THE WONDERS OF THANKSGIVING

JOHN 6:5-13
“When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great
company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence
shall we buy bread, that these may eat?
6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what
he would do.
7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of
bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them
may take a little.
8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother,
saith unto him,
9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and
two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there
was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in
number about five thousand.
11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given
thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples
to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as
much as they would.
12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples,
Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be
lost.
13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled
twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley
loaves, which remained over and above unto them that
had eaten.”
PSALM 100:4-5
“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his
courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his
name.
5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his
truth endureth to all generations.”
1 THESSALONIANS 5:18
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in
Christ Jesus concerning you.”
One of the most important disciplines that a believer must always
undertake is the discipline of “giving thanks.”
Being thankful is the key to being “tank-full.”
Thanksgiving is not a feeling it is not a mood but a requirement in response
to the fact that you are indebted for His unconditional love, grace, mercy
and provision that He has continually loaded you with.
David says in Psalm 103:2-5
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his
benefits:
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy
diseases;
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who
crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy
youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
God has done so much for you and I that even if He was not to do anything
else what He has done already is enough for us to thank Him for eternity.
The reason why believers complain and murmur is because they FORGET
what God has done for them and where He has brought them from.
No wonder God told the children of Israel that when you get into the
promised land that they shall “remember the Lord your God, for it is He
who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant
which He swore to your fathers.” – Deuteronomy 8:18
Every time you forget the past victories and the things that God brought
you through, you automatically start to complain for what you are going
through or you become proud if you think you became successful by your
own ability.
The words “thank you” raised to your heavenly Father, clear the ground in
your life for further future blessing.
No matter what you are facing today you still have a reason to thank God.
If you have lost something God is the reason you have not lost everything.
So quit complaining and murmuring and start THANKING GOD.
The bible teaches us that in everything give thanks for this is the will of God
in Christ Jesus concerning you.
In this season of prayer and fasting, please load your prayers with heavy
amounts of gratitude.
Philippians 4:6
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made
known unto God.”
Don’t allow for prayer session to be a complaining session but a
thanksgiving session.
Your complaining and murmuring turns God off and robs you an
opportunity for a future miracle.
Anyone who claims that he can manage your life better than God is an agent
of the devil sent to destroy your destiny.
No one can handle your life better than God.
Our gratitude to God pleases Him – when you have a thankful heart you
make a statement to your Father that you recognize His hand on your life
and that you appreciate Him for it.
When you are thankful you are actually giving God credit for all the
wonderful things that He has done.
Where I am today is not a function of luck or good sense or good
connections where I am today is a function of God’s goodness mixed up
with His grace plus His mercy plus His loving kindness all put together to
ensure that the devil did not kill, steal or destroy my destiny.
That is why I am so grateful.
Ladies and gentlemen every time you open your mouth to give God thanks
in the hearing of other people you are witnessing to them that God is able.
The bible teaches us in Psalm 100:4-5
“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his
courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his
name.
5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his
truth endureth to all generations.”
The only acceptable way to come before God is with thanksgiving and then
you stand in His courts with praise.
Listen, thanksgiving and praise is not an emotional charismatic, Pentecostal
expression but a biblical scriptural requirement that gives you access into
the presence of God.
You must decide that is doesn’t matter what is going on in my life right now
– I make a deliberate choice to thank God and rejoice before Him for He has
been so good.
Habakkuk 3:17-19
“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall
fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and
the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off
from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my
salvation.
19 The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet
like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine
high places. To the chief singer on my stringed
instruments.”
In every thing give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus
concerning you.
Points of thanksgiving.
1. Thanksgiving breaks the power of the enemy.
Whenever you give thanks to God despite the most difficult situations, the
enemy loses the big battle in your life.
2. Thankfulness destroys negativity in your life.
Every time you start to remember what God has done for you, you lose
negativity and bitterness that can easily creep into your heart because of
tough circumstances.
Thanksgiving brings contentment.
3. Thanksgiving opens a way for ever-increasing prosperity in your
life.
“When you are thankful for what God has done already, you create a
platform for Him to bless you more tomorrow.”
4. When you stop appreciating God, you start depreciating.
That means when you stop appreciating God and start complaining even
what you have in your hand starts to lose value.
Complaining and murmuring is the hotline to the destroyer.
1 Corinthians 10:10 “Don’t complain as some of them also complained
and were destroyed by the destroyer.”
5. Thanksgiving magnifies God and minimizes the problem.
Stop taking about the problem all the time and talk about the goodness of
God – that magnifies God and makes the problem look minute.
6. Always take time to count your blessings in the presence of God.
Just count the blessings; a good health, a good family, a good church, a good
pastor.
7. Always remember that “the Lord is good and His mercy endures
forever.”
Never ever allow pain, rejection, betrayal, problems, sickness, height, depth,
molestation, loss, abuse, trauma, failure etc make you think that God is not
good.
“GOD IS GOOD.”
There are so many things that make me know that God is good but this one
beats them all “Romans 8:32”
“He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for
us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all
things?”
Lets get to the text in John 6.
“When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great
company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence
shall we buy bread, that these may eat?
6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what
he would do.
7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of
bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them
may take a little.
8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother,
saith unto him,
9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and
two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there
was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in
number about five thousand.
11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given
thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples
to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as
much as they would.
12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples,
Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be
lost.
13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled
twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley
loaves, which