October 10, 2021 - What is toxic gratitude and what is the only way to always avoid it?

because, These are some of the things I get accused of promoting give you a gratitude Journal. Can we turn the lights on here a little bit? I'm a little bit dark. but,

I I get accused of promoting toxic gratitude and toxic positivity. and, On one hand, I have to agree. I don't agree that. That's what I'm doing. But I agree that they exist. I agree that toxic positivity is a thing. I agree that toxic gratitude happens. I have seen them. You know, I've seen them in church circles when we ignore our pain with platitudes and we don't make news of the powerful events that are in the book. I seen them when we take out of context scripture and give it priority over our reality. I've seen it when I say I'm trusting God, but then I worry about this or I'm concerned about that or I'm concerned that I worry because I know it when I trust God I should feel peace and I'm not feeling peace.

We set ourselves up for cognitive. Dissonance. When when we think that okay. This is what the Bible says in its true. And so I don't feel it's true and I don't act like it's true.

Toxic gratitude forces, people to Breeze past their pain in search of a silver lining which whether or not it exists or not.

It's probably more proper to call it toxic positivity because toxic positivity is in session with positive thinking. It's a belief that people to put a positive spin on all experience. Even those that are profoundly tragic.

Now, you and I are called Rejoice with those who rejoice, and to mourn with those who mourn. And we do a disservice to leave out the morning to say, well God's going to take care of it, God's going to work it all out to it against its true statements. But it's not dealing with the reality at hand.

Listen, I will not give God credit for the works of the one who comes to steal kill and destroy. I will not, I will treat all hardship as discipline knowing he will work it out for good. I will remember. Thanks, generationally, and I want things done yesterday. And so I'll remember he's King and that's a good thing.

But I also will the lament when it's time to Lament. and I'll wrestle with things, I need to wrestle with and I was wrestling with something over the last few months and I got to what I need to get to this week, but I want to wrestle with it with with you with it today. And I hope that you allow me to. Can I pray?

Heavenly Father. I want to thank you that we have this time to remember to give you. Thanks.

And Lord, I pray that today. We will have that. Thanks Bubble Up out of us as a natural response to everything we face. And Lord that it won't be something a mask. We put on, or won't be something that we pretend and ignore the real problem at hand, but Lord, we will understand. That you are good and your working out. All things for the good and Lord will learn to trust you with her whole heart today in your name. Amen.

So, I found it this week and it troubles me. Ephesians 5. 18221, let me read it and then I'll unpack it as we go. It says and don't get drunk with wine that leads to Reckless actions, but be filled with the spirit speaking to one another in Psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs singing and making music, in your heart, to the Lord, making music, to the Lord in your heart giving. Thanks always for everything to God the father in, in the God, the father in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ and submitting to one another, in the fear of the one another, in the fear of Christ.

I don't know if you caught that is a red that But Paul says here. We give thanks to God for everything.

How do we do that?

How do we honestly do that? How do we do that? And not create toxic positivity, not create, toxic gratitude. How do we do that without having cognitive dissonance? Where we believe something, but we don't feel like we believe it. So we don't really believe it, but we want to believe it.

I looked it up for everything means for everything.

No, I can give God. Thanks for a lot of things given time and given healing. I need to be healed before I can honestly, give him. Thanks a lot of times and that takes a lot of time sometimes.

But it looks like in this verse he's saying to give, thanks always for everything.

It seems ridiculous. I think, like, it feels like I got to put on this mask and just pretend to be happy pretend to be grateful for. I do. Yeah. God's going to work it out for good.

My phone sometimes you guys ask me like, how are you doing? And I was just say God's good. And basically that's what I'm doing. I'm saying I will trust him to work it out, but it sucks right now.

Say all that cuz it's hard to get through that when we were wearing masks at church. But anyway.

