How To Be Thankful In Everything

Transcript

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 0:06

So many times we say, Oh Lord, I thank you. Oh Lord, I'm thankful. And all of that. But I wonder sometimes do we really know how to thank the Lord? Or are we really thankful the way He requires us to be thankful? It's so easy. I mean, it's so easy to thank the Lord when things are going good. So easy. To thank the Lord when you're having a good day. So easy to thank him. When in our own personal worlds everything seems to be going just the way we want it. But when there's a bad day, do we still think it? When do it don't seem to be like nothing is going right, do we still think it? I want us to think this, even this is a Bible study. And and but make sure you check your phone. Make sure your phones are on mute so we won't hear the background noise where you are. Get your phones on mute that way you can hear me. But we won't hear the background noise in your homes. But do we know how to be thankful? I want to talk about tonight. How to be thankful in everything. That's what I want to talk about tonight. How to be thankful in everything. Now I say that because the Bible says that we are to be thankful in all things. And you and I, we gotta stop saying, Lord, I just thank you with our mouth. But what really needs to be saying thank you is our hearts. We really need to thank the Lord from down within us. Truly thanking. I mean, when something bad happens. I know we got the some of this behavior, some of this behavior uh God wants us to have while living for him, we're gonna have to learn this. We're gonna have to learn it. Because you're gonna have some days of affliction. You're gonna have to, you're gonna have some days of persecution. You're gonna have some days of going through, I mean, really going through, and you still in your heart, see, that's why you can't go by what this mob say. As soon as something bad happens, our mob say a whole nother array of verbal things. But that heart in the midst of storm, can your heart still say, Lord, I thank you? Can you find something in the midst of trouble that you can still say something tell the Lord thank you? Well, we're gonna learn that. We're gonna try to learn it this evening. How to think, how to be thankful in everything. And one of my foundation scriptures I want to go to, I'll be glad. I hope I get to this scripture with David. He's gonna tell us tonight. And I had a question, if he was here, I'd have to ask him what he means by that. But David, I'm gonna get um, if I get to the script tonight in Psalm, David's gonna say, Lord, I will thank you forever. I said, Lord, how he gonna thank you forever? Even after he died, leave this world, wherever you take it, he's gonna still be thankful. He said, forever. I'm gonna thank the Lord forever. I'm gonna find out what he means by that. I hope I get to that one tonight. But as a foundation scripture, I want to lay this foundation. How to be thankful in everything. Well, you're not pastor, you come out with uh with my husband leaving, I gotta be thankful. If my wife at the food, do I got to be thankful? People on the job gonna learn. Well, I gotta be thankful. What's in that I gotta be thankful for? See, let me tell y'all something. I had to learn this stuff too. I had to learn. I was reading one of my favorite commentators, is Matthew Henry. And Matthew Henry said just in his just in his commentary, he said, we got to realize no matter what we endure and what we go through, it could have always been worse. Think about it. It can always be worse. I mean, if you can think back to the worst thing, think back to the worst thing that has ever happened to you in your life. I mean, the worst thing. Don't think too long because I don't want you to, I don't want you to relive that badness.

SPEAKER_00 5:31

But in the midst of that, it could always have been worse.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 5:39

It could be worse. But see, in learning how to be thankful and everything, what I want to show us tonight is that we first need to focus on who we giving the thanks to. And why we thanking him. One thing we need to not fail to realize is that if God had not been watching over us, looking after us from day one when we come into this world as an infant, he has not ceased to watch over us. And a lot of things have not happened that could have happened, that we know not of. But because of him and what he allows and does not allow, we have been spared a lot of the great tragedy in our lives that we don't even think. We think we done the worst that ever happened to us done happen. No, it's a whole lot of things that could have happened way more worse in our lives if we only understood this.

