THANKFULNESS

Praise &
thankfulness vs. murmuring & complaining

1. Having a
thankful, grateful attitude:

A. The Lord wants
& expects us to be thankful:

Psa.50:14a              Offer
unto God thanksgiving

Psa.95:2  Come before His presence with
thanksgiving

Psa.100:4b             Be
thankful unto Him

Psa.140:13              Surely
the righteous shall give thanks unto Thy name

Eph.5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God

Col.3:15b                Be
ye thankful

1Thes.5:18             In
everything give thanks: for this is the will of God

(See
also Psa.92:1)

B. We should be
content:

Phi.4:11  In whatsoever state I am,
therewith...be content

1Tim.6:8 Having food & raiment let us be therewith
content

1Tim.6:6 Godliness with contentment is great gain

Heb.13:5 Be content with such things as ye have

(See
also Pro.15:16,17)

C. Don't take God's
blessings for granted:

Psa.68:19                Blessed
be Lord...Who daily loadeth us with benefits

Psa.103:2                Bless
the Lord...& forget not all His benefits

Lk.17:12-18            Were
not ten (lepers) cleansed? where are the nine? (None) returned to give glory to
God, save (one)

D. Remember to
always thank Him for your blessings:

2Sam.22:49,50        Thou
hast delivered me...therefore I will give thanks

1Chr.16:8                Give
thanks...make known His deeds among the people

Psa.136:1-3            Give
thanks unto God...for His mercy endureth forever

1Cor.15:57              Thanks
be to God, which giveth us the victory

2Cor.2:14                Thanks
be unto God, which...causeth us to triumph

(See
also Psa.26:7; 107:22.)

2. Praising the
Lord:

A. We are
admonished to praise the Lord:

Psa.107:8                Oh
that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, & for His wonderful works

Psa.18:3  The Lord...is worthy to be praised

Psa.22:3  (God) inhabitest the praises of Israel

Psa.66:8  O bless our God, ye people, & make
the voice of His praise to be heard

Psa.67:3  O God, let all the people praise Thee

Psa.100:4                Enter
into His gates with thanksgiving, & into His courts with praise

Psa.103:1                Bless
the Lord, O my soul: & all that is within me, bless His holy name

Psa.113:1                Praise
ye the Lord, O ye servants of the Lord

Psa.117:1                Praise
the Lord, all ye nations...all ye people

Psa.147:1                Praise
ye the Lord: for...praise is comely

Psa.150:6                Let
every thing that hath breath praise the Lord

Heb.13:15               Offer
the sacrifice of praise to God continually...the fruit of our lips giving
thanks to His name

1Pet.2:9  Ye should show forth praises of Him Who
called you

(See
also Psa.50:23; 148:all; 150:all.)

B. Praise the Lord
in song:

Psa.30:4  Sing unto the Lord...& give thanks

Psa.69:30                Praise
the name of God with a song...& thanksgiving

Psa.92:1  It is a good thing to...sing praises unto
Thy name

Psa.98:1  Sing unto the Lord a new song

Psa.147:1,7             Sing
unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise

Eph.5:19 Making melody in your heart to the Lord

Col.3:16  Singing with grace in your hearts to the
Lord

C. Praise the Lord happily:

Psa.5:11  Let them that love Thy name be joyful in
Thee

Psa.95:2b               Make
a joyful noise unto Him with psalms

Isa.51:3b                Joy
& gladness...thanksgiving, & the voice of melody

Jer.30:19 Out of them shall proceed thanksgiving &
the voice of them that make merry

(See
also Psa.100:1; Jer.33:11.)

3. Have a continual
attitude of praising God:

Heb.13:15               Let
us offer...praise to God continually...our lips giving thanks to His
name

Psa.34:1  I will bless the Lord at all
times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth

Psa.35:28                My
tongue shall speak of Thy...praise all day long

Psa.71:8  Let my mouth be filled with Thy praise...all
the day

(See
also Psa.30:12b; 72:15b; 79:13; 104:33; 113:3.)

4. Murmuring
(complaining) forbidden by God:

Jn.6:43    Jesus said unto them, Murmur
not among yourselves

1Cor.10:10              Neither
murmur ye, as some of them murmured

Phi.2:14  Do all things without murmurings &
disputings

(See
also Psa.144:14)

5. Causes of
murmuring:

A. Lack of
gratitude for what God has given us:

Num.11:4-6,18       We remember
the fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks...now there is nothing at all, beside this
manna

Num.21:4,5             There
is no bread...& our soul loatheth this (manna)

B. Lack of faith
for God to supply our needs:

Exo.16:2,3               The
whole congregation...murmured against Moses...in the wilderness [when they ran
out of food]

Exo.17:1-4              People
thirsted...& murmured...thou brought us out of Egypt, to kill us with
thirst

(See
also Exo.15:23,24)

C. Loss of faith in
God's Word & His power:

Psa.106:24,25         They
believed not His Word...but murmured

Jn.6:60-66               Many
disciples said, This is an hard saying...His disciples murmured...many went
back

(Compare
Exo.3:4-8; 4:30,31; 14:9-12.)

