Thanksgiving as the basis of worship

ByPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
 May the peace and grace from our Lord Jesus Christ be multiplied in your life on this wonderful day! I pray for the Word of God to penetrate and strengthen your spirit, soul and body. We continue talking about the importance of thanksgiving in the life of a believer. Today I would like to discuss thanksgiving as the basis of worship. Grateful heart is the foundation of worship and godly living. Worship is life that is dedicated to God and it implies close interaction with God. It says in the Bible that God is looking for worshippers: 
 «But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth» (John, 4:23-24).
 God is seeking worshippers; it is not because He is selfish, but because He wants to bless people. Those who know God a little or know about Him know that God is love. He only wants good for people, so He seeks worshippers in order to bless them. There is fullness of life and happiness in the worship of God: 
 «You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore» (Psalm, 16:11).
 Worship contains not only fullness of life, but pleasures as well. Saint Augustine said: “ You created us for Yourself, and our hearts are full of confusion until we find our peace in You!» There is no peace for a human soul outside of God, because man was created to fellowship with God. God said through Prophet Isaiah: 
«This people I have formed for Myself; they shall declare My praise» (Isaiah, 43:21).
 We are created for God; we are created to find pleasure in Him, so outside of Him we won’t ever have real enjoyment. 
  • There is no enjoyment in work, no matter how good it is.
  • There is no enjoyment in education, even though it is important.
  • There is no enjoyment in art, even though it affects us.
  • There is no enjoyment in riches, even though wealth plays a significant role in human life.
We can only find true enjoyment and fulfilment in God! King David wrote about it in one of his psalms: 
«Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved. How long will you attack a man? You shall be slain, all of you, like a leaning wall and a tottering fence. They only consult to cast him down from his high position; they delight in lies; they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defence; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Surely men of low degree are a vapour, men of high degree are a lie; if they are weighed on the scales, they are altogether lighter than vapour. Do not trust in oppression, nor vainly hope in robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them. God has spoken once, twice I have heard this: that power belongs to God. Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy; for You render to each one according to his work» (Psalm 62).
 God seeks worshippers because through worship God wants to give them peace and fulfilment! So worship is the source of life fulfilment and thanksgiving is the foundation of worship. The lack of gratitude in a person’s heart robs him of the joy of the fellowshipping with God and the joy of ministering to Him. 
  • Thanksgiving to God is the reason of ministry!
 
  • Thanksgiving to God is the reason for sacrificial living!
 
  • Thanksgiving to God is the core of a holy life!
 May God help every one of us to fill our lives with thanksgiving through the truth of His Word! Till tomorrow!May God abundantly bless every one of you!Pastor Rufus Ajiboye

Similar Posts

  • How to set grace free in our lives? II

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
    The law of sowing and reaping governs how favour works. It is necessary to look at favour as a seed that must be sown. Jesus said that, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” (Matthew 5:7).In other words, Jesus is saying, “Blessed are those who have sown favour or mercy, because they will reap favour or mercy”.Generally, the level of favour operating in your life depends on the level of the seed of favour you sow into other people’s lives. This means that I cannot expect the harvest of favour in my life until I have not sown mercy into other people’s lives.

  • Our willingness to be accountable to others and what you do or not do is the determining factor of our character

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
    «I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me» (Philippians, 4:13).It means that I must completely rely on Christ and His Word and draw spiritual strength through personal fellowship with Him. Besides, it means that I receive God’s power and support through other members of the Body of Christ. I am united with Christ directly and also through my relationships with other members of His Body.

  • God reveals His plan gradually

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    Yesterday we began talking about the importance of knowing God’s will for our lives. We established that God has a particular plan with precise assignments for every person. But God reveals His plan gradually.God reveals His plan to us as we reach certain levels of maturity and grow in our ability to accept what He has prepared for us. As God shows us the details of His plan, we can learn to walk in obedience in those areas where God has already revealed us His will. And during this time we can simply trust Him to carry out His sovereign plan for our life.

  • How does a truly responsible person look like? III

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    «..for You (God) have magnified Your word above all Your name» (Psalm 138:2b).We are the children of God, created in the image and after the likeness of God. If our God takes responsibility for what He has said, He expects the same from us. Besides, He does not mean for us to do it on our own; He has sent to us the Helper, Teacher, Comforter and Advocate – the Holy Spirit to be with us at all times.

  • Organization of effective prayer life IV

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    Prayer is meaningful time with God.I will explain what I mean by that. Quite often I use the word ‘time’. Prayer is one of the means of organizing and managing the time we have been given. What is the topic of our prayers is a very interesting question. We all talk about it. There are so many books written on prayer. But who is the person who prays truly effectively? This is a very serious question. God desires us to arrange our lives for effective prayer; it will take our ministry and our whole life to a much higher level.

  • God wants to be our Friends

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    The Bible says that God called Abram His friend. God came to Abram and said that He cannot hide from him what He has purposed to do: «And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him”»(Быт.18:17-19)