It is Good to Give Thanks to God - Part 1

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Wednesday, November 24th. In the midst of heartache, it can be hard to find even one thing for which to be thankful. Today, you'll hear how to cultivate and maintain an attitude of gratitude. The Bible says it is good to give thanks to the Lord.

Now, since God is absolutely omniscient, knows all things, absolutely perfect in every area, if He says that it's good, then it must be good. And so, if it's good to give thanks to the Lord from His perspective, that ought to be a vital part of your life and mind. And I think most of us would have to agree that when we pray, we're probably more self-centered than we realize, that we're more interested in what He's going to do for us, more than we are in giving thanks for what He's already done. And so, when you think about giving thanks to God, how do you give thanks to God? When you think about why you should give thanks to God.

And what I want to talk about in this message, I want to answer those questions. And I want to simply say that the title of this message is, It is Good to Give Thanks to God. And I want you to turn, if you will, to the ninety-second psalm, and I want us to read these first five verses of this ninety-second psalm.

It was a major, major part of the thinking process of the people of Israel when they were coming out of Egyptian bondage and all through those years, because God had a very specific reason for it. And I want you to look at this ninety-second psalm and let's look at these first five verses. It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High, to declare Your loving kindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness by night, with a tinged stringed lute and with a harp, with resounding music upon the lyre. For You, O Lord, have made me glad by what You have done. I will sing for joy at the work of Your hands.

How great are Your works, O Lord." Now, in the Old Testament, there was one tribe that was specifically given the responsibility of the upkeep of the tabernacle at first, and then the temple, also took care of the music and all the sacrifices and everything that went on when it came to worship. And that was the tribe of Levi, the Levites we call them.

And their responsibility was to give guidance in those times. And notice, if you will, in the twenty-second chapter of Leviticus, speaking of them, when you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. So, I'll just give you that verse to say that the offer of sacrifice for thanksgiving was very important. Now, they had other offerings and other sacrifices like, for example, for sin and for guilt and all the rest, but it's interesting that one of those sacrifices was a sacrifice of thanksgiving.

So, what did that do? That kept their attention upon the one who was their Creator, the one who had delivered them from Egyptian bondage, and the one who was their provider and the one who was their guide, Almighty God, Jehovah. And so, that went on for year after year after year. And you recall that here's what God said to them when He brought them out of Egyptian bondage and Moses spoke to them and He said to them, this year to remember all the years of your life.

And you had to hand it down to every generation. Your children and your children's children and children's children down through the generations, they are never to forget God's deliverance across the Red Sea. Now, He could have delivered them some other way.

He could have manipulated it on whatever's necessary. But I think one of the primary reasons that He brought them to the Red Sea in a time when they were absolutely, totally defeated, it looked like, and then He delivered them was because He needed to do something so dramatic they would never forget it. And to be the enemy of the greatest power on earth at that time, and on their way to facing death, here they were at the Red Sea, and they could hear the rumbling of the chariots of Pharaoh, and God delivered them. And He said, now you're to tell your children and your children's children down through the ages of God's deliverance. Well, the truth is, that is exactly why God gave them many of these laws and regulations to keep reminding them He was the one true God.

The worst thing that could have happened to them was to intermarry, and second only to living in idolatry. Because the Egyptians had so many gods and all of a sudden now there's just one God, there's only always been just one, but now they're to learn the lesson that this one child that this one true God, Jehovah, is the one who delivered them, they must never forget it. They were to continually thank God for that deliverance. So the reason I'm putting an emphasis on that is because I want you to remember when this message is over that you and I also in the mornings and in the evenings, in the mornings we rise to face the day, in the evening when we go to bed and for a night's rest, we should give thanks to God that He created us, that we're alive, that we're somebody. And secondly, that He has delivered us from the power of sin.

He's delivered us from the bondage of sin in our life. And as a child of God, a true believer, we are to thank Him also for the fact of His provision for our life every single day. And we have to remember also that He, the one true God, guides us, provides for us, delivers us, created us, we owe Him everything. And when a person is very ungrateful to God, when a person says, well, this is my life, I can do what I please, they're forgetting the fact that every single thing about them, every part of that human being was the creation of God and that He created us to love Him, to obey Him, to serve Him, to worship Him, to adore Him, that He is Almighty God. And when you look in the Scriptures and see how many verses there are to this whole idea of praise and worship and singing, this is a vital part from God's perspective.

He wanted them to learn to recognize that He is the source of all that they have. Turn back, if you will, to the fiftieth Psalm and notice what He says here about people who do honor Him and do praise Him, recognize who He is. He says in the fiftieth chapter and the twenty-third verse, He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me. That is, when you not take the time to pray and to thank Him and to show our gratitude toward Him, He says it honors Him. And it's interesting also that David in the Psalms, how many times he brings this up.

