Bill Johnson teaches on the importance of developing a lifestyle of gratitude in this special Thanksgiving compilation. More than a once a year reflection, incorporating thanksgiving and gratitude into our daily lives is key in stewarding our mental and emotional health, and empowering our prayer life. Thanksgiving enables us to take what the enemy meant for evil and transfer it into to the hands of God, knowing that He is causing all things to work together for our good. Subscribe for weekly videos: https://bit.ly/bjmYoutube
Connect with Bill Johnson Ministries: Website: http://bjm.org/
Facebook: https://bit.ly/bjmFacebook
Instagram: https://bit.ly/bjmInstagram
Mailing List: https://bit.ly/bjmMailingList
Additional Resources: https://shop.bethel.com/collections/b…
0:00 Introduction 0:19 In Everything Give Thanks 12:52 The Effect of Thankfulness on Your Emotional and Mental Health 21:09 Thanksgiving Empowers Your Prayer Life Bill Johnson is a fifth-generation pastor with a rich heritage in the Holy Spirit. He is senior leader of Bethel Church in Redding, California, and is passionate about seeing Revival and God’s Kingdom established and revealed in the lives of individuals, families, communities, and nations. Bill’s teaching on the Kingdom of Heaven, hosting the Presence, and the renewed mind has helped thousands around the world to step into their true identity in Christ, God given purpose, and walk in a supernatural lifestyle displaying both purity and power. #BillJohnson #BethelChurch #Thanksgiving #Gratitude
and thankfulness is like man it’s like
the number one virtue that changes a
person’s life and dare I say the entire
nature of a
city I think thankfulness can change the
nature of a family
line thankfulness is one of the most
profound weapons that God has given us
in our
Arsenal and I hope to take you through a
number of verses just to show you some
some Concepts on why God is building in
us to be a thankful people and I think
probably most everybody in the room
would say I’m a thankful person that
you’re a thankful person our problem is
is that we cultivate a thankful heart
over all these things we acknowledge
God’s in charge he’s the one who
provided the job he he uh you know gave
me this child he whatever it might be we
have our list of things but we almost
all have something over here that we’re
not thankful for
and we justify it because it’s the work
of the enemy something bad happened in
my life this or that and so we have a
special category for things hoping that
God will just vindicate us not
realizing that being
thankful he said in everything give
thanks he didn’t say in almost
everything give
thanks neither did he say just do your
best you know I’m rooting for you just
do your best just hang in there do your
best he didn’t say that he said in
everything give thanks in everything so
here’s this glaring problem this CL
conflict this disappointment this
whatever it might be this is here and
I’m cultivating thankfulness here but
I’m unwilling to deal with this very
thing that haunts me what’s the
problem any area of my life in which I
am unable or unwilling to to give thanks
for that area will have a measure of
influence and control over my
life and not for good it it will it will
have a
voice where it shouldn’t have a voice
God why is this constantly tormenting me
because you’ve not buried it in
thankfulness wow why is this thing
constantly there it doesn’t never go
away because you’ve chosen not to
express trust in this one thing we pray
the problem but we but we don’t often
give thanks for the effect it’s having
on the
recipe if we could see Romans 8:28 more
clearly I think we’d be much quicker to
give thanks for the IRS
audit oh yeah the bad medical
report the loss of this employment or
whatever it might be the stuff that goes
on in all of our
lives
he doesn’t ever tell us to be thankful
for evil we are thankful that we have a
sovereign God who is able to use what
the enemy intended for evil for our
benefit and it’s the expression of
thankfulness that immerses that which is
contaminated into the grace of God to
where God now uses it for our
benefit
in Psalms
100 he says I will enter his
gates with Thanksgiving in my heart I
will enter his
chords with praise Thanksgiving is all
about
presence I will enter his Gates where’s
the destiny the destiny is the throne
room of God I will enter his gates with
Thanksgiving I’ll enter his course with
praise Thanksgiving is the specific
response to the actions of God the works
of God praise is our response to his
nature as character thankfulness has
always to introduce us to an increasing
revelation of his
nature Moses said let me know your ways
that I might know you the revelation of
nature is the invitation for
encounter so when God gives us his
protocol it’s not a a formula that we
use to manipulate God it’s how he
