I remember a long time ago when everyone started sending text messages. Did anyone else start texting with a flip phone? That was an adventure. Back in the early days, the one thing that I could never figure out was who was Ty. Everyone was constantly mentioning him in their text, but I didn’t know who they were talking about. Eventually, I figured out that when they sent Ty, they were just saying thank you. Fast forward several years and the same thing happens with TIA. Who is this TIA person? Have you ever gotten a text from someone asking you to do something for them, and they ended it with TIA? Eventually, I realized that TIA simply stands for “Thanks In Advance.” Well, today we’ll be talking about TIA and TY, and why they are so important in the life of a believer. Let’s begin by asking, why do we say thanks...in advance? We say it because we are requesting something, and we want the person we are asking, to know that we would be grateful if they would grant our request. It’s also, because we have an expectation of them granting our request. Thanking someone in advance sets our minds in a proper position of gratitude, for what we need from them.
Now I am going to ask you a question, that at first, may seem totally unrelated to our topic. But stay with me for a few minutes and we’ll see how they are tied together. Have you ever been anxious? I know that hardly anyone ever feels anxious, but on the off chance you’ve ever experienced anxiousness, just hang on, I’ve got some good news for you today. Before we get to the good news, let’s talk about why we feel anxious in the first place. feel anxious when we don’t have control over a situation that might turn out bad and we can’t do anything about it. At one point in my life, I had a tremendous amount of stress and it caused a lot of anxiety. So much so, that I had a panic attack and the left half of my body went numb. That will get your attention. It was several years ago when I owned a business, and things were not going well. And by not well, I mean terrible. We were losing tremendous amounts of money every month and we were going under. What made things really bad was that I had several employees and I felt responsible for their income. But this is the mistake I made. I was putting myself in the place of God. I thought it was up to me to make sure their families were provided for...but that was God’s job. I wanted to be in control and when I couldn’t stop the free fall of the business, the stress and anxiety became more than my body could deal with. As soon as I was forced to let the employees go, they found freelance work and made more money than I could have ever paid them. God was in control of their provision, not me. And that’s the first thing we have to realize. We don’t have control, God does. The truth is we’ve never had control of
anything. We make decisions, yes. But the ultimate outcome is up to God’s plan. Do you believe you have the power to be able to “will” someone to do something? Does that sound like your job or God’s job? You see, in the natural, all we can do is just wait and watch what will happen. And that’s where the worry, fear and anxiety begins. Our mind works through the worst possible scenario and then runs all the way down that road. Where do you think those thoughts come from? That’s right, our enemy. When we allow him to convince us that the worst case scenario will be the outcome, it causes us to feel anxious. But you have to realize that it’s just that...a feeling. It’s not a fact, it’s just a feeling. The feeling says, what if I don’t get that job? But the fact says that God is Jehovah Jireh my provider...not that company. The feeling says, what if I get COVID? But the fact says that God is Jehovah Rapha, my healer. The feeling says, what if these arguments lead to my divorce? But the fact says that God is Jehovah Shalom, my peace. I can give you all the logical reasons that you shouldn’t feel anxious, but it won’t help unless you understand how to apply that knowledge. I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying: “knowledge is power”...but the truth is that knowledge is only powerful, when it’s applied. OK, here’s the really good news. You can feel peace when others around you are feeling anxious. How can you do this? You can do it by following God’s Word and applying the knowledge of the TIA principle.
God’s word tells you what to do if you are beginning to feel anxious. It’s simple. Just begin to thank Him in advance. Philippians 4:6-7 “6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” As believers, the total amount of things we are allowed to be anxious about are listed in this verse. It’s at the very beginning, and the list consists of “nothing”. That’s it. The entire list is zero. But it says the opposite for “everything” else. Every bad doctor’s report, every layoff at work , every problem with your kids, every time your money runs out before your month does. In every situation and every circumstance, God says we are supposed to bring it all to Him with prayer and supplication...with thanksgiving We are very good at bringing our problems to God in prayer, but that is not all He said to do. The word supplication means “ a humble request of God in prayer”. So what this verse is actually saying is this: In every situation, regardless of how anxious the circumstance makes you feel, bring your requests to God humbly...thanking Him in advance......and God’s peace will protect your mind from the enemies lies. But what are we thanking Him in advance for? You thank Him that He is Jehovah Jireh, our Provider. You thank Him that He is Jehovah Rapha, our Healer. You thank Him that He is Jehovah Shalom, our Peace.
