“OH Give thanks to the LORD for He is Good.” -{Psalm 107:1}
“Joy” and “Thanks” come from the same root word. “Joy” is “thanksgiving” overflowing! And the cause of such Joy? The LORD. The focus of such thanksgiving? The LORD!
“The LORD”–
1. We are told in Gen 2:4 the “LORD is GOD.”The word used for “LORD” is His Memorial Name, the name which He wants generations to know Him by, it speaks of Him as the “SELF– EXISTENT” One; Ex 3:14-15 ,- in need of nothing or no one outside of Himself, to sustain, inform Him. He has no beginning, no end and is perfect and in need of nothing to satisfy, sustain Him. As “LORD” He has revealed Himself as the “COVENANT KEEPING One.”-Ex 7:9 He makes and keeps His promises and in His time in His way and for His glory He keeps and fulfills each one! As “LORD” He has revealed Himself as “UNCHANGING”-Malachi 3:6. He is constant and consistently the same. No “mood changes,” As He was , He is and forever will be- constant. For His followers this is of great comfort. We will always find Him the same irrespective of the time, generation, He is Unchanging in His Person, promises, power to execute and His Perspective as revealed in His Word. He can be counted upon to be forever the same! As “LORD,” He is “SOVEREIGN” He reigns as King, not in name only as some figurehead of state, but as Governor of the Universe and beyond. Sovereign over His creation, salvation, and the destination of each individual. He raises up kings and governments and their hearts are like water in His hands He turns whichever way He pleases- and no one can thwart Him, the nations in all their pomp and arrogance before Him are as like a drop in the bucket- He sits enthroned as King as He did in the days of the “Flood” and every knee shall bow before Him both of the grand, the militant, the powers that be and the least of all and to His glory will confess His Son-Jesus Christ as “LORD!” All of History is heading towards a meeting with Him!
“GOOD;”
And what does the Scriptures teach us of “THE LORD?” – “He is good… He does good, and every good and perfect gift come down from the Father with whom there is no variableness or shadow of change. His goodness leads to …repentance… He gives us all things richly to enjoy and to be received with thanksgiving! When Moses asked to see Him- He revealed His character and spoke to him of His Goodness and demonstrated it so to him. God’s goodness is a springboard to a heart of joy that overflows in thanksgiving! What motivates a thankful heart? God Himself- for He is good and does good!{Read Psalm 119;67}. God Himself gives joy and such gladness, satisfaction of heart has to find ways to express itself- it cannot be contained,like an embankment that overflows with rising water and covers the surrounding areas, so thanksgiving bubbles up within the heart and is expressed in attitudes and words of gratitude to the LORD who is the focus of such gratitude- and rightly and deservedly so!
Paul told believers,“for this is the will of God in everything give thanks.”– {1Thess 5:16-17.} So much of our time, energies are wasted and given over to trying to figure out the “will of God,” as in “where should we be,” and can end up tying ourselves in knots with the subjective as though God is hiding His will from us and makes it hard for us to know. We often resist the obvious, what He has revealed and chase after what is not revealed and somehow believe if we can “find’ it out we are more “spiritual,” and have an inside with God that only the favored, and “spiritual” have! Sure, we want to know where He would have us as we desire to please Him, because of His acceptance and love for us and out of gratitude for Him, who He is and what He has done and is doing for us. We can do what we know HE has objectively declared in His Word, which is unalterable. what God has made known, what He definitively desires for all His people, what is His revealed “will!” Concentrate on what He has revealed objectively and regards the subjective, such as where should we be etc, he will make known. Think of it he is a loving Heavenly Father who is for you. The sending of His Son, the giving of Him over to pay for sin and the raising of Him again as the demonstration He accepted His offering, demonstrates how He is lovingly committed and for you. If He gave His Son how shall He not give us all needed to get us to where He desires. Think of a child sitting on the step outside the back of the house all day worrying, wondering f their loving parent would not call them in when it’s time to eat.. needlessly worrying! If we being evil KNOW HOW to give good gifts to our children HOW MUCH MORE shall our Heavenly Father give…
In 1 Thess 5:18 and others it is concerned with the OBJECTIVE….WHAT WE ARE TO BE- no matter WHERE WE ARE! And wherever we are we are to be The THANKFUL PEOPLE!
