BY Argie Simonis
Our topic today is the power of thanksgiving. Let's see what Paul says:
"Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice." Phil. 4:4
Wondering why I start with joy instead of thanksgiving? Let me explain by following the thought pattern of Paul in this passage of his letter.
Joy is a noun, and as a noun it denotes a state in which someone is.
But the word "rejoice" that Paul is talking about here, is NOT a noun. It is a verb, something that we do, and it is written in the imperative form.
Do you know what that means? That Paul here is NOT just giving us an advice, but a COMMAND; to rejoice, regardless of the situation we are in or the circumstances we face.
In fact, in case we did NOT get it the first time, he repeats it so that we can really understand it:
--- "... and again I say, Rejoice " ---
One might ask:
And how is it possible to rejoice when everything in my life is looking so bad? How can I be happy when everyone is against me?
Let me tell you right away.
Did you know that the letter to the Philippians was written from prison? And yet, it is Paul's happiest letter, where the words JOY and REJOICE are repeated more times than any other letter of his!
After beginning by talking about joy, in verse 6, Paul continues with THANKSGIVING, because one cannot exist without the other:
"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."
"And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Phil. 4:6-7
Did you notice the promise here? When we make our requests to God with THANKSGIVING, He will guard our hearts with peace. The LORD will do this!
So we do NOT go to the throne of Grace with grumbling and complaining, but with THANKSGIVING, which is essentially our RESPONSE to His goodness and faithfulness.
We go to the throne of Grace with the CERTAINTY that
"... your Father knows what things you have need of, before you ask him." Math. 6:8
When Jesus taught us to pray, look how He begins His prayer:
"... Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name;" Matt. 6:9
This is exactly where we begin with worship and thanksgiving.
This is exactly where we begin with worship and thanksgiving.
So when our prayers focus on
- GLORIFYING HIM
- BEING THANKFUL TO HIM
- AND EXALTING HIM,
problems may not disappear immediately, but they certainly concern us less.
--- Our mind works like a magnifying glass. Whatever we focus it on, it gets bigger. ---
If you're struggling to think of what to thank God for, start with the basics:
Thank Him that you live and breathe and that you have your health!
- Take a look at the misery, poverty and injustice that exists in the world, and think that in the age of technology and space, there are people who don't even have food.
- Think of all those who have been uprooted from their homeland because of war, those who have been confined to a bed or a wheelchair because of illness, and I'm sure you will find many reasons to thank God for your own life!
Some things we enjoy and take for granted, like a plate of food on our table and a roof over our head, for some people are just a dream!
Not to mention all the other blessings we enjoy in our country,
- freedom,
- peace,
- equality.
In some countries these thngs do NOT exist.
We are truly blessed! In the Psalms we read:
"Let every thing that has breath praise the LORD. Praise you the LORD." Psal. 150:6
Regardless of what we are facing, financial difficulties, family problems, work problems or any kind of problem, with every breath left in us we must give thanks to the Lord!
In Deuteronomy chapter 28, there is a list of blessings and curses. Verse 1-14 lists all the blessings that come upon us, and in verses 15-68 all the curses.
Check out one of the curses:
"Because you served not the LORD your God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;" Deut. 28:47
"Therefore shall you serve your enemies which the LORD shall send against you, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron on your neck, until he have destroyed you." Deut. 28:48
In other words, here we read that God's judgment occurs where because of the abundance of goods the Lord is NOT worshiped with JOY and with simplicity of heart (something that certainly characterizes our society).
Most people see thanksgiving as our response to God when things go well in our life. But it shouldn't be like that. We indeed have so many reasons to thank the Lord!
No matter how big your problems are, thank the Lord because it could have been a lot worse!
-- It is purely OUR choice whether we focus on the problems, or on God for all He has done in our lives. --
Let me describe it to you with an image:
The same can be done the other way around. You can focus so much on the fence that anything behind the fence is not visible.
This is exactly how the mind works. The thoughts that come to mind depend on where we focus our attention.
Let's look at another psalm:
"Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all you lands." Psalm 100:1
"Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing." Psalm 100:2
"Know you that the LORD he is God: it is he that has made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture." Psalm 100:3
"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful to him, and bless his name." Psalm 100:4
"For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endures to all generations." Psalm 100:5
We thank the Lord ALWAYS and not only when everything is going well for us. Let's not forget that we live in a fallen world, where there will always be problems and there will always be something to complain about. It's just a matter of priorities. The decision is ours.
