Thanks in Advance
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Thanks Anyways | Developing a Durable Spirit | Pastor Dean Deguara
2 Corinthians 9:10-11 (NIV)
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
Point 1 | When We Give God Thanks in Advance, Joy Is Released
Philippians 1:3-4 (NLT)
Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 4 Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, 5 for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.
A complaining heart leaks strength, but a thankful heart multiplies it.
The Science of Thanksgiving:
Harvard University found that people who regularly give thanks report greater happiness and resilience.
UCLA Health discovered that gratitude lowers blood pressure and improves sleep.
Another Harvard study showed that people who consistently live with thankfulness have a 9% lower risk of early death.
A review of 64 scientific studies found that grateful people experience less anxiety, better mood, and stronger mental health.
Point 2 | When We Give God Thanks in Advance, Our Thinking Changes
Philippians 1:6 (NLT)
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Philippians 1:6 (AMP)
I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return].
Our Thanking will always Clear Up Our Thinking
Point 3 | When We Give God Thanks in Advance, It Builds Our Faith Not Our Fears
Philippians 1:12-14 (NLT)
And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. 13 For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. 14 And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear.
When we give God thanks in advance, we refuse to let circumstances wreck our confidence.
God, I thank You in advance.
Not because everything’s perfect.
But because You are.
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So thankful that you're here this morning as we step into the Thanksgiving season.
Amen.
Can you believe it's already November?
I see people on social media already got their Christmas trees up.
I rebuke that in the name of knowledge.
And I'm going to be honest, it was the first time ever that I was kind of rooting for the Dodgers just because I wanted, you know.
But, you know, some of y'all need deliverance, man.
We got over half the church, Dodger fans.
But, hey, come on.
What a great game.
What a great series.
Hey, before we get into the message, I just want to mention there are several folks that are just going through it.
You may have heard of Brother Gary Bell, who is battling cancer.
Cancer had his eye removed and is undergoing treatment.
So we've been praying for him, visiting with him.
This week, staff was able to pray with Sienna Johnson Fox, who's just married to CJ.
And they came in.
We prayed for her.
She started her treatments on Thursday.
She's battling cancer.
And then last week, I mentioned to you the Chastain family, where their 12-year-old son, again, had reoccurring cancer.
And so they left on Saturday.
And last week, I talked about forming Andrew's, I said Andrew's army, but I heard they already had
Andrew's Angels.
So I just added to it Andrew's Angel Army.
And so there's a couple of ways that you can rally around this family.
And I'm going to ask you, some of you have already given to their GoFundMe page.
Here's a praise report.
They're trying to raise $20,000.
They've already got $12,000.
And so, yeah, praise God for that.
And so I realize some of you have already given to that, but I'd like between four services, I'd like to see if we could knock out the rest of that $8,000.
For the next seven weeks, they left for San Diego.
So during the holiday season, they're gonna be isolated from family, from friends because of immunity, you know, trying to,
keep everything, you know, Andrew safe.
And so they left for San Diego and the treatments will begin on November 10th and go all the way through December 30th.
So if you would like to give through real life to them, we're going to just make one big donation to their GoFundMe page when it's all said and done.
And so that is there.
You can scan that QR code or you can go to the
not the YouVersion app, the church app.
And there is a scroll down menu and you'll see Andrew's Angel Army.
So you can give to that.
And so the Chastain family has been a part of real life since 2020.
Mike actually found Jesus.
I led him to Jesus right over here in the family room.
God has done some great things in their family.
They serve.
And so how many know, come on, when...
Parts of the church are suffering.
We need to rally around them.
And so we want to go to fight for them.
So anything that you do.
The second thing that you can do, if you'd like to pray for them, we already have 42 people committed to praying for them each and every day over the next seven weeks.
And so you can go to the registration page.
You'll see Andrew's Angel Army, and you can sign up for a day to pray.
I still believe God does miracles.
I still believe God does miracles.
Amen.
And so I ate lunch with Mike on Thursday, and they got a great report.
The doctor has already ... How do we know when the doctor's giving you hope?
Jesus is on the move.
Amen?
Thank God for the doctors.
But he said, we can see this healed.
We can cure this.
And so that's what we're believing.
Amen?
We're praying for the good report.
And so continue to pray for them.
And again, let's rally around them as angels.
Andrew's Angels Army.
