001-Developing a Grateful Heart
Thanksgiving 2019 • Sermon • Submitted
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· 132 viewsJust like the acquisition of most virtues, you can’t instantly become thankful. You only become thankful when you habitually practice gratitude in your life.
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Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”
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THANKSGIVING MESSAGE #1: DEVELOPING A GRATEFUL HEART
THANKSGIVING MESSAGE #1: DEVELOPING A GRATEFUL HEART
34 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever.
MAIN IDEA
MAIN IDEA
Just like the acquisition of most virtues, you can’t instantly become thankful. You only become thankful when you habitually practice gratitude in your life.
How many of you believe in this truth? How easy is it for us to remember this in a time of need/pain/hurt/sickness?
VERSES
VERSES
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
As we approach thanksgiving I want for us to take a look at developing a grateful heart.
It’s very difficult to give thanks to the Lord, and to believe that he is good when we don’t build habits and practice gratitude in our lives daily.
Research shows that our thoughts have the power to shape our brains. The more conscious we are about perceiving an experience as being positive the more this perception will generalize to other parts of the brain.
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”
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Rick Hanson explains that negative experiences are like "Velcro" and tend to stick in our minds, whereas positive experiences are like "Teflon" and more readily slip away. We must actively work to integrate positive experiences into the brain in order for the positive to "stick" and the beneficial effects to endure.
The question remains, "How do we do this?"
1. Regularly practice giving thanks
1. Regularly practice giving thanks
We should make a habit of expressing gratitude.
Thankfulness rather than criticism should be our default position.
When you see something good in your life, point it out. Thank God for it.
We all complain occasionally, but practice responding to your own complaining by finding things to be thankful for. This helps to rewire your brain to be as proficient at recognizing the good in your life as you are at identifying the bad.
18 And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit: 19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
–
We all complain occasionally, but practice responding to your own complaining by finding things to be thankful for. This helps to rewire your brain to be as proficient at recognizing the good in your life as you are at identifying the bad.
Everything good in your life comes from God
Asa had surgery this week:
).
Our healthcare system is not perfect. We can look at the news and think how terrible everything is.
Hospital In Little Rock. telling my father-in-law how amazing it was that we have the ability to be use that amazing facility.
But
3 free meals a day- individual rooms- individual nurse just for him after surgery.
We can look at every situation and chose where we will focus on.
2. Express gratitude regardless of the situation
2. Express gratitude regardless of the situation
Paul tells the Thessalonians to give thanks in all circumstances because God wills it.
18 give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
We give thanks IN EVERYTHING. NOT FOR EVERYTHING.
We give thanks in the midst of bad circunstances not for it.
Job- God had given him everything, great family, great home, great health, great wealth- Everything was took from him: family, home, wealth, health. His wife finally tells him why don’t you just curse God and die.()
Job had already given her his answer as to why in
Why? We never see the full picture. We can’t look at every situation and clearly understand why it’s happening.
21 saying: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Job blessed the name of the Lord. Why? Because everything belongs to God. He gives and he takes away.
In everything we are to thanks to Him. The problem is that we don’t do it.
Tony Evans says this: We just not used to it. First we don’t do it when things are going right so we know we don’t do it when things go wrong.
Why? We never see the full picture. We can’t look at every situation and clearly understand why it’s happening.
I've walked among the shadows
You wiped my tears away
And I've felt the pain of heartbreak
And I've seen the brighter days
And I've prayed prayers to heaven from my lowestplace
And I have held the blessings
God, you give and take away
28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
On the mountains, I will bow my life
To the one who set me there
In the valley, I will lift my eyes to the one who sees me there
When I'm standing on the mountain aft, didn't get there on my own
When I'm walking through the valley end, no I am not alone!
You're God of the hills and valleys!
Hills and Valleys!
God of the hills and valleys
And I am not alone!
On the mountains, I will bow my life
To the one who set me there
In the valley, I will lift my eyes to the one who sees me there
When I'm standing on the mountain aft, didn't get there on my own
When I'm walking through the valley end, no I am not alone!
You're God of the hills and valleys!
Hills and Valleys!
God of the hills and valleys
And I am not alone!
. Regardless of what’s happening, we can thank God for his presence. He is redeeming the situation and sustaining us through it. On our own, we focus on the current situation. We rise above the situation when we purposefully look for what God is doing in the middle of it. A.W. Tozer says, “Perhaps it takes a purer faith to praise God for unrealized blessings than for those we once enjoyed or those we enjoy now.”
Father, you give and take away
Every joy and every pain
Through it all you will remain
Over it all!
Father, you give and take away
Every joy and every pain
Through it all you will remain
Over it all!
Praise God in the Valleys because he sees you there. Because He remains the Lord over it all.
