How to Live a Life of Thanksliving

This past Sunday our church had the opportunity to hear a powerful message from Pastor Jason Hood, Thanksliving, encouraging us to have a heart that is not only thankful in a particular season but stays in a spirit of gratitude and thanksgiving continually as a way of life.

Have you ever walked through a season of depression? Or maybe a season when your Spirit felt down, discouraged, or disengaged? We have all probably faced challenging seasons like this at some point in our lives. But did you know you have the power to choose joy? There is power in thanking God for what you do have, instead of what you are lacking. The enemy wants us to focus on what's wrong in our lives, but gratitude for what you do have is a powerful tool to change the way you live your life.

We serve a God who makes a way where there seems to be no way. He is a God of hope. He is a God who has promised us an abundant life and future. His goodness and mercy follow us all the days of our lives.

And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.

-Psalm 107:22 (KJV)

It’s easy for us to forget that ungratefulness is a sin- it’s truly ugly, wrong, and offensive. Knowing this should cause us to pay incredible attention to our thoughts and actions regarding being ungrateful. Paul, speaks about unthankfulness in our last days...

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

-2 Timothy 3:1-5

Oftentimes we are caught grumbling and complaining more than we are speaking about the things we are grateful for. True gratitude is an overflow of our hearts.

...out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.-Matthew 12:34 (NKJV)

If you are thankful, and you're living a life of Thanksliving, then communicate it. Declare your thankfulness, by doing so you are shining a light into darkness!

But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. -Hebrews 13:16 (KJV)

So how do we keep these truths close to our hearts, avoid the sin of ungratefulness, and start living a life of Thanksliving?

We offer sacrifices to God. In the Old Testament, Scripture teaches us that sacrifices of thanksgiving were made of animals, fruits, and grains. In the New Testament, Scripture teaches us that we are to offer spiritual sacrifices.

If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. -1 Peter 2:3-5

Pastor Jason provided us with these 3 Spiritual Sacrifices we can offer God. This is how we live lives of thanksliving:

1) THE SACRIFICE OF PRAISE

It is a Biblical command that we continually praise and worship Jesus, it is not a suggestion. God considers your praise to be very valuable! But you must enter into praise from your free will, God knows the posture of your heart.

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. -Hebrews 13:15 (KJV)

Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, and teach me thy judgments. -Psalm 119:108

2) THE SACRIFICE OF PRAYER

God enjoys hanging out with a thankful heart. Just like us, God doesn’t want to hang out with someone who just ate dill pickle soup, is a sour patch kid, or is a negative Nancy. God enjoys positive, thankful, and joyful people. Tell God in prayer all the things you are thankful for, list them out and speak them out loud! Draw near to God through choosing joy and choosing thanksgiving. Rejoice in prayer!

Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. -Psalm 141:2 (KJV)

In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy. -1 Timothy 2:8 (NLT)

3) THE SACRIFICE OF YOU

Jesus gave His life for you. Have you given your body, your life, to Him? Are you all in with God, because He wants all of you! Are you giving everything you have and everything you do to God to be used and guided by Him? We are blessed to be the hands and feet of Jesus here on Earth.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. -Romans 12:1-2 (KJV)

Maybe it’s time to evaluate your life. Are you living a life of thanksliving? Or have you let the sin of ungratefulness sneak in and take root. Are you grumbling and complaining more than you are praising and worshiping? Are you asking God for more things in your prayer life than you are saying thank you for? Does God have your whole heart? It’s never too late to choose joy, step into an attitude of gratitude, and allow thankfulness to pour out of your heart in abundance to the Lord.

This is how we shed light, overcome darkness, and defeat the enemy.

I invite you to view this message, “Thanksliving” in its entirety at this link:

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You Can’t Miss This One Thing That Will Bring Wholeness to Your Life...

Do you look like what you’ve been through?

Does your marriage, business, or bank account look like what it's been through?

Does your walk with God look like what it’s been through?

Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well (whole).” Luke 17:12-19 (NKJV)

Leprosy is a disease that causes horrible skin sores. One of the symptoms of the disease is reduced sensation of touch, leaving a feeling of numbness and a "pins and needles" sensation over the affected body part. Due to these sensations, it was typical for someone suffering from this horrible illness to rub and scratch at the sores until parts of their body fell off. A leper could lose his nose, ears, or fingers and toes, yet not even fully realize the loss until another body part was gone. The result of this wretched cycle left most lepers disfigured. (References drawn from medicalnewstoday.com).

