Enter His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. Psalm 100:4.
Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God says:
The Israelites I redeemed out of Egypt failed to enter My rest. This was not because I did not give the land I had promised them to them, I did, but because they were not able to enter because of unbelief, unfaithfulness, that is, they did not unite My promises with their faith. To put it simply they did not believe that what I promised I would perform. It is called doubt and unbelief. My promises must be taken by faith or you will be unable to receive them. It is mixing your faith with My promise that enables you to take it into yourself. You have no peace or rest if you think that you will not have the answer, help, healing, provision, or attention you need. You will be unable to grasp it, you actually put a barrier up to it, and I will not be able to perform it in you no matter how much I desire to do so. Jesus desired to heal all the ill and suffering in Nazareth but He was not able to do so because of their unbelief. They had no faith in Him and it shut Him out. Same with salvation, I desire and will that all men be saved and come to know the truth, and it is available and provided for all, but not all are saved. They do not unite My promise with their faith so they block it.
Do you know what the ultimate expression of faith is? Thanksgiving. Thanking Me for performing My promise just because of the promise, before the manifestation, is faith in the One who promised to perform. Trust. When you ask a trusted and faithful friend for something and they tell you, “Yes” that they will do it, do you doubt and pout and keep checking to see if it is done yet? No, not if you know and trust your friend. Instead you are thanking, praising, rejoicing and expecting it to happen just as they said. You are preparing for the result.
Today we are closing our series on “It with time to enter God’s rest” with Life Lesson No. 9: “A Place of Thanksgiving.” And ultimately a thankful heart is the one that can rest. I can multiply all My benefits for the thankful. Jesus gave thanks for the five loaves and two fish and they became enough to feed over five thousand.
And the voice of thanksgiving is the voice of praise. I define that: “It is good to give thanks to the LORD and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness by night.” Psalm 92:1-2. And if you want to enter and stay in My rest day and night, that is the best way to start and finish your day. Do you remember the battle song of the Israelites? “Give thanks to the LORD, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” 2 Chronicles 20:21. Thanks, praise and faith in My great love; and perfect love casts out all fear and doubt.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give constant thanks, this is My Will for you in Christ Jesus your Lord. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. This is not a suggestion. I did not say try to do it. It is not an idle word for you to brush aside. This is your very life. It is your lifeline to victory, but above all to perfect peace. It is the way you enter and stay in My rest, for this is the way of faith and trust. And you can only rejoice, pray and thank at all times when you keep My Word in your heart at all times. If you treasure My Word in your heart, you will not sin against Me. Psalm 119:11 (“Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You.”) And you will not forget all My benefits. Psalm 103:1-5. Often people are out of My rest and into worldly agitation because they have forgotten My benefits in the heat of a trial that appears opposite of My promises. Like when the Israelites heard the report about the dangers in the Promised Land.
Remember, where your treasure is there your heart is also. If your treasure is the flesh and worldly assets and philosophies you will not have rest, for what is seen is temporal, that is, subject to change, but what is unseen, that is, spiritual realities such as My Word, are eternal and not subject to change, but the spiritual can change the temporal into the eternal result even now if applied with faith. My Word of faith made all and sustains all and it can rearrange and change all. And the knowledge of dominion authority will take out the anxiety over the temporal things. But it all has to do with being thankful as the ultimate expression of the faith to change, restore, augment, and replace things. You cannot harvest the promised result without being thankful for it while it is growing. Thanksgiving is the cultivator and the catalyst.
When you have established in your heart the truth of My Word that is when your rejoicing, praying, and thanksgiving kick in. You now are on the rock foundation of My Word and can get through any storm with rejoicing, prayer, and thanksgiving in the peace of My rest. WHEN YOU HAVE ENTRUSTED SOMETHING TO MY CARE, KNOW THAT I AM WORKING IT OUT IN THE VERY BEST AND MOST EXCELLENT WAY. And that will make you rejoice, pray, and thank as you wait for the good result with faith and patience. “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28.