functions it’s it’s almost like this is
what the presence of the Glorious one
demands is his Commandments are not
restrictive they’re not punishments they
are always invitations to life good
every commandment is an invitation to
Greater experiences in the Life of
Christ and so he gives us this mandate
he says enter is gates with Thanksgiving
enters courts with
praise what’s the result in before the
glory
thankfulness is an expression of trust
that keeps us conscious of the presence
of
God
thankfulness it’s an expression of trust
and it keeps us conscious of him Keeps
Us conscious of the presence of
God one of my favorite uh stories in the
Bible is Moses upon the mount mountain
with the almighty God face to face and
he comes down with a direction God has
shown him what he’s supposed to build
they’re going to build this
Tabernacle but when he comes down he
sees Israel playing the Harlot they are
in absolute the most grotesque sin one
can
imagine he walks into the middle of
that does all kinds of stuff to restore
order bring them into repentance and
then he builds what God showed him to
build and the key verse for me is this
and Moses built according to what he saw
on the
mountain I think I can say this
accurately most Believers catch a vision
on the mountain and lose sight of it in
the midst of a
problem and Moses succeeded to build
what he saw up there when he got down
here it’s the most challenging thing and
what does thankfulness do thanks the
specific acts of thank Thanksgiving not
just the attitude of gratefulness which
I think is vital but the specific acts
of of
thankfulness connect us to our history
and God and help to heal and restore
memories as it’s supposed to be embraced
because those memories are what help us
to carry on the Mandate of the Lord and
Moses did according to what he saw on
the mountain it was the memory of that
that helped him to be successful in his
most perilous time memor thankfulness is
what keeps us connected to our history
and God our history it’s not just mine
it’s our history of
God I want you to look at John chapter 6
with me we got a couple verses we’ll
we’ll go
through
John chapter 6 this is where Jesus is
feeding the
5,000 it says in verse 11 it says and
Jesus Took the
Loaves and when he had given thanks he
distributed them to the disciples and
the disciples to those who are sitting
down verse
23
other boats came from tiberias near the
place where they ate bread after the
Lord had given
thanks can I pay attention
here the Holy Spirit marked the location
so here we’ve got a location where Jesus
there’s the multiplication of food
thousands of people
eat after Jesus broke bread and gave
thanks the Holy Spirit wanted that place
to be remembered what was it remembered
for it was when Jesus took loaves broke
them and give thanks what’s the point
what did he what did he
have he had not enough
yeah and he gave thanks holding not
[Applause]
enough the sacrif of Jesus was in
response to human need but the daily
invasions of God are not according to
human need they’re according to Faith
and
obedience and to ignore the protocol of
God to apprehend that which is in our
life that we refuse to give thanks for
is for us to Mark a part of our life we
don’t need his grace
in in the midst of lack Jesus gives
thanks in the midst of lack and in verse
23 he says what’s that place called
that’s the place where he took bread and
he gave
thanks he gave thanks for what wasn’t
enough 1 Corinthians
11 is a good one this is where Paul had
received this Revelation about the
Lord’s supper and he was
communicating really the the greatest
truths we have in scripture on the
subject here in chapter 11 of 1
Corinthians
and he said
um he Saidi receed from the Lord that
which I also delivered to you that the
Lord Jesus on the same night in which he
was betrayed took bread and when he gave
thanks he broke it and said Take and Eat
okay what’s the
point on the night Jesus was
betrayed he took bread and gave thanks
see thankfulness took in John
6 a situation of extreme lack and turned
it into extreme abundance where they
ended up with more than they started
with in the
leftovers now jesus takes his
moment the most difficult moment where
he has poured himself into 12 people 12
guys for three and 1/2
years at the end of which one has a
better
idea and for personal gain sells the
right the access that he has to Jesus W
and he
betrays on the night Jesus is betrayed
Jesus is fully aware of what Satan has
inspired Judas to do fully aware of that
he takes the bread he breaks it and what
does he do he gives
thanks see
Thanksgiving sanitizes your touch on the
matters of your life it decontaminates
us from
having influence remaining flesh
influence that that defiles that which
God is doing and it’s thankfulness that
keeps us in a place where everything in