Often when you see leprosy mentioned in Scripture, it is a type and a shadow of sin:

• The same way LEPROSY works in the physical, SIN works in the spiritual.

When sin begins to function in our souls, it has a way of numbing us to its consequences, and we stop feeling the actual repercussions. Sin can cause us to lose things in our lives without us realizing it. Leprosy tends to disfigure people, and so does sin. Sin will mar your life, relationships, and things that you value the most.

Are there parts of your life that are disfigured? If so, there is a possibility that you have allowed sin to run undiagnosed in your life, and any disfigurement you see could be a direct result.

Another important observation, leprosy is contagious, but sometimes it lays dormant within a body for many years before manifesting symptoms of the disease. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the disfiguring disease breaks out across one's body. This pattern is the same in sin. You can hang out in sinful environments for years before sin reveals EXTERNALLY what it has been doing INTERNALLY. The result is that the disfigurement may appear seemingly overnight, but it was on a path to manifestation many years before the damage was visible.

In the Scriptures above, we see that Jesus is the answer for leprosy. The lepers seek Him out for restoration and healing! JESUS gave these ten men clear commands to follow, and as they began to walk out His commands, they were healed. Through Jesus, the lepers were cleansed entirely of their disfiguring disease! But, only one out of ten came back to Jesus after receiving the cleansing.

One leper returned, worshiping and praising the name of Jesus. He gave Him all the praise and all the glory! His heart was full of gratitude for what Jesus had done for him, and that Word of God had a cleansing effect in his life. That which was once an issue was no longer an issue. The struggle was concluded!

Jesus looked at this one who had returned and said, “Arise...your faith has made you WHOLE!”

That’s an important statement from Jesus. Because during the first encounter with all ten lepers present, Jesus’ command facilitated a way for them to be CLEANSED. This time, engaging with the only leper that had returned to worship Him for His goodness and grace, Jesus states specifically that the man will be made WHOLE!

For a leper, there is a difference between being cleansed and being made whole. A leper that had been cleansed would no longer have an issue with leprosy, but anything he lost due to leprosy remained gone. However, if a leper were to be made whole, he would receive a restoration of everything he lost. For example, if leprosy cost him his nose, he would get his nose back. The same goes for any other physical extremity that he may have forfeited to the disease.

1. A CLEANSED leper would be set free from any struggle with his disease BUT remain disfigured. He would look like what he had been through.
   

2. A leper made WHOLE would be set free from his struggle AND no longer disfigured. He would NOT look like what he had been through!
   

Walk out the commands of God’s word and be CLEANSED but return to God daily with the revelation of worship if you want to be made WHOLE! You need your peace and joy restored. So return to the feet of Jesus and worship Him!

The revelation of worship can change your life. You can be made whole! You don’t have to look like what you’ve been through! Yet, evidently, very few people are willing to walk out the truth of the revelation of worship because -- of ten lepers who were cleansed -- only one was made whole. The reason...only one was willing to return and worship Jesus fully!

Will you BE THE ONE...The one in your family, church, small group, business relationships? Be the one who returns and lays at the feet of Jesus in worship with a heart of overflowing gratitude!

If you worship Him, you will experience God’s restoration ability! He will put you back together! He uses foolish things to confound the wise and weak things to confound the mighty! All you have to do is worship Him.

• It is great to walk out the Word of God and be cleansed as you go, but -- if you want to go to the next level with Jesus -- you first must fall on your face and worship Him.

Maybe, right now, you sense an unction to do just that; fall on your face and worship Jesus. Do it! Be the one! Choose to worship God without restraint or inhibition and watch as the things that were lost to the leprosy of sin are restored in ways that coincidence can not take the credit.

From a heart of repentance, thankfulness, and gratitude, speak this proclamation over your life:

The work of His grace and blood in my life are more than enough to overflow my heart with praise!

I do not look like what I’ve been through!

I’ve been made WHOLE through my worship.

JESUS CHRIST has completely restored me!

I invite you to view a message on this subject in its entirety, “You Don’t Look Like What You’ve Been Through”. Within it, I share some personal stories of God's restoration power that I believe can be a great encouragement to you.

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE | MESSAGE NOTES