Greatful Heart

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High” (Ps. 92:1).

Do you want the blessings of God? I know I do! First of all, what ways God has blessed you, and then secondly, how you can in turn bless others. This week, let us meditate on the blessings of God that will produce gratitude in us.

Why, it's a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord. It’s a good thing to give thanks because God commands us to give thanks. And it’s a good thing because thanksgiving ushers us into the presence of God, and thanksgiving honors and magnifies God.

Then we can say that thanksgiving produces the peace of God in our hearts. Now today we want to look at several other reasons why it’s a good thing to give thanks to the Lord. It’s a good thing because thanksgiving is an indicator of our true heart condition, of our true spiritual condition.

Don’t worry about anything. Instead pray about everything. Tell God your requests. "6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6–7).

Psalm 140:13 says, “Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name; The upright shall dwell in Your presence.” The person who gives thanks evidences that he has a righteous heart. There are three words that are very important in the Gospel: they are guilt, grace, and gratitude.

You see, the person who knows that he was a guilty, undeserving sinner, deserving of God’s wrath, knows that God has poured out His grace upon Him and by His grace has made him righteous through Christ. That person is going to be a grateful person. The person who’s been made righteous, who knows he has no righteousness of his own, will be a grateful person because he knows he has no hope of ever being righteous apart from the cross and the grace and the love of Christ. So a thankful heart is an indicator of our real heart condition.

The will of GOD:

It’s a good thing to give thanks to the Lord because it’s the will of God.

When we talk particularly with young people who are wanting to know about the will of God. Typically some of us ask these questions about the will of God; “Should I take this job? Should I go to this school? Is it God’s will for me to marry this person? Is it God’s will for me to take this vacation?”

We think about God’s will, in terms of things we do, and places we go, and jobs we have. But when we go to the Scripture and study the will of God, we find out that the will of God is really much easier than we think.

First Thessalonians 5:18 tells us one absolute truth about the will of God. It says, “ In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

I can tell you God’s will for your life, and you can tell me God’s will for my life. God’s will for you and God’s will for me is that in everything we give thanks. In everything.

Evidence of the Holy Spirit:

Then we see that it’s a good thing to give thanks because being thankful is the evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit. A thankful life, a thankful lips, a thankful heart are the evidence of the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5 talks to us about being filled with the Spirit, and then it gives us some of the practical out workings of what it means to be filled with the Spirit. So Paul says in Ephesians 5:18-20, “Be filled with the Spirit.”

Now you can’t see the Holy Spirit. I can’t look at you and see if you are filled with the Holy Spirit. You can’t look at me and see if I’m being filled with the Holy Spirit. So how can we know if we are being filled with the Holy Spirit?

Well, we can know if the things that follow that verse are true in our lives. One of the things that follows that verse is verse 20: “giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

How can I know if I’m filled with the Spirit? If I’m thankful.

You see, when I am filled with the Spirit I can’t whine. I can’t complain. I can’t murmur or grumble. If I’m murmuring or grumbling, then I Can’t say I’m filled with the Holy Spirit. I can’t be filled with the Spirit and be a complainer at the same time.