A Heart of Thanksgiving (...cont)

Causes of an ungrateful heart

Like we said last week, no one on earth has any reason to complain. If we sit down and bring to our remembrance all that God has done for us, we will find ourselves on our knees thanking Him, if not with teary eyes repenting for being ungrateful. Right from birth, our lives have been a miracle. Many children die before they are born; we lived through and had a successful birth. Many children lose their parents during birth, or are born with diseases or infirmities. Some die in their early years of infancy. Diseases have attacked some of us all through, being in and out of hospitals, but we are still here. Some have gone through abuse and neglect, some have grown up without parents, but God’s grace still ensured we are here. We have all rebelled against God at one point or another and deserved death, but even in our rebellion God still preserved us, and we came through. Many people die in their rebellion. The devil had a right to kill and destroy us when we were in sin, as we were his slaves and children (Romans 6:16); God kept and preserved us. Even in coming back to God, none of us did anything except believe and accept Christ, which was also by His help. All the while we were in sin, His goodness and mercy was following us (Psalm 23:6), and finally goodness led us to repentance!

Romans 2:4

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

In spite of all the mess we got ourselves in through rebellion, some addictions, bad habits, evil hearts etc., God still loved us and led us to Himself.

Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God forgave us, washed us clean, and has worked with us to bring us where we are spiritually. Even after being saved we still have not lived perfect lives, but hasn’t God been merciful? Who can stand and say that since they were saved they have not seen one mighty act of God, or have done all they could and all that is written in the scriptures, to deserve God’s goodness? Who has not seen God’s grace in action in their lives, not matching up to His standards of holiness in our actions and yet God has fed us, clothed us, forgiven us, answered our prayers, housed us, educated us, given us jobs and businesses etc.? Is it because we deserved it all? NO way! It is because He is simply good.

As I said last week, no one has any reason to be ungrateful, and at any point we have a reason to give thanks. If God does not do any single thing more for us, we still have more than enough reason to be thankful to Him, always. Our situations and circumstances do not negate or nullify what God has done, or Who He is, granting us a reason to be ungrateful and complain.

In summary, complaining is dangerous because:

• It keeps us from receiving from God as it chokes our faith and introduces unbelief, and without faith we cannot please God (Heb. 11:6). With unbelief, we can never receive anything from God (James 1:6-8).
• It opens the door to the enemy. As we saw in the story of the children of Israel from 1 Cor. 10:10, they complained and for that reason they were destroyed by the destroyer. When we complain, we open a door to the enemy, who can destroy us if we are not careful. E.g. if we complain about finances, that they are never enough, the destroyer will ensure that they will never be enough, and will bring up things that will ensure that we never have enough, e.g. sicknesses, crisis etc. Since we have already allowed complaining, that comes with unbelief, we can never walk in healing, and thus never come out of “not having enough.” The enemy will ensure that the cause of our complaining stays, so that we always give him a place, with our complaining. We are told not to give the devil a place in our lives (Eph. 4:27). Complaining is one way of giving place to the devil. If you want to keep the devil at bay out of your life, always abound in thanksgiving in everything, and you will never cross paths with the destroyer. This is why Paul says that he has learnt to be content in everything, whether he had or not, knowing that He could do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Phil 4:11-13). If you are always content with what you have, you will never find yourself complaining.
• Complaining hardens our heart. Just like any sin, complaining hardens our heart towards God and keeps us from fellowship with Him (Heb. 3:12-13).
• Complaining quenches the Spirit of God. In 1 Thess. 5:16-18, we are told to rejoice always, pray without ceasing and give thanks in everything, for this is the will of God. The verse following this tells us not to quench the Spirit of God, indicating that when we fail to rejoice, pray without ceasing and give thanks in everything, we are prone to quench the Spirit of God. This means that if He wanted to do something for you or help you receive something, He can’t since you are already complaining, and giving a place to the devil. Always keep in mind that whenever you are complaining, you are quenching the Spirit of God.
• Complaining is tempting Christ. As we have seen in 1 Cor. 10:9, the children of Israel, by complaining against the manna God gave them, tempted Christ, as the manna was a symbolism of Jesus, the bread of life. Whenever we have the word of God, which is Jesus Himself (John 1:1-3, 14), and yet complain, we are tempting Christ. We can never enjoy fellowship with Christ and receive from Him if we are always complaining against Him. We cut ourselves away from Him, as we have seen earlier through hardening of our hearts.
• Complaining leads to idolatry. As we also saw in the story of the children of Israel, through complaining eventually they found themselves making carved images to worship (1 Cor. 10:6-7). If you are always complaining against God, how can you worship and trust Him? Eventually He will no longer be exalted in your eyes, and you will start finding alternatives to what He can provide for you. For example, if you are always complaining that your finances are never enough as compared to the rising economy, you cannot successfully have faith in God as your provider, so you will turn to other sources to provide for you, with time. This is where people start idolizing money and people, not having faith in God. It all started when they entertained the spirit of murmuring.

