Attitude of Gratitude

Pray

In September of the year 1620, a merchant ship called the Mayflower set sail from Plymouth, England. Normally, the Mayflower’s cargo was wine and dry goods, but on this trip the ship carried passengers: 102 of them, all hoping to start a new life on the other side of the Atlantic. Nearly 40 of these passengers were Protestant Separatists—they called themselves “Saints”— (who we now call pilgrims…) but they hoped to establish a new church in the so-called New World.

The Mayflower crossed the Atlantic at the height of storm season. As a result, the journey was horribly unpleasant. Many of the passengers were so seasick they could scarcely get up, and the waves were so rough that one passenger was swept overboard. William Bradford the governor of the Plymouth Colony would later write, it was “the just hand of God upon him,”, for the young sailor had been “a proud and very profane young man.”

During their first winter in America, more than half of the Plymouth colonists died from malnutrition, disease and exposure to the harsh New England weather... In fact, without the help of the area’s native people, it is likely that none of the colonists would have survived. An English-speaking Indian named Samoset helped the colonists form an alliance with the local Wampanoags, who taught them how to hunt local animals, gather shellfish and grow corn, beans and squash.

Despite their extreme hardship and loss of loved ones however… (Picture) At the end of the next summer, the Plymouth colonists celebrated their first successful harvest with a three-day festival of thanksgiving.

You see, what’s interesting to me this morning friends, is that these pilgrims, endured so much… These pilgrims are living in a brand-new location, they had setbacks and difficulties… and yet… despite all of this loss, they were able to celebrate, not just a thanksgiving meal… but a 3-day celebration of thanksgiving to God.

It’s not to say that things were perfect for them, or that they had no difficulty. In fact, each one of these settlers lost a loved one of some sort… whether it was mom or a dad, a spouse a child or a close friend… they all lost someone… and yet… they were thankful and giving glory to God despite their setbacks and circumstances.

This morning, with the recent loss of loved ones in our church, and with the loss of a friend from covid, and even just the realization that life is difficult… I’m reminded of the fact, that our circumstances don’t always feel good… right? and yet… we’re to always give thanks.

You see, for many of us this morning, you can relate with me on the difficulties of life… as you too have lost loved ones, and you too perhaps face sickness or hardships in life and the question becomes… how can we be grateful… even when things… don’t feel great?

If you have your bibles with you this morning. Turn first with me to the book of 1 1 chronicles. And as you’re turning there this morning… are 3 sermons points this morning are:

1. Attitude of gratitude Despite our circumstances… 2. Attitude of gratitude overflowers to others… 3. Attitude of gratitude Because God is our strength.

1. Attitude of gratitude because of Christ

As you turn to the book of 1 Chronicles 16, I want to paint a brief picture of the scene that we encounter this morning. In this scene, the Ark of the covenant has been removed from the people of Israel for 20 years… But now after waiting this long period of time… The ark is now being being brought back to Jerusalem.

Of course as we study scripture this morning, we understand that the ark of the covenant is the symbol of God’s presence being restored to the center of the people’s life. And God is going to renew his blessing to the people and his favor, has in many ways returned to the people of Israel.

And so in response to this joyous occasion… we understand that David is excited an celebratory… And so for the next few moments, I just want to consider David’s emotions and reactions to this event.

We’re told in 1 Chronicles 16:1-7 They brought the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and they presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before God. 2 After David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. 3 Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each Israelite man and woman. (In other words They had a little thanksgiving feast of sorts.)

4 He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to extol,[a] thank, and praise the Lord, the God of Israel: 5 Asaph was the chief, and next to him in rank were Zechariah, then Jaaziel,[b] Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel. They were to play the lyres and harps, Asaph was to sound the cymbals, 6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God. 7 That day David first appointed Asaph and his associates to give praise to the Lord in this manner:

And over the next 30 verses, we see praise and thanks that is given… as David remembers what God has done for all of the people of Israel… Towards the end end of the chapter we read these verses which many of us are familiar with…

Verse 34 34Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good his love endures forever. 35 Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.” 36 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.”

You see, in this moment of victory. And God’s favor returning to the people of Israel, it would be easy for us to say… well of course David is joyous and celebrating… I mean under these circumstances naturally be expressing his thanks and gratefulness to God… after all, things were going great…

But the question becomes well… what about if David was in more difficult times, would he of had the same tone? Suppose things weren’t so joyous, how would he have responded?