And if you look at the hundred and fifth Psalm, first verse, hundred and fifth, hundred and sixth, hundred and seventh, all the same. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name. Make known His deeds among the people, sing to Him, sing to Him, sing praises to Him, speak of all His wonders.

Notice how he starts off with a giving thanks. Hundred and sixth Psalm, praise the Lord. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His loving kindness is everlasting. Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the Lord?

Who can show forth all His praise? Then in the hundred and seventh Psalm, listen. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His loving kindness is everlasting.

And let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary. So, this continuing all through the Psalms, especially God has so arranged the Word of God, that you and I are continually reminded to give thanks. You also remember that oftentimes when we're going through difficulty and hardship, where do you turn? You turn to read the Psalms because they're comforting and encouraging to us. And so we read the Psalms and over and over and over again, over and over and over again, God wants us to be thankful people. We live in a time in a society, we live in a culture that is very ungrateful. We take everything mostly for granted. And so many times, even in our prayers, we drift off into making one petition after the other, maybe without, maybe we may say, well, thank You, Lord, now here's my list.

And so, the list is most preeminent instead of the thanksgiving. Maybe you don't know how to give thanks to God. But it's very, very evident that giving thanks from God's perspective is absolutely essential and important. And therefore, what He said to them and what they were to do, we're to practice the same thing individually. So, as you think about how much time you give the Lord in thanksgiving, sometimes it's rather convicting when you think about He's done so much for us, He does so much for us continuously, and yet we take it for granted.

Now, let's ask the question first of all, why? Why does He say it's good to give thanks? And that is, He says it honors Him. To thank God honors Him. It glorifies Him. It magnifies Him. To give Him thanks is an act of obedience, for example.

And so, when we said, and I want to say it again and again, how should we start out? Thanking God that He created us, He gave us life. Thanking God moment by moment sometimes and day by day and morning and evening. Thanking God that He delivered us from the power of sin.

If you were not saved today, your life would be in a mess. We are His children and He loves us. And He wants to be loved in return. And so, we exalt Him and lift Him up. And we acknowledge that He is the source of all of that when we give Him thanks.

A second reason is this. And that is, it refocuses our attention. When we give thanks to God, it refocuses our attention.

Because think about it. You get up in the morning, you sort of have to hurry up, fix your breakfast, whatever you do over your children, and next thing you know, you're into it in the day. And so, it doesn't mean that we're just a thank Him in the morning and thank Him in the evening. But all during the day, we should live with a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving to God. But there is something about those early morning hours, something about those early times, because if it were not so, He wouldn't have said here to declare your loving kindness in the morning and your faithfulness by night.

Think about it. And that is, His loving kindness in the morning, we have that to look forward to. God, I'm going to trust You for these things, whatever it might be, and then in the evening to do what? To thank Him for His faithfulness that He's been to us all day long. And so, when you think about why and what God has done for us moment by moment, day by day, over and over and over again, sometimes when we think about how little gratitude we show in return. And when you think about the fact that you and I are saved, our name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, we're the children of a holy God. And that we are absolutely secure in that salvation forever. That no one can ever take it from us. They may persecute us, they may kill us, but they can't take away our salvation. They can't take away our eternal security. They can't take away our relationship to holy God. How grateful we ought to be.

And in expressing that, if we express it genuinely, it's going to bring Him honor and it also is going to keep our focus where it ought to be, that is, it's on Him. A third reason is this. It releases us from anxiety. Think about this for a moment. You and I live in a very anxious age.

Everything's fast. Lots of pressure. Lot of expectations.

Many responsibilities. So many things that people are afraid of. And you watch the news and you wonder what in the world's going to happen next. And so, if you think about the kind of society we are forced to live in, the nature of things around us, then it's easy to become anxious. If you watch the news, you'll get anxious. If you listen to many people talk, you'll become anxious. But I want you to notice what he says in Philippians chapter four and most of us know this part by heart, but many people do not.

And it's in the sixth verse. And in the midst of all this anxiety, listen to what he says. In verse six of chapter four, Paul's letter to the Philippians, he says, Be anxious for nothing. That is, in other words, just don't be anxious about anything.

He says, But in everything by prayer and supplication, crying out to God with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God with thanksgiving. And what will happen? The peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Now, anxiety is not good for anybody. Anxiety affects our body. It affects our mind. It affects our thinking. It affects physiologically, psychologically, mentally, emotionally, you name it.

Anxiety, worry and fretting. So, let's think about this for a moment. If you wake up in the morning and you begin to thank God that He created you and that you're one of His children now. And secondly, that He's delivered you from the power of sin. And thirdly, that He's going to provide everything you need all day long. And number four, that He is not only provided, but He's going to guide you each step of the way, whatever decisions you have to make.

If those things be true, what do we have to be anxious about? Some of you say, Yeah, but you don't know my situation. Let me ask you this. Are your circumstances bigger than God?

