All right, we'll be in Revelation chapter 7, verses 9 through 12. Revelation 7, 9 through 12. Thankfulness and the complementary ingredients for true worship. Revelation 7, 9 through 12. Starting in verse nine, it says, after this I beheld and lo a great multitude which no man could number of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues stood before the throne and before the lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands and cried with a loud voice saying, salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne and under the lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne and about the elders and the four beasts and fell down before the throne on their faces and worshiped God, saying, Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God forever and ever. Amen. This scene of worship is complete worship. Every nation worshiping with every aspect of worship. I want to focus on the aspect of giving thanks the giving of thanks, and how the other aspects of worship, other things that we are to worship God for, it all goes together. There's other things that, attitudes of the heart, there's other things in our heart that go together with thanksgiving, not just only the thanksgiving. I'll explain myself here in just a minute. But things like humility. Dependence, accountability, and permanence make our thankfulness complete. All these things should be together in our worship, makes our worship complete. So I wanna use as an illustration the various ingredients that go into a dish to make it complete, a food. Have you ever tasted something and there seemed to be something missing? or else there was a certain ingredient in it that you didn't like. So this is what we're considering with as far as worship. I probably have told this before, but we spent a lot of time at my grandma's house, and she was a pretty good cook. I went running through the kitchen. You could go all the way around inside her house, because the kitchen had one way and one there. You go down the hall, across the living room, down the hall, through the kitchen, back through the hall. You could make a circle there, and we did. But I went running through the kitchen, and she had on the stove a, it was cornbread. And there was like one little piece sitting there. There'd been a little piece cut out. There was a little piece sitting there. And I grabbed that cornbread, and I ran down the hall. I was running, making the circle. And right when I popped that cornbread in my mouth, I heard Grandma say, don't eat that. It's rancid. She had put something in it. I don't know what it was. I don't know what she put in it. Bad eggs? Well, we got our own eggs, so it may have been some rotten eggs or something. I don't know what it was. But by the time I hit the living room, yeah, it was out. It was disgusting. It had something in there that wasn't right. So there's various things that go into worship, makes wholesome. So you think about the Pharisee in Luke 18 who said, God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are. Now there was, he's worshiping, right? There was either, you can look at it one of two ways. Either there was something missing from his worship or there was something added. Something missing was humility. Something added was pride. You see, there was something added that wasn't quite right. It was an ingredient to his worship that wasn't right. Humility was not there. It's a recipe for disaster, and this type of worship will be discarded. Now, none of us on this earth have perfectly balanced worship. We fight sin, but we can strive to be balanced, to worship as God would be worshiped, to worship him for who he is, which is, there's a great description of who he is in this passage. We worship him for who he is, with knowledge, with understanding. there must be a new heart, or all of our worship is displeasing, because without faith it's impossible to please God. And this maybe helps us to understand why there are some who just hard-headedly refuse to worship or to be thankful. They refuse to be thankful to God. You know, you've got the old joke about the atheist who's has consternation because he's thankful but has no one to thank. Why do some refuse to be thankful to God? They do not want to worship. Well, they want to worship, just not God. So we contrast this thankful attitude that we see here in our passage, this thanksgiving. with the text, we contrast that in our text with those who are perfect worshipers of God, with those who refuse to be thankful to God. In Romans 121 it says, because that when they knew God they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful. They didn't worship him, they didn't praise him as God, they didn't glorify him or praise him as God. and neither were they thankful, they weren't thankful for who he is and what he's done, but became, creation, but became vain in their imagination and their foolish heart was darkened. They refused to honor God and refused to be thankful. God gave them an understanding of who he is and they did not praise him and were not thankful for him. They rejected knowledge, rejected worship, Rejected being thankful. So why do these ones, why do these lost have such an aversion to being thankful? You know, just as thankfulness has various ingredients, so does unthankfulness. Unthankfulness, when mixed with, or unthankfulness has aspects of selfishness or pride or hatred. Thankfulness has these other holy ingredients to be worshipped that is pleasing to God. In the verse there are several things listed along with being thankful. Thankful for who