WHY THANK GOD?

A man who lives a lifestyle of thanksgiving will definitely have more victory than a man who is constantly binding the devil. An atmosphere of thanksgiving is an unconducive atmosphere for satan to operate. It is who we keep calling that we will keep seeing. You cannot thank God beyond the revelation of God that you have.

It is an insult to tie thanking God to a thing. It is a lower level to thank God just based on what He has done or will do. However, you ought to thank God for those, and even if He does not do anything, or meet your expectations, you still need to thank Him. God is too big to be tied to an event/experience. Acknowledge Him for everything that happens in your life.

Make up our mind to thank God, start now, don’t wait for a time in the future. Whether you thank Him or not, He remains God. When we begin to embrace the higher reasons for thanking Him, then we can also begin to assess the higher dimensions. It is the God you have seen that you will experience.

"And now, O priests, this commandment is for you. If you will not hear, And if you will not take it to heart, To give glory to My name, says the LORD of hosts, I will send a curse upon you, And I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, because you do not take it to heart. Behold, I will rebuke your descendants And spread refuse on your faces, The refuse of your solemn feasts; and one will take you away with it”. (Mal. 2:1-3) 

In context, God was speaking to the Levites, the children of Israel, but it is applicable to us. If the blessings of God in our lives will not become a curse, we need to give Him thanks. Thanksgiving may climax in an event but it is a lifestyle we must cultivate. Something doesn’t have to happen before we give God thanks.

Thanking God is not optional, it is mandatory. 

Jer. 9:23- 24. God is not just concerned that you give Him thanks/glory. 

The reason for thanking God is important to Him.

The weightier the reason, the more the glory. 

We enter into God’s presence, with singing and into His gates with thanksgiving. Psalms 100:2, 4.

REASONS WHY WE SHOULD THANK GOD

1) There is God and for who He is. He is just, perfect, faithful and true, the unchanging changer...

2) For what He has done. What has He done? We thank Him for sending Jesus, for the sacrifice done on the cross. What Jesus did has given us the privilege of having God as our Father and free access to Him. Heb. 4:15-16, Titus 2:11.

3) We thank God for what He is doing. In spite of what is going on in and around us. He gives us light in the midst of the darkness. He is purifying us. All that we are and will ever be is by the grace and mercy of God. Phil.2:13, Ps. 46:1

4) We thank Him for what He will do. Our ultimate salvation, everything is not ending here. We have hope, and it is not in vain. There is a hope for a new heaven and a new earth. We thank Him because we know He has not failed and will never fail. The sufferings of this present time are nothing compared to the glory that will be revealed.

5) We thank God because you and I are partakers of all these. Thank Him because you are saved. As long as you are saved, you have every reason to thank the Lord. Be thankful because you are saved, rescued from eternal condemnation. Ps. 103:1-3, Col.1:9-10, 12, Eph. 1:3-5. It doesn’t matter what you have, if you are not saved, you are doomed. If you have Him, you have all.

FOUR BASIC INGREDIENTS REQUIRED FOR THANKING GOD

1) Your heart. 1 Sam 6:6, Prov. 17:3. God never reckons with what doesn’t stem from the heart.

2) Singing and dancing. Ps. 100:1-4, 147:7, Heb. 13:15-thanksgiving is uttered, it is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to God. Kings must know how to conduct themselves, every king must know how to dance. Knowing how to dance before God as a king is important to God. There was no king in Israel like David; he knew how to Praise, sing and to dance before the Lord. 2 Sam. 6:16-17.

3) Your substance-your money. Any heart that is truly thanking God will give to God. What you bring before God goes to show how grateful you really are. What you give matters. God desires spirit-led generosity. You plan to give God thanks. It is not thanksgiving when you are being told to do it. It must be willful. There is a shift going on right now. Prov. 13:22, 1 Chron. 16:9. God is looking for and recruiting men for these last days.

4) A life of obedience to the word of God. One of the ways we tell God thank You is by our lifestyle. One of the ways you tell God thank You is by how you handle the job He gave you. A life of immorality and compromise is a life of ingratitude to God. Every time you align with the principle of God’s word, you let God know you are grateful. Lack of contentment is a sign of ingratitude to God. Being a believer and living a life of compromise is being ungrateful.

To show God, you are truly grateful, you will make fresh and new consecration to Him. 2 Cor. 6: 6.

We have been called to honour, but there’s responsibility involved. 1 Pet. 2:9-12. We must live the kind of life that befits the honour to which we have been called.

Chant: Psalm 136