A message summary of November 23, 2014 from Pastor Gus Brown:
The Lord tells us that unless we become like little children, we cannot enter the kingdom of God. (see Matthew 18:4; Romans 8:16)
When will you come to a place to sincerely say “thank you” for what you have, you will begin to see how God is working in your life.
To say “thank you” is a polite expression of gratitude for someone’s words or actions.
God’s will for your life is to give thanks in all circumstances.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Give thanks in everything,
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Romans 14:5-7
5 One person considers one day to be above another day. Someone else considers every day to be the same. Each one must be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 Whoever observes the day, observes it for the honor of the Lord. Whoever eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; and whoever does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat it, yet he thanks God. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.
God is your ultimate provider in life. He is able to keep you.
What is it to dismiss the importance of a thankful heart?
- A haughty person. A person who has a great pride in himself.
- People who expect others to do things for them.
- Look to God to always be available without giving Him thanks or recognition.
- Lose the ability to show gratefulness to God for helping you throughout the day.
- Failure to appreciate God in your life.
Psalm 107:1-43
Thanksgiving for God’s Deliverance
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
His faithful love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord proclaim
that He has redeemed them from the hand of the foe
3 and has gathered them from the lands—
from the east and the west,
from the north and the south.
4 Some wandered in the desolate wilderness,
finding no way to a city where they could live.
5 They were hungry and thirsty;
their spirits failed within them.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
He rescued them from their distress.
7 He led them by the right path
to go to a city where they could live.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for His faithful love
and His wonderful works for all humanity.
9 For He has satisfied the thirsty
and filled the hungry with good things.
10 Others sat in darkness and gloom—
prisoners in cruel chains—
11 because they rebelled against God’s commands
and despised the counsel of the Most High.
12 He broke their spirits with hard labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
13 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
He saved them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and gloom
and broke their chains apart.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for His faithful love
and His wonderful works for all humanity.
16 For He has broken down the bronze gates
and cut through the iron bars.
17 Fools suffered affliction
because of their rebellious ways and their sins.
18 They loathed all food
and came near the gates of death.
19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
He saved them from their distress.
20 He sent His word and healed them;
He rescued them from the Pit.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for His faithful love
and His wonderful works for all humanity.
22 Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
and announce His works with shouts of joy.
23 Others went to sea in ships,
conducting trade on the vast waters.
24 They saw the Lord’s works,
His wonderful works in the deep.
25 He spoke and raised a tempest
that stirred up the waves of the sea.
26 Rising up to the sky, sinking down to the depths,
their courage melting away in anguish,
27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men,
and all their skill was useless.
28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and He brought them out of their distress.
29 He stilled the storm to a murmur,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 They rejoiced when the waves grew quiet.
Then He guided them to the harbor they longed for.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for His faithful love
and His wonderful works for all humanity.
32 Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people
and praise Him in the council of the elders.
33 He turns rivers into desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
34 and fruitful land into salty wasteland,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a desert into a pool of water,
dry land into springs of water.
36 He causes the hungry to settle there,
and they establish a city where they can live.
37 They sow fields and plant vineyards
that yield a fruitful harvest.
38 He blesses them, and they multiply greatly;
He does not let their livestock decrease.
39 When they are diminished and are humbled
by cruel oppression and sorrow,
40 He pours contempt on nobles
and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.
41 But He lifts the needy out of their suffering
and makes their families multiply like flocks.
42 The upright see it and rejoice,
and all injustice shuts its mouth.
43 Let whoever is wise pay attention to these things
and consider the Lord’s acts of faithful love.
(from Psalm 107:1) Give thanks to the Lord…WHY?
He is good (to me).
His love endures forever (for me).
Romans 8:35
Who can separate us from the love of Christ?
Can affliction or anguish or persecution
or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
Who is it that God is looking for to give thanks?
(from Psalm 107:2) The redeemed of the Lord should say thanks for what God has done (and that’s not everyone). Let them declare, “my God is good!”
The redeemed refers to the next of kin (and as such to buy back a relative’s property).
redeemed – ga’al (gaw-al’)
This is how God sees His people who acknowledge Him as Lord. He is the avenger and deliverer that purchases, ransoms and redeems us.
He acts as our next of kin.
See the importance of saying thanks to the Lord:
(from Psalm 107:8, 15, 21, 31, 43) Whoever is wise, let him take heed in appreciation and consider Him. (Think it over and think it through.)
The upright see and rejoice (verse 42). The mouths of the wicked will remain closed. (They don’t know who to thank or express their own pridefulness.)
What does the one who is upright see that the wicked person does not see?
(from verses 4, 7) The redeemed can see the path as they move along. The ones who are not redeemed will wander from place to place without God’s presence.
(from verses 10, 13, 14) Some will see depression and will remain stuck in it (because of rebellion against Him), while those who are redeemed will seek God and he will deliver from affliction and captivity. He is the One who breaks the chains!
His goodness and love endures forever! It endures for you! That is something to be thankful for!
(from verses 17, 18, 20) Our own sin hinders and hampers us. There’s no one to blame but yourself. Thankfully, God will redeem anyone who declares Him to be worthy and whoever repents and turns to sin. He will deliver you into freedom and “He is faithful and just to forgive our sins.” (1 John 1:9)
Do you see God working in your life? Do you see God doing something in your life? If you do, it needs to be recognized with gratitude.
“…Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:20-21)
Akron Alliance Fellowship 