What's the worst that can happen to you? To die? See what was the dilemma of the apostle Paul:
"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Phil. 1:21
"But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor: yet what I shall choose I know not." Phil. 1:22
"For I am in a strait between two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:" Phil. 1:23
"Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you." Phil. 1:24
"And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;" Phil. 1:25
"That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again." Phil. 1:26
Do you see the big dilemma Paul had? If you have been born again,meaning that your faith is in Christ and you have accepted Him as Lord in your life, then when you leave this life, you will be with Him. This is what the Scriptures teach us.
"We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." 2Cor. 5:8
If you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, what a great blessing! It is something that the Old Testament saints NEVER had. But we, under the New Covenant, we have the ability to receive it, speak in tongues and prophesy for the edification of us all. This definitely IS something to thank the Lord for.
Some people complain about their salary, but they forget that the salary they get in a month, for some people living in some other countries, takes a year to get it.
Paul writes to Timothy in his second letter, and lists 19 characteristics of the society of the last days:
"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come." 2Tim. 3:1
"For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy," 2Tim. 3:2
"Without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good," 2Tim. 3:3
"Traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;" 2Tim. 3:4
"Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." 2Tim. 3:5
Do you know what the definition of selfishness is?
-- Selfishness is the excessive love of oneself, which implies indifference to the needs of others.
Paul puts self-love first on the list, and I believe that's where all the rest come from.
In Revelation chapter 12 we read:
"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives to the death." Rev. 12:11
Selfishness is one of the biggest traits of today's society, with all the other problems that comes with the package.
- Blasphemers are NOT only those who speak bad of God, but they also speak bad of people. They are slanderers and accussers.
- disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
Without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
Traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.
All this characterizes the world today, and it all begins with selfishness. It's not bad to love ourselves in the sense that we look after and care ourselves, but when the whole universe revolves around us, that is NOT what God wants.
Do you know what the medicine of selfishness is? GRATITUDE and THANKFULNESS!
In his 1 letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes something very important:
"For who makes you to differ from another? and what have you that you did not receive? now if you did receive it, why do you glory, as if you had not received it?" 1Cor. 4:7
Those who say that they are self-made, have awards, professional successes, fame, wealth and glory, and boast that they got them in their own strength, they forget that God is the One who gave them all the abilities and talents that they have and everything they have accomplished is by the grace of God.
Thank God you were born in a prosperous country, which provides you with so many opportunities, which some other people might never had or even have in their lives.
That is why we should constantly thank and praise God for everything we enjoy in our lives.
All these bad things that Paul presents here, come from selfishness and ingratitude.
When you thank God for everything good in your life, you are actualy acknowledging that the source of that blessing is God and NOT you.
Everything starts with a decision.
Begin your prayer with praise, end it with thanksgiving, and somewhere in the middle you can stick your requests to the Lord. This type of prayer will change your life!
Anywhere you look, on TV, on the internet, even if you listen to people's conversations, the majority of them are exaggerating all the bad and nasty things happening in the world. But we know we have to magnify God's promises, which are YES and AMEN!
Thanksgiving and praise do not change God's heart towards us. It changes our OWN heart toward Him. That's why it has so much power!
Do you know what other power thanksgiving and praising God have? It closes the door for the devil to have access to your life and brings out every religious spirit:
"And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased," Μatt. 21:15
"And said to him, Hear you what these say? And Jesus said to them, Yes; have you never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings you have perfected praise?" Μatt. 21:16
Look which Psalm the Lord used in His words:
"Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings have you ordained strength because of your enemies, that you might still the enemy and the avenger." Psalm 8:2
Paul writes to the Colossians:
"As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk you in him:" Col. 2:6
"Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving." Col. 2:7
In other words, without thanksgiving, our faith is NOT complete. In Isaiah 14, we see a description of Lucifer. His sin was not that he hated God, but that he was jealous of Him. He wanted for himself the glory and the worship, which belongs ONLY to the Lord.
"How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how are you cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations!" Isaiah 14:12
"For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also on the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:" Isaiah 14:13
"I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High." Isaiah 14:14
You know, the devil has NOT changed since then. He continues to be as selfish and arrogant as he is and constantly tries to draw the spotlight on himself.
- That's why at Christmas, instead of the focus of discussions being the birth of our Lord, some people invented a fat white-haired man in a red suit who gives gifts, in order to take people's focus off the Lord.
