Thanksgiving Truths
Harvest Festival of Thanksgiving
Psalm 100 is the grand finale of that cluster of psalms that begin in Psalm 94. The psalmist calls on all the earth to come to God and shout for joy. Nations are to recognize who the Lord is and ascribe to Him the glory due His Name. (Psalm 96:7) At different times in this cluster of hymns all those who know the Lord are given an invitation to submit expressions of thanksgiving out of a heart response of joy and gratitude for His covenant promises. (The Expositors Bible Commentary, Thru the Bible)
Psalm 100:1-5 says, “Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100:1-5)
It has been pointed out by many that “Thanksgiving” is the offering of thanks, and it is not complete until there is giving. If you are a Christian, God has called you to Christ. Jesus paid the ultimate price for your salvation and reconciliation to God, and the Holy Spirit is the one person who is working in your sanctification process.
There are four truths to expressing Thanksgiving to the Lord in which can be expressed all the rest of our days on this earth so others will believe that God is real, alive and intervening the affairs of mankind.
One: Outward expression is singing. Psalm 147:7 says, “Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp.” (Psalm 147:7) Ephesians 5:19 says, “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord…” (Ephesians 5:19)
“Sing” (anah) here is an answer of response to the goodness of God. (The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old Testament; The Treasury of David) It can be done to music because it helps prepare the spiritual heart to grow and mature in its relationship with the Lord.
Singing is a sure way of becoming aware of God’s presence. This singing must begin in the heart by listening to and learning the songs of praise that the Holy Spirit has and is inspiring music ministers to write. Therefore, it is necessary that you make time to listen to Christian music on a regular basis.
Christianity is a singing faith and according to Rick Warren, throughout history there are more songs written about Jesus than anything else. Thus, Christians have a wide selection of music to select from. Pastor Rick Warren tells of a Christian psychologist who would council people who battled depression. The first question the psychologist would ask his patients was, “Have you listened to and sung along with Christian music today?” Then he would ask, “Have you been to church this week and in a right heart, participated in singing praises to God?”
Over fifty different passages of Scripture command Christians to sing because it is the vocabulary of praise to God. This is clearly seen in the Old and New Testaments. The beloved John envisions the redeemed singing in the presence of God. Therefore, the children of God today should want to sing praises to the Lord Jesus Christ.
The best Easter Sunday’s Pennie and I have ever enjoyed was when we had the privilege of listening to David Phelps sing Christian Songs on an Easter Sunday in Colby, Kansas.
Second: Singing is a good way to enter into the presence of God and the whole Body of Christ should make a common practice of it. The second way of expressing thankfulness is to pray.
Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7) This is a command.
Christians can give the Lord their worries. “Anxious” (merimnao) means not to be drawn into different directions. Christians are not to worry over anything whatsoever. “Anything” (meden) literally means not one thing. It is sin to do so. (Word Meanings in the New Testament; The Preacher’s Outline and Sermon Bible) It means not even to take thought or rather be troubled in thought. (The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the New Testament)
The great news is that Christians do not need to be troubled about anything that comes their way. The Lord is fully able to oversee their health, provision and give direction in their lives. Christians can be thankful, for the Lord cares about every single thing in their lives. He hears and will answer according to His good purposes.
The statement “Unanswered Prayers” is an unbiblical term in my opinion. The Lord answers all prayers. If the answer is “wait until His timing” then Christians are to pray until they get a clear answer and direction. If the answer is “no” then they are to thank Him for not giving them what is contrary to His will. If the answer is “yes” they are to thank Him for His continued provision and intercession in their lives. The Lord cares and knows about every part of the child of God’s life. He knows their need even before they ask it of Him. (Matthew 6:8) It is a blessing to Him when His children express true faith by being thankful that they have a loving Father who is able and willing to intervene in every single part of their lives.
One of our great Christian mystics of the middle-ages had Holy Spirit revelation and illumination of what it means to live a life that expresses thanksgiving in prayer to the Lord.
