Greetings in the Name of Jesus and welcome to the PLN Sunday Night Bible Fellowship

 

Did you know that THANKSGIVING is designed by God to be a spiritual FORCE that PRODUCES prosperity, success and victory even in the midst of tribulation and hindrance? Well it's TRUE and we hope this new series will edify you and cause your FAITH to grow stronger (Romans 10:17).

 

Most people are searching high and low for greater PROSPERITY especially with the challenging environment of the last few years. But they're having trouble finding it in part because they haven't really looked for it in the right places. The Truth is the answers to life's questions about real PROSPERITY are found ONLY in the Word of God and we just need to study it, find the particular principles we need and then start actually using what we find out. But one thing that seems clear to those who'll look into it is that expressing GRATITUDE TO GOD is one of those key principles of life a lot of folks have been looking for.

 

The truth is THANKSGIVING is designed by God to be a FORCE in our lives, a particular power that when combined with FAITH has the ability to actually produce PROSPERITY, success and victory even in the midst of tribulation and hindrance. Indeed, there's an undeniable connection, a direct cause-and-effect relationship between GIVING THANKS and the achieving of life's victories. And so in this series we'll be exploring this relationship more fully with the objective of connecting all of us more securely to the POWER OF THANKSGIVING. 

     

New Testament Thanksgiving

 

Now there're a lot of Bible verses especially in the New Testament that talk about being THANKFUL. The truth is though most of us have a tendency to just gloss over this subject without understanding God's intentions for it. Of course the enemy is helping us overlook it because he wants to separate us from the things these scriptures are saying about the VICTORY Jesus died on the Cross for us to take possession of NOW. One way to help remedy this oversight is to look at a number of these verses all in one place at the same time:

 

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.

 

When you see all these scriptures together like this all from the New Testament, does it seem to you that Christians are supposed to be living life in a continuous attitude of THANKSGIVING? One of the reasons you might react this way is that they seem a lot more like INSTRUCTIONS than suggestions, don't they? The Truth is God doesn't make suggestions about anything; He's LORD and a LORD doesn't suggest. No, a LORD is someone who has overriding authority over all things and He either COMMANDS or He INSTRUCTS. So it would seem that at the least we're being INSTRUCTED by all these scriptures to pursue a lifestyle that flows out of an attitude of THANKSGIVING.

 

The problem is most of us modern Christians think we've somehow acquired enough wisdom through our extensive human experience to qualify us to evaluate and then accept or reject the various INSTRUCTIONS that come directly from our Creator God. As already mentioned, the enemy is quite eager to help us with this and the result is that most people in the Body of Christ have only a superficial understanding of the vital biblical principles that have been provided by God to actually PRODUCE victory in and through Christ. Friend, let this one major point be understood tonight: God's INSTRUCTIONS are ALWAYS for our own good. In this case, He wants to bless people with something that comes back to us when we express our GRATITUDE, when we're quick to speak our THANKSGIVING no matter what's going on around us and to us.

 

What is it that the Lord has for the people of Thanksgiving? We can start to answer that question by remembering that almost all the Israelites who were delivered from bondage in Egypt had to die in the wilderness instead of going into the Promised Land. Why? In short because their complaining and ingratitude demonstrated HARDNESS OF HEART (Hebrews 3:13-19). People with hardness of heart are unable to perceive spiritual things (Mark 8:17-18) because the hardness springs from unbelief (Hebrews 3:19) which cuts them off from the blessings and the power of God's GRACE. And, there're a couple of other scriptures you should check out to see this principle clearly confirmed:

 

1 Corinthians 10:10 - Grumbling and complaining (being unthankful) opens the door to the destroyer.

Romans 1:21-22 - People who are not thankful become darkened (hardened) and foolish which leads to futility in life.

 

Friend, God had a better way for those original Israelites and He has a better way today for New Testament Believers. That better way comes through cultivating a lifestyle of Thanksgiving because the Lord sees to it that Believers who're TRULY grateful not only INHERIT the Promised Land, but that they also learn how to live in and receive the benefits from it NOW. Are there trials in the Promised Land? Yes, of course. But God causes us to triumph every single time (2 Corinthians 2:14). So, what the Lord has for each of us who're full of THANKSGIVING is His GRACE, His empowerment to overcome every trial, every tribulation, every storm, every attack, every shortage, and everything else the enemy can throw in our direction. THANKSGIVING overcomes every problem and moves every mountain by His GRACE and through FAITH in the name of Jesus!  

