Psalm 100:4

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. 

The season of thanksgiving is once upon us. With each passing year, we see more and more aggressive attempts to remove God from any and every public aspect of our society. In 753 BC God sent Hosea to the nation Israel. To a backslidden and stiff-necked people. I think if God were to send Hosea to our nation today, he would have the same message as he had for Israel in that day “all your wickedness is in Gilgal; for there I hated them for their wickedness of their doings. I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more.” Hosea 9:15

Why such strong language against the people of God; “for there I have hated them for their wickedness of their doings” and “I will love them no more”, what happened in Gilgal to warrant such open dissatisfaction from God?

Events in Gilgal?

In the eighth chapter of 1 Samuel, we are told “all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together and came to Samuel unto

Ramah, and said unto him, behold thou art old and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the

nations”. If you or I were Samuel, we would probably have been displeased with the elders of Israel because they spoke

little of our sons “thy sons walk not in thy ways”, but Samuel was not dissatisfied with the justified attack on his sons, but the fact

that they had rejected God from reigning over them and sought for a mere man to lead them, like all the other nations.

Through the message of Hosea, we now know that not only was Samuel dissatisfied with their rejection of God, but that God was

dissatisfied with their “wicked doings”. A little stronger flavor would be “I have hated them for their wickedness of their doings”.

Why would God be so upset with such a request? In essence they were saying we do not want to acknowledge you in any public forum. We don’t want to give credence to your word as a nation, especially the posting of your Ten Commandments in a public display. In fact any association or public testimony that you are God and worthy of recognition, we cannot attest- it’s against the Law! Can you see a parallel my friend?

I don’t have any doubt that God is dissatisfied with us (America) as a nation, when you consider we are rejecting Him and not

giving Him the place, the praise, the honor, and the glory He deserves. After all, He is the True and Living GOD and worthy to be

praised! We should be entering into his gates with thanksgiving and in to his courts with praise. If we are not allowed as a nation we surely should be so doing as the church, but I fear that the churches thoughts on thankfulness have been so saturated by the flesh that we don’t have a clear understanding from God’s word on two very important tenets of thankfulness.

Allow me to expound. When one in America is posed the question, “what are you most thankful for?” the general response is- good health, our freedom and liberties, and the bountiful blessings that most of America bask in, etc…. Please don’t misunderstand me, we should be thankful for these things, but my question is, if these are not existent in our lives can we, and should we, still be thankful? My concern is that we (the church in America) have the notion that thanksgiving and material blessings are synonymous

Herein lies my point. I keep up with the persecuted church and receive frequent updates (VOM) on the church in China, Asia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Korea, Philippines, etc…

Chinese Pastor Liu Ding- excerpts from The Voice of the Martyrs, November 2005 No Fear Christian Workers in Hostile Lands

"I can't recall how many times I've been imprisoned because it was too many. The longest sentence I served was three years, but I also served many shot detentions. Every time I was sent into prison, by Gods grace and protection. I was delivered out of it. I was labeled 'non-repentant prisoner.' I endured much hardship when I was in prison. Tight at the beginning, my ears were beaten with an electric baton and fluid kept flowing from my ears for six months. My hearing has been greatly hindered ever since then...

I would like to tell those would hear my testimony: drink the cup that Jesus drinks, for a student is not above his teacher. Our light troubles are temporary, beating are temporary,  pain is also temporary, but eternity and joy are everlasting"

Needless to say I can't think of any one who would choose to live under the aggressive persecution that these believers endure for simply naming the name of Christ. Concerning the above mentioned- freedom and liberties and bountiful blessings, they do not have, yet I am intrigued by the thankful spirit that  is evident in their communications. This tells me that biblical thanksgiving transcends the shallowness of ones flesh. It is more than having a table of plenty and a walk free from oppression or persecution.

I would like to draw from Deuteronomy two very important tenets to biblical thanksgiving. Please consider this, as you enter into

His gates with thanksgiving and His court with praise, this Thanksgiving.

Deut 7:6 For thou art a holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

Deut 7:7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:

Deut 7:8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

God told the nation Israel that he had set his love upon them and considered them a special people, above all the people that are upon the face of the earth. God did not set his love upon them because they were worthy of his love or because they some how

deserved to receive this special recognition- it was an unwavering commitment to his own word.. An oath that he had sworn to

their fathers.

You and I have a similar promise. For all have sinned against God. We are all dead in trespasses and sins. But when we trust in the salvation that is found in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and him alone, then the word of God promises that we have been quickened and freed from the penalty and most certain judgment of our sin. God has set his love upon us and positioned us together with him in Christ… we are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God.  You see my friend we didn’t deserve this. God did not set his love upon us because we were worthy, he did it because he promised it in his word. It does not matter if you are in China or America, whether you are in the midst of blessing or persecution.... we can be thankful of this.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have

everlasting life” If he promises it, he will keep it. Which leads us to the second tenet… His faithfulness.

Deut 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

Deut 7:10 And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.

God is faithful in good times and bad. God’s faithfulness is not contingent on ones material blessing. I am so afraid that to truly perceive the spiritual magnitude of God’s faithfulness, it is in the difficult times, trials and tribulations if you please. That may be the problem with the church in America, it has not endured tribulation and testing so we don’t fully comprehend what it means in the word of God when it testifies “that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God.” We tend to only see him faithful when our bellies are full and our flesh is satisfied.

The faithfulness of God that is mentioned in this portion of his word is two fold. He is merciful with them that love him and keep his commandments, not only in this generation, but thousands.  Consider this, mercy rejoiceth against judgment, and he will repay them that hate him. He will not be slack to him that hateth him… he will repay him to his face. You can count on it God is faithful.

This thanksgiving, let’s consider his love whereby he loved us when he sent his son to die for our sin. The fact that he is merciful and longsuffering, but he will not at all acquit the wicked. They shall stand before God and give an account one day.

Let me ask you a question my friend? Have you ever told a lie? It doesn’t have to be a big one. In fact we have somehow convinced ourselves that there are big ones and little ones. God’s word says “thou shalt not lie” size does not matter.

Have you ever taken something that did not belong to you, whether it was by design or accident? God’s word says, “thou shalt not steal”.

Have you ever esteemed anything in a higher place than God? God’s word says “thou shalt not have any other gods before me”

My point in asking these questions is that you may feel like you are a good person, but the word of God says that if you have faltered in any of the areas of his law, then you are guilty, and you will stand before him in that condition. “He will repay you to your face”.

There is mercy in the person of Christ. God has made him to be our peace that we are no longer enemies with God. For this we can truly be thankful!

Brother Dennis