SPEAKER_00 6:54

This is why to thank him who has spared us, to thank him, who is merciful, to thank him for not letting the worst happen that could have happened.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 7:14

And understand why it is he does things the way he does. We're gonna see in the word of God tonight that to thank him is his will. It's God's will for us to go to him and thanks. Because he could have done consumed us, he could have done took us out of him. You ever wonder why you still here? Why we still the ones who's here are still here? Oh, I know, you know, some people would flip milk and say, Well, Pastor, our time just ain't come yet. Do you not know our time is in the hand of the whole of them? Let me tell y'all something. About life. Do you not know that if we want long life, God will give that to us? I tell you what, let me just let me just sidebar here a minute. If you got your Bible, I hold this Bible, so I hope you got your Bible in the Bible. Get your Bibles out. I'm gonna give you because this ain't in my this ain't in my my text tonight, but I'm from the sidebar here for a minute. Go to Proverbs. Go to Proverbs right quick. And I'm going back, I'm going back to where I'm going back to Go from Proverbs to third chapter.

SPEAKER_00 8:42

Find it in your Bible.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 8:43

Proverbs third chapter right quick. I'm gonna give you just one of the the secrets. And one of the keys. I'm gonna give you all the keys to long life in God if you want it. Listen at this. I'm gonna show y'all what long life, what the secrets of long life. Like, give me Proverbs chapter three. Here we go again. Proverbs chapter three.

SPEAKER_00 9:19

And I'm just gonna read two verses.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 9:25

Verses one and verse two. Just hold on. Watch it. Watch the word now. He says, My son, forget not my law. This is the Old Testament, so we know the law means his word. Now you get in the New Testament and use the word more than say law, but it's the same thing. Law, God's law is God's word. Because this book is the law. Forget. See, we can't forget the word of God and what it says. That's why when we go through what I'm dealing with tonight, we can't forget what to be, that we are to be thankful. Don't forget to be thankful. I don't care how bad you may think your life has gone. Thank God and be thankful. Forget not, but see if we get the word, the word will help us not to forget that. Forget not my law. But let thy heart hit this. It is the key right here. This the key and this is secret. But let thy heart keep my commandments. Commandments is just another word for his words. And this title, the book says law, commandments, his statutes, his preacher, his word. They talk about his word. Listen to that. Let thy heart keep my commandments. If we keep the word of God rooted and grounded in our heart, keep the word of God in our mouth. Keep the word of God in our heart. Keep the word of God to live by every day. As the most sacred thing in our life, this is what's gonna come your way. For length of days. See that blessing is right there. If you just keep his commandments and don't forget his law, don't forget that book. Length of days. Well, this what's length of days? How long God wants going to give you? How much you want. Length of days and long life. I told you, I'm telling you, I'm giving y'all just one of the secrets to have a long life. You gotta start living according to the word. There is a benefit. This is one of the benefits of living according to the word of God in this day and time and generations we're living in. The key to life is in God. Then y'all remember what Jesus said? He said, The words I speak unto you, they are spirit. He didn't stop there. He said, and they are life. Jesus said that. Live the day and long life and peace. Then you're gonna have peace with it. And that's Lord, that's a whole nother story right there. If I can teach us how to have and have and to hold on to peace, nothing would be disturbing, nothing will keep our minds rattled, nothing will have us always shaken up and can't remember this and can't remember that. Your mind here, your mind got so much on your mind, you're about to go crazy. Or you appear to be losing yourself because you don't have no peace. But if you get in that book, you get in that word, and you keep it, that keeper means to live by it. You will not only have peace, but length of days and long life and peace shall they add to thee. Wait a minute now. Lord, now you said add. Anytime the book says add, don't you remember in uh Matthew 6 and 33? Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added. Until you add, he's talking about adding again. See, God in the adding business. While we think subtraction, while we think in laws, God is talking adding. But the key to adding, you got to be in that word, you gotta get in that book, you got to live according to what he said, you got to be obedient to his word. And these things will be added unto you.

SPEAKER_00 14:05

He says, shall they add to thee.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 14:14

That's not my you, that's another word for you. The God will add that to you. Long life and length of day. But you gotta came, you gotta stop forgetting that word. Stop forgetting what the word say. And we wouldn't forget what the word says if we spend time in the word. Don't forget it. And you gotta keep my commandment, you gotta keep my words. And I return because you're keeping my word, which is me. Because me and my word are one. You keeping me in your heart. And what comes with me is long life and length of days and peace. I want y'all to digest that. Let me try to get back to my how to be thankful and everything. Let me get back to this now. That's a little sample cake. Now let me go and make the big cake. Psalms 100. Psalms 100. This is the foundation. No. I want Psalm 100, but I don't want to right now. Let me lay the foundation. That's what I was finna do, lay the foundation. Thessalonians. First test. Give me first Thessalonians 5 and 18.