my life now is usable by God because I
have I have I’ve cleansed myself if you
will I I if I’m using the right language
but you can you can help me out and
figure it out I I have I I’ve sanitized
my own involvement in the Affairs of my
life through thankfulness to what this
now is in the hands of the Lord to use
on my behalf for his glory and on my
behalf and it’s thankfulness the
transitions that very tool that the
enemy intended for
evil the weapons of the enemies are
destroyed through
thankfulness it actually REM removes the
tool that he was going to use to destroy
it removes it from him because now
you’re playing with God’s
tools now we’re playing with God’s
instruments go with me to Thessalonians
1 Thessalonians 5 and we’ll spend the
rest of our time in this uh
chapter that last statement I made about
thank Thanksgiving
thankfulness I kind of butchered it and
I’m going to butcher it just a little
bit
more but I I want to I want to give it
give the statement of context because if
you understand this I I didn’t prepare
to have these scriptures ready so you
can you can look them up on your own but
there’s this interesting dialogue that
Paul has on two occasions about food and
what we’re to eat and one of those
occasions he he says he says hey if your
neighbor is sacrificing some animal to
this demon god and you know that they
sacrific that meat to the demon god and
they know that you know don’t eat the
meat and he says it’s not because it
will harm you it’s because it’ll violate
their
conscience but then he goes on and says
but if they don’t know then eat
it elsewhere Paul says all foods that
you receive with prayer and
thankfulness is
Sanctified follow the logic here so
here’s this big chunk of
meat my neighbor just offered it to some
God he doesn’t know that I know but I
watched and then he invited me over for
dinner and I saw these demon powers
surround him as he offered this offering
and I know that the enemy wants to
destroy me through this that I’m about
to eat and I receive it into my life and
I give thanks my thankfulness just
Sanctified what was previously empowered
by the enemy to bring destruction to my
life did that make sense thankfulness
sanctifies so when you’re in the middle
of a horrific situation thankfulness in
the middle of that it’s not about
Chasing the Devil around it’s simply
about turning our heart towards the
celebration of who God is in every
situation and it anchors our soul into
that that absolute victory that has been
promised to to each one of
us thankfulness so here we’ve got this
portion of scripture that um I remember
fact just look at it verse 16 Rejoice
always pray without ceasing in
everything give thanks I remember
reading that as a young Pastor uh in
Weaverville days remember reading that
verse like man I could spend spend the
rest of my life every day the rest of my
life on those three verses and I would
have my hands full I would have a
full-time job just learning those three
simple
statements say it with me Rejoice always
re always pray without
ceasing in everything give thanks
everything give thanks let’s say it
together Rejoice always pray without
ceasing in everything give thanks say it
again Rejoice always pray without
ceasing in everything give
thanks I’m I’m not sure
that that we see the effect of
thankfulness on the human heart or
thankfulness on the spiritual atmosphere
or surroundings around our
life there there is a sanctifying a
cleansing a purifying work that takes
place simply by thankfulness why number
one thankfulness is automatically a
position of
humility thankfulness is not us
dictating something to God or to
somebody else it’s coming in low in
honoring him for what he has
done thankfulness is
uh is connected to the acts of God the
works of
God uh says of of Israel and Moses it
says Israel was acquainted with the acts
of God but Moses was acquainted with his
ways Israel with the acts of God Moses
with his ways there’s an interesting
graduation in in perception and
experience in those two areas many
people experien The Works of God but
they don’t know anything about his
nature about his person and all the
Revelation or experiences of the works
of God are invitations to discover who
he
is Moses prayed this prayer in Exodus he
said let me
know let me know your ways let me know
your your Works your ways that I might
know you in other words God I want to
see what you’re like because I want to
follow that invitation into relationship
into encounter in other words we’re not
gathering information for a test we’re
not we’re not gathering information to
pass the quiz that’s right we’re we’re
seeing glimpses of what he’s like
so that we can take each Glimpse as the
invitation or Open Door opportunity to
come into relationship when he revealed
himself to Abraham as the provider
Jehovah Gyra it wasn’t to make him more