We're starting a new series today, and you can get all the notes in the YouVersion app, and they're there to encourage and strengthen you in your walk.
You can share those on social media.
Anything I say, when you post that, it just encourages somebody else and lets them know where you're getting fed at this morning.
The title of our new series is Thanks Anyway.
developing a durable spirit.
Everybody say thanks anyway.
Well, if you guys know me, I know the staff knows this about me, but I am a big customer service guy, big customer service guy.
You could have the best food, but if the service is terrible, I'm not going back.
Amen.
I don't care how good the food is, if your service doesn't equal the taste of the food, come on, you just left a bad taste in my mouth.
I don't know about you, but if you've ever called customer service, and how many of you have ever been put on hold, and they come back and tell you,
Thank you for your patience.
And you're like, I'm not patient.
I've been on hold for 37 minutes listening to elevator music.
But here's the thing.
They thank you anyway.
Anyway.
And I began to think about this for a second, and what if that's what real gratitude looked like?
Not thanking God when everything goes right, but thanking him anyway.
Lord, I don't understand it, but thank you anyway.
My prayer hasn't been answered, but God, thank you anyway.
I'm still waiting, but God, I'm not quitting.
Thank you anyway anyway.
And that's the kind of faith that doesn't wait for proof.
And it's the theme behind this series, again, that I've titled Thanks Anyways, Developing a Durable Spirit.
I think we need some durable disciples in the day that we're living in.
We need some Christians with some thick skin.
Listen, that don't get offended about everything that's said or done or whatever.
We can't walk in the spirit of offense.
And as we approach Thanksgiving and the end of the year, I thought it would be good to do an overview of Paul's letters to the Philippians or Paul's letter to the Philippians.
So we're gonna take a 10,000 foot view of it.
We're not going to read every verse this time around, but we're gonna look at chapter one today.
And it begins with a thank you letter from Paul.
Imagine getting a thank you card from someone in prison.
You might expect sadness, complaints, or maybe the danger that they're facing, but
But you wouldn't expect joy for sure.
And Paul begins his letter, his thank you letter from prison with these words.
I thank my God every time I remember you.
How many got people that encourage you just by thinking about them?
Come on, I text somebody this week.
I said, man, I just thank you that God put you in my life as a voice of encouragement.
Amen.
And this letter to the Philippians wasn't just a friendly update.
It was a thank you letter to a church that had faithfully supported Paul's ministry and they had given when others didn't and they prayed for him when others didn't.
And now he's sitting chained.
Again, you gotta picture this.
He's sitting chained to a Roman guard and Paul's letter is still overflowing with the joy of the Lord.
Amen.
And he praises God in the midst of writing this letter.
He's not receiving comfort.
He's not experiencing freedom.
There's no certainty of his release.
And he thanks God in advance.
And from the very outset of this book, we quickly learn from the life of Paul that thanksgiving is a down payment for a durable spirit.
Amen.
Thanksgiving is a down payment for a durable spirit.
You see, Paul's joy, we see, was rooted, not rooted in his comfort, it was rooted in Christ.
You see, church, when we give thanks to God anyway, how many know our joy rises?
Come on, our stress decreases and even our physical health can improve.
Gratitude, as we just sang this last song this morning, literally rewires the brain towards joy.
How many know joy doesn't depend on what's happening around you?
It actually depends on what's flowing from what's already happened in you.
And today as we begin our overview of Philippians, we're gonna discover that when we give God thanks in advance, and that's the title of this particular message, thanking God in advance, we find strength, we find fresh perspective, and joy even in life's hardest places.
Because gratitude, how many know, always has to grow before the breakthrough?
Come on, we want the breakthrough, then the joy.
Right?
Then we'll get happy.
Then we'll get excited about God.
But how many know gratitude gets us ready for the breakthrough?
It leads me to my first point, and it's this.
When we give God thanks in advance, joy is released.
Amen.
Philippians 1, three to four, it says this every time.
Everybody say every time.
Every time.
Every time I think of you.
It's an amazing verse if you really think about it.
Every time I think of you.
I don't think negatively.
I don't think bad about you.
Come on.
Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.
Just the thought of your name.
Amen.
gets me praising God for you in my life.
Your influence, your encouraging words, your text messages.
Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.
And whenever I pray, I make requests for all of you with joy.
For you have been my partners in spreading the good news about Christ from the time you first heard until now.
Amen.
