Post by rheytarded on May 9, 2007 1:15:01 GMT -4
REQUIREMENTS FOR THANKSGIVING
Text: Heb 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear
Intro:
Let us have grace- God has richly given us something we do not deserve. Our salvation. His kingdom. The definition of grace in this passage refers to our gratitude for everything that He has bestowed upon us, no matter how undeserving we are, – a requirement for our worship and service.
As one of the essential elements of prayer, this is one of the most overlooked items in our prayer list. We are always asking for prayer for every endeavor, every event, every want, every need but most of the time, we are too embarrassed to praise the Lord and express our thanksgiving when our prayers do get answered, or even for the small fact that we are alive. We are living with unmerited favor, and let us keep in mind that we cannot be ungrateful in the grace of God.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THANKSGIVING
Col 3:15-17 Do it in the name of the Lord
As Christians, we have been taught to do everything in His name. Thanksgiving is not an exception. Even our gratitude falls short of the glory of God. And the only way that it can be acceptable is through His name.
Eph 5:18 Be filled with the Holy Spirit
We all understand what that means. We cannot genuinely thank the Lord if our hearts and minds are preoccupied with things of the world.
I Thess 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in every thing give thanks
One of my favorite verses… seriously. Its like a mantra that we should recite every morning before heading out the door… or if we cant seem to get our thoughts organized because of the pressures we face…
Rejoice always- be happy and content with what you have. Pray without ceasing- rely on God in everything. In everything give thanks- God is the source of all the things we have.
To be thankful is to be content. J
Phil 4:6 Never bring a request to God without thanksgiving
One of the weird things we do is we rarely thank God before He answers our prayers. Being thankful doesn’t mean he will give us something positive, but it is an expression of our faith that he will take care of us.
WHAT THANKSGIVING ACCOMPLISHES
Thankfulness provides access to God
This is interesting really. (Ps 100:4)
Being thankful is our key to entering God’s presence. It is written in this passage that ‘we enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.’ Most of us, we just stay outside the gates screaming out our requests and supplications, when we could have entered into his presence and into his courts first…
Thanksgiving is the gate pass. Remember that.
It unlocks the supernatural miracle power of God.
(Jn 6:11-12)
Most of us are familiar with this story of the little boy with 5 loaves and two fishes. When we look closely we can see that when Jesus Christ prayed he did not ask for the Father to perform a miracle, but He gave thanks and broke the bread.
When we are thankful and I mean, genuinely thankful for God’s provision in our lives, we can see that He gives us more than what we already have. If you noticed, those that are truly blessed are those who really do not demand like a maniac, but are thankful for whatever situation they are in, for whatever things they have, and for whatever is God’s will for them…
In conclusion, I want to site the mantra that is a blessing and a guideline that I’m not saying we should follow, but we should remember and keep in our minds in order to have a content, ‘God reliant’ (cannot think of the proper term) life.
REJOICE ALWAYS
PRAY WITHOUT CEASING
IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS
Text: Heb 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear
Intro:
Let us have grace- God has richly given us something we do not deserve. Our salvation. His kingdom. The definition of grace in this passage refers to our gratitude for everything that He has bestowed upon us, no matter how undeserving we are, – a requirement for our worship and service.
As one of the essential elements of prayer, this is one of the most overlooked items in our prayer list. We are always asking for prayer for every endeavor, every event, every want, every need but most of the time, we are too embarrassed to praise the Lord and express our thanksgiving when our prayers do get answered, or even for the small fact that we are alive. We are living with unmerited favor, and let us keep in mind that we cannot be ungrateful in the grace of God.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THANKSGIVING
Col 3:15-17 Do it in the name of the Lord
As Christians, we have been taught to do everything in His name. Thanksgiving is not an exception. Even our gratitude falls short of the glory of God. And the only way that it can be acceptable is through His name.
Eph 5:18 Be filled with the Holy Spirit
We all understand what that means. We cannot genuinely thank the Lord if our hearts and minds are preoccupied with things of the world.
I Thess 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in every thing give thanks
One of my favorite verses… seriously. Its like a mantra that we should recite every morning before heading out the door… or if we cant seem to get our thoughts organized because of the pressures we face…
Rejoice always- be happy and content with what you have. Pray without ceasing- rely on God in everything. In everything give thanks- God is the source of all the things we have.
To be thankful is to be content. J
Phil 4:6 Never bring a request to God without thanksgiving
One of the weird things we do is we rarely thank God before He answers our prayers. Being thankful doesn’t mean he will give us something positive, but it is an expression of our faith that he will take care of us.
WHAT THANKSGIVING ACCOMPLISHES
Thankfulness provides access to God
This is interesting really. (Ps 100:4)
Being thankful is our key to entering God’s presence. It is written in this passage that ‘we enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.’ Most of us, we just stay outside the gates screaming out our requests and supplications, when we could have entered into his presence and into his courts first…
Thanksgiving is the gate pass. Remember that.
It unlocks the supernatural miracle power of God.
(Jn 6:11-12)
Most of us are familiar with this story of the little boy with 5 loaves and two fishes. When we look closely we can see that when Jesus Christ prayed he did not ask for the Father to perform a miracle, but He gave thanks and broke the bread.
When we are thankful and I mean, genuinely thankful for God’s provision in our lives, we can see that He gives us more than what we already have. If you noticed, those that are truly blessed are those who really do not demand like a maniac, but are thankful for whatever situation they are in, for whatever things they have, and for whatever is God’s will for them…
In conclusion, I want to site the mantra that is a blessing and a guideline that I’m not saying we should follow, but we should remember and keep in our minds in order to have a content, ‘God reliant’ (cannot think of the proper term) life.
REJOICE ALWAYS
PRAY WITHOUT CEASING
IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS