Reasons for Thanksgiving and Prayer - 260102

Speaker A Hello, I'm Rod Butler. Welcome to Let God Speak. Gratitude and being thankful have a powerful effect on our bodies. Studies reveal being grateful reduce stress and burnout while enhancing happiness and emotional well being. But it gets even better. The studies also reveal women with high gratitude lived about 9% longer on average, thus tying a link between grateful mindset to extended lifespan in older adults. As good as that is, there's another powerful link to gratitude and thankfulness. Join us today as we let God speak about the link between gratitude and prayer. Speaker A On our panel today, we have Corinne Knopper and Mike Browning. Welcome, Corinne. And welcome, Michael. Speaker B Hello. Speaker C Thank you. Speaker A Before we start our discussion, let's bow for prayer. Gracious Father, we have got so much to be thankful for as we have this discussion. Now we ask for the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us. As we look at the link between being grateful and and prayer, we pray in Jesus name. Speaker C Amen. Speaker A Well, the New Testament contains 27 books. And if we assume Paul wrote the book of Hebrews, then Paul wrote about 14 books, or a little over half the books of the New Testament. A customary feature in 10 of Paul's books is a thanksgiving section. Despite all the things that happened to Paul, he remained a thankful person. And we're going to see in our discussion today how when we have this thankfulness, we will want to talk to God. So, Corinne, which of the 10 books have a gratitude and thanksgiving section? Speaker B I looked through them and I found quite a lot of them did. And I was excited to see that six of them were letters to churches. And when you look at that, I went into my Bible to have a look and I marked them. There's Romans and First Corinthians, there's Ephesians, Ephesians and Philippians, Colossians, first Thessalonians, second Thessalonians, and then you can't forget the very personal letters when they come to Timothy. He got two books written to him, first and second Timothy and then Philemon, and they all had thankfulness in them. Speaker A So he's writing to people, isn't he? And he's giving thanks to God. Yes, as he's writing to people. Look, today we're going to focus on two books. We're going to be focused on Philippians and Colossians and how Paul's thankfulness led into his prayers. Now let's start with Philippians and I'm going to read Philippians chapter one and verses three and four. And then, Mike, I've got a question for you. Philippians 1, 3, 4. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy. Now, Mike, how is Paul thanking? Who is Paul thanking? How is he doing this? Speaker C Okay, well, he's praying. And actually I like verse three because he says, I thank my God every time I think of you. So every time he thinks about the Philippians believers, he's just praising God, that these people have responded to God's great love through Jesus, you know, And I just find that really. And it just drives him to prayer. He thanks God, and it's good to open your heart to God like that. And I think in verse four, in every prayer of mine, I make requests for you with joy. He prays for them, knows they have needs, and he does it continually, and. Speaker A It drives him to prayer. So what did this thanking and praying do for Paul personally, Corinne? Speaker B It gave him joy, just like it says here, recurs for you all with joy and happiness. And he was praying with that joy and that happiness. And I think an attitude of thanksgiving towards God was because of the Philippians and the way that Paul was in communion with God with that prayer, and it brought him such happiness and joy. And having joy in our life really is good for our health. And that makes me think when I want to go back in my Bible, because King Solomon wrote about that in Proverbs, and he says, let's find it in Proverbs, chapter 17 and verse 22, because he says, a merry heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones. So I think I would rather have the merry heart because it's the best medicine possible. Speaker A Look, being happy definitely has definite health benefits, doesn't it? Speaker C Mike? Speaker A We were discussing this earlier. I mean, just for example, smiling. There's a link between smiling and your stress reduction, burnout, mood enhancement, cardiovascular health improvement, all these benefits. And of course, when you smile, you make friends. So it does have a big impact on our life. Speaker A So it's an important point now, because when Paul wrote the book of Philippians, he actually wrote that when he was in prison, he was a prisoner in Rome. And he writes these amazing epistles with this Thanksgiving section. I'm going to keep reading now. I'm going to read Philippians 1, and we're going to read verses 5 to 8. Speaker A Verse 5. For your fellowship in the Gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ, even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my bonds and in the defence and confirmation of the Gospel, ye are all partakers of my grace. For God is my record. How greatly I long after you in all the bowels of Jesus Christ. So, Mike, what's Paul's attitude to his imprisonment? Speaker C It's really interesting, isn't it? And he's. This is a man who's finding joy and he's in chains now. You know, I can't imagine what that might be like, how your movements are restricted in every respect and you're in a dungeon somewhere. I just think this, this is amazing. The attitude of this man is a great inspiration, it really is. And he says, both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. So his finds right there in the prison, that's what he's doing. He's still defending the gospel, still sharing it. And I'm thinking this is one special man of faith. God was sustaining him