220607 Thanking God for God
Paul's letter to Thessaloniki • Sermon • Submitted
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220607
Tuesday June 7, 2022
The lifestyle of Gratitude
Thanksgiving to God
God deals with sinful man by His grace policy.
Grace demands a response and that response is.
Thanksgiving?
Ephesians 2:5 (NASB95) — 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
Acts 15:11 (NASB95) — 11 “But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”
We must not forget the Israelites. If we fail to study the OT and Israelology that is the study of Israel we will for sure repeat the failure of the Israelites.
Some say that we living in the time of grace and view God of the old testament as a God of wrath. Those that say this do not know their old testament. Or God.
For if we include the whole counsel of scripture both old and the new we would come to the conclusion that the God of the old is the god of the new and as the church age believer is graced out so were the Israelite.
God not only delivered them out of Egypt bringing them through the Red Sea God provided for the Israelites every step of the way.
And when they were complaining and groaning at times the Lord extend his grace and provided for them.
Yes, and oh yes!
Thanksgiving removes eyes off self and places them upon the one who is worthy of praise and glorification.
The Israelites stopped being thankful for what the Lord had done. What the Lord was currently doing and what the Lord had in the future for them. They were preoccupied with self and could not bring their grumbling hearts to thanking God.
The thankfulness is the result of the capacity for God within one’s own heart. That is knowing God as God has revealed himself to us.
Though evil may be allowed to stretch its hand to hurt the believer, that hand has no power to affect the branch and the vine relationship. It is only the Lord in that regard who is the husbandman to that vine. Satan cannot touch it.
Ephesians 5:20 (NASB95) — 20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.
The capacity of Thankfulness is in knowing the Lord and knowing that we abide in him. The branch is
1. Sovereign
My God rules over all, He rules over me, He rules over my circumstances, he rules over my health, he rules over my enemies.
2. My God is eternal
God has no beginning and no end. It is my God who shares his life with me.
3. My God is Righteous
He has himself made me righteous that I may live with him forever.
4. My God is just
Perfectly fair. From that Justice there is cursing and blessing. Because of his justice I know that evil will not prosper perpetually.
5. My God is Love
He loves me to unreachable depths.
6. My God is omniscient
He knows me better than I know myself. He knows my plight. He knows even the thoughts and the schemes of the enemy.
7. My God is omnipresent
Where can I go where my God is not there? I cannot escape the Lord even if I wanted to, he is with me where I may be and during my deepest despair.
8. My God is omnipotent
Unlimited and all power. Speaking about “my Dad can beat up your dad.” Spiritually speaking the father of the children of disobedience is infinitely inferior to my infinitely superior Abba Father.
9. My God is truth
Once again, compared to the father of the sons of disobedience who is the father of lies my Father is absolute truth and I stand on every word spoken of God.
10. My God is immutable
Same yesterday today and tomorrow. The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob who trusted in Him is the same God I can trust in for the same reason, for God is God an unchangeable God
It is this God who brought me into an eternal relationship with Him. He says,
“you are forgiven.”
He say’s
“Come.”
He Says,
“Abide in me”
Ephesians 1:3–14 (NASB95) —
A life of Gratitude!
YOU BET!
The Israelites did not like the wilderness, they took their eyes off of their gracious God and became thankless not recognizing that God was with them every step of the way.
You may not like where God has placed you or what circumstances you must endure for a time, but God is with you every step of the way.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NASB95) — 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
The Israelites failed to be thankful in their temporal circumstances and missed out on entering into the Land flowing with milk and honey.
What can you and I miss out on in a state of ingratitude for all that the Lord has promised to do and in his keeping?
Will we fail in the same way, being disgruntled over our temporal circumstance to miss out on the greater blessings that God has for us ahead.
What will it take to successfully get through the wilderness and onward to the greater blessings in the Kingdom age?
Thanksgiving to what God has done in the past. What God is doing currently doing and what God is going to do in the future on the behalf of his beloved and for His own name’s sake.
The Three Negatives
We have studied the three “Do”s the mandate to practice
They are
1. Rejoice always
2. Pray constantly
3. In every thing give thanks
Now we come to the three prohibitions.
1. Do not quench the Holy Spirit
2. Do not despise prophetic utterances
3. Abstain from every form of evil
1. Do not quench the Spirit
πνεῦμα [pneuma /pnyoo·mah/]
this is the reference to the Holy Spirit which is the third member of the Godhead. A person in of himself possessing his own intellect, sensibility and determination of Choice.
Pneuma in the Greek and ruach in the Hebrew is related to breath wind life spirit.
Jesus alluded to the spirit in John 3 in his conversation with Nicodemus
John 3:8 (NASB95) — 8 “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Any movement of air including wind or breath; an animating life force; the immaterial inner essence of a human being; an incorporeal supernatural being[1]
This is in reference to the Holy Spirit of God the third member of the Godhead.
It is the Holy Spirit which is the enabling power of the Christian’s life.
In the Old Testament there were but a few among many a saint who were empowered by the holy spirit. This was temporary gift and was necessary to accomplish certain assignments which the Lord wanted carried out such as the building of the furniture of the tabernacle.
The Holy spirit also enable prophetic utterances as will be the next command not to despise such.
In the time of Jesus prior to Jesus’ birth we find that the holy spirit came upon John the Baptist at birth, His mother Elizabeth when she heard the voice of Mary and her baby leaped in her womb and when Zacharias regained his speech the holy spirit filled him, and he began to prophesy.
After Pentecost which marks the Church age it is the church age believer that is indwelt with the Holy Spirit. This was the fulfillment of the promise that Jesus gave to his Disciples.
John 7:36–39 (NASB95) — 36 “What is this statement that He said, ‘You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come’?” 37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ ” 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
At the point of becoming born again every church age believer the best and the worst is indwelt with he Holy Spirit.
John 14:16–17 (NASB95) — 16 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
Gr Paracletos, one called alongside to help; or Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor[2]
There is the illuminating ministry of God the Holy Spirit the reveals the deep things of God.
Romans 8:16 (NASB95) — 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
Acts 5:32 (NASB95) — 32 “And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
John 14:26 (NASB95) — 26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
The Holy Sprit is our mentor, our teacher even our trainer. He teaches in the ways of Royalty.
John 15:26–27 (NASB95) — 26 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, 27 and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
John 16:7–11 (NASB95) — 7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
Romans 8:26 (NASB95) — 26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;
There comes a special kind of personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. Being that invisible element such as the wind and breath it is the effectual ministry of the spirit that we begin to appreciate in our lives as we are growing in the Lord.
Our growth comes from the mentoring of the Holy Sprit.
[1]Seal, D. (2012, 2016). Pneuma. In Faithlife Study Bible. Lexham Press.
[2] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). The Lockman Foundation.