[00:00:00] Speaker A: You're listening to the message podcast of High Ridge Church, Longview, where our vision is to help, you know God, find freedom, discover purpose, and ultimately make a difference. We are so glad that you're here, and we pray that this message impacts your life as you apply the spiritual truths from God's word in practical ways.
[00:00:18] Speaker B: Let's listen in. Good morning.
You excited to be in church today?
I'm excited to be here as well. It is beautiful fall season right here in East Texas. We call it fat boy weather, and I am glad. I've been waiting for this all year long. We've got football. Not great football, but we've got football back. It's a good time to be alive. I guess we're gonna have to cheer for A and M. I don't know.
We'll see what happens. Grab your Bibles, if you wouldn't mind. Philippians chapter four is where we're gonna spend our time today. Philippians chapter four. And as we're turning there, I wanna say thank you so much for your generosity. You guys are an amazing and a giving church. I appreciate those of you that have chosen to stand behind us financially. It is a big deal what we are able to do, not just on the uttermost parts of the earth, but right here in Longview, Texas. I love that you guys have shown up and been able to help. There's a citywide food drive that happened, and many of our churches and nonprofits all got together and we were able to absolutely just pack the North Texas, the East Texas Food bank with all that they need. And I love that. That's a big deal. And I'm grateful to be a part of a group of generous people, take care of our city. It's a big deal. Politics should never be the deciding factor on whether a kid gets to eat. Come on, somebody. And I'm so thankful that we can take care of ourselves. And I'm grateful to be a part of a generous church. Also. I got asked this week to open up our State of the City address with our mayor with a word of prayer. So I was able to do that. Represent us well. And it's the Thanksgiving season, so I just decided, let's just be thankful for all the things that Longview has and the things that I'm grateful for. So I open up the State of the City address in front of our state representatives and all our big wigs from the city. And I just said, hey, Lord, thank you for all the things that Longview has, Father. We've got just fantastic barbecue and burgers. Come on, somebody.
We've got great trees and walking trails. I'm thankful for all the wonderful things you blessed us with. We've got a fresh that's coming. We've been looking forward to that. We've got a sprouts that's open. Come on, somebody.
Then I said, and for some strange reason, we now have three Brahms. We just asked you for one, but you've given us an abundance of Brahms for some strange reason. And I said, and God, thank you most of all that we don't look like Shreveport.
In Jesus name. The whole room said, amen.
By the time I got home, our mayor had sent me a DM on social media. And she just said, best prayer ever. And I'm like, I got you, mayor. So I just appreciate the chance to be a part of what God is doing. I think God led us here to this city for the sake of the city. And it matters that we represent Christ well in this city. God's doing great things in East Texas, and we get to be a part of it. So it's a beautiful honor to be able to do that. And so in the spirit of that, we're gonna talk about what it means to be grateful as we approach this Thanksgiving season. So Philippians chapter four is where we're gonna spend all of our time as we talk about Thanksgiving, what it means biblically, not just as the American holiday, but what it means biblically. Cause sometimes we get those two confused, and we think of Thanksgiving in terms of what we're gonna eat and the. The kind of football games we're going to watch and where we're going to take a nap after we eat all that turkey. Come on. We also think about the sales that are happening. It becomes more of a consumer holiday because contentment doesn't sell, gratitude doesn't sell. But what does is, oh, if you buy these things, then you'll be content. If you have these things to your life, then you'll understand what it really feels like to have what you're looking for. But. But that's not biblically what the Lord is telling us through his word. As believers on how to approach Thanksgiving, Biblical Thanksgiving is completely different than how we have it in our minds today. And so as I was focusing on Thanksgiving and gratitude, as I felt the Lord was leading me, I was drawn to a chapter in Psalm 107. And we're going to spend the next few weeks there. For those of you that like to work ahead, you like to think about what we're going to Study about on Sunday mornings. We're going to spend the next couple of weeks in Psalm 107.
And by the way, those of you that do that were probably hall monitors in middle school. Where you at? Yeah, you probably were.
No. Psalm 107. It simply starts out with this. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. Not that your circumstances are good, but he is good. We have something to be thankful for. Why? Because God is good. Come on, somebody. God is still good. God is good. He said, give thanks to him. Why? Because he's good. And it's his love that endures forever.
