Bill Johnson teaches on the importance of developing a lifestyle of gratitude in this special Thanksgiving compilation. More than a once a year reflection, incorporating thanksgiving and gratitude into our daily lives is key in stewarding our mental and emotional health, and empowering our prayer life. Thanksgiving enables us to take what the enemy meant for evil and transfer it into to the hands of God, knowing that He is causing all things to work together for our good. Subscribe for weekly videos: https://bit.ly/bjmYoutube

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0:00 Introduction 0:19 In Everything Give Thanks 12:52 The Effect of Thankfulness on Your Emotional and Mental Health 21:09 Thanksgiving Empowers Your Prayer Life Bill Johnson is a fifth-generation pastor with a rich heritage in the Holy Spirit. He is senior leader of Bethel Church in Redding, California, and is passionate about seeing Revival and God’s Kingdom established and revealed in the lives of individuals, families, communities, and nations. Bill’s teaching on the Kingdom of Heaven, hosting the Presence, and the renewed mind has helped thousands around the world to step into their true identity in Christ, God given purpose, and walk in a supernatural lifestyle displaying both purity and power. #BillJohnson #BethelChurch #Thanksgiving #Gratitude

and thankfulness is like man it’s like

the number one virtue that changes a

person’s life and dare I say the entire

nature of a

city I think thankfulness can change the

nature of a family

line thankfulness is one of the most

profound weapons that God has given us

in our

Arsenal and I hope to take you through a

number of verses just to show you some

some Concepts on why God is building in

us to be a thankful people and I think

probably most everybody in the room

would say I’m a thankful person that

you’re a thankful person our problem is

is that we cultivate a thankful heart

over all these things we acknowledge

God’s in charge he’s the one who

provided the job he he uh you know gave

me this child he whatever it might be we

have our list of things but we almost

all have something over here that we’re

not thankful for

and we justify it because it’s the work

of the enemy something bad happened in

my life this or that and so we have a

special category for things hoping that

God will just vindicate us not

realizing that being

thankful he said in everything give

thanks he didn’t say in almost

everything give

thanks neither did he say just do your

best you know I’m rooting for you just

do your best just hang in there do your

best he didn’t say that he said in

everything give thanks in everything so

here’s this glaring problem this CL

conflict this disappointment this

whatever it might be this is here and

I’m cultivating thankfulness here but

I’m unwilling to deal with this very

thing that haunts me what’s the

problem any area of my life in which I

am unable or unwilling to to give thanks

for that area will have a measure of

influence and control over my

life and not for good it it will it will

have a

voice where it shouldn’t have a voice

God why is this constantly tormenting me

because you’ve not buried it in

thankfulness wow why is this thing

constantly there it doesn’t never go

away because you’ve chosen not to

express trust in this one thing we pray

the problem but we but we don’t often

give thanks for the effect it’s having

on the

recipe if we could see Romans 8:28 more

clearly I think we’d be much quicker to

give thanks for the IRS

audit oh yeah the bad medical

report the loss of this employment or

whatever it might be the stuff that goes

on in all of our

lives

he doesn’t ever tell us to be thankful

for evil we are thankful that we have a

sovereign God who is able to use what

the enemy intended for evil for our

benefit and it’s the expression of

thankfulness that immerses that which is

contaminated into the grace of God to

where God now uses it for our

benefit

in Psalms

100 he says I will enter his

gates with Thanksgiving in my heart I

will enter his

chords with praise Thanksgiving is all

about

presence I will enter his Gates where’s

the destiny the destiny is the throne

room of God I will enter his gates with

Thanksgiving I’ll enter his course with

praise Thanksgiving is the specific

response to the actions of God the works

of God praise is our response to his

nature as character thankfulness has

always to introduce us to an increasing

revelation of his

nature Moses said let me know your ways

that I might know you the revelation of

nature is the invitation for

encounter so when God gives us his

protocol it’s not a a formula that we

use to manipulate God it’s how he

functions it’s it’s almost like this is

what the presence of the Glorious one

demands is his Commandments are not

restrictive they’re not punishments they

are always invitations to life good

every commandment is an invitation to

Greater experiences in the Life of

Christ and so he gives us this mandate

he says enter is gates with Thanksgiving

enters courts with

praise what’s the result in before the

glory

thankfulness is an expression of trust

that keeps us conscious of the presence