17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
We’ll grow closer to God when we understand this truth and build our lives around it.Developing these habits can help us become more thankful:Regularly practice giving thanks. We should make a habit of expressing gratitude. Thankfulness rather than criticism should be our default position. When you see something good in your life, point it out. Thank God for it. We all complain occasionally, but practice responding to your own complaining by finding things to be thankful for. This helps to rewire your brain to be as proficient at recognizing the good in your life as you are at identifying the bad.Express gratitude regardless of the situation. Paul tells the Thessalonians to give thanks in all circumstances because God wills it (). Why? We never see the full picture. We can’t look at every situation and clearly understand why it’s happening. We can only know God is at work in these situations and working them out for our good and his glory (). Regardless of what’s happening, we can thank God for his presence. He is redeeming the situation and sustaining us through it. On our own, we focus on the current situation. We rise above the situation when we purposefully look for what God is doing in the middle of it. A.W. Tozer says, “Perhaps it takes a purer faith to praise God for unrealized blessings than for those we once enjoyed or those we enjoy now.”Praise God when all is well. You may believe this is obvious, but it’s critical we do it. We’re conditioned to believe that life will go well for us. When life runs smoothly, we don’t tend to see this as God’s gift to us. We don’t see how He protects and guides us along the way to green pastures and still waters.Learn to see how bad experiences can produce good outcomes. We should all take some time to consider the benefits of the difficult times in our lives. After a period away from the situation, we should be able to see the good that came out of those experiences. Often you’ll be able to see how those bad experiences helped you gather strength and momentum for future blessings in your life. Regardless of that, learning to see past trials through eternity’s perspective enables us to be more thankful during times of struggle.Make gratitude a part of your interactions with other people. Gratitude should impact both our relationship with God and our relationships with other people. Rick Warren once said, “To appreciate means to raise in value. That’s not only true of things, it’s true of people. When you appreciate somebody, you literally raise their value. We ought to appreciate people because it increases their self worth.” Make it a regular practice to say thank you to people in your life. Often, the people we express gratitude with the least in our lives are those the closest to us.Lean into the strength gratitude provides. I know many people who have been through extremely tough situations. I’ve noticed those who are the most grateful and have learned to see God’s work regularly show the most perseverance.Thanksgiving is a superpower. It enables us to see past our experiences and embrace how God is moving. Not only are thankful people able to draw strength from gratitude, but they’re also able to empower others with their perspective as well.
Everything good in your life comes from God (). We’ll grow closer to God when we understand this truth and build our lives around it.Developing these habits can help us become more thankful:Regularly practice giving thanks. We should make a habit of expressing gratitude. Thankfulness rather than criticism should be our default position. When you see something good in your life, point it out. Thank God for it. We all complain occasionally, but practice responding to your own complaining by finding things to be thankful for. This helps to rewire your brain to be as proficient at recognizing the good in your life as you are at identifying the bad.Express gratitude regardless of the situation. Paul tells the Thessalonians to give thanks in all circumstances because God wills it (). Why? We never see the full picture. We can’t look at every situation and clearly understand why it’s happening. We can only know God is at work in these situations and working them out for our good and his glory (). Regardless of what’s happening, we can thank God for his presence. He is redeeming the situation and sustaining us through it. On our own, we focus on the current situation. We rise above the situation when we purposefully look for what God is doing in the middle of it. A.W. Tozer says, “Perhaps it takes a purer faith to praise God for unrealized blessings than for those we once enjoyed or those we enjoy now.”Praise God when all is well. You may believe this is obvious, but it’s critical we do it. We’re conditioned to believe that life will go well for us. When life runs smoothly, we don’t tend to see this as God’s gift to us. We don’t see how He protects and guides us along the way to green pastures and still waters.Learn to see how bad experiences can produce good outcomes. We should all take some time to consider the benefits of the difficult times in our lives. After a period away from the situation, we should be able to see the good that came out of those experiences. Often you’ll be able to see how those bad experiences helped you gather strength and momentum for future blessings in your life. Regardless of that, learning to see past trials through eternity’s perspective enables us to be more thankful during times of struggle.Make gratitude a part of your interactions with other people. Gratitude should impact both our relationship with God and our relationships with other people. Rick Warren once said, “To appreciate means to raise in value. That’s not only true of things, it’s true of people. When you appreciate somebody, you literally raise their value. We ought to appreciate people because it increases their self worth.” Make it a regular practice to say thank you to people in your life. Often, the people we express gratitude with the least in our lives are those the closest to us.Lean into the strength gratitude provides. I know many people who have been through extremely tough situations. I’ve noticed those who are the most grateful and have learned to see God’s work regularly show the most perseverance.Thanksgiving is a superpower. It enables us to see past our experiences and embrace how God is moving. Not only are thankful people able to draw strength from gratitude, but they’re also able to empower others with their perspective as well.