He wrote, “Tell, God all that is in your heart, as one unloads one’s heart, its pleasures and its pains to a dear trusted friend. Tell the Lord your troubles, that He may comfort you; tell Him your joys, that He may [rejoice over] them; tell Him your longings, that He may [purify your heart aright]; tell Him your dislikes, that He will help you conquer them; talk to Him of your temptations, that He may shield you from them; show Him the wounds of your heart, that He may heal them; lay bare your indifference to good, your depraved taste for evil, your instability. Tell Him how self-love makes you unjust to others, how vanity tempts you to be insincere, how pride disguises you to yourself as to others.
If you thus pour out all your weaknesses, needs, and troubles, there will be no lack of what to say to the Lord. You will never exhaust the subject. It is continually being renewed. People who have no secrets from each other never need to find subjects for conversations… they talk out of the abundance of the heart without consideration, just what they think. Blessed are they who attain to such familiar, unreserved intercourse with [the Lord].” (Fenelon; The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart)
Adoniram Judson was one man of God who knew what a life of thanksgiving in prayer to God is. He knew great success in ministry as well as imprisonment for the sake of the gospel. He wrote, “Be resolute in prayer. Make any sacrifice to maintain it. Consider that time is short, and that business and company must not be allowed to rob you of that time with the Lord.”
Third: It is Christians who do not allow the pleasure of the flesh, the temptations of the world and the lies of the devil to rob the Lord of the thanksgiving in prayer that He deserves, they please God. They also express thanks by giving unto His work.
Deuteronomy 16:10 says, “Then celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the LORD your God has given you.” (Deuteronomy 6:10)
The “Feast of Weeks” is called the “Feast of Harvest” in Exodus 23:16. This harvest festival stood head of the sacred seasons. (The New International Dictionary of the Bible) These harvests festivals celebrate the wheat harvest. (Exodus 34:26; Leviticus 23:10-14; Numbers 28:26-31) and is what in the New Testament became the day of Pentecost which was fifty days after the Passover Sabbath. (Exodus 23:16; 34:22; Leviticus 23:15-21; Numbers 28:26-31; Deuteronomy 16:9-12; The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)
Pentecost is the birth of the modern-day church in which the Holy Spirit indwells the children of God and marks a time that the Lord is calling a harvest out of the Gentiles for His kingdom.
The children of God who are enjoying the abundant harvest of eternal life and provision of God are to give a free will offering in portion to the blessings that God gives them. Exodus 23:16 tells Christians to what portion to give, “…with the first fruits of the crops you sow in your field.” (Exodus 23:16) With whatever means Christians use to obtain wealth, they are to give the first fruits received from their labors unto the Lord’s work. Malachi 3:10 holds a wonderful promise to those who tithe unto the Lord’s work, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” (Malachi 3:10)
Christians who give in true thanksgiving to the Lord are careful to give for the right reason. Christians who give to get will not be a blessing to the Lord’s work or to Him. They must have the heart of king David of whom God said was a “…man after my own heart.” (Acts 13:22) Walter B. Knight wrote about a layman who fully understood Deuteronomy 8:18, “But remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth…” (Deuteronomy 8:18)
Fourth: Thankful Christians give unto the Lord’s work, and they share about His wonderful works. Isaiah 12:4 says, “Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done…” (Isaiah 12:4) Deuteronomy 4:9 says, “Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.” (Deuteronomy 4:9)
You are the only real authority on your life. Nobody can give your testimony like you can. All you need to say is, “This is what I was and what I am now because of Jesus Christ, and this is God’s promise to me, ‘…He who began a good work in [me] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.’” (Philippians 1:6)
The Christian life that expresses “Amazing Grace… I was blind but now I see” and “…he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) gives hope to those bound by the flesh, the world and the lies of the devil.
Harvest time is to enjoy all that God has given you. Thanks, means nothing until your give back to God the gratitude due to Him. Offer thanks by singing to and about Him, praying to Him, giving all, you have to Him including your talents, abilities, possessions, finances and opportunities. Lastly, be sure to share testimony about His great work of salvation and restoration of your life in Christ Jesus.
