TITLE: THE THREE INGREDIENTS OF THANKSGIVING
SCRIPTURE: I THESSALONIANS 5:16-18
Thanksgiving is a very special time of the year. Traditionally, it’s a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. The worldly perspective of thanksgiving however, has turned it into a time of gathering with the Family - Eating A Big Meal - Watching Football - Hunting - Shopping. Maybe your family has their own unique tradition. However you decide to celebrate Thanksgiving, the fact remains that it’s a time for us to count our blessings. Scripture is very clear to us that every blessing in our life is a result of God’s provision.
JAMES 1:17 says it like this - “EVERY GOOD GIFT AND EVERY PERFECT GIFT IS FROM ABOVE, AND COMES DOWN FROM THE FATHER OF LIGHTS, WITH WHOM THERE IS NO VARIATION OR SHADOW OF TURNING.”
• If you’re in good health and have a roof over your head, God has blessed you
• If you get enough to eat each day, are part of a church family, have faithful friends, a source of income, then our generous God has blessed you
• Because of God’s great love he provides for us, just as He has provided for His people for thousands of years
One of the main problems with today’s thanksgiving other than the worldly traditions we’ve placed on it, is that it’s limited to an annual holiday. True thanksgiving, however, is identified and verified by a life of daily thanksgiving. Let’s take a look at God’s Word to find out how to lead a life of thanksgiving.
The Bible teaches us that true Thanksgiving is identified or verified by a life of daily THANKS-LIVING. Today even as another Thanksgiving day is around the corner, let us consider how to lead a lifestyle of thanksgiving, not just one day, but throughout the year. The Bible mentions three biblical ingredients that are needed for leading such a lifestyle.
In our text, the word “Rejoice” appears about 14 times. In this verse, Paul commands the church of Thessalonica to rejoice while it was in the middle of a severe wave of persecution. Paul’s words may sound blunt but actually, it’s not. Now before I move forward, there are some things we need to distinguish between.
In order for us to be able to rejoice always, we have to understand the difference between Joy and Happiness.
• Happiness is just a feeling
• It comes from the word “Happenstance” from which we get the word “Circumstance”
• In other words, our happiness depends on our circumstances
The problem with happiness is that it’s temporary. The moment you think you have a hold on happiness, it slips away and then you find yourself needing another fix. I believe all of our children have been to Disneyworld – Michelle took them all at different times when the children were very young. I did not go, it’s not my thing. I saw the pictures and heard they had a wonderful time. I heard somebody say - it’s next to impossible to go to Disneyworld and not be happy. As a matter of fact, they call it the happiest place on earth for a reason. But you can’t stay there forever so when you leave often times you find your happiness leaving too.
• As we get back to the real world
• As we get back to work
• As we get back to the cares of this life
People are naturally happy depending on their circumstances. joy, on the other hand, is not natural.
• Its source is Supernatural
• The only way you’re going to have joy is if you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, because Jesus is the author of Joy
• In Christ we can decide to be joyful despite our problems
• A Christian’s joy is not dependent on circumstances, it comes from what Christ has done
• Its permanent - it doesn’t fade away
The Apostle Paul is speaking about Joy in this text, not happiness.
• Happiness is circumstantial and an emotion that we can’t control
• We will be spontaneously happy when our circumstances are good but will be spontaneously miserable when the circumstances are not
Rejoicing, on the other hand, isn’t a spontaneous emotion but an intentional act of faith. HABAKKUK 3:17 teaches us that rejoicing is a decision we make. It’s the FIRST INGREDIENT FOR A LIFE OF THANKS-LIVING. Let me see if I can help you with this. As Christians we are always in the Lord and the Lord is always in the life of a Christian, and that is always a reason for joy. Even if we cannot rejoice in the circumstances, if we find ourself passing through pain - sorrow - grief, we still can rejoice in Christ. We rejoice in the Lord, and since He never leaves us or forsakes us, we can rejoice always.
• DEUTERONOMY 31:6 “HE WILL NOT FAIL THEE NOR FORSAKE THEE”
Here is a theological truth to help bring the source of joy into focus.
• Joy is the outworking of our union with Christ
• God created us, and then re-created us in Christ, so as to form deep and lasting relationships; they are the source of our greatest joys
• But no relationship surpasses our fellowship with Jesus Christ in the Gospel
The only way you’re going to be able to cultivate a joyful attitude during times of trial is through a personal relationship with Jesus, one important aspect of that relationship is PRAYING WITHOUT CEASING – WHICH IS THE SECOND INGREDIENT TO THANKS-LIVING
• Uninterrupted prayer keeps temporary and spiritual values in balance
Paul advises the Christians in the church of Thessalonica to pray without ceasing. Paul stresses it so much because prayer is the heavenly fuel that keeps the aforesaid flame of joy burning even in times of trials.
• The dictionary defines perseverance as “persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success”
As humans we are results-oriented and praying can be difficult when results delay. We are wired to look for substitutes when a given avenue seems to have failed. But unlike the world, we must pray persistently because DANIEL 10:12 teaches us that in the spiritual realm God answers our prayers the moment we start praying, although we will not see results in our realm right away. This is why I get so aggravated with Preachers always proclaiming – GOD IS GETTING READY TO DO THIS - GOD IS GETTING READY TO DO THAT – God is already working in our behalf even if we don’t see the blessing Yet.