If you've been around church longer than five minutes, you've probably heard that, you've probably spoke that, you probably quoted it, you've probably sung that in a song or two. And because it's important, it's foundational for believers that we are to give thanks to the Lord because his love endures forever. But rarely do we sing the second part of that scripture, which simply tells us this. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story.
And the principle that David is speaking about here in this wonderful psalm is that thanksgiving is not complete until it's expressed.
Many of us have thanksgiving in our hearts. We're thankful for what God has done, but we never say it.
Thanksgiving isn't complete until the redeemed tell their story, until we talk about what God has done for us. And so that's my challenge for us today, is to not simply have gratitude in our hearts, but gratitude that is expressed biblically. A thank you doesn't mean a whole lot if you never say thank you. Well, I'm very grateful for this person. Do they know it?
Have you ever told them thank you? Like, no, that would be weird. That's my wife. That's my husband. I don't say thank you like you probably should.
We've got a group for you that's going to help your marriage.
Gratitude matters. And it's biblically foundational for believers that we learn to say thank you, God, in spite of what we're walking through. That doesn't mean that our situation or our circumstances are good. They don't have to be. But God is good.
So at the beginning of our. Of our nation, you know, many of us have heard the story of the ships that come across the Mayflower and the. The Pilgrims get here. And you might have seen the painting of the very first pilgrims in the 1620s, and they're meeting with the Wampanawag Indians that are the indigenous people there. And the Indians, they really helped the Pilgrims get through their first brutal winners, which the Pilgrims would not have survived had it not been for a group of indigenous people that said, we are grateful and we're going to be generous. We're going to share with you.
And it becomes foundational to our country, where thanksgiving and generosity, being grateful and sharing is at the heart of who we are. And by the way, this had been happening for centuries before for the people that lived here, long before the Pilgrims came, long before Columbus was here. It was part of the original American culture. Thanksgiving, being grateful, sharing, being generous. And so by the time that the Pilgrims get here, if not for the indigenous people, they wouldn't have done well. They wouldn't have survived.
You and I would have a. You would probably look a lot more like me.
But they did.
And so there's no record that it. That their first meal together was. Was, you know, turkey and mashed potatoes.
But all of our history says it's probably, you know, a deer, it's probably a duck, it's probably some fish. And I'm. I'm down with all of those. If you can hunt it and kill it, if you can pull it out of a river, I'm. I will eat it. I. I'm into it.
And our first meal probably looked a lot more like that. But the point remains that Thanksgiving really gets its heart in the roots of American history, a long time ago with people that were willing to share and be generous and to be grateful.
So not only is it part of who we are as a nation, but it's a part of who we are as God's children.
Because long before this was a country, God was speaking to his people about learning the principles of being grateful to him for what he's given us.
I think it's really easy for us that live in, you know, the 2000 and 20s and in America to get really spoiled really quickly. Come on, somebody. We get very spoiled.
We get a little out of touch.
We forget that life is not all about just getting the next thing.
But biblically, the Lord's saying, hey, can you remind yourself of what I've done for you? Because that's going to produce more contentment than you buying something else, than you getting a bigger raise and getting more toys. Oh, if I just have this thing. God said, well, well, well, well, you have all you need in your relationship with me.
In Philippians 4, the apostle Paul begins to speak to his. His people. And we can't read the entire chapter just because of time, but he talks about Godliness with contentment. That's great gain, learning how to recognize that everything we need comes from our relationship with the Lord. And, and everything on top of that is a bonus.
And so Philippians 4, he begins to encourage the believers there in Philippi. He says this. Rejoice in the Lord always.
And again I'll say, rejoice.
Let your gentleness be evident to all. Now, that's just simple scripture right there. Let your gentleness be evident to all. I have to work on that a lot. It is not easy to let my gentleness be evident. That's not really in my system. But he says, yes, it is. You can be gentle. Come on, somebody look at the person next to you and say, you can be gentle.
Look at your second choice and said, I should have started with you. Things got weird.
Let your gentleness be evident to all. And he says, why? It's because the Lord is near, because God's watching you, because it matters to him.