God is, it's this worship. Verse 11 is a scene of the worshippers falling down on their faces. So what do we see there? We see humility. We see submission, obedience. bowing before him. So we see other things. There's a thankful heart for who he is, but there's also a submission to who he is. There is humility that's also in that same heart. Something we didn't see, that lacking ingredient with the Pharisee in Luke 18. Verse 12, there is amen. which indicates agreement with the truth that every knee should bow. Then blessing and glory, which is praised. Then wisdom, which is a declaration and submission to the wisdom of God, a praise for his wisdom. We ascribe all wisdom to him. We declare his wisdom and not leaning to our own understanding. Honor, then power and might, not looking to our own strength. and then a declaration that all these ingredients for worship perfectly working with thankfulness are eternal. So thankfulness to God demands humility. We also bow before the Almighty in humility. Sinners desire to steal God's glory. Pride becomes that certain spoiled ingredient that ruins worship and does not pair well with thankfulness. It destroys thankfulness. You know, even believers can sneak off with some of God's glory and claim it for themselves. It's so tempting to steal God's glory for what he has done in our lives. You know, yes, he may raise us up, he blesses us, he blesses us in every way, and then what do we want to do? It's like, look what I have done. Minimizing God's working. When Paul was rebuking the Corinthians, he carefully explained to them that they were missing this vital ingredient for thankfulness. They had substituted pride for humility, not recognizing that whatever they had was from God. In 1 Corinthians 4, 7, it says, for who maketh thee to differ from another, and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? Why do you pretend like you didn't receive it? But you're trying to sneak off with a little bit of God's glory. In our text in the book of Revelation, you see this aspect of thankfulness. Humility cannot be separated from true thankfulness. Pride corrodes and corrupts thankfulness. If you look at verse 11, they fell down before the throne and all the angels stood round about the throne and about the elders and the four beasts and fell before the throne on their faces and worshiped God. And in verse 12 it says, honor and power might be given to God. We ascribe these things to Him. He deserves all honor. He is all powerful and He alone has the strength to sustain creation. King David said it beautifully in 1 Chronicles 29. 1 Chronicles 29, humility. Here's this worship, humility and thankfulness tied together in an incredible way. David had plenty of opportunity to be proud and to steal God's praise, but in this passage in 1 Chronicles 29, we see humility, praise, and thankfulness working together beautifully in worship. These verses in 1 Chronicles 29, 10 through 11, not only make this point better than I could ever do, but, you know, I kind of thought to myself, it made me laugh a little bit, I thought, you know, we could just read this passage and go home and feel like we were fed. Our passage in the Book of Revelation we're looking at is very close in wording. In 1 Chronicles 29, Starting in verse 10, it says, wherefore David blessed the Lord, or praised the Lord before all the congregation. And David said, blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel, our father forever and ever. Thine, O Lord. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty, for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine. Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou reignest over all. And in thine hand is power and might, and in thine hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? For all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. We just gave back what you gave to us. Who am I? We thank thee and praise thy glorious name. God empowered David, made him rich, gave him honor. Pride would have demanded that he ignore God or pretend he didn't exist and claim all the glory for himself. Pride says the reason we're different from one another in the amount of power, wealth, and honor is because those without it are less in value, when it is God that makes us differ one from another. This ingredient robs us of a thankful pride, robs us of a thankful heart, and ruins our worship. A truthful and truly thankful heart must say with David, who am I? All things come of thee. Verse 12 saying amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God forever and ever, amen. So thankfulness to God implies dependence on his strength. First Chronicles 29, we read that and he says, and in thine hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all. We are dependent on his strength. If God has all power and might, we're dependent on him. If we express healthy thankfulness and acknowledge that all things come from God, then we must also acknowledge that we are totally dependent on him. You know, to be secure and confident, We can either pretend and fool ourselves into thinking that we're independent and need nobody, or else we can be confident and secure in the strength of God, admitting we are helpless. We have a confidence, but it's in the Lord, not in the power of our own hands. Looking at our own strength can actually produce a false thankfulness. It can be a facade of thankfulness for God without admitting dependence on God. Again, the Pharisee in Luke 18 told God he was thankful, but admitted no dependence on God, or no need for God's strength, really. No