SPEAKER_00 15:38

And this one verse is the foundation scripture for this evening. Lord bless. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. He says, in everything. Give thanks.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 16:03

Lord, why God to give you saying everything in tragedy? In sadness? See, that's one that we don't we don't know how to give thanks in. We know how to give thanks in the when the times are good, the good times. We know how to give thanks when things are going right, or what we think is right for us. We know how to give thanks when we done got that promotional. We finally got in that move into a new household. We finally got that call we want. We done graduated college and we done got this and got that. We good at thanks and good, but what about the other stuff? When the last time we gave thanks when we lost everything we had. When the last time we gave thanks when we heard of myself, turn the lights off. Turn the gas off. When the last time we gave faith when you know food was getting low and them children was in their home.

SPEAKER_02 17:29

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 17:36

When the last time we gave things, when we know we was on our deathbeat. Or somebody we love. Health and sickness had them. Laying us in the hospital for weeks and months. When the last time we gave thanks for that. And the one reason we don't know how to give thanks for those things, because we are so focused on what the tragedy of what's going on and what's happening and how it's affecting our emotions. Hallelujah. To bring forth out of you that connection that you have with God and allow that spirit to point to you and tell you when you're in the midst of these storms, he tells you, look over there. Look at that. That's something you can still be thankful for. Hallelujah. Look over here. That's something right there for you to be thankful for. Hallelujah. Because as long as we're in our emotional state, as long as we're in uh that that that our heart is heavy state, we can't see what we need to see. That's why we need the spirit of God in us to point to us. Look at him. I could allow this to happen. This is something you can still be thankful for. He didn't say be thankful for. He said in. Just find something in to be thankful for. You wearing your last. This is the only pair of clothes you got. But be thankful. If you gotta take it off every day and wash it over, thank God. How to be faithful is we got to learn how to exist.

SPEAKER_00 19:58

In the midst of storm, exist in the spirit. Because that is where God wants us to live.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 20:10

In the spirit. Come on now. Come on now, people of God. Do you not know it's stuff yet to happen and to come our way before this thing is over with? And we're gonna have to know how to be thankful. Why? We got to be thankful to tell you. The word finna tell you. Go back to Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians 5 and 18. He said, it's everything, not just what you want to be thankful in, not just the stuff you done picked out and chose to be thankful for. No, it's everything. The good, the bad, the confused, the ugly. In everything, give thanks. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. That was a time. Let me decide about here again. That was a time I had to learn. I had to learn. Because see, starting out as a young minister years ago, I God stayed hoofing my back. I stayed in the trouble with the Lord. But God would always He would always, when He got tired, He gave you chastise me. Because I read in the I I messed around and read in the Bible. Well, the Lord said He chastised us because He considered us sons and daughters. And if He didn't, if I didn't chastise you, you would be like a bastard to me. But because you are my sons and daughters, I got to chastise. He said, Yeah, no chastising. It don't seem good at the time. I had to learn this. One thing. To learn how to say, Lord, I thank you for the whooping. I know a lot of you that think that's crazy talk. But keep listening. Keep listening. The word of God and your experience with God will teach you. You'll start, like me, you'll start saying, Lord, thank you for the whooping. Now, I you say, I said thank you for the whooping, but what I'm really saying is, Lord, thank you because you also said, because you whooping me, you consider me a son. And that's why I have to think that, Lord, thank you. You still consider me. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

SPEAKER_00 22:44

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. You still consider me a son? Much as I messed up. So many times, I said, Lord, how many more times the Lord gonna forgive me?