well-rounded in his theological approach
to God’s resource he was revealing
himself as the one he was about to
provide for him instead of him
sacrificing Isaac there was a l a ram
caught in the thicket the point was God
his provider just revealed himself that
Prov Vision was to be
experienced Thanksgiving will take you
places nothing else can take you will
take you places in
God so here he says Rejoice always pray
without ceasing in everything give
thanks here here’s the strange thing
about in fact Let me give reference to
Thanksgiving because it’ll it’ll be more
uh more visual um I’m I’m not a great
golfer I
it’s been years since I’ve gone I have
some funny stories about my golfing
expertise but anyway I I use this as an
analogy the ball’s here you got a back
swing you meet the ball it goes
on this is
yesterday this is
today the momentum shows you where
you’re going tomorrow I don’t know if
that made sense you’ve got your back
swing you meet the ball
your Club doesn’t go that way it goes
that way there’s a momentum created when
you are thankful God you provided for me
when I didn’t deserve it I blew I made
dumb decisions financially you covered
me anyway you provided you healed my
body here God you use a doctor there I
was in crisis here I expected you to
show up in a certain way you didn’t but
you never left me and you walk me
through that into Triumph and you go
through all these things what happening
is you are reviewing your yesterday and
God’s faithfulness and you automatically
pick up a sense of where you’re going
does that make sense you automatically
pick up a sense this is my tomorrow why
because before there’s a problem he
creates a solution one of the most
astonishing uh things in scripture for
to me is where it says Jesus was
crucified from before the foundations of
the
world Jesus was
crucified before the foundations of the
world so before there was all all this
created including
humans he was crucified the point is
before there was sin there was a
savior before there was a problem there
was a solution so what is it that you
could come up with in your life that he
didn’t already have a solution
for the reason for thankfulness is is
really quite astonishing thankfulness is
what helps to create hope and you know
what hope is hope hope is where the best
definition I’ve seen of biblical hope
not not of of the the cultural word
hope the best definition that I know of
is the joyful anticipation of good
joyful it’s excited now for what’s about
to happen what that means then is that
hope actually gives us the opportunity
to enjoy the
emotional benefit of a miracle before
the miracle
happens
that we actually have the opportunity to
explore the emotion of Victory before
the victory actually happens it actually
we we actually get to feed from the
emotion of Victory hope gives us access
to that and it’s Thanksgiving that
creates that momentum so here we have
this issue
rejoicing is a key to emotional health
rejoicing in any situation every
situation so good I I believe strong
that these kinds of Expressions require
physical
response it requires physical
response he didn’t say shout for Joy all
you
[Laughter]
extroverts and and all you introverts
you just think happy thoughts I’m good
I’m
good just feel warm and fuzzy about me
I’m fine I I’ll work with that he didn’t
say that he say shout for Joy shout for
Joy period there’s something about the
expression that changes our capacity to
experience what God is doing and what
he’s about to do there’s something that
is transformed in us through the
physical outward
obedience sometimes it’s kneeling
sometimes it’s laying on your face
sometimes it’s raising hands sometimes
it’s a dance sometimes I I’ll never
forget first time I I danced before the
Lord I was
alone in a
house and I I was worshiping and I felt
like the Lord said dance I was so
embarrassed I was I was embarrassed as
could be I made sure all the curtains
were closed cuz I knew that all the news
networks were there they were one of the
filmed this great event that was about
to
happen I did I actually I went I made
sure all the the curtains were closed
everything and I’m the only one in the
house the lights are very dim you could
hardly see and I’m in this house and I
go and
and I have to admit I actually felt kind
of good inside so I did it again and
again and again eventually you don’t
care what anybody thinks but at that
time it it it really mattered it
mattered to me there there had to be
some sort of a physical
response I like w Wigglesworth says my
body doesn’t tell me how it’s feeling
says I tell my body how it’s
[Applause]
feeling and there are times where
there’s just they’re they’re not
Monumental things they’re not you know
they’re not God commanding us to do some
impossible thing sometimes it’s a simple
thing raise your
hand sometimes it’s lift your