So, in general, complaining is harmful to us and our relationship with God.

What causes an ungrateful heart?

1.      Fear. Like we saw in the story of the children of Israel when they saw Pharaoh and the Egyptian army (Exodus 14:10-12), fear results when we focus on what is coming against us, instead of focusing on WHO is on our side. Fear does not come from God; it comes from the devil (2 Timothy 1:7). Fear is the opposite of faith, and is an indicator of absence of faith. When we lack faith in the love of God, fear creeps in. Fear and faith can never co-exist. One takes the place of another, interchangeably. Behind every complaint is fear.

2.      Unbelief. Still drawing lessons from the story of the children of Israel in Exodus 14:10-12, we see that they believed more on the ability of Pharaoh and the Egyptian army to destroy them than in the power of God to save them. Whenever we find ourselves complaining and ungrateful, then unbelief is right there by our side. If you believe in God, and in His faithfulness, then you will be thankful in every situation. Unbelief is manifest when you have faith in anything else other than God, and is a direct result of ignorance.

3.      Ignorance. In order to be ungrateful and complain, the children of Israel had to ignore everything God did and who He was to them, and focus on what was facing them. Whenever you find yourself ungrateful and complaining, wondering why you should thank God, know that you have ignored all that God has done for you and Who He is, and have chosen to believe in and focus more on what is facing you. Philemon 6 says that the communication of our faith becomes effective by the acknowledging of every good thing that is in us in Christ Jesus. When we ignore what is in us, what God has already done and Who He is, then the communication of our faith becomes ineffective, and the communication of fear becomes effective.

4.      Comparison. In order for the children of Israel to be ungrateful all through their walk through the wilderness, they had something and someone to compare themselves to, and it all had to do with where they were before, in Egypt. God took them out of Egypt, but could not get them to get Egypt out of them. This is why eventually all of the generation that came from Egypt had to perish in the wilderness, except Joshua and Caleb, for God to start dealing with a new people who did not have Egypt in them (Deuteronomy 1:35-40). Comparison gives birth to ungratefulness. If you start comparing yourself with who you were before you got saved in terms of what you had, or with other people, then you will be ungrateful and will start complaining. God created us uniquely, and every person has his/her own purpose on earth. God is dealing with us differently, and at all points we are at different levels of Him dealing with us. We cannot all be the same, have the same things, do the same thing, expect the same things etc. For that to happen, we’d all have to be the same, have the same past, present and future.

For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. We, however, will not boast beyond measure, but within the limits of the sphere which God appointed us--a sphere which especially includes you.2 Cor. 10:12-13.

5.      Forgetfulness. As we saw last week, if the children of Israel could have remembered all that God had done for them, Who He is, what He had said and what He could do, then they would not have complained. As a result of forgetfulness, they found themselves complaining and unthankful for what He had done for them. 
 