Paul didn’t mean that we should walk around all day mumbling prayers to God. No, he was teaching that we can live in a constant attitude of prayer, even as we go about our daily routines. Lifting our hearts to God while we are occupied with miscellaneous duties regardless if words are uttered or not. Of course, some days we’ll pray much more than others. But regardless of the particular items on our “to do” list for that day, we can maintain a natural attitude of prayer that encompasses our whole lives.
Here is what I believe - Praying without ceasing simply means that you're lifting your whole day up to God. There's not an area of your life, and there's not a time - a season - or a period where you're not regularly repeatedly turning and bringing it to the Lord in prayer. When we develop this sort of prayerful outlook, prayer becomes our first instinct any time we face a challenge or encounter a difficulty rather than our last resort.
• When we maintain an attitude of prayer, we don’t even have to think about moving from first gear to second, from an attitude of prayer to the practice of prayer
• It never occurs to us that we shouldn’t pray
Pray without ceasing does not mean you've got to pray 24/7 and feel guilty for every second you're not praying. Praying without ceasing is about developing a lifestyle of prayer so that you don't just get up in the morning and have a planned time of 10 to 20 minutes and then you don't pray again until the evening. But it's your way through the day as you move along in the day. Many prayers will be what the old forefathers called spontaneous prayers that go up in little darts and phrases up to God. I like to call them drive-by prayers.
• Lord, help me with this next task I have to do
• Lord, keep from losing my temper now
• Lord, help me avoid temptation here in this situation
• Lord, bless these five dollars to make it until payday
I believe what Paul is saying is there's never a time - there's never a circumstance - there's never an aspect of your life that you should not be in conversation with the Lord about, making your requests known, desiring to glorify Him, asking for His assistance. I don't know about you, but in my day, as I walk through my day, there's kind of a dialogue going on. I don't know that I hear Him speak back that much, but I have His Word, so I have plenty of that. I believe that praying without ceasing simply means that you're lifting your whole day up to God.
• There's not an area of your life
• There's not a time
• There’s not a season
• There’s not a period where you're not regularly repeatedly turning and bringing it to the Lord in prayer
Prayer is our most powerful but also most unused resource. We use prayer as a weapon to manipulate God and we easily give up when God doesn’t answer the way we want Him to.
• The primary purpose of prayer is not to change situation - it’s to change us
Rejoicing always and praying without ceasing pave the way for our final ingredient. This THIRD AND FINAL INGREDIENT TO THANKS-LIVING -- A LIFE OF THANKSGIVING IS MARKED BY A LIFE OF GIVING THANKS. In the Bible men of influence were also men who thanked God verbally or literally, even when in despair.
• JOB thanked God when everything was lost
• One of the TEN LEPERS returned to thank the Lord for his healing
• HANNAH thank God for the birth of her son
• JESUS thanked the Father before He fed 5,000 people in the middle of nowhere
• PAUL and SILAS thanked and praised God from inside a prison cell in Philippi
God is aware of everything going on in this world. Nothing surprises Him, nothing catches Him off guard, therefore nothing we ever face can be labeled as “Bad.” The problems you and I face are a temporary part of God’s larger plan for our spiritual well-being.
• Everything we have has been given to us from God
• We owe Him more praise and thanksgiving than we can offer
• But what I see in many Christians today is just the opposite of appreciation, I see a marked lack of gratitude
The more intentional we are about offering thanks to God, the easier it becomes to see his blessings in our lives. That is why we are repeatedly commanded in the Bible to be thankful in all things.
• No one can bless us like our heavenly Father
• Let us be diligent in thanking Him for His grace and goodness
Giving Thanks lets God know you have confidence in him, no matter how deep the problems or how dire the circumstances.
• Thanks is faith turned inside out
Giving Thanks changes your countenance and disposition. Instead of being down and discouraged, spreading gloom and despair everywhere you go, you begin to radiate the joy of the Lord.
• The best witnesses for Christ are those who are facing life’s trials with a song of thanksgiving on their lips
Giving Thanks opens the door for God to work. God hates it when we grumble and gripe, but He loves it when we praise and give thanks. As we begin to live a life of thankfulness to God, He begins to work, even through the toughest trials and tests of faith. God does miracles on our behalf when we choose to thank Him and praise Him, even in the deepest, darkest pit. I want to conclude by telling why we need to give thanks for everything. The answer is in PHILIPPIANS 4:7. THANKSGIVING IMMUNES OUR HEARTS AND MINDS IN CHRIST JESUS AGAINST CIRCUMSTANCES THAT ALSO NOURISH OUR FAITH.
--Let’s learn to live a life of continuous Thanks
--Somebody ought to Thank Him right now
--God is just waiting for our Thank You
--SPANISH -- Gracias
--FRENCH – Merci
--ITALIAN – Grazie
--GERMAN -- Danke
--DANISH -- Tak
--HAWAIIAN - Mahola
--SHAHILI -- Shurkan
--HEBREW -- Toda
--ICELANDIC -- Takk
--SLOVAK -- Dakujem (JAH-koo-yehm)
--FILIPINO -- Salamat (sa-LAH-mat)
--RUSSIAN -- Spy-see-bah
--HUNGARIAN -- Kuh-suh-nem
--LITHUANIAN -- ah-chew
--SWAHILI -- Ah-sahn-teh (Asante)
--If I were MUTE -- (Wave your Arms and Hands)