dependence on his mercy. When we go back to the book of Revelation, chapter three, we see those who refuse to admit their dependence on God, and therefore do not have pure thankfulness. Listen to what God says to the Laodiceans in chapter three. You know, even professing believers can get tempted and caught up in a feeling of independence. Revelation 3, 17 and 18 says, And knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see. You know, we see this tendency in our own hearts. Well. I've tried everything else, I might as well pray about it. The dependence, we don't want to depend on him. We want to do it ourselves. When we increase in stuff, we like the feeling of security it gives us and are tempted to forget our dependence on God. And that's when thankfulness is then diluted. Eger shares his prayer to God in Proverbs 30, verse eight, when he asks God to give him neither poverty nor riches. His reason for not wanting riches is because he will deny the Lord. Looking to riches for security and stability is dangerous. trusting in those things is dangerous. You know, I sometimes hear things and I say, well, you know, I can see what they're saying, I can see a truth there, but I think we need to be careful in that. And here's an instance of that. I heard it said before that a couple needs to have a lot of money before they get married so they will be stable and secure. Now, think biblically. The Bible says riches are a temptation. The Bible actually teaches that riches can destabilize our faith. Matthew 13, 22 says, he also that receives seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word and the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and he becometh unfruitful. The riches choked the word. The deceitfulness of riches choked the word and he became unfruitful. So a young couple needs to have greater temptation in order to be stable? The Bible says that riches choke the word. Is that what every young couple needs, the deceitfulness of riches? You know, this is why Agur, or Agur, in Proverbs asks God to not give him riches. The Bible actually teaches that riches can be a destabilizer. Proverbs 11, 22 says, he that trusteth in his riches shall fall, but the righteous shall flourish as a branch. The most stable person is the person who is trusting in God. You know, my prayer for my daughter before she was married was for her to find a man whose feet were on the solid rock, a man dependent on God and looking to God with the stability I wanted for her. I believe the Lord blessed. Someone rich in faith was number one for me. Rich or poor don't determine a man's stability. Trusting in God's strength by faith is what gives stability. That's true stability. Hebrews 13 gives the secret to stability, clinging tightly to the words of God. Hebrews 13 five, let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have. For he has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. That is stability. Trusting in the one who said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. A truly thankful heart must be dependent on God. We must look to the wisdom of God and not lean to our own understanding. Being thankful for the wisdom of God. The most stable person is the one who is clinging in faith to these words, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. dependence on the strength of God in all things is right worship. We won't be thankful for God's strength if we're looking to our own strength. There are many ways we can look to our own strength, but the worst kind of independence is trusting in ourselves for salvation. Salvation means deliverance or rescued. Look at verse 10 back in Revelation 7. And cry with a loud voice saying, salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb. salvation to our God which sits upon the throne under the Lamb. This means to give the glory for our salvation to God who sits on the throne. Now, we know the salvation mentioned in our text in this verse is not in reference to just any kind of deliverance or rescue, but specifically rescued from the condemnation and power of sin. Why do we know this? Because it also ascribes salvation to the Lamb. The Lamb indicates a sacrifice for sin. Jonah's prayer, like David's, is also a tremendously beautiful declaration of this truth. In Jonah 2.9 it says, but I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. The voice of thanksgiving is a voice that declares dependence on God alone to save. Now, you'll also notice, in verse 10, it says they would cry with a loud voice. And cry with a loud voice saying, salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb. You'll never be truly thankful for your salvation unless you believe your salvation was all of God and only God, all of grace. That's the true voice. That's the true loud voice of Thanksgiving. Salvation is of the Lord. You know, it's, it's dangerous. It's error to give God, thanks for saving you. When you think a little of the credit should go to you and your works. You know, the Apostle Paul almost breaks into praise to God alone for salvation in Ephesians 2, into loud praise. It just feels that way. Ephesians 2, it says, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in sins hath quickened us together with Christ by grace you're saved and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus and that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus under good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. An expression of complete dependence on God in all things is the only way for pure worship to the one who desires all things well. And thankfulness to God implies accountability. Another ingredient we see in our passages is honor. Honor. You know, in Paul verse 3 and 9 it says, honor the Lord with thy substance and with the firstfruits of all thine increase. The Bible says in Luke 18 that unto whomsoever much is given of him much shall be required. You know, the person who's thankful for a lot is accountable for a lot. Maybe that's the other reason that men don't want to retain God in their minds, because that makes them accountable. And I wanna see him as the creator. There's accountability. So first off, we're accountable to give thanks for everything. Man does not want to honor God and then the thankfulness suffers. Romans 1 20. