Spirit of thanksgiving

10 October 2012

Opening Prayer/Worship

Hymn: Now Thank we all our God

Theme: Be filled with the Holy Spirit

Topic: Spirit of thanksgiving

Reading: 1 Timothy 2:1-7

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings should be made for everyone,²for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.³This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour,⁴who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.⁵For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, ⁶ who gave himself a ransom for all —this was attested at the right time.⁷For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth,^* I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Introduction

God entered into a new covenant with the world through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, a ransom for our sins, thus restoring us back to the relationship we had with Him at creation.  It is not that God had to but that He loves us so much and does not want anyone to perish.  After giving His Son for us, He poured out His Spirit upon all, that we may live a thankful life to Him;  thankful for calling us out of darkness into His marvelous light.  The reality sometimes is that we go through circumstances that seem unfair, painful and test our faith in the Lord.  At such times, we have to thank God even the more, because as we thank Him, the circumstances will begin to change for our good and to His glory.  Scripture declares that God dwells in the praises of His people; through the power of God’s Spirit in us, we have to give God thanks at all times.  Not just for the innumerable things He has done for us, but most importantly, for who He is- the Almighty, Holy and Everlasting God.

Questions/Discussion

1. What does it mean to give thanks to God?

1 Chronicles 16:8-14, 23-36

⁸ O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
⁹ Sing to him, sing praises to him,
tell of all his wonderful works.
¹⁰ Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
¹¹ Seek the Lord and his strength,
seek his presence continually.
¹² Remember the wonderful works he has done,
his miracles, and the judgements he uttered,
¹³ O offspring of his servant Israel,^*
children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

¹⁴ He is the Lord our God;
his judgements are in all the earth.
²³ Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Tell of his salvation from day to day.
²⁴ Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvellous works among all the peoples.
²⁵ For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be revered above all gods.
²⁶ For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
²⁷ Honour and majesty are before him;
strength and joy are in his place.

²⁸ Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
²⁹ Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come before him.
Worship the Lord in holy splendour;
³⁰ tremble before him, all the earth.
The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.
³¹ Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice,
and let them say among the nations, ‘The Lord is king!’
³² Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it.
³³ Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.
³⁴ O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures for ever.

³⁵Say also: ‘Save us, O God of our salvation,
and gather and rescue us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name,
and glory in your praise.
³⁶ Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.’
Then all the people said ‘Amen!’ and praised the Lord.

 

Psalm 126:1-6

¹ When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, ^*we were like those who dream.
² Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’
³ The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.

⁴ Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the watercourses in the Negeb.
⁵ May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.
⁶ Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.

 

2 Corinthians 9:6-15

The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.⁷Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.⁸And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.⁹As it is written, ‘He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness^* endures for ever.’ ¹⁰He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.^*11You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us;¹²for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God.¹³Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others,¹⁴while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you.¹⁵Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

 

Colossians 2:6-7, 3:15-17

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives^* in him,⁷rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. ¹⁵And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.¹⁶Let the word of Christ^* dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.^*17And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

 

1 Timothy 2:1-6 – as above

 

2. How can we give thanks to God even in the face of tough and trying times? 

2 Chronicles 20:2-7, 10-29

Messengers^* came and told Jehoshaphat, ‘A great multitude is coming against you from Edom,^* from beyond the sea; already they are at Hazazon-tamar’ (that is, En-gedi).³Jehoshaphat was afraid; he set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.⁴Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the towns of Judah they came to seek the Lord. ⁵ Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court,⁶and said, ‘O Lord, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven? Do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hand are power and might, so that no one is able to withstand you.⁷Did you not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it for ever to the descendants of your friend Abraham?

