Give Thanks and Be Joyful
By: Pastor Rodney Howard-BrownePublish date: 09/16/2017
Foundation Scripture:
All these curses shall come upon you and shall pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. 46 They shall be upon you for a sign [of warning to other nations] and for a wonder, and upon your descendants forever. 47 Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness of [mind and] heart [in gratitude] for the abundance of all [with which He had blessed you].Deuteronomy 28:45-47 AMPC
God Keeps All of His Promises.
His promises are conditional.
If we fulfill the conditions, we walk in the blessings.
However, ungratefulness will sabotage the blessings in your life.
Gratefulness is a Choice.
Being grateful is a choice we make.
Gratefulness is thankfulness expressed with joy.
Joy does not come from the outside, through circumstances or from other people, but it comes from inside.
Abraham Lincoln said, “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be!”
Some of the happiest people in the world are not necessarily the richest – they are some of the poorest.
Their lives are simple and they are grateful for most of the things that people in wealthier nations totally take for granted.
You would think that the more blessed people are, the more grateful they are, but often it seems that the opposite is true.
Remember the Lord.
It is when we are very, very blessed that we must remind ourselves to give thanks where thanks are due.
Deuteronomy 8:17-18 AMPC - “And beware lest you say in your [mind and] heart, My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth. 18 But you shall [earnestly] remember the Lord your God, for it is He Who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
If the devil cannot stop our success, he will try to puff us up with pride to trip us up.
If you take the credit for God’s blessing in your life, you will become arrogant.
If you take it for granted, you will become ungrateful.
We could keep all God’s conditions and so experience His blessings, but then throw it all away through not giving Him the praise.
Give Thanks.
Gratefulness is essential to walking in God’s continued blessing.
Count your blessings.
Give God thanks for all He’s given to you and all He has done for you – whether big or small.
Hebrews 13:15 KJV - “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”
Giving thanks is an integral part of praise.
You can’t praise Him without thanking Him.
Ephesians 5:20 KJV - “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV - “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Colossians 3:15-17 KJV - “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”
Thanksgiving should be a natural part of our walk with God.
He is Our Source and Supply.
As believers, we have believed His Word and received His salvation.
We have acknowledged that God is the source of our life.
He is the Alpha and Omega; our Creator and our Lord.
Everything we have belongs to Him and is from Him.
Jesus paid the price for our abundant life and we owe Him everything.
Colossians 2:6-7 KJV - “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”
2 Corinthians 9:10-11 KJV - “Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) 11 Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.”
The Man After God’s Own Heart.
David was a man after God’s own heart – a praiser and worshipper of God.
He appointed specific Levites, whose job it was to minister before the Ark of the Lord and continually praise and thank Him (1 Chronicles 16:4).
We don’t need a priest to give thanks on our behalf.
We can come into His presence, ourselves, and praise, worship, and give thanks.
Psalm 92:1-2 KJV - “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night.”
Psalm 69:30 KJV - “I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.”
Psalm 95:2 KJV - “Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.”
Psalm 105:1 KJV - “O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.”
Psalm 100:4 KJV - “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”