3. Praise God when all is well.
3. Praise God when all is well.
3. Praise God when all is well
3. Praise God when all is well
Developing these habits can help us become more thankful:
We should make a habit of expressing gratitude. Thankfulness rather than criticism should be our default position. When you see something good in your life, point it out. Thank God for it. We all complain occasionally, but practice responding to your own complaining by finding things to be thankful for. This helps to rewire your brain to be as proficient at recognizing the good in your life as you are at identifying the bad.
I shared the quote from Pastor Tony Evans.
You may believe this is obvious, but it’s critical we do it.
18 give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
). Why? We never see the full picture. We can’t look at every situation and clearly understand why it’s happening.
Why? We never see the full picture. We can’t look at every situation and clearly understand why it’s happening.
We’re conditioned to believe that life will go well for us.
We can only know God is at work in these situations and working them out for our good and his glory
28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
. Regardless of what’s happening, we can thank God for his presence. He is redeeming the situation and sustaining us through it. On our own, we focus on the current situation. We rise above the situation when we purposefully look for what God is doing in the middle of it. A.W. Tozer says, “Perhaps it takes a purer faith to praise God for unrealized blessings than for those we once enjoyed or those we enjoy now.”
3. Praise God when all is well. You may believe this is obvious, but it’s critical we do it. We’re conditioned to believe that life will go well for us. When life runs smoothly, we don’t tend to see this as God’s gift to us. We don’t see how He protects and guides us along the way to green pastures and still waters.
When life runs smoothly, we don’t tend to see this as God’s gift to us.
17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
We don’t see how He protects and guides us along the way to green pastures and still waters.
We don’t see how He protects and guides us along the way.
says that he guides us to green pastures and still waters.
4. Learn to see how bad experiences can produce good outcomes. We should all take some time to consider the benefits of the difficult times in our lives. After a period away from the situation, we should be able to see the good that came out of those experiences. Often you’ll be able to see how those bad experiences helped you gather strength and momentum for future blessings in your life. Regardless of that, learning to see past trials through eternity’s perspective enables us to be more thankful during times of struggle.
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need. 2 He lets me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He renews my life; he leads me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
4. Make gratitude a part of your interactions with other people
4. Make gratitude a part of your interactions with other people
Paul in
5. Make gratitude a part of your interactions with other people. Gratitude should impact both our relationship with God and our relationships with other people. Rick Warren once said, “To appreciate means to raise in value. That’s not only true of things, it’s true of people. When you appreciate somebody, you literally raise their value. We ought to appreciate people because it increases their self worth.” Make it a regular practice to say thank you to people in your life. Often, the people we express gratitude with the least in our lives are those the closest to us.
14 Do everything without grumbling and arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world,
You want a sure fire way to become more thankful. Use negative words whenever you can-specially to those around you.
You want a sure fire way to become more thankful. Use negative words whenever you can-specially to those around you.
Language matters so be mindful of the adjectives you use. The more strongly you label things, the better you’re going to be able to cultivate a grumbling spirit.
When talking with people around you use adjectives like:
Horrible-Bad-Atrocious-Irritating-Stupid
Rick Warren once said, “To appreciate means to raise in value. That’s not only true of things, it’s true of people. When you appreciate somebody, you literally raise their value. We ought to appreciate people because it increases their self worth.”
I saw recently that there is an app on your phone that can fake a phone call. So that when you are in a conversation that you need to get out you can push a button on your phone and try to politely get out of that conversation.
14 Do everything without grumbling and arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world,
Make it a regular practice to say thank you to people in your life. Often, the people we express gratitude with the least in our lives are those the closest to us.
I believe that app was created to use on people that constantly complain about everything.
Make it a regular practice to say thank you to people in your life. Often, the people we express gratitude with the least in our lives are those the closest to us.
I saw recently that there is an app on your phone that can fake a phone call. So that when you are in a conversation that you need to get out you can push a button on your phone and try to politely get out of that conversation.
I believe that app was created to use on people that constantly complain about everything.
Gratitude should impact both our relationship with God and our relationships with other people.
Rick Warren once said, “To appreciate means to raise in value. That’s not only true of things, it’s true of people. When you appreciate somebody, you literally raise their value. We ought to appreciate people because it increases their self worth.”
Make it a regular practice to say thank you to people in your life.
Here is the reality
Often, the people we express gratitude with the least in our lives are those the closest to us.
As we approach thanksgiving season lets develop grateful habits not just for the season but for our lives. Which ones do you need to work on the most? Which ones you need to practice more consistently?
6. Lean into the strength gratitude provides. I know many people who have been through extremely tough situations. I’ve noticed those who are the most grateful and have learned to see God’s work regularly show the most perseverance.Thanksgiving is a superpower. It enables us to see past our experiences and embrace how God is moving. Not only are thankful people able to draw strength from gratitude, but they’re also able to empower others with their perspective as well.
Remember to
Regularly practice giving thanks.
Express gratitude regardless of the situation.
Praise God when all is well.
Make gratitude a part of your interactions with other people.