Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

Thanks...! Pt.2

The team in St. Kitts-I just talked with Chuck prior to coming on in and he said that things are just continuing to go great. The young man that I was talking about was actually a high school student. He was seventeen years old and-kind of interesting-I said he was the most popular kid. He was very popular in that he was the number one party kid. He was a druggy, a drinker, all the girls liked him, everybody-he was just Mr. Party Man, and he's been in service every night, fired up, totally a new creature, praise God, wanting to be baptized in the ocean down there today and just excited. He told Chuck-he sat next to him in service-he said, "I'm-I hate this, but I know when you guys leave I'm going to be crying." He said a his heart been touched. He's transformed and we just want to continue to pray in that way. Excited about everyone that's down there and sowing, but just a very special thing to me anyway.

How many of you remember a little bit of the testimony that Josh gave when God spoke to him that night sitting right over in that chair? Told him, spoke to him, and he said, "I'm not leaving until you minister to me." Do you remember that testimony of Josh, and the Lord spoke to me and told to go over and speak a word to him. I did, and it was exactly what he was looking, waiting for, and it's exciting to me and this should be an encouragement to many of you that to see there's a stirring up the gifts that are in us. Amen. All of the years and things put in, many times there not used the way that they can be used. We're not always great stewards, but God's merciful and at a time will touch our life and use them for the Kingdom. Amen.

Any you that have been around Josh since know he's a different guy. I mean, everything that's been put in him and Chuck was just saying he's just done a tremendous job down there sowing into all the leaders and just-he said you would think it was Pastor Jeff down there talking. He said he's just like a gigantic parrot and just sharing and encouraging the Young Adult leaders and the youth and just-so Chuck was kind of taken aback by it and he asked Scott. He said, "Is Josh just fired up here because of the trip?" and Scott said, "No, since that day he's been like this all the time now." All I'm saying to you is we need to be thankful. That's one of the things to be thankful for. Amen? Some of us, your day's at hand; today's your day. Amen. Just to be touched. You see, many of us are in that place; all we need is to just offer it up one final time and God will take the coal from the alter, put it on your lips and you'll be a new man. Praise God! How about tonight being the night for some of us? How about just looking for that opportunity? God is, right now. We know He's no respecter of persons and right now, today, is the day of your salvation. You might be born again, but the wholeness. Salvation is wholeness. It's not just the a sonship, it's not just redemption. Salvation makes us whole, praise God, spirit, soul and body, so don't miss out on the best. just continue to pray. Pray for the team. Pray for each one you've sent down there, your love ones, and there'll be many other testimonies I know that will come back similar to that. I'm just sharing the ones that have been shared with me, so I know that many others have been used mightily down there and God's doing some great things.

Let's pick up where we were this morning. We were talking that great privilege of returning to God the sacrifice-the fruit of our lips, the Scripture says, giving thanks to His name. What a great opportunity for Father to move on our hearts and encourage us in that true worship! As I've looked at a number of different biblical passages, I've typed out some of the Scripture references that speak toward specific aspects for which we should be thankful. We categorized them a little bit this morning, but I want to take some time this evening to go back over these and make sure that we're hearing what the Lord is speaking to us.

We left off with the reference to 2 Corinthians 9:15, when I talked about the apostle saying, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift." That's where it all starts. "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift." That's an interesting phrase, "his unspeakable gift." That gift is the redemption of our lives, the salvation that's been so freely offered to us. It speaks of the price that was paid. It's one that leaves us dumb, isn't it? What can you say when the Son of God becomes sin with your sin? Defiled with your humanity, with your Adamic nature, with all the wickedness and depravity of man, He came willingly and took it upon Himself. He received the justice of God and the judgment that was made, and He stood on your behalf. You've got to understand something. Our sins were not just overlooked. A price was paid! Somebody paid, and it wasn't you. I'd say we have something to be thankful for, praise God! Some of us have such great allegiance in the natural to people who have done things to help us out, people who have been kind to us, people who have befriended us, and people who, at different times in our lives, have gone the extra mile. We feel so obligated to them, and so thankful, and ready at a moment to help them if they're ever in need. Jesus died for us, and He paid this price. Very frankly, I think some of us are more taken up with the few little natural things that people have done for us than the eternal things that Jesus has done for us. "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."

