Living In Thanks
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Introduction
Introduction
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
What have you thanked God for lately?
Many people tend to be consummate complainers, while other people are constant praisers.
The question for you today is simple; which person are you?
If we were to really take the time to think about which person we are; I have to admit I don’t praise as often as I should.
We all know that there will be circumstances that try us every day of life. But how do we meet such situations?
Our response matters!!!
Especially as the recipients of God’s grace and mercy. We have absolutely everything to be thankful for no matter the complications and hardships of life.
The Word of God is jam packed with the tales of people that had to endure hard times, and sometimes horrific tragedies.
Yet they were still able to find a way to give God the praise He is worthy of.
Preemptive Praise
Preemptive Praise
Rejoice always,
pray without ceasing,
in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
In EVERYTHING give thanks…
Listen to me beloved,
we all know how easy it is to praise God on the mountain top.
- When everything is looking good in your life.
- When the bills are paid and the finances look good.
- When the kids are behaving and you haven’t had any trouble with them in the past 24 hours…
But let a few things go wrong, let things get a little sketchy and sanctification seems to get a little harder to hold on to.
Some people lose it altogether and need to go back to meet Jesus at an altar of prayer…
I don’t know if I’m talking to anybody here this morning, but I hope the Holy Ghost hits His target today.
Did you see what Paul said to the Thessalonians?
It is the WILL OF GOD in Christ Jesus for your life to give thanks in absolutely everything!
That means before ANYTHING happens either good or bad in any given day, we should be giving God thanks for everything in our lives.
Illustration:
A man prayed one time and said something like this, “Lord, I thank you for helping me today. I haven’t had any bad thoughts, or gotten mad at anybody. I haven’t said anything I need to repent from, or hurt anybody’s feelings. But when I get out of bed here in a minute, I’m going to need Your help with the rest of the day. Thanks in advance, Amen”
Sometimes we clutter our lives with so much stuff, we forget all the things we have to be thankful for.
But consider for a moment what it might look like if we were to adopt an entirely new perspective:
One where we look at absolutely every breath we breathe as a gift from God.
God does nothing without purpose. Think of all that God has given us to enjoy.
We really do live in one of the most beautiful parts of the world, regardless of how much it rains…
We have enjoyed peace within our streets without terrorism coming directly to our doors.
We have food to eat, clothes to wear, warm beds to sleep in.
In fact, the Bible says:
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
Start praising God habitually because you know in your heart that He is going to be faithful, no matter how bad things have been or might be right now. He is faithful in all of His ways!
I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
Remember what He has done, and what He has promised to do and it will be easier to live in a state of preemptive praise.
The Generation of the Ungrateful
The Generation of the Ungrateful
It is as plain as the nose on your face this morning that the world is full of ungrateful people.
We should not be surprised.
We should not be dismayed.
In fact we should be rejoicing even in the fact we seem to be surrounded on every side and sometimes even in the house of God itself with ungrateful people.
Listen to what is prophesied over concerning the last days:
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
I absolutely LOVE what Paul says here; from such people turn away!
Don’t waste your time messing with them. You’re going to mess around trying to pull somebody that isn’t ready to come into the Kingdom of God and they’re trying to pull you out!!
I didn’t stutter…
Some of you are thinking, but Pastor Mo, they’re my family. They’re MY responsibility…
What you have just done when you even think such a statement is to put yourself directly in God’s way of reaching that person.
You think, I’m going to love them into the Kingdom…
No you’re not, what you’re doing is enabling their sinful lifestyle. Turn them over to God is the most loving thing you can do.
And be thankful for the process that they are about to go through.
You raised them to know the truth, you’ve done your job. They made poor choices; give them to God.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians about a young man that had took up with his father’s wife.
I don’t know why they didn’t turn the boy out, but for whatever reason he was still in the church and involved to a degree that did not sit right with Paul.
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
We must break away from the norm of church culture that says we must absolutely retain every single person that walks in through the doors of the Church.
That’s just not realistic…
Be thankful for the season that God has you in right now, in this very moment.
Be thankful that He has drawn you to Himself and even now works in Your life to conform you to the perfect image of His Son Jesus.
Yet there are people that have not arrived at that place but God is working on them. The process isn’t always pretty, and some people need to be shaken harder than others because of their stubbornness.
The best way for us to help the ungrateful people around us is to be an example of gratitude towards God.
Live With Thanks In Your Heart
Live With Thanks In Your Heart
You that have the Holy Spirit empowering you to serve God’s Kingdom have the authority to set the tone for the atmosphere you walk in on a daily and moment by moment basis.
For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
Some people look in the mirror and long for the strength of their youth; but the Bible says instead that it is our spirit man that should be getting stronger every single day.
That is not to say that we should just trash our bodies and throw caution to the wind. The better we take care of the mortal frame God has given us, the more we can carry the light of the Gospel without impediments.
The heart of every person is the most important part to cultivate.
Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
A sound heart is life to the body, But envy is rottenness to the bones.
A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
Jesus said that
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
The Word of God makes it incredibly easy to navigate through life this way. What you hear coming from the mouth of a person is what is in their heart.
In other words, when someone tells you who they are believe them!
You will meet all kinds of people in this life that have all kinds of things in their hearts. Some are good, some are not so good.
But my final question for you here this morning is this; what kind of person are people going to get when they meet you?
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Be the person that has the living water flowing out of your heart, because you are those that have been given the blessing and gift of the Holy Spirit!