The remedy for ungratefulness

So, how can we avoid being like the children of Israel, and not end up perishing in our self-centeredness?

1. Faith. Perfect love casts out fear:

1 John 4:17-18
And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. ¹⁷ Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

When we have fear, we will always start complaining. When you hear fear ring your doorbell, know that that’s an alarm for you to check your faith in God. Check your faith in the love of God. John in the above verses starts by saying that we have known and believed the love God has for us. If you have not known and believed the love God has for you, then you will be shaken by whatever comes your way, always being moved by your circumstances. A child who is always afraid while at home, afraid of lacking, being harmed etc., is one who does not believe in the love of their parents. If a child is afraid at all times, then they would not even get an opportunity to experience what their parents are capable of doing, and would end up doing the things for themselves: looking after themselves, protecting themselves etc., and would end up having no reason to be grateful for having their parents. Such children live as if they do not have parents.

Whenever we fear, we indicate that we do not believe in the love of our Father. Because of fear, we will go to extreme measures to look after ourselves, therefore denying ourselves of an opportunity of seeing God as our Source of everything, and therefore end up with no reason to be grateful to God. In the process, we deny ourselves an opportunity to see what God can do. God has given you all the faith you need, as you have the faith of Christ (Gal. 2:16, 20, 5:22-23, Romans 12:3, 2 Pet. 1:1, all KJV). If you believe, all things are possible (Mark 9:23). Faith is the valve that turns on the power of God in your life. All the faith you need is in you, in your spirit. Your mind is the valve that regulates the amount of faith you see manifested in your life. If your mind sees anything as impossible, then you stifle the amount of faith you will release to your situation. If your mind sees all things as possible, having been renewed by the word of God, then you will release much faith from your spirit to your situation, and see God’s power at work. This is why we Paul says this:

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us… Eph. 3:20.

If it was up to God, we would be experiencing tremendous power from Him working in our lives, since the power working in us is the same that raised Jesus from the dead (Eph. 1:19-20, Rom. 8:11). The problem is us. He cannot override our will and do things in our lives, which is why what He does is according to the power that works in us. If we allow this power to flow through faith, we will see God do much, and always have a reason to give thanks. If we hinder the power to flow through fear, then we will see God do much less, be overwhelmed by whatever is facing us, forget what He has done as we will focus more on what is facing us, and be ungrateful. When we have faith in the love of God, fear runs out of the door. Perfect love, as we have read, casts out fear. To cast is to pitch (as in a ball) or throw. Perfect love throws away fear. Faith works through love (Gal. 5:6). The more faith you have in the love of God, the less fear you will have in your life. God is love, so the more you know God the more you will believe in His love, and since the word of God is God Himself then the more you spend time in the word of God and fellowship with Him the more you will know, believe and experience His love. When this happens, thanksgiving will flow from you like an endless river, because even if God does nothing else, it is enough that He loves you, in spite of you!!

Have faith in God.

Mark 11:22-24.
"Have faith in God. ²³ "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. ²⁴ "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

1 John 5:14-15
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

If you believe that you have received, why complain? People do not complain because of what they have, they complain because of what they do not have. You have not because you ask not (James 4:2). If you ask, and do so according to His will, and have believed that you have received, why complain? If you have something, can you pray to get it again? No. You give thanks for it. So, if you do not have something, pray. When you pray, believe you have received it, and give thanks! If you wait till you see it to be thankful, you will wait a long while because that is not how the things of God works. For the world, it is seeing is believing. For God, believing is seeing. If we pray about everything we feel we need, and believe we have received, it, why would we complain in the first place?

