Praise for What He Has Done

Dannah Gresh: Nancy, can we do a little exercise together?

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: Well, on the day after Thanksgiving, I think we all need some exercise!

Dannah: Oh, no, not that kind of exercise. I mean, can we have a little fun? This is like a little game.

Nancy: Yes.

Dannah: I’m going to have our producer play something, and you tell me what comes to your mind when you hear it.

Nancy: Okaaay . . .

Dannah: This first one is easy. In the category “The Works of God,” what does this make you think of?

Sound Effect

Nancy: Oh, thunderstorms. Is it a thunderstorm?

Dannah: (ding ding) Thunderstorms. Okay. How about this one?

Sound Effect

Nancy: Awww . . . sweet, crying baby.

Dannah: (ding ding) So precious. Okay, those were pretty obvious, but this is going to get harder now. What does this make you think of? Again, the category is God’s works, the things He’s done.

Sound Effect

Nancy: Ummm . . . A sewing machine?

Dannah: (buzzer) A sewing machine? No. That is the sound of an electric knife on Thanksgiving Day with children in the background.

Nancy: Oh, of course! How did I miss that?

Dannah: That is God’s provision for our Thanksgiving feasts.

Nancy: Yes. We heard that sound yesterday.

Dannah: Yes, we did. And last but not least, what thing that God has done do you think of when you hear this?

Sound Effect (bagpipes playing)

Nancy: Ahh . . . “There’s a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Emmanuel’s veins.” One of my favorite hymns. It takes us to the cross. Right?

Dannah: Yes.

Nancy: What greater thing has God ever done for us than the gift of His Son.

Dannah: This is Revive Our Hearts with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, author of Choosing Gratitude, for Friday, November 25, 2022. I'm Dannah Gresh.

Every day should be a day of thanksgiving, and whether your day today involves Black Friday shopping or avoiding the crowds (like me), you can go about your day with an attitude of gratitude.

Now, if I told you, “Nancy is the world’s greatest cook!”

Nancy: Oh, yes! Right! I don’t think so.

Dannah: Now, would they know if that’s true or not when I say that?

Nancy: Well, the best way is probably you’ve got to experience it for yourself. Right?

Dannah: That’s right. You have to experience it for yourself. And the same is true when we think about God. Not only does His Word tell us who He is, what He’s like, but we can also see proof of His character all around us—in the things He does. 

Nancy: Yes. Through this week we’ve been focusing on who God is and what He does. We started with a three-day teaching series from Psalm 95 on worship. And then on the last program we spent much of the time praising Him with songs that extol His character—who He is.

Today, we’re going to praise Him again with music and singing; this time focusing on what He has done. 

Dannah: And even if the musical style of a particular song isn’t your favorite, could I encourage you to focus on the heart attitude behind the words?

Nancy: And let’s begin by praising the Lord for showing us His faithfulness day after day. I think of that passage in Lamentations chapter 3 where the prophet has been through a really difficult, heavy season. And then he says, “This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness, Oh Lord.”

Here’s our friend Dámaris Carbaugh with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, recounting the ways God has been faithful to us . . . often in spite of us! 

Dámaris Carbaugh "He's Been Faithful":

In my moments of fear though every pain every tear,
There's a God who's been faithful to me.
When my strength was all gone,
When my heart had no song,
Still in love He's proved faithful to me.
Every word He's promised is true,
What I thought was impossible I've seen my God do.
He's been faithful; faithful to me

He's been faithful, faithful to me.
Looking back His love and mercy I see.
Though in my heart I have questioned, even failed to believe.
Yet He's been faithful, faithful to me.

When my heart looked away, the many times I could not pray.
Still my God, He was faithful to me.
Oh, the days I spent so selfishly, reaching out for what pleased me.
Even then God was faithful to me.
Every time I come back to Him,
He is waiting with open arms.
And I see once again.