We're debtors, and I think many times we lose sight of this. We've become so familiar with the household of faith. We take for granted those who are around us until some are lost, until some defect. We need to be thankful for God's immutability, the fact that He never changes. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. You find Him always there, always the same. Are you thankful for that? When you come to Him, He receives you with joy. We saw this morning that as a father pities his child, so the Lord pities us. I don't know about you, but I appreciate that! It's something that we have to constantly remind ourselves of because of who we are. We're children of dust. We're undone in every way. We are selfish. We are vile. We are totally depraved. There's not a good thing in us, yet God loves us, praise God! Talk about being struck dumb! The unspeakable gift-there are no words to say, "Thank You." So, instead of words, we can choose to be obedient. We just choose to begin to be doers of the Word and not hearers only.

I think we need to start there always-thankfulness for that unspeakable gift. "Father, I just thank You for Your love for me. I thank You for the price that You paid. I thank You that You were made sin with my sin. I thank You that I've become the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. I thank You that I've been made the inheritance of God. I thank You that I'm a son of God, an heir and joint-heir with Christ Jesus. I thank You that I've been raised and seated in the heavenlies at the right hand of God with Christ Jesus. I thank You that, if I don't faint, I will reap in due season. I thank You..." We're to be just continually pouring out our hearts, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name. That's what it means. It doesn't mean just going around saying, "I'm thankful for the name of Jesus. I'm thankful for the Name of Jesus." It's all those things that I just recited. Are you moved constantly with thanksgiving and appreciation?

What does true thanksgiving do? It looks to do something in return, doesn't it? "How can I pay You back? How can I do something for You?" "It's not necessary; I don't expect that." God doesn't expect us to try to repay Him. He expects us to love Him. He expects us to pursue Him-not do anything but just to come closer to Him. Do you know what God wants from you? He wants you to let Him do more for you. That's what God wants. That's a pretty good deal we've got going here, isn't it? Every time you come and say, "Lord, I want to do something for You," He says, "Okay. Here's what you can do for Me. Let Me do more for you." If you knew something like that was available to you in the natural, you guys would be out of this room just like that, looking and hunting it down out there somewhere! But it's not outside this room. It's in this room. Right here is where it gets done. Are we running to God? Are we looking for more opportunities to be in His presence? We know all of the principles-that we give, that we humble ourselves-all of the principles that are at the exact opposite of the flesh and the natural kingdom. The way to worship God is to implement all of those processes that bring glory to Him, seeking that kingdom first. So, these things begin to be the evidence that we've partaken of that unspeakable gift. Once we start there, we can begin to look at those other aspects that we saw this morning. We saw in Psalm 100, verse 4, that we enter into His courts with praise, we're thankful unto Him, and we bless His name. We said that the way we bless His name is through honoring Him, bearing fruit, and all these things that the Scripture says in 1 Chronicles 16:8, that we make known his deeds among the people. So, with this little bit of review from this morning, we stir ourselves up.

How can we make known His deeds among the people? How can we go out now and begin to just boast on all the good things that Father has done for us? How does this happen, really? What are the specifics ways that it can be done? It's done, as we shared this morning, by our contribution to the rest of the body of Christ. It's not only in our own personal testimony, but in our edifying one another, making those around us stronger to bring glory to God, that men might see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. One of the greatest ways of showing thanks to Father is by taking what you've received and giving it to somebody else here in the body-strengthening them and making His deeds known among the people. Have you taken some time just recently to sit down with somebody and say, "Let me just tell you what God's done for me!"? The Scripture says that there's a book of remembrance that's been made for those who will boast in God and declare His righteousness and the holiness of His name. So, here we are, called to sow into one another's lives and to bring forth that ministry of grace, that freely we've received, freely we might give. That aspect of making His deeds known among men is vitally important.

