From The Problem to the Solution
6 – GIVING THANKS IN ALL THINGS
This morning, we are continuing our series of messages entitled FROM THE PROBLEM TO THE SOLUTION
Over the last few weeks and months, we've been talking about what it takes to get FROM THE PROBLEM TO THE SOLUTION…
--First thing – Acknowledge the Problem
--Second thing – Make a "Word" Decision
--Third thing – Find Your Evidence (or Title Deed)
--Fourth thing – Learn to Listen
And last week, we told you that the fifth thing that's got to happen is you've got to have PATIENCE – PATIENCE WORKS!
And so this morning, continuing with our theme, and in light of Thanksgiving coming up this Thursday, I'd like to share with you another powerful principle that will help ensure that you'll get FROM THE PROBLEM TO THE SOLUTION
And that's understanding the power of THANKSGIVING
Let's read…
•Ephesians 5:20 (KJV) "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;"
•Luke 17:12-19 (KJV) "And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: (13) And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. (14) And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. (15) And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, (16) And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. (17) And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? (18) There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. (19) And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole."
INTRODUCTION
Now, the Apostle Paul says in our text, we ought to be giving thanks IN ALL THINGS, not FOR ALL THINGS, but certainly IN ALL THINGS
Because we're going to learn today, that IN ALL THINGS, no matter the…
--trial
--test
--difficulty
--problem
We can find a way to give thanks unto God
Now, over and over in the Word of God, we're given the instruction and admonition to continually give thanks
And the reason is, that by nature, we're very unthankful
We have to teach our children to say THANK YOU
And over and over, we read…
Psalms 106:1 (KJV) "Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever."
Did you know that this exact phrase is found 6 times in the Bible!
We also read…
•Psalms 92:1 (KJV) "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:"
•Psalms 75:1 (KJV) "Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare."
•Colossians 3:15 (KJV) "…be ye thankful."
•Philippians 4:6 (KJV) "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."
Paul told us that in the last days…
2 Timothy 3:2 (KJV) "…men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,"
And without question, if we want to have MORE problems in our lives, then all we need to do is complain and not give things
Listen to what happened when the Children of Israel murmured…
1 Corinthians 10:10 (KJV) "Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer."
When they Children of Israel murmured and complained, God sent poisonous snakes among them to kill them
And whenever we constantly complain and murmur, we're inviting demon spirits to infect our life with the poison of doubt
It's deadly
That's why the Psalmist said IT IS GOOD TO GIVE THANKS
You remember the story when the 10 where cleansed of their leprosy and only one came back to give thanks
What you may not realize is that the 9 were cleansed (which was a healing as they were, in other words, the leprosy was gone, but they still had the deformities)
BUT LISTEN TO THIS – The one that gave thanks was made WHOLE…
--fingers began to grow back
--flesh began to grow
--bones were snapped back into place
That's the power of THANKSGIVING
And if we're going to go FROM THE PROBLEM TO THE SOLUTION, one of the ways is to learn the POWER OF THANKSGIVING
A mother got an email from her daughter in college
Here's what it said…
Dear Mom and Dad, due to a fire in the dorm set off by student riots, I've suffered temporary lung damage. I've been in the hospital several days. While here, I've fallen in love with an orderly and we've moved in together. I've gotten pregnant, dropped out of school, he went back to work the next week and got fire on the job for drinking. We've decided that we might move to Alaska, might get married, after the birth of the baby, if it all works out. Signed your loving daughter.
P.S. None of these things really happened Mom and Dad, but I did flunk chemistry and I just wanted you to keep it all in perspective.
And this morning, what I want to do is to give you a perspective on all the problems of life and how we can be thankful in all things
And if you'll remember, I gave you 6 reasons for all of life's problems…
--the WORLD we LIVE
--the CHOICES we MAKE
--the ENEMY we FACE
--the PEOPLE we KNOW
--the PROGRESS we GAIN
--the GOD we SERVE
And IN EACH OF THESE, I want to share with you how you can be thankful in the mist of those problems
Let's talk about, first of all, being thankful in…
1. THE WORLD WE LIVE
I told you that some of the problems we have in life, isn't because of…
--lack of prayer
--fasting
--the devil
--demons
--God
They happen just because we live in a fallen world
Jesus said…
Luke 13:4-5 (KJV) "Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? (5) I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
In other words, things happen in life not just because of SPIRITUAL laws, but PHYSICAL laws as well
The Bible says that we are…
Ephesians 2:3 (KJV) "…by nature the children of wrath…"
And sometimes just because of our earthly bodies and as a result of the fall, things happen…
--sickness
--disease
--miscarriages
--deformities
--even death
But in spite of all of this, we can still be THANKFUL!!
You may ask, "How can we be thankful for a tragic motor accident?"
Be thankful…
--that there are hospitals that can immediately care
--for the GEICO (referring to the car insurance commercials with the lizard)
--for cell phones to call for help
--for the times you didn't have an accident
--we have transportation!
Everyone is complaining about the price of gas
But when you realize that…
--a team of 50 men have to drill day and night
--bring the oil up out of the ground
--build pipes to send it to refineries where other men work round the clock
--then it has to be transported on ships around the world
--further refined in America
--put on 18 wheelers
--put in the gas station
And you only pay 2.18 a gallon for it – WE OUGHT TO BE THANKFUL!