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 23:02

But he kept chess because he considered me his son and his love. Hallelujah. Because no matter what you're going through, if you can't find nothing else to be thankful for, thank God for his love and his tender mercy. Thank you, Lord. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for the chastising. Thank you, Lord, for the test I got to go through this week. Thank you, Lord, for the persecution. Because I'm looking at, I'm looking, say, I got to pass. You got to let your sight, your spiritual sight, look beyond the tragedy, look beyond what you're going through, and see what it's going to produce. When God gets through. So he tells you, in everything, give thanks. Then he tells you why. For this is the will of God. What's the will of God? What's your will is, Lord, that you give thanks in everything. That's my will for you. Because I'm going to use them bad times you think that you call bad time, them persecution time. I'm going to use them to make you. And that in itself is something to be thankful. Lord, you finna make me. Yeah. I'm finna make you and conform you and transform you through the tragedies you go through, through the circling you go through, and what it's going to do when it's all said and done, I'm going to conform you and transform you into the image of my son. Hallelujah. Thank you. Yes, that's something to thank God for. You're changing me to be just like Jesus. And that's what we got to be, y'all, before we leave here. Not when you get to heaven, we got to be there before we leave here. And it's going to take us going through some things. But in the midst of those things, we're going to have to say, Lord, I thank you. When you see what He's doing, when you know some of us right now know we ain't the same, we used to be. I'm talking experiencing. Because of the things God has taken us through. Taken us through and brought us out of. We ain't the same no more. I tell everybody right now, ain't no way I can go back. There's certain things I see and have experienced in my spiritual life that my life cannot, I don't care what happened, I don't care what nobody said, I don't care how they say it, I cannot go back to who I was. Because, see, some changes have took place. And a lot of us need to understand that there are some changes that have already begun to take place in your life. And to conform in you to the image of Jesus that you cannot backtrack. You cannot undo because that's God's handiwork. That's God done did that. What you and I need to understand is this had to happen in order for God to do what he had to do. He ain't telling us the whole story. He's just telling you, be thankful. Trust me, have faith in me, and you just be thankful. Because this is the will of God. Well, as he said, in Christ Jesus, concerning you. Come on now, come on now. We don't come on now. Come spiritual with me. Come to the spiritual level with me. There are some things concerning you and I that God is very concerned about. You hear what he's just saying? He said this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. In other words, God is telling you what I'm doing, why I'm telling you to give thanks to everything, and why I'm doing what I'm doing your life here. This I'm concerned about you in a certain way that you and I we ain't got a clue yet. Because we're still operating in the emotions. We're still operating in our feelings, and we need to be operating and allowing our lives to be operated in through the spiritual. Where we can see and understand what God is doing in our life. He said, concerning you. This is not concerning God. This is about us. God is trying to do this for us.

SPEAKER_00 27:59

Teaching us how to give thanks and everything. It's for us.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 28:06

Oh, but when we learn it, when you learn how to give thanks is everything, watch what I tell you. How your life is going to take on a new level of understanding, of spirituality, a new level of connection with God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. A new connection with the Holy Ghost. A new connection with his words. Watch what I tell you. When we learn how to give thanks, even if folks think we're stupid, why are you thinking giving thanks for that? I ain't thanking for that.

SPEAKER_00 28:53

I'm I'm he didn't say give thanks for losing a loved one or tragedy, but he said, in it learn how to give thanks.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 29:07

But this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

SPEAKER_00 29:18

One thing you're gonna learn, you and I gonna learn.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 29:21