Philippians 4:6-7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

All our prayer should be accompanied with thanksgiving. After we present all our requests to God with thanksgiving through prayer and supplication, Paul says this is when the peace of God works in our lives. So not only does thanksgiving help us receive what we need from God, but it also comes with a bonus of peace! Why do we need peace? Because everything God has given us is in spiritual form (Eph. 1:3), and so when we pray we believe that we have received, in the spiritual form. Before it manifests in the physical, it may take a few seconds, minutes, hours, days, months or even years. As it does, we are supposed to remain in thanksgiving, and we need peace while we wait, or else unbelief and unrest creeping in our hearts and minds will keep us from receiving the manifestation of whatever we have believed God for. Whenever you experience restlessness, abound in thanksgiving, believing that you have received, and the peace of God will guard you heart and mind. Our mind needs to be guarded because as we think so are we (Prov. 23:7), and out of our hearts spring the issues of life (Prov. 4:23). If unguarded, we will think negatively and so end up being negative, and produce out of our hearts all manner of evil (Matt. 12:33-37). Thanksgiving will help keep your heart and mind in good condition!

Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God…

Colossians 2:6-7
As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,⁷ rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

We got saved through faith by grace, and we are required to keep walking through faith by grace. If you put growing in faith your goal, you will always abound in thanksgiving. Growth in faith is not automatic, it takes effort, as we know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 1:17). If you and when you stop growing in faith, then you will cease to be a thankful person.

2. Fighting unbelief. The more unbelief we have in our lives, the less thankful we will be, and the less we will see God’s power working in our lives. You may wonder why I’m talking about unbelief if I talked about faith above. Can you have faith and unbelief at the same time? Yes.

Mark 9:23-24
Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."  ²⁴ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"

We may believe, but that does not keep the devil from throwing in darts of unbelief in our lives. If we do not take care of these thoughts, they will creep in our hearts, and when they do then we cannot receive from God.

James 1:6-8
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Matthew 17:20-21

"Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. ²¹ "However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

We need to guard our thoughts against unbelief, coz if we don’t then it will creep in our hearts, and hinder us from receiving. Unbelief that has gotten to the heart can only come out through prayer and fasting, as Jesus said. It will require you to humble yourself and starve the flesh, for you to access the faith in your spirit and avail it in your heart once again, through prayer and fasting and spending time in the word of God, for you to function without unbelief again. If you have unbelief in your heart, do not ignore it, as it will definitely keep you unthankful, as you will never receive anything from God with unbelief. As you grow in faith, guard yourself against unbelief.

3. Fighting ignorance. The Bible says that God’s people perish because of lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). Ignorance will not only keep us ungrateful, but also cause us to perish. They usually say that what you do not know does not hurt you, but they are wrong. What you do not know hurts you much. If you do not have knowledge of God and what He has said, or keep ignoring who He is and what He has done, then you will forever remain ungrateful, and perish. Purpose to grow in the knowledge of God. A complaining person either does not know who God is, what He has said and what He can do, or is simply ignoring these facts. 

We saw in a previous sermon that ignorance once cut us from the life of God, according to Ephesians 4:18, and will continue to do so. The more ignorant we are, the more we are cut off from the life that God has intended for us, and therefore remain ungrateful. If you always want to have a thankful heart, strive to grow in the knowledge of God. 

4. Do not compare yourself to anyone.

Romans 12:3 (KJV)
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Paul in the above verse says that thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought is not thinking soberly. God has dealt to each and every one of us the same measure of faith, meaning that in His eyes we are all equal. However, the grace He has given us is different, and is proportional to the amount of work that He has given us, and His gifting in our lives:

Ephesians 4:7
But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

You can never be me, as God never created and wired you uniquely to do what I was created to do. Your biological, psychological, physical, and emotional composition, and your personality, heart, spiritual gifting, abilities and personality are all meant to help you achieve what God has called you to achieve. Before you strive to compare yourself with someone else, take time to dig into who you really are, what you have been through, what you have and where you are, and how God has intended to use all these to accomplish His purpose for you being in existence. If you do this, you will always be grateful. Every time you compare yourself to someone else, you are being unwise, as we saw in 2 Cor. 10:12-13.