somehow. Speaker A Strong faith indeed. So, Corinne, just following on from these texts, how concerned do you think Paul is for his own imprisonment? His own imprisonment, his own welfare. Speaker B I don't even think he cares much about his own situation. It's more about the vindication of the Gospel. I think that is far more important to him. Speaker B And whether he lives or dies, it doesn't matter to him. He's confident in God and I wish we would be able to do more of that because Paul's faith now shines forth in verse six where it says being confident of this very thing, that Jesus is one who has begun a good work in me and he's going to continue that because I trust in him and it's regardless of my circumstances, I will still trust in my God. Speaker A All right, just on that text, Philippians 1, verse 6. Let's sort of exploring that a bit. Speaker A This is written for us today. Yes, Paul wrote a letter to the Philippians, but everything here relates to us today. How do we apply Philippians 1:6 to us today? How does that work? Speaker C Well, it says, he who has begun a good work and you will complete it, which is very encouraging. God doesn't just kick start our faith, as it were, and then leave us to fend for ourselves. He's with us every step of the way. He wants us to help us grow our faith, to grow stronger, our trust in him to be more firm. And I just think God is so good to reassure us of this. And Paul is trying to get us get it clear. I'm going to read John chapter 6:37. These are the words of Jesus, and this is what he said. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me, I will by no means cast out. One can be tempted to think that I didn't do very well that time. Therefore I'm pretty much on my own from now on in. No, that's wrong. God continues to be with us. He will not cast us out. These are the words of Jesus. What an encouragement. That is beautiful. Speaker A Yeah. The only reason we'll break our relationship is if we walk away from God, still will never let us go. Isn't that powerful? Speaker C It sure is. Speaker B Yes. Yes. Speaker A Well, Paul now goes from thanking God for the Philippians faith to praying. And he does this in verses 9 to 11. So, Corinne, I've got a question for you coming up. Speaker A What is Paul praying for in verse 9? If you want to read that. Speaker B All right, I'll read this. Speaker A What's your comment on verse 9? Speaker B And this? I pray that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment. The Philippians had the love for the knowledge and all the judgment or discernment, but the knowledge of God is very much more important for our spiritual growth. Without it, we have nothing. And we need to be able to discern, to approve and accept what is that excellent and wonderful thing in our God and reject what is harmful. We don't want those harmful things because they are not going to help us with our spiritual walk at all. Speaker A Yeah, the negative is very destructive. Mike, in verse 10, what's his prayer there? Speaker C Yes, this is an interesting verse. He says that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ. This is part of his prayer. Don't forget in he's saying this, I'm praying that you'll be sincere. This is a person who is genuine, a person of integrity and without offence till the day of Christ. You don't cause offense to others and you don't let God down. And he's saying, I'm praying for these things for you, by extension us, of course. Speaker A Yeah. That sort of stumbling block issue is a powerful thing, isn't it? Because we can be doing things in our Christian walk which other people, different level of faith may find a problem with. Speaker C Yes. Speaker A Our behaviour may be causing them to stumble, so we've got to be very mindful of that. Speaker A So back to you, Corinne, in verse 11. What's the point being made there in Paul's prayer? Speaker B All right. Let me read it and we'll find out. Being filled with the fruits of the righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ. Speaker C Jesus Christ. Speaker B To the glory and the praise of God. Speaker B So I think really what he's doing here for this one is. Speaker B It'S something very special for him. And we are praying for us to have righteousness in Christ. It's an important thing for us if we have no righteousness of our own. But we only what we receive through Christ is what we get. And I want to read something because our Old Testament does give us some amazing texts to help understand just a little bit more. And I want to go back to Isaiah, chapter 64, verse 6, and we'll see what that one says. But we're all like an unclean thing. All our righteousnesses are like filthy rags. We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. So I'd rather the righteousness, please. Speaker A That's very sobering because as good as we think we may be in God's eyes, without Christ, it's like filthy rags. Speaker B Yes. Speaker A We get our righteousness from God's. Jesus is standing before God, not our own. When we go through those nine verses 9 to 11, what stands out to you, Mike, with Paul's prayer? Speaker C Okay, I like verse 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God, the fruits of righteousness. These are the things that are going to be seen in our lives. And I think it's a beautiful thing that not only does God accept us as we are, forgives our sins, he then starts to develop in us a righteous life. He wants us to be righteous people. And I'm so grateful for the fact that he's able to do that. And that's his promise here. He's praying that they may have the fruits of righteousness in their lives. Speaker A Yeah. Amen. Now, Corinne, we've already. Mike's already mentioned earlier that Paul sort of saw a silver lining to his imprisonment. What specific things can we also look at that Paul saw as being a positive from being imprisoned? Speaker B