THANKFUL IN ADVANCE!

Someone said:

Count blessings and discover Who can be counted on.

IN other words: Be thankful in advance! Be thankful in advance to God for all the blessings you will receive. Be thankful in advance for blessings that you are receiving from God every hour. Be thankful to God for the obvious blessings that you are receiving. But: are you sincere thankful to God for all the blessings you are receiving.

Are you aware that God actually gives you everything before you have asked him anything?

Let us listen to the Bible.

What we have read in Luke 17, was about Jesus Christ who healed ten men suffering from a dreaded skin disease. He healed them, because he is God. The Bible says in John 10 verse 30: The Father and I are one."   Jesus Christ is the Almighty God who spoke a word and the ten men where healed. This corresponds with God’s word in Genesis. The Bible says in Genesis 1 verse 3: “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” The same happened in Luke 17. Jesus spoke a word and the ten men were healed. A human medical doctor is not in any position to heal a patient immediately. But the Word says in Mat 19:26 Jesus looked straight at them and answered, "This is impossible for human beings, but for God everything is possible."

The healing of these ten men was a Divine act, something that only God could and can do. The Bible affirms it that Jesus spoke and the ten men were healed.  In Luk 17:14 we read: “Jesus saw them and said to them, "Go and let the priests examine you." On the way they were made clean.”

Lukas 17 tells about an Almighty God with healing power. But how easily we lose sight and forget about the omnipotence — the almightiness —  of God!

We want to see, then we will believe.

We want to see a very positive bank balance, then we will feel safe.

We want to be sure, then we will be sure.  

Yes, we believe in Jesus Christ as our Saviour who is able to do anything on earth and in heaven. But in practice, in the concrete world, it is difficult to believe. In this world, in the reality of men, seeing is believing. But the Bible says in Heb 11:1 :” To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see. “ But let us think again about this verse of Scripture. How it affects us.

 It is still the same God Who healed the ten men with one word in whom we put our trust. And it is the same God who communicates with us through his Word, the Bible. And it is the same God who says in Isa_46:4”I am your God and will take care of you until you are old and your hair is gray. I made you and will care for you; I will give you help and rescue you. “ In other words before we ask God anything He will take care of us. He has promised to do so, thousands of years ago. God gives everything we need from day to day. God gives us spiritual and daily bread. God gives it before we ask Him; He has committed Himself to care for us.

At some stage even Job looked back and he was amazed. How God had cared for him! He realized that he had not even asked for what he needed, yet God had provided everything he needed. The Bible says in Job 10:12: “ You have given me life and constant love, and your care has kept me alive.”  Job witnesses that God has given him life and constant love.

And listen to Psalm 104:10: “You make springs flow in the valleys, and rivers run between the hills.” God cares for nature. It is God that makes springs flow in the valleys. It is God who instructs the forces of nature so that there will be volcanic outbursts. The Bible in Psalm 104 verse 32 confirms it with the following words: “He looks at the earth, and it trembles; he touches the mountains, and they pour out smoke.” God cares comprehensively. God gives rain before we ask him.  

And God’s ultimate provision?  The ultimate of his love?

The ultimate prove of his love for us, his compassion, his mercy, is Jesus Christ.  God gave his only Son before we asked Him to send his Son to us.  God supplied the Lamb of God as a sacrifice acceptable to Him when none of us even knew about Jesus as the only One who would die for us.  So Paul writes in Eph 3:16-19:   I ask God from the wealth of his glory to give you power through his Spirit to be strong in your inner selves,   and I pray that Christ will make his home in your hearts through faith. I pray that you may have your roots and foundation in love, so that you, together with all God's people, may have the power to understand how broad and long, how high and deep, is Christ's love.

Yes, may you come to know his love---although it can never be fully known---and so be completely filled with the very nature of God.

 The question is: do we see God’s hand, his love for us, his faithfulness in all that He provides before we ask Him?

Do we believe every good thing comes from the Father before we ask him?

Do we believe that in everything that happens to us, God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose.  —Rom 8:28 

Do we believe that everything that happens to us- difficulties, illnesses, worries, drought, that God will change it for the better?

Do we believe that every experience, however bad it might be, will eventually be a sacred experience between God and ourselves as his children?

Now let us now return to the healed men. Only one of them was thankful. The Bible says in Luk 17:15:”When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice. Luk 17:16  He threw himself to the ground at Jesus' feet and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan.”

He was in no way associated with the religious people of his day. But this simple fellow, this human being whose name we don’t even know, became an example to the Pharisees, the New Testament church leaders, because of their ungratefulness towards Jesus as the Messiah, the Redeemer of their people and of the world.

