The Sacrifice of Thanksgiving
And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings:… (Amos 4:5 KJV)
The scriptures state that thanksgiving is a spiritual sacrifice. You are probably familiar with the sacrifice of praise, or the spiritual sacrifices we offer as God’s priests. Well, one of those spiritual sacrifices is being thankful to God in Christ. As noted previously, Biblical thanksgiving is not the North American yearly November holiday, which we all cherish, but a response of our grateful hearts to God’s goodness. And that should be the heart and soul of Thanksgiving day!
The sacrifice of thanksgiving is similar in the sacrifice of praise. Both derive from the imagery of the Old Testament sacrifice and their fulfillment in Christ. Amos prophesied and urged the people to “offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving” at a time when the ceremonial sacrifices were still in place. As we learn in the New Testament, these ceremonial sacrifices were only a shadow of the true sacrifices—real worship, worship in truth and spirit, the real thing God wants.
As God’s children filled with His Spirit, whenever we express our gratitude to God and say, “thank you”, for instance, those words “thank you”—from a Spirit-filled heart—are better to God than all the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament. Believers often overlook this powerful truth; we often underestimate who we are, and the power of our words to God.
Hebrews 13:15 sums it beautifully:
“By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” (Hebrews 13:15 KJV)
The fruit of our lips, those words of gratitude expressed to God are a sacrifice acceptable and well-pleasing to Him. So do not hold back, but offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Him continually.
Apply the Word
How is thanksgiving a sacrifice in the New Testament?
Apply the Word
Step into your priestly duties: lavish the Lord with the sacrifice of thanksgiving continually, every day.
Pray
Seize this opportunity to thank Him for grace and the people who have blessed you.
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Great message. Recently God.showed me 1Thess 5:18 in a dream. I was battling with an issue that I didn’t understand, but felt all that He wanted me to do was to thank Him. And it worked. Thanks for sharing Rev Patrick. Shalom
Your regular reader
Rev M. Martey
Ghana
Wonderful report there, thank you for sharing Rev Martey. Glad to also read how the Lord is working in subtle ways in our lives. Blessings
Thank you for the Thanksgiving post! Awesome food! You all should have a share link so that we can share your posts with others.
Thank you for the feedback! Glad to know His Word is a blessing to you. And thank you for that observation. There are actually share buttons but they are below the other content. That makes me realize they are probably too far below. I will fix that! Remain the blessing.