Thanksgiving is for everyday
I felt it appropriate to speak about thanksgiving being that we just celebrated it.
I have 3 questions that we must look into
1. What are we to be thankful for?
2. How can we live in thanksgiving?
3. How do we spread our thanksgiving?
The bible in Rev 7:11-12 says that the angels are falling on their faces to worship the Lord and giving him thanks.
Jesus also gives us examples of being thankful
(Matt 11 25-30) At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. 27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
1. What are we to be thankful for?
We need to be thankful every day that Jesus died on the cross and made the way for us through Him to know the Father.
This is a gift that we should thank God for everyday (oh how we forget this blessing)
Versus 28 and 29 tells us that all that are weary and burdened will find rest in Him
We can be thankful because Jesus gives us rest.
(Speak about how when you came to the lord it was as if the weight of the world was lifted)
1a.When we feel tired we find rest (we are thankful for he is our strong tower)
(Psalm 61:3) for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.
(Proverbs 18:10) The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
What is a strong tower? The TNLV reads a “fortified tower” a Fortified tower is built high above the ground, has thick walls that are very hard to penetrate that defends its people.
I just described a manmade tower or fortified city. The lord says that he is our fortified tower.
We need to see God as the God of the universe, the bible says in
(Isaiah 48:13) My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together.
The God of the universe, what kind of safety can be found in His strong tower?
Think about it, would you prefer to be in the strongest strong tower made by man or God who is the strong tower.
We need to be thankful because God has us in mind and tells us in His word to run to His strong tower, run to him, there we will find safety, rest, protection, peace and no worries.
God the father has given us His Son and has invited us into his strong tower
That’s worthy of our praise and thanks giving
2. How can we live in thanksgiving?
2a. When we are tested we find rest (We give thanks for He has promised us a crown)
(James1: 12) 12 blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him
When you are tested consider the great opportunity ahead (The Crown of Life) your Father in heaven has promised that you are not going through everything that you are going through for nothing.
Find your rest in him while living in your thanksgiving.
(Speak about the trial that you are currently going through at work)
This is not the time to lose heart my friends, this is the time to dig your heals in deep and fall into the shelter of the most high.
2b. When we are doing his we will find rest (We give thanks for he has anointed us)
(2 Corinthians 1:21) Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
We can rest in this promise that came with a deposit. The one that deposited his spirit in us calls us blessed when we persevere.
We can live in thanksgiving by fighting the fight and staying on course.
3. How can we spread our thanksgiving?
The same effort that we give supporting ourselves, with all the hard work that we do to get all of the toys that we have or want, is the same way that we need to approach our spiritual lives.
We shouldn’t give it our all to earthly riches and less to our spiritual lives, what ever we put into our spirit is what we are going to get out of it.
We need to look at our spirit the way Jesus looked at it in the desert when he was being tempted.
(Matthew 4: 1-4) J 1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, "It is written: ’Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’"
Jesus was lead by his spirit, and responded with the word of God to the temptation of the enemy.
We need to fill our spirit with the word of God in order to be offensive when the enemy comes with his distortions of the truth and to be able to speak truth to our friends and family, sharing and living out our testimony.
How can we spread our thanksgiving? By sharing the hope that is within us.
(1peter 3:15) Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
Be prepared, we are prepared in our Jobs, on rainy days but to give the hope that is within us, we need to think about it or worst we are unprepared.
People we have to look at this a bit differently, we need to see it all as just a way of saying Thank you to the Lord.
We have the hope of thanksgiving in us we need to spread it.
(Speak about your Partner and how it took 6 years for him to start asking questions)
Matthew 6:20) But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
People we have a hope that is lacking in a great majority of people that truly don’t know how to say thank you to God.
Find every opportunity to thank God while storing up your treasures in heaven.
Every time you share your faith its as if you just deposit into the bank of heaven.
How can we be thankful, by finding rest in Christ Jesus, staying in the strong tower, passing the test when tested, remembering the crown of life, doing Gods will, being guided by the Holy spirit whom God said was the deposit for what’s to come, giving our all to the things of the spirit, satisfying our spirit first and not living on bread alone while storing our treasures in heaven why because thanksgiving is for every day.
Lets thank God for all the little, because the much is just around the corner.
Lets us reflect on what God has blessed us with and lets be thankful