voice sometimes it’s
give what’s in your pocket to that
person in need it it’s just it’s they’re
none of them are a huge Noble task but
they all require some sort of external
obedience and rejoicing is just like
that I think rejoicing takes great faith
I think it’s easier to hang your head
and sing a song about God’s worth than
it is to celebrate his
worth
because you actually have to have some
sense of confidence that you are
accepted to
rejoice and he says Rejoice
always the second part of that
experience I Rejoice always the second
was um in everything give thanks and I I
really felt strongly that he that he
impressed he impressed on my heart that
the key to mental health was giving
thanks and
everything I remember hearing a talk
show this psychiatrist or psychologist I
forget whoever now was being interviewed
and they made some statement I won’t get
it exactly right but it’s basically this
that 90% of all mental illness is the
result of trying to avoid
pain 90% of all mental illness as a
result of trying to avoid pain somehow
facing the difficulty with
thankfulness it’s not denial it’s not
pretending something doesn’t exist it’s
owning up to this you know it’s it’s
Joseph with his brothers who sold him
into slavery and he says you know you
did this to destroy me however God
looked ahead and he put me here it was
like I’m owning up to the challenge of
the moment but I am I am liberated and I
am free in this moment and being able to
be free in that moment with Thanksgiving
and with rejoicing is the nature of the
Christian Life and I tell you we’ve got
to get it now because I mean it’s crazy
out there but here’s the issue if I move
in a fence I then will fight the
challenge with their tools which puts us
on a Level Playing Field and whenever
you fight the devil on his field you
lose it’s moving into the grace gifts of
God where I refuse to live in offense
but I but I also refuse to live
irresponsible and I recognize flesh and
blood is not my
enemy this person believes a lie
but me yelling at him is not going to
change him from believing a
lie me accusing or doing whatever it
doesn’t fix anything it just helps the
person to feel better for a moment until
God convicts
you are you getting what I’m trying to
say moving into a place of of of
bringing about change requires a couple
things and and I think the the Safeguard
here is profound on bringing
transformation it’s re rejoicing always
and everything give thanks those two
things emotional mental health if
there’s anything that that that the
world is crying out for right now
because it’s it seems to be
dissolving you know quicker than Chasta
Lake
evaporated it’s this this sanity of life
this mental health emotional health and
yet you have it inside track I don’t
mean that you’re better than I I I don’t
mean in any way I mean Taste of the
favor of God because it will be useful
in bringing others into that same
blessing useful to bring others into
that same sound mind sound heart Rejoice
always pray without ceasing in
everything give thanks so key to
emotional health there’s rejoicing
[Music]
always every give everything give thanks
is key for mental health and the last
one is to pray without
ceasing do you know in in the in nemiah
it’s kind of a to me it’s it’s an
awkward uh part of a story it’s in
chapter 11 the end of chapter 11 in all
of chapter 12 it has this reoccurring
theme there were people that were
assigned to give thanks to
God what do you do for a living oh I I I
give thanks I give thanks yeah like what
is does that look like well they just
give me a list and uh and I I stand
before God and I say thank you and I and
I mention what we’re thankful for that
sounds that sounds so formal and so so
ritualistic that there’s no life in it
and yet there’s a secret in that routine
yeah you
bypass the limitation of your own
emotional
condition and you make mature choices
which activate your emotional condition
to get into line with what you’re
doing see complaining empowers the
inferior to undermine your
faith complaining only happens when we
are more mindful of a problem than we
are of God it’s impossible to complain
when you’re more aware of the goodness
of God than you are of a problem you
actually violate to do that you’d have
to violate your your conscience your
your sense of purpose your sense of
being the sense of God’s presence you
have to violate all of that just to
start
complaining I’m glad I’ve never done
that I
I says Rejoice always that means like in
the original language always actually
means always
just always just just you know no matter
what happened choose Joy well I don’t
feel like it that’s why it’s a
choice do you think he would have to
command it if we did it naturally yeah
that’s
good the only reason it’s a command is
because here’s a chance for you to flex
a muscle you said you want to grow you