Now, for this evening, let's go to Ephesians 5, and I want to start off on a passage that we're all very familiar with. We saw this morning in the 100^th Psalm that it's He Who made us and not we ourselves. So, we're thankful for how God has created us, what He's created us to do, and where He's placed us today in ministry to the body of Christ. Doctrinally, I think, we all have it down. We have that understanding pretty well in doctrine. But what about in reality? Ephesians, Chapter 5, verse 20, "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." We need to answer this question this evening. Can you put your finger on something right now that you're not thankful for? "I don't like this. I want this out of my life. I want these circumstances gone. I want this trial gone. I want this person gone, because frankly, Lord, they're a thorn in my flesh." Now, we won't mention any names tonight, but we all have our own personal thorns, don't we? The moment that person rises up in your mind, you say, "Yeah, bless God! They're a thorn in my flesh!" Just realize that you're a thorn to somebody else! We always see ourselves as the victims, don't we? We're the ones who are always having to endure. We're always the strong ones who have our acts together, and we wish everybody around us would finally get it! But do you know what? You're not what you think you are. Every one of us is tolerating you! We don't really believe that. I mean, how can we? Just stand up and look-everybody in here is inferior to yourself! Now, most of you wouldn't say that; you just believe it. But because of your humility, you'll keep it to yourself. That's reality.

Many of us in this room are not thankful for the people that bug us. So, I want to take you a little step further this evening and have you look at this passage and ask, "Can I give thanks for all things-even that jerk, even these circumstances? Can I truly look in the mirror and thank God for my being ugly? Can I thank God for having less money than 90 percent of the people here? Can I be thankful for the trial that I'm in right now, that my children have defected from God? Am I truly thankful [and here's what it comes down to] that nothing I'm experiencing originates in a force called "fate" but is, in fact, part of the sovereign purpose of God to make me more like Jesus Christ? Doctrinally, it sounds good. "Yes, praise God! In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Give thanks always for all things unto God." You see, many of us want to be thankful for the good things. We want to be thankful for the fruit that's going to come out of the adverse circumstances or trial. But we need to begin to be thankful for the trial, for the circumstances, for the moment, because God doesn't make any mistakes. Are you thankful for the goodness of God and the justice of God? This is a difficult place to walk. This is that true faith. This is when we're able to call things that are not as though they were. This is when you can do as David did. Once you get the announcement that the baby is dead, you rise up and begin to refresh yourself. They said to David, "What are you doing?" He answers, "While there appeared to be no natural hope, I believed against hope. I believed God, but His sovereign purposes have been done. God has made the decision, and here is the fact: he can't come to me, but I can go to him!"

I watched a little bit on a segment this afternoon of the Pete Maravich ("Pistol Pete") story. It told about the torment of this young man, his mother committing suicide as an alcoholic, and him becoming an alcoholic. Through most of his professional career, he was just a drunk and a bum. He was a young man that had actually been destroyed through the environment that had been created for him. Then he had to face reality, and he began to see what was lacking in his life. Some of his teammates spoke of him as a man possessed, a man who was never at peace, and a man who was tormented by trying to please his father. Then finally, through all these circumstances, he finds the Lord. God spoke to him, literally. He said that the Lord spoke to him, and he was changed in a moment! Then there were different testimonies heard about how his eyes had cleared and brightened up, he had peace, he wasn't driven, and all these different things. And in the very end of this thing (and this is where I was going) he leads his father to the Lord. His wife, in giving this testimony, said that in the two-hour eulogy that he gave for his father, the last thing that he spoke as he leaned over his father's casket was, "I'll see you soon, Dad." He had a true belief and understanding that (after all the tragedies they had experienced) this isn't life. This is preparation for life. These things all work together for good. All that this young man went through in torment was to prepare for the salvation of his soul and his being a witness to win his own Dad to the Lord. Praise God! How exciting is that? What are you willing to do to reach one soul for Jesus Christ? What are you willing to endure? Are you willing to see that all of these things are truly working together for good?

In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Why? Will the thanksgiving change the circumstances? No. The thanksgiving will bring you joy in your obedience. It will bring peace in the midst of the all the trials and the torment. It will give you confidence in God, a boasting and making God big. It's what lets you sleep in the back of the boat during the storms. Thanksgiving is a derivative of faith. Thanksgiving calls things that are not perceivable (to the natural eye, they don't look quite right) what God calls them. So, it's the fruit of faith. It's what causes us to be able to stand up and say, "I don't feel like it, but I want to say what I believe. God is good! This is going to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose."

