us and not hope, Lord, we can have a steadfast hope that we are your child, or we can have the encouragement in all of our anxieties, all of our worries and fears. I bring it to the cross and find refuge there. Father, I pray that we'd have open eyes and lips ready to praise you for your loving kindness. And Lord, I know in the hard times of life, it's very difficult when the tears continue to flow. and our hearts are broken. Lord, we don't know what to do and it's hard to praise. Father, I pray today as we look at your precious word that we'd find answers for your dear people. God, as I preach your word, I need your help. God, would we have hearts today that would just see that Jesus is the answer. Jesus is the hope of this world. He came for all humanity. Lord, no matter what we've done, where we came from, the door to that cross is always open. Father, help us to have tender hearts, to hear your message and to respond. Father, I also pray that you'd help us to have observant eyes to realize of God's goodness. all the wonders that you do around us. God, help us to look beyond our circumstances and look to you. I love you, and I thank you, Father, for being our gracious and wonderful Savior. Guide us and keep us, O Lord. In Jesus' precious name I pray, amen. Our responsibility to praise, and I mentioned this last week, oh give thanks unto the Lord. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, verse two. We have a responsibility, there's an admonition to give thanks. There is an audience of the redeemed. This is Christians, believers. Obviously in the old times, in the Old Testament, this would have been believing Israel. There's an admonishment to oh give thanks. There's an attitude behind our praise. There's some reasons for our praise that the first thing that we could find in verses two through four, we find there's a deliverance from bondage. They're no longer in captivity. If you're a Christian today, you are not in captivity to Satan. You are not a captive to the sin over you. Do we still struggle with sin? Of course we do. But we do not have to follow our father, Satan. We get to follow the real father, God the Father. We have a deliverance from bondage. Number two, we have a settled harbor of hope. We find this in verses four through six. And then in verse nine. For he satisfieth the longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. I have a settled harbor that I can go to. Verse 14, He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and break their bands in sunder. Man, I have a place that I can go to. It's settled. I remember back when I was in high school, and I could drive, and even in university, I could have had the worst day ever, but I knew that I could always go to my grandparents' house. I'd walk in and I'd get their attention. I'd walk in the house and many times I'd go over to Grandma's cupboard, I'd open it up and she'd have homemade cookies there for me. I'd go to the fridge and Grandma would have some ice cream or pop or something, whatever. I mean, Grandma's house was incredible. And I'd have the listening ear of my grandmother and grandfather. It was a settled place. But I want to tell you even more settled than that. They're no longer here, they're now with the Lord, but I want to tell you, you have a settled harbor of hope that you can go to. There's also a provision in a lonely place, verse 7 of Psalm 107. And he led them forth by the right way that they might go to a city of habitation. God led them the direction they ought to go. In verse 14, he led them out of the pits of despair. Verses 28 through 30 he led them out of an unbearable storm verses 35 through 37 He led them in a harvest in the desert Verse 38. There's a protection of finances verses 40 and 41. There's a multiplication and abundance in a financial drought As you hear of all these things of all the things that I could give God thanks for I Want to talk about our rate of thanks where I pick up where I left off last week rate of things how often should I be given thanks would you look with me at verse 21 of Psalm 107 and You find this over and over again. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness You find it also in verse 15, but we're gonna look at verse 21 Oh the men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works of the children of men let them sacrifice the sacrifices of Thanksgiving and declare his works with rejoicing and Verse 42, the righteous shall see it and rejoice and all iniquity shall stop her mouth. Our rate of thanks ought to be accompanied by every deed and act of benefit received. Many years ago, as the story is told, the devout king was disturbed by the ingratitude of his royal court. He prepared a large banquet for them. When the king and his royal guests were seated by prearrangement, a beggar shuffled into the hall, sat down at the king's table and gorged himself with food. Without saying a word, he then left the room. The guests were furious and asked permission to seize the beggar and tear him limb from limb for his ingratitude. The king replied, that beggar has done only once to an earthly king what each of you has done three times each day to God. You sit there at the table and eat until you are satisfied, then you walk away without recognizing God or even expressing one word of thanks to Him. Why is it that we pray over our food? Is it because that's what Christians are supposed to do? No, because no meal is guaranteed for you or I. And God, in His grace and mercy and love, allows us to sit down and have a meal. That food is a gift from God. Can I tell you that our thankfulness and this rate of thanks, and we see the blessings that God gives, our rate of thanks, our thankfulness ought to be aware. We look at verses 24 and verse 25. Look with me. You find in verse... 