His peace is what guards our hearts and minds. Where does anxiety attack? Is it not your heart and mind? Let’s look at a story in the Bible where someone had some anxiety and how they dealt with it. In 2 Chronicles chapter 20, we read about king Jehoshaphat and how 3 kings had decided to come attack him. Now someone came and told him that they were headed his way and this is how scripture records his response. 2 Chronicles 20:3 “Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.” King Jehoshaphat felt afraid. But what did he do? He turned his attention to the Lord. And a few verses later we read how God spoke to him and said that the battle belonged to Him. God instructed him to take his army and march out to where the enemy was located. So the next morning that’s what they got ready to do. The army has been called up and they were ready to start marching when Jehoshaphat did this. 2 Chronicles 20:21-22 “21 When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” 22 When they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed." When you are afraid, give thanks to Him in advance and you will see His victory.
You may have to march toward your enemy, but you have to do it with a thankful praise in your mouth. You have a part to play in the situation. God wants to fight your battles, but your job is to praise and thank Him as you are marching toward the victory. Can you do that? Can you thank God in advance for His love and victory over a situation, while you’re still in the middle of your fear? I hope so, because that is the kingdom key for victory. We are to be thankful from a position of victory. If you had a football game recorded, but you had already heard that your team won...you’d watch that game with a different attitude. You wouldn’t let anyone who is pulling for the other team discourage you or make you feel anxious about the outcome. Would you? Is there any thought they could plant in your mind that would make you worry about what will happen during the game? That would be crazy wouldn’t it? As believers that’s how we are to live our lives. We are to walk every day and in every circumstance with the full knowledge and assurance that we are victorious, because our God has already won. The problem is that too often, even though we know how the story ends, we let the enemy plant worry and anxiety in our heart and minds. That’s why when you are entering a worship service we are instructed to begin by thanking God. Our worship begins with gratitude. Psalm 100:4 “Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.”
What are we supposed to thank Him for as we enter. Perhaps, it would be a good idea to do what they do in heaven. Revelation 4:10-11 “10 the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.” We thank Him because He is worthy. He has always been worthy. He will always be worthy. Our circumstances don’t change that...ever. It doesn’t matter what you’re going through, His worth has not changed, and it will not change. We begin our worship service with singing and we call it worship. Of course, that’s not the only form of worship, but it’s the best way for us to corporately declare God’s worth. That’s what it means to worship. The word worship come From the old English word “worthship”. It means to ascribe worth to someone. When we worship God, we ascribe and declare His worthiness because of who He is and what He has done. Does this make you look at the songs we sing differently? We are not singing because it’s fun and we enjoy it, or just because it’s a good way to kick off the service. As we approach God, we enter His gates with thanksgiving and declare His worthiness. Look at this verse: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “16 Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
What’s God’s will for you? It’s for you to always be rejoicing, to never stop talking to Him and for you to give Him thanks in everything. In every difficult chemo treatment, in every unemployment line , in every argument with your kids, in every time your money runs out before your month does...He wants you to learn to rejoice, pray and be thankful in every situation. So it’s clear, that not only are we supposed to give thanks in advance, we should also give thanks in the middle. What does the 23rd Psalm say? I might be walking through the valley of the shadow of death, but I will fear no evil. Why? Because He is with me and that is something to be thankful for. Now let’s look at what we should do after God has done something for us that we have requested. We must always remember to thank Him for what He has done. When Laura and I were first married, I wasn’t very good at this concept. I’m not great at it now, but I’m certainly better than I used to be. Here is how I learned. I would ask Laura for something and of course she, being the wonderful wife that she is, would get it for me. Then she would just stand there and wait. If I didn’t say anything, she would say...you’re welcome. That happened a lot till I learned to say thank you. Let’s look at a passage from Luke where we find some folks who had a very good reason to be thankful. Luke 17:11-19 “11 While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As He entered a
village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; 13 and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed. 15 Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, 16 and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? 18 Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” 19 And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.” One out of ten is a very low percentage. Even after saving the lives of these ten lepers, only one of them was grateful enough to come back to Jesus and say thank you. And did you notice which one it was? Yep, it was the Samaritan. It seems that Jesus has a special connection with those Samaritans who are outside on the fringe of the Jewish society He grew up in. We don’t know why only one of them returned to say thank you, but we know that he did it with a loud voice. Maybe he was one of those people who feel the need to truly express how they feel about what God has done for them. Maybe he didn’t care if anyone else would go with him. Maybe he wasn’t worried about what the others would think of him if he showed his gratitude. Maybe we should follow his example. How often do we whisper a thank you to God with a golf clap and a slight smile? Is that all He means to us? Do we not have as much reason as those ten lepers did to shout our thank you to God for His great mercy and forgiveness. For saving our lives?
So how are you doing with TIA and TY? Have you lived your life as a believer like the nine who didn’t return? Or will you be the one who is willing to go back and say thank you? Are you willing to thank Him before your situation? Are you willing to thank Him in the middle of your situation? Are you willing to thank Him after your situation?
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