of

God

thankfulness it’s an expression of trust

and it keeps us conscious of him Keeps

Us conscious of the presence of

God one of my favorite uh stories in the

Bible is Moses upon the mount mountain

with the almighty God face to face and

he comes down with a direction God has

shown him what he’s supposed to build

they’re going to build this

Tabernacle but when he comes down he

sees Israel playing the Harlot they are

in absolute the most grotesque sin one

can

imagine he walks into the middle of

that does all kinds of stuff to restore

order bring them into repentance and

then he builds what God showed him to

build and the key verse for me is this

and Moses built according to what he saw

on the

mountain I think I can say this

accurately most Believers catch a vision

on the mountain and lose sight of it in

the midst of a

problem and Moses succeeded to build

what he saw up there when he got down

here it’s the most challenging thing and

what does thankfulness do thanks the

specific acts of thank Thanksgiving not

just the attitude of gratefulness which

I think is vital but the specific acts

of of

thankfulness connect us to our history

and God and help to heal and restore

memories as it’s supposed to be embraced

because those memories are what help us

to carry on the Mandate of the Lord and

Moses did according to what he saw on

the mountain it was the memory of that

that helped him to be successful in his

most perilous time memor thankfulness is

what keeps us connected to our history

and God our history it’s not just mine

it’s our history of

God I want you to look at John chapter 6

with me we got a couple verses we’ll

we’ll go

through

John chapter 6 this is where Jesus is

feeding the

5,000 it says in verse 11 it says and

Jesus Took the

Loaves and when he had given thanks he

distributed them to the disciples and

the disciples to those who are sitting

down verse

23

other boats came from tiberias near the

place where they ate bread after the

Lord had given

thanks can I pay attention

here the Holy Spirit marked the location

so here we’ve got a location where Jesus

there’s the multiplication of food

thousands of people

eat after Jesus broke bread and gave

thanks the Holy Spirit wanted that place

to be remembered what was it remembered

for it was when Jesus took loaves broke

them and give thanks what’s the point

what did he what did he

have he had not enough

yeah and he gave thanks holding not

[Applause]

enough the sacrif of Jesus was in

response to human need but the daily

invasions of God are not according to

human need they’re according to Faith

and

obedience and to ignore the protocol of

God to apprehend that which is in our

life that we refuse to give thanks for

is for us to Mark a part of our life we

don’t need his grace

in in the midst of lack Jesus gives

thanks in the midst of lack and in verse

23 he says what’s that place called

that’s the place where he took bread and

he gave

thanks he gave thanks for what wasn’t

enough 1 Corinthians

11 is a good one this is where Paul had

received this Revelation about the

Lord’s supper and he was

communicating really the the greatest

truths we have in scripture on the

subject here in chapter 11 of 1

Corinthians

and he said

um he Saidi receed from the Lord that

which I also delivered to you that the

Lord Jesus on the same night in which he

was betrayed took bread and when he gave

thanks he broke it and said Take and Eat

okay what’s the

point on the night Jesus was

betrayed he took bread and gave thanks

see thankfulness took in John

6 a situation of extreme lack and turned

it into extreme abundance where they

ended up with more than they started

with in the

leftovers now jesus takes his

moment the most difficult moment where

he has poured himself into 12 people 12

guys for three and 1/2

years at the end of which one has a

better

idea and for personal gain sells the

right the access that he has to Jesus W

and he

betrays on the night Jesus is betrayed

Jesus is fully aware of what Satan has

inspired Judas to do fully aware of that

he takes the bread he breaks it and what

does he do he gives

thanks see

Thanksgiving sanitizes your touch on the

matters of your life it decontaminates

us from

having influence remaining flesh

influence that that defiles that which

God is doing and it’s thankfulness that

keeps us in a place where everything in

my life now is usable by God because I

have I have I’ve cleansed myself if you

will I I if I’m using the right language

but you can you can help me out and

figure it out I I have I I’ve sanitized

my own involvement in the Affairs of my

life through thankfulness to what this

now is in the hands of the Lord to use

on my behalf for his glory and on my

behalf and it’s thankfulness the

transitions that very tool that the

enemy intended for

evil the weapons of the enemies are

destroyed through

thankfulness it actually REM removes the

tool that he was going to use to destroy

it removes it from him because now

you’re playing with God’s

tools now we’re playing with God’s

instruments go with me to Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 5 and we’ll spend the

