Today we are going to look at “WHY ONE SHOULD GIVE GOD THANKS!
1 Samuel 12:24 says, “Only
fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart: for consider how
great things He hath done for you.”
Colossians
2:7 says, “… Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all He has done (for
you).”
The
Psalmist said, “What can I offer to the LORD for all He has done
for me?” (Ps.
116:12, NLT).
At this time of the year, families
traditionally gather to celebrate and thank God for all His blessings. They
gather to express their gratitude to God for His many blessings.
Beloved,
if you would look
back
and list your blessings and name them one by one, it will surprise you what the
Lord has done for you. If you woke up this morning and your name is not in the
obituary list in the Newspaper, brace up, square your shoulders and shout for
joy for this is the day the Lord has made, we shall rejoice and be glad in it.
You’ve
got food on your table. You’ve got clothes on your back. Many people all over
the world are homeless. But as for you, you’ve got a roof over your head.
You’ve got your legs to move from one point to the other. You’ve got your hands
to help you do things for yourself. You’ve got your life with you in that you
are still in this part of eternity to make up for heaven. You are not lying
down on a hospital bed. Get to any of the hospitals and see for yourself how
many are suffering from diverse kinds of illnesses.
Maybe you think that it is by your connections, or by
your strength that you are where you are today. Have you not read, “It’s
not by might, nor by power but by My Spirit says the Lord?” (Zech.
4:6).
Have you not heard that by
strength shall no man prevail? (1 Sam. 2:9). Is it not written in your Bible
that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet
bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to
men of skill?” (Eccl. 9:11).
Maybe you think that you are rich because you’ve
worked so hard? Have you not read, “It is not of him that willeth, nor of him
that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy?” (Rom. 9:16). It is not by
labour, it is by favour.
Have you never read that it is the Lord that gave you
the power to make wealth? (Deut. 8:18). Have you not read that Paul planted,
Apollos watered, but it is only God that gives the increase? (1 Cor. 3:6).
Therefore,
it is wisdom for us to gather to celebrate and thank God for all His blessings.
We gather to express our gratitude to God for His many many blessings.
What is gratitude?
Gratitude is a natural expression of thanks to someone in response to
blessings, protection, or love received.
Appreciating
God for what He has done for us so far will take you to your next level.
Shouts of joy (Ps. 42:4), songs of
praise (Ps. 145:7), and music and dance (Ps. 150:3-5) all added to the
spirit of thanksgiving in worship.
What
then is thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is a public
acknowledgement or celebration of divine goodness.
Why are you thankful to God? For me, I am particularly thankful to
God because:
1.
God is good, kind
and loving. 1 Chronicles 16:34 says, “O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good;
for His mercy endureth forever.”
Psalm
136:1-26 says, “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
2. Of the unspeakable Gift of Jesus
Christ. 2 Corinthians 9:15 says, “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable
Gift.”
In
John 3:16 Jesus said, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His
ONLY begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish,
but have everlasting life.”
3.
Of what God for has done for us in
Christ Jesus. Do you really know
what came in the package when you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and
personal Saviour? If you look into that package, you’ll see healing for your
body (Isa. 53:4-5; 1 Pet. 2:24), prosperity, promotion etc.
Jesus
Christ came to give us Identity, Position, Inheritance and Ability. And because
of what Christ has done for me I am:
•
A New Creation (2
Cor. 5: 17).
- Light (Cor. 6:14).
- The light of the world (Matt. 5:14)
•
The salt of the earth (Matt.
5:13).
•
A god (Ex. 7:1-2; Acts 14:11;
Ps. 82:6).
•
A covenant child of God
(Jn. 1:12; 1 Jn. 3:2).
•
A person (people) of God (2
Chron. 7:14; 1 Pet. 2:9).
•
Called by His Name (2
Chron. 7:14).
•
The righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:21).
•
An over-comer (1
Jn. 4:4; Rev. 12:11).