God's presence is here, and his return is coming. It matters the way that we treat people.
And he gives us some powerful principles. In this next verse, he says, do not be anxious about anything.
That's easy for you to say, Paul. You don't know my life. You don't know the things that I have anxiety about. I'd be anxious about everything.
No, he says, no, no, no, that's not true. Don't be anxious about anything. Well, how in the world do you expect me to do that? He goes on and shows us how. And in these powerful next verses, we see things that our world is desperate for. He writes out plainly, this is how he says in every situation, by prayer and petition. And then look at these next two words with thanksgiving. It shows us the attitude of all of our prayers. Should start with thank you.
With thanksgiving, he says, then present your request to God and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding. I love that because if you, if you, if you've been walking with God for a while, you understand that there are moments of your life where you should not have had peace. Everything else is just freaking out. You're freaking in the peace of God. Like, how does it make any sense that I have peace in my spirit right now? This shouldn't be. That's not who I am. I, I, I don't understand.
Paul says, there's a peace that passes all understanding. That's for believers when it shouldn't make any sense. And I, I still have have peace.
He said, oh. And that peace is more than just a feeling. He Said it, it. It guards your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.
And he finishes up the thought by saying, finally, brothers, I want brothers and sisters. Is. I want you to. I want you to think this way.
He says, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy. And think about these things.
And by the way, as I was reading this last night, I often don't. I don't sleep very much at all on Saturday nights because I'm so excited about bringing God's word. And there's so many thoughts in my mind, it's just impossible to fall asleep. And so I sit here and I just think and think and think and think. And as I was thinking about today and about you and about your situations, and I'm praying and going back and forth, and the Lord's like, hey, that scripture in Philippians 4 tells you what you need to be focusing on.
Paul says, think about these things, what is true? And I started thinking about that, like, what is true in my life? What do I know to be true, what's admirable, what's praiseworthy. You know what's incredible? It's amazing, the peace that begins to flood into my spirit as I drifted off to sleep thinking about things that weren't normal for me to think about.
Paul says, I want you to think about these things. Focus your attention on things that are true and admirable and praiseworthy and lovely and excellent. And he says, these are the things that I want you to start thinking about. It's interesting that he talks about what you think about and what you think about. Now, if you're from East Texas, those two words are pronounced exactly the same, but biblically, they mean two different things. What you think and how you think.
Paul says, how you think and how you think are different.
I just thank God. You thank God? What? No, I thank him.
Thank God.
There's a correlation here between what Paul is talking about.
He says, whatever these. Whatever you've seen and learned or received from me, whatever you see in me, he says, I want you to do this, put it into practice, and what's going to happen? What's the result? He says that. That God of peace, he's going to be with you.
There's some powerful hidden truths within gratitude that I think many of us are missing that our. That our world is looking for. And it's time for us to get back to the basics of what it means to look at God's word and say, lord, what are you. What are you speaking to me? How do I. How do I need to approach this? With a fresh mindset.
And so there are three things that I think are really critical for us as believers to embrace when we're looking at this scripture and things that I believe that the Lord would say to us today, just as Paul was talking to the church in Philippi. And so I want to give you three of these things. And the first of those is, is this. If you're a note taker, you might want to write this down. Number one, gratitude is God's will for you.
Like, period.
And one of the most often questions that I get asked from people is, what is God's will for my life? How do I find the will of God for my life?
Notice this, in First Thessalonians, chapter 5, Paul writes this. He says, in everything, give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
What's God's will for my life? Let me just. Let me just make. Let me make this statement. You will never walk in God's will for your life if you don't start with gratitude.
Gratitude opens up the door for you to find the will of God for your life. It starts by thanking God for what he's already done. And it says everything starts with your relationship with Christ. Thank you, Jesus, for what you did for me on the cross. Thank you. Thank you that you saw me. You. You still see me, you loved me. You chose to separate me from the rest of the world. You. You have a purpose and a plan for my life. And because you died upon the cross, I now have grace that covers my mistakes. And now I have a reason to get up tomorrow to live for more than just for myself.
It's very clear that understanding and walking in the will of God starts with gratitude.
In everything.