rest of our time in this uh

chapter that last statement I made about

thank Thanksgiving

thankfulness I kind of butchered it and

I’m going to butcher it just a little

bit

more but I I want to I want to give it

give the statement of context because if

you understand this I I didn’t prepare

to have these scriptures ready so you

can you can look them up on your own but

there’s this interesting dialogue that

Paul has on two occasions about food and

what we’re to eat and one of those

occasions he he says he says hey if your

neighbor is sacrificing some animal to

this demon god and you know that they

sacrific that meat to the demon god and

they know that you know don’t eat the

meat and he says it’s not because it

will harm you it’s because it’ll violate

their

conscience but then he goes on and says

but if they don’t know then eat

it elsewhere Paul says all foods that

you receive with prayer and

thankfulness is

Sanctified follow the logic here so

here’s this big chunk of

meat my neighbor just offered it to some

God he doesn’t know that I know but I

watched and then he invited me over for

dinner and I saw these demon powers

surround him as he offered this offering

and I know that the enemy wants to

destroy me through this that I’m about

to eat and I receive it into my life and

I give thanks my thankfulness just

Sanctified what was previously empowered

by the enemy to bring destruction to my

life did that make sense thankfulness

sanctifies so when you’re in the middle

of a horrific situation thankfulness in

the middle of that it’s not about

Chasing the Devil around it’s simply

about turning our heart towards the

celebration of who God is in every

situation and it anchors our soul into

that that absolute victory that has been

promised to to each one of

us thankfulness so here we’ve got this

portion of scripture that um I remember

fact just look at it verse 16 Rejoice

always pray without ceasing in

everything give thanks I remember

reading that as a young Pastor uh in

Weaverville days remember reading that

verse like man I could spend spend the

rest of my life every day the rest of my

life on those three verses and I would

have my hands full I would have a

full-time job just learning those three

simple

statements say it with me Rejoice always

re always pray without

ceasing in everything give thanks

everything give thanks let’s say it

together Rejoice always pray without

ceasing in everything give thanks say it

again Rejoice always pray without

ceasing in everything give

thanks I’m I’m not sure

that that we see the effect of

thankfulness on the human heart or

thankfulness on the spiritual atmosphere

or surroundings around our

life there there is a sanctifying a

cleansing a purifying work that takes

place simply by thankfulness why number

one thankfulness is automatically a

position of

humility thankfulness is not us

dictating something to God or to

somebody else it’s coming in low in

honoring him for what he has

done thankfulness is

uh is connected to the acts of God the

works of

God uh says of of Israel and Moses it

says Israel was acquainted with the acts

of God but Moses was acquainted with his

ways Israel with the acts of God Moses

with his ways there’s an interesting

graduation in in perception and

experience in those two areas many

people experien The Works of God but

they don’t know anything about his

nature about his person and all the

Revelation or experiences of the works

of God are invitations to discover who

he

is Moses prayed this prayer in Exodus he

said let me

know let me know your ways let me know

your your Works your ways that I might

know you in other words God I want to

see what you’re like because I want to

follow that invitation into relationship

into encounter in other words we’re not

gathering information for a test we’re

not we’re not gathering information to

pass the quiz that’s right we’re we’re

seeing glimpses of what he’s like

so that we can take each Glimpse as the

invitation or Open Door opportunity to

come into relationship when he revealed

himself to Abraham as the provider

Jehovah Gyra it wasn’t to make him more

well-rounded in his theological approach

to God’s resource he was revealing

himself as the one he was about to

provide for him instead of him

sacrificing Isaac there was a l a ram

caught in the thicket the point was God

his provider just revealed himself that