No, they're not. You say, But I'm hurting so badly. Are you hurting so badly that God cannot deal with that?

That He cannot relieve that? Almighty God, Jehovah God, the one true God. And you see sometimes as I listen to people, I think some people still believe there's more than one God. Well, they'll say, Well, that's your God.

No, there's only one. His name is Jehovah. And the nation of Israel, God gave birth to this nation for the primary purpose of what?

Doing what? Of heralding to the world that there is one true God and that one of these days through Him will become the Savior of the world. And so, He doesn't want us living in anxiety and worrying and fretting.

And here's what happens. When you begin to give God thanks, whether it's in your prayers or maybe you're praying and singing to the Lord, whatever, when you start doing that, it's real difficult to remain anxious when you are praising God and thanking Him for His power and thanking Him for His faithfulness and thanking Him for His devotion to you, thanking Him for all these things. It's real difficult to be anxious. And so, let's say, for example, that you kneel to pray and part of that thanksgiving and part of that whole prayer is your remembrance of things that He's done to you in the past. Because you see, if you are thanking Him, you can thank Him for two things. You can thank Him for the past. You can thank Him for the future.

It's like when you thank God for the future, it hadn't even happened. Faith, you ask Him for something and then you thank Him for it. And perfect faith is this.

Father, this is what I'm asking You for. This is what I believe it's Your will, because You've made it clear to me it's Your will, so I want to thank You. It's as good as done. Somebody says, but yeah, but you know it's done or not. If you thank God for His will and trust Him, then what do you do?

Here's what most people do. They get on their knees and they say, Oh Lord, now here's my problem, here's my heartache, here's my burden. Thank You very much, Lord, I just want to thank You. And here's what You said, You said that this is the confidence that I have in You, that if I ask anything according to Your will that You'll hear me. And if I know that You hear me, I know that I have the petition to desire the View, thank You very much. Thank You, Jesus. And we get up and walk off and somebody says, What do you think? Well, I don't know, you know what, I've been talking to them about it.

And that is exactly what we do. Thanksgiving, listen, if I'm going to thank Him, I'm going to thank Him for being my Creator, my Deliverer, my, listen, my supplier, whatever that may be, and my, and His Godship in my life. Thanksgiving does something to you. There's something to your body, there's something to your soul, there's something to your spirit, your emotions, your mind, because what happens? You're focusing on the one person, this absolute sovereign of the universe who loves you enough to have died on the cross on our behalf, we're talking to Him about us. We've got so much to be grateful for. And oftentimes people, it's all, God give me this and give me that and provide this and provide that and thank You, Lord. And yeah, we get up and we still have a little problem. Then there's the fourth reason. And that is that it refreshes our relationship with Him.

Now, notice what He said. He said in this ninety-second chapter, It's good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High, to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness at night. Well, now, if I'm, if I really and truly believe that He is who He says He is, spending time with Him and thanking Him is refreshing. It refreshes my spirit. It refreshes my relationship with Him. And so, when you pray and when you begin to thank God, what are you doing? Here's what's happening.

This intimate relationship grows and grows and grows. You are thanking God. You're honoring Him. You're praising Him. You're recognizing Him.

You're acknowledging Him for who He is. And what happens? Your spirit becomes refreshed. And no matter what's going on in your life, thanksgiving is one of the best ways to dig yourself out of doldrums and out of discouragement, despondency and despair and all the depression, all the things that people say, well, I'm, you know what, you start thanking God, it's hard to stay in a ditch.

Somehow, something happens to you physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, in every way. And so, that's the way He refreshes us. And so, when He said it's good to give thanks to the Lord and sing praises to His name, there are lots of good reasons. But one of them is, it's to keep us focused, refreshing our spirit, reminding us of who He is and what He can do and is so willing to do for us. And so, when you think about worshiping Him, you're refreshing that relationship. Because let's face it, there are times when you are required to do certain things in your life, or maybe it's in your business or whatever it might be, or maybe in helping somebody else just absolutely drains you. And so, what do you do?

You start thanking Him, praising Him, adoring Him, and worshiping Him. However, do you see fit to do that? And your whole spirit is changed. Well, does that mean that all the problems will disappear?

No. He didn't promise that problems would disappear. Here's what He said, I'm going to be with you. And for me, that's enough.

That's enough that He's with us. And so, what happens when you and I begin to thank Him and praise Him, then it reinforces our faith and we begin to say, Well, Lord, I don't know why I should be all upset about this, because you don't change. And one of the attributes of God that to me is the most refreshing of all is the fact that He never changes. I look in the Old Testament, see what He did. Look in the New Testament, see what He did.

And so, if He did it for them, and they didn't know Jesus as you and I know Him, how much more faith should we have to know that our Savior who died and rose again from the grave and sits at the Father's right hand, He's going to keep His Word every single time. Thank you for listening to It Is Good to Give Thanks to God. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.