Hebrews 13:15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
There is a lot to teach in just this one verse but notice the word continually—we are to never stop praising God. We have a job to do when we come to Encounter and that is to praise Him.
We have a job to do when we wake up, and that is to praise and thank Him.
When trouble hits, I need to praise and thank Him. When I am down, I can praise and thank Him.
This scripture tells me that I can thank and praise Him with cancer. I can thank and praise Him with depression. I can praise and thank Him if my spouse wants to leave me.
I can praise and thank Him when Satan tells me to end my life. I can praise and thank Him even though I have been the victim of abuse.
I can praise and thank Him even though I had an abortion. I can praise Him despite what’s been done to me, what I have done, and even what I am facing right now.
I can praise and thank Him when I am broke. I can praise Him when I get lonely. I can praise Him despite what is going on in my life and I will continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to the one who loves me!!!!!
I can praise Him for who He is because He is worthy of all my praise and when I operate in that attitude of gratitude worshiping Him no matter what is going on around me—God is glorified and His power is activated in my life!
Yes, being thankful and expressing our thanks to God can be a sacrifice because we don't want to do it. And that might be because we are depressed or down or things aren't going that well.
It may be that hardship or tragedy has befallen us, and we don't feel like praising God. But the Bible does not say give thanks to the Lord because you feel good. Rather, it says, "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!"
We need to put things into perspective and that is God is good even when things in my life are not good.
I hope you will join us tomorrow night for a special message on “Giving Thanks.”
I look forward to seeing you at Encounter!
Be Blessed and Encouraged
Bill Rieser
Encounter Pastor
bill@thehopeencounter.org