Prov Vision was to be

experienced Thanksgiving will take you

places nothing else can take you will

take you places in

God so here he says Rejoice always pray

without ceasing in everything give

thanks here here’s the strange thing

about in fact Let me give reference to

Thanksgiving because it’ll it’ll be more

uh more visual um I’m I’m not a great

golfer I

it’s been years since I’ve gone I have

some funny stories about my golfing

expertise but anyway I I use this as an

analogy the ball’s here you got a back

swing you meet the ball it goes

on this is

yesterday this is

today the momentum shows you where

you’re going tomorrow I don’t know if

that made sense you’ve got your back

swing you meet the ball

your Club doesn’t go that way it goes

that way there’s a momentum created when

you are thankful God you provided for me

when I didn’t deserve it I blew I made

dumb decisions financially you covered

me anyway you provided you healed my

body here God you use a doctor there I

was in crisis here I expected you to

show up in a certain way you didn’t but

you never left me and you walk me

through that into Triumph and you go

through all these things what happening

is you are reviewing your yesterday and

God’s faithfulness and you automatically

pick up a sense of where you’re going

does that make sense you automatically

pick up a sense this is my tomorrow why

because before there’s a problem he

creates a solution one of the most

astonishing uh things in scripture for

to me is where it says Jesus was

crucified from before the foundations of

the

world Jesus was

crucified before the foundations of the

world so before there was all all this

created including

humans he was crucified the point is

before there was sin there was a

savior before there was a problem there

was a solution so what is it that you

could come up with in your life that he

didn’t already have a solution

for the reason for thankfulness is is

really quite astonishing thankfulness is

what helps to create hope and you know

what hope is hope hope is where the best

definition I’ve seen of biblical hope

not not of of the the cultural word

hope the best definition that I know of

is the joyful anticipation of good

joyful it’s excited now for what’s about

to happen what that means then is that

hope actually gives us the opportunity

to enjoy the

emotional benefit of a miracle before

the miracle

happens

that we actually have the opportunity to

explore the emotion of Victory before

the victory actually happens it actually

we we actually get to feed from the

emotion of Victory hope gives us access

to that and it’s Thanksgiving that

creates that momentum so here we have

this issue

rejoicing is a key to emotional health

rejoicing in any situation every

situation so good I I believe strong

that these kinds of Expressions require

physical

response it requires physical

response he didn’t say shout for Joy all

you

[Laughter]

extroverts and and all you introverts

you just think happy thoughts I’m good

I’m

good just feel warm and fuzzy about me

I’m fine I I’ll work with that he didn’t

say that he say shout for Joy shout for

Joy period there’s something about the

expression that changes our capacity to

experience what God is doing and what

he’s about to do there’s something that

is transformed in us through the

physical outward

obedience sometimes it’s kneeling

sometimes it’s laying on your face

sometimes it’s raising hands sometimes

it’s a dance sometimes I I’ll never

forget first time I I danced before the

Lord I was

alone in a

house and I I was worshiping and I felt

like the Lord said dance I was so

embarrassed I was I was embarrassed as

could be I made sure all the curtains

were closed cuz I knew that all the news

networks were there they were one of the

filmed this great event that was about

to

happen I did I actually I went I made

sure all the the curtains were closed

everything and I’m the only one in the

house the lights are very dim you could

hardly see and I’m in this house and I

go and

and I have to admit I actually felt kind

of good inside so I did it again and

again and again eventually you don’t

care what anybody thinks but at that

time it it it really mattered it

mattered to me there there had to be

some sort of a physical

response I like w Wigglesworth says my

body doesn’t tell me how it’s feeling

says I tell my body how it’s

[Applause]

