Dearly beloved brethren,
Ps 116:12, 17
What shall I render to the LORD For all His benefits toward me?
The Psalmist in the above Scripture was asking himself a question. Then he answered his own question.
Verse 17 I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of the LORD.
That was an excellent answer because the Lord doesn’t ask us to pay for any of His blessings. The least we can do is to have a heart of thanksgiving and seek a deeper fellowship with Him.
Though the Lord doesn’t ask us for payment, when we’re not thankful, it darkens our understanding. See Romans 1:21. One of my mentors usually says, “Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever complain for what you don’t have, what you can’t do and what you don’t know.”
The question is, “Are you thankful today or have you found something to murmur and complain about?” All of us can find something to complain about, but the wise find something to be thankful for. When you murmur and complain, you cut yourself off from the grace of God. One old time woman of God who was rich in the grace of prayer said, “Something is always lost when we complain.”
The Lord once asked a question to a man of God. He asked, “Do you want to increase your capacity to receive from Me?” He answered, “Yes, yes and yes.” The Lord said, “CULTIVATE A LIFESTYLE OF THANKSGIVING.” That is one of the most powerful things you can ever hear and apply in your life. Cultivate means it will not happen automatically. You have to work at it and it has to become your lifestyle. It opens the door for you to begin to receive more from God. It is the way to access more grace.
If you think of humble people, when they receive something or when they’re promised something, they’re so thankful. The Bible says God gives more grace to the humble! (James 4:6) The more grateful you are, the more gracious you are. The more you think you deserve things, the less grace you access. When you receive mercy, you’re grateful aren’t you? You don’t think, “Well, I deserved it anyway.” No, no, you’re continually thankful that you got what you didn’t deserve, or merit and you didn’t get the punishment you deserved. The Bible says over and over that the Lord is gracious and merciful. We need both His grace and His mercy continually.
Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin would constantly seemingly out of nowhere say, “Thanks be to God who always causes us to triumph in Christ.” Why? He knew the secret of staying in faith and thus accessing more grace: being thankful. Let’s look at that Scripture:
2 Cor. 2:14-15 NKJV Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, . . . .
And this one:
1 Cor. 15:57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. NKJV
The tense in the above verses is continuous present. He GIVES us the victory and He LEADS US IN TRIUMPH in Christ. He perpetually causes us to triumph in Christ. Can you thank God for your future triumph? Can you thank God for victory not yet experienced? If you can, you will access continuous grace.
One of the simplest most powerful ways to stay in faith is to thank God continually. The Bible says Abraham was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God.
See Romans 4:19-21.
The fact is that we all have too much to be thankful for. As one singer wrote:
“The voices of a million angels could not express my gratitude,
all that I am and ever hope to be,
I owe it all to Him.”
Till next Bulletin, cultivate a lifestyle of thanksgiving and keep accessing more grace.