He says, give thanks for this is God's will. For here's something that you need to understand. Gratitude biblically isn't just encouraged. It's commanded in scripture, commanded.
And many of us had this idea of we want the Ten Commandments in schools, and hey, I'm all for that. But there's more than just 10.
There's other commandments as well. And Paul says, I give this to you as a command. Give thanks.
It matters. It matters to God.
It is literally God's will for you. So Paul then starts out this Philippians 4 chapter by saying this word twice. He says the word rejoice. Now, we don't use that word a lot today in most of our conversations, unless you're kind of a weirdo. Is everyone rejoicing today. Like, dude, get out of the party. You don't belong here. That's weird.
But he uses the word. He uses the word rejoice. And he uses this word twice. And anytime there Apostle Paul is speaking, and he uses the word in repetition. It's simply like. Like, if you were to send an email today and you were to put something in, like, bold, underline.
And normally that just means that you're mad at somebody, right? If you're mad and you're sending an email, this is how I feel. In bold, underline.
When Paul is writing to the church in Philippi, what he puts in bold underline is the word rejoice.
Rejoice, he says. I'll say it again.
Rejoice.
He's making a big deal about using that word. Now, the Greek word there for rejoice is. Is. Is not our word for. For rejoice. That Greek word is Cairo. It's. It's. It's a much more spiritual word than what we'd say. Be happy.
You guys need to be happy. That's not what he's. It's a spiritual concept that he is giving as a command to the church. To rejoice means to have joy that's expressed because of the grace of God.
That's different than feeling happy.
That's a decision to look back with gratefulness that God gave you grace when you couldn't earn it with all of your best efforts.
We don't deserve God's grace, but he gave it anyway.
He poured out all of his wrath upon his perfect son so that you could have favor.
Blessing, grace, forgiveness, the things that you could never earn with all of your best efforts. He has given that to us. And he says, that's the kind of gratefulness that I want you to have. That's real joy. It's Cairo joy.
Joy expressed because of the grace of the Lord.
And so Paul is giving this. It's showing us that there's some wonderful things for us to think about. And he says the word. He says the word twice, which I think is important because he's saying it one time for your head and one time for your heart.
And he's showing us that joy is a couple things, that joy is foundational and joy is fragile.
Joy is easily lost. It's easy for us to forget about what God has done for us. It's easy for us to forget about the grace of God. It's easy for us because we're busy and we have life and we have all of our schedules and Things we have our emotions and our offenses and our good days and our bad days and we wins and our losses. And I like, and I don't like, and we forget joy is fragile.
But when he uses this word and he bold underlines it, when he gives it twice, it's more than a feeling, he said, it's a choice.
It's more than a word. It's a habit. You see, gratitude is a spiritual decision grounded in Christ, not my circumstances.
I think we have a. We have a mindset where I'm happy if I have X, if these people do these things, then I'm happy. If I get here, if I go there, if I make this, if I have that, then I'm. I'm happy. And Paul said, that's not happiness.
The command that he's giving us is not to feel happy.
It's a decision that we make because of what Christ has already done. It shows us that real joy is rooted in relationship, not results.
So it's interesting that Paul says that word, rejoice, Rejoice and do this with thanksgiving. It's interesting that he says that because if you know the story of where Paul's writing from and when Paul is writing this, he doesn't have a whole lot of business to be telling us to rejoice, considering his circumstances.
Why Paul is sitting in a prison in Rome. And by the way, this is right in the. In AD 60 something, right before he's about to be probably beheaded.
Emperor Nero comes on. And we know that Paul is executed. We're not quite sure that he was beheaded, but a couple of historians said he was beheaded and that was the end of his life. And here's the thing. Paul knows that, and he writes it to his people that are gathered in churches. He says, I know that I'm just about to be poured out as a drink offering. I know that the end of my life is coming. But Paul knows that this is the end. And he's saying, rejoice.
If you're sitting on death row and your execution date is coming, you're not writing a lot of rejoicing things. You're writing a lot of desperate things.
Help get me out of here. I didn't do it. I'm innocent. Paul doesn't write that way.