You see, when my thanksgiving is increased, this is what we have to understand.
Supernatural joy is released.
That means, listen, when I thank God in advance, you might be going through a desert.
You might be going through a trial.
You might be going through a difficulty.
You might be facing a mountain in your life, but when you thank God in
that he already moved the mountain.
When you thank God, listen, that the valley you're walking through, a victory is on the other side.
When you thank God in advance, supernatural joy will come on you and increase in you.
And when supernatural joy hits your life, the Bible says, Paul says, the joy of the Lord is my strength.
The joy of the Lord is my strength.
And so Paul begins his letter not with a complaint, but with celebration.
He's in prison.
He's uncertain of his future, and yet he chooses to rejoice.
Why?
Because joy and thanksgiving always travel together.
Come on, whenever you're thankful, how many know you're gonna be joyful?
Come on, and how many know if you're joyful, you're always gonna be thankful?
Paul begins his letter not with a complaint, but with joy and thanksgiving.
You see, when we give God thanks in advance, joy is released.
A complaining heart, on the other hand, leaks strength.
How many of you ever felt weak before?
But a thankful heart multiplies joy and makes us strong.
Paul is teaching us that, listen, don't wait for your circumstances, come on, to all line up perfectly.
You see, Paul didn't wait for his circumstances to change.
Here's the key.
His thanking God in advance changed him.
Come on, how do you know Thanksgiving will change you?
You see, giving thanks in hard times.
How many of you have been through a hard time?
Amen.
Come on, only 10 people raised their hand.
Everybody's been through a hard time.
Giving thanks in hard times doesn't always change your circumstance, but I guarantee it will change you in the middle of it.
Come on, it could change your perspective.
Come on, it could change you how you think about something.
How many know it can transform you and change you, period?
Thanksgiving turns endurance into joy and struggle into strength.
You see, it's not you denying what reality is.
We're not saying deny reality, thanks anyway.
We're not saying that.
It's defining who is greater than the reality that you're facing.
Again, I said this in our In Christ series during this last summer.
Your reality in Christ is greater than any other reality that's going outside of Christ, that's going on outside of Christ.
Amen.
That's why you can have peace in the midst of turmoil.
That's why you can have joy even in a bad diagnosis.
That's why you can be confident, come on somebody, even when the government is shut down.
Thanking God points my heart back to God when life tries to pull it away.
How many know that's a strong pull?
Life will try to absolutely pull you away from thanksgiving.
Modern research backs up what Paul has preached.
How many like when science, come on, just affirms what God already said?
Harvard University found that people who regularly give thanks report greater happiness and resilience.
UCLA Health discovered that gratitude lowers blood pressure and improves sleep.
Come on, how many know you need praise?
Come on, you might need praise and the pill.
Come on, a pill ain't going to change your attitude.
A pill ain't going to change your atmosphere.
A pill ain't going to change your perspective.
I'm saying just a pill.
Praise.
You might not need the pill.
I've heard that testimony many a times.
Another Harvard study showed that people who consistently live with thankfulness have a 9% lower risk of early death.
A review of 64 scientific studies found that grateful people experience less anxiety, a better mood, and stronger mental health.
Come on, just look at your neighbor and say, I'm just so thankful right now.
Come on.
Church, when we give God thanks in advance, it doesn't just lift our spirit.
It develops our spirit to be durable.
And in turn, it strengthens our body and lengthens our life.
You see, joy isn't something that you find.
It's something that you release when you give God thanks in advance.
Can we just take a moment to release some joy in this place?
Can we just give God praise?
Come on, will you just throw up your hands right now?
Come on, somebody needs to stand to their feet and just say, I'm still standing.
God, you're still building.
God, you're still working.
God, you're still moving.
God, I thank you, Lord Jesus.
Hallelujah, that you call me by name.
Hallelujah, that you see every valley I'm walking through.
God, you see every mountain I'm facing.
God, I thank you, Lord, that you are my victory in the mighty name of Jesus.
And somebody said, amen.
Come on, you can be seated if you can.
It leads me to my second point.
How many of you know this is good leading up to Thanksgiving?
Because you're going to have to deal with some people you don't want to deal with.
Come on, you're going to have to talk about some things you don't want to talk about.
You're going to have to hear some things you don't want to hear about.
And God is going to allow you, I'm prophesying to somebody this morning, God is going to allow you to thank him in advance for that person.
