The Bible tells us to rejoice in the Lord always. Pastor Bill Johnson shares a convicting Thanksgiving Day message exhorting us to choose gratefulness and thankfulness. Joy is a choice. It is always at hand and within reach. This thanksgiving day message will invite you to stand as powerful people knowing that joy is always within reach.
[Applause]
thank you
wow wow happy thanksgiving
bobby connor is going to be with us
tonight it’s gonna be so good
i miss bobby i love bobby and i miss him
i’m so glad
so glad he’s gonna be here i was just at
twin view speaking
and my phone while i was talking
just came alive and started playing
jeremy riddle’s new album
which means more it’s titled more so i
just feel like god is saying
even my phones will cry out
[Applause]
my favorite story happened in brian
nickens
class on the gospel of john while he was
teaching
his phone was off to the side
it just came on on its own and siri
spoke
and said in my realm anyone can do
anything
that’s got to grab your attention we
didn’t know siri was a prophetess
here it comes she’s a part of the
apostolic movement
[Music]
i know i know
[Applause]
yeah the more of them just started
singing while i was talking i thought
where’s that music coming from i know it
oh oops oops i’ll turn it off turn it
off
i have some blonde jokes
again you know i know it’s not correct i
just forgive me ahead of time but just
to keep it even these are blonde men
jokes
so so so all of the blonde men i’m sorry
just pretend it’s gray haired men all
right
a friend told a blonde man christmas is
on friday this year
the blonde man then said let’s hope it’s
not the 13th
two blonde men find three grenades and
they decide to take them to the police
station
one asked what if one explodes before we
get there
the other one said we’ll lie and tell
them we only found two
[Laughter]
blonde man is in the bathroom his wife
shouts did you find the shampoo
he answers yes but i’m not sure what to
do it’s for dry hair and i’ve already
got my hair wet
a blind man sees a letter laying on his
doormat
on the envelope it says do not bend he
spends the next two hours trying to
figure out how to pick it up
[Applause]
sorry it’s not over yet you have to
endure we have to endure pain just a
little bit longer
a blonde man shouts frantically on the
phone to his doctor
says my wife is pregnant her
contractions are only two minutes apart
the doctor asks is this her first child
no
he shouts this is her husband
blonde man is driving home he’s drunk as
can be
suddenly has to swerve to avoid a tree
then another and then another
cop car pulls him over he tells the cop
about all the trees in the road
the cop says that’s your air freshener
swinging on your mirror
[Applause]
there’s just three more then the pain
will be over
[Applause]
blonde man’s dog goes missing he’s
frantic
his wife says why don’t you put an ad in
the paper he does but two weeks later
the dog’s still missing
she says what’d you put in the paper he
said here boy here boy
[Laughter]
just two more two more then it’s over
[Applause]
blonde man’s in jail guard looks in a
cell
sees him hanging by his feet he says
what are you doing he says i’m hanging
myself
the guard says it should be around your
neck he said i tried that but then i
couldn’t breathe
[Applause]
[Laughter]
[Applause]
i hope you’re enjoying this because i’m
using valuable sermon time for this
one more one more an italian tourist
[Applause]
this is the true i was in germany and i
and i i shared this joke and my
translator
started laughing so hard i just i lost
him i
he he was so overcome with laughter that
he kept repeating in his head the the
joke i think it was the one about uh
scientists have found that women who add
a few extra pounds live longer than the
men who mention it
but he just lost it it was hard hard to
get a good translation out of him after
that at that point
all right one last one italian tourists
ask a blonde man why do scuba divers
always fall backwards off their boats to
which the blonde man replies
if they fell forward they’d still be in
their boats
[Laughter]
[Applause]
i’m sorry yeah
yeah you’re very kind all right let’s
get going we’ve got we’ve got 30 minutes
to go
um i want you to go to first timothy
chapter 4.