When God gets us to that place where we give thanks and glad to give thanks, God is gonna move on your spirit for you to make known to those who don't know, to make known what he has done in your life, to proclaim to whoever will hear, whoever will listen, and tell them just what God has done in your life. Let me get let me get some word. Let's get some word. This is what the Lord said. Give thanks unto the Lord. See, when the Bible, when Paul just told, spoke in that letter he wrote to the Thessalonians and 1 Thessalonians, what we just read 5 and 18. Give thanks. We are giving thanks to the Lord. You ain't giving thanks to the person that brings the persecution on you. You ain't giving thanks to the person that brought the tragedy in your life. You ain't giving thanks to the privilege of trying to use you. You're giving thanks to the Lord in what you're going through. Because God is gonna use that to benefit your life if you let it. Now, too many of us let tragedy and bad times cause us to move from God instead of getting close to God. And that to me is a tragedy. We let the sit up and see because in the midst of what you're going through, you're gonna be faced with two things to either Lord or to hear the devil. And too many of us listen to the devil's side of it, and it causes us to veer off or to drift away from the Lord. Because we go to blame the Lord and we get mad at God. Why God let this happen? And God couldn't stop this because we we talk foolishly because we don't understand him. We talk foolishly because we let the devil put that trash in our ear about God. And that's not God doing that. That's him doing that, the one that's talking in your ear. That's him the one trying to destroy you. That's him, the one trying to kill, steal, and destroy your life, not God. But he talks in your ear and causes you to think that at a point where your emotions is all twisted and crazy, and you confused, and he calls you to think ill toward God and making you think ill toward him, the one that's bringing the miss, the one that's bringing the bad news. But he'll cause us to turn against God, and that, my brothers and sisters, should never be. Don't never turn against God. He said in 1 Chronicles 16 and 8, give thanks unto the Lord. Lord, I thank you. Call upon his name. In the midst of what you're going to call on, Lord, thank you. I need your help though, but I thank you. Don't never complain and don't never murmur. Call upon his name. Here it is. This is what I want. Make known his deeds among the people. Tell the people what God done did for you. They might not understand, but it might plant a seed to hear somebody. For somebody to hear the goodness of the Lord, what he's done in your life, just might spark faith in somebody else and cause them to believe. Because the contrary to what a lot of Lord says, we ain't the only ones going through what we're going through. Somebody else needs to hear your testimony. Somebody else needs to hear what God done did in your life because they're gonna get ready to go through the same thing that you just come out of. And that needs to spark some hope in them. Well, if God did it for them, he can do it for me. Because he ain't no respected person. Well, we got to make known his deeds. This is what he said to the people. Girl, how do you came out of there? How do you, how do you able to go to the do what you're doing? Tell them that she's not opening right there. Somebody's open door for you. Tell somebody, goodness of the Lord. Tell him, make known his deed. Because that brings glory to God. Not you and I, but it brings glory to God. When people see you still thankful, and they know you went through this and went through that. You just be thankful. Yeah, I'm thankful. Because it could have been worse. Yeah, I'm thankful because this was not to destroy me. God didn't let this happen to destroy me. He finna make me. God didn't let all that stuff happen to Job because he was trying to destroy Job. God replaced everything Job lost but double. God gonna let a lot of things happen, y'all, to increase our faith in him.

SPEAKER_00 35:22

To increase our love for him. To increase our relationship with him.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 35:33

And God got to let certain things happen to us based on the people, on the kind of character and personality we got. Some of us got some characteristics about ourselves that only God can deal with. Some of them can't deal with you, wives can't deal with you, but God can. Nobody deal with you, but God can. And he knows exactly what he got to do to reach you, to make you, to who he would have you to be, and that is to make you like Jesus. So give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. Yes, Lord, we're gonna make known your deeds. One sad tragedy is we don't forgot how to come into the house of the Lord and give thanks. So many people go to church every Sunday or whatever, and don't know how to enter into the house of God and be thankful. How to enter into the presence of God and be thankful. Y'all remember what that book said? Jesus said, That Bible said, This people honoreth me with their mouth and with their lips. And that's a lot of times going on in church, a bunch of mouth and lips. Platter in church. They hear they they sang, but they ain't saying to the Lord. They sang to try them in prayer. He said, This people honoreth me with their mouth and with their lips. This is what God said. He said, but they hear from me. You know how many people church? Hearts is for heart. God ain't nowhere in their heart when they're not performing and acting a fool.

