Living Word Interdenominational Church

                                                                                      A Heart of Thanksgiving

A person with a THANKFUL HEART…say
THEY ARE a person of GREAT POWER!!!!....say
How many of you WANT GREAT POWER TODAY???
POWER to HEAL the sick, CLEANSE the Lepers and FREE the OPPRESSED…!
POWER IN JESUS NAME!!!     COME  ON
1Th 5:15  Don't be hateful to people, just because they are hateful to you. Rather, be good to each other and to everyone else.
1Th 5:16  Always be joyful
1Th 5:17  and never stop praying.
1Th 5:18  Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do.
A thankful heart is a VICTORIOUS HEART, which SEES VICTORY even in the face of defeat.

In the midst of battle, we can often get FRUSTRATED
We find ourselves wrestling with GOD INSTEAD of fighting with OUR TRUE ENEMY!!
Through our frustration we end up rebuking God, instead of rebuking the devil
We can get CAUGHT in the cycle of COMPLAINING with God
I mean HOW LONG is it is going to TAKE Him to MEET OUR NEED!!!!?????
INSTEAD of THANKING Him for ALL that He has ALREADY done for us.
Our UNHappiness can keep us CONTINUOUSLY SEEKING EXPLANATIONS from God
Instead of thanking Him for the mountains He has ALREADY MOVED and the SEAS that He has ALREADY PARTED…...

How SOON we lose sight of ALL the miracles He has performed to bring us the victories we have already been given.
While waiting for God to do the BIG THING for us, we FORGET to be thankful for the LITTLE VICTORIES along the way.
AT LEAST WHAT WE CONSIDER LITTLE VICTORIES
LISTEN God wants to KNOW if we will be thankful even for the smallest gifts.

On the other hand, Satan WANTS us to become Dissatisfied with the little victories
WHY because a dissatisfied heart is easy for him to MANIPULATE.
HOW many of you feel like being manipulated today????
I didn’t think so!!!!
When we are frustrated, satan can get us to do and say things we would not normally do…..
He manipulates us to have ATTITUDES, attitudes that can HURT our WALK and FAITH IN God!!!
Jealousy and selfish ambition are BOTH ROOTED in an Ungrateful, Dissatisfied heart.
For a dissatisfied heart is like a hunger that is NEVER FILLED, or a fire that NEVER DIES OUT.
I need, I want, I gotta have this or that!  I need bigger, better, they have this or that, my family, your family has, my neighbor, your neighbor…blah blah blah
If we allow it, it will EAT AWAY at OUR VERY LIVES
Its ALL DUNG!  3x   COME ON
Let me share with you a GREAT PLACE TO BE!!!

Having a THANKFUL heart KEEPS US in a GREAT PLACE
A place where Satan CANNOT gain access to our minds. .
A place we CANNOT be MANIPULATED
That place is where we give thanksgiving and praise to God for ALL He has done for us.
1Th 5:18  Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do.
LISTEN In a time of loss, it is easy to lose sight of all we still have!  
In ALL circumstances and at ALL times, we MUST FIND SOMETHING to be grateful for
We MUST REMAIN Thankful in the place God has put us.

If God has promised it, HE WILL COMPLETE IT!!! COME ON
Our frustration and anxiety only HINDERS God.
Praise and thanksgiving PROVE we are trusting for Him to DO the impossible for us….

BUT we are TRUSTING in HIS TIMING and in HIS WAY

Php 4:6  Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God.
Php 4:7  Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.

The Presence and Peace of God are GIVEN FREELY to those WHO TRUST HIM
The peace of God will be a GUARD to our heart
Anxiety ERODES our faith and trust in God….
THAT IS TRUTH… it erodes, breaks down
BUT the peace of God that passes all understanding will produce a thankful heart.
Now we ALL KNOW about that……..  WONDERFUL POWERFUL NAME of JESUS…amen…
But lets add a couple more POWERFUL WORDS to your VOCABULARY….amen???
They RELEASE Heavenly POWER to those who are willing use them………
They are Foundational Words that most of us learn as small children…..
MIGHTY WORDS that will UNLOCK the windows of heaven.
How many of you want to UNLOCK the WINDOWS of HEAVEN???

KINGDOM KEY…
God's heart is captured by these words….
WHAT ARE THESE WORDS Pastor Jesse????
Thank you
Remember for a moment HOW MUCH you APPRECIATE it when your child or any child says those two words to you…….
FEELS GOOD RIGHT!  MAKES YOU WANT TO DO MORE DOESN’T IT?????
LOOK   God loves it when we trust in Him.
One way we can SHOW Him our trust is to THANK HIM for meeting our prior and current needs…..
THANKING HIM….BEFORE we see it made Evident in the natural.
As we begin to thank Him, our appreciation KEEPS our EYES on God's FAITHFULNESS
GOD IS FAITHFUL ISNT HE????
HOW BIG IS OUR GOD!!!!  COME ON
HOW AWESOME IS OUR GOD!!! COME ON
HOW FAITHFUL IS OUR GOD  COME ON
HE NEVER LET’S US DOWN!!!!
Complaining keeps our vision SMALL and FOCUSED on our problem.
BUT PRAISES….. RAISES our eyes to our GREAT BIG AWESOME GOD who is constantly looking after us.
We need to focus, not just on REBUKING the devil, but on MAGNIFYING OUR GOD!!!!!  COME ON
With our praise and adoration of Him, we will begin to see that there is NOTHING TOO BIG for our God!!!!
In our THANKFUL HEART we will SEE an ACCURATE view of God IN our circumstances…..
We will see…..
HE ALONE HOLDS the world in the palm of His hands
HE ALONE is the Creator of ALL THINGS!!!!!
If we understand that God created the mountains…
We will BELIEVE that He has the POWER to MOVE the mountain……COME ON
WHOA…..3x  
Telling You God is about to MOVE MOUNTAINS for you TODAY!!!
Lets pray and then SING to HIM PRAISES!!!!

Daddy,
Please forgive me for limiting You with grumbling and complaining. Help me to thank You at all times, and may heartfelt praise for You forever be on my lips. May I always appreciate You and enjoy You with a heart of thanksgiving. Thank You for all You do!