As I talked to a man this morning about his son and that rebellion there, I firmly believe that the day will come when that young man will stand and say, "This was good for me." Praise God! The father will stand up, "This was good for me and I just want to thank God that He said that He would never leave us nor forsake us. I want to thank God that it's His intentions to bless us all the days of our life and we just begin to rejoice in the goodness of God."

Now, that's thanksgiving in adversity. How about thanksgiving in prosperity, for the good things? You see, many people forget God and forget to be thankful. They think that they've gained things by their own hands. He said, "When you prosper, you go into the land, and you forget God." Beloved, most of us right now aren't going through different severe trials. But I sensed in the room tonight, as we started worship, a kind of apathy here-just kind of, "Eight o'clock, and all is well!" Oh, we've got some little nicks, dings and life's hassles, but nothing tragic. God should be praised in the midst of all of this prosperity and peace. So, what do we begin to thank Him for at these times? In everything give thanks always for all things unto God.

Where do we start? We already talked about the thanksgiving for that unspeakable gift. We also need to thank God for the body of Christ. Colossians 1:12 says very clearly, "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light." Sometimes kids just take things for granted. Have you been saved so long that you take it for granted-the inheritance that we have as the children of light? We've not always been in the light. What a privilege to become part of this family, to become partakers of this inheritance! You don't deserve it; I don't deserve it. We look around, and the multitudes are lost and going to hell, and Father's not willing that any of them would perish. We've all either thought or spoken the phrase, "Oh, there but for the grace of God go I." Yes! Are you thankful? I thought of some of these young men that have defected just recently, and the foolishness of their decisions, and the blindness of their choice to be rebellious to the goodness of God. And I look back all those years and remember that's where we all were at one time. "Yes; but praise God, I made the right decision! I've got a little more character, and I'm more thankful than those..." No. It's grace and the mercy of God that's gotten us where we are. It should be, "Thank You, Father, for helping me to make the right decision. I didn't make it. I'm thankful to You for allowing me to become a child of light, an heir with the saints of God."

So, we realize that there's the thanksgiving in adversity and trials and when we don't understand. "I don't know why I'm facing these circumstances, but what I do know is that the Judge of all the earth does right. What I do know is that I just want lift up my voice and sing praises to Him Who has called me out of darkness into His marvelous light. I'm thankful, Father, for what you are working in my life."

People choose different passages that they are drawn to many times. And over the years, Philippians 4:13 has been a passage that I've always signed in books and different things for people, thanking God for His grace and strength that enables us to serve Him. But another verse that I grew up very closely to is a verse that was the prominent one in Ethel Hook's life and was transferred over into Freda's and Janet's lives. That's a passage I've quoted a lot here just recently in this teaching: Romans 8:28. When that becomes a real part of your life, when you truly believe all things work together for good... Now, you can't classify everything naturally as good, but it's working for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. There's a sovereign purpose, and we give thanks that God is orchestrating all of these things to work for an eternal purpose. Doesn't it make it easier to deal with when you know there's a purpose? It's the things that seem meaningless that cause us frustration. But for a purpose, we can endure this. When we understand there's a purpose, we can begin to rejoice in it, and proclaim it as just, and proclaim it as something that's going to honor God. I don't know how. His ways are higher than my ways. "I don't understand the intricacies of the sovereign purposes of an infinite God, but I know that He is good. So, I just want to say thank You, Father, for whatever it is that You're doing eternally. I want to thank You in the midst of the trial. I want to thank You that this is going strengthen me, it's going to glorify You, and it's going to bring hope and motivation in somebody else's life. I don't know everything that's going to come out of this, but I can just say thank You, Father, in everything, always, and for all things as I'm about Your business."

