1 God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us— Selah. 2 That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. 4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; for You will judge the peoples with uprightness and guide the nations on the earth. Selah. 5 Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. 6 The earth has yielded its produce; God, our God, blesses us. 7 God blesses us, that all the ends of the earth may fear Him. (Psalm 67:1-7 – NASB95)
“Why?!?” That is a question we think of and hear frequently; often when things that are perceived to be negative happen (health, relationships, unexpected expenses, elections…). But what about when good things happen? Do we ask God “Why?” when we have good health, wonderful friends, fun family times, gift cards, extra air miles, scholarships, vacation time, raises or bonuses at work, gifts / abilities / skills, discretionary time and income…? If you’re like many people living in America, you have come to take these blessings for granted. Perhaps you even forget to thank God for all these things that truly are gracious gifts from His hands.
Why does God bless us so abundantly? What are we supposed to do with these blessings? Psalm 67 makes it clear that God blessed Israel so they could make Him, and His salvation, known to the ends of the earth (“peoples” = “Gentile nations”). [Here is the link to my sermon 3 years ago on Psalm 67: https://youtu.be/4SSlnPK_VVA] I believe God often blesses us for the same reason He blessed Israel (Phil. 4:10-19). What greater thing could we do with God’s blessings than bless others? And the greatest blessing of all is to come to saving faith in Jesus Christ.
Tomorrow night, Saturday, Nov. 12th, 6:30pm, is our Shepherding The Nations (STN) Vision & Dessert Night. It is an opportunity to thank those of you who have been actively supporting STN; some of you for a short time and some for the entire time STN has been in existence. It’s also an opportunity for many of you to learn more about STN: its history, current ministries, and future plans. You will learn fascinating things about the countries where we currently serve (India, Nepal, Mexico, Honduras, and Bolivia), and you will find out how you can help STN reach even more nations of the world in the coming days.
Thank you to all who have already let us know you are coming. If you have not done so yet, please RSVP right now so we know how many to prepare for tomorrow night. You can RSVP here: https://tbbf.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/1486892. I really look forward to seeing you tomorrow night and working with you to see all the ends of the earth be glad, sing for joy, and fear the LORD.
Pastor Paul S. Brown
President, Shepherding The Nations