Does it really matter? Oh, well, listen to this Paul tells us in 1st Thessalonians. 5:18. 5/16 18 He says Rejoice always, pray constantly. Give thanks and everything and everything for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus and end of everything. I can do that. I can give thanks and everything. I can choose to be thankful about something. It's a choice. It's a decision. I make that choice to be thankful. I just can't make that choice. If I got to do everything with my whole heart. What does it say? In Colossians? 3:23, whatever you do, work it, whatever you work at, do it with your whole heart. So when I give thanks, I want to give it with my whole heart. My heart is the seat of my emotions, but it's also the seat of my decision in the seat of my actions, according to the ancient Hebrews. And that is the understanding that makes sense in all of this. When I give thanks with my whole heart. I don't have cognitive dissonance. It can't be toxic positivity because I choose to be grateful. I make that decision and then I feel gratitude. That's what the journal is for. Is it you? You it's is asking Holy Spirit to feel what I feel grateful for today. And then you do something about it. You're writing in the journal was what they were test. That you can give someone a hug or you can you know up tell them, you appreciate that. She's putting into action that feeling of gratitude. It does the same thing but you that's doing it with your whole heart. It's making the decision. It's feeling the emotion and it's doing something about that. So I can give thanks to God in everything. I can choose to be thankful about something in everything. I've learned to do that and I will do that with my whole heart. That's not a problem.

then he goes on and says, We should give thanks for everything.

And I don't understand that.

But I do see what he saying. James kind of says the same thing James 1224. He says. Consider it a great joy, my brothers. When you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith, produces endurance, but endurance must do, its complete work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking in anything.

Did I just lose my spot over? There it is.

It's got to be more than slapping a smile on your face and saying I'm going to consider it all joy.

I've got a fuel that Joy. I got to do something about that, Joy. Maybe it's praising God. Maybe it's praising him before. The answer comes. Maybe it's freezing him because I know the answer is coming. Maybe it's freezing it cuz I don't see an answer and all I know is I got to do a reason but there's something there I have to do.

It can't be that we simply fake it till we make it. It can't be that. We we put a smile on and say everything's. All right, if that's what it's not, it's not.

The good news is that God doesn't tell us to do anything. He doesn't first Empower us to do.

I believe that. Do I feel like I believe that it will right now I do but earlier in the week dirly the last month, and I don't know.

Sometimes we need to go to the Greeks to understand what it says in the English. And that's what I'm going to be doing today. Let's let's dive into what, actually? Paul is saying in Ephesians. He is saying what he sounds like he's saying, but we need to understand what how the original Greeks understood him. What they heard.

Verse 18 again and don't get drunk with wine which leads to Reckless actions, but be filled with the spirit.

That's the command, be filled with the spirit. Literally it a Greek present imperative tense, which Gives a connotation of continuous action. It's an ongoing state of being filled. It would be clumsy in English to say be being filled, or keep being filled. I guess you could use her keep on being filled. Would make sense there.

Then the Wii C5 participles. Vent need the verb in order to make sense. So there's five things five participles that need that verb being filled to make sense.

So here, what I'm saying here? The command is to be filled with the spirit. And then What flows out from that is that we will be speaking. That's one participial speaking to one another with Psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs. We will be singing and making Melody. That's another two singing and making are participles making melody in your heart, to the Lord. We will be giving. Thanks to God, the Father for everything giving is the participle, the connects, with being filled with the spirit. And we and the last one is submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. What am I saying here?

We respond to the revelation of God. That's the way that we've been designed. That's the definition of faith. Faith is our response to the Revelation, what God reveals When holy spirit is continually filling us what comes out naturally is for us to sing songs of spiritual song. It's a to encourage each other and make Melodies unto the Lord. It's to give. Thanks for everything because we trust our good father cuz we're so filled up with him. We can't believe it's not going to work out. It feels right. We know because we're being filled with Holy Spirit. We submit to one another because it's not about us. It's about God. It's about Jesus. It's about Spirit come and get us. And so we give way to each other and we encourage each other. We build each other up and that's the life. We're supposed to be living.

Be continually filled. Be continually filled.

I think one of the best examples we have in our congregation is Dave, if you ever talk to Dave about Jesus and not see a smile,, no space.

That's really what it's about when we are filled with Holy Spirit.

We trust God more. We trust God more. It's not like it's you know what it is, right? You felt it. You've, you've been in his presence, you know, you can sing those songs. We sang this morning because they're true to you. You remember, he's been faithful. You remember? I will speak to my soul. I will say, you know, sprays and because of what he's done. And it's natural. That's what holy spirit that is when we're continually failed.