We're talking about the circumstances of life. We're talking about the things that we're enduring for eternal glory to God. Now, in the midst of all of these things, there's the prosperity aspect. We need to be thankful for those things, and not in a trite way. I find myself many times-I'm sure you do, too-thanking God for the big things that we have and for the small things as well. I can just give you an example from just the other day. Years ago, we had put into our master bathroom one of those ironing boards that go on the wall. It's covered up, and you open it, and it comes out, so you don't always have an ironing board up. It goes away in the wall. I was walking through one day, and I saw that thing. Jim LaRock came years ago and helped us put it in. I was not only thankful for Jim (it reminded me of him, and I was just thankful for his ministry), but I stood there for a moment and thought, "I've got an ironing board in my wall! That's pretty cool!" There are a whole lot of people in the world that don't have ironing boards in their walls. There are people who actually have to take their ironing board, fold it up, and go put it somewhere. I don't have to, and I like that, and that's a blessing! I thought, "Lord, thank You. This is cool! You've just blessed me so much." There are things that are more trivial than that, but I'll so often just rise up and say, "Praise God! Father, I'm so blessed. I don't deserve anything, but look at what You've done for me. I was a rebel. I was a child of Satan. I was a God-hater, but You loved me. You've adopted me, You've given me Your inheritance, and on top of all that, You've given me this stuff! This is great!"

"I want more." Does that ever enter into your heart? "I just want more. I need more. I deserve more." I don't even deserve what I have. If I got what I deserved, I'd be with the rest of you in hell! How thankful are you for what God's given you? Some of us resent that we don't have more, that we don't have better. We resent brand names, like Ford (I just could let that pass!) You say that you are, but are you truly thankful? Do you look at your "rent-a-wreck" and go, "Praise God, I'm just so blessed!" "Blessed?" "Yeah, it's not a bike!" And the guy's looking at his old beat up bike, and he goes, "Praise God! Look at how God's blessed me!" "He's blessed you with that old beat up old bike?" "I'm not walking!" And if you are walking, do you have shoes? "No." Well, are you thankful that you can walk? There are people who can't walk. We're nasty folks, man! And we're robbing God of His glory if our hearts aren't continually filled with thanksgiving and awe at the unspeakable gift of calling us sons of God and making us heirs of light. "Thank You, thank You, thank You! "How can I say thanks / for the things You have done for me, / things so undeserved, / yet You gave to prove Your love for me." Do you mean it when you say it? Do you say it because you're obligated to say it, because it's the spiritual thing to do? Or do you really put yourself in proper perspective and stand in awe of how good God's been to you to call you His son? Once we come to grips with that, then we can handle the circumstances, and in everything we just give thanks. "Praise God! This is what Father intends for me. This is good for me. This is what God's will is for my life at this moment." In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God concerning us in Christ Jesus.

When that's the attitude of our hearts, then we begin to do things in the spirit of thanksgiving. "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him" (Colossians 3:17). The things that you're doing for God-are you thankful that you get to do them? Well let's throw this thing out here for just a moment and see. How many of you are thankful that you get to obey your parents, and you thank God for that? "Father, thank You for Mom and Dad bossing me around." Wives who are submitting to your husbands-do you say, "Thank you, Lord, for putting this idiot in charge of me!" Where are we, truly, when it comes to word and deed? Is what we do obligatory? "My obedience is an act of thanksgiving, worship, and true appreciation for the opportunity to fulfill my role in the body of Christ-my role in the household, my taking out the trash, my mowing the lawn." Oh, now we're down to where we're living here, aren't we? "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."

Are you truly thankful for your role, for your place, in this great organism called the body of Christ? When you come up and clean, is it an act of worship and thanksgiving? "Praise God! What a great privilege to come up here and vacuum Room 307 instead of lying on my sofa, instead of going to a movie, instead of strolling the mall! What a privilege to come and minister in the house of God!" Is that the heart attitude? You see, thanksgiving comes from putting the right value on self, on serving in the kingdom of God, and on the body of Christ. It's putting the right value on others, esteeming others better than yourself. That's a tough one isn't it? We've got to get the right value here. "Okay. Let me put the right value on things. You're better than me." That's the right value. It's not a thing of verbalizing, "No, you're better than me." "No, you're better than me." "Yes I am, but I'm just going to say you're better than me because that's what makes me better than you!" The Scriptures require us to acknowledge the worth of each member, of each gift, none being able to say to the other, "I have no need of you; you're not valuable." Every one of us has gifts that differ and places that are more prominent, but all of the same value. Are you thankful tonight for what God's made you and where He's placed you-children, wives, hand, foot, toe, bunion, or wherever you are in this body?