feeling and there are times where

there’s just they’re they’re not

Monumental things they’re not you know

they’re not God commanding us to do some

impossible thing sometimes it’s a simple

thing raise your

hand sometimes it’s lift your

voice sometimes it’s

give what’s in your pocket to that

person in need it it’s just it’s they’re

none of them are a huge Noble task but

they all require some sort of external

obedience and rejoicing is just like

that I think rejoicing takes great faith

I think it’s easier to hang your head

and sing a song about God’s worth than

it is to celebrate his

worth

because you actually have to have some

sense of confidence that you are

accepted to

rejoice and he says Rejoice

always the second part of that

experience I Rejoice always the second

was um in everything give thanks and I I

really felt strongly that he that he

impressed he impressed on my heart that

the key to mental health was giving

thanks and

everything I remember hearing a talk

show this psychiatrist or psychologist I

forget whoever now was being interviewed

and they made some statement I won’t get

it exactly right but it’s basically this

that 90% of all mental illness is the

result of trying to avoid

pain 90% of all mental illness as a

result of trying to avoid pain somehow

facing the difficulty with

thankfulness it’s not denial it’s not

pretending something doesn’t exist it’s

owning up to this you know it’s it’s

Joseph with his brothers who sold him

into slavery and he says you know you

did this to destroy me however God

looked ahead and he put me here it was

like I’m owning up to the challenge of

the moment but I am I am liberated and I

am free in this moment and being able to

be free in that moment with Thanksgiving

and with rejoicing is the nature of the

Christian Life and I tell you we’ve got

to get it now because I mean it’s crazy

out there but here’s the issue if I move

in a fence I then will fight the

challenge with their tools which puts us

on a Level Playing Field and whenever

you fight the devil on his field you

lose it’s moving into the grace gifts of

God where I refuse to live in offense

but I but I also refuse to live

irresponsible and I recognize flesh and

blood is not my

enemy this person believes a lie

but me yelling at him is not going to

change him from believing a

lie me accusing or doing whatever it

doesn’t fix anything it just helps the

person to feel better for a moment until

God convicts

you are you getting what I’m trying to

say moving into a place of of of

bringing about change requires a couple

things and and I think the the Safeguard

here is profound on bringing

transformation it’s re rejoicing always

and everything give thanks those two

things emotional mental health if

there’s anything that that that the

world is crying out for right now

because it’s it seems to be

dissolving you know quicker than Chasta

Lake

evaporated it’s this this sanity of life

this mental health emotional health and

yet you have it inside track I don’t

mean that you’re better than I I I don’t

mean in any way I mean Taste of the

favor of God because it will be useful

in bringing others into that same

blessing useful to bring others into

that same sound mind sound heart Rejoice

always pray without ceasing in

everything give thanks so key to

emotional health there’s rejoicing

[Music]

