"God has called us to a covenant with Him, not the sacrifice of bulls and goats, but a covenant of THANKSGIVING."
"To make a covenant with someone is to enjoin ourselves in the most solemn bonds of unity. It is more than a promise, it is the pledge of two lives to live as one."
Ps. 50:5 Gather to me my consecrated ones who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.
vs. 14 Sacrifice THANK OFFERINGS to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.
vs. 23 He who offers THANK OFFERINGS honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.
The power of the tongue has become our own worst enemy. James tells us the whole course of our lives is set on fire by hell through our tongue. "Every ungrateful word we speak is a spark lit by hell, set to feed upon and consume our joy and hope in this world!"
"With our own words we can either enter the spirit of heaven or the agonies of hell. It is hell, with its punishments, torments and misery, that controls the life of the grumbler and complainer!"
Paul tells us in 1 Cor. 10:10 that the Jews who complained were devastated by the destroyer. Every time we open our mouth to grumbling and complaining, the quality of our life is reduced proportionally - a destroyer is bringing our life to ruin.
"One of the most pervasive evil influences over our nation is INGRATITUDE!"
If you want to find joy,
you must first find thankfulness.
The very quality of your life,
whether you love it or hate it,
is based upon how thankful you are
toward God.
Our attitude determines whether
life to us is a place of blessedness
or wretchedness and misery.
A thankful life is a glorious gate into the stronghold of God. We pledge to offer to Him a sacrifice of thanksgiving, then He pledges His life to shine forth through us. This covenant of thankfulness will shut the door to demonic oppression in our lives.
We must remain thankful during crisis, and rejoice despite the difficulties in life. God doesn't call us to accept the difficult circumstances, but rather to pray, continue to rejoice, and remain thankful. Then the Lord will establish us in victory!
"Real life is not based upon what we amass, but on what we enjoy!"
* Excerpts quoted above are from Francis Frangipagne's book, The Stronghold of God.
1 comment:
Great message!!! Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise!
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