11.23.2021 | LIVING THANKSGIVING

LIVING THANKSGIVING

1. Thankfulness is a fundamental Christian virtue.

2. Thankfulness is essentially a heart posture. It is simply a proper response to God.

It is acknowledging and appreciating who He is and what He does.

Psalm 106:1-2 (NASB) – “Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy is everlasting. Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the Lord, or can proclaim all His praise?”

James 1:17 (NASB) – “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

3. Are you a Benignus or a Contumax?

4. Romans 1:16-32

5. Process

A. Right response leads to learning more truth and receiving more blessings.

B. Wrong response leads to foolish thinking (mind goes), spiritual darkness (heart goes), and immoral living (life goes).

6. Proper Christian Response

Romans 12:1-2 (NASB) – “Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

7. A key to thankfulness is REMEMBERING.

A. When we focus on the Giver, we are thankful for His gifts, and it leads to a pleasant life of blessing.

B. When we focus on the gifts, we become discontent, covetous, and complain, and it leads to a miserable life of judgment.