Oh, wow. Verses 12 to 14 will give us a really good insight into this. And it says, but I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the Gospel. So that it has become evident to the whole palace guard and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ. And most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the Word without fear. I think it almost opens up itself and tells us that even the palace officials have seen this wonderful witness that Paul was able to give to them. Even though he was in chains and in a dungeon, they were still exposed to that wonderful witnessing. And the people who normally would not have had the chance to be able to hear his preaching, they heard it from in his dungeon and in his chains and in verse 14 with his imprisonment. It's gratefully encouraging, greatly encouraging others to be far more active and to go out there and to be a witness to share the love of Christ more than what we boldly would speak. I think we have to go forward boldly without the fear. Speaker A It's interesting when we see people faithfully standing for God and their suffering, it has a powerful effect, doesn't it? Speaker B Yes. Speaker A So, Mike, again, this is for us today. What lessons can we pick up from the fact that Paul's in prison, but he sees all these benefits. He can preach to the palace officials, they see him preaching, so they become more bold in their preaching. What can we learn from that? Speaker C Today this man's in prison, in a dungeon, in chains, as we said earlier. It's depressing, right? Any other person would be depressed, downhearted, glum looking and hardly able to speak. But here's a man who's got joy. He's been talking about joy. You and I talked earlier about joy. And Abraham Lincoln was the one who said that we're about as happy as we make up our minds to be. It's what gets your focus. That's what gets you. And clearly Paul's focus was not on the glum surroundings. Speaker B No. Speaker C The gloomy little cell that he was in, whatever type it was, he wasn't focused on that. He was focused on the wonderful results of him sharing the wonderful news about the savior of the world, Jesus, that people have responded. And not only that, it's touching the lives of the jail and even up to the palace of the Caesar, you know, his officials. And I'm thinking this man. Speaker C This man who focuses on this positive, happy joy that he has as a believer in Jesus Christ is infecting a whole prison and a whole, in fact, a whole palace, a whole government. That's what it's talking about here. And it's just pretty exciting. Speaker A It's a very powerful witness, isn't it? Speaker A We have Romans 8, 28. Speaker C That's right. Speaker A But we know all things work together for good. Speaker B Yes. Speaker A And Paul would never have thought that what he was going through. And look, we sometimes see people who are really Struggling in life, they've got all sorts of setbacks and problems, but when we see they've got an inherent joy because they hang on to God. That's so inspiring. Speaker C It is very inspiring. Speaker A Really inspiring. Speaker B Yes, it is. Speaker A Let's just keep reading. And I've got a question for you, Corinne. All right, I'm going to read from verses 15 down to 17. Speaker A Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife, and some also of goodwill. Do one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely supposing to add affliction to my bonds, but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. What's he saying here, Corinne? Speaker B Oh, so much. There are some who preach because they are jealous of Paul and they want that fame that he's got. But there are others who have their heart really dedicated to God and they don't have any selfish motives. They just want to go out and preach what is right so that people will see the difference between the selfishness and the love of Jesus. Is so right. Speaker B Yes. Speaker A So, Mike, was Paul worried about these preachers who are preaching with the wrong motives? Speaker C He apparently wasn't worried at all. And in chapter one, still in verse 18, he says, what then? In other words, so what? Basically, only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached. And in this I rejoice. Yes, and will rejoice. So it just made him happy that Christ was being preached. And, you know, you can't help but think of some of the other scriptures that talk about this. For example, Isaiah 55, 11, it says, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. God is speaking and being quoted here. It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Right. So share the good news and there's going to be results. That's what he's saying. And he does that. Speaker A Yeah. God's word always comes back with a yield of harvest, doesn't it? Speaker B Yes, that's it. Yes. Speaker A Okay, well, let's move on now to. Speaker A Colossians, and I'm going to read Colossians. Speaker A Colossians 1, 3, 4. And it says. Speaker A We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you have to all the saints for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the Gospel. Now, this is interesting because he's actually still in prison. He wrote this epistle when he was in prison. He wrote it when he wrote Philippians. So it's another one. Again, he's in bonds and he's writing this. Great. So what does he mean? But he says, since we heard of your faith. Why would he say that, Mike? Okay, actually, I'll give that to you, Corinne, why would you say that to me? Speaker B Okay. Now, Paul didn't actually go to Colossea, and it's only a little while later that he went on the big missionary journey, and he ended up in Ephesus for three years. And so it's likely that the Colossians heard all about his missionary journeys and the message that Paul was able to give and when he was there. And this is the reason for the