SPEAKER_00 37:56

God ain't getting nothing out of that.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 38:02

God is not getting nothing out of that. Well, it's a check song. That don't mean nothing. Get up and testify what you're throwing off on people. God ain't getting nothing out of that. Get up there and say something that's gonna glorify him. Say something from your heart that's gonna glorify him. Even if you say out of key, even if you change the words around, if it comes from the heart, that's what God wants. And that's why so many of us cannot give, truly give thanks unto the Lord in everything. Because we don't know how to connect with him, have not been taught how to connect with him, and we don't have the relationship with him we think we got. The relationship we think we got is just a facade, it's just on the surface, but we have never truly tapped into what it means, hallelujah, to have a thankful spirit in everything. When you know who God is, when you have experience, when God, I'm gonna tell you something. Some of us I'll be glad, I pray that a lot of us this begin to have a more in your life. If you walk with the law, see, I told you that's a relationship. I'm trying to intensify and strengthen with the Lord. This relationship called walking with God. Walking with God. When you walk with God, I'm talking about when walk with him in his word. Spend time in that word. Too many of us neglect the word of God on a weekly basis. But we still want to pretend and lie to ourselves that we still got a connection with God when we know we have drifted. Well, if you ever get back to this relationship, I call walking with God. I call it because I'm because see, I read a lot about Enoch. When the Bible says Enoch walk with God. But anyway, in the midst of this relationship, there's something gonna happen. You're gonna reveal you're gonna see this. God will begin to reveal more of who He is to you and I if we will just get on that level. Oh, it's gonna cost you something. Because you gotta, you gotta, see, you gotta stay away from foolishness, you gotta stay away from negativity, you gotta stay away from messiness, you gotta stay away from craziness, and any other kind of spirits you hang around and other people that that pulls you away from this relationship called walking with God. If you do, I tell you this, I know this based on the word of God and from my own experience, God will reveal more of who he is to you spiritually, and I'm gonna tell you something like this. I'm gonna tell you this here right here. If you ever make that sacrifice to draw near to him so that he can draw near to you, if you ever make that sacrifice, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah to just taste his goodness. What they say, oh taste and see that the Lord is good if you ever taste and experience Hallelujah, you will want to, if you really sincere and you'll leave it, you will want to continue this relationship, that death of relationship with Him from that point on. No matter what you go through, no matter what you've experienced, no matter how many nights you have to cry, no matter how many things you, your heart has to have it, your relationship with God will be fixed. No matter how folks treat you from that day on, how they talk about you, your relationship with God will not be moved. He it is that he is the one that loves us with an unconditional love. And when he speaks to your spirit and you hear him, in times of tragedy, in times when he requires you to give thanks, you are glad to give thanks because your focus is on him and not on the situation. So when you come into his courts, when you come into the house of the Lord, you're ready to give even a higher level of thanks and praise to him.

SPEAKER_00 43:38

He says to enter into his gates with thanksgiving. And into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto him.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 43:56

You see, when we give thanks unto him, listen what the book said. And bless his name. Do you not know y'all when we thank God we bless in his name? I mean when that thanks is coming from your heart.

SPEAKER_00 44:13

We bless in his name. We honoring him. And we should be glad when it's something we can do.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 44:33

We who are nothing without him. Well, yet there is something we can do to bless his name by giving thanks from our heart to him.

SPEAKER_00 44:56

Lord, we ain't got nothing but a little rice, a little gravy. Thank you, Lord. We got a few little slices of light bread. Couple pieces of ham. Thank you, Lord. We got some oatmeal in the can. Thank you, Lord. They lied on me at work. Thank you, Lord.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 45:24

Because, see, I know you know the truth. I ain't got to go try to prove myself. I ain't got to go please my court, my case. I know you know the truth.

SPEAKER_00 45:33

Thank you, Lord. Certain folks don't want to come over your house no more.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 45:41

Thank you, Lord. I was tired of you coming by here anyway with your foolishness. Thank you, Lord. But finally letting them get the mix. I love them, but I don't I don't I don't need to be around on that negativism. I don't need to be around that foolishness.

SPEAKER_00 45:59

Because I'm trying to get closer to you. Thank you. They cutting my hours back at work, Lord.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 46:10

Thank you. Huh? Because see, your blessings ain't predicated on the hours. Your blessings ain't predicated on the checks. Cause see you got checks that they don't know you got. Thank you, Lord. Light still on. Thank you, Lord. I can let an eye on the heater.

SPEAKER_00 46:35

I on the stove. Thank you, Lord. We won't. Because you are good. Now you say, the Lord is good. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 46:59

You brought us a long way. Thank you, Lord.

