Gratitude: Remembering What God Has Done

 

Gratitude: 

Restoring The Art of Giving Thanks

Welcome: 

Good morning, folks! It is so good to see everyone here today! My name is Stuart Davidson, and I’m the Senior Pastor here at Eastern Shore Baptist Church. We’re thrilled to have you worshiping with us this morning!

If you’re joining us online, we want to welcome you as well! We’re glad you’re watching, and my prayer is that you’ll come visit us in person sometime soon.

For those of you who are physically here this morning, my prayer is that you’ve felt the love of Jesus Christ from the moment your tires rolled into our parking lot until you found your seat in the pew! We want you to know that you were loved from the parking lot to the pews. We’re genuinely glad you’re here!

Listen, I know there are a lot of churches on the Eastern Shore. If you’re visiting with us today, we don’t take it lightly that you chose to spend your Sunday morning with us. We’re honored to have you, and we certainly hope you’ll come back and see us again!

Now, let me remind everyone about our prayer line. This is for everybody! Guests, visitors, longtime church members, and everybody in between. The number is 251-222-8977.

You can send us a text message anytime. I say this just about every week, but our prayer line is open more than Waffle House!

Seriously, if you’ve got a loved one who’s sick, a relationship that’s in crisis, a decision you’re struggling to make, or something that’s just weighing heavy on your heart, send us a message. You don’t have to carry those burdens alone. Our prayer teams will begin praying for you as soon as they receive your request.

Again, we’re so glad you’re here today! We’re looking forward to what God is going to do as we worship Him together!

Introduction To Today's Message:

Introduction: Remember What God Has Done

Friends, I bet just about everybody in this room has been touched in some way by the horrible disease of Alzheimer’s. Chances are, you’ve had a parent, grandparent, spouse, or somebody you love who has battled Alzheimer’s or dementia. For some of you, just hearing those words brings back painful memories.

Alzheimer’s is a terrible disease that gradually damages the brain and robs people of their ability to remember. What makes it so tragic is that it slowly closes the doors on life’s most precious relationships. A husband may forget the face of his wife. A mother may no longer recognize her children. Memories of family vacations, holidays, and those special moments slowly begin to disappear.

That’s why billions of dollars are spent researching these diseases. Nobody wants to forget the people they love or the memories they cherish!

Most of us may never experience physical Alzheimer’s, but I wonder how many Christians suffer from something I’ll call spiritual amnesia!

We become so consumed with our circumstances, so wrapped up in our problems, so focused on what God hasn’t done in those moments that we forget everything He has done!

church, don't you think it's funny that we can remember what someone said to us, hurting our feelings 20 years ago, but we struggle to remember the countless ways God has blessed us!

Friends, throughout Scripture, God repeatedly commands His people to remember!

Deuteronomy 8:2 (ESV)

“And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness…”

Psalm 77:11 (ESV)

“I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.”

1 Chronicles 16:12 (ESV)

“Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered.”

Friends, here’s what I want you to understand this morning. Don’t allow what you’re going through to cause you to forget what God has already brought you through!

That brings me to the title of today’s message:

Today’s Message:

“Remember What God Has Done”

Introduction To Today's Thought:

Today’s Thought

Friends, look at your outline. You’ll see today’s thought printed there. Fill in these blanks for me this morning.

Today’s Thought:

Recall God’s Victories  And Remember His Voice When You Are Walking Through Life’s Valleys!

Let me say that again. Recall God’s victories and remember His voice when you’re walking through life’s valleys!

Think about Elijah? In 1 Kings 18. 

Elijah stood on Mount Carmel against 450 prophets of Baal. He prayed, and God sent fire from heaven! God consumed the sacrifice and all the people, including Elijah, saw God's unbelievable, incredible, insane power!

What a victory! one might think that that victory would stay steady and present in Elijah's memory for the whole of his life, but one would be thinking incorrectly. 

One chapter later, seriously, all you have to do is turn the page, and you'll see in 1 Kings 19, Jezebel threatens Elijah’s life, and this mighty prophet of God folds like an old camping tent! He becomes so discouraged that he sits beneath a tree and asks God to take his life!

In chapter 18, Elijah witnessed the fire of God. In chapter 19, he was overwhelmed by the fear of Jezebel!

I don't know about you, but that reminds me a lot of me. Maybe it reminds you of you. 

We watch God answer prayers, open doors, provide for our families, and carry us through difficulties. Yet the moment another problem comes along, we start wondering whether God is going to come through this time!