Thanksgiving gets you into My rest and secures you there. “Enter His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.” Psalm 100:4.
Jesus told you, “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44. Do you search through My Word like delving into a treasure trove for My promises that apply to your situation knowing that all My promises are “YES” to you in Christ Jesus? In Psalm 119 this is confirmed, “I rejoice at Your word, As one who finds great spoil.” Psalm 119:162. And again by My prophet Jeremiah, “Your Words were found and I devoured them, and Your Words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts.” Jeremiah 15:16. I tell you to put Me in remembrance of My Word and to pray with petitions also. I watch over My Word to perform it. Return it to Me out of your mouth with faith in joyful praise and it will not return void. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire,nd without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. FOR YOU WILL GO OUT WITH JOY AND BE LED FORTH WITH PEACE. The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thorn bush (worries) the cypress will come up, and instead of the nettle (anxieties) the myrtle will come up, and it will be a memorial to the LORD, for an everlasting sign which will not be cut off.” Isaiah 55:10-13.
Be careful about grumbling and complaining, if you really believe and trust in My promises and that I am working all things, even the weapons meant to harm you, out for your good, you have no reason to be lamenting. “Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life.” Philippians 2:14-16. And how do you hold it fast? Rejoicing, praying and thanking. “But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.” Ephesians 5:3-4. This is serious. The truth sets you free. Grumbling and complaining are serious offenses before Me when I have gone to such lengths to save you and give you My magnificent and precious promises in Christ. Moses warned the Israelites, “Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things.” Deuteronomy 28:47-48.
Peace and thanksgiving are tied together. “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:15-17. And thankfulness also affects whether you are filled with the Holy Spirit, And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourself in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.” Ephesians 5:18-20.
A thankful heart has no room for jealousy, envy, worry, fear, or covetousness, it is a heart overflowing with joyful praise for My goodness and grace. And I will multiply your seed sown with a harvest of healing, provision, wholeness, and peace. Great peace have those who love My Word, it has great reward, for locked in My Word are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And how do you unlock that door? You enter the gate with thanksgiving. The key of David is the voice of thanksgiving. “And I will go about Your altar, O LORD, that I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving and declare all Your wonders. O LORD, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.” Psalm 26:6-8. And the result? “My foot stands on a level place; in the congregations I shall bless the LORD.” Psalm 26:12. Level ground, no stumbling, a highway through the pitfalls and ups and downs of the worldly minded. Entering My Rest with Me becomes an accelerated highway to your goal.
Remember the voice of thanksgiving? If you need to review go to 2 Chronicles 20. In any situation, you turn your eyes on Me and pray (prayer without ceasing) (put your eyes on Me), 2 Chronicles 20:1-13, you find the Word that solves your problem (the Holy Spirit will guide you to it (to all truth) as you pray in the Spirit), 2 Chronicles 20:14-17, when you find the Word confirmed in your heart by My Spirit and you throw yourself down on your face as you rejoice with joyful shouts and songs of praise and THANKSGIVING for the victory that you see in that Word, 2 Chronicles 20:18-19, and you boldly face the problem with your Sword of the Spirit ready and fight the good fight of faith singing and making melody in your heart as you go forward. 2 Chronicles 20:20-21. And you will have the result, 2 Chronicles 20:22-24, but make sure you harvest it all and take all the spoil. 2 Chronicles 20:25. It took Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah three days to gather it all from their despoiled enemies. 2 Chronicles 20:25-28. And then what happened? I gave them rest from their enemies on every side. 2 Chronicles 20:29-30. Rest.
I love you. Make haste to enter My rest if you want to live the life I planned for you from the start. It is time for you to enter My rest since I have worked till now to bring you back into My bosom. Will you come? The new and living way is open to you. The door is Jesus and He is My gift to you. Receive Him with faith and then rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give constant thanks, this is My Will for you in Christ Jesus, for it is then the wonders can flow without limit. Do not limit Me as the Israelites did. My rest is a place of limitless growth and increase. The Blessing. Never forget all your benefits. And that is the new series of life lessons we will start tomorrow!