one of the most significant truths to
really be embraced and taught on in the
last 20 plus years
has been the whole concept of
impartation
it’s it’s just such a rich truth because
there can be a grace an anointing a
gifting of one person’s life and they
can pray for someone else
and they actually start functioning in
that area
but what’s kind of humorous to me i
you just forgive me for my sense of
humor again
that what’s kind of humorous to me is
oftentimes people come and ask for
prayer
for something that is actually a mark of
maturity that you can’t get through
maturity through importation
if only that were true man we could just
line up and be like paul tomorrow you
know
maturity comes from choices making
decisions
so you can pray for someone you can be
one minute old in jesus and pray for
somebody who has cancer
and they can be healed it didn’t come
the gifting didn’t come from maturity
excuse me the gifting yeah it didn’t
come from years in christ it just came
from grace the maturity comes when
you are not faced with decisions what
are you going to do with the fact
somebody just got healed through you do
you think it’s your significance
do you think you are the source of the
gift do you think you’re the source of
the faith
how is the story shared is it shared
with you at the center
or jesus and all all we do in those
moments is we’re
we’re allow the lord is actually
measuring
what realm or measure of glory can we
live with can we carry
see the original target of the lord for
every person was to actually live
in the glory of god and just for
simplicity sake will define the glory as
the manifested presence of jesus
it’s the actualized presence of god
and so the scripture says all have
fallen short
of the glory of god so sin means to miss
the mark so
sin causes people to miss god’s intended
target what was the intended target
the glory of god to live in the
manifested presence of christ
not just as a point of theology not just
as a point of doctrine i am in christ he
is in me
but more than that actualize realized
reality that we live from
where we see the god of scripture appear
in unusual ways and
rest upon people in unusual ways the
manifestations in the temple or
tabernacle
that is actually the manifestation that
is potentially
a part of everybody in this life who has
a personal relationship with jesus
so all have sinned and fallen short of
the glory
mr mark what does salvation do it
restores us to the target
it doesn’t restore us halfway to the
target so that in heaven we can get the
rest
when jesus said it was enough he
actually meant i did everything needed
to accomplish the original plan
and so jesus
intends to live is it lives among us
lives in
us rests upon us but there are measures
of presence that are yet to be
discovered that have been discovered in
prior generations
this isn’t the subject to this i’ve got
to be careful not to get too lost into
that but
let me just say this his desire is to
fully reveal himself who he is upon his
people
fully but the weightiness of that
revelation would crush
many people who are following the lord
because there are fractures in their
thinking fractures in their values
it’s not that they don’t genuinely love
jesus it’s just they have
a weakness in their foundation that
needs to be revealed
gently and carefully so that the lord
can bring healing there
it is true it is true the lord’s not
afraid of bringing
junk up in our life bringing it to the
surface but he brings it to the surface
so it can be dealt with he never brings
it to the surface
to shame us or to mock us he only brings
it out so that we will see what he’s
been seeing all along
what confession is is we just make
agreement with what he already knows to
be true
oh god forgive me i’m so arrogant and
proud he says yeah i knew that that’s
not a shock to me
i just allowed you to see it in this
situation that you’re just very
self-centered so we’re going to break
that
and what happens he brings it to the
surface so that we can acknowledge it
because once we deeply confess and
repent he gives us the grace
to forsake that which kept us in bondage
all right back to the subject so
the choices that we have uh throughout
life are where
where the the muscle of integrity the
muscle of characters
developed in uh in
lifting weights for example if you if
you lift a
light weight 100 times it’s not going to
build muscle
it’s when you build something it’s when
you lift something that really pushes
your capacity
and maybe you can only lift that thing
three times but it’s the third time that
works the most
it’s the hardest lift that’s that’s what
actually accomplished the most
and when we have difficult situations
rise up in our life it’s always for the
purpose of building characters never to
shame
it’s never to mock it’s never to
intimidate or humiliate
it’s always the invitation to come into
christ into a place of greater strength
that’s why in uh um
first thessalonians 5 he says rejoice
always
pray without ceasing and everything give
thanks
for this is god’s will in christ jesus
concerning
think through this now rejoice always
pray without ceasing in everything give
thanks for this is god’s will in christ
concerning you
one of the most overwhelming or uh i
shouldn’t say overwhelming one of the
most
frequently repeated prayers or requests
from this family of believers especially
including our school
is this heart to know god’s will for our
life and
generally what that is reduced to is god
do you want me to be a missionary or a
veterinarian or school teacher or pastor
or whatever we we want to do what he
wants us to do
it’s a legitimate prayer it’s a
legitimate request
i’m not sure god’s as concerned about
that as he is about this
this says rejoice always pray without
ceasing and everything give thanks for
this is god’s will
in christ concerning you
this is the will of god for my life i
remember as a young man
you know just past starting to pastor in
weberville i was reading through
thessalonians reading through these
verses
and these verses just jumped out at me
rejoice always pray without ceasing and
everything give thanks
and i i came face to face with the fact
man
i could only have those three verses and
it would take the rest of my life for me
to learn it
i mean if i had nothing else to read
with those three verses i’d have a
full-time job
ahead of me because to rejoice always to
pray without ceasing and everything give
thanks
it just means you have you have
disciplined responses
to levels of difficulty and challenges
and opportunities
that you face you have disciplined
responses that help to form and to shape
the character in us
and remember it’s that is that it’s that
character that is able to carry
the weightiness of what god is doing in
the earth
he’s looking for people he can entrust
himself to
the holy impartation idea came i’ve been
thinking for years i wish
if there’s one thing i could ask of the
lord to be able to impart to people it
would be a thankful heart
you just don’t get it through
impartation you get it through choices
do you know in in the in nehemiah it’s
kind of a
to me it’s it’s an awkward uh part of a
story it’s in
chapter 11 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
uh what do you do for a living i i i
give thanks
picture thanks yeah like what 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 mentioned 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
you bypass the limitation
of your own emotional condition and you
make mature choices
which activates 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
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
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
for ever because 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
tarmac 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
fish 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 the freeway
no problem you go as fast as you want
not a problem for me pulls in front of
