Grace and Truth
Bible Ministries

Thanksgiving is the expression of gratitude that comes from the happiness created by metabolized doctrine in the stream of consciousness


Recently we have been studying the doctrine of the lifestyle of wisdom and have seen that wisdom is the recognition of God's complete provision for every situation through his grace.

We have seen that grace is the genius of God, that doctrine is the manifestation of that genius, and that believers in spiritual adulthood glorify that genius through it's application to their experience.

In Rev 7:12; we see that wisdom and thanksgiving are connected. This is because thanksgiving is an outward expression of an inner attitude of gratitude that is established in wisdom.

This was the attitude that was expressed by the early settlers of North America that resulted in their celebrating a day of thanksgiving. Their observance of a Day of Thanksgiving was a response of worship to God for the harvest that they had received.

It was a public acknowledgment or celebration of worship in which the goodness and graciousness of God are highly praised. 1Chr 16:7-36;

They had learned from their study of God's word that thanksgiving is the normal mental attitude of the royal family of God, Eph 5:20; because thanksgiving is based on knowing God through doctrine resident in the soul, Psa 100:3-5; Col 3:15; 2Cor 4:15;

For the believer, thanksgiving is a priestly sacrifice. It was a sacrifice in the Old Testament, Psa 116:17; Psa 107:22; Amos 4:5; It is a sacrifice for the royal priesthood of the New Testament. Heb 13:15

This was the attitude of the early settlers in North America. Their celebration ultimately became the basis for the establishment of thanksgiving as a national holiday in the United States and Canada by President Lincoln during the civil war.

This is a perfect example of how reality is turned into ritual. Their observance was real because it reflected their actual thinking and gratitude toward God whereas the observance of the ritual today may or may not reflect the actual thinking of those who celebrate the holiday.

It is interesting to note that a thanksgiving holiday is only celebrated in the USA and Canada. This is because of the large influence the protestant church had in the formation of both countries.

In the case of the believer in TLJC there are mandates for the attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving.

We see in 1Thes 5:15-16; the mandate to have the attitude that generates a thankful response that is mandated in 1Thes 5:18;

The tranquility that makes this possible comes from how we think. Phil 4:4-8;

The challenge therefore is to have the thinking that produces the attitude of gratitude that results in thanksgiving because the attitude of gratitude is the "why" and the thanksgiving is the "what" and what we think is the "how" When we get the "how" and the "why "right the correct "what" will always follow.

Gratitude is based on one's cognition of the reality of and thankfulness for God's provision that is revealed in His word under the system described in of Rom 10:17;

When believers understand and believe what God has done and is doing through TLJC Col 2:2-3; and that for those who love him he is working all things to the ultimate good Rom 8:28; they have the capacity from happiness that enables the attitude of gratitude that results in thanksgiving.

TLJC demonstrated this in Psa 138:2b; "You (human nature of Christ) have magnified Your word above and beyond Your person." and. Matt 4:4 (quoting the Septuagint of Deut 8:3;), "The man (humanity of Christ) shall not live only on bread, but on the basis of every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."

Gratitude therefore can be used as a system for measuring one's function in the spiritual life because gratitude is the result of the ministry of God the Holy Spirit making the benefits of the unique spiritual life of the Church Age pleasing to the thinking.

This means that the doctrine that is accumulated results in increasing happiness that is expressed in gratitude and thanksgiving as a measure of capacity for life.

Spiritual advance in the soul of the believer results from the consistent use of the filling of the Holy Spirit and faith perception. This results in increasing amounts of metabolized spirit taught doctrine circulating in the seven compartments of the stream of consciousness that is available to be deployed as wisdom.

The believer's function in the power options of the spiritual life results is the progressive development of the problem solving devices in the soul. As the problem solving devices are deployed there is a corresponding increase in gratitude, and an increase of capacity for life that results in a mental attitude of gratitude and the expression of thanksgiving.

Metabolized doctrine creates a mirror in the soul for objective self-analysis that enables believers to counsel themselves and solve their own problems from a position of strength.

James 1:22-25; mentions this mirror. The mirror is designed for objective self-analysis in the privacy of the priesthood.

v22 "But become doers of the word and not hearers only, but prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

v23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who observes his natural face in a mirror;

v24 for once he has glanced at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what sort of a person he was (with regard to the spiritual life).

v25 But one who looks intently into the perfect doctrine, the doctrine of freedom, and has persisted, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be happy in what he does."

This objective self-analysis based on the absolute standard of doctrine replaces the arrogant subjectivity of self-absorption and results in capacity for life, love, happiness and problem solving that becomes the capacity for the expression of gratitude in thanksgiving.

Gratitude is the basis for true happiness in life. No one can have true happiness without gratitude. Happiness requires that the believer make Bible doctrine their highest priority. (Psa 138:2;), live on the basis of every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Deut 8:3; Matt 4:4;), and in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus. 1Thes 5:18;

This is the same happiness that Jesus Christ exhibited while he endured the Cross, Heb 12:2; "Be concentrating on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our doctrine, who because of His exhibited happiness, He endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Heb 12:3; For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

The happiness of the humanity of our Lord solved the problem of staying on the Cross while being ridiculed and being judged for our sins. True happiness has the capacity to endure anything that happens in life because it looks beyond the disasters of this life into eternity.

Blessing from God requires capacity and capacity requires Bible doctrine in the soul that results in gratitude This means the greater the gratitude the greater the blessing. When you take blessing for granted the soul dries up. Many people go through life with many blessings, but have no gratitude because they do not know how or why they have received the blessing as a result they have dried up souls and no happiness.

Without gratitude to God and grace orientation there is no happiness for the believer, even if all of your desires are fulfilled, because there is no capacity for happiness nothing is sufficient to provide happiness.

The lack of happiness results in self-pity, which opens the door for the function of the arrogance skills of self justification, self deception and self absorption.

We see the results of the pattern of OSN control of the soul in. 2Tim 3:1-5;

No gratitude in the soul creates a vacuum that sucks in the irrationality of jealousy, envy, and bitterness. People who function of the arrogance complex of sins become emotional wrecks because their emotions are responding to wrong thinking.

Without the deployment of grace orientation, doctrinal orientation, and a personal sense of destiny, there is no happiness in the life of any believer and there is nothing anyone can do to make them happy because they are implacable.

As we prepare to observe thanksgiving this year let's evaluate ourselves regarding our personal status so that we can observe it with realty not just ritual. We can do this by comparing some of the characteristics of those who are thankful and those who are unthankful.

The thankful attitude is forgiving, tranquil, tolerant, tranquil, happy, confident, pleasant and quiet.

The unthankful attitude is implacable, angry, demanding, emotional, unhappy, afraid, obnoxious and clamoring.

The question we must answer is which sentence describes our attitude?

 

© Copyright 2007, Michael Lemmon Bible Ministries. World Rights Reserved.  This document was created on 11/20/2011