UNBELIEVERS VS BELIEVERS?
What is one of the differences between non believers and believers? In Romans 1:17- unbelievers are known for “UN-THANKFUL HEARTS!”- “For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God NOR GAVE THANKS to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
“UN-THANKFUL,” characterizes LOST PEOPLE- Rebellious, Ungodly people, who refuse to submit to God and glorify Him by with-holding giving Him thanks!!
Believers are to be characterized increasingly by being – “The THANKFUL PEOPLE.”-{Col 1:12.}
What evidence does your life give, Or mine? What is to differentiate us? One aspect is to be Thanksgiving to God!
Thanksgiving is to be cultivated, practiced, “What if I DON’T FEEL LIKE GIVING THANKS?” Repent! “What do you mean?” The question shows the focus of your heart or mine if we focus on such. We are focused on self- “What’s in it for me?” “I Don’t feel,”… making it all about self! The focus is inward when it should be away,upward to God and upon His character and demonstrations of His character and the extravagant and tender ways He demonstrates His goodness to “ALL” even the unbelievers! {Read Matt 5:45}.
You cannot have Goodness without God! -“For God is GOOD, “… and every Good gift is from Him!
Consider some “FUEL” for your heart and lips – to thank Him.
1. – His Goodness leads TO REPENTANCE- Rom 2:4
2. – Every GOOD Gift- comes directly from Him- Jam 1:17
3. – Continuously Giving The father THANKS For SALVATION!- Col 1:12-14
Psalm 73- is a wonderful Psalm that shows both the wrong concept about God’s “goodness” which like many today is erroneously thought to mean the absence of pain, suffering, hardship anything unpleasant! It is “me-self centered,” rather than the true ultimate definition the Psalmist eventually come to which is “But as for me the NEARNESS OF GOD IS MY GOOD.”- v 28- Communion,fellowship,personal intimacy and relationship with God Himself is the Psalmist definition of good, irrespective of favorable or unfavorable circumstances which can change or not! Indeed anything that would come between that relationship is not “good”- beneficial! When we truly realize that for too long our definition and indeed our “grading and judging” God and whether He was “good” or not- too often has had to do with pain free living, and favorable circumstances. Such thinking is a manifestation of wrong thinking and has as it’s goal self! “GOD IS MY GOODNESS”– Irrespective of surrounding circumstances! This is what the Psalmist concluded. In Psalm 119:66-68 the Psalmist declares “…You Are Good and Do Good!” and this on the back of “affliction” He concluded even “affliction,” was part of god demonstrating His “goodness” to him!! God is “good.’ This is His character, HIS VERY BEING IS “GOOD,” who He is, devoid of all evil, be it intent, motivation, devoid of all sin, perfectly pure in His being, intent, motive. Perfectly so. Beautiful, noble, beneficial in His character and in His doing. His character is “Good.” His conduct is He “Does good!”
Because He is “good” in His essence and flows forth in deeds of kindness,benevolence, it should cause us to STOP- RECOGNIZE- AND PRAISE AND SING AND BE “THE THANKFUL PEOPLE!” As our hearts are filled with focusing upon Him- His splendor, His character, His promises, His “Goodness” and with hearts of joy as a result of looking to Him and OBEDIENCE to the command to choose to give Him THANKS… we find at work, once again the “Goodness” of God to us as He produces Joy in our heart as a result of obeying Him and giving Him thanks!
“The GOODNESS of God ENDURES FOREVER!”
“How good is the God we adore,
Our faithful unchangeable Friend!
His love is as great as His power,
And knows neither measure nor end!
’Tis Jesus the First and the Last,
Whose Spirit shall Guide us safe home,
We’ll praise Him for all that is past,
And trust Him for all that’s to come.”
“The Thankful Ones;” {Psalm 100}
1. – Know the LORD
2. – DELIGHT in the LORD
3. – Are MOTIVATED by the LORD;
4. – FOCUS on the LORD;
5. – Are THANKFUL to the LORD
START COUNTING THE REASONS TO BE THANKFUL-
Today choose to be whom God has made you to be – “THE THANKFUL ONES!” They are made up of one person at a time CHOOSING to be “A THANKFUL …ONE.”
“Oh GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD… HIS LOVING-KINDNESS ENDURES FOREVER!- {Psalm 107:1}