God is going to give you the ability to thank God in advance for the difficulty, for the setback, for whatever you're facing.
God is going to give you the faith to give him thanks in advance.
Amen.
You see, it leads me to my second point.
When we give God thanks in advance, our thinking changes.
I like to say it this way.
I did a message called Think Tank many years ago.
My thanking clears my thinking.
My thanking clears my thinking.
Anybody ever caught yourself talking to yourself?
No.
Come on, having a conversation to yourself about somebody else.
How many know that ain't healthy?
I just, if you don't know, that's not healthy.
And when you catch yourself, come on, talking to yourself about somebody else.
Can I just give you a clue this morning?
Will you begin to give God praise for that person in your life?
Will you give God praise for that problem person in your life, that difficult person that's hard to deal with in your life?
Will you give God praise and release that person to God and free yourself from the prison that has you chained?
My thanking clears my thinking.
Come on, how many know if you don't think right, you're not going to think right?
And we got to get our thinking right if we're going to get our thinking right.
Paul said in verse 6, I'm certain.
I am certain.
In a place of uncertainty, how many know you can be certain?
Amen.
you can be absolutely 100% confident that the God who promised you is faithful to do what he's called you to do.
I'm certain that God who began the good work
within you will continue his work until it's finally finished on the day when Christ returns.
How many know we're all a work in progress?
Come on, how many know God is not done with you yet?
Come on, even after your best mountaintop experience, you still got work to do.
I love what the Amplified says it this way.
I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will continue to perfect.
In other words, Paul's saying, you're not perfect, but you are being perfected.
And if you stay with the process and you continue to thank God in the process, come on, you'll see the promises of God unfold in your life.
And as you see his promises fulfilled, you'll recognize that you're becoming more like him.
You're becoming more like Jesus.
You're becoming more like the image of his son, the one who he created you to be.
You see, Paul isn't blind to people's flaws.
How many know we all got flaws?
I get surprised when I hear, Pastor Dave, did you hear what they said about me?
We in a church of 1,500 people who ain't all sanctified yet.
Last time I checked, nobody is sinless here.
And some people are going to run their mouth.
God hasn't saved their tongue yet.
Some people are going to criticize you.
Some people are going to walk by you.
But I'm going to thank God anyway.
Because I understand that God is developing a durable spirit in me.
I'm not no weak Christian going to get offended.
I ain't going to church no more.
And we have wounded believers.
I'm not making light of your wounds.
But if you'd be willing to give God thanks for your wound, he might strengthen you in that area.
Listen, that can't be strengthened any other way except you do the heavy lifting.
Father, I thank you.
Oh my God, I know they talked about me.
Amen.
Oh, God, but I thank you that you have my back.
God, I know what they said about me.
Oh, God, but I know you are strength to me.
I am an overcomer.
Hallelujah.
I felt like preaching this morning.
I don't know about you.
He's not blind to people's flaws.
We all got flaws.
And if we understand that, we can enjoy each other on the journey to where he's taken us.
It's okay.
Everybody just look at your neighbor and say, it's okay.
God's going to get you through.
Paul isn't blind to people's flaw.
He just chooses to see them through faith instead of frustration.
And that's what happens when we pray or give God praise for the imperfect people in our lives.
Instead of getting frustrated, come on, if we thank God in advance, we'll flourish.
Come on, how many want to exchange?
We just talked about we're trading stuff today in the song.
I'm trading my sorrows, come on.
And when you trade your frustration for flourishing, how many know?
Come on, you're coming out on the other side, healthy and thriving.
Before Paul corrects anyone, he appreciates them.
Before he confronts them, he commends them.
You see, this is what thanksgiving does.
It lifts my life above the facts.
When we give God thanks in advance for people, it clears our thinking about people.
When we give God thanks in advance, he gives us certainty about every uncertainty.
When we give God thanks in advance, he finishes everything in our lives that is unfinished.
And it helps us to see them, these things, not for who or what they are today in our lives, but what they are becoming or what they have been placed in our lives to produce in us.
You see, thanksgiving will cleanse the lens of your heart.
I was on a Zoom call the other day and it was foggy.
My whole picture was foggy.
And I was like, man.
I look pretty bad, you know?
And I couldn't figure it out.
I thought it was a setting on the Zoom call.
You know what it was?
It was a smudge over the lens of my computer that was distorting my true image.