said you want to carry the weightiness
of God into the Earth here’s something
you can learn to do well what is it well
you’re going to miss your
flight no no not that not that here I’m
I’m I’m taking you deep into my personal
life when I miss a flight I come up to
the gate this has happened I’ve sat on
the tarmac
forever cuz they can’t find a place to
park my plane and I look at my clock I
go my other flight’s boarding right
now boy am I
thankful boy am I feeling rejoicing
right
now and I just sit there for a half hour
while my plane boards and we’re just
sitting there on the TAC and then I
notice my
plane and then the one I’m on finds a
place to
park my first response is not rejoicing
and I’ve got to admit to you it’s not my
second
either it’s rejoicing is like way down
little this I’ve got to experience a few
other things first I’ve got to explore
the
emotional Tundra before I end up in
rejoicing when that happens to
me when somebody passes you on a
freeway no problem you go as fast as you
want not a problem for me pulls in front
of you and then slows
down
it’s not a big deal it’s just wrong it’s
just wrong have they no
[Laughter]
conscience where’s the conviction of the
spirit of God when we need
it Rejoice always pray without ceasing
Rejoice always is is choosing Joy it’s
it’s actually it wouldn’t be commanded
if it wasn’t within the
reach of a choice
that’s good Joy is is like is the part
of the Kingdom so it’s it’s it’s at hand
it is always Within Reach I have I’m a
powerful person I say this with me I am
a powerful person Joy is always Within
Reach Joy is always Within
Reach pray without ceasing is kind of
like the same as Rejoice always without
ceasing means just always
just pray and don’t
stop interestingly Philippians says
um Philippians Bas I’ll just quote it to
you it’s make reference to it
Philippians 4:6 talks about
supplications and prayers that’s the
earnest getting before the Lord
contending with God for a breakthrough
and he says with Thanksgiving why
Thanksgiving creates the context to keep
prayer unfocus that’s good
I mean I know this is a dumb question
because all of us would say yes but how
many of you want to have effective
prayers of course we do we want have a
we don’t pray just to you know we’re not
running on a treadmill just trying to
cover the miles we we want to bring
impact our heart is to bring change to
see it in our own lives our families the
world around us we want to see uh things
take place because we’ve
prayed thankfulness is what helps to
keep prayers On
Target there are times I’m praying for
somebody ministering to somebody let’s
say that’s sick let’s say they have a a
certain problem or arthritis let’s just
say throughout their arm and and I’m
praying for them and nothing’s happening
zero breakthrough and then the Lord will
give me an Insight of a more prise way
to pray and when I change my prayer from
a general prayer of God heal the
arthritis that’s in the arm and I get
down to a very specific or precise
prayer then the Breakthrough comes I
can’t tell you why but can tell you this
for me to stand up here and just say oh
Jesus please heal everyone in the room
today amen we give you thanks nothing’s
going to
happen why because it’s got to be more
precise and what thankfulness does is it
hones the Precision of our prayer life
because it keeps it about him because is
is that place of dependency place of
acknowledgement the the strength in
prayer is not that you complain or belly
ache about a
problem it’s that you’ve join joined
your heart with his to see his kingdom
come and his purposes worked out in the
earth and thankfulness is what keeps us
engaged with
Precision Rejoice always pray without
ceasing in everything give thanks I you
know I don’t know that anybody’s
supposed to give thanks for a bad report
from the doctor that wouldn’t be doesn’t
make any sense to me
but it does make sense to me to remain
thankful to to keep my list of
blessings stronger than my list of needs
that’s
good how many of you have a you’ve ever
made a prayer list out how many of you
if you’ve not written one you certainly
have one in your mind I mean I I’ve got
them in my iPads I’ve got goodness I’ve
got lists in there of things that I pray
for and you know just stuff stuff that I
can contend for I just get before the
Lord God God we’ve got to see
breakthrough we got to see breakthrough
there and I I believe in it but how many
of you have thankfulness
lists probably not as many there’s
there’s a few and it’s wonderful but but
the point is is we stay more conscious
of need than conscious of
blessing and when I stay more conscious
of need than I’m conscious of blessing I
will tend to pray out of a hole instead
of from Heavenly places I will St I’ll
tend to pray more out of a place
desperation is not bad so I I I don’t
have the best language so give me a