¹⁰See now, the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy—¹¹they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession that you have given us to inherit.¹²O our God, will you not execute judgement upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.’ ¹³ Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.¹⁴Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the middle of the assembly.¹⁵He said, ‘Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you: “Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God’s.¹⁶Tomorrow go down against them; they will come up by the ascent of Ziz; you will find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel.¹⁷This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.” Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.’ ¹⁸ Then Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.¹⁹And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. ²⁰ They rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, ‘Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God and you will be established; believe his prophets.’²¹When he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy splendour, as they went before the army, saying, ‘Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures for ever.’ ²²As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.²³For the Ammonites and Moab attacked the inhabitants of Mount Seir, destroying them utterly; and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another. ²⁴ When Judah came to the watch-tower of the wilderness, they looked towards the multitude; they were corpses lying on the ground; no one had escaped.²⁵When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the booty from them, they found livestock^* in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They spent three days taking the booty, because of its abundance.²⁶On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the Lord; therefore that place has been called the Valley of Beracah^* to this day.²⁷Then all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returned to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had enabled them to rejoice over their enemies.²⁸They came to Jerusalem, with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the house of the Lord.²⁹The fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.

 

Matthew 6:25-34

‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,^* or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?²⁷And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?^*28And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin,²⁹yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.³⁰But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?³¹Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?”³²For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.³³But strive first for the kingdom of God^* and his^* righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ ‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

 

Acts 16:22-34

The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods.²³After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely.²⁴Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.²⁵ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.²⁶Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.²⁷When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped.²⁸But Paul shouted in a loud voice, ‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.’²⁹The jailer^* called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.³⁰Then he brought them outside and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’³¹They answered, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’³²They spoke the word of the Lord^* to him and to all who were in his house.³³At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay.³⁴He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.

 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always,¹⁷pray without ceasing,¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

 

James 5:13-16

Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.¹⁴Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.¹⁵The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.¹⁶Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.

 

3. Discuss some of the reasons why we give thanks to God. 

Psalm 95:1-7, 100:1-5, 103:1-22, 136:1-12, 23-26 (to be read responsively)

¹ O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
² Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
³ For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
⁴ In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also.
⁵ The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed.

⁶ O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
⁷ For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.  

O that today you would listen to his voice!

 

Psalm 100

¹ Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
² Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing.

³ Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his;^* we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name.

⁵ For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures for ever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

 

Psalm 103

¹ Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
² Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits—
³ who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
⁵ who satisfies you with good as long as you live^* so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶ The Lord works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed.
⁷ He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.
⁸ The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
⁹ He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger for ever.
¹⁰ He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹ For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love towards those who fear him;
¹² as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us.
¹³ As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
¹⁴ For he knows how we were made; he remembers that we are dust.

¹⁵ As for mortals, their days are like grass; they flourish like a flower of the field;
¹⁶ for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.
¹⁷ But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children,
¹⁸ to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.

¹⁹ The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.
²⁰ Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, obedient to his spoken word.
²¹ Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers that do his will.
²² Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul.

 

Psalm 136

¹ O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures for ever.
² O give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures for ever.
³ O give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures for ever;

⁴ who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures for ever;
⁵ who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures for ever;
⁶ who spread out the earth on the waters, for his steadfast love endures for ever;
⁷ who made the great lights, for his steadfast love endures for ever;
⁸ the sun to rule over the day, for his steadfast love endures for ever;
⁹ the moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures for ever;

¹⁰ who struck Egypt through their firstborn, for his steadfast love endures for ever;
¹¹ and brought Israel out from among them, for his steadfast love endures for ever;
¹² with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for his steadfast love endures for ever;
²³ It is he who remembered us in our low estate, for his steadfast love endures for ever;
²⁴ and rescued us from our foes, for his steadfast love endures for ever;
²⁵ who gives food to all flesh, for his steadfast love endures for ever.

²⁶ O give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures for ever.

 

Intercession/Worship

 

Conclusion

God is moved when we give Him thanks.  Even during tough times, may we through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, give thanks to God.

 

Closing Prayer

Grant us a thankful heart O Lord, that we may bless Your Holy name always- for who You are, and for Your innumerable blessings upon us.  We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.