Thanksgiving is my Battle Cry

Thanksgiving is my Battle Cry

By Pastor Gary Wayne

In the Opening song “Again & Again” we sang:
A song of thanksgiving is my battle cry With joy as my weapon, I'll stand and defy
The lie of the dark with my hands lifted to the sky

Text: Philippians 4:5-8, 1Peter 5:5-9

The Greek word for cares is translated as, anxiety, worry, to be troubled.
It has the idea of dividing or separating.
Worry and fear causes division in our mind through distraction.
The condition in which someone is occupied or fixating upon something.
This is exactly what anxiety does to most of us.

Note the relationship between ver.7 & 8. The devil is seeking you.
Satan is not looking to devour you physically, but spiritually and mentally.
The mind is the battle ground.
Dan.7:25 tells us the enemy will try to wear out the saints with mental fatigue.

When we are in a mental war, we don’t fight thought with thought, but with the Word, Worship, and Praise (Thanksgiving).

Phil.4:5-8
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice!” Shift your mind.

V.6 “with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

We are often given a choice as to how we respond to pressure.
When I’m driving and find myself surrounded by idiots. God is giving me a choice how to respond.
God is giving me a chance to see there are things in my heart that need dealt with – from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Mt 12:34 Lu 6:45
When I find in me anger and frustration coming to the surface, this is my God given opportunity to examine where that fruit is coming from and go after the roots. “God where is this coming from?”
When I do that on a regular basis with normal everyday living, when real pressure comes, I have established in me a right response to a Living God.

My un-renewed mind is hostile towards God.
I become excellent at Rom.12:2 “…be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…”
So… ver. 8 Think on these things.