It's not a one-time event. It's not an experience that happened. 40 years ago. It's something that needs to be done on it. If not a daily basis of an hourly basis. We need to be continually filled with Holy Spirit.

So how do we do that? Well, I came up with an answer. I don't know. I'm at peace with it. I hope it helps you. How to be continually filled with Holy Spirit if you got to ask, that's the acronym. Ask You need to abide and Obey. You need to seek asking knock and you need to Kindle the flame. When you're doing that, you're going to see more Holy Spirit in the day-to-day of your everyday. What do I mean by that abide and Obey? X5 and 5/32 says we Are Witnesses of these things and so is the holy spirit. Whom God has given to those who obey. God gives Holy Spirit to those who obey Visions 430. Don't grieve God's. Holy spirit. We are sealed with him for the day of redemption. You you when we obey God. He gives us, holy spirit. When we obey Holy Spirit, we recognize as children of God. Interesting connections that are in the book fair.

What's the easiest thing to do? To know. Pick your old van. God, it's to be in the book. It's delectable Creed, you. It's the let this have more than a passing interest. It's before. Then. It's it's more than the

Scripture verses that like I share online, right? Like, you understand. I do share a lot of scripture verses online. I do expect people to go check the contacts like throw up and do that yourself.

People toxic gratitude, anyway. Question, you can ask yourself, ask holy to ask. Holy Spirit to answer is a my obeying. What God has told me to do today. Everyday, ask that question. God. What do you want me to do in the milb at? It helps to be in the book because it's the word of God that cleanses us. It's the word of God. The more we're in this book, The more we think like God, the more we we we respond to his revelation. It is, it's not about.

It's really not about.

Some new technology or some new a new way of doing things. It's, it's back to the basics people. We got to be in the book. We have to let the word read us. And then we have to obey what he tells us to do. Because God will tell us. He'll tell us what to do. We're reading that and then I thought we'll go to this other friend or this other person. And then we start to think that, you know, what, I haven't talked to them for a while and oh my I should really call them up. Yeah, that's what you should do. Sometimes you read it. It's like I'm not doing that. I really am not doing that. What? Why? Why? And that's when holy spirit will do the work. So that if it flows naturally, it's not about keeping a list of rules easy. It's not about like if I'm filled with Holy Spirit, I will be singing it with song. I will be singing. What are the five things? I will be speaking to one another with Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. I'll be singing and making music melody in the heart. I'll be giving. Thanks to God. Always and everything. I'll be submitting with the one another out of reverence of Christ. It's not but if I'm not doing that, I'm not filled with the spirit. It is when I'm filled with the spirit that naturally follows. Okay, that it it's kind of like a sign that I'm being filled is that I like to sing songs. Every person I've ever worked with tells me. I'm singing songs all day. I haven't worked with people for a long time. Now. I don't know if I'm singing songs. Like, I used to, I want to be singing song. I want to be doing that. Why? I need more. Holy Spirit. I need a more constant in my life. I need. I need his presents. I need his power. I need to be filled. So a by do be a Askin. Knock Luke 11:10 to 13. Jesus is speaking, you says for everyone who asks receives in the one who searches finds in the one who knocks the door will be open. What? Father among you if his son asked for his fish. Will they give a mistake instead of a fish? Or we ask for an egg? Will you give him a scorpion if you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children? How much more will your heavenly father? Give the Holy Spirit to those who ask? I think sometimes we don't have more of God because we forget to ask

and when we asked, Which would ask believing that we're going to receive.

Like every morning Karen and I do a devotional, we are.

Actually, that's where I got the idea for the sermon was in the devotional. The school. I went to get up a 70. 75 year anniversary devotional. So, all of us got to rape in the articles for this devotional. And so one of the articles I read was from a friend of mine and I didn't get to see who wrote it. So if I know them, I pay more attention to me articles devotional, and this guy was really good, and he explained the whole participle thing. Why am I feeling like? I'm not giving thanks to God for everything with opening a mask on my face and feeling like it's toxic positivity. It's it's something that flows naturally when I'm filled with Holy Spirit. It's not a command for me to make sure I do it. Something that will happen naturally.

Are you asking and expecting? Question. You can ask yourself if I ask him to fill me today.

Am I asked him to fill me today?