This Samaritan praised Jesus for healing that the doctors of his day were unable to provide.

He gave honour and praise to Jesus Christ as the only One-

·       who had paid attention to his need,

·       the Only One who felt for him,

·       the only One Who came to him and healed him.

Therefore he thanked God that Jesus had seen his need and had had empathy with him. He declared: Jesus you are my Physician, my helper, the one who never ignore any one in need.

But what about the other nine? They did not give a thought as to who Jesus was. They had only one thing on their mind. They wanted to be declared pure and healed by the priest and then continue with their ordinary life. There was no thankfulness, no humble gratitude in their minds at all.

Are we not in a better position than the Samaritan who was healed? Because before we ask God, God will provide for our daily spiritual and real bread. In Gen_22:8  Abraham said: "God himself will provide the lamb for the sacrifice, the sacrificial lamb." And although Abraham did not know how God would provide in his circumstances, he believed that God would provide.  He trusted God completely.

Let us adopt a new lifestyle: let us begin to be thankful to God. Let us start to be thankful to God in advance, even before He has provided.

If we think of God as the Giver of all ordinary and extra ordinary things than we will thankful God for: 

·       The fields are they are now. The countryside was drought-stricken, barren and ill, but God changed it.

·       Forgiveness and peace after bad times in a marriage relationship.

·       The miracle of tomato seeds that sprout to life.

·       The fragrance of apples, the taste of prickly pears; the goodness of apricots, spinach, grapes, beetroot, rocket salad and vegetable soup.

·       The opportunity to study, the gift of a job.

·       That our children and grandchildren are able to communicate, go to school and have dreams and ideals.

Are we truly thankful for the Insight and wisdom that we receive from the Spirit of God in times of illness, difficulty and great stress?  Jesus gave us a wonderful promise: Luk 11:13  As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

He has fulfilled his promise, made 2000 years before we were born, 2000 years before we could even begin to understand how desperately we would need the guidance of the Holy Spirit every day of our life on earth.

 

·       Brothers and sisters, is there anybody you need more desperately than the Spirit of God when it feels as if your life is falling apart?

·       Is there anybody you need more desperately than the Spirit of God when a loved one dies?

·       is there anybody you need more desperately than the Spirit of God when criminals strike and destroy?

·       is there anybody you need more desperately than the Spirit of God when you get the worst possible results after the scans and tests you had to undergo?

Jesus has given us his Spirit.  He has fulfilled his promise, made 2000 years before we were born, 2000 years before we could even begin to understand how desperately we would need the guidance of the Holy Spirit every day of our life on earth.

And what should our response be? The Bible says in Heb. 13 verse 15: “Let us, then, always offer praise to God as our sacrifice through Jesus, which is the offering presented by lips that confess him as Lord.”  

There are many Christians who no longer praise God for all the blessings He gives them. They just ask and ask and ask God instead of thanking him in retrospect, today and in advance for all his blessings.

Why?  Why not?

Perhaps our minds are fixed on the things of this earth, not on God. What we see, fills us with stress and anxiety.  We focus on earthly things, worry about the things of the earth like the heathen do, and turn our faces away from God.

·       The things of this earth blur our vision of God.

So we no longer praise, honour and worship Him as our Rock and Anchor, our Provider and Friend, the omnipotent and faithful God.

The Bible shows us the foolishness of craving for earthly richness. The Bible says in Ecc 5:15: “We leave this world just as we entered it---with nothing.” 

To focus on the things of this earth is to live a futile life. “We leave this world just as we entered it---with nothing.” 

However: should we begin to honour, praise and thank God for his provision in all things, for his care and love in every moment, we will be making the best life change style ever.

The moment we acknowledge that we have received a blessing, we will feel blessed. How much have you paid for the rain we received? How much have you paid for the blessing of having God’s Word? What would you pay for the friends who enrich your life, stand by you, pray for you? What is the price tag to all the promises that you have received from the Psalms?

·             The more we see God’s care and provision, the more we will believe that He will provide tomorrow. Although we do not know how God will provide for us we can be sure He will.

·             The more you thank and praise God for what He provides every single hour of every ordinary day, the more you will believe that He will give you all you need.

·             The more you thank and praise God for what He provides every single hour of every ordinary day, the easier you will tell others about Him.

·             The more you thank and praise God for what He provides every single hour of every ordinary day, the more you will leave fear and anxiety behind.

·             The more you thank and praise God for what He provides every single hour of every ordinary day, the brighter your light — the light of Christ— will shine.

·             This is what it means to walk with God.