We are Called to Live Thanks

Called to Live Thanks (ThanksLiving)

A. ThanksLiving is an overflow of giving thanks

We see in the Bible time and time again.  Example: Psalm 86:12"I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever."  

Whole-heartedness in Scripture is mind, will, emotions, soul, and body. Everything about you and me is to give thanks as a response to the Lord.

For what do we give thanks?

* For all people (1 Timothy 2:1).

* For your food (1 Timothy 4:3).

* In your talk (Ephesians 5:4).

* In your prayers (Philippians 4:6).

* For your spiritual preferences (Romans 14:6).

* For everything you do (Colossians 3:17).

* To God for everything (Ephesians 5:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:18), for this is God’s will!

Thanksliving is not only a command; it is also the expected overflow of a soul embraced by Jesus.

B. ThanksLiving is God's will to live his way

You are called to live from an overflowing heart of gratitude. This is because we are "rooted and built up in him and established in the faith...abounding in thanksgiving!"(Colossians 2:7) 

Praise and thanks are a priority for you as believers.

Thanksliving takes discipline - Disciplines of a grateful heart

C. ThanksLiving is fuel for the flourishing life

Gratitude and thanksliving is a fuel for the flourishing life? 

Some of the qualities of a flourishing life or abundant life in Christ:

Gratitude is a significant catalyst for contentment and contentment is a base for all the hues and tints of an enriched, flourishing life.

Contentment is the state God wants us to live.

Merrill Unger defined it:

                   The word means ‘sufficiency,’ and so it is rendered 

                   inII Cor. 9:8. It is that disposition of mind, through 

                   grace, in which one is independent of outward 

                   circumstances so as not to be moved by envy, anxiety        

                   and repining.

Note:latest research by neuroscience shows the positive effects practicing gratitude has: it is the perspective that can enrich your life.

Chapter 11– 

…happiness, joy, and even exultation are traits of an enriched life. More than traits, they are fruits. Like the attitude of gratitude, contentment is a mindset, and one that locks arms with thankfulness. In a sense, gratitude and thanksgiving are the mental and emotional tools that build contentment.  Contentment grows from and then feeds gratitude. They have this healthy and positive symbiotic relationship that provides substance for a flourishing life. Gratitude is the perspective that can blossom into contentment, which in turn can provide an enriched life.

One example is in 2 Corinthians 9:11-12: 

"You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.”

God calls us to be grateful and thankful:

1.   Give Thanks (biblically, centers on 3 things):

a.   His name (character)

b.  His fame (providential acts in history)

c.   His claim (redemptive work) 

2.   Live Thanks

a.   An overflow of grateful heart

b.  God’s will for your life is to live in gratitude

c.   As a fuel for the flourishing life in Christ

     “To be grateful is an obligation God commands and expects. Yet, this duty is not a burden since it is an exercise for our own good. Why? Because gratitude enlarges our hearts in ways that opens greater space for us to love all of the good God wants to pour into it.”