I Am So Thankful!
Psalms 105:1 O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.
A. The Priority of Thanksgiving – O give thanks…
· 1 Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
· Psalms 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
· Colossians 2:7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
One of the signs of the last days is a lack of thankfulness.
2 Timothy 3
· 1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
· 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
B. The Prayer of Thanksgiving – …call upon His name…
When was the last time you spent some quality time praying, just thanking God.
Without asking for something, or complaining about something, you just thanked Him.
C. The Publicity of Thanksgiving – …make known his deeds among the peoples.
We talk about everything else, when was the last time we made known his deeds among the people?
· Psalms 26:7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.
I Am So Thankful…
I. For the Choice God Gave Me
Unlike the animals, God created man with a free will.
We had 6 different kinds of soup for you to choose from tonight.
But we only had one kind of pie. Pumpkin.
God created man with a will; a free volition.
I thank Him for that!!
I am so thankful that God didn’t let me be born, and then predestinate me to go to Hell.
I am so thankful that He gave me a choice.
God said to the people of Israel:
· Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
The Antichrist will deceive those left behind during the Tribulation because they RECEIVED NOT the truth.
· 2 Thessalonians 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
I Am So Thankful…
II. For the Chance God Gave Me
There are still millions of people in this world that has not yet heard the Gospel.
I was blessed to hear it at a very early age.
God not only gave me a choice, but He gave me that opportunity.
· I am thankful for the preacher that preached the night I got saved.
· I am thankful for the parents that took me to church the night I got saved.
· I am thankful for the pastor that had the special meeting the night I got saved.
God worked in so many ways back in 1976 go give me the opportunity and the chance to be saved.
Some of you are here tonight that has maybe never had a chance.
But you are here, so now God has given you a chance.
· He’s put you in a place that loves people.
· He’s brought you to a place where the Gospel is preached.
· He’s brought you to a place where the Pastor loves preaching to sinners.
· He’s brought you to a place where the Holy Spirit is welcome to work and move. (Gen. 1:2)
You’ve got a chance to get saved tonight.
I Am So Thankful…
III. For the Change God Gave Me
One thing I am so thankful for is that God didn’t leave me the way He found me!!
· 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
· God is in the RESURRECTION business.
· God is in the CONVERSION business.
· God is in the TRANSFORMATION business.
When He shows up and shows out, He makes radical changes.
The devil will chew you up and spit you out in little broken miserable pieces. But Jesus Christ will pick up all those broken pieces and make you into a NEW CREATURE!
· He can turn a drunkard into a deacon.
· He can turn a lost, promiscuous man into a saved, preaching man.
· He can take you out of the mire, and put you in the choir!
The Psalmist David’s testimony was about the powerful transformation and change that God made.
Psalm 40
· 1 I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
· 2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
· 3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
I Am So Thankful…
IV. For the Charge God Gave Me
2 Timothy 4
· 1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
· 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
In 1993, I was in college with big plans to be a millionaire businessman.
But God had other plans, and He gave me a Divine Charge to preach the gospel.
Paul was thankful for the call of God.
He said in 1 Timothy 1
· 11 According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
· 12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
Why am I so thankful that God has given me the charge to preach the word?
Because I get to stand up here tonight and tell you:
1. That you have a CHOICE!
2. That tonight, you’ve been given a CHANCE!
3. That if you’ll accept Christ, He will CHANGE your life!
YOUR CHOICE IS SIMPLE:
· Heaven or Hell
· the devil or Jesus Christ.
· Dying in your sins or being forgiven of all your sins.
· Being thrown into the lake of fire, or being washed in the blood.
· Eternal death or eternal life
· Trusting in yourself, or trusting Jesus
· Depending on your good works, or the work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary
Give a clear presentation of the Gospel.
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