•
Always triumphant (2
Cor. 2:14; Col. 2:15). 2 Corinthians 2:14 says, “Now thanks be unto God, which
always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour
of His knowledge by us in every place.”
•
More than a conqueror (Rom.
8:37).
•
A success (Jer. 29:11; Ps.1: 3).
•
The image of God
(Gen. 1:26-27).
•
A king (1 Tim 6:15; Rev.17:
14, 19:16; Eccl. 8:4).
- A lord (1 Tim. 6:15; Rev.17: 14, 19:16).
- A chosen generation (1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 17:14).
•
A royal priesthood (1
Pet. 2:9).
•
A peculiar person (1
Pet. 2:9; Titus 2:14).
- A holy person (1 Pet. 2:9).
•
His elect (Col. 3:12).
•
A good soldier of the LORD Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 2:3).
•
An ambassador of heaven.
An ambassador for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20).
•
His workmanship created unto good works (Eph. 2:10; Ps. 139:14).
- Of great value to God (Mt. 6:8; 10:30).
- Beloved of God (Jn. 3:16; Eph. 3:19; 1 Jn. 3:1-3; Rom. 8:38-39).
- The apple of God’s eye (Deut. 32:10).
- A special treasure (Ex. 19:5).
- Fearfully, wonderfully and skilfully made (Ps. 139:14-15).
- A partaker of divine nature (1 Pet. 1:3-4).
- Carved into His palms (Isa. 49:16).
- God thinks about me always (Isa. 49:16; Jer. 29:11).
- A stranger and a pilgrim in this world that is very temporal (Heb. 9:27; 1 Pet. 2:11; Col. 3:1).
•
Not natural but supernatural. Not normal but abnormal. I don’t belong to this realm.
•
Complete in Him
(Col. 2:10), and in Him I live, in Him I move, and in Him I have my being (Acts
17:28).
•
A citizen of Heaven.
- A member of God’s household (Eph. 2:19).
- God’s property (Eph. 1:13).
4.
Bringing me out of a horrible pit,
from miry clay severally. Psalm 40:2-3 says, “He [God] brought me up also out
of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and
established my goings. 3 And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise
unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.”
What
is miry clay?
Miry clay is a situation so bad that except help comes from outside, you are
gone. It is like quick sand. The more you put in the second leg so that you can
step up, the more you will sink in. You are in a situation beyond the help of
man; a situation you can’t even help yourself. Have you been there before?
Examples of people that have been there
abound in the Scriptures. For
instance:
a) The man that was paralyzed from neck to toe (Mk. 2:1-12):
b) The man that was paralyzed for 38 years (Jn. 5:1-9).
c) The wife of the son of a prophet (2 Kings 4:1-7):
d) Shedrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego (Dan. 3).
e) Daniel (Dan. 6).
5.
God is for us (me). Romans 8:31 says, “What
shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”
Do
you know that one with God is a majority? You plus God is greater than a majority.
Job learnt this lesson on his bed of affliction. Job praised God even when he
was down to nothing. He knew that whenever one is down to nothing, God is up to
something.
In
Job 1:21 Job began to praise God saying, “Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and
naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed
be the name of the LORD.”
In
Job 13:15 Job said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him…”
In
Job 19:25 Job said, “For I know my Redeemer liveth…”
As
Job began to thank and praise God, God broke that curse over his life and gave
him double for his trouble (Job 42:10). Beloved, God will give you double for
your trouble if you’ll learn to thank and praise Him in that your situation.
Giving
thanks to God is the key to releasing the supernatural power of God upon your
life in your situation.
If you need a miracle in your life, be thankful and give God thanks for that
situation you are in right now. Joshua learnt that same lesson in the battle
against Jericho.
