Be Thankful

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Welcome, all of you who are listening, all of you who are reading. I thank God for you. Today we’re going to talk about being thankful. Let’s turn to 1 Chron 15:25-28, So David, the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-Edom with joy. And so it was, when God helped the Levites who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that they offered seven bulls and seven rams. David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who bore the ark, the singers, and Chenaniah the music master with the singers. David also wore a linen ephod. Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn, with trumpets and with cymbals, making music with stringed instruments and harps. Chapter 16, verses 1-36, So they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. Then he distributed to everyone of Israel, both man and woman, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. And he appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to commemorate, to thank, and to praise the Lord God of Israel: Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, and Obed-Edom: Jeiel with stringed instruments and harps, but Asaph made music with cymbals; Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests regularly blew the trumpets before the ark of the covenant of God. On that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the Lord: 

David's Song of Thanks

Oh, give thanks to the Lord! 

Call upon His name; 

Make known His deeds among the peoples! 

Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; 

Talk of all His wondrous works! 

Glory in His holy name; 

Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! 

Seek the Lord and His strength; 

Seek His face evermore! 

Remember His marvelous works which He has done, 

His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth, 

O seed of Israel His servant, 

You children of Jacob, His chosen ones! 

He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth. 

Remember His covenant forever, 

The Word which He commanded, for a thousand generations, 

The covenant which He made with Abraham, 

And His oath to Isaac, 

And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, 

To Israel for an everlasting covenant, 

Saying, To you I will give the land of Canaan 

As the allotment of your inheritance, 

When you were few in number, 

Indeed very few, and strangers in it. 

When they went from one nation to another, 

And from one kingdom to another people, 

He permitted no man to do them wrong; 

Yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes, 

Saying, Do not touch My anointed ones, 

And do My prophets no harm. 

Sing to the Lord, all the earth; 

Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. 

Declare His glory among the nations, 

His wonders among all peoples. 

For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; 

He is also to be feared above all gods. 

For all the gods of the peoples are idols, 

But the Lord made the heavens. 

Honor and majesty are before Him; 

Strength and gladness are in His place. 

Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples, 

Give to the Lord glory and strength. 

Give to the Lord the glory due His name; 

Bring an offering, and come before Him. 

Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! 

Tremble before Him, all the earth. 

The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved. 

Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; 

And let them say among the nations, The Lord reigns. 

Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; 

Let the field rejoice, and all that is in it. 

Then the trees of the woods shall rejoice before the Lord, 

For He is coming to judge the earth. 

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! 

For His mercy endures forever. 

And say, Save us, O God of our salvation; 

Gather us together, and deliver us from the Gentiles, 

To give thanks to Your holy name, 

To triumph in Your praise. 

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! 

And all the people said, Amen! and praised the Lord. 

Let’s turn to Psalm 100:

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! 

Serve the Lord with gladness; 

Come before His presence with singing. 

Know that the Lord, He is God; 

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; 

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, 

And into His courts with praise. 

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 

For the Lord is good; 

His mercy is everlasting, 

And His truth endures to all generations.

 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! 

Let’s turn to Rom 1:18-25, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.  Verse 21, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Let’s turn to Col 1:9-14, For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, in whom we have redemption through His Blood, the forgiveness of sins. 

Let’s turn to Rev 4:1-11. Yesterday my wife and I were having lunch together at our kitchen table, and it came in my heart to read this account in Rev 4 about what it is like at the Throne of God right now. Verse 1, After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this. Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads. And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come! 

Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created. As I was having lunch with my wife at our table, I said to her, When I see God, the first thing that I will say to Him is, Thank You ! When I said that to her, the Lord spoke to my heart and said, You can say that to Me now. And as we began to thank Him, His presence came upon both of us, and remained upon us. God was there at our table, as we lifted up our hands, thanking Him and praising Him with all our hearts, for at least 15 to 20 minutes. He also spoke to us by tongues and interpretation, saying to us to look up unto Him, and walk with Him; that He is with us unto the end. This was a real time of refreshing in the presence of the Lord. As it says in Psalm 100, Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful unto Him and bless His name, for He is good, and His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. As you begin to thank Him, and praise Him with all your heart, for all that He has done for you, first of all, by giving us His Son to suffer and die for our sins to bring us into fellowship with Him, to deliver us from all the power of darkness and bring us into His marvelous light; as you thank Him and praise Him for the things He has done in your life, for His kindness to you, and His great mercy in your life, for the “little” things, and the great things, for the people in your life; whatever comes into your heart, as you thank Him and praise Him, you will enter into His presence; He will respond if you are truly thankful. And by His presence and His power He will refresh you. He may show you something you need to repent of, to Him, or to someone you know. Then, as the Apostle Peter said, Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you. God appreciates it very much when we give Him thanks; He takes notice. He also takes notice, as we read in Romans, when we are not thankful; when we murmur and complain. It did not go well for the Children of Israel in the wilderness when they murmured and complained. Even if you are going through a very hard and difficult time, if you will pause and come before Him, and begin to thank Him, and give Him a real sacrifice of praise, He will respond; He will move on your behalf, and you will be lifted up above the trouble; you will be able to endure it, and He will be with you, and He will comfort you, and you will be able to comfort others that are in any trouble.

So, right now, those of you who are listening, those of you who are reading, especially if you are, as I just said: if you are in a situation of great trouble, of great pressure, of great distress; maybe you’ve lost a loved one, maybe you’re injured, maybe you’re having great trouble and oppression from the powers of darkness: remember your Lord, and how He suffered for you on the Cross, and all that He went through for you, and begin to give thanks! Just begin to thank God with whatever comes into your heart, whatever you are thankful for, whatever He shows you; give Him thanks right now! So we just thank you Father! We worship you together! We give you praise and honor and thanksgiving! Praise you Father! Praise you Father! Praise you Father! We just worship you and we thank you Father! Praise you Jesus, and thank you for your love and your sacrifice for us on the Cross! 

Interpretation of a message in tongues:

I am God Almighty! Those of you who are listening today to my servant Rob, Obey My voice! Listen to these Words that he has spoken to you! They are My Words. I ordained him to speak these Words to you today. If you will respond; if you will call upon My name; if you will be thankful unto Me, I will do as I have spoken; I will lift you up; I will inhabit your praises; I will bless you with My presence, if you will call upon Me and be thankful! But if you will continue to complain and murmur against Me, you will not be happy; you will suffer for it, says the Lord! So hearken diligently to My servant, and give Me thanks!, and you will see what I will do in your life, says the Lord.