Thanksgiving to God
(Devotion shared on Nov 1st 2021 at ACFI 1st Day of the Month Prayer Meeting)
Psalm 100:4-5 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 7:17 I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.
Psalm 69:30 I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving
Did you know the word thanksgiving occurs 40 times in the Bible (NKJV)
Ref: Thanksgiving - 40 occurrences
The 1st occurrence is in Leviticus 7:12 If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer, with the sacrifice of thanksgiving, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers anointed with oil, or cakes of blended flour mixed with oil.
Thanksgiving is ordained by God
1 Thess 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Phil 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
1 Tim 2:1-4 (instructions for worship) I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
Live as Jesus
1 John 2:6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
So among other things we should be thankful like Jesus was.
Did you know Jesus prayed for me and you?
John 17 is the chapter that is a model of prayer for us - where Jesus prays to His Father, praying for Himself, praying for the disciples, and praying for all believers.
John 17:20,21 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
Jesus's prayer for us is that 'we all may be one"...so as a church, our calling in Christ is to be one....why? so that the 'world may believe that You sent Me'
v23b that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.
Btw, word study that I want to share, the whole chapter 17 is a prayer....Jesus refers to God as Father 6 times in the 25 verses - Father, Holy Father, Righteous Father.
Jesus was thankful
5 times it is recorded as Jesus saying thanks
1. Before feeding the 4000
Matthew 15:36 reference Matt 15:29-38
Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people.
Thanksgiving - miracle - People were satisfied
God is always multiplying and providing – give him thanks.
2. Before feeding 5000
John 6:11 reference John 6
Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
Thanksgiving - miracle - People drawn to God
3. Before raising Lazarus from the dead reference John 11
John 11:41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
Thanksgiving - miracle - People believed in Him - chief priests & Pharisees plotted to kill Him.
Be thankful that God is always listening to you.
4. Before Passover meal / Last Supper Ref Luke 22
(also recorded in Matthew 22: 26-30
After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
Btw, that is the longest ongoing fast! Jesus said 'he will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes'
Thanksgiving - prep for cross / being a sacrifice for all mankind - lasting ordinance for believers
Jesus was thankful for something that connected his saving sacrifice to his disciples – and, not only to them but to us as well.
5. Thanking God for revealing Himself
Luke 10:20-24 Luke 10, NKJV
Context: Jesus sends 70, 2 by 2, verse 17, Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”
v21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.
rejoiced = thrilled with joy
Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”
Jesus thanked God for revealing himself, not to the strong and powerful, but to the “least of these”
Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it.”
In Closing:
Consider this....Jesus is the ultimate gift! God gave His son so that we can have eternal life. You are an object of His affection. When Jesus thanked God, it was because He had drawn near to us. Be of good cheer. You are loved.
I want to revisit Luke 10:21
v21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.
- Like Jesus, do you & I rejoice in the Spirit?
- Like Jesus, is the outpouring of our rejoicing Thanksgiving. As with all things, we should imitate Jesus. He gave thanks and so should we.
- Like Jesus, do we acknowledge the source of our successes - our Heavenly Father, The Lord of heaven and earth
- Is Jesus rejoicing today on my / your account?!
- Looking upon his servants after their return from their successful mission, a group made up certainly for the most part of poor untutored men - fishers, artisans, and the like, children of the people, without rank or position - Jesus thanks the Father that, in the persons of the men chosen to be the instruments of his work, had successfully accomplished their work
- Are you reflective of the the prayer that Jesus prayer in John 17? Is ACFI reflective of the prayer of Jesus for believers? Are we perfectly united, so that the world may know Jesus and the world may know that God love us, just as God loved Christ?
As we enter a new month, a month when we set aside time for Thanksgiving, I hope and pray for each of us will resolve to be thankful and that we will reflect on all that you should be thankful for - rejoicing in the Spirit, giving thanks to God, so those around us will know God through us, individually, through our family and through our church, ACFI.
Heb 12:28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
Rev 7:11,12 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying:
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
Be to our God forever and ever.
Amen.”
References:
https://biblehub.com/luke/10-21.htm
http://5feetaway.com/the-thankful-jesus/
https://hereadstruth.com/2018/11/16/when-jesus-gave-thanks/
https://chasingalion.com/a/1340-jesus-gave-thanks
https://www.worldvisionadvocacy.org/2019/11/14/20-bible-verses-about-thankfulness-to-god/
https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/luke-10/
Self-reflection:
My Appa's anniversary today (14th anniv) - Nov 1st 2007
Thankful for appa’s life and thankful to God for the wonderful grandfather, father, father-in-law, husband, brother, son, and friend he was. I hope we will each emulate his love for the family and the benevolence and generosity he had.
