Thanksgiving Before Victory
I.
Why you need to develop
in thanksgiving (1 Corinthians 10:5-11)
A. In our minds murmuring
hasn’t been as ugly as these other things and that’s why we’ve yielded to it
the way we have
1. We got to change our
perception of being unthankful; it’s as ugly as it gets
B. Don’t murmur-(Colossians 3:15-Thankful-Grateful, acting well, mindful of
favors)
1. There’s no place between
being thankful and being unthankful
2. If you’re not being
thankful, you’re being unthankful
3. You can’t be yielding to
this in the small things, that’s how it develops
4. The one sure way to make
sure you’re not complaining is to have thanksgiving on your mouth all the time;
u can’t be thanking God & be unthankful at the same time
C. Complaining is connected
to defeat – Thanksgiving is connected to victory
1. AND-Their destruction was connected to their
murmuring
II.
Thanksgiving is something
we’re supposed to have on our lips all the time-Heb 13:15-16
A. We are to thank God
continually, in everything, but not b/c
God’s ego needs stroked
1. Hebrews 13:5-All the time
insinuates before the victory
2. 1 Thessalonians 5:18-In
everything give thanks insinuates before the victory
3. Ephesians 5:20-You can’t
thank God for things He didn’t do
4. Colossians
3:17-Everything you do, do giving thanks to God
B. Sacrifice of praise-If
you’re supposed to thank God all the time & in everything we can only
assume that there’s going to be a time when you don’t feel like doing it
1. Sacrifice-Suffer
something for the sake of obtaining something
a. You’re
giving something up in order to obtain something more valuable to
2. Our sacrifice of praise when
our mouth starts thanking Him not when music starts
C. This sacrifice pleases
God; Ur going 2 thank God all the time-He’s going 2 be pleased
1. God is pleased with your
sacrifice of thanksgiving (Psalm 69:30-31)
2. I’m going to sacrifice my
feelings for the sake of pleasing God & victory
3. God takes pleasure in my
prosperity and victory-Psalm 35:27, 1 Corinthians 10:5
III.
There’s a connection
between thanksgiving and faith
A. You can’t please God
without faith-Hebrews 11:6
1. If thanksgiving were
without faith it wouldn’t please God
B. Real faith has
thanksgiving with it
1. Col 2:7-If your faith is
real thanksgiving will be overflowing
2. If faith that doesn’t
have thanksgiving with it,
it’s not really faith
C. Hebrews 11:1-Faith is seeing
something as real fact that’s not revealed to the senses
1. Faith thanks God because
it believes it has the victory, when it doesn’t see it
2. One of the highest levels
of faith and thanksgiving is not thanking God for what has happened, but
thanking God for the victory that hasn’t manifested yet
3. It takes little to no faith
to thank God for the victory that just showed up-that’s no sacrifice of thanksgiving
a. It takes faith 2 thank
God for the victory that looks like it’s never going to show up; that’s a
sacrifice of thanks that pleases God b/c there’s faith in that
D. Thanksgiving is the voice
of faith-Mark 11:24
1. If you believe you have
it as your present possession then there’s no need ask anymore; the only thing
left to do is say thank you Lord
2. The voice of faith isn’t a
crying begging voice, but it’s one that says thank you Lord because it believes
it has received
E. Faith thanks God for the
victory before the victory
1. 1 Cor
15:57, 2 Cor 2:14-We don’t just thank God for
victories that have happened when thank God for things that haven’t come to
pass yet like they’ve come to pass
1)
Which gives us-He has given, He gives
now, and He will give in the future
2)
Always causes us to
triumph-Always
means yesterday, today, and forever
2. EX: If you tell me that
you’re going to take me out and buy me a new suit
a. People are reserving
their thanks until the victory shows up and that’s keeping the victory from
showing up because that’s not faith
3. Joshua 6:16-They thanked
God before their victory for the victory
a. 1 Jn
5:4-Faith the victory that overcomes the world & thanksgiving is voice of
faith
IV.
If faith &
thanksgiving are connected then unbelief & being unthankful are connected; If
you are unthankful, complaining, or feeling sorry for yourself, you are not in
faith
A. One of the main ways the
enemy gets you in unbelief is by getting you to operate in unthankfulness; and
he does that by getting you to look at, think about and focus on what you are
not, what you don’t have and what you can’t do
1. When you’re looking at
seen things that you aren’t or don’t have it’ll lead you into being unthankful,
you’ll be in unbelief, and destruction will manifest
a. You might see it, but
refuse to look at it
2. 2 Corinthians 4:18-Don’t
look at what you can see, look at what you can’t see and that will help to stay
in faith and thanksgiving
a. Only allow yourself to
think about and talk about who you are in him, what you have in him & what
you can do in him this will keep you in faith and thanksgiving & connect
you to victory
3. 1 Kings 21:5-He’s the
king and he owns everything, but he got his eyes on the one thing he doesn’t
have and it caused him to be unthankful
B. Romans 4:16-21
1. 16-Inheriting the promise
is through faith-Faith has thanksgiving with
it
a. If ur
going 2 receive the promise you’re going 2 have 2 say thank u beforehand
b. The end of the promise
comes proceeds your faith; faith precedes manifestation and therefore so to
does thanksgiving
c. Thanksgiving should not
only proceed your victory, it should precede it
2. 16-Inheriting the promise
is by grace
a. You didn’t earn it and
you don’t deserve and God doesn’t owe it to you
b. Romans 4:4-If you worked
for it, then it’s not grace, but it’s owed to you
1)
If
it’s owed to you there’s no need for thanksgiving b/c you earned/deserve it
2)
Get
out of this mentality that I did what the Word said b/c I did you owe me
3. All things that pertain 2
life and godliness are being offered 2 us by grace and me must receive/take
them by faith (2 Pet 1:4)
a. 17-Abraham took the
promise by faith by calling things that be not
4. 18-19-His eyes were fixed
on what he was and had in God; he didn’t think about what he wasn’t, what he
didn’t have, what he couldn’t do
5. 20-He’s not staggering
through unbelief, but his faith had thanksgiving with it
a. He’s thanking God 23
years in 4 a victory that looks like it’s never going to happen
b. He had thanksgiving w/ is
faith b/c he believes he’s the Father of many nations
6. 20-The more He thanked
God the stronger his faith got-this makes your faith stronger
a. Faith w/o thanksgiving is
weak faith that will produce weak results
b. When u than God 4 the
victory before the victory that’s evidence ur faith
is strong
C. Follow the example of the
Master
1. John 11:1-4, 41-44
a. 4-Jesus believes &
speaks & it’s supposed to come to pass
b. 41-He lifted his eyes to
Heaven
1)
If
you’re going to operate in faith and in thanksgiving you can’t allow yourself
to think about what you are not, what you don’t have, or what you can’t do.
