Topic: TRIUMPHANT THANKSGIVING [Church of God Mission International] Above Only Daily Devotional 26 December 2021
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ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL
DATE SUNDAY 26th DECEMBER, 2021.
TOPIC: TRIUMPHANT THANKSGIVING
TEXT 2 Corinthians 2:14, 2 Chronicles 7:1-16
HYMN S, S & S 866 “O Happy day that….. “
CENTRAL THOUGHT: Thanksgiving is necessity for all belivers
INTRODUCTION:
As a believer in Christ you can give thanks
because you are a part of
His Triumph; you are more than a conqueror
through Him. No matter what you have gone
through in this passing year, you can give thanks to God because Christ, not you, not your ingenuity, not your smartness, not your
financial assets, Christ alone has made you to
triumph over the world, the flesh, and the devil. Nothing that is happening in our SOciety today, neither death, nor natural
disasters, nor war, nor political turmoil, nor
scandal, ought to cause you to be ungrateful or unthankful on this day or any other day. Christ has Overcome the world, and
you have overcome through Him.
Also Read: Open Heaven 26 December 2021 –Topic: THE HOLY SPIRIT I
LESSON OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this study are to:
1.understand what Triumphant Thanksgiving means
2.know from Scripture how King Solomon offered thanksgiving to God
- learn what it takes as believers to give thanks unto God
- appreciate the elements of a triumphant Thanksgiving from Scriptures; and
- draw valuable lesson(s) from the believers of old that gave thanks unto God. BIBLE TRUTH:
Q1a. What do you understand by Triumphant thanksgiving”?
Triumphant Thanksgiving refers to a victorious or successful Thanksgiving. It
refers to the thanks offered as prescribed by
God in the Scriptures, that is acceptable to Him, i.e. one that God is pleased with and one that He accepts Genesis 43-5 gives us a clear example of God accepting Abel’s offering and
rejecting Cain’s. It is one offered to God from a sincere heart in appreciation for what
He has done. It is also a thanksgiving
offered unto God as a result of what Christ has accomplished for us on the cross, in spite of the experiences one may have had.
Q1b. In what situation should we offer thanks to God? 1st Thess. 5:18: Phil. 4:62
Scriptures enjoin us to offer thanks to God at all times and in all circumstances. (Ps 34:1)
Specifically, we are admonished to be thankful at certain times and seasons. For
example
- When all is well with us. (Ps 103:1-2).
ii. In adverse situations e.g sickness or afliction (2 Cor 12:9-10) knowing that God is
with us always and will turn things around for our good.
iii. When we are disappointed or feel abandoned or rejected (Ps 42:5).
iv. When we are going through trials (Ps 59:16-17).
v. When we are persecuted or tempted. (Dan.6:10)
vi. When experiencing delay.
(Ps 13:1-6).
Thanksgiving is a choice we make to look for the good in every situation. Giving thanks
in all things might not change the situation, but it will always change us in the situation.
Q2a. IDENTIFY THE VARIOUS WAYS KING SOLOMON AND HIS SUBJECTS OFFERED THANKS TO GOD? 2 CHRONICLES 7:1-6
2Chronicles 7:1-6, shows how King Solomon and his subjects offered thanksgiving
unto God. They prayed, fell on their faces to the ground and worshipped and praised God.
The king made a sacrifice of 22,000 Oxen or cattle and 120,000sheep offering unto
God: this is a very expensive offering in our today’s currency.
They used the instrument of music to
worship God.
Q2b. HOW DID GOD RESPOND TO SOLOM0N SACRIFICE? 2nd Chronicles.7:1-3, 11-16
God was well pleased with Solomon and his people and entered into a covenant with
them. “If i shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people:
lf my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and
seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will
forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears
attend unto the prayer that is made in this place. For now have I chosen and sanctified
this house, that my name may be there forever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually”
Q2c. HOW THEN SHOULD WE THANK GOD? Heb. 13:15; Psa. 95:1-2
When you bring a thanksgiving offering to the
LORD, it must be sacrificed properly so it will be accepted on your behalf (Leviticus
22:29 NLT). God wants us to offer thanksgiving to Him but it is not all thanksgiving that God accepts. Any thanksgiving that is not accepted by God is
therefore a waste on the part of the person who offers it. Below are some biblical ways
on how we should thank God.