thanksgiving, because when I go on, and I really read now on Colossians 1, verse 7, he tells us a little bit more, as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who was a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf. And it's here that the good news of their faith came from a Christian named Epaphras. So they were given something special. Yes. And Paul was able to share. Epaphras did spread the gospel, and he. Speaker A Came back and gave that good news, that good report. The beautiful brought Paul joy. Speaker B Yes. Speaker A So, Mike, Paul's mentioned their faith in Christ and love for the saints in verse four. What other important characteristic does Paul mention and credit the Colossians with? Speaker C Okay, well, we read verse four, since we heard of your faith. Good news, verse five. Because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you have heard before in the word of the truth of the Gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth, starting in verse 5. Because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven. Speaker C That's really. That is our hope, isn't it? You know, we all face difficulties and trials in life. Life doesn't run smoothly for anybody, but that's our hope. This world is not our home, but we're just passing through. So he's saying this is where your hope's to be centered, in heaven. Speaker B Yes. Speaker A Well, reading on it at verse nine, Paul then goes from again, Thanksgiving and he moves to a prayer. Speaker A Part of his Epistle. I'm going to read verses 9 and 10. This is Colossians 1, 9, 10. For this cause we also, since the day we heard it do not cease to pray for you and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding that ye might work worthy of the Lord and walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Speaker A So how are we to know God's will? Speaker B How are we to know God's will? If you go back into the Old Testament again, this is another time I'm going to take you back there. King David wrote, And it's Psalm 119, the biggest book, the biggest one in the Bible, biggest chapter and verse 105. And it says, you, word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. God's word is really something that we can look forward to. It is our light and it is the way to go forward. And we have that today because our dear sister Ellen White, she wrote all the spirit of prophecy books for us, pointing us to come back to the Bible. Our wonderful prophet for today to keep. Speaker A Us focused on the Bible, people sort of say things like, how do I know God's will? Well, the first thing is you pick up your Bible, let God speak. He speaks to you. It's a letter to me personally. To you personally. And the more we know about this, the more we can understand God's will for not only us, but for all human, for the human race, basically, in salvation. And you mentioned spirit of prophecy, another important thing we've given a prophet for these last days. And again, we can know God's will for us. So Mike, what other ways? There's other ways we can know God's will. What do you think? Speaker C Well, when it comes to everyday life, right. This is where we find the challenge in knowing God's will in every situation in our lives. The basics of our salvation, clearly revealed in the Bible, right and wrong, clearly revealed. We know exactly what God's will is there in that respect. But it's in your daily life that we need direction. Speaker B Yes. Speaker C And so many people have said to me, the easy part is doing God's will for me. He said, I just. The hard part is knowing it. That's right. Speaker A Yes. Speaker C And this is where prayer comes in, doesn't it? Casual praying is not going to find the results. The Holy Spirit will speak to us and guide us if we take time to be with him and listen to him. I'm a great believer in doing that. Isaiah, chapter 30, verse 21 describes how the Holy Spirit does this. Your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, this is the way. Walk in it whenever you turn to the right hand or to the left. So that's what we want and that's the kind of experience we desire. Prayer is the thing. Speaker A So just very quickly to close. Corinne. Speaker B Yes. Speaker A In verse 10 it says we are to walk worthy. How are we to walk worthy? Speaker B Oh, Ezekiel is a really good one. I like these old texts. Ezekiel 36:27 I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will keep my judgments and do them. So we are to live and act in accordance with God's laws, and that's possible only through the work of the Holy Spirit in each of our lives. That's the only way. Speaker A Amen. Well, thank you, Corinne. Thank you, Mike. Interesting discussion to be gratitude and have gratitude and thankfulness. Very important. Speaker C Yes, it is. Thanks. Speaker A Gratitude and prayer are inherently connected. When we are thankful, we want to turn our hearts to God and talk to Him. Gratitude and prayer are also a barometer of the health of our Christian walk. They are tangible manifestations of God's grace, good work going on within us. Thankfulness and gratitude brings us joy to our soul, enabling us to trust God as we ride through those hard times. If you're struggling today, ask God to show you all the things in your life that you can be thankful for and thank God for them. This will bring joy to your heart. Well, we're glad you joined us today on Let God Speak. Remember, all past programs plus teacher's notes are available on our website, 3abinastralia.org au. We'd love to hear from you. Tell your friends about the program and join us again next time. God bless. SPEAKER B You have been listening to let God speak, a production of 3ABN Australia television. To catch up on past programmes, please visit 3abnaustralia.org.au. Call us in Australia on 02 4973 3456. Or email [email protected]. we'd love to hear from you.