Key. Is the Kindle, the flame? Galatians 5:24 225. Oh my goodness. Is now those who belong to Christ Jesus, have crucified, their flesh with its passions and desires. Since we now live by the spirit. We must also follow the spirit.

When you read Galatians 5, it talks about the works of the flesh are obvious and it lists the works of the flesh. And then it talks about living by the spirit and we won't when we live by the spirit. We won't have those Desires in our life anymore. So, it's not about telling us, we can't do those things. It's about living by the spirit, and we don't want to do those things. And then it goes on to talk about the fruit of the spirit, which is love, and joy, and peace, and patience, and kindness, and gentleness and self-control. And I lift mist of a few. Patience goodness. Goodness, faithfulness. I'll tell you why I would a goodness. But anyway, that's a long story.

What's the cool story? But anyway, the

For years, we've taught that that's the checklist.

That's the day. I know it's fruit that grows naturally when you're living the spirit.

Are you making space to connect with God, are you being still and knowing that he is gone. Do you have time in the day today of your everyday to connect with the creator of the universe?

One of the things that I've been, I've been using the free version, it's an app called Soul time and they just came up with a October special of it. Lowered the price for a year. So I got that and then it's fun. Like it's just it's it's soaking, they they do a reading. They do a soaking, they take you through scriptures and I enjoy that. It's just, it's time to just take a breath and be still and know that he's God. You don't need that app to do that. You might not even need music to do that. It might be a simple. I'm going to pause in my day. I want to make margins in my time. I'll get the places earlier. So that in that moment. I have time to talk to God. It's making space where you can make space to connect with you. Almighty God.

You were created to walk with God in the garden of the cool of the day.

And it's not that's what we'll be doing in heaven. That's the definition of Heaven.

But it can be the definition of Life today.

We don't need to live like the world lives. It's tells us to be print, don't conform to the patterns of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. We could be transformed to recognize that with god with me. The garden is all around. The garden is with me in the day-to-day of my everyday. It's when I'm driving, and I'm at the traffic gods with me. I can pray a blessing on people. Is that have? Not praying a blessing on people.

Listen. you know, the difference, you know, when you're connected to God and you got patience for your kids and patience for your spouse patience for your neighbors and Oh, I got a neighbor that I need. Patience for my goodness. You'll get into that. I just said, I need. Holy Spirit. I need Holy Spirit. I need hope he's okay. When he smoking marijuana when he takes a hit of meth, it gets crazy. That's what I'm saying. Okay, and we're praying for him where he needs Jesus. He needs Jesus.

The challenge for us today is, will you be continually filled with Holy Spirit?

Are you going to abide and Obey? Are you going to seek asking. Are you going to Kindle the flame?

We're not leaving here without first making space, for Holy Spirit to fill us a fresh and a new.

It's it's it's not just

It's not we don't live a life of doing, you know, we don't check those boxes, do those things? And then life will be good. Know. It's God is with us. I hope you can we be with him.

We stand with me today.

I'm just going to I'm just I'm going to pray. For his Spirit to come, that is terrible language. He's here. We're not going to ask for a spirit to come. We're going to ask that are our Focus gets placed onto him.

The Holy Spirit right now. I thank you that you are very present here.

And Lord, we know, we need more, every single one of us needs more of you.

So, we are being still and knowing that you are God. Make us more aware of your presence.

Thank you, Jesus.

Thank you, Jesus.

Thank you, Jesus.

Thank you, Jesus.

Thank you, Jesus.

Thank you, Jesus.

Thank you, Jesus.

Thank you, Jesus.

Thank you, Jesus.

Thank you, Jesus.

Thank you for your presence here. Lord. I Thank You. Jesus. You are as close as the mention of your name.

I thank you, Lord. God that we will overflow with Thanksgiving as we overflow with you. Holy Spirit.

Make us more aware of your presence in every situation.

I pray. Lord God, we would be singing songs and hymns and spiritual songs unto you and encouraging each other with our words. I pray. Lord God we be so naturally flowing in you. That people would see you in Oz and want you more.

Praise You. Jesus. I thank you. You are here now. Lord. God meet the needs overcome. The fears overcome the doubt.

Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you. Jesus.

Thank you, Jesus.

As you see,, you'll find them what you see, with all of your heart.

Praise your name. Our God. Praise your name, Morgan. Scooby season in this presents.