 

Thanksgiving by Faith

 

Now, they're two basic ways to thank God for something: 1) we can thank Him AFTER something good happens and we really appreciate it; or 2) we can thank Him BEFORE the something good has happened. The first one is a lot easier but the truth is most of us forget to thank Him when good things happen because the Flesh wants to take credit for it. So the first thing that needs to change when we're establishing this new lifestyle is to start being faithful about thanking God for what He's ALREADY done. We need to focus on the good things we already have in life instead of on the things we don't have. Where is your focus today? Are you grateful for the things God has already done in your life or are you complaining about what He hasn't done?

 

But an even more important aspect of gratitude is to manifest it BEFORE the blessing actually happens. How can we know ahead of time how God is going to bless us? The only way to KNOW is to be familiar with what the Word says about our inheritance. First, we BELIEVE what the Word says and then we thank Him BEFORE we can actually experience a particular promise in the natural. For example, you may have some bills that need to be paid today but the Word says you've ALREADY been redeemed (rescued) from the curse of indebtedness (Galatians 3:13); and you remember that God has ALREADY given you the ability to obtain wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18) and that God supplies all your needs from His riches and glory (Philippians 4:19). Therefore, based on what the Word of God says that you already have, you can start THANKING Him for your debt freedom BEFORE the money actually shows up to pay down all your bills.

 

Friend, sincere THANKSGIVING ahead of time is THANKSGIVING BY FAITH. And it's one of the strongest forces in the entire Kingdom of God. Faith is the only thing that really pleases God (Hebrews 11:6) so when you put it together with GRATITUDE, it connects you to His GRACE (His favor and empowerment), it makes it possible for God to use you and send you into the Promised Land to establish His Kingdom. It makes it possible for your to achieve your calling and your potential because THANKSGIVING puts you into a FAITH mode and that's when things start to work for you. We simply aren't able to be in FAITH and at the same time be grumbling and complaining about things in our lives. Focus on the good things and THANK God for them so you can get into FAITH because PROSPERITY works by FAITH.

 

Thanks for stopping by tonight. We'll be looking for you again NEXT week on Sunday night, January 19. In the meantime may the Lord bless you with every spiritual blessing causing, compelling you to PROSPER in every area of life.

 

Sinners' Prayer

 

If you've never invited Jesus to be the Lord of your life, you need to and you can do it today just by saying out loud the following simple prayer:

 

Jesus I declare today with all my heart that I believe in you and that God raised you from the dead. I acknowledge that my sins have been forgiven and I ask you to come into my life today and be my Lord and Savior. Thank you for salvation and eternal life.

 

If you were sincere as you prayed this prayer, God has already come into your life and you are a new creation, a totally new species recreated in His image. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith-based, bible-teaching church where you can be equipped to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God.

 

And, when you get a chance have someone help you look up the following scriptures because they confirm what you've done by saying this prayer today and believing what you said:

 

Romans 10:9

2 Corinthians 5:17

Ephesians 2:8

 

Prayer Requests

 

If you have a Prayer Request, please connect to the Link below and follow the promptings. The PLN staff members pray over Prayer Requests every Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM eastern time. Agree with us for God to answer your petition.

 

http://www.creditcounseling.net/prayer-request.aspx

 

Donations

 

If you've been edified by Prosperous Life Newsletter, you may want to consider making a SEED FAITH offering to support the Ministry (Galatians 6:6-7). God has instructed us to simply provide folks with an opportunity to sow seed into good ground so in due season you'll be eligible to reap a harvest and the rest is up to you as the Spirit leads. For your information PLN is a nonprofit gift to the Body of Christ so your financial offerings will usually be tax deductible (consult your tax advisor). Just go to the secure Shopping Cart on the Cornerstone web site by connecting through the following link. We appreciate your support and generosity.

 

http://www.creditcounseling.net/shop/item.aspx?itemid=1

 

About Prosperous Life Newsletter

 

PLN is an outreach ministry of Make A Way Ministries domiciled in Miami, Florida. It is in its 17th continuous year of publication and has been published continuously since January 1998. It's an e-publication primarily about finances in the Kingdom of God and is sent ONLY to our email list of MINISTRY MEMBERS. If you're reading this and aren't yet on our growing email list, please let us know and we'll be so very happy to add you.

 

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