Be happy[in your faith] and rejoious and be glad-hearted continually (always); Be unceasing in prayser [praying perseveringly]; Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances my be, be thankful and give thanks] for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will]. Do not quench (suppress or subdue) the [Holy] Spirit;" --I Thessalonians 5:16-19 (Amp Bible)
We must give thanks, this is god's will for us. If we don't give thanks, we are out of God's will. There has been much confusion concerning this verse. Many attribute everything that happens in their lives to God and they regaud it as God's will for them. Thanksgiving, praise and worship should be compared to the three areas of the tabernacle of Moses. The out court represents thanksgiving; the holy of place represents praise; and the Holy of Holies represents worship. According to Pslam 110, we enter His gates with thanksgiving. thanksgiving relates to what God has done. As we come to the outer court of the temple preparing ourselves to come into the holy of holies, we begin with recounting of what the lord has done. This involves much action of the body. This involves the raising of the hands. Perhaps the clapping of the hands, a loud voice, excitement, and the exuberance that marks the beinning of our approach to the Lord. move then to the holy place where we offer up praise. Praise is a function of the will which represented by the table of showbread in the holy place. It also flows out of an enlightened mind which repersented by the golden candlestick. A mind set on fire by the Holy Spirit, enlightened by the power of the prayer language. Praise like that becomes as a sweet smelling fragrance or insense from off the golden alter of insense which represent our emotion.
First we will to praise God, then we sanctify our minds through the power of the Spirit, then our emotions take over and bring us through the veil in to the presence of God in worship. When we come to that final act of worship it is the divine invitation of the Lord Himself that draws us within the veil. No man can program himself for worship, it is an act of the will to thank God, it is an act of the will to praise God. It is an act of the will to invite us into His presence inthe act of worship and it is only when our relationship with Gofffd is consummated in woship that we truly feel that we are where He is and He is where we are. Ultimately, the focus must be worship. We must pour ourselves out as the woman broke the alabaster bottle and poured it out on the feet of Jesus. We must pour ourselves out before the Lord. This is the purpose of praise and worship. The miracles that God brings in the holy place are simply the attendant signs. The end results for every believer must be the entrance into the presence of God in worship. Being in the presence of God is the geartest miracle of all! |