22, let them sacrifice the sacrifices of Thanksgiving and declare his works with rejoicing. We can see God, sometimes we have storms, whether it's a physical storm, or it's a spiritual storm, or both at the same time, one or the other, I mean, either or. But we see these storms, and I wanna ask us, in the midst of the storm, can I look back and still see the times that God was good? Can I still begin to think, because as you reflect upon this, in verse 42, the righteous shall see it. A little commentary here by David Sorensen, he says, the righteous rejoice upon witnessing God's deliverance and blessing upon the humble of spirit. Furthermore, those given to sin have their mouths shut upon witnessing God's blessing upon his own. To this day, unsaved family members will scoff and mock at redeemed relatives. They'll mock at Christians, your family. However, as the years pass and they reap the bitter harvest of their sin, they see the stability and blessing upon their godly relatives. And they quickly stop their bad-mouthing of them. I want you to look with me at Psalm 150. We'll come back here to Psalm 107, but look with me at Psalm 150. In that very quote that I was reading there, in that commentary, that's saying that your family may mock you for Jesus. Why would you go with the craziness of God and Jesus Christ and all of that and whatever concept or stereotype is in their mind for following Jesus? And they'll mock you. They might avoid you. They might push you away. But as time goes on, Did you maintain a stability for Christ? And they see you go through some difficult times and maintain that stability. What is it that can create such a stability in your life and mine? Sure, it's not easy being mocked and ridiculed, especially by your own family. Psalm 150 verse 1, praise you the Lord, praise God in his sanctuary, praise him in the firmament of his power, praise him for his mighty acts, praise him according to his excellent greatness. Verse 6, let everything that hath breath praise the Lord, praise you the Lord. And the Psalms ends. The Psalms ends on let everything that hath breath praise the Lord, praise you the Lord. Can I tell you that I think praise is pretty important. I think God says praise is very important. Because he ends the Psalms with saying, praise the Lord. Can I tell you that when our thankfulness is aware, and our rate of thanks, like how often, you know, if you think about a rate at which something, maybe a gun fires, and you know, maybe it's semi-automatic, and how fast can you pull the trigger, you know, all the bullets going down range, and how fast, and I'm talking to myself on this, the awareness of all that God does. day-by-day, moment-by-moment basis. Here's some things about an aware thankfulness. Verse 22, would you look with me? Our thanksgiving is sacrificial, verse 22. And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving and declare his works. But it doesn't end there. with rejoicing, it says. There is an attitude. You know, sometimes you're, and we had a time of praise last week and it was awesome, man, I love it. I love hearing what God's doing in the lives of other believers and maybe things you're reading in the Bible and you're learning, man, it's exciting. But our thanksgiving is sacrificial. And because of the goodness of God, his wonderful works to the sinful, foolish men, Right Sorenson the psalmist encourages them to thank God and testify to others by rejoicing Leviticus chapter 7 verses 12 through 15 the peace offering was prescribed as a special sacrifice for Thanksgiving Under the law of Moses Thanksgiving cost a price animals were sacrificed there in the Old Testament. They would have a peace offering and They did it because they're saying God. I just want to give an offering to you because I'm so thankful for you. I And it costs them money. Can I tell you today, look with me at Genesis chapter 14, I was actually just reading this this morning in a portion of my devotional time, and Genesis chapter 14, and then we'll go to Malachi chapter three, but it's a portion of our thanksgiving to God. It's not just a prayer at mealtime, but it's also a giving of our finances to God. Genesis chapter 14, verse 18. Thanksgiving is something that we realize that God doesn't say, God, I want to give back to you out of appreciation, not because I have to, because I want to. Because if you're doing it, I have to, God said, I don't want it. You know, I don't want someone to do it because they have to do it. You want to do it because that's what they're convinced that God wants them to do. Genesis chapter 14 verse 18 in Melchizedek. So here's a situation. Lot, Abraham's nephew, is captured and he's taken. And Abraham gets his servants, 318 of them, and they go and they rescue Lot. They free the king of Sodom, they free the king of Gomorrah, and they rescue them from all these kings that attack Sodom and Gomorrah. And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine. He was the priest of the Most High God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram, of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth. And blessed be the Most High God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he, this is Abraham, gave him tithes of all. The Melchizedek, the priest of the Most High God, and it is, it's also, Melchizedek is mentioned in Hebrews. This is a Christophany, or a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. It's Jesus appearing on the earth prior to coming as a baby born to the Virgin Mary. But Abraham gives him tithes. He says, here, I'm giving you 10% of what I've gained. And the first reference to tithing is thus noted here in the Bible, tithing. As God blesses and God gives me income, I give 10% back to him. And I say, God, it's yours, at least, right? And he willfully gave it from a heart saying, God, I want to give to you. It was sacrificial with an understanding that the time, the food that I eat, I'm thanking God. The finances that I get, I'm giving back to God what rightfully belongs to Him. Look with me at Malachi chapter 