- The same with Halloween, for All Saints Day.
Hallowed means something that is revered and sanctified, and some people have turned it into a celebration where the theme is fear and death. They do everything to distract the world from God.
Can you see how much distortion is created? And don't forget that these are all inspired by the devil and demonic spirits.
The greatest spiritual warfare that really angers the devil is worshiping and giving thanks to God, because that is something he will NEVER have.
- When David played his harp, the evil spirit that was tormenting King Saul left.
- The prophet Elisha asked for a psalmist and as he worshipped, the anointing of the Lord came upon him:
"But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came on him." 2Kings 3:15
Do you know why this happened? Because the Lord dwells in the praises of His people:
"But you are holy, O you that inhabit the praises of Israel." Psalm 22:3
Praise and thanksgiving to God drives out the devil. It drives out depression, fear, anxiety, worries.
It is an awesome weapon that changes our hearts and confronts the devil.
In the book of Revelation in chapter 4, we get a glimpse of what is happening in Heaven now. It talks about the 24 elders and the four living creatures:
"And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." Rev. 4:8
"And when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who lives for ever and ever," Rev. 4:9
"The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that lives for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying," Rev. 4:10
This is something ongoing right now and will continue forever and ever! See what they say:
"You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for you have created all things, and for your pleasure they are and were created." Rev. 4:11
There is a whole treasure of revelations here! I will focus on the following:
Do you know that if the first man had NOT sinned, today the church would NOT exist? And this, because there would be NO such need. Church (ekklesia in Greek) means the ones that are called, the ones set apart from the world.
The same goes for governments, the police, the military, and even money. All powers were given to us by God for the smooth running of a country and for its protection.
They are many things we take for granted in the fallen world we live in, but there would be NO need to have them if there was NO sin in the world and we were all perfect (as the Lord originally intended us to be), if we did NO wrong to anyone and if we loved one another with the love of God.
The world is constantly changing, but what we read here is something that will NEVER change:
The Lord created man for His own will, for His own pleasure. He did not make us slaves or pets. The Lord's delight is having fellowship with us.
God IS love, that is His essence, and the only way that love can be expressed is in fellowship, where He can give us ALL that He has. This is the ultimate expression of love:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16
His only begotten Son that the Lord gave us, our Christ and His Spirit that dwells in us, is the most precious thing He could give us. It's everything!
When you see it through these eyes, it's awesome!
When God gave the absolute dominion of the earth to man, and when Adam and Eve disobeyed, Jesus had to become a man to win back the authority that had been given to the devil because of that disobedience.
And once He accomplished that by His sacrifice and resurrection, He returned that authority to us.
"And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All power is given to me in heaven and in earth." Matt. 28:18
"Behold, I give to you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." Luke 10:19
And do you know the difference between then and now?
God gave Adam absolute authority without limitation, while today we are joint heirs with Him:
"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." Rom. 8:17
This means that even if we fail at something, He never fails, which means that our authority is NEVER going to be lost again as it was lost in the garden of Eden!
When there are two co-beneficiaries on an account, BOTH signatures are required for an order to be executed. Even if we make a mistake and sign to hand over that authority to the devil as Adam and Eve did, Christ will NEVER sign! Isn't that awesome?
God ALWAYS wanted to rule through man. We see this from the beginning of Creation. Despite all the failure of man, the Lord came, regained the authority that was lost and gave it back to us!
-- This alone reveals to us the heart of God! --
That's why when we give our thanks and praise to the Lord, we bless Him.
There are countless verses that talk about this:
"Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name." Psalm 103:1
"I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth." Psalm 34:1
"My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad." Psalm 34:2
"O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together." Psalm 34:3
Blessing the Lord is more than words. It is something that comes from our heart, from the smallest and simplest, to the biggest:
"Thank you that I live and breathe."
"Thank you for the risen sun and the new day that begun."
"Thank you for being with me today."
"I thank You that my life and the life of my family are in Your hands."
"I thank You for Your angels who protect me."
"I thank You for Your grace that follows me."
This is what truly blesses God, because He sees into our hearts.
Do you understand why I started this message with the words of Paul?
"Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice." Phil. 4:4
A thankful heart always has joy!
Have you ever thought about what Adam and Eve did when they walked with the Lord in the evenings in the garden of Eden?
Before their disobedience there was no need
- to ask God for anything, because they had EVERYTHING,
- nor to pray for others,
- nor ask forgiveness for any of their sins,
- nor to rebuke the enemy, because there was no enemy.