always every give everything give thanks

is key for mental health and the last

one is to pray without

ceasing do you know in in the in nemiah

it’s kind of a to me it’s it’s an

awkward uh part of a story it’s in

chapter 11 the end of chapter 11 in all

of chapter 12 it has this reoccurring

theme there were people that were

assigned to give thanks to

God what do you do for a living oh I I I

give thanks I give thanks yeah like what

is does that look like well they just

give me a list and uh and I I stand

before God and I say thank you and I and

I mention what we’re thankful for that

sounds that sounds so formal and so so

ritualistic that there’s no life in it

and yet there’s a secret in that routine

yeah you

bypass the limitation of your own

emotional

condition and you make mature choices

which activate your emotional condition

to get into line with what you’re

doing see complaining empowers the

inferior to undermine your

faith complaining only happens when we

are more mindful of a problem than we

are of God it’s impossible to complain

when you’re more aware of the goodness

of God than you are of a problem you

actually violate to do that you’d have

to violate your your conscience your

your sense of purpose your sense of

being the sense of God’s presence you

have to violate all of that just to

start

complaining I’m glad I’ve never done

that I

I says Rejoice always that means like in

the original language always actually

means always

just always just just you know no matter

what happened choose Joy well I don’t

feel like it that’s why it’s a

choice do you think he would have to

command it if we did it naturally yeah

that’s

good the only reason it’s a command is

because here’s a chance for you to flex

a muscle you said you want to grow you

said you want to carry the weightiness

of God into the Earth here’s something

you can learn to do well what is it well

you’re going to miss your

flight no no not that not that here I’m

I’m I’m taking you deep into my personal

life when I miss a flight I come up to

the gate this has happened I’ve sat on

the tarmac

forever cuz they can’t find a place to

park my plane and I look at my clock I

go my other flight’s boarding right

now boy am I

thankful boy am I feeling rejoicing

right

now and I just sit there for a half hour

while my plane boards and we’re just

sitting there on the TAC and then I

notice my

plane and then the one I’m on finds a

place to

park my first response is not rejoicing

and I’ve got to admit to you it’s not my

second

either it’s rejoicing is like way down

little this I’ve got to experience a few

other things first I’ve got to explore

the

emotional Tundra before I end up in

rejoicing when that happens to

me when somebody passes you on a

freeway no problem you go as fast as you

want not a problem for me pulls in front

of you and then slows

down

it’s not a big deal it’s just wrong it’s

just wrong have they no

[Laughter]

