Message by Chad Kelly
Betsy has a coaster on her night stand that says:
“We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust our sails.”
Your attitude””you CAN choose it!
You cannot choose all of life”™s circumstances””you cannot direct the wind.
But the attitude with which you navigate today”™s waves and conditions is completely up to you””it”™s a decision you make!
Viktor Frankl (survivor of a Nazi concentration camp)
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: To choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.
You CAN adjust the sails of your heart/mind””you CAN choose your attitude every day!
Last week we started looking at a challenging verse”¦
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT)
18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God”™s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
James MacDonald, author of our churchwide Bible Study, “Lord, Change My Attitude” says:
A thankful attitude begins and ends with seeing the goodness of the Lord.
If our hearts are not focused on God”™s goodness, we will not be thankful day in and day out. We will quickly find ourselves ungrateful.
MacDonald
If ingratitude is allowed to become a habit, it will weigh you down with the burdens of life, leading to bitterness, depression, and despair.
Thankfulness for our salvation in Jesus is the foundation of gratitude in all of life!
Then from the foundation of our salvation in Jesus, we”™ll begin to see a multitude of gifts to be thankful for! But it all begins and ends with Jesus! It all begins and ends at this Table that reminds us of the love of God and the gift of salvation in Jesus!
If God never did another thing for us, the eternal gift of love, mercy and grace in Jesus is enough for us to praise Him for all of eternity!
So even if we think we have nothing else to be thankful for, God”™s love for us as spelled out through the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, is God”™s ultimate and everlasting gift for which we can/must/will give thanks to our God!
Romans 8:32 (NIV)
32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all””how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Can you remember when you first learned to count all the way up to 100? It seemed to take forever, but how awesome were YOU when you finally got it right and reached 100?!!
This morning, I”™ve got a counting challenge for all of us””adults and children alike. And this counting challenge is far more difficult than counting to 100 as a 5 or 6 year old was. But the results are far more rewarding, as well.
Counting Your Way Up to Gratitude
1 Thessalonians 5:18; Psalm 136
Remembering each of God”™s gifts to you will grow gratitude and trust in your heart!
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (MSG)
18 thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.
Because of Jesus and God”™s great grace to us, there is always something to be thankful for””no matter what happens!
Remembering each of God”™s gifts to you will grow gratitude and trust in your heart!
One of my favorite songs growing up was “Count Your Blessings” sung by a group from the mid-70s called “The Brotherhood”. As life and time pass, I realize more of the depth of truth in that song”™s lyrics. Listen to these words:
Count Your Blessings
When upon life”™s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
Refrain:
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
*Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
[*And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.]
Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.
When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings””*money cannot buy [*wealth can never buy]
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.
So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey”™s end.
Do you regularly count your blessings? As in, daily?
Counting your blessings WILL change your attitude!
Remembering each of God”™s gifts to you will grow gratitude and trust in your heart!
Ann Voskamp wrote a great little book entitled, “One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are”. This book was the result of a friend”™s dare to make a list of 1,000 things Ann was thankful for. And in the process of making that list, Mrs. Voskamp”™s life was changed and her heart was healed from bitterness over several tragedies that had long plagued her soul. It”™s worth your time to read it sometime.
Voskamp
Count blessings and discover Who can be counted on…Count blessings and find out how many of His bridges have already held”¦Remembering is an act of thanksgiving, a way of thanksgiving, this turn of the heart over time”™s shoulder to see all the long way His arms have carried”¦Thanks is what builds trust.
Remembering each of God”™s gifts to you will grow gratitude and trust in your heart!
God”™s Word shows us that counting our blessings by remembering God”™s gifts fits exactly how we”™re wired.
Psalm 136 is a song the Israelites would sing to remind themselves of all that God had done for them, which, in turn, reminded them, that no matter what they were facing at the time, God”™s love for them was unquestionable!
Psalm 136 (NLT)
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His faithful love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His faithful love endures forever.
4 Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles.
His faithful love endures forever.
5 Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully.
His faithful love endures forever.
6 Give thanks to him who placed the earth among the waters.
His faithful love endures forever.
7 Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights””
His faithful love endures forever.
8 the sun to rule the day,
His faithful love endures forever.
9 and the moon and stars to rule the night.
His faithful love endures forever.
10 Give thanks to him who killed the firstborn of Egypt.
His faithful love endures forever.
11 He brought Israel out of Egypt.
His faithful love endures forever.
12 He acted with a strong hand and powerful arm.
His faithful love endures forever.
13 Give thanks to him who parted the Red Sea.
His faithful love endures forever.
14 He led Israel safely through,
His faithful love endures forever.
15 but he hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea.
His faithful love endures forever.
16 Give thanks to him who led his people through the wilderness.
His faithful love endures forever.
17 Give thanks to him who struck down mighty kings.
His faithful love endures forever.
18 He killed powerful kings””
His faithful love endures forever.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites,
His faithful love endures forever.
20 and Og king of Bashan.
His faithful love endures forever.
21 God gave the land of these kings as an inheritance””
His faithful love endures forever.
22 a special possession to his servant Israel.
His faithful love endures forever.
23 He remembered us in our weakness.
His faithful love endures forever.
24 He saved us from our enemies.
His faithful love endures forever.
25 He gives food to every living thing.
His faithful love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His faithful love endures forever.
Each of God”™s acts on their behalf was seen to be a demonstration of His faithful love that endures forever.
And what was true for Israel is true for us!
Remembering each of God”™s gifts to you will grow gratitude and trust in your heart, as you see how His faithful love has worked in your life over and over and over again.
To live life “consciously thankful” (MacDonald) will make you a more joyful person!
In fact, you”™ll begin to discover gifts from God even in the storms of life.
Do you realize that the worst thing that has ever happened in the world resulted in the best thing that has ever happened in the world?
The crucifixion of Jesus gave grace and forgiveness and righteousness to all who will simply trust Him!
If that is true of the Cross, doesn”™t it make sense that God will ultimately redeem that burden, trial or tragedy you”™re facing right now?
Sometimes it”™s the wrong others do to you””injustices and ugliness and betrayal. I think of Joseph and the repeated injustices and pain he suffered all because of his brothers”™ betrayal. But listen to what he said in the end:
Genesis 50:20 (NLT)
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good.
Other times it is simply what God allows without explanation. I think of Job, from whom God allowed Satan to take everything””his children, possessions and his own health. But listen to what Job said:
Job 13:15 (NIV)
15 Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him
Remembering each of God”™s gifts to you will grow gratitude and trust in your heart!
And increasingly, you will find a grateful confidence in the Lord in your heart, no matter what is going on, that quiets complaining and frees you from fear and gives you a joy and peace that surpasses understanding!
So”¦before we come to the Table, let”™s get started counting our way up to gratitude.
You”™ll find an insert in your bulletin that says, “God”™s Gifts to Me”. Write down 5 of God”™s gifts to you”¦and feel the gratitude and trust grow in your heart! And then keep that list going this week”¦maybe longer!
Remembering each of God”™s gifts to you will grow gratitude and trust in your heart!
Prayer
Communion Song by “This Hope”
Praise to the Lord, The Almighty
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
Praise Him in glad adoration.
Praise to the Lord
Who o”™er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires e”™er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?
Praise to the Lord
Who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do
If with His love He befriend thee.
Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath,
Come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen sound from His people again,
Gladly forever adore Him.
Text: Joachim Neander, 1680. Based on Psalm 103
Translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1863
Tune: LOBE DEN HERREN, Stralsund Gesangbuch, 1665