- Repent of our sins: Sin makes us unacceptable to God and if we’re not
acceptable to God, our Thanksgiving can’t be
Acceptable to Him. So, let us repent of our sins before we Offer thanksgiving to God.
God is first interested in us before being interested in what we want to give Him.
Matt. 5:23-24: Prov. 15:8: 21:27.
ii. Make sure it is a freewill offering, It must not be done out of compulsion. It must
Come from our heart. God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). Don’t do
thanksgiving grudgingly: it won’t be accepted by God.
ii. Sing and shout joyfully to the LORD. In the Bible, singing and making a joyful shout or noise to the LORD is associated with thanksgiving. Psalm 95:1-2 (NKJV)
iv. Dance to the LORD and sing with musical instruments (Psalm 149:3, 150).
V. Thanksgiving involves presenting to God something honourable to appreciate
Him. There’s nothing we give to God that can match or pay for what He has done for us
but what we give is our token of gratitude to Him. It can be money: it can be material
things: it can even be our time offered for service. 2 Sam 24:24:2 Cor. 9:6.
Q3. WHY SHOULD WE GIVE THANKS TO GOD?
The Scriptures is full of reasons why we should give thanks to God. Some are listed
below:
-For saving us from our sins.
-Thanksgiving glorifies God
Ps. 100:1-4:2 Cor. 4:15.
-For His everlasting love that
endures forever. Ps. 100:5.
-For all His benefits. Ps.
103:1-6.
-For His protection. Ps. 91:1
-He comforts us in our
distresses. Ps. 113:9.
-For His mercies and
compassion. Lam. 3:22-23.
-For all His spiritual blessings
in Christ. Eph. 1:3.
-For all the good and perfect
gifts He gives to us. Jam. 1:17.
-Thanksgiving is God’s will
for our lives. 1 Thess. 5:18.
We are to offer quality substance for example, time, money, material property, etc
because giving a triumphant Thanksgiving to God is not only about size but quality.
Q4 HOW DID THANKSGIVING FURTHER HELP The FOLLOWING PERSONs IN LIFE?
Noah. (Gen. 8:20-22; 9:1-3. 13-16)-After Noah and his family left the ark, one of the first things Noah did was build an altar and offer a sacrifice to God of every clean animal that
was on the ark. The key lesson we should
learn from this scripture is that it is important to thank God for the blessings He gives us. In
Noah’s case, he offered a freewill sacrifice to give thanks to God for preserving him and his family in the ark and for allowing them to be
used to repopulate the earth. God made a covenant of not destroying the earth with
flood again, and renewed His original covenant with man.
Mary (Mark 14:3-9)-To show her regard for the
Master, Mary broke an expensive Alabaster box of Ointment of spikenard very precious; and poured it on the Master’s head. And because of this, “wheresoever the gospel
shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken
of for a memorial of her.”
The healed Samaritan leper (Luke 17:17-19) – Jesus told the ten lepers to go show
themselves to the Priest, while. on their way, they discovered. that they were healed, but only one came back to thank Jesus
and he was a Samaritan a stranger. For this he was made whole. Solomon, Noah, Mary or the
healed Samaritan leper were not compelled to thank God, they did it willingly and
wholeheartedly.
DAILY LIVING APPLICATION
We are to give thanks to God in good times and even when it seems times are hard and also in the midst of challenges. We
have been admonished to give thanks to God for His numerous blessingS we received and all the calamity He helped us to escape. Are
you a grateful heart? Don’t be ungrateful to God. As the refrain of that popular hymn
says, “Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your blessings, see what God
hath done! Count your. blessings, name them one by one. And it will surprise you
what the Lord hath done. That was what David
did in Psalm 103, He listed all that God had done for him and blessed His name for all of
them. Think about all God has done for you and thank Him for them; don’t forget all His
benefits.
MEMORY VERSE: 2nd Corinthians 2:14
Now thanks be unto God which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh
manifest the savour of his knowledge by US in every place.