GRATEFUL

OPENING

Romans 1:8 NIV

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.

1 Corinthians 1:4 NIV

4 I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.

1 Corinthians 1:

Colossians 1:3 NIV

3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

1 Thessalonians 1:2 NIV

2 We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.

If there’s one thing that we can learn from Apostle Paul, it will be his being “Grateful” to God

Whenever he wrote a letter to the churches, he will always begin by thanking the Lord

Paul thank God for the believers, he thank God for everything… what about you? Turn to the person next to you…

What are you grateful to God about today?

The letter that we will glean on today is Paul’s letter to the christians in Philippi

Philippi, modern Fílippoi, hill town in the nomós (department) of Kavála, Greece, overlooking the coastal plain and the bay at Neapolis (Kavála). Philip II of Macedon fortified the Thasian settlement called Crenides in 356 BC to control neighbouring gold mines. He derived a fortune from the gold mines but treated the city, renamed after him, as a “free city” with its own Greek constitution. (show maps)

Philippi, modern Fílippoi, hill town in the nomós (department) of Kavála, Greece, overlooking the coastal plain and the bay at Neapolis (Kavála). Philip II of Macedon fortified the Thasian settlement called Crenides in 356 BC to control neighbouring gold mines. He derived a fortune from the gold mines but treated the city, renamed after him, as a “free city” with its own Greek constitution.

Show video of Map

Paul wrote this letter to the church he planted while his first Roman imprisonment

The text of this letter from Paul suggests several characteristics of the church in Philippi

First, predominated by gentiles, few Jews lived in Philippi, and apparently the church had few

Second, women had a significant role

Thirdly, the church was generous

And fourthly, they remained loyal to Paul

From the first chapter, this is what Paul wrote

Philippians 1:3–12 NIV

3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. 12 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.

The knowledge that Paul has in mind is not just intellectual but experiential, acquired through acts of love

Paul has a grateful heart, he learned to thank God in all and every circumstance

He said in verse 12, all of his experiences actually served to boost the spread of the gospel

Paul went literally blind for sometime

He was bitten by a viper

He was in a major shipwreck

He was thrown in jail many times (show photo of Tullianum: A Prison in Rome)

Despite all these, Paul remained grateful to God. He said…

Romans 8:28 NIV

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28–29 NIV

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

;29-29

It is easy to thank God when things are in your favor

When everything seems to be pleasant. But what about when matters are going south? When the wind is blowing against you.

Will you still be grateful to God?

When the wind is blowing against you. When the tide

When you lose a loved one? A family member, or a dear friend.

When somebody breaks your heart?

When you lose your job?

When you’re diagnosed with cancer? Will you still be grateful to God?

By the way, God never wastes a HURT!

He wants us to be open to ministering to people who are going through what we’ve already been through!

2 Corinthians 1:3–4 The Living Bible

3 What a wonderful God we have—he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of every mercy, and the one who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us in our hardships and trials. And why does he do this? So that when others are troubled, needing our sympathy and encouragement, we can pass on to them this same help and comfort God has given us.

So there is a purpose for every experience that we’ve been through, and the many more that we will go through in future

My Experiences Must Be Used For My Services

Your greatest hurt, will be your greatest ministry

We may never understand it at the moment, but later on God will reveal it to us

When Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, he said these...

John 13:7 The Living Bible

7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now why I am doing it; some day you will.”

God Reveals All The Experiences For Us to Learn

Consider the experience of young Daniel in the movie, “The Karate Kid.” June 22, 1984 (show poster Karate Kid)

Daniel finds himself a little out of place when he and his mother move from New Jersey to California.

When a group of tough guys beat him up, he enlists the help of Mr. Miyagi, an elderly Japanese gardener from his apartment complex, to teach him karate for self-defense.

Mr. Miyagi agrees to teach Daniel and takes him out to his home.

Instead of jumping in to the lessons, Daniel is put to work painting a fence, waxing Mr. Miyagi’s car, and sanding the floors.

Daniel is growing quite frustrated with his experience, much like some of you who are frustrated with your life experiences.

He thought he was supposed to be doing something else.

What Daniel didn’t know is that Mr. Miyagi was teaching him all along. The movements from the chores he was doing were the basics of karate. When Mr. Miyagi demonstrated that he was actually teaching the young student all along, Daniel was amazed and put his trust in him. From that day on, Daniel put his faith in Mr. Miyagi to teach him karate and much more.