5. Meditate on God’s faithfulness. As we have seen, according to Philemon 6, only when we acknowledge the good things in us in Christ Jesus will we be able to communicate our faith effectively. This basically means that the more you focus on who you are in Christ, and what He has done for you, the more you will abound in thanksgiving. This will cause you to always remember what Christ has done for you, where He brought you from and what He has done for you ever since, and therefore your faith will always be effective in helping you receive from Christ continuously. 

2 Peter 1:13
Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you...

We were given a memory for a reason, and when we use it we stir ourselves up. If you always remind yourself of who God is, what He has done for you before, what He can do and what He has said, you will never find yourself complaining.

6. Focusing on God’s word. God’s word will keep you spiritually minded. We have seen that when the children of Israel focused on what they saw, case study being when they saw Pharaoh and his army, they grew fearful. Being carnally minded, being moved by what you see always, always leads to death.

Romans 8:5-8
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. ⁶ For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. ⁷ Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. ⁸ So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

If you are always moved by what you see, you will always be ungrateful and have a complaining heart. If you are always moved by what you know, based on the word of God, you will always be grateful and have a heart of thanksgiving.

God’s will is His word, so if you abide in His word you will abide in His will. His will for us in every situation is to always give thanks:

Colossians 4:2
Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving

Ephesians 5:17-20
Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸ And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,  ²⁰ giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Are you always rejoicing, praying without ceasing and giving thanks in everything? If no, then you are not doing the will of God. It is His will that we rejoice always, pray without ceasing and give thanks in everything. Notice, He uses always, ceasing and everything to show us that we should rejoice, pray and give thanks regardless of our circumstances.

Our circumstances should never change our heart of thanksgiving, as they do not change or negate who God is, what He has said or what He has done for us. If we are moved by our circumstances, we will always be ungrateful, go out of God’s will, and eventually end up being cut off from the life of God, as we have seen. If we are moved by the word of God only, then we will remain in His will, rejoicing always, praying without ceasing and always having a thankful heart.

If you are unthankful, and whenever you are, you deny God for getting the glory:

2 Cor. 4:15

For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

Like I said in an earlier sermon on Meditating on the Word, you will put yourself at a better position to act on the word if you meditate on it. If you want to abound in thanksgiving, meditate on thanksgiving, and fill your thoughts with thanksgiving. Since the mouth speaks out of the abundance of the heart, your mouth will be filled with thanksgiving. If you always complain in your mind, complaining will come out of your mind. All complaining starts with a suggested thought from the devil, just as it started with Eve in the Garden of Eden, suggesting that God is not as good as He says He is. If you entertain such thoughts, you start complaining in your thoughts and heart, and seeing everything in negativity, and so start complaining with the mouth. Every complainer is negative. You can never be positive and still complain. Positivity starts in the mind. The best positivity comes from the word of God.

So, in conclusion, thanksgiving is good for you and for me. It is not an option, it is necessary, and is a command from God, if we want to live a good life. God will never ask us for anything that we don’t have, being a good Father. He can never ask us to be thankful in all situations if He knows it’s impossible. He knows it is possible, and asks us to do so. Jesus came that we may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10), but if we remain ignorant of what God has done, Who He is, what He has said and done, then we cut ourselves from the life that God has intended for us to have. Only if we abound in thanksgiving will we remain in the will of God, enjoying the life that He foreknew, predestined, called, justified and glorified us to live (Romans 8:28-30).

Col 3:17
And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Heb. 13:15

Therefore by Him [Jesus] let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

Amen.

-- Sam Gitonga. 



(23/03/14 Sunday Service Sermon, Teaching Transformation Mission.)

Brother Sam Gitonga is a Youth Leader at Teaching Transformation Ministry. We are located along the Thika-Ruai Flyover Junction (at the Thika Rd./ Bypass intersection), Next to Eastgate Restaurant.