little Grace with this but I will tend
to pray out of a place of desperation
instead of a place of
authority thankfulness thankfulness what
HS that take a look at me with uh 1
Timothy Chapter 5 excuse me chapter
4 1 Timothy CH 4: 1 we’re going to read
five verses
verse one now the spirit expressly says
that in latter times some will depart
from the
faith giving heed to deceiving spirits
and doctrines of demons speaking lies in
hypocrisy having their own conscience
seared with a hot iron forbidding to
Mary commanding to abstain from foods
which God created to be received with
thank Thanksgiving by those who believe
and know the truth
um look at this again verses 1 and two
gives us
warning I don’t know how your Bible
reading goes I I just want to encourage
you don’t skip over the hard
stuff it’s it’s so vital here’s the
difference there’s meat and milk of the
word are you with me in that analogy
there’s meat of the word there’s the
milk milk Comforts meat provokes change
meat is called in Hebrews the word of
righteous
so it is the word that equips enables
and provokes it cuts to bring about
change and we all want to be comforted
but we’ve also be got to be changed
through the reading of word the
embracing of what God has said and
sometimes it’s just it’s meditating on
receiving dwelling slowing down in the
hard places he who gains his life will
lose it but he who loses his life for my
sake will gain it slow down in those
passages because it needs to cut deep
it’s got to cut deep if if it doesn’t
cut if it if it doesn’t bring pain it’s
not a it’s not the word of righteousness
that brings change there’s got to be
that that point where you go oh it’s
necessary it it’s let me illustrate this
way there are people who have certain
kinds of uh afflictions difficulties in
their body and perhaps you go to a
doctor and the doctor says uh man you
have no feeling your foot he says no so
takes a sock and shoe off and he takes a
needle and he’ll just prick the bottom
of the foot and there’s no pain see it’s
not a good sign to not feel
pain it’s not positive it’s actually
it’s a sign of a problem is when is when
something should hurt and it doesn’t you
don’t ever want to read through this
stuff and go oh yeah all is well not a
good sign not a good sign you want that
thing to prick you want to go
oh that hurts so good but it’s it’s it
it’s that it’s that word that makes you
know you’re
alive
so he talks about those who fall away
from the faith interestingly verse three
says forbidding to marry commanding to
abstain from foods which God created to
receive with thanks Thanksgiving let me
just stop there this is kind of a a a
weird deal Paul’s warning Timothy and
the group that he leads he’s warning
them he said listen um we know people’s
hearts is going to grow cold they’re
going to be come deceived by demons this
all this Junk’s going to happen and out
of that group is going to come a list of
rules non-biblical rules now remember
the Bible does give us commands and
don’t ignore them just because you live
under
Grace Grace doesn’t give you a pass to
skip the rules Grace gives you the power
to do the
[Applause]
rules so here’s a list of rules it’s
created out of this deceptive movement
and what is it they are rules that make
you more pleasing to
God that’s what they say so in other
words you’re going to obtain favor if
you do this if you don’t marry you don’t
eat these certain foods you do this this
and this You observe this particular day
in Romans he he expands the list says
you you follow this day instead of this
day you eat this instead of this you
drink this instead of this these list of
rules if you do everything just right
then you’ll have favor with god what
happened to Adam and Eve the serpent
crawled up to him and said if you
partake of this fruit you’ll be like God
they already
were the enemy tried to get them to
obtain through Works what they already
had by
Grace which they already had by Design
so Shifting the focus from what God has
done for me that now enables me to be to
live freely for him the focus now shifts
to what I must do to somehow apprehend
and gain God’s favor the Focus shifts
and whenever whenever that happens it
becomes a flesh empowered movement and
that was the deception of this
movement yes amen verse four I I didn’t
plan this but having gone hunting this
last week it’s just the perfect verse to
read for every creature of God is good I
believe that right next to the potatoes
I
I’m
I I went on an Outreach with my boys
this
week we reached out and touch the
[Applause]
heart harvested protein to sustain a
Revival is what it is all right it’s
enough every creature of God is good for
nothing is to be refused if it is
received with Thanksgiving for it is
Sanctified by the word of God and prayer
this is amazing here’s what he says
nothing is to be refused what’s the
