GIVE THANKS

BY THE END OF THE LESSON, WE WILL:

UNDERSTAND that we should praise God for his mighty deeds; EXPRESS a willingness to praise God; and OFFER praise to Him for His mighty deeds. 

FOCUS VERSES Isaiah 12:1-6

KEEP IN MIND

"And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted" (Isaiah 12:4)

AT-A-GLANCE

1. Praise the Lord (Isaiah 12:1-3)

2. Sing and Shout to the Lord (vv. 4-6)

IN FOCUS

Isaac Watts (1674-1748) was an English pastor, preacher, and poet who wrote as many as 600 hymns, including the ever popular "Joy to the World." Although this hymn-based on Psalm 98 and first published in 1719-is sung primarily during the Christmas season, it actually alludes to Jesus' Millenial reign, not His birth. Consider these two verses: 

Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!

Let men their songs employ; 

While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains

Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat, repeat, the sounding  joy. 

He rules the world with truth and grace, 

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness, 

And wonders of His love, and wonders of His love, And 

wonders, wonders, of His love. 

In His first coming, Jesus did not come to rule the world with truth and grace. He came to seek and to save the lost. When He returns, He will rule and reign. 

God gave Isaiah a vision of future time, and the prophet penned his beautiful psalm of praise that looks ahead and glorifies that great day. 

BACKGROUND

The great reign of Jesus on earth (Revelation 20:1-6) is referred to as the "millennium," meaning a thousand years (mille is Latin for "thousand" and annus is the Latin word for "year"). Many Old Testament prophets, including Isaiah, predicted this 1,000-year period. The prophet Isaiah, "The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6, NLT). Isaiah also prophesied: "In that wonderful day when the LORD gives his people rest from sorrow and fear, from slavery and chains" (14:3, NLT).

Of course, Isaiah was not the only prophet who was blessed with vision of the reign of Jesus on earth. The prophet Micah was given a glimpse of that time and joyfully wrote, "Everyone will live in peace and prosperity, enjoying their own grapevines and fig trees, for there will be nothing to fear. The LORD of Heaven's Armies has made this promise!" (Micah 4:4, NLT). Zechariah, another Old Testament seer who served in Jerusalem after the exile as both priest and prophet, also looked forward to that great day and wrote: "ANd the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one LORD-his name alone will be worshipped" (Zechariah 14:9, NLT).

SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES

1. What two acts did God perform that caused Isaiah's heart to burst forth in praise (Isaiah 12:1)?

2. Aside from praising God with his lips, what three acts did Isaiah promise to perform in gratitude to God (v. 4)?

DISCUSS THE MEANING

1. Contemplation of God's goodness to us serves two vital purposes: First, it causes us to take our minds off the things that trouble us and focus our attention on how blessed we are. Secondly, and most importantly, it brings joy and comfort to our hearts, which causes us to sing and shout praises to His name. 

2. Today's text looks both to the present and the future time of praise to the Lord. What do you praise God for now? What do you look forward to in that Day? Take a minute to think about the goodness of Jesus.

LESSON IN OUR SOCIETY

How do you show your thankfulness to God? Isaiah expressed his gratitude by being both active and inactive. In his inactivity, he got alone with God, shut out the world, and thanked Him. In his activity, he sang songs of praise to God and made Him known to others. We live in a time when our fast pace can distract us from taking the time to be thankful. What can you change so that you can come before God with Thanksgiving in both worship and in work?

(Except for The Apostolic Way)

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