(Compare
Deut.1:19-27; Num.14:1-11.)

D. Giving up &
losing hope:

1Sam.27:1               David
said, "I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul"

1Ki.19:1-4,10          Elijah...requested
that he might die

Jer.20:14-18            Cursed
be the day I was born...wherefore came I...out of the womb to see labour &
sorrow?

Jon.4:1-9                Jonah
prayed, Take my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live

(See
also Job 7:6,11; 10:1.)

E. Lack of faith
that God loves us:

Deut.1:27               Ye
murmured, & said, Because the Lord hated us, He brought us [to
Canaan] to destroy us

(See
also Psa.73:13,14; 77:1-9.)

F. Thinking that
God is far away & doesn't hear:

Job
23:2-9              Today
is my complaint bitter: Oh that I knew where I might find Him. I cannot
perceive Him

Psa.10:1  Why standest Thou afar off, O Lord? Why
hidest Thou?

(See
also Psa.13:1; 22:1,2 .)

G. Self-righteously
judging others:

Mk.14:4-10             Why
was this waste...made? For it might have been sold ...they murmured.
Judas...went to betray Him

Lk.15:2    The Pharisees murmured, This
man receiveth sinners

Lk.19:7    When [Pharisees] saw it, they
all murmured, He [has] gone to be a guest with a sinner

6. Why murmuring is
dangerous:

A. Murmuring angers
God:

Num.11:1                When
the people complained, it displeased the Lord: & His anger was kindled;
& fire...consumed them

Num.11:10,33         [Israelites
wailed for meat] & the anger of the Lord kindled greatly...& the Lord
smote the people

Num.21:4-6            The
people spake against God...& the Lord sent fiery serpents among the
people...& much people died

1Cor.10:10              Neither
murmur ye, as some of them [Israelites] also murmured, & were destroyed of
the destroyer

(See
also Num.17:10)

B. God may take us
at our word:

Num.14:1,2             All
the children of Israel murmured... Would God that we had died in this
wilderness

Num.14:26-35        As ye
have spoken, so will I do to you: Your carcases shall fall in
this wilderness...even forty years

C. Any murmur is
ultimately a murmur against God:

Exo.16:7  Your murmurings (are) against the Lord:
(for) what are we (Moses & Aaron), that ye murmur against us?

Exo.16:8  Your murmurings are not against us, but
against the Lord           (See
also vs. 9-13)

Num.16:11              (You)
are gathered together against the Lord: (for) what is Aaron, that ye murmur
against him?

D. It causes others
to murmur too:

Num.11:4,5             [Mixed
multitude lusted after meat, & soon the entire camp started murmuring]

Num.13:30-32;
14:36,37        The
(spies) made all the congregation to murmur...by bringing...an evil report (See
also Deut.1:27,28)

7. What to do when
problems arise:

A. Praise &
rejoice even when things go wrong:

Hab.3:17,18            Although
the...fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off...yet will
I rejoice in the Lord

Mat.5:11,12            When
men revile you, & persecute you, & say...evil against you
falsely...rejoice, & be exceeding glad

Lk.6:22,23               When
men shall hate you...separate you...reproach you ...rejoice ye...& leap for
joy

Acts
5:40,41          They
called the apostles, & beat them...they departed rejoicing that they were
worthy to suffer shame

Acts
16:22-25        Beat
them...cast them into prison...Paul & Silas prayed, & sang praises unto
God

1Thes.5:18             In
everything give thanks: this is the will of God

1Pet.4:12,13           Think
it not strange...the fiery trial...but rejoice

(See
also Jer.15:10,11,16; Jon.2:all; Phi.4:4.)

B. If you have a
genuine deep grievance, tell the Lord:

Psa
55:2,3               Hear
me: I mourn in my complaint, & make a noise... because of the enemy...my
heart is sore pained

Psa.55:22                Cast
thy burden upon the Lord, & He shall sustain thee

Psa.77:1-4              I
was troubled: I complained, my spirit...over whelmed

Psa.142:all              I
poured out my complaint before Him; I showed Him my trouble....my
spirit was overwhelmed

1Pet.5:7  Casting all your care upon Him; for He
careth for you

(See
also Heb.4:14-16)

C. Keep on praising
& victory is sure to come:

2Chr.20:22              When
they began to sing & to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the
(enemy)

D. Keep a thankful
attitude in prayer:

Phi.4:6    By prayer...with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known unto God

Col.4:2    Continue in prayer...with
thanksgiving

E. Have a
thankful--instead of foolish or vain--attitude:

Eph.5:4   Neither filthiness, nor foolish
talking, nor jesting...but rather giving of thanks