Jonah learnt that lesson in the belly of the fish. David learnt that lesson in
the battle against Goliath (1 Sam. 17). Daniel learnt that lesson in the den of
lions (Dan. 6). Shadrach, Meschach and Abed-nego learnt that lesson in the
fiery furnace (Dan. 3). Paul and Silas learnt that lesson in the dungeon in
prison (Acts 16:16 – 38).
In
Isaiah 54:17 God said, “No weapon that is formed against thee
shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou
shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their
righteousness is of Me.”
5.
I am thankful because I am going to
Heaven (Jn. 3:3-7). I am thankful to God because He has made a way for
me to come to Heaven. I am so glad that I am a citizen of Heaven. Heaven is my
eternal home because I am a member of the family of God.
If
you really know what you have in Jesus Christ, no one needs to ginger you up
before you give God quality thanks.
6.
I am thankful because God loves me.
In John 3:16 Jesus said, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.”
1
John 3:1 says, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we
should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because
it knew Him not.”
7.
I am thankful because NOTHING can separate me from the love of God which is in
Christ Jesus. Romans 8:35-39 says, “Who shall separate us (me) from the love of
Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed
all the daylong; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all
these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. 38 For
I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans
8 begins with “no condemnation” and
ended with “no separation.” In Romans
8:1 the Scriptures say, “There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit.”
Listen
beloved, you can never do anything so bad or so good to make God love you less
or more than He loves you right now. Even when you don’t love Him, God still
loves you. Even in your worst state, God loves you but hates that sin in your
life.
8.
I am thankful to God because He
fights all my battles for me.
He is Jehovah Nissi. He contends with they that contend with me (Isa. 49:25).
In
Romans 8:37 the Bible says, “Nay, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through Him that loved us.”
There is a world of difference between
being a conqueror and being more than a conqueror.
A conqueror is the one who fights a battle and wins. But more than a
conqueror is one who does not take part in any form of battle, but knows that
the battle is already won even before the battle starts.
God
fought for David against Goliath (1 Sam. 17). He fought for the children of
Israel against the Egyptians in the Red Sea (Ex. 14). He fought for them
against the Amalekites. He fought for them against the children of Moab, the
children of Ammon, and the people of Mount Seir (2 Chron. 20).
Psalm
23:4-5 says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and
thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence
of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.”
9. I am thankful to God because He forgives ALL our sins (Ps. 103:3; Col. 1:13-14; Col. 2:13-14; Isa. 43:25;
Isa. 1:18; Prov. 28:13; 1 Jn. 1:9).
In Psalm 103:1-22, David’s praise
focused on God’s glorious deeds. It is easy to complain about life, but David’s
list gives us plenty for which to praise God: He forgives our sins, heals our
diseases, redeems us from death, crowns us with love and compassion, satisfies
our desires, and gives righteousness and justice. We receive all of these
without deserving any of them. No matter how difficult your life’s journey, you
can always count your blessings - past, present, and future. When you feel as
though you have nothing for which to praise God, read David’s list.
10. I am thankful to God because He heals ALL our sicknesses and diseases (Ps. 103:3; 1sa. 53:4-5; 1 Pet. 2:24; Jam. 5:14-16).
10. I am thankful to God because He redeems
(saves) our lives from destruction (Ps. 103:4; Ps. 34:22; Jn. 10:10; 1 Pet. 5:8; Eph.
6:10-12; God’s promises: Ps. 91:3-8; Ps. 23:4-5; Isa. 43:2; Isa. 54:15, 17).
Psalm 107:15-16 says, “O! that men would praise [give thanks to] the LORD for
His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! 16 For He
hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.”
In a certain city in the northern part of Nigeria,
God spoke to a certain Moslem, the son of one of the leaders of that faith, and
showed hell to him in a revelation. As he woke up, he quickly sought for a
church, went to the pastor, and gave his life to Christ. On hearing the
testimony of what the Lord had done in the life of that former Moslem, the
other Moslems gathered to set his house ablaze as he slept. But as they got to
his house, all they saw was a wall of fire all around his house. They had no
access to the house because Jesus had become the wall of fire around that New
Creature in Christ as He promised in Zechariah 2:5. Jesus had encamped around
that New Creation in Christ.
