By Darlene Quiring
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 5:1-20
Text: Ephesians 5:20
1 – Our Thanksgiving should be Continual – “Giving thanks always”
-There shouldn’t be a time in which we forget to give thanks. He is worthy at all times of the day: morning, noon and night (SEE – Psalm 113:3). So if He’s worthy at all times then we should thank and praise Him at all times. (Psalm 34:1) “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
-We must give God our non-stop appreciation for His non-stop compassion, love, kindness, blessings because His mercies that endure forever, and they are even new every morning. So let us be grateful to God and give Him thanks. (SEE – Hebrews 13:15)
2 – Our Thanksgiving should be Comprehensive – “for all things”
-We should not be selective or bias in our thanks. If we don’t recognize God for all the wonderful things that He’s done, then we’ve missed the mark.
-1Thess. 5:16-18
-(James 1:17) “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
3 – Our Thanksgiving should be Consecrated – “unto God the Father”
-Our thanks should not be generic, to nobody in particular. We must be able to acknowledge God our Father. We must thank God and God alone, for we not only offer thanks, but we OWE thanks to HIM. (SEE – Psalm 50:14)
-If we were to take careful examination of all the blessings that are evident, all of the moments of deliverance, all of the healing that has taken place, etc. etc., then we would be able to say with a certainty, that Only God could do such things. (SEE – Psalm 75:1)
4 – Our Thanksgiving should be in Christ – “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”
-Because God, the Father has ordained that all things exist in Christ (whereby we live, move and have our being, then our thanksgiving should also exist in Christ. It is His will for our lives. (SEE – 1 Thessalonians 5:18)
-We know that if we speak it in His name then the Father will hear us. All things done in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (SEE – Phil 2:9-10)
