1 Corinthians 15:57 - Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Christ.

2 Corinthians 2:14 - Thanks be to God who always causes us to triumph in Christ.

Ephesians 5:20 - Give thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Colossians 1:12 - Give thanks to the Father for the inheritance we have received.

Colossians 2:7 - We are to be firmly rooted in Christ, established in our faith and overflowing with thanksgiving.

Colossians 3:17 - In all that we do we are to do it in the name of Jesus giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Colossians 4:2 - We are to devote ourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 - It is God's WILL for us who are in Christ that we give thanks for everything.

1 Timothy 4:4 - Everything created by God is good and should be received with thanksgiving.

Hebrews 13:15 - Let us continually give thanks to the name of Jesus.

Now back there in the Old Covenant those infamous Israelites were known for their grumbling and complaining, UN-grateful for their deliverance out of bondage in Egypt, DIS-trustful that God actually had their welfare in His heart, doubtful that He would see them through to victory in the Promised Land, resistant to His plans and purposes, more led by the flesh than by the Holy Spirit, etc. They angered God to the point that eventually He refused to allow them to enter into His REST (Hebrews 3:11 with Psalm 95:11) and they managed to turn an 11-day trip from Egypt to the Promised Land into a wandering 40-year journey through a profound WILDERNESS. The Israelites of course blamed God for that WILDERNESS when in truth it was their own lack of GRATITUDE that had initiated the circumstances they wound up having to endure for all those years.

The Power of Gratitude

In past articles I've made the point that THANKSGIVING is not just a religious duty to honor our worthy God. No, it's also an important empowerment for the New Testament Believer. We have in the example of the Israelites what the Bible calls "an INSTRUCTION" to teach us what not to do (1 Corinthians 10:11) and we also have available to us a written New Testament full of THANKSGIVING scriptures we tend to gloss over that are actually exhorting us to access the tremendous POWER OF CALVARY that's available to us simply by cultivating a lifestyle of GRATITUDE. To be sure we have to work at it because the Flesh doesn't want to be GRATEFUL. But we make a decision to cultivate it anyway because even a small amount of study reveals that it's for our own good. And as we're committed and faithful to pursue it, the Word and the Holy Spirit help us grow in it and learn to use it for its designed purposes.

For the New Testament Believer it's simply a matter of FAITH. When you were born again you received a measure of FAITH (Romans 12:3) and it resides there in you not only so you can BELIEVE in your heart that Jesus is Lord and was raised from the dead (Romans 10:9) but that also you can be TRANSFORMED from your former worldly mindset to a new Kingdom of God mindset (Romans 12:2). So now by FAITH as a Believer in Christ you can for example take personal "ownership" of the following Old Testament principle that we pointed out last week and by doing so it can radically change your life on a practical level:

"He who offers a sacrifice of THANKSGIVING, honors Me" (Psalm 50:23).

"Those who honor Me I will honor..." (1 Samuel 2:30).

Under the New Covenant God HONORS Believers by teaching us how to connect to His GRACE by FAITH. In other words, in response to pursuing a lifestyle of THANKSGIVING, the GRACE of God is REVEALED to us in the form that we need in order to produce VICTORY in life. The GRACE we need is actually already available because of what Jesus did on the Cross of Calvary, but we're largely not able to perceive it or use it until we leave behind our grumbling and complaining past and begin to develop a GRATEFUL lifestyle by FAITH. Think about it: GRATITUDE softens our "hearts" (minds) which makes us increasingly able to PERCEIVE (hear and see) the REVELATION of God's Word so that it becomes a personal REVELATION which by FAITH connects us to God's GRACE which is His EMPOWERMENT to overcome the enemy, the world, every trial, or tribulation, or circumstance, or problem, or difficulty, and every challenge that tries to rise up against us. And that's why this following scripture is not only possible, it is by FAITH a sure thing:

"Thanks be to God who ALWAYS leads us to triumph in Christ..." (2 Corinthians 2:14).

Impediments to the Power

I believe that there're at least three huge impediments to the development of a GRATEFUL mindset and that these three things are robbing the Body of Christ of its power:

1. An unwillingness to make the effort to grow in the understanding of the Word
2. An unwillingness to separate from the ways of the World systems
3. An unwillingness to put God first and ahead of one's own interests and agendas

I could have come up with a longer list but this will suffice the point to be made in tonight's article. God's not limiting us as to what we can accomplish in the Kingdom of God. "All things are possible with God" (Matthew 19:26) and we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). No, God has made ALL things possible and available; it's we who're limiting ourselves by our ignorance and small thinking and self centeredness and by our LACK of FAITH and personal growth and spiritual perception and understanding and wisdom. We LACK these things because most of us haven't perceived how valuable and available the POWER of God actually is and so we stay in Egypt where we feel comfortable. Do you realize that at least 80% the Body of Christ does absolutely nothing in their Christian walks to make themselves true disciples of Christ except occasionally attend church? Is there any wonder generally speaking why there's so little POWER these days in the Church?

This picture could change dramatically if Believers could just take hold of the revelation of cultivating a lifestyle of THANKSGIVING. If you feel spiritually weak tonight, start THANKING God for all the good things He's brought into your life and make it a point to THANK Him every time you think about it. God loves you and wants only the best for you. He's not the cause of your circumstances and problems; He's the solution. But He's waiting for you to get the point. He's waiting for you come into agreement with The Word so it can begin to change your life, so it can begin to change your circumstances and give you the surety of triumph in every area of life.

VICTORY in the Kingdom of God is not up to God. He's ALREADY done everything that needs to be done. No, VICTORY in the Kingdom of God is up to each Believer to live life in agreement with the Word in love and by faith. And one of the great places to focus on after you've believed and accepted Jesus as your Lord is to pursue a lifestyle of THANKSGIVING. Stop grumbling and complaining and accusing and blaming and replace all that with a determination to be GRATEFUL and  to develop an ASSURANCE that your future is bright. Try it and see what happens. Doors will begin to open and things will start to happen that you've been waiting a long time for because that's just the way the Kingdom works. When you HONOR God you will start perceiving and connecting to the HONOR He has ALREADY made available for those who really want it. It's waiting for you tonight to simply take it up by FAITH and use it. Jesus died for you to possess it so why not use your inheritance to connect to God's POWER!

Thanks for stopping by tonight. We'll be looking for you again next Sunday night on September30. In the meantime may the Lord bless you with every spiritual blessing and cause you to PROSPER in every area of life.