you and then slows down
[Applause]
it’s not a big deal it’s just wrong it’s
just wrong
have they no conscience
where’s the conviction of the spirit of
god when we need it
rejoice always pray without ceasing
rejoice always is choosing joy
it’s actually it wouldn’t be commanded
if it wasn’t within the reach
of a choice
joy is 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’s always within reach
pray without ceasing it’s kind of like
the same as rejoice always
without ceasing means just always
just pray and don’t stop
interestingly philippians says um
philippians base i’ll just quote it to
you it’s it make reference to
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 on
focus
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 won’t have we don’t
pray just to you know
we’re not running on a treadmill just
trying to cover the miles
we want to bring impact our heart is to
bring change
to see it in our own lives our families
a world around us we want to see
things take place because we’ve prayed
thankfulness is what helps to keep
prayers on target
there are times where i’m praying for
somebody ministering to somebody
that say they’re sick let’s say they
have 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 precise 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 i 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 things 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 it is that place of dependency
place of acknowledgement
the the strength in prayer is not that
you complain or bellyache about
a problem it’s that you’ve 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
it 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
how many of you have you’ve ever made a
prayer list out
how many of you if you have not written
one you certainly have one in your mind
i mean i
i’ve got them in my ipads i’ve got this
i’ve got lists in there things that i
pray for
you know just stuff stuff that i can
contend for i just get before the lord
god we’ve got to see breakthrough we’ve
got to see breakthrough there
and 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
then i’m conscious of blessing
i will tend to pray out of a whole
instead of from heavenly places
i will stay i’ll tend to pray more out
of a place
desperation is not bad so 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 thankfully homestead take a
look at me with uh first timothy
chapter five excuse me chapter four
first timothy chapter four verse one
we’re gonna 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 marry commanding to
abstain from foods
which god created to be received with
thank thanksgiving
by those who believe and know the truth
look at this again verses 1 and 2 gives
us warning
i don’t know how your bible reading goes
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
righteousness
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
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 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’s
let me illustrate this way there are
people who have certain kinds of
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 it 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 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 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 mary
commanding to abstain from foods which
god created to receive
with thanks thanksgiving let me just
stop there
this is kind of a weird deal paul’s
warning
timothy and the group that he leads he’s
warning them he said listen
we know people’s hearts are going to
grow cold they’re going to be come
deceived by demons this all this junk is
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 rules
[Applause]
so here’s a list of rules that’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 is he expands the list
says you you follow this dance to 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 4
i i didn’t plan this but having gone
hunting this last week
is just the perfect verse to read for
every creature of god is good i believe
that right next to the potatoes i
am
i i went on an outreach with my boys
this week
we reached out and touched the heart
[Applause]
harvested protein to sustain a revival
that’s what it is
all right that’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
in 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 it is now
used for your benefit because it is
sanctified with prayer in the word of
god
sanctified sanctified it’s 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
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
or 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 nature’s
well this is even more profound in our
relationship with christ because we
are separated from a dark world system
that is self-serving
unto the lord we actually in the
relationship become like the one we’re
separated to
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 becomes something that is for
you
um thankfulness
takes the sting out of something sent
your way to harm you
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’ll receive it
thankfulness
i had 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 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 a
gain if you don’t trust him in laws
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
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
opportunity 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 told him i said i i don’t welcome
it because i
i think it’ll help us but i do welcome
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
discussion 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
all right happy thanksgiving i want you
to stand up
i do wish it was something it could be
imparted through prayer though and
i think i’d walk all through town just
going
receive receive let’s see
he said i enter his gates with
thanksgiving in my heart
courts with praise
a thankful heart remains aware of his
presence
thankful heart brings breakthrough
refines the focus of prayer
i’ve you know to be honest i feel like
i’m
i live pretty thankful
almost all the time except when i’m
flying
that’s just a joke i’m very thankful
sitting in the air at 40
000 feet going i’m just sitting up here
really high off the ground i’m thankful
this plane is working
yes
i better stop
thankful but i i can feel it in my heart
the need for the always
you know when he says always most of the
time doesn’t cut it
[Laughter]
can you imagine him saying rejoice
always you know just try
if you get most of the time you and i
both know that’s progress
so father i do pray for just a
heightened
of the privilege to live in the virtue
of thankfulness
i thank you god that you’ve already
impacted our city
church and our city with your presence
your purpose your will
but i ask even more this week through
thankful hearts in jesus name
i want to ask question now before we
take off
i live more and more and more concerned
for those who just
simply do not have a personal
relationship with jesus
that’s always been the case but it’s
just right in front of me almost all the
time now
and so i don’t want to dismiss today
until i give opportunity
for anyone here who would say bill i
don’t have a personal relationship with
jesus i’ve not turned from my life to
follow him i don’t know what it is to be
forgiven of sin
i don’t know what it’s like to have god
as my personal father
and yet you want that if that’s you
then i want you just to put a hand up in
the air and i’ll just make agreement
with
with you where you are then you just say
bill i don’t want to leave the building
till i know i’m at peace with god till i
know i’m right with god
if there’s anyone in in the building
that fits in that category put your hand
up please
i want to give opportunity okay
looks like we’re all in all right let me
have ministry team come to the front
tom once you come up if you could hold
your places please
it really helps us a lot for this
transition