I say this because most of our prayer is usually focused on these things. It is not mentioned in the Scriptures, but when Adam and Eve walked with the Lord I imagine two excited children running to the Father and telling him their impressions and the new discoveries they had made while walking in the garden.
- "I tasted that fruit!",
- "I swam in that beautiful lake!",
- "I enjoyed the panoramic view from that hill!".
Imagine the excitement and the questions they had!
Imagine 2 kids in a huge toy and sweet shop!
Can you see this picture? Can you imagine the joy of a Father when He enjoys the company of His children in this way?
This is what the verse of Revelation that we read earlier means:
"... for Υou Lord have created all things, and for your pleasure they are and were created." Rev. 4:11
So we saw three basic functions of thanksgiving:
1. It changes our heart towards God,
2. It is a weapon against the devil
and
3. It blesses the Lord.
We live in amazing times. We have things that previous generations would not even imagine! Today we have smart phones, that we can ask them things and they answer us!
When we thank the Lord for all this technology and prosperity we enjoy, we bless His heart!
What we need to understand is that God's love is NOT dependent on what we do for Him or what we offer Him.
Certainly our actions matter, but what I want to emphasize is that God loves us more than what we do (or what we DON'T do for Him).
So if you focus more on doing things to please God, instead of being a blessing to Him with a heart of thanksgiving and praise, you are NOT blessing Him that way.
See what Isaiah writes:
"To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to me? said the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats." Isaiah 1:11
Even if it seems you do everything right, if your heart is NOT where it should be, then the Lord is NOT pleased. This is what Paul writes in his letter:
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal." 1Cor. 13:1
"And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing." 1Cor. 13:2
"And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profits me nothing." 1Cor. 13:3
The Lord is NOT interested in our actions as much as in our hearts. When our hearts are in the right place, the right actions will follow.
"The LORD your God in the middle of you is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest in his love, He will joy over you with singing." Zeph. 3:17
The Hebrew rendering of "He will rejoice over you with joy," means with twirling and dancing! When we worship the Lord, angels dance and sing with us!
God loves us and we must respond to His love with praise and thanksgiving.
The word "thank you" is rarely heard today. The ingratitude of people is one of the signs of the end times. It is a point of philautism that dominates. We only think about ourselves and don't care about anyone else.
We must learn to be grateful and bless others instead of trying to "drain" them with our own needs and problems.
We do not doubt that problems exist, but we ALWAYS enter the courts of the Lord with praise and worship and present our requests to Him with thanksgiving.
The situation in the world today may seem bad, but thank God it could have been a lot worse.
Thanksgiving brings glory to the Lord and reveals a person with a humble heart, because he recognizes that everything he has in his life came from the Lord and not from his own abilities.
God is our source:
"For who makes you to differ from another? and what have you that you did not receive? now if you did receive it, why do you glory, as if you had not received it?" 1Cor. 4:7
How many times have you done something nice for someone and no one thanked you? Children are usually like this with their parents, because they think that whatever good their parents do for them, they owe it to them.
A "thank you" from the heart is so beautiful both to God and to people.
"And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." Col. 3:17
"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 1Thes. 5:18
Thanksgiving opens spiritual doors and helps us experience more and more of the supernatural in our lives.
"And he said to them, Draw out now, and bear to the governor of the feast. And they bore it." Jonas 2:8
"When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not from where it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom," Jonas 2:9
"And said to him, Every man at the beginning does set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but you have kept the good wine until now." Jonas 2:10
Jesus multiplied the five loaves and two fishes not by praying about it, but simply by thanking God.
"And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would." John 6:11
"When they were filled, he said to his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost." John 6:12
Likewise, it was the thanksgiving that released God's power at Lazarus' tomb:
"Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me." John 11:41
"And I knew that you hear me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that you have sent me." John 11:42
"And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth." John 11:43
"And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said to them, Loose him, and let him go." John 11:44
The Apostle Paul said in 1 Timothy:
"For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:" 1Tim. 4:4
"For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer." 1Tim. 4:5
These things are the foundation of our faith, even when we pray at the table over our food.
The Lord loves us and has given us everything:
"According as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:" Eph. 1:4
"Having predestinated us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will," Eph. 1:5
"To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he has made us accepted in the beloved." Eph. 1:6
Our thanksgiving and praise is the least we can offer Him.
Amen?
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