He's been faithful, faithful to me.
Looking back His love and mercy I see.
Oh, though in my heart I have questioned, even failed to believe.
Yet He's been faithful, faithful.

Ooooo, in my heart I have questioned, even failed to believe.
Yet He's been faithful, faithful.
In my heart I have questioned, even failed to believe.
Yet He’s been faithful, faithful to me, to me.
Faithful. He is faithful. Faithful.
Ooooo He’s been so faithful.
Faithful to me, to me. ¹

Dannah: From a few years back, that’s Dámaris Carbaugh and the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, praising God for His faithfulness to us.

We mentioned at the beginning of this program the works of God are evident all around us in creation.

Nancy: Yes. Psalm 19 says, “The heavens pour out speech from day to day, declaring the glory of God,” even in those thunderstorms, like the ones we heard earlier in the program (see vv. 1–2).

Dannah: And Romans 1 says that God’s “eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (v. 20). Are you thankful for the beauty of everything around you? Listen to this hymn from the London Philhamonic Choir.

London Philharmonic Choir "For the Beauty of the Earth":

For the beauty of the earth,
For the beauty of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies.
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.

For the beauty of each hour
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale and tree and flower,
Sun and moon and stars of light.
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth, and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mind.
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.
Grateful praise. 

For Thyself, best Gift Divine.
To our race so freely given,
For that great, great love of Thine,
Peace on earth and joy in Heaven.
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.
Grateful praise. ²

Dannah: We’re spending some time today blessing the name of the Lord for the things He’s done. What would you say is the greatest thing God’s done for you? The physical blessings He bestows on us are wonderful.

Nancy: But I think the best blessing of all is what we refer to as the gospel. One passage that expresses it well is 2 Corinthians chapter 5:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. . . . For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (vv. 17, 21)

Dannah: Are you thankful to God that He saved you? That good news is expressed simply and beautifully in this classic from the late George Beverly Shea, and then in a more recent song from David Crowder.

George Beverly Shea "Oh, How He Loves You and Me":

Oh how He loves you and me.
Oh how He loves you and me.
He gave His life.
What more could He give?
Oh how He loves you.
Oh how He loves me.
Oh how He loves you and me.

Jesus to Calvary did go.
His love for sinners to show.
What He did there,
Brought hope from despair.
Oh how He loves you.
Oh how He loves me.
Oh how He loves you and me.

Oh how He loves you and me.
Oh how He loves you and me.
He gave His life.
What more could He give?
Oh how He loves you.
Oh how He loves me.
Oh how He loves you and me. ³

David Crowder Band "How He Loves":

Oh, how He loves us, oh.
Oh, how He loves us.
How He loves us, oh.

He is jealous for me.
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden
I am unaware of afflictions eclipsed by glory.
And I realize just how beautiful You are
And how great Your affections are for me.

Oh, how He loves, yes,
He loves us, oh, how He loves us.
Oh, how He loves us.
Oh, how He loves.

And we are His portion and He is our prize.
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes.
If His grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of chest.
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way.

Oh, how He loves, oh.
Oh, He loves us.
How He loves us, oh.
How He loves.

Yes, He loves us.
Oh, how He loves us.
Oh, how He loves us.
Oh, how He loves.
Oh, what love.

Yes, He loves us.
Yes, He loves us.
How He loves us.
Oh, how He loves us, oh. ⁴

Dannah: We’ve been focused today on all the amazing gifts God has lavished on us. And we’ve been hearing songs that praise Him for all He gives to us. And, Nancy, I love how you wanted to take a break around Thanksgiving just to slow down and remember how much the Lord has done for us.

Nancy: Yes. It’s so important for all of us to take time to thank God for who He is and for what He’s done. It’s true for us as individuals, and it’s true for us as a ministry.

And at Revive Our Hearts, I want to say in a special way on this Thanksgiving weekend how deeply grateful we are for how the Lord has been faithful, for how He has answered prayer over this past year, how He’s provided for our needs, how He’s brought some much-needed staff to our team.

