Rejoice and be Thankful

 Life itself,

Hello. Welcome, today. We just finished up a series entitled "Being Bold for Christ." We talked about considering the cost of becoming a child of God. You could lose your loved ones, your job, property, freedom, and, in some cases, your life. Yet Yeshua tells us that we should have no fear of any of this for we will gain so much more. He said this to Peter.

“And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.” Matthew 19:29

Do you know one of the surest ways to be bold for Christ? Rejoice and be thankful. No. I mean truly grateful. For what? Everything! Everything. Every day! Not just the last Thursday in November. Not just because it is your time to say grace at the family dinner. EVERY DAY!

I’m also not just talking about your Job. Your home. Family. Health, or whatever. I’m talking about every breath you take. EVERYTHING! Along with everything, it needs to be true and honest thanksgiving and contentment.

Some people need help figuring out where to start. OK. Fair enough. Let's talk about this for the next few weeks. We will touch on these to get you started thinking.

Life itself.
Forgiveness of Sins.
The Adoption into His Family.
Your Spouse.
Your Children.
Your Home and Daily Needs are being met.
Countless and even Unknown Blessings.

Let's start today with the simplest to understand. You are here. You exist. God gave you this current life itself. If you have your Bible, turn to Psalm 139. Start at vs. 2

“You know when I sit down and when I rise; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.”

Say “God is there.” Repeat it. “God is there.” When you are sleeping, He is there. When you are waking up, He is there. When you go to school or work, God is there. Read on.

“Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.”

Just the fact that you are breathing, is a gift from God and is a great reason to rejoice and be thankful.

“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night," Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.”

Say “God is there.” Why? Because HE created you. He made you.

”For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”

I remember talking to someone about this, 

“Just the fact there is a painting is proof that there was an Artist.”

Just because you are here, in this world that God created, along with you, is proof that there is a God. We will get back to Psalm 139 in a second. We read things like this throughout His Word.

“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse Romans 1:20

Say "perceived." Not just seen. Rather seen and what? "Clearly perceived" Fully understood. And here

“To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” Psalm 19:1

One more?

“For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): “I am the Lord, and there is no other.” Isaiah 45:18

Ok, one last one.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:1-3

The fact that you are here is proof that there is a God. Just the fact that the world is here is proof there is a God. As a side note? Well, not really. You are exactly the way God wants you to be, Back to Psalm 139

“My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”

You are 6 foot tall, or 4 foot 11. You are Male or Female. Yes, you are. God does not make mistakes. All this other nonsense is that. Nonsense and confusion are created for and by the devil. You have blonde hair, red, or brown. The Word declares that God loves you so that when He was creating you, He even counted the very hairs on your head. Yeshua told us this.

“But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.” Matthew 10:30

This is why it is so important to simply rejoice and be thankful that God loved you so much that He created you. He created a plan and a purpose for your life. He created you. He is always there. Back to Psalm 139, verse 17

“How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me!”

Think about this next part. This is why you need to be bold for Christ. This is King David talking about those in his time. However, it is just as true today as it ever was.

“They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise against you? I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.”

Then we get to a scary prayer for some to even think about praying. Why? Because many people do not want to know. Ready?

”Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! Psalm 139:2-24

What if I pray this prayer and God tells me “Yes.” “There are some grievous ways in you, and you must change.” Most people do not want to think of themselves as bad people. They like the way they are and they think they are just fine. What if God sees you a bit differently? Remember the rich man who asked to follow Him, and what He said to him? Turn to Mark 17. Start at Verse 17

“And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'"

These still apply by the way.

“And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” Mark 10:17-22

That kinda sounds like the opposite of what we see on TBN and some mega-church pastors preaching the “Prosperity Gospel.” Doesn’t it?

Even before we get into any of this, salvation, family, daily needs, or even the blessing we are not even aware of, we have this. The fact that you are alive. You exist. God arranged it so that your earthly father and mother met, knew each other, and you came about exactly when and how God wanted it to be. That alone should be worthy of your praise and thankfulness.

We can all be thankful for this. Then there is the Adoption for those who accept it. You see, you can be thankful that you are of God’s creation, but we are not all children of God. There is only one way to be a child of God. Through the adoption. Have you been?

Have you been adopted? If not, say this Prayer. Right now. Wherever you may be, say it in your own words, and do not doubt in your heart. God will hear you. He will send the Spirit of Life to you. Let us Pray.

"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Yeshua's sacrifice for me. I believed He rose from the dead. I repent my sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Yeshua, Amen!"

That's it. It is that simple. Now go tell someone what you have just done. "That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, You shall be saved." Romans 10:9. You need to find a Church that God leads you to and be Baptized the way Jesus said to be. You are now a Child of God. A New Creature. You "have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him."Colossians 3:10

The email, if you wish to contact me, is truthbygod1@gmail.com

May the comfort of the Holy Ghost, and the peace of our Lord Yeshua, be with you all. May God bless and be with you, always.

Until next time, be blessed, be a blessing, and Yeshua is Lord!