What Daniel didn’t know is that Mr. Miyagi was teaching him all along.

The movements from the chores he was doing were the basics of karate.

When Mr. Miyagi demonstrated that he was actually teaching the young student all along, Daniel was amazed and put his trust in him.

From that day on, Daniel put his faith in Mr. Miyagi to teach him karate and much more...

In the same way that...

In the same way that you will put your faith and trust in God when he reveals all the experiences for us to learn

God Reveals All The Experiences For Us to Learn

We learn in three ways

We learn through Education

We learn through Examples

We learn through Experiences

Experience in the Christian walk is to be a learning tool. You don’t learn truth by just mentally remembering it, you learn it by experiencing it in your life.

God teaches you his word though experience. Sometimes stressful ones.

What is the difference between a typewriter and a computer??? Memory!

You have to do everything the first time over and over again with a typewriter, but with a computer you can save it and use it later.

ou have to do everything the first time over and over again with a typewriter, but with a computer you can save it and use it later.

This is how Young David faced the stressful situation of Goliath. Remember he told Saul, “God delivered me from the lion, and the bear, and so he will deliver me from the giant. He used his memory against his stress as a stress buster. He used his memory of past victories the Lord had given him to increase his faith for the present stressful situation. If God delivered me in the past he will deliver me now.

This is how Young David faced the stressful situation of Goliath.

Remember he told Saul, “God delivered me from the lion, and the bear, and so he will deliver me from the giant.

He used his memory against his stress as a stress buster.

He used his memory of past victories the Lord had given him to increase his faith for the present stressful situation.

If God delivered me in the past he will deliver me now.

God Reveals All The Experiences For Us to Learn

Franklin P. Jones

IN ALL THINGS GOD MEANT IF FOR MY OWN GOOD

Romans 8:28 NIV

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28 The Living Bible

28 And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans.

Paul was discussing here the perceived tension between human experience and divine promise

He assures believers that God is working for the ultimate good

Randy Alcorn mentioned Scott and Janet Willis, who were driving behind a truck when a piece of metal flew off the truck and punctured their gas tank, causing their minivan to explode. They escaped, but six of their children burned to death in the inferno. Alcorn interviewed them 14 years later and they both affirmed that in spite of their great loss, God’s goodness and sovereignty are now more precious to them than before.

Randy Alcorn mentioned Scott and Janet Willis, who were driving behind a truck when a piece of metal flew off the truck and punctured their gas tank, causing their minivan to explode. They escaped, but six of their children burned to death in the inferno. Alcorn interviewed them 14 years later and they both affirmed that in spite of their great loss, God’s goodness and sovereignty are now more precious to them than before.

He also mentioned Joni Eareckson Tada, who was paralyzed from the neck down in a diving accident at age 17. Because of that accident, she has had a powerful ministry with disabled people. But now, in her sixties, she has breast cancer. She told Randy, “I’ve had a ministry to disabled people for many years. But now I have a ministry to people with cancer!”

Question: What are the most difficult trials that you have been through? How might God be working them for your ultimate good?

I LOVE GOD NOT JUST BY WORDS, BUT BY ACTIONS

Romans 8:28 NIV

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Question: What does it mean to love God? Is it primarily a feeling? If it includes feelings, how can we keep our feelings passionate?

I AM CALLED FOR A PURPOSE

Romans 8:28 NIV

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Question: Have you discovered God’s purpose for your life? What is your “SHAPE” - Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality and Experiences? (use your personal profile to answer these)

CLOSING

For 5 straight Sundays we covered the 5 most important messages of God to our lives

Messages that will help use find ourselves and discover our purpose

We started this SHAPE series with a conversation about our Spiritual Gifs - Together We Are Being Built!

And then we look deep into our hearts - Our Passion Determines our Action and Direction - How Enthusiastic Am I to Receive Tasks? (HEART)

We also had our inventory of our Abilities - You Abilities Could Turn Into Incredible Ministries - Christ Reveals Abilities For Them! (CRAFT)

And last Sunday we looked into different types of personalities - My Ministry Should Be Appropriate to My Personality. (I Am Me)

And today’s Thanksgiving message is to Thank God for all our Experiences - My Experiences Must Be Used For My Services - God Reveals All The Experiences For Us to Learn