conscience where’s the conviction of the

spirit of God when we need

it Rejoice always pray without ceasing

Rejoice always is is choosing Joy it’s

it’s actually it wouldn’t be commanded

if it wasn’t within the

reach of a choice

that’s good Joy is is like is the part

of the Kingdom so it’s it’s it’s at hand

it is always Within Reach I have I’m a

powerful person I say this with me I am

a powerful person Joy is always Within

Reach Joy is always Within

Reach pray without ceasing is kind of

like the same as Rejoice always without

ceasing means just always

just pray and don’t

stop interestingly Philippians says

um Philippians Bas I’ll just quote it to

you it’s make reference to it

Philippians 4:6 talks about

supplications and prayers that’s the

earnest getting before the Lord

contending with God for a breakthrough

and he says with Thanksgiving why

Thanksgiving creates the context to keep

prayer unfocus that’s good

I mean I know this is a dumb question

because all of us would say yes but how

many of you want to have effective

prayers of course we do we want have a

we don’t pray just to you know we’re not

running on a treadmill just trying to

cover the miles we we want to bring

impact our heart is to bring change to

see it in our own lives our families the

world around us we want to see uh things

take place because we’ve

prayed thankfulness is what helps to

keep prayers On

Target there are times I’m praying for

somebody ministering to somebody let’s

say that’s sick let’s say they have a a

certain problem or arthritis let’s just

say throughout their arm and and I’m

praying for them and nothing’s happening

zero breakthrough and then the Lord will

give me an Insight of a more prise way

to pray and when I change my prayer from

a general prayer of God heal the

arthritis that’s in the arm and I get

down to a very specific or precise

prayer then the Breakthrough comes I

can’t tell you why but can tell you this

for me to stand up here and just say oh

Jesus please heal everyone in the room

today amen we give you thanks nothing’s

going to

happen why because it’s got to be more

precise and what thankfulness does is it

hones the Precision of our prayer life

because it keeps it about him because is

is that place of dependency place of

acknowledgement the the strength in

prayer is not that you complain or belly

ache about a

problem it’s that you’ve join joined

your heart with his to see his kingdom

come and his purposes worked out in the

earth and thankfulness is what keeps us

engaged with

Precision Rejoice always pray without

ceasing in everything give thanks I you

know I don’t know that anybody’s

supposed to give thanks for a bad report

from the doctor that wouldn’t be doesn’t

make any sense to me

but it does make sense to me to remain

thankful to to keep my list of

blessings stronger than my list of needs

that’s

good how many of you have a you’ve ever

made a prayer list out how many of you

if you’ve not written one you certainly

have one in your mind I mean I I’ve got

them in my iPads I’ve got goodness I’ve

got lists in there of things that I pray

for and you know just stuff stuff that I

can contend for I just get before the

Lord God God we’ve got to see

breakthrough we got to see breakthrough

there and I I believe in it but how many

of you have thankfulness

lists probably not as many there’s

there’s a few and it’s wonderful but but

the point is is we stay more conscious

of need than conscious of

blessing and when I stay more conscious

of need than I’m conscious of blessing I

will tend to pray out of a hole instead

of from Heavenly places I will St I’ll

tend to pray more out of a place

desperation is not bad so I I I don’t

have the best language so give me a

little Grace with this but I will tend

to pray out of a place of desperation

instead of a place of

authority thankfulness thankfulness what

HS that take a look at me with uh 1

Timothy Chapter 5 excuse me chapter

4 1 Timothy CH 4: 1 we’re going to read

five verses

verse one now the spirit expressly says

that in latter times some will depart

from the

faith giving heed to deceiving spirits

and doctrines of demons speaking lies in

hypocrisy having their own conscience

seared with a hot iron forbidding to

Mary commanding to abstain from foods

which God created to be received with

thank Thanksgiving by those who believe

and know the truth

um look at this again verses 1 and two

gives us

warning I don’t know how your Bible

reading goes I I just want to encourage

you don’t skip over the hard

stuff it’s it’s so vital here’s the

difference there’s meat and milk of the

word are you with me in that analogy

there’s meat of the word there’s the

milk milk Comforts meat provokes change

meat is called in Hebrews the word of

righteous

so it is the word that equips enables

and provokes it cuts to bring about

change and we all want to be comforted

but we’ve also be got to be changed

through the reading of word the

embracing of what God has said and

sometimes it’s just it’s meditating on

receiving dwelling slowing down in the

hard places he who gains his life will

lose it but he who loses his life for my

sake will gain it slow down in those

passages because it needs to cut deep

it’s got to cut deep if if it doesn’t

cut if it if it doesn’t bring pain it’s

not a it’s not the word of righteousness

that brings change there’s got to be

that that point where you go oh it’s

necessary it it’s let me illustrate this

way there are people who have certain

kinds of uh afflictions difficulties in

their body and perhaps you go to a

doctor and the doctor says uh man you

have no feeling your foot he says no so

takes a sock and shoe off and he takes a

needle and he’ll just prick the bottom

of the foot and there’s no pain see it’s

not a good sign to not feel

pain it’s not positive it’s actually

it’s a sign of a problem is when is when

something should hurt and it doesn’t you

don’t ever want to read through this

stuff and go oh yeah all is well not a

good sign not a good sign you want that

thing to prick you want to go

oh that hurts so good but it’s it’s it

it’s that it’s that word that makes you

know you’re

alive

so he talks about those who fall away

from the faith interestingly verse three

says forbidding to marry commanding to

abstain from foods which God created to

receive with thanks Thanksgiving let me

just stop there this is kind of a a a

weird deal Paul’s warning Timothy and

the group that he leads he’s warning

them he said listen um we know people’s

hearts is going to grow cold they’re

going to be come deceived by demons this

all this Junk’s going to happen and out

of that group is going to come a list of

rules non-biblical rules now remember

the Bible does give us commands and

don’t ignore them just because you live

under

Grace Grace doesn’t give you a pass to

skip the rules Grace gives you the power

to do the

[Applause]

rules so here’s a list of rules it’s

created out of this deceptive movement

and what is it they are rules that make

you more pleasing to

God that’s what they say so in other

words you’re going to obtain favor if

you do this if you don’t marry you don’t

eat these certain foods you do this this

and this You observe this particular day

in Romans he he expands the list says

you you follow this day instead of this

day you eat this instead of this you

drink this instead of this these list of

rules if you do everything just right

then you’ll have favor with god what

happened to Adam and Eve the serpent

crawled up to him and said if you

partake of this fruit you’ll be like God

they already

were the enemy tried to get them to

obtain through Works what they already

had by

Grace which they already had by Design

so Shifting the focus from what God has

done for me that now enables me to be to

live freely for him the focus now shifts

to what I must do to somehow apprehend

and gain God’s favor the Focus shifts

and whenever whenever that happens it

becomes a flesh empowered movement and

that was the deception of this

movement yes amen verse four I I didn’t

plan this but having gone hunting this

last week it’s just the perfect verse to

read for every creature of God is good I

believe that right next to the potatoes

I

I’m

I I went on an Outreach with my boys

this

week we reached out and touch the

[Applause]