If you turn with me to Psalm 57. And as you’re turning there this morning, we see that David is in a different season of life… as he’s being pursued by King Saul. And Saul is trying to kill David… but despite these circumstances… in verse 5, We read the psalm of David where he says: Psalm 57 1 Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. 2 I cry out to God Most High, to God, who vindicates me. 3 He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me— God sends forth his love and his faithfulness. 4 I am in the midst of lions; I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts— men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. (so things didn’t look so good for David… but then he goes on to say…)

5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. 6 They spread a net for my feet— I was bowed down in distress. They dug a pit in my path— but they have fallen into it themselves. 7 My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast… I will sing and make music. 8 Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. 9 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. 10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. 11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.

You see, it would be easy to consider David’s thanksgiving to the Lord that we first read when the ark was returned to Jerusalem and say… oh, well… that’s just a result of his circumstance, but here… we see that even in the face of death… as David is hiding in the cave… that he has the proper perspective.

He takes the same stance in this scripture and says awake, my soul! Awake, Harp and Lyre! As he did in 1 Chronicles 16… and the question is why… and friends, the answer is he was focusing, not on his circumstances but on Christ… (show 1 chron 16: 5 and psalm 57: 8)

You see friends, your circumstances are important… but so is your perspective…

Just as an example this morning… I have a photo of a shoe up here on the screen behind me this morning… now raise your hand if you think that this shoe is grey? Now… Raise your hand if you think that this shoe is pink…

Or let’s try one more up here is a dress… what colors do you see? Blue and gold? That’s what I see…

But Here’s the point… we’re looking at the same picture, but depending on your perspective this morning… you can be seeing something very different from the person next to you…

You see, we all go through difficulties in life and yet Jesus tells us I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world

I’m reminded of those earlier settlers on the Mayflower this morning…. You see they had lost loved ones, and should have been distressed… but yet… they celebrated their thanksgiving… but what I want us to see this morning, is before the mission even began… these were a people that had the right perspective on life… In fact, the Mayflower compact which was signed by the People on the mayflower… explains that their voyage was undertaken for the Glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith right perspective…

And so… although they suffered loss, even to the point of death… they understand that they could have attitude of gratitude… because of Christ.

For us this morning, God tells us: 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

You see… things may not feel very good… life may not always go our way…but even when things don’t feel great, God call us to be grateful and to give thanks in all circumstance…

And may I encourage us with the scripture of Romans 8:28 which explains: 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.

Friends for us this morning, we can have encouragement… because even though things may not always feel good… God is always good… and God is working even the worst of circumstances out for our good for those who love the Lord.

And as we have this attitude of gratitude… Our an attitude of gratitude will pour over onto others…

2. Attitude of gratitude overflows to others.

In the Psalm 23, we read a psalm of David… who as we said, didn’t always have favorable circumstances… but he knew that God was with him… we read: 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

What’s interesting of course is that David’s started out as shepherd… and yet, we know from Psalm 23 that the David explains the Lord is my Shepherd… and in this beautiful scripture, which many of us are familiar with… we see how God takes care of his children or his sheep.

But I want us to see this key concept, in verse 5. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

The word “overflows” or some translations have “runneth over”… is the Hebrew word revawyaw’ which means: satisfaction: or saturation…

And if you can imagine with me for a moment just the idea of a sponge that you put in a sink full of water… even when that sponge is squeezed… and seems like its drowning… the key is if its submerged in water once you let go of the sponge… it has a chance to absorb and be saturated by the water… so much so that when you take the sponge out of the water… the water flows out because it can’t contain all of the water within itself…

You see, friends, as we are submerged in Christ… and he is the living water… and as we are purged of whatever was there beforehand (whether it’s sin, or toxicity or anything…) God … supernaturally, replace whatever we had in here before… and fills us with something far better… But the truth is this morning, we are all full of something… some of us are full of ourselves, some of us are full of sin and others of us are full of thanks we’re thankful…

But here’s the key… just like a saturated sponge that is full of Christ… this overflowing love can’t held but pour over onto others. Colossians 2: 6-7 6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

You see friends, as we Continue to live our lives for him… and we’re submerged in him… we suddenly start to overflow with thanksgiving… but here’s the key… it starts with Christ…

You see, when you we talk about thanksgiving dinner… listen… I’m not interested in walking away hungry… right? I mean this is one holiday, where we can all sit together and far too much of our favorite foods… and the best part… I tell myself that on thanksgiving day, everythings calorie free…

But When you think of some of the favorite dishes of thanksgiving what comes to mind? Turkey, (anyone not like turkey?) sweet potato casserole (with marshmallows? Or pecans?) maybe stuffing or other sides…

And don’t get me started on the pies, right? We could go on for hour about the pies….