And many of you are allowing the enemy, come on, to smudge the lens of your heart so everything you see, everyone you see, come on, you're not seeing them the way God sees them.
Yeah.
It reminds us that every believer is under construction.
God's still working in people even when we can't see the progress.
How many know we live in a culture that's quick to critique but slow to appreciate?
We highlight people's weakness before we ever celebrate their strengths.
But when we start with thanksgiving, hallelujah, grace flows more freely.
Amen.
I've had several episodes of kidney stones, and I haven't had them for a lot of years, well, probably the last few years, because I've learned that there's two kinds of water drinkers, sippers and chuggers.
Now, my wife's a sipper.
She drinks so much water.
She drinks like three of these a day.
I'm like, how in the world do you do that?
And she'll say, one sip at a time.
And the doctor told me, you're not a sipper.
You're a chugger.
He said, so when you go to a restaurant and they put that first glass of water down, he said, don't sip it.
He said, drink it all right there.
He said, when you get a bottle of water and if you watch me between services, I'm like, go, go, go.
Because if I don't chug it, I won't drink it.
And one of the things that I found out during this whole thing is that Amy's ice water always tastes better than mine.
I don't know what she does to it.
I could put my glass, I get a glass, I put ice in it, but she puts it in the magic mug right here.
And she'll recognize when I'm not drinking water.
She can tell, I don't know how.
She got a water detector on her or something.
She's like, you're not drinking enough water.
And she says, here.
And we'll be watching TV.
And I'll start drinking.
And Amy will say, hey, don't drink all my water.
Hey.
And I'll suck that cup dry.
Suck it dry.
And she'll say, now go fill it up.
Have you ever noticed that's what ungrateful people do in your life?
Someone who's not thankful.
Someone who's not thankful.
someone who is always critical of everything and everyone, how many know they will suck the godly right out of the atmosphere?
There's no joy, there's no strength, everybody's got this problem, everything is wrong, there's this, there's that.
This is what I've discovered.
Thankless people always leave everybody else thirsty around them.
Always critical, never grateful, never joyful, never content.
Don't look at your neighbor now.
Come on, somebody.
In small group training, we used to call these folks straw suckers.
Come on.
They suck everything good out of the atmosphere.
The scripture says people who intentionally express gratitude toward others experience deeper relationships, less loneliness, more empathy.
Gratitude literally rewires our minds towards kindness instead of criticism.
And Paul saw what others couldn't, his fingerprints on imperfect people.
His gratitude made his ministry joyful instead of bitter.
And it leads me to my last point.
When we give God thanks in advance, it builds our faith, not our fears.
Some of you are so focused on what other people have said about you that you're fearful it's going to ruin your reputation.
Instead of having faith in God that he is your shield and buckler.
He is your rock and he is your refuge.
He will quench every fiery dart of the enemy.
This is what he does.
This is our God.
In verse 12 to 14 he says this.
And I want you to know.
You catch that?
And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here in this prison, come on, the injustice, come on, the ridicule, the persecution,
Come on, whatever disciplines they were using to torment Paul, everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the good news.
Paul said, despite all of those things that are happening to me, I thank God in advance.
I choose him to thank God in advance.
And when I do, my life becomes good news.
The message that God's given me becomes good news.
And when I thank God in advance, it advances the most important message in the entire world, the gospel, the good news, according to Jesus Christ.
When I thank him in advance, come on, I become a testimony.
When I thank God in advance, my life becomes a witness.
I'm not losing, I'm winning.
Hallelujah.
Paul's prison cell became a sanctuary because his focus shifted from what was happening to him to what God was doing in him and through him.
You see, that's faith speaking through thanksgiving.
You say, Pastor Dean, I don't have no faith.
It's because you don't have no thanks.
And if you'll just start thanking God, come on, faith will begin to rise in your heart.
Faith, oh, I don't got a job.
Well, you better thank God in advance you got a job.
Oh, hallelujah.
I don't see the provision on the table.
Thank God for the provision on the table.
Thank God for the door that he's opening.
Thank God for the divine connection he's going to bring into your life.
Thank God for the money before it gets there.
Thank God for the healing before you get healed.
Thank God in advance.
And when I do, it advances the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
When we give God thanks in advance, we refuse to let circumstances wreck our confidence.
Every thank you to God becomes strength training for my soul.