3. I want to tell you that Again, God wants you to do it from your heart, not because you feel compelled or this is what the good Christian does. That's not what God's desire. God's desire is that we do it because it's His, that He rightfully gave it to us. And I just say, God, I'm so thankful for you. Malachi. So even before God had talked to Israel about tithing, to the Jewish people, he talks about tithing as a portion of thanks. So, like, I remember for myself, personally, I was there in university, and I wasn't making a ton of money, but I was giving to the church, and there were a few times that some things happened, and I was like, well, I can't give, I don't have enough, and I didn't, and then other things would happen and break down, and I'm like, ah, and then God was saying, hey, Chris, You need to give to me what belongs to me." I said, okay, Lord. I learned it many years ago when I was in university. God, I got to give to you what belongs to you. Malachi chapter 3, verse 7. And even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances and have not kept them. Return unto me and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of Hosts. But ye said, wherein shall we return? Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee, in tithes and offerings? Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes in the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts. If I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I tell you, when I want to give thanks to God for whatever God gives, my time, I want to give God my time. I want to give Him my talents and resources. And you do as the Spirit of God works, but you've got to be convinced. But your thankfulness, as we come back to Psalm 107 and verse 43, as you think on this, Psalm 107, verse 43, whoso is wise and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord. Did God give you the job He gave you? Did God give you the friends He gave you, the family, the church? Man, I can get so caught up. There's a robber of joy in so many of our lives. What are some things in your life and mine that can rob my joy? The psalm situation here of deliverance the underlying cause of despair and distress was a lack of appreciation of God's wondrous works Verses 10 through 12 we look at that such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death being bound in affliction iron because they rebelled against the words of God and condemned the counsel of the Most High therefore He brought down their heart with labor. They fell down and there was none to help They're in the shadow of death. They're in darkness. They're bound in What was it? They were in rebellion against God's Word. They condemned the counsel of the Most High. Andrew Carnegie, a multi-millionaire, when he passed, in his will, he left one million dollars for one of his relatives, who, in return, cursed Carnegie thoroughly, because Carnegie had left 365 million dollars to public charities and had cut him off with just one measly million dollars. Can you think? of the absolute ingratitude there. 365 million, I should have had at least 10 million or 15 or 20 million of that. My God, it's got a million. Oh, come on now. That's a lot of money. But God gives us job, God gives us the energy, God gives us the strength we need to, the strength to do what we need to do. I tell you, as we were doing the wood cutting, Eric was cutting, and I was helping to haul it out, and he did as well, and I was getting tired. Some of those logs, they were heavy, especially yesterday. We were carrying 12-foot lengths out, and, you know, they were getting heavy. They're in the burn area getting all sooted and black and dark, and I mean, I don't know, whatever. But it was fun out in the beautiful outdoors. It wasn't raining. Gorgeous weather. It was awesome. But can I tell you, one of the robbers of joy in your life, number one, is ingratitude. Any freedom I enjoy, whether physically and spiritually, from the snare and lair of Satan comes from God. Any freedom that I get comes from God. It doesn't come from Satan. There's actually, as I was doing some research on this in Harvard Health, this is a secular study. In this research, they say research in common sense suggests that one aspect of the Thanksgiving season can actually lift the spirit, and it's built right into the holiday being grateful. The word gratitude, they write, is derived from the Latin word gratia, which means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness. In some ways, gratitude encompasses all of these meanings. Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible. With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness of their lives. In the process, people usually recognize that the source of that goodness lies at least partially outside themselves. As a result, being grateful also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals, whether to other people, nature, or higher power. In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships. Two psychologists, Dr. Robert E. Emmons of the University of California, Davis, and Dr. Michael E. McCullough of the University of Miami, have done much of the research on gratitude. They asked all the participants to write a few sentences each week focusing on particular topics. One group wrote about things they were grateful for that had occurred during the week. A second group wrote about daily irritations or things that had displeased them. And the third wrote about events that had affected them, with no emphasis on positive or negative. So one group wrote on positive things, another group wrote on negative things, and the third group, the control group, wrote on whatever came to mind. After 10 weeks, those who wrote about gratitude were more optimistic and felt better about their lives. Surprisingly, they also exercised more and had fewer visits to physicians than those who focus on sources of aggravation. Another leading