point is this not something you bought
at the
store what’s the implication what Paul
had to deal with with a group of people
is they would be invited to somebody
else’s home and they would hear they
were being served a food that was either
unclean pork or whatever or it was
actually food that was offered to an
idol and here he’s giving him
instruction don’t
refuse anything that you would determine
is unclean why because that which is
used to be against you becomes
Sanctified by your own thankfulness your
thankfulness takes the sting out of what
the enemy attempt to destroy you and is
now used for your benefit because it is
Sanctified with prayer in the word of
God Sanctified Sanctified is an
interesting word because it means
separate separate from sin separate from
Darkness separated to God but it doesn’t
stop there it actually implies that when
I am made holy when I as I am as I am
separated from my own lifestyle to to
the Lord it means it implies I actually
become like the one I am separated to
wow we should know this just in the
natural husbands and wives have been
married a long time they start thinking
alike they start acting alike I mean
there’s there’s just this this this time
of just being together where they they
change because they’ve been separated
from everyone else unto this person and
they actually in many ways pick up some
of their characteristics and Natures
well this is even more profound in our
relationship with Christ because we are
separated from a dark World system that
is self- serving un the Lord we actually
in the relationship become like the one
we’re separated
too now follow that
thought when you are offered something
in this case it was food that would
contaminate you with
thankfulness it enables the word of God
In Prayer to sanctify that which was
released against you and now become
something that is for
you
um thankfulness takes the
sting out of something sent your way to
harm
you oh goodness I am almost out of time
I’m going to go over a couple minutes
because we can afford it on this service
but just a couple
minutes I take it thank you I receive
it
thankfulness
I had a a friend
acquaintance in dialogue with this last
summer was writing a
book at least part of the book against
me and against
us and uh so I wrote him and I told him
I welcome the
book I welcome it not because I think it
will add to the health of the body of
Christ but because what I want in life
is on the other side of facing
difficulty
well navigating betrayal or criticism
you know you can’t be trusted with
praise if you don’t trust him with
criticism you can’t you can’t be trusted
with gain if you don’t trust him in
loss you can’t be trusted with loyal
friends if you don’t trust him in
betrayal and so while I don’t think any
of these things are designed of the Lord
I’m going to embrace them and learn how
to navigate life through those
challenging situations why because of
the prayers I’ve prayed I’ve prayed the
same scary prayers you’ve prayed God I
want to see everyone that we come into
contact with healed I want to see
everybody saved in our city God we want
to see Nations discipled these are huge
prayers but they are not released upon
careless people because careless people
become preoccupied with themselves in
the midst of the glory being manifest
the glory being poured out and so
difficulties come our way what is it
it’s just simply an opp opportunity
Unity to learn how to monitor my heart
to give thanks in all things rejoice in
all things pray in every situation
absolute dependency on him why this is
what we were born for and what I want is
on the other end of adverse winds and
I’ve got to learn how to use my sail and
the rudder if you will to tack until I
can make the advancements necessary to
get me to where I want to
go so I I I told him I said I I don’t
welcome it because I
I think it’ll help us but I do welcome
him you know he wrote back very kindly
and ended up a long long dialogue that
isn’t the point of the discussion today
except that he he openly openly repented
and and changed that particular part of
his
book and uh it’s not up for discuss it’s
not necessary for today but the the
point is is being thankful for
things that you think the enemy sent you
away it doesn’t mean I’m thankful for
the book I am thankful for the
opportunity to
grow I’m thankful that if I learn to
navigate this right he can trust me with
more I don’t like it it’s not something
I’d volunteer for but I gave up my
rights when I said
yes when I said the big yes I gave up my
right to to bargain for what kind of
circumstances I’m willing to
face and thankfulness is like man it’s
like the number one virtue that changes
a person’s life and dare I say the
entire nature of a
city I think thankfulness can change the
nature of a family
line yeah amen all right Happy
Thanksgiving