Dannah: And don't forget True Woman '22 earlier this fall. We heard such encouraging, challenging messages, all centered around the two-word phrase from the book of Daniel, "Heaven Rules."

Nancy: And what an incredible thing it was to worship with sisters in the Lord who love this ministry, who love Christ, and who are experiencing freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
("Doxology" sung by True Woman '22 participants)

Nancy: I love just thinking back to what God did during that time. And none of this would have been possible without God’s leading and His provision. I’m so grateful for listeners like you, those that the Lord works through, to make all this ministry and so much more possible.

Dannah: I am, too! Thank you. Well, today is Black Friday, Monday is what they call Cyber Monday, and Tuesday is Giving Tuesday, when many organizations will be encouraging people to give to the non-profit organization of their choice. We’d like you to start praying about it now.

Of course, if God leads you to give to your church or to Revive Our Hearts, that would be wonderful. But ask Him to lead you to an organization that He’s using in powerful ways. And then be praying about how much He’d like you to give. We’ll be telling you more about this in weeks to come, but here at Revive Our Hearts, we’re praying that between this Monday and December 31—just a little over a month from now—God will work through our listeners to provide at least $3 million in donations to prepare the ministry for the year ahead. Nancy, I've go to ask, does that number make you nervous? It’s a big amount.

Nancy: Well, in my flesh, yes, it surely can make me nervous. But as we’ve heard today, we have a great big God who will provide everything we need, whether for us as individuals, for our families, or for this ministry.

And the thing that depressurizes this all for me, it’s not up to me or us to drum up support. We just share the need. We let our listeners know what we’re praying for, and then we invite them to help tell a story of how God provides so faithfully.

Dannah: And He’s already beginning to provide, Nancy, in the form of a matching challenge.

Nancy: That’s right, Dannah. Some friends of the ministry who see the Lord at work in Revive Our Hearts and want to be a part of the story God is telling through this ministry have set up a matching challenge to encourage you to give.

That means anything you give to Revive Our Hearts over the next month will be doubled. So if you donate $50, your gift will become $100. If you donate $100, that gift will become $200.

Dannah: Now, that matching challenge starts on Monday. So God’s already provided an amazing opportunity. And now we just need individuals to ask how the Lord would have them give and respond, and we’re trusting Him to provide. Again, pray about how God might have you participate this year. We look forward to hearing from you. If you’d like to play a part in meeting our year-end need, and to take part in the matching challenge starting on Monday, visit ReviveOurHearts.com, or make a gift by calling 1–800–569–5959.

Next week on Revive Our Hearts, speaker, author, and the leader of Eternal Perspective Ministries, Randy Alcorn, will be with us to give us some key ways we can “send it on ahead.” He’ll explain what he means by that. I’m Dannah Gresh, inviting you to join us next week for Revive Our Hearts.

Chris Tomlin "Come Thou Fount":

Come Thou fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace.
Streams of mercy never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount, I'm fixed upon it
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above.

Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above.⁵

Revive Our Hearts with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth loves reminding you of God’s goodness. This program is an outreach of Life Action Ministries.

All Scripture is taken from the ESV.

¹ "He’s Been Faithful," Dámaris Carbaugh, The Best of Dámaris ℗ 2002 Discovery House Music.

2 "For the Beauty of the Earth," London Philharmonic Choir & National Philharmonic Orchestra, Hymns Triumphant: The Complete Collection ℗ 2013 Sparrow Records.

³ "Oh, How He Loves You and Me," George Beverly Shea, The Ultimate Collection ℗ 2012 Word Entertainment LLC, A Curb Company. 25 Music Square West, Nashville, TN 37203.

⁴ "How He Loves," David Crowder Band, All This for a King: The Essential Collection ℗ 2013 sixsteprecords/Sparrow Records.

⁵ "Never Lose Sight Song: Come Thou Fount," Chris Tomlin, I Will Sing ℗ 2016 sixstepsrecords.