But here’s the key, when you eat thanksgiving… don’t you like leftovers? Amazing sandwiches, eat leftover turkey for 3 days straight … but there’s something about having more than enough, left over…

See, comes to the thanksgiving table just for a few piece of bread and maybe a few vegetables… right? Where like the big ol tom turkey and we’re all looking for stuffed… we’re looking for some stuffing!

And then, we want thanksgiving over, and again the next day… because we want leftovers…

In the same way, This morning, , God wants us to be so overflowing with thanksgiving… that it carries over to those around us.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that God wants us to eat so much food, that we can’t help but vomit up on the persons lap we’re sitting next to on Thursday; that would make you a meany pants… but the idea is that, as we are full of thanksgiving, we then overflow so much so that others… that they can’t help but notice…

Luke 6:45 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

You see I think for many of us we can relate all think of people in our lives that have had a positive effect on us… or a negative effect… For instance, there’s a youth pastor friend of mine by the name of Jamie Hammons… and he has one of the most likable, most enjoyable personalities of anyone I’ve ever met… he’s the type of person that you wanted to be around…

And one thing that I first found out about Jamie is that he was actually a cancer survivor… now he’s been free from cancer for years now… but here’s the point, I believe much of who he is as a person today… is the result of where he’s came from… you see, he’s not perfect, he’s not a saint… and he probably doesn’t always have a perfect attitude about life… but I believe that much of who he is, is a reflection of his gratefulness not on what he doesn’t have… but on what he does have… he’s happy to be alive…

And because of this… very perception of life… it spills over to other people. I know for myself personal as someone who’s learned a lot from Jamie, and for thousands of students in South Carolina, that Jamie has had a huge impact… but listen, the person he is today, is only because of the Lord…

In the same way… my question for us is what type of people are we? Are we people that when others walk away from us, they feel lifted up and encouraged? Or do we have the tendency of having sapping others…

Here’s what I do know. Ultimately, no matter where you sit today, we can be thankful because of Jesus.

2 Cor 4:14-15 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

But here’s the key friends, it starts by being in the presence of the Lord…

Friends this morning, God wants us to be thankful… and not just at thanksgiving or when it’s convenient or when it feels good, but at all times…. And as we are thankful, this thanksgiving will overflow to others and reach more and more people for the glory of God.

3. Attitude of Gratitude because God is our strength

We read a psalm of David In the book of psalm 23 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 28:7-9

7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. 8 The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one. 9 Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.

We see David say, “save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.” You see David as you know, started out as a shepherd… He understood what it was like to care for the needs of the sheep… but here… he goes back to the Lord and says, that you alone are the shepherd

And then David points out the Lord is his strength and shield, that he trust in him, and he helps me.

You see, this Is the same David that had defeated goliath that had slain thousands of adversaries, and yet… His strength and shield is in God alone.

Friends, This morning… your circumstances may not feel great… you may be facing your own battles…but when you but God is with you this morning… When you feel like you’re stuck or when you feel like you’re lost, or when you feel like your strength is escaping you… God is their as your rescuer, and he meets you where you are…

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Cor 12:9-10

The point is this, this morning… you may be facing difficulties… or hardships… and you may not feel like you should have an attitude of gratitude...but even in your weakness and insults, hardships persecutions and difficulties… when you are weak then you are strong….

I’m reminded of one last scripture this morning, in

Habakkuk 3:17-19 17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails, and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. 19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.

Friends this morning. God is your strength… Like David out on the battlefield before Goliath… it was not by sword or spear that the God saved David, but instead… the battle was the Lord’s.

At this time, I’m going to call Lisa back up as we prepare to close…And as she’s coming up, I just want to challenge us in a few specific ways…

1. Some of us don’t feel very Thankful. (told to give thanks in all circumstance, but this is tough…)

(God help me to see the good in this, this morning…)

2. Witness

3. Dealing with some other sort of difficulty…

4. Pray