Even when I don't feel like it.
Even when it's overwhelming.
Even when it feels heavy, too heavy to carry, everything coming at me at once, fighting on all fronts.
How many of you know what I'm talking about?
God, I give you praise.
Oh God, I'm thankful that I don't have what it takes because it's going to take a miracle.
It's going to take you showing up in my life.
And the more I practice that, the stronger my faith becomes.
Remember, science proves what the Bible already instructs us to do.
People who practice gratitude experience lower stress, better health, deeper sleep.
How can you use some sleep tonight?
And greater emotional stability.
That's why two people can face the same storm together.
Yet one collapses while the other one stands tall.
The difference isn't the storm.
It's the strength that Thanksgiving builds.
You see, when life knocks you down, when the report is bad, when the waiting drags on, when hope feels dim, listen, don't let despair have the final word.
Let thanksgiving be your first response.
Can we just say this?
Will you just say this with me?
If I'm talking to anybody in the house, will you just throw your hands up and will you say this after me?
Lord, I thank you in advance.
Amen.
Because I know you're still working.
Say it again.
Lord, I thank you in advance.
Because I know you're still working.
Can we give God some praise today?
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Will you just say this with me?
Say, God, I thank you in advance.
Not because everything's perfect.
But because you are.
How many of you know that's not wishful thinking?
That's worship.
That's thanking him in advance.
That's saying, God, thank you anyway.
I thank you for what you're developing inside of me.
A durable spirit.
One that can't be broken by life's hardest seasons.
God, I'm here for it.
Some of you need to show up to your circumstance.
Some of you need to show up to your mountain and say, I'm serious, bold, and confident as a lion.
I'm here for it.
I know what you're developing.
This thing's not going to chase me.
This thing is going to develop me in Jesus' name.
I'm not running scared.
I'm not avoiding it.
I'm running at it like David ran at Goliath.
You see, some of us today, we've been waiting to believe until life starts making sense again.
You've been waiting to trust Jesus until he fixes what's broken, until the storm stops, until the pain passes.
But hear me, Jesus didn't wait for proof to love you.
He loved you in advance.
You see, the cross was saying, I thank you in advance for my son.
for every daughter who will one day come home.
And right now, in this moment, if you're here under the sound of my voice and you don't know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and life is beating you down, listen, today you can step into that love.
You don't have to have it all figured out.
You just have to open your heart and say, Jesus, I thank you in advance.
Thank you for saving me.
Thank you for forgiving me.
Thank you for making me new.
If there's anybody in here with every head bowed, every eye closed, you just lift up your hand and say, Pastor Dean, I'm ready to accept Jesus Christ in my life.
Is there anybody in first service?
You'd say, Pastor Dean, I need some help.
I need God.
I need to deliver anybody in this sanctified first service.
You need Jesus.
Anybody at all.
God bless you.
We're going to pray it anyway because there might be somebody in here that needs to raise their hand.
On the count of three, we're all going to pray this prayer of salvation.
One, two, three.
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner and I ask for your forgiveness.
I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead.
Right now, I turn from my sins and invite you to come into my heart and life.
I want to trust and follow you from this day forward.
I confess you as my personal Lord and Savior.
Thank you for saving me.
In Jesus' name.
And everybody say, can we just give God praise?
Hallelujah.
If you didn't raise your hand, you prayed that prayer for the first time, we believe that you got born again.
My friend Jeff is out there.
We'd like to put a new believer's packet in your hand.
It's got a Bible in it.
We'd love to just walk with you.
Will you stand with me?
I'm going to ask my prayer ministers to come forward.
I'm going to do something a little different.
Listen.
Maybe you've been praying.
You're a believer.
Come on.
You've been believing.
But lately, gratitude has been hard to find.
Maybe your faith feels tired.
Maybe your heart's been heavy.
And today is your moment to say, God, I'm going to thank you anyway.
I'm going to thank you in advance, even before I see it.
And if that's you, listen, I want you to just step forward right now.
Just come forward down to this altar.
Just come right now.
You just say, Pastor Dean, I need to thank God anyway.
I need to thank God in advance.
Just come forward.
Just come forward all the way forward.
I need to thank God in advance.
I need to thank him in advance.
Is there anybody else?
You need to thank him in advance.
You need to thank God anyway.
Just come up.
Just come up.
Just come up.
Just come up.
Just come up.