research in this field, Dr. Martin E. P. Seligman, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, tested the impact of various positive psychology interventions on 411 people, each compared with a control assignment of writing about early memories. When the week's assignment was to write and personally deliver a letter of gratitude to someone who had never been adequately thanked for his or her kindness, participants immediately exhibited a huge increase in happiness scores. This impact was more significant than any other intervention with benefits lasting for a month. Gratitude helps people refocus on what they have instead of what they lacked. And although it may feel contrived at first, this mental state grows stronger with use and practice. I'd like you to look with me at Deuteronomy chapter 28. I know I read a longer section of a secular study, but what they're doing is they're confirming what God has already told us to do in everything give thanks. This is the will of God and Christ Jesus concerning you. Deuteronomy chapter 28 verse 47. We'll come back to Psalm 107 right after this. Deuteronomy chapter 28. You know what they said? They said it results in greater physical fitness, and this idea, not physical fitness, but it results in a greater desire to be physical, like exercise, and an overall joy. A robber of our joy is ingratitude. Verse 47, 48 of Deuteronomy chapter 28. It reads for us, because thou servest not the Lord thy God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart, For the abundance of all things, that's a thankfulness, therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies, which the Lord shall send against thee in hunger and in thirst and in nakedness, and in want of all things, and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he hath destroyed thee. What is he saying? You didn't serve God, you didn't do a thanks in gratitude. God, you've given us a promised land. God, you've given us a turnkey place to live. You've given us income. You've given us food. You've given us friends and family. You've given us a place to worship you, but it's not good enough. God says, okay, I'll let you go into slavery, captivity. And maybe it's not physical captivity, but I can tell you it's a mental, emotional captivity of mind and a lack of ingratitude. Number two on this robber of joy is rebellion. Look with me at verses 10 through 12. Such as sit in darkness in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron, because they rebelled against the words of God and condemned the counsel of the Most High. Therefore he brought down their heart with labor, they fell down and there was none to help. It is in the rebel of heart who refuses to thanks God. Reward for ingratitude is increased labor, loss of defined leadership. There's a despair that no one there to help. And you think about the story of Adam and Eve and they hid themselves from God. You hear the preaching of God's Word, Ezekiel chapter 33, but you don't act accordingly. He tells in Ezekiel 33, he says, watchmen, I want you to look out for any invading army. but they're not looking, they're not finding it. And he says, but if you pronounce, the army is approaching, the enemy is approaching, and they do nothing, that's the responsibility is now on them. But there's a rebellion, there's something that, I don't want to do that, I don't want to listen to this authority, I don't want to listen to God, and the rebellion will lead to a loss of joy. Number three, foolishness, verses 17 and 18. Fools, because of their transgression and because of their iniquities, are afflicted. Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat, and they draw near unto the gates of death. Talk about fools. One who despises wisdom, instruction, and discipline. Fool proceeds forward without considering the end of their actions. In fact, it says even losing the appetite. I mean, you might have such an appetite for one thing, but in our foolishness, we begin to go a direction and we lose the appetite for something that we used to have. In verse 17, it talks about a despising of God's word. Proverbs 1, 28 and 30, then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer. They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. that they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would not of my counsel, they despised all my reproof. Despising, a fool despises God's word. There's a despising of authority here. In verse 11, because they rebelled against the words of God and condemned the counsel of the Most High, they despise authority. Proverbs 15, 5, a fool despiseth his father's instruction, but he that regardeth reproof is prudent. Prudent is exercising discretion in how you're acting. You have Hebrews 13 17 obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves they watch for your souls They that must give account them. He do a joy and not with grief for that is unprofitable for you again He's saying when we live in rebellion We're gonna rob the joy The next point here is materialism verse 22 Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of Thanksgiving and declare his works with rejoicing. I They that go down to the sea in ships that do business in great waters. I mean, they're talking about this idea of great merchandise and imports and exports and just all the business that is being conducted. Command it to raise up the stormy wind which lifted up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heavens. They go down again to the depths. Their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man at their wit's end. Materialism, you may sail your seas of luxury for a time, but there's gonna come a time in your life where you're gonna hit a hardship. And the money isn't coming in like maybe it used to. There's a load of sorrow that comes. says they're going to be confused, they're going to stagger like a drunken man. Where? Why is all this happening to me? You're