We allow the fear of today’s circumstances to overshadow the faithfulness of yesterday’s victories!

Don’t forget what God has done simply because you’re struggling with what He’s doing right now!

Introduction To Today's Quote:

There, on your outline, is a quote from the Prince of Preachers himself, Charles Spurgeon. This quote came from his exposition on Psalm 103. I thought that he had a really unique way of explaining this truth. Check it out with me. 

Today’s Quote:

“Alas, that forgetfulness of God’s benefits is an evil kind of worm that eats into the very heart of our praise. When we allow the troubles of today to overshadow the blessings of yesterday, we rob ourselves of the joy that comes from remembering God’s faithfulness. A grateful heart must be an intentional heart, one that continually recalls His mercy and celebrates His goodness.”

-Charles Spurgeon’s “Exposition on Psalm 103”

Introduction To Today’s Scripture:

Let's go to God's Word this morning. Do me a favor and open your Bibles to Psalm 103. The Scripture is going to be on the screens this morning too, if you'd like to read along. 

Psalm 103 was written by King David, a man who was well acquainted with victories and valleys. You will be hard-pressed to find another man who experienced more of God's blessings, but he also endured heartbreaking disappointments. He had moral failures. He had painful struggles. 

Now, we don’t know exactly when David wrote this psalm or what circumstances prompted him to write it. What we do know is that David wanted to remind himself of God's goodness and faithfulness.

David begins this psalm by speaking to his own soul! He’s basically saying, “David, don’t you dare forget what God has done for you!”

Psalm 103 reminds us that gratitude isn’t simply a feeling we experience. It’s a decision we make! it's a choice. 

Regardless of what we’re facing today, we can always find a reason to remember God’s goodness and give Him praise!

I want to remind you that...

Statement of Belief: 

“We are opening the living and powerful Word of God…truth without error, breathed out by Him, and fully sufficient for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. It is our authority, our guide, and our hope. In honor of the God who gave us His perfect Word, I invite you to stand with me as we read it together.”

Today’s Scripture:

Psalm 103:1-5 CSB

My soul, bless the LORD, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. [2] My soul, bless the LORD, and do not forget all his benefits. [3] He forgives all your iniquity; he heals all your diseases. [4] He redeems your life from the Pit; he crowns you with faithful love and compassion. [5] He satisfies you with good things; your youth is renewed like the eagle.

Pastor: “This is the Word of the Lord.”

Congregation: “Praise His name. Praise His holy name.”

Take Time To Remember God’s…

I. Gifts vs. 2

Friends, do me a favor. Look at your outline and go down to Roman numerals I, II, and III. I want you to fill in these blanks for me this morning.

Take Time To Remember God’s…

Gifts 

Take time to remember God’s gifts!

Let me give you a brief explanation of this first point. 

“God is a good Father who graciously gives us far more than we deserve. His love isn’t earned by our performance, and His blessings aren’t rewards for our righteousness.”

I think this point is illustrated really well in verse 17. 

Friends, let me ask you a question. What’s the greatest gift you’ve ever received?

Now, I’m not talking about your spouse or your children. I’m talking about something physical, something tangible!

Maybe it was your first car. 

Maybe somebody gave you a boat, a beautiful home, a diamond ring, a Rolex watch, or some precious family heirloom.

We love gifts, don’t we? We love giving them, and we love receiving them!

According to the National Retail Federation, Americans planned to spend an average of approximately $628 per person on Christmas gifts in 2025!

That’s a lot of money! Still some of the greatest gifts we’ve ever received didn’t come wrapped in paper. They came from the hand of God!

Listen to what James says.

James 1:17 (ESV)

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

Friends, everything good in our lives ultimately comes from God!

This is something that I have to remember myself. This is something that I have to remember about the Lord that I sometimes forget. 

When you became a Christian, God gave you something called a spiritual gift. When the Holy Spirit came to dwell within you, He equipped you with a special ability to serve Him and strengthen His church.

1 Corinthians 12:7 (ESV)

“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

Some of you are incredibly gifted! God has given some of you the gift of teaching. Others have the gift of encouragement. Some have the gift of administration, evangelism, mercy, or helps.

Romans 12:6 (ESV)

“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them…”

Friends, if you’re in Christ, God has gifted you! Those gifts weren’t given so you could impress people or build a name for yourself. They were given to strengthen the church, serve others, and advance God’s Kingdom!

God didn’t give you spiritual gifts to make you somebody special. He gave you spiritual gifts to do something special!

Here's some pretty incredible news, God doesn’t stop with spiritual gifts!