So, Father's called us into this realm. He's called us into this place of being able to place that right value. And once you do, it creates a spirit of thanksgiving, of rejoicing in being the debtor. You rejoice in being the debtor. Pride causes us to want to carry our own weight. We want to be the one who gives to everybody else. Do you know what? I'm in a position here in relationship with Father to where I'm the debtor. I can't pay Him back. I am 100 percent obligated to Him. Everything I have, He has given me. I've done nothing for myself. I have nothing to offer back. "I just want to say thank You, Father. What can I do for You?" "You can let Me bless you more." "Okay." Do you know what? I've resigned myself to letting God bless me all He wants! I just take it. "Okay. I'm not too proud to take that." I'm not too proud to take anything God gives me. I'm thankful for whatever I have, and I don't ask Him for anything.

I don't ask God for anything as it pertains to the natural. I've shared this with you many times. I have never asked God for one material thing in my life. I've never asked Him for a raise. I've never asked Him for things. I've never prayed, "Oh, Lord, I've always wanted that kind of car. I'm just believing You for that." I've never asked Him for a car, for clothes, for a house, for a raise, or for anything. Because frankly, everything He's always given me is just more than enough, praise God! Whether it was living in federally-subsidized housing-I've shared that as we came here, we moved from our own single-family home into those federally-subsidized apartments where people were shooting each other. The projects were probably about 90 percent black, and it could have been even more than that. Here we had our little two-year-old and six-month-old babies, and we were living in there. What a privilege to be about Father's business! What a privilege to be able to serve in the ministry! What a privilege to take a 70 percent cut in income to do the will of God! We were thankful, praise God! What a great opportunity to take a cut in pay and go live in the slums!

Is that where your heart is really? As children that are debtors, as children that have become recipients of the unspeakable gift, that's how we live our lives. Some of us that haven't started that way as young people, and it's a difficult thing to cultivate. Now, many of us have to go back to that place and start again. We must begin to look at these idols that we've raised up and pull them down. We have to see the vanity of these things and begin to establish ourselves in the great treasure of honoring God and worshipping God by making Him big. We do this by being thankful and not having ambition or our own agendas-just letting God order our steps, being content in our godliness and thankful for the privilege of being called children of light. So, these are some of the things that we're to be thankful for.

We've spoken toward 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (you can get it in your notes), a passage that every one of you can quote. "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." In everything and for everything, we saw. 1 Thessalonians 5 says "in everything," and Ephesians 5 says "for everything." I used to believe that you didn't thank God for everything. I used to believe that you should just thank Him in it, but nevertheless think, "This is a pain in the neck, and it's something to endure. It's not good, but it will eventually work out for good." But I realized that I was limiting God in my perception. I was pulling God down to my understanding in thinking, "How can I thank You for this? There is nothing good in this." I came to see, however, that I wasn't seeing far enough, because all things work together for good to those who love God. Now, I don't mean you just run around saying, "Oh, I thank God my baby died! Isn't God good? He killed my baby, Hallelujah!" I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about being able to deal with all of the decisions we make after having lost our baby. I'm talking about being able, as David did, to rise up and refresh ourselves and say, "I don't understand all of this, but I know the Judge of all the earth does right. He can't come to me, but I can go to him, praise God! And if I stay on course, and I'm thankful, and I realize the goodness of God, I will see him again." That's what I'm talking about. I'm talking about living with a heart of thankfulness-still trusting God, still loving God, still boasting in God, still serving God, and still encouraging those around us in the goodness of God. Do you know what that does? It removes all of that fear and anxiousness that you might lose something. "What will happen if I lose this? What will happen if my wife leaves me? What will happen if my child dies? What will happen if...?" Do you want to know what will happen? God's grace will come in, and be sufficient, and cause you to rise up and bless Him, praise God! It'll cause you to be able to say, "God's good! The Judge of all the earth does right. I thank God that, whatever the eternal good is, I'm able as an inheritor of light to be used for His glory. I just set it aside, and I make this one judgment. I am never going to comprehend the incomprehensible, the eternal, sovereign God. So, therefore, I can only say what I know. God is good. God is just. Blessed be the name of the Lord!" That's the thanksgiving that we're to look to.