SPEAKER_00 47:05

Thank you, Lord. Your children have gone through a lot. Thank you, Lord.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 47:15

But we made it out of the because of you, we made. We went through it. And you brought us out.

SPEAKER_00 47:22

Thank you, Lord. And even now, we are determined to stay focused. We are determined to stay the court.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 47:36

And if there be anything else we must go through before the day is done, before our time is done.

SPEAKER_00 47:46

Yet will we thank. Yet will we thank? Because you are God. And to give you thanks is your will for us to do. Hallelujah.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 48:13

One last scripture I got. I don't want to hold too long. I know it's a minute we in Psalms 30. Just one verse. Psalms 30 and 12.

SPEAKER_02 48:31

Give me for a minute. I apologize, y'all. Y'all hear me blowing my nose out. That no one gets on me.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 48:40

I got water to come out of my nose, down my ears, down my eyes. But I ain't saying. But I know what God done for me.

SPEAKER_00 48:48

Y'all just have to put up, pray for me. Hallelujah. Psalms 30 and 12.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 49:01

David says he said. He said, to the end.

SPEAKER_02 49:08

Hallelujah.

SPEAKER_00 49:11

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. To the end.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 49:21

That my glory may sing praise to thee. I'm going to do this all the way to the end. This is what he said now. And this is what he did. To the end. We're going to keep bringing glory to the Lord. Our glory should be to glorify him. To praise him, no matter what happened. He said, to the end that my glory may sing praise to thee. And not be silent. I'm not going to be, because I'm not going to be silent. And not be silent. I'm not going to be silent when I'm thanking him. Hallelujah. I'm not going to be silent. I'm going to thank him. I don't care who hear me thanking it. I'm going to thank him. I'm not going to be silent. Hallelujah. Because I know what the Lord done does. He said, Oh Lord, my God. See, that's personal. Oh Lord, my God. This is what he said. I will give thanks unto thee forever. Come on now. Come on now. Forever. I will give thanks unto thee forever. Do you do? Do y'all know ain't nobody ever lived forever? Nothing, no human. We ain't no go forever. We saved forever, but we don't know forever. But David is saying, speaking of his life, let me when I leave this world and go to the next world where God got me, where he is, I'm still going to take him in heaven too. Forever. I'm going to keep thinking. On earth, I'm going to take him in heaven. Forever.

SPEAKER_00 51:22

Thanking him. Worshiping him. Praising him. Because I'm not going to be silent. To the end of this one here. To the end of this life, I'm going to be thanking.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 51:42

Not going to be silent. And too many of us are silent when it comes to thinking. Because we don't want folks to see us acting all unswingly. I don't care. We're going to get to get to that place where we don't care about what people think. Not when it comes to giving God what's due Him. Now when we need to be quiet and stop at the fool in front of folks, we ain't. But we hold back what's due God. But when we showing out, when we show it out in our home, we ain't trying to hold back then. But we're going to hold back from thanking God. That's when you need to shut your mouth when you're acting up and showing out the way you do talking to your husband and talking to your wife and talking to your children. But you don't be silent then. You got to get your point out and get the last sake over when it comes to thanking God and making known his deeds. Why are you silent then? When you know what God done done for you. Even when you acted the worst fool you could have acted, God was merciful.

SPEAKER_00 53:00

And you should have thanked him.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 53:05

How? To be thankful in everything? The key is we need to start with the word of God. And in his word, that means starting with the word of God is starting with God. Because the word will show us, it will teach us how to be thankful. And not just for the good, not just for the pleasant times, but in the perilous times, in the evil day. In the days of mourning, those days when tears are flowing down. We thank thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. When you don't have nothing else to say, say thank you, Lord.

SPEAKER_00 54:10

And he will show us how to continue to be thankful and to keep his commandments, to keep his law.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 54:26

That no matter, so whatever we come up against, we will already have the Holy Ghost would have already trained us and taught us how to give thanks in everything. Because the Holy Ghost is going to continue to tell you, it's the will of God for you to be thankful. It's the will of God for you to be thankful. It's the will of God for you to be thankful. And we would have embedded that truth in our spirits, and we shall never forget it. So I say unto you, my brothers, I say unto you, my sisters, in everything, give thanks.