Just come up, just come up, just come up.
I need to thank God in advance.
I need to thank God in advance.
Come on, come as an act of faith.
Not because everything's fixed, but because your spirit is ready to rise again.
Come on, this altar call is for people saying, I'm done letting my gratitude wait for good news.
I'm gonna thank them in the middle of the storm.
Come forward, all the way forward, all the way forward, all the way forward.
Hallelujah.
I'm thanking God for the job ahead of time.
I'm thanking God for my healing ahead of time.
I'm thanking God for the restoration of my marriage ahead of time.
I'm thanking God for a breakthrough ahead of time.
Whatever it is.
Hallelujah.
Now will you all lift your hands.
If you didn't come forward, lift your hands.
And we're going to pray this and I'm going to ask my prayer ministers just to make your way.
Just be led by the Spirit.
Put your hand on the shoulder.
I want you guys to repeat after me.
Will you say this?
Lord, I thank you in advance that
Thank you for the healing.
Thank you for my peace.
Thank you for my strength.
You're worthy even before my breakthrough.
You're worthy even before I have my peace back.
You're worthy even before I have my strength.
God, I give you praise.
I thank you, God, for the hard places.
Come on, will you just begin to give the Lord praise today?
Lord, I love you.
Lord, I praise you.
I give you glory and praise in Jesus' mighty name.
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.
Will you just worship him just here for a moment?
Will you just listen without, we don't have a song.
So listen, let your song just come from your heart and just say, God, I give you praise.
I give you joy.
I give you my joy.
I let it release my supernatural joy today in Jesus name.
Come on, thank him for that hard place.
Thank him for that difficult person.
Thank him for the open door, even though you see a closed door.
Thank him for the healing, even though you're experiencing sickness and illness.
God, we give you praise in Jesus' mighty name.
We give you thanks.
We give you praise.
Listen, I want you to linger longer.
Don't hurry.
We're going to pray for you.
But listen, we got another service coming behind us.
So those of you that are, listen, not lingering, God bless you.
We love you.
We've got some Thanksgiving bags on your way out.
We love you, church.
We're going to just linger longer.
If you need prayer, just stay up here.
We're going to lay hands on you and just thank God in advance for whatever you're believing for.
Thank you, God.
-
# Thanks Anyway: The Power of Gratitude Before the Breakthrough
What if real gratitude isn't about thanking God when everything goes right, but thanking Him anyway—even when nothing makes sense?
Imagine receiving a thank-you card from someone sitting in prison. You'd probably expect complaints, fear, or desperation. The last thing you'd anticipate is joy. Yet that's exactly what the Apostle Paul delivered when he wrote to the church at Philippi. Chained to a Roman guard with an uncertain future ahead, Paul opened his letter with these remarkable words: "I thank my God every time I remember you."
This wasn't denial. This was defiance—a holy defiance against despair.
## The Revolutionary Act of Thanking God in Advance
We live in a culture obsessed with instant gratification. We want the breakthrough before the thanksgiving, the healing before the hallelujah, the answer before the amen. But what if gratitude isn't meant to follow our blessings—what if it's designed to precede them?
Thanking God in advance is a down payment for a durable spirit. It's the kind of faith that doesn't wait for proof before it praises. It's saying, "Lord, I don't understand it, but thank You anyway. My prayer hasn't been answered yet, but God, thank You anyway. I'm still waiting, but I'm not quitting—thank You anyway."
This isn't wishful thinking. It's worship.
When we thank God before we see the breakthrough, something supernatural happens. Joy doesn't depend on what's happening around us; it flows from what's already happened in us. The presence of Christ dwelling within becomes greater than any circumstance pressing down from without.
## When Joy Is Released
Paul's letter to the Philippians teaches us that thanksgiving and joy are inseparable traveling companions. When thanksgiving increases, supernatural joy is released. And when supernatural joy hits your life, strength follows immediately behind.
Consider Paul's situation: imprisoned, isolated, facing possible execution. Yet he writes, "Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy." How is this possible? Because Paul understood a profound truth: a complaining heart leaks strength, but a thankful heart multiplies joy and makes us strong.
Modern science has caught up with what Scripture has always taught. Harvard University research shows that people who regularly practice gratitude report greater happiness and resilience. UCLA Health discovered that gratitude lowers blood pressure and improves sleep. Another Harvard study revealed that consistently thankful people have a 9% lower risk of early death. A comprehensive review of 64 scientific studies found that grateful individuals experience less anxiety, better moods, and stronger mental health.