He also provides for our physical needs. Food to eat, clothes to wear, a place to live, and the necessities of life.

Now, friends, mature Christians are going to realize that our needs don’t always match our wants! God isn’t obligated to give us everything we desire. Yet He’s a good Father who knows what His children need.

Somebody might ask, “Pastor, what about people who don’t have enough? What about the homeless, what about the hungry, or what about the widow who’s struggling to pay her bills? How is God providing for them?”

Sometimes God meets the needs of hurting people through the hands of His people!

Look no further than James 2:15-16. James challenges believers who see someone without food or clothing but offer nothing more than kind words.

What’s his point? Sometimes we’re praying for God to meet somebody’s needs when God has already given us the resources to meet those needs!

We’re not simply recipients of God’s gifts. We’re called to become instruments of God’s generosity!

You can be God’s gift to a struggling family, a lonely widow, an orphan, or somebody who doesn’t know where their next meal is coming from!

God can use you to become the answer to somebody else’s prayer!

Yet of all the gifts God has ever given, one stands above everything else.

The greatest gift God ever gave us was His Son, Jesus Christ!

Romans 6:23 (ESV)

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

God gave us His Son, who died on the cross for our sins and rose again so that we could be forgiven and receive eternal life!

You can’t buy that gift. You can’t earn that gift. You can only receive it by grace through faith!

Friends, the greatest gift you’ll ever receive didn’t come from a store. It came from a Savior!

Don’t become so consumed with what you wish God would give you that you forget everything He’s already given you!

Take time to remember God’s gifts, and take time to thank the Giver!

Take Time To Remember God’s…

I. Gifts vs. 2

II. Grace vs. 3

Friends, let’s move on to Roman numeral II. We’ve talked about taking time to remember God’s gifts. Now, let’s take time to remember God’s grace!

Grace 

Listen again to what David says in verse 3.

“He forgives all your iniquity; he heals all your diseases.”

Now, friends, look at the explanation printed in your outline.

“No sin is too great for God’s grace, and no sinner is beyond His forgiveness. His mercy is immeasurable, His grace is inexhaustible, and His forgiveness is complete!”

Friends, there’s something incredibly powerful about God’s grace!

God’s grace is boundless! His mercy is limitless! His forgiveness is complete!

There is no sin so great that God’s grace cannot cover it. No past so painful that His mercy cannot redeem it. No sinner so far gone that the blood of Jesus Christ cannot save them!

Friends, that’s good news because every single one of us is desperately in need of God’s grace!

We’ve all sinned. We’ve all failed. We’ve all said things, done things, and thought things that dishonor God.

Here’s the beauty of God’s grace. God knows everything about us, including the very worst parts of us, and still offers us forgiveness through Jesus Christ!

Listen to what David says later in this psalm.

Psalm 103:12 (ESV)

“As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”

Isn’t that incredible?

David doesn’t say God moves our sins a few feet away. He doesn’t say God puts them in a closet where He can pull them out later!

When God forgives our sins, He doesn’t hold them over our heads! He doesn’t keep bringing them back up! He doesn’t use our past against us!

Now, that doesn’t mean God literally forgets. It means that through Christ, He no longer holds our forgiven sins against us!

Friends, some of you are still carrying guilt over sins God has already forgiven.

Stop holding on to what God has already forgiven!

Remember, grace isn’t God giving us what we’ve earned. Grace is God giving us what we could never deserve!

Let me tell you a story.

In September 2018, a Dallas police officer named Amber Guyger mistakenly entered the apartment of Botham Jean, believing it was her own. Tragically, she shot and killed him.

A year later, she was convicted of murder.

During her sentencing hearing, Botham’s younger brother, Brandt Jean, who was just 18 years old, stood before the woman who had killed his brother.

Can you imagine the pain? I have absolutely no doubt that Mr. Jean was angry, that he was heartbroken. I'm sure that there was a big part of him that wanted vengeance for what this woman had taken from him 

Instead  of expressing hatred, Brandt told her that he forgave her. He encouraged her to give her life to Jesus Christ.

Then he turned to the judge and asked a remarkable question.

“Can I give her a hug?”

 Watch this video here. 

Friends, that’s a powerful picture of forgiveness!

His forgiveness couldn’t bring his brother back. It couldn’t erase what happened or remove the consequences.

He chose to extend grace instead of holding on to bitterness!

If an 18-year-old young man could forgive the woman who murdered his brother, how can we refuse to forgive somebody who has hurt us?

If Jesus Christ could look down from the cross and pray, “Father, forgive them,” how can we claim to follow Him while refusing to forgive others?

