Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
The Supernatural Qualities of Thanksgiving
By Pastor Dan Kennedy
©2009
Psalm 92
1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
3 to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
4 For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
The Myth of Instant Spirituality
There is no such thing as “Instant Spirituality”.
We might think that going to a particular seminar, reading a certain book, listening to a specific sermon, making ourselves do “penance”, or applying some super-spiritual “formula” to our lives, will cause a flurry of super growth in the spiritual realm, causing us to grow overnight into a spiritual giant.
We live in a day and age that promotes the “silver bullet” approach to winning in life and spiritual health. There is instant “New Birth” through the Redemption that is in Jesus Christ, but there are no “silver bullets” in reaching instant spirituality and maturity in Christ – spiritual maturity only comes through a daily “growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”!
It is true that applying the spiritual basics to our daily life: Reading, meditating and studying the Scriptures; prayer and communion with God; and fellowship with other believers, is a Biblical model for spiritual growth over the period of our lifetime; but, simply trying to grow super-spiritual butterfly wings overnight and skipping the “caterpillar stage”, is not God’s method of growing His spiritual children from infancy to spiritual maturity. The Apostle Peter gives a step by step progression of spiritual maturity: add to...virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love (2 Peter 1:5-9). It takes time. It takes trial. It takes effort. It is not always fun. It takes dedication. It takes the confrontation of sin in our lives. It begins feeding on the “milk” of the Word, then being able to sustain the “meat” of the Word. It takes daily deepening our walk with God.
Seminars, sermons and Scriptural books can be wonderful, but they are to be like regular meals which give us strength. The benefit is meant for daily incremental steps of growth in our life of faith.
Thanksgiving: A Key but Sometimes Hidden Ingredient for Spiritual Growth
Today we are discussing the Supernatural Qualities of Thanksgiving; in doing so, we are simply adding another key element into the spiritual tool belt of the believer in Christ.
Everyone has a tendency to be somewhat skeptical and anxious. The supernatural quality of Thanksgiving to God overrules our natural tendencies to be dissatisfied, anxious and unbelieving.
Proposed Definition:
Thanksgiving is that supernatural attitude of the believing heart that can supersede all human events, emotions and experiences with a heartfelt spirit of praise and gratitude, to the undisputed Creator of heaven and earth, Lord of our life, and Eternal God and King, Who holds all things in His Holy, Just and Loving Hand.
Thanksgiving in a time of Confusion
•Thanksgiving re-centers our thoughts on Christ causing confusion to be sorted out and the peace of God to secure the control of our life.
oThanksgiving when things go wrong
oThanksgiving when things are clouded and answers to critical decisions are unclear
oThanksgiving when things are disappointing
oThanksgiving when things are in disarray
Thanksgiving in a time of Anxiety and Fear
•A thankful spirit reaches beyond the supposed “reality” of a terrible circumstance or event, by holding on to the fact that God knows and cares for us far greater than any hurt can destroy us – from any adversity, in any negative situation.
•Thanksgiving rests on the fact that God is able to deliver us, if He chooses to do so! But Thanksgiving does not hold God to have to choose to deliver us! – In the spirit and faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, seen in Daniel 3.
“O Nebuchadnezzar, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18
•Thanksgiving reestablishes the emotions of our heart damaged by fear and anxiety and causes our soul to rise once again through a spirit of praise and gratefulness.
oThankfulness vs. unthankfulness
oThankfulness vs. negative reaction
oThankfulness vs. anxiousness
oThankfulness vs. depression
oThankfulness vs. the burden of care
•Thorns in our Path – or in our Side
Responses to negative things in our life – to the sorrows and hardships of life are absolutely normal; they are attitudes and emotions that everyone experiences. These are those emotions that cause us to be unthankful, negative, anxious, depressed, or that which causes us to bear the burden of care…
oWorldly Cares, the Deceitfulness of Riches, and Covetous Desires are those Thorns which choke the Good Seed.
Mark 4
14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
If we are experiencing a time of “thorns” in our life, we should seek to develop Thanksgiving into our personal time of worship of God.
oPaul experienced a period in his life that he was embattled by “thorns” (2 Cor. 12:7-10)
Thanksgiving in a time of Personal Worship
•It is beyond normal, in fact, supernatural, when we have a genuine, non-pretentious spirit of thanksgiving! Only God can give such a gracious spirit.
•A spirit of Thanksgiving that supersedes these “normal” negative reactions can only be inspired and sustained by the Holy Spirit.
•We should dedicate more time to thanksgiving in our personal worship.
•The Scripture reveals what can primarily facilitate Thanksgiving in our life: Songs of Joy – in Praise and Worship of God!
Thanksgiving in a place of either Peace or Adversity
In a world that does not know peace we can have both peace and thanksgiving. Peace and Thanksgiving that passes understanding goes to the heart of trusting in the One who we know is in control of our lives. May each of us ask God for the empowerment, by His Spirit, to have a spirit of Thanksgiving! May a song of praise be on our lips (Ps. 92:3).
Thanksgiving is that supernatural attitude of the believing heart that can supersede all human events, emotions and experiences with a heartfelt spirit of praise and gratitude, to the undisputed Creator of heaven and earth, Lord of our life, and Eternal God and King, Who holds all things in His Holy, Just and Loving Hand.