Listen, we don't understand why…
--accidents happen
--bad things happen to good people
But we can either by a COMPLAINER or a CONTENDER
Kyle Mayner, you've heard me speak of so many times
They call him "The Contender". When Kyle Maynor's mother was pregnant, the doctors said they could not find his legs. He was born without hands or legs. However, despite his handicaps, he eats with a spoon, played football and award-winning wrestling while in High School and graduated with a 3.6 average. Two months after his High School graduation, Kyle was a keynote speaker at a forum for the disabled. "Anyone," he told the crowd, "can overcome their boundaries and achieve their dreams."
That's the power of thanksgiving and we can be thankful IN ALL THINGS
And then, secondly, we can be thankful even concerning…
2. THE CHOICES WE MAKE
We can be thankful in spite of the problems that come because of the choices we make
Now, it's true, that we must be very careful of our choices
Choices become actions – actions become habits – habits become character, and character becomes your destiny!
And we must learn to make the right choices, but I'm here to tell you that no matter the bad choices you've made, God can turn things around and for that you can be thankful
You may have made some bad choices regarding MONEY
What can you be thankful for if you're in debt? That you're not one of your creditors!
You may have made some bad choices in your marriage
A lady said to her husband at Thanksgiving time, "What are you most thankful for concerning me this year at Thanksgiving? Is it my long beautiful hair? Is it my curves? Is it my beauty? It is my passion?" The husband looked back at her and said, "I'm most thankful for your imagination!"
I don't thank God for wrong choices, but I do thank God that He can use those bad choices to do much good
I thought about Jonah – how many of you know he made a bad choice and wound up in the belly of the whale
That's bad!
But did you know that when you study history, it was because he survived the whale that the people of Nineveh responded so quickly concerning the preaching of Jonah
I'm here to tell you that God can turn around our bad decisions and use them for the development of our character and His glory!
Thirdly, you can be thankful even despite…
3. THE ENEMY WE FACE
You may say, "How can we be thankful for the devil?"
Because whatever the devil does, God always turns it around for our good and His glory!!!
Let me tell you something…
--if you're NOT making progress
--if you're NOT doing damage to the devil's kingdom
--if you're NOT a threat to Satan
--if you're NOT on your way to heaven
He won't bother you!
But if he's bothering you BE THANKFUL
That's why I've learned not to get upset when there are problems in the church!
Because if the church has no problems, it means that it's not doing anything!
If the enemy is causing you problems, then THANK YOU MR. DEVIL!!!
Fourthly, we can be thankful when we have problems because of…
4. THE PEOPLE WE KNOW
How can we be thankful when someone is giving us a hard time?
Be thankful for the opportunity to show your genuineness and Christianity
Jesus said…
Luke 6:28-29 (KJV) "Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. (29) And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also."
How can you really know if you're can live this scripture until you have…
--coworkers
--employer
--family
Who give you a hard time!
When someone is really giving you a hard time, look at them and say, "I appreciate the opportunity that you're presenting me to become more like my Lord!"
That will psyche them out!
In the 1800's in the Salvation Army, a lady they called "Warrior Brown" got saved. The reason she was called "Warrior Brown" is because before she got saved, when she got drunk, she would be mad and fighting and ready to hurt people at any old little thing. Well, she got saved, and one night in an open-air meeting, she got up to testify, and somebody in the congregation threw a potato and knocked her upside the head causing a stinging bruise. Everyone thought she would loose it, but she quietly picked up the potato and didn't say a word. Nobody mentioned it and several months later, at the Harvest festival, she brought a sack of potatoes as her offering for the harvest festival to be used. She told the people that this was her offering to the Lord and it came from the "insulting potato" that she took home, and cut it up and what she was presenting to the Lord was her increase!"
You can be thankful, even when people come against you!
Listen – If it were not for GOLIATH, David would have never had an opportunity to display the power of God
We can also be thankful because of…
5. THE PROGRESS WE GAIN
Sometimes before things get worse, before they get better!
If you're been sick you know that sometimes in the healing process, there is more sickness…
--chemotherapy
--heart surgery
If you break off a wrong relationship, you may go some nights all alone, before God sends someone beautiful and wonderful in your life
So when you're all lonely – YOU CAN BE THANKFUL THAT YOU'RE MAKING PROGRESS
And then, finally, we can be thankful ULTIMATELY, because…
6. BECAUSE OF THE GOD WE SERVE
God Himself allows things to happen in our lives
And we don't understand
That's called the MYSTERY factor
And we might not understand all the things that we go through, but I UNDERSTAND GOD HAS A PLAN
Someone asked Albert Einstein's wife if she knew the theory of relativity (E=MC2). She said, "No, but I do understand Einstein."
I may not understand…
--pain
--the problems
--why we don't have children
--accidents
--death
--sickness
But I understand God
And…
--GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME AND ALL THE TIME GOD IS GOOD
--IF GOD BE FOR ME WHO CAN BE AGAINST ME!
--IN EVERYTHING I CAN GIVE HIM THANKS!!
IN CLOSING
Let me give you three benefits to THANKSGIVING
1. It takes you to the NEXT LEVEL (Luke 17:19)
The 9 lepers were cleansed, the other was made WHOLE
2. It keeps your prayers focused
Colossians 4:2 (KJV) "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;"
3. It jump starts faith
Thanksgiving CRANKS faith (have you ever been around a "crank"?)
Well, we need to CRANK our faith and thanksgiving causes that!
Let's give Him thanks this morning!
IT'S TURNAROUND TIME!!!