refusing to sacrifice for God, refusing to just let God get the thanks in the areas that He ought to get thanks. And another robber of joy in the last point, and before I come to the conclusion this morning, There is a desire for power and influence for self over God. Verse 40, He poureth contempt upon princes and caused them to wander the wilderness where there is no way. You see, the princes of Israel would regret their actions of despising God. They weren't thankful for the land. They weren't thankful for the deliverance that God gave. They weren't thankful for their position. The distractions of life, the wealth they accumulated, had really acted as an inoculation, or if you would say, kind of a, it numbed them to seeing the goodness of God. Look what I've done as the prince. Look at, you know, and all this sort of stuff goes on, and their eyes were removed from observing all that God had done. And they focused on what they perceived to have accomplished. There's a power and influence and robbers of joy. As I draw this to a close, God's conclusion to the distress, affliction, and rebellion will look at verses 8-16 of Psalm 107. Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men. For he satisfieth the longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with goodness, such as sit in darkness in the shadow of death. Rebellion. And these various other things will kill your joy. Rebellion is a failure to obey God's word. Heed his counsel. My friend, our soul is satisfied and filled when we appreciate and understand God's love and kindness. May it never be said of us that we are an ungrateful people. May our giving to God, praise of our time, our finances, and help to others be the result of a heart that is genuinely and authentically appreciative of all we have in Jesus Christ. May you let the prayer of your heart For all of us, Lord, give me eyes to behold and lips to praise you, your glorious wonders. One illustration here and I'll be done. The helmet of salvation is one way Paul describes the fact that Jesus has and will save us from certain destruction. We were doing life alone without God and headed for the wrong finish line. We were going the wrong way, which would have ended badly, being separated from God forever in a place of suffering. That was not God's plan for us. He offered us the only alternative, grace and forgiveness, and saved us from the trap of the enemy of our souls. Cecil Conrad was a farm boy who was tired of waking up at the crack of dawn to clean up after the cows. He lied about his age, joined the military, and helped free Asia from the Axis powers. It was in the next war, battling Communists in Korea, that Conrad might honestly have regretted his career change. In a too shallow foxhole somewhere north of Seoul, the 188th Airborne Division soldier held his gun close to his head, trying to shield himself from fast-flying ordnance that whistled through the air like birds tweeting, he said. Then the world exploded in his face. It was like being smacked with a baseball bat. It knocked me backwards, he said. Dirt had hit him, a chunk of sod flung up by a shell, Conrad thought as he gradually accepted the fact that he was still alive, then he touched his helmet and felt the hole that a shell had torn out of the steel. I knew a piece of sod couldn't do that, he said. By the laws of nature, that big bullet ought to have kept on going, making a fatal journey through his skull and brain. Instead, it struck the steel at such an angle that it cut through the metal and then glanced off. He had a bruise and a headache, but he would live to tell the story. Conrad still has that old helmet, with its telltale furrow in the brow, a Korean vet thankful for the helmet that saved his life. Christian, Jesus Christ has saved your life and mine. And you can look back over your life on the times that God has answered prayer, that God has interjected, that God has worked in your life in a way that can only be explained by none other than God. Lord, give me eyes to behold and lips to praise. I want to challenge you this morning, Christian, can that be said of us? Lord, Lord, that be the prayer of my heart. Lord, give me eyes to behold and lips to praise. There's so many things that are listed in here as robbers of joy. May we push those aside and begin to look at what God gives us. Circumstances of life may not always be favorable. But can I tell you, you know, even the Apostle Paul, he talked about shipwrecked and all these various things. He's saying, listen, this allowed me to get the gospel out. Allowed me to be used by Jesus. Christian, God's desire for you and I this morning, as he says in Psalm 107, I'll finish it here. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. For his mercy endureth forever, let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy. In this invitation period with heads bowed and eyes closed, Christian, what are you thankful for? Can you honestly in your heart say, Lord, give me eyes to behold and lips to praise you? God, give me eyes to see the good things you do in my life, the loving kindness of God in my life. God, would you please help me to see it? And maybe you're here this morning and you've never accepted the goodness of Jesus Christ. You've never accepted Christ as your own personal Savior. Not just that He died on a cross. Not just that He died for the world, but He died for your sins and mine. He died because He doesn't want you to perish. He wants a personal relationship with you. And if you've never done that, I'd love to show you how you can know for sure this morning that Jesus is your Savior. And Christian, may we not have a robber of joy. Would we just look to the goodness of God, the loving kindness, have eyes to observe and lips to praise. As you're praying, I'll have the music play this morning. And I trust, just take some time to pray. We'll sing 301 Sweet Hour of Prayer from the Red Hymn Book.