Part 3 Barrier to Gratitude
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Introduction
Introduction
Driving to church and find barriers along the way because of a triathlon or other race.
It’s frustrating.
Transition: Today we’re going to talk about barriers to gratitude.
What is it that prevents us from being grateful?
1. Focusing on negative circumstances. Numbers 21:1-6
1. Focusing on negative circumstances. Numbers 21:1-6
1 When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked the Israelites and captured some of them.
2 Then Israel made this vow to the Lord: “If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy their cities.”
3 The Lord listened to Israel’s plea and gave the Canaanites over to them. They completely destroyed them and their towns; so the place was named Hormah.
4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way;
5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”
6 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.
2. Suppressing the truth. Romans 1:18-23
2. Suppressing the truth. Romans 1:18-23
This suppressing the truth we know! When you know something from God and suppress it you can’t be thankful and begin a downward spiral.
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
3. Pride. Luke 18:9-14
3. Pride. Luke 18:9-14
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:
10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
The Pharisee had misplaced gratitude.
You have to be humble to say “thank you.”
4. Idolatry. 2 Timothy 3:1-5
4. Idolatry. 2 Timothy 3:1-5
What is idolatry? Loving anything more than we love God. Looking to others, people, organizations, false gods, credit cards, the lottery, to solve our problems instead of God.
1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.
2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,
4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
Loving the world and the things of the world is a barrier to gratitude.
1 John 2:15 tells us to not love the world or the things in the world. 2 Timothy 2 describes the things in the world, lovers of self, money, boastful, proud . . . When you’re that way, you’ve put the world’s values in the place of God’s values and you can’t be grateful.
Definition of Ingratitude: forgetfulness of or poor return for kindness received.
Definition of Ingratitude: forgetfulness of or poor return for kindness received.
Do you forget how good God is? Do you give him a poor return for His goodness in your life? How could this be? How could we let that happen?
Discussion Questions:
Which of these barriers is your greatest problem?