Psalm 34:7 says, “The Angel of the LORD encampeth round about
them that fear Him, and delivereth them.”
This was also what happened in the case of Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed-Nego (Dan. 3). Jesus was the fourth Man in that fiery furnace
that Nebuchadnezzar put them into.
Nebuchadnezzar had no idea of the promise of God for His children.
In Isaiah 43:2 God promised, “When you pass through the
waters, He will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow
you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burnt, nor shall the
flame scorch you.”
Jesus also protected Daniel from the den of lions.
When the hungry lions saw Jesus, the “Lion of the tribe of Judah,” they became
powerless.
The same Jesus protected me from a poisonous snake in
November, 2002. As I finished the Sunday service, I walked into my office in
the church. Some people followed me into the office, and as I sat down to
counsel with them, one of them said, “Daddy, that’s a snake behind you.” I
thought he was kidding. However, it was true. The snake was right there behind
my seat, but could not do anything.
Besides, I came into that office around 6.00 am to prepare for the Sunday
service. I stayed in that office, probably with that snake until about 9:15 am when I eventually came out
for the service. The snake was killed and burnt.
To my surprise, the next day a mad man that was
passing the major road to the church, on getting to the very spot where the
snake was burnt, stood there complaining bitterly and pointing at the church. I
happened to be standing outside with some other brethren. I lifted up my voice
and said to him, “Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world” (1
Jn. 4:4). And as soon as I shouted Holy Ghost fire, the man ran for his dear
life.
This same Jesus has also been protecting you from one
danger or the other on daily basis. Won’t you give Him thanks?
11. I am thankful to God because He crowns
[surrounds] us with loving kindness (Ps. 103:4; Jn. 3:16; Rom. 5:8).
12. I am thankful to God because He fills our
lives with good things – Who gives us plenty of good things (Ps. 103:5; Ps.
23:1-5): good parents; good spouses;
Spirit-filled friends; well-paid jobs; good environment. He gives us houses we did not build, vineyards we did not
cultivate, and favours we did not merit.
13. I am thankful to God because He makes us
young again like the eagle (Ps. 103:5). Are
you not aware that you are looking younger every day as compared to your
counterparts? He renews your strength to be like that of a youth.
Because God gives you all sorts of good things so that you lack
nothing, you are always looking young. God adequately maintains you.
14. I am thankful to God for
the victory over sin and death that He gives us in Christ.
1
Corinthians 15:57 says, “How we thank God, who gives us victory over
sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
15. I am thankful to God for giving me a priceless inheritance in
Christ
(1 Pet. 1:3-4).
16. I am thankful to God because the
spirit of thanksgiving puts a seal on the blessings I
have already received. Example is the case of the ten lepers. The very one
that came back to give God thanks was made whole in that: (a) his destroyed
parts grew back and he became as if he never suffered from leprosy; (b) He also
received eternal life.
If
you are not thankful, then
you are not Spirit-filled. Ephesians 5:18-20 says, “And be not drunk with
wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to
yourselves in Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs, singing and making melody
in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto
God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Psalm 124:2-4 says, “If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us: 3 Then they had
swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us: 4 Then the
waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul. 5 Then the proud waters had gone
over our soul. 6 Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their
teeth. 7 Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the
snare is broken, and we are escaped. 8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, who
made heaven and earth.”
In spite of all the obstacles that the devil brought your way, can’t you
look back and see where you are today and give God thanks? He is Jehovah
Ebenezer, the LORD that has brought you thus far. Quit complaining and start
praising God for His goodness, love and faithfulness.
Watch out for the next
edition of Good News from
the Pulpit!
- Your friend: I. I. MADUBUNYI (Senior Pastor) 25.11.2018
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