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead. So they are without excuse, because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful. but became vain in their imaginations. Their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like the corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. " You know, the ironic thing about this is how much the false gods require people. A man doesn't want to acknowledge God because he doesn't want to be accountable. And then they go have these false gods that, in many cases, not in every case, it's amazing how much people will needlessly sacrifice for a false god, blowing themselves up, cutting themselves, becoming monks or priests and never marrying or having a family, torturing themselves in some cases. Well, God also requires sacrifice in our lives, but the sacrifices that God requires in our lives are different. God always gives us more than we can ever give him. False gods give nothing. The one true God gives us all things to richly enjoy. False gods are like their father, the devil, who only came to steal. Everything done for a false god is in vain, and nothing we ever do for the true God is in vain. You know, even when we suffer, we know God turns it into a blessing. The disciples were beaten by the council, and how did they respond? They considered it an honor to honor God. It says, they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said this, blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. You know, our lives are not our own. We are here to honor the one who gives us life. And then we see we're thankful simply for who he is. There's a lot I see in our praise here. Saying amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto God, our God forever and ever. Just praying him for who he is. He deserves honor for simply who he is. You know, if you think about it, we honor things. We honor things for simply for what they are. We honor things for simply what they are. Beautiful paintings are placed in places of prominence, right? They're honored. Just simply because of what they are. They're beautiful. God is perfect beauty. You know, we honor athletes who are the strongest. God is perfect strength and all strength. We should honor him for who he is. You know, we honor wise people. We give them big awards and stuff and all that. Maybe I shouldn't say why, maybe knowledgeable people. God is all wisdom and perfect wisdom. We should honor him for who he is. If we're gonna be consistent, we honor him for his great works. But we also honor him simply for who he is. And that's the recipe for eternal perfect worship. Thankfulness to God is a way we will worship forever. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God forever and ever, amen. An eternity of thankfulness is a joyful thought for the one who worships God. It's a joyful thought for us. We read this and we go, yes. Amen. We're excited. It's forever. It's a joyful thought for the one who worships God. God's given us eternal life. How thankful should that make us? Eternal life. You know, that's a lot of days. That's a lot of wonderful years. He's given to us by promise. More than we can count. He's given us so much. That's who he is. Merciful. Loving. A God who blesses. 2 Corinthians 9 15 says thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. A gift that words alone cannot describe sufficiently. Words fail. To describe this gift sufficiently. God gave us his son. Gave us his son. The gospel is. Gospel is the only hope. This gift, sending his son. God gave us his spirit. And God gives himself. As the psalmist in Psalm 73 says, God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. My portion forever. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, giving. They are a portion. God is our portion forever. That's worship. We'll finish by worshiping by backing up in the book of Revelation to chapter five. Revelation five, starting in verse five. And one of the elders saith unto me, weep not. Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne of the four beasts and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof, for thou was slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation, and hast made unto us, us unto our God, kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld and heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders. And the number of them was 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands and thousands saying with a loud voice worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and 20 elders fell down and worshiped him that liveth forever and ever. That's our joy and our worship. thankful for who God is, for what he's done, bowing before him in humility, trusting in him in dependence, depending on him, looking to him. And because of his great love, he delights to bless us. Lord, I pray that you would continue to bless us.