Friends, we cannot celebrate the grace we’ve received while refusing to extend grace to somebody else!

I've always had a saying: I think we should give grace. We should give so much grace because one day we're going to need that grace ourselves.

Take Time To Remember God’s…

I. Gifts vs. 2

II. Grace vs. 3

III. Greatness vs. 4-5

Well, friends, we’ve just about made it to the end of the message today! Let’s look at Roman numeral III.

We’ve talked about taking time to remember God’s gifts and His grace. Now, let’s take time to remember God’s greatness! Fill in that last blank for me this morning. Write in the word "greatness." 

Greatness 

Let’s go back and look at verses 4 and 5 this morning.

Psalm 103:4-5 (CSB)

“He redeems your life from the Pit; he crowns you with faithful love and compassion. He satisfies you with good things; your youth is renewed like the eagle.”

“God is undefeated and unmatched! No situation is beyond His power, no struggle is greater than His strength, and no circumstance can separate His children from His faithful love!”

Friends, have you ever considered how the greatness of God has inspired people to do extraordinary things?

Think about Michelangelo, one of the greatest artists in history. During the Renaissance, Michelangelo created some of the most remarkable works of Christian art the world has ever seen.

Think about the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Michelangelo spent approximately four years painting breathtaking scenes from the Bible, including God’s creation of Adam.

Consider his sculpture of David, the young shepherd boy who stood courageously against Goliath.

Michelangelo was clearly impacted by his love of Scripture. He was inspired by the greatness of his God, and because of his inspiration, generations of people, millions of people, have been exposed to God, to Jesus, to salvation. It really is amazing. 

If the greatness of God can inspire an artist to create something extraordinary, shouldn’t His greatness inspire us to live extraordinary lives of faith?

Do me a favor this morning and try to rewind your minds to the book of 1 Samuel, where we are first introduced to the shepherd boy David, this man who had humble beginnings and became the greatest king that Israel ever had.

We often describe David as the underdog in his battle against Goliath. Here’s this young shepherd boy standing before a giant warrior. Goliath has the armor, the weapons, the experience, and the size!

Not me, I don’t believe David saw himself as the underdog!

Why? David wasn’t focused on the size of Goliath. He was focused on the greatness of God!

If you go back to 1 Samuel 17, you'll see a conversation between David and King Saul. He explained that while tending his father’s sheep, he had killed both a lion and a bear.

David had already experienced God’s protection against enemies much larger and stronger than himself!

Listen to what David said.

1 Samuel 17:37 (ESV)

“The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Do you see that?

David’s confidence in God’s present power was strengthened by his memory of God’s past faithfulness!

David knew that the same God who protected him in the pasture would be with him on the battlefield!

Friends, here’s my question for you this morning.

Do we have that kind of confidence in God?

When the diagnosis comes back worse than expected, when the marriage is struggling, when the finances aren’t adding up, or when life seems completely out of control, do we believe that God is still with us?

Do we really believe that the God who carried us through yesterday’s difficulties is powerful enough to sustain us through today’s struggles?

Listen to what Jeremiah declared.

Jeremiah 32:17 (ESV)

“Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”

Friends, think about the greatness of our God!

He’s great in His power! He spoke the universe into existence. The stars, the oceans, the mountains, and everything in creation exist because of His mighty hand!

He’s great in His wisdom! God sees what we cannot see. He knows what we do not know. His understanding is perfect, and His purposes cannot be defeated!

He’s great in His faithfulness! God never breaks a promise. He never abandons His children. Even when life doesn’t make sense, His love remains steadfast!

Now, that doesn’t mean every problem will disappear or every prayer will be answered the way we want. It means that whatever we face, we never face it alone!

David could stand before Goliath because he remembered what God had already done.

Maybe the reason some of us are struggling to face today’s giants is that we’ve forgotten yesterday’s victories!

So take time to remember God’s greatness!

The God who was faithful in your past is still worthy of your trust in the present!

Conclusion:

I want to encourage you to take time to remember what God has done! 

Remember His gifts, all the blessings He’s graciously given you. 

Remember His grace, the forgiveness and mercy He’s extended to you through Jesus Christ. 

Remember His greatness, the countless ways He’s demonstrated His power and faithfulness in your life! Don’t become so consumed with what God hasn’t done that you forget everything He has done! 

So let me leave you with one simple question this morning. When is the last time you stopped, looked toward heaven, and simply said, “Thank You, Lord”?

When Is The Last Time You Said “Thank You”?