heart harvested protein to sustain a

Revival is what it is all right it’s

enough every creature of God is good for

nothing is to be refused if it is

received with Thanksgiving for it is

Sanctified by the word of God and prayer

this is amazing here’s what he says

nothing is to be refused what’s the

point is this not something you bought

at the

store what’s the implication what Paul

had to deal with with a group of people

is they would be invited to somebody

else’s home and they would hear they

were being served a food that was either

unclean pork or whatever or it was

actually food that was offered to an

idol and here he’s giving him

instruction don’t

refuse anything that you would determine

is unclean why because that which is

used to be against you becomes

Sanctified by your own thankfulness your

thankfulness takes the sting out of what

the enemy attempt to destroy you and is

now used for your benefit because it is

Sanctified with prayer in the word of

God Sanctified Sanctified is an

interesting word because it means

separate separate from sin separate from

Darkness separated to God but it doesn’t

stop there it actually implies that when

I am made holy when I as I am as I am

separated from my own lifestyle to to

the Lord it means it implies I actually

become like the one I am separated to

wow we should know this just in the

natural husbands and wives have been

married a long time they start thinking

alike they start acting alike I mean

there’s there’s just this this this time

of just being together where they they

change because they’ve been separated

from everyone else unto this person and

they actually in many ways pick up some

of their characteristics and Natures

well this is even more profound in our

relationship with Christ because we are

separated from a dark World system that

is self- serving un the Lord we actually

in the relationship become like the one

we’re separated

too now follow that

thought when you are offered something

in this case it was food that would

contaminate you with

thankfulness it enables the word of God

In Prayer to sanctify that which was

released against you and now become

something that is for

you

um thankfulness takes the

sting out of something sent your way to

harm

you oh goodness I am almost out of time

I’m going to go over a couple minutes

because we can afford it on this service

but just a couple

minutes I take it thank you I receive

it

thankfulness

I had a a friend

acquaintance in dialogue with this last

summer was writing a

book at least part of the book against

me and against

us and uh so I wrote him and I told him

I welcome the

book I welcome it not because I think it

will add to the health of the body of

Christ but because what I want in life

is on the other side of facing

difficulty

well navigating betrayal or criticism

you know you can’t be trusted with

praise if you don’t trust him with

criticism you can’t you can’t be trusted

with gain if you don’t trust him in

loss you can’t be trusted with loyal

friends if you don’t trust him in

betrayal and so while I don’t think any

of these things are designed of the Lord

I’m going to embrace them and learn how

to navigate life through those

challenging situations why because of

the prayers I’ve prayed I’ve prayed the

same scary prayers you’ve prayed God I

want to see everyone that we come into

contact with healed I want to see

everybody saved in our city God we want

to see Nations discipled these are huge

prayers but they are not released upon

careless people because careless people

become preoccupied with themselves in

the midst of the glory being manifest

the glory being poured out and so

difficulties come our way what is it

it’s just simply an opp opportunity

Unity to learn how to monitor my heart

to give thanks in all things rejoice in

all things pray in every situation

absolute dependency on him why this is

what we were born for and what I want is

on the other end of adverse winds and

I’ve got to learn how to use my sail and

the rudder if you will to tack until I

can make the advancements necessary to

get me to where I want to

go so I I I told him I said I I don’t

welcome it because I

I think it’ll help us but I do welcome

him you know he wrote back very kindly

and ended up a long long dialogue that

isn’t the point of the discussion today

except that he he openly openly repented

and and changed that particular part of

his

book and uh it’s not up for discuss it’s

not necessary for today but the the

point is is being thankful for

things that you think the enemy sent you

away it doesn’t mean I’m thankful for

the book I am thankful for the

opportunity to

grow I’m thankful that if I learn to

navigate this right he can trust me with

more I don’t like it it’s not something

I’d volunteer for but I gave up my

rights when I said

yes when I said the big yes I gave up my

right to to bargain for what kind of

circumstances I’m willing to

face and thankfulness is like man it’s

like the number one virtue that changes

a person’s life and dare I say the

entire nature of a

city I think thankfulness can change the

nature of a family

line yeah amen all right Happy

Thanksgiving