Only think about, talk about, and thank God for who you are in him, what you
have in him, and what you can do in him
a)
People
become ungrateful when they start looking at what they aren’t, what they don’t
have, and what they can’t do
2)
He
looked at what He couldn’t see not what he could see (2 Corinthians 4:18)
a)
If
he would have looked at that tomb and got his eyes on that he could’ve gotten
to the place where he was feeling sorry for himself, saying this doesn’t work,
why didn’t God do it
c. 41-This is the voice of
faith because it doesn’t look like God heard him in verse 4
1)
He’s
thanking him for the victory that he, can’t see & isn’t manifested yet
2)
He’s
not complaining about what hasn’t changed, what hasn’t manifested,
3)
He
speaks to a man who is dead like he’s a live b/c that’s what he believes
d. His thanksgiving
connected him to his victory
2. Matthew 14:14-21, John 6
a. John the Baptist and just
been beheaded and Jesus went to be alone and the people followed him. He was moved with compassion and healed
their sick-He’s not grumbling because he lived a lifestyle of thanksgiving
b. He had two pieces of fish
and five loaves of bread, but he didn’t allow himself to think about what he
didn’t have, what he couldn’t do, or what he wasn’t-He lifted his eyes to
Heaven
1)
When
he got his eyes off of what he didn’t have it activated thanksgiving and his
thanksgiving connected him to victory
c. He’s not just thanking
God for what he had, he’s thanking God for what he didn’t have
V.
Thanksgiving will effect
your attitude
A. Thanksgiving is the
activator of peace-Philippians 4:6-7
1. You make your requests known
to God in every thing by 1) Prayer-Believing you received 2)
Supplication-Passionate 3) Thanksgiving-Thank you I have it
a. AND-That will connect you to something
2. Thanksgiving is the
activator of peace that passes understanding
a. U can’t thank God 4 ur victory & worry it’s not going 2 show up at the same
time
3. Peace-Rest, quietness, tranquil state of a soul
assured of salvation
a. If peace is absent,
thanksgiving is not coming out your mouth
b. Peace will be on guard as
long as thanksgiving is coming out of your mouth
1)
Keep-to
guard, protect by a military guard, either to prevent hostile invasion
4. When your
attitude is bad (frustrated, angry, worrying) it’s because you have no peace
and you have no peace because you are not being thankful
B. A bad attitude stinks-2
Corinthians 2:14
1. Thanking God &
walking in victory makes known a sweet smell that is pleasing 2 God
2. A thankful attitude
smells good to God; an unthankful attitude stinks
3. Their offering smelt good
to God; thanksgiving is sacrifice that smells good (Ph 4:18)
C. Psalm 42:1-11
1. 3-He’s crying day and
night; he’s down
a. This is not okay
2. 4-He starts looking at
the good things and it changes His whole attitude
a. What he looks at turns
this whole situation around
b. If God did that last
time, He could do it again
3. 5-You’ll have to talk to
your soul
a. Why are you cast down and
disquieted?
4. 5-Hope in God
a. Expect that something
good is going to happen
5. 5-I will yet praise Him
a. I’m not going to murmur,
tumult, be troubled and down and in despair
b. Praise-Give thanks-I’m going to give God thanks
6. 6-When you’re soul is
trying to despair you need to remember how good God has been to you
7. 8-He gets in faith
8. 9-Why go I mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?
a. You can be under attack
and not being despairing (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)
b. Mourn-To grow dark,
Heavily, black, mourn
9. 11-It looks bad and
things aren’t going great, but that’s no excuse for you to murmur, tumult, be
troubled, and in despair soul
a. Expect God to do good
things in the middle of this
b. I will praise Him-I’m not
going to wait for this good stuff to happen before I start saying thank you
1)
I
will YET praise him
2)
This
stuff won’t stop me from giving thanks
10. 11-God is the health of
my countenance
a. Health-Deliverance,
salvation, victory, welfare, prosperity
1)
Some
believers need to get delivered in their face/countenance; they need to get
victory in their countenance
b. Countenance-Face
1)
If
you’re not winning in your face, you’re not winning inside and you won’t win
outside
c. When he started thanking
God is countenance changed; his attitude changed
1)
When
you’re not thankful your face show it