More Than a Feeling
Notes
Transcript
One day at when I was at work, maybe in my mid 20’s, I was getting really aggravated at work. I hadn’t completely learned to deal with my anger issues, so they would get the best of me sometimes. At this job I also had a really great boss, Frank. He is one of those guys that you respect because he is so real with you. Well, I got really upset one day. We were working on this huge project and I had been working long hours. I remember going into his office and unloading on him, basically telling him how this whole project needed to go. And by telling I mean yelling. I just remember him getting up, closing the door to his office, and reminding me that he was still the boss. Never yelled or scream or matched my energy. He simply reminded me. Which, to be honest, was more humiliating.
Have you ever had to be put in your place? If not, you will someday. We all do. It’s easy to get carried away, take a little too much ownership in something, or just start to feel like you are the big man on campus. Sooner or later, someone smarter, faster, more creative, or stronger is going to come along. It’s just part of life.
Last week we talked a lot about humility. Being humble is a major part of being a Christian. Knowing that everything good comes from God. Being thankful for something everyday to remember how small we are and yet we are special to God. Thankfulness, gratitude, helps us with anxiety and allows us to come under the peace of God.
But what happens if you stop being grateful, thankful, humble? Pride can creep in very easily.
The early church understood this principle very well. Giving thanks to God was something they did multiple times a day, at every meal. You see this in how Paul opens almost all his letters by thanking God for the people, the church, provision, miracles. Even the churches he really “laid into” he started off with thanksgiving.
An old word for communion is eucharist. Eucharist is the greek word used for giving thanks to God in the NT. That is how important this is.
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
Paul tells us again to pray by telling God what you need and thanking Him for all He has already done. That is how we combat worry.
Count how many time “thanks” or “thanksgiving” is mentioned in the couple verse.
And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
Thankfulness is how we tap into God’s peace and wisdom. But what happens if you go the opposite way? What happens if you stop being thankful to God? Simply, your eyes move from the God of Creation to a created god.
Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.
Thanksgiving is a part of our worship of Jesus. We are beings created to worship. That means we will always worship someone or something. If not Jesus, then usually ourselves. Worship is powerful. So what happens when we begin replacing God with ourselves? What happens after God has pursued us and pursued us until we are willfully ignoring Him?
So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.
C.S. Lewis described it as this, “There are those who look to God and say, ‘Your will be done.’ And there are others whom God looks to and says,’Your will be done.’”
Our heart posture towards God is very important. We must remember, as hard as it is at times, that we are completely dependent on God. That is not God being insecure, it’s a fact of how evil the world has become. In His infinite mercy and grace He stays His hand so all will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
What does it look like to be an ingrate. Someone who worships self over Jesus?
Pride rises up.
We begin to believe that we are masters of our own destiny. That we somehow can control our lives. The belief sneaks in, “You can do a better job than God.” You’d never say it out loud or admit it to yourself. But if you are honest, you know it’s crossed your mind.
Blindness covers us.
It becomes very easy for us to justify our sins. “Oh it’s not that big of a deal.” “It’s not like I’m actually cheating. It’s just images on a screen.” “This company has so much money, are they really going to miss a few thousand?” We become blind to the sin in ourselves and, ironically, hyper aware of the same sins in others.
We fall down.
We become wise in our own eyes. We decide what is really good and what is really evil. We may let God throw out some suggestions, but I’ll make the final decision for my life.
If you read Romans 1:20-2:16, it is a sobering reminder of how dangerous a game this truly is. Verse 21 reminds us that it starts with, at the very least, not being thankful. You begin to forget about God. And that is a very slippery slope.
Let me leave you with hope.
It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—“he disappeared, because God took him.” For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
It is never too late. Yes, it is impossible to please God without faith because without faith you can’t believe He exists. That’s where a lot of people get hung up.
This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
Who do you worship? I don’t ask this with condemnation, but with humility. This passage tells us that we have all seen God’s eternal power and His divine nature. You can ignore Him, try to explain Him away. He isn’t hiding.
Maybe today is your day to turn to Jesus, or back to Jesus. Maybe you have hit the bottom and don’t know what else to do or where to go. Someone brought you to Northwoods this morning. His name is Jesus. He is pursuing you, chasing you, loving you, and challenging you. He wants all your pain, hurt, baggage, anger, sadness, anxiety, depression, everything. In exchange, Jesus wants to give you peace, hope, strength, joy, every good thing. Jesus wants a relationship with you. Do you want one with Him?