We see the great example in Job, don't we? (I'll end with this for this evening.) The problem with Job was the problem we all have. We want God to justify His actions to us, because these things might make us look bad. These circumstances might be uncomfortable. They might bring a hardship on us. They might bring a reproach on our character. Job had to finally come to the place of putting his hand over his mouth and start justifying God instead of himself. That's what a thankful heart allows us to do. It allows us to stand in the midst of all the circumstances and say, "I don't know. I can't answer all that. I just know that God is good, and I want to worship Him and thank Him. While I was His enemy, He loved me and died for me. While I was a rebel, He called me a son. He's placed me at His right hand. He said that He would never leave me nor forsake me." And we begin to boast in all the good things that God has done, the fruit of our lips bringing thanksgiving to His name.

Father, we thank You for Your Word this evening. We stepped back and tried to look at life and all of the snares of abundance and trial-the things that could rob our confidence in Your goodness, that could distract us from Your providence, that would deceive us into thinking that, by our own hands, we have gained these things. All of those things that are vain imaginations-help us just to tear them down. Cause us to see again what great debtors we are, because everything we have, we've received of You. Thank You for the unspeakable gift of Jesus. Thank You for causing us to partake of the inheritance of the saints in light. Thank You for the privilege, Father, of standing in the midst of adversity and entering Your courts with praise, with thanksgiving in our hearts. Thanks be unto God which always causes us to triumph in Christ Jesus. For that, we're thankful. We will always triumph. Circumstances don't look that great, but we will always triumph. You've filled us with Your Spirit, that we could pray in an unknown language and give thanks well, supernaturally giving thanks. We don't even know what we're saying, but we're giving thanks because You're worthy. Make it real, Father. We rejoice in Your great mercies that endure forever. Help us to be thankful and to bless Your name, we ask, in the midst of a generation that is so unthankful, in the midst of a people that believe they deserve more. We have more than we deserve. And we just say thank You for all Your goodness and for Your great wisdom. Help us to understand it, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Let's stand together, and as Gary plays for us, we'll take just a moment and rejoice in Father's goodness. Are you thankful for what He's working right now? Are you thankful for your place? Are you thankful for the call to be obedient to parents? Are you thankful for the submissive role that you fulfill? Are you thankful for the thankless job of being the priest of a household? It doesn't always receive a lot of thankfulness, but do you say, "Thank You, Father, that You've placed me here to oversee this family"? "I ask for Your wisdom. I ask that I could represent You well. Oh, I'd like to be like most other men who abdicate and just go hide in the garage, but thank You for the call, and I'm going to do it well unto You. I'm going to do everything in word and in deed in Your name. Father, I'm so thankful that You've blessed my brothers and sisters with gifts that are different from mine. I'm thankful that You've made other people more prosperous than myself, better looking than myself, and more popular than myself. I thank You for who I am. I thank You for where You've placed me."

Hear what I'm saying. You don't have to go around saying those words. "Oh, thank you that I'm ugly. Thank you that I'm not as prosperous as..." It's a heart attitude. It's an embracing of the sovereignty of God for your life. There's a purpose for your being who you are tonight. What a privilege to be used for an eternal good! If you're one who's sitting here tonight saying, "Oh, I'm just so thankful that I can be such a burden to everybody in the fellowship. What a great gift I am!" remember that the rest of us are going to say, "Father we're so thankful that we can take out the rod and beat this guy!" because that's how it works for the glory of God.

Let's sing it together and just rejoice in His goodness tonight. "I just want to praise You..." Hallelujah! We do just lift Your name, Father. Thank You for the unspeakable gift. Nothing else really matters. With that, we receive superabundance, the presence of God. Thank You for the unspeakable gift. We stand dumb. We can't speak toward the mystery that we call life. But we know You're here, and we know there's a purpose that's beyond our understanding. And we just say, "Thank You for Your wise administration of Your children. So, I'm not going to be anxious anymore about getting ahead. I'm not going worry about why others have and I don't have. I'm just thankful that I'm fulfilling the eternal purposes that will bring glory to Your name. Thank You for the unspeakable gift."

Before you go, just turn to somebody next to you and say, "We're blessed, praise God!" Amen. Go in peace; God's love go with you.

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