Your body responds to your gratitude. Your mind is rewired by your thanksgiving. Your spirit is strengthened when you praise God in advance.
## When Our Thinking Changes
Paul declared with confidence: "I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it's finally finished on the day when Christ returns."
Notice the certainty in the midst of uncertainty. Paul didn't have clarity about his own future, but he had absolute confidence in God's faithfulness. This is what thanksgiving does—it clears our thinking. When we thank God, our perspective shifts from the problem to the Promise-Keeper, from the obstacle to the Overcomer.
Thanksgiving cleanses the lens of our hearts. Many of us are looking at our circumstances, our relationships, and our challenges through a smudged lens. The enemy has distorted our view, making everything appear worse than it actually is. But when we begin to thank God—genuinely, intentionally, persistently—that lens clears. We start seeing people not for who they are today, but for who they're becoming. We see situations not just for what they are, but for what God is producing through them.
Before Paul corrected anyone, he appreciated them. Before he confronted, he commended. This is the power of thanksgiving—it lifts our lives above the facts and into faith.
We live in a culture quick to critique but slow to appreciate. We highlight weaknesses before we celebrate strengths. But when we start with thanksgiving, grace flows more freely. We recognize that every believer is under construction, and God is still working even when we can't see the progress.
## When Faith Builds and Fear Fades
Paul wrote something revolutionary from his prison cell: "I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the good news."
Read that again. Everything that happened—the injustice, the persecution, the imprisonment—helped advance the gospel. Paul's prison cell became a sanctuary because his focus shifted from what was happening to him to what God was doing in him and through him.
This is faith speaking through thanksgiving. When we thank God in advance, we refuse to let circumstances wreck our confidence. Every "thank you" to God becomes strength training for the soul.
Two people can face the same storm, yet one collapses while the other stands tall. The difference isn't the storm—it's the strength that thanksgiving builds beforehand.
## The Practice of Thanksgiving
Gratitude isn't just a feeling; it's a discipline. It's a choice we make repeatedly, especially when we don't feel like it. When life is overwhelming, when you're fighting on all fronts, when everything is coming at you at once—that's precisely when thanksgiving matters most.
"God, I'm thankful that I don't have what it takes, because it's going to take a miracle. It's going to take You showing up in my life."
This kind of gratitude acknowledges our weakness while affirming God's strength. It admits our insufficiency while celebrating His all-sufficiency.
The practice is simple but not easy: Thank God for the hard places. Thank Him for the difficult people He's placed in your life—not because you enjoy the difficulty, but because you trust what He's developing in you through it. Thank Him for the closed doors, believing He's opening better ones. Thank Him for the healing even while experiencing sickness. Thank Him for provision before you see it manifested.
## A Durable Spirit for Difficult Times
We need Christians with durable spirits—believers who don't get offended at everything, who don't quit when things get hard, who don't retreat when opposition comes. We need disciples with thick skin and tender hearts, people who can endure the long seasons without losing their joy.
Thanksgiving is what makes a spirit durable. It's the difference between surviving and thriving, between merely enduring and actually overcoming.
Jesus didn't wait for proof to love you. He loved you in advance. The cross was God saying, "I thank You in advance for every son and daughter who will one day come home." That's the kind of love that changes everything—love that gives thanks before the outcome is certain.
## Your Moment to Thank Him Anyway
Perhaps gratitude has been hard to find lately. Maybe your faith feels tired and your heart heavy. Maybe you've been waiting to believe until life makes sense again, waiting to trust until something gets fixed, until the storm stops, until the pain passes.
But what if today is your moment to say, "God, I'm going to thank You anyway"?
Not because everything is perfect, but because He is.
Not because you have all the answers, but because you know the One who does.
Not because the breakthrough has come, but because you believe it's coming.
Thank Him in advance for the job, the healing, the restoration, the breakthrough—whatever you're believing for. Let your gratitude rise before your victory arrives. Let your praise precede your promotion. Let your thanksgiving train your spirit for the triumph that's on its way.
This is how we develop durable spirits. This is how joy is released, thinking is changed, and faith is built. This is how we stand strong when everything around us is shaking.
Thanks anyway, God. Thank You in advance. You're worthy even before the breakthrough comes.