And not only is Paul at the end of his life in some crazy circumstances and saying, rejoice, why? Because your name is written in the Lamb's book of life. And Christ has been good. God has been good to you. You, Christ is all that you need. Not Only is he saying that, but he's writing it to a people in Philippi that are not the greatest church of all time. And they're living in some difficult things, not just on the outside, but on the inside. Many of the people in Philippi are dealing with extreme poverty.
All of them are being persecuted for their faith. They're afraid, and they're gathering together as believers and outcasts, afraid and broke.
Verse 2 of this chapter says that there's Euodia and Syntyche. Two of the leaders in their church are disagreeing with each other, and the church is about to split. If you've ever been a part of a Baptist church, you understand you got two great people that we both love, and they're arguing with each other and they're fighting. And so they're writing Paul and they're like, help us, because this is a big deal. Like, our church is about to fall apart, and we're all broke and we're being persecuted, and then you're in prison, and our leaders are our pets. Heads are falling off, and. And Paul says, rejoice.
Rejoice and do it with Thanksgiving.
Why? Because it's not about you.
It's about him, and it's not about me. It's about him. If you can get your focus off of the things that you're dealing with and back upon the one who is good, there's a powerful concept that gets unlocked.
He shows us very clearly a simple concept that we need to remember. Life isn't easy, but God is good.
Life isn't easy, but God is still good. In spite of my circumstances and what I'm doing, what I'm walking through, God is still good. Even if I'm not good, he's good.
So here's the second key that we see that I think is so important for us. Not only is gratitude God's command for us, but number two, gratitude is a powerful hidden connector.
We see this in multiple references in Scripture. Gratitude unlocks so many other things that I think many people that consider themselves Christians and disciples of Christ have neglected. And our world is looking for the things that the Bible is clearly outlying and saying, this is how you get it.
The things that our world is searching for.
The Bible gives us a powerful hidden connector.
And it starts with gratitude.
Years ago, my wife and I were celebrating our anniversary, and we got to go to a place that was called the Stonegate Mansion in Fort Worth. And it sounds super, super cool, and it really was.
But the thing is not that the restaurant was good. It Was that it was at an old mansion that was built a long time ago by a man named Cullen Davis. And he was a wealthy old guy in Texas, kind of an old baron. And. And he ends up getting accused of murder. So there's several murders that happened at this place. And because I'm a true crime junkie, like, I want to eat at the place where, like, people were killed. It's weird. I don't. I don't understand it.
I don't know.
And so we're at this place, and I know all the story of, you know, the people that say, oh, he did it, or he didn't do it, and he used his money to get out of it, and there's evidence against him, but at the same time, people that know him, like, he would never do that, and he's being framed and set up. And so as you're sitting at this place kind of eating, you're just like, I don't want this chicken. This is kind of creepy.
But the greatest part of being at the Stonegate mansion was not the food. It was the fact that the place was filled with hidden and secret tunnels.
And, like, it's one of those places where he had it built. Like, if you grab a library book and pull out a certain book, like, the whole wall would open up. Like, one of those kind of things. You're like, this is awesome and kind of creepy. Where's my true crime people at? Where you at? See, we're weird, but this is one of those places where you did. You didn't realize, like, things are not always what they seem because there's a lot of hidden connectors between one room and another and tunnels that go out to the golf course, the tunnels that go out to the garage. Like, you had to know the house to find these. And the apostle Paul is saying. And multiple people, including Christ, are saying, you know what a wonderful hidden connector is in scripture? Gratitude.
It takes you to places that you didn't like. Whoa, I didn't see that.
So he starts it out by saying, gratitude is the fuel for true joy.
And then he begins to connect it to other things in scripture that I think are powerful. He connects it first to joy, and then he says it's connected to God's peace.
And he says, oh, when you have thanksgiving in your heart, when you're grateful, it's the fuel for true joy and true peace. Don't you think? Our world is in desperate need of some joy and some peace right now? Come on, somebody. Yes.
It starts with gratitude. Starts with Thanksgiving.
And he says, and that peace does something special that our world is in desperation looking for. He says, it's going to guard your heart and it's going to guard your mind in Christ Jesus.
So Paul is saying essentially that gratitude opens up the doors for things that our world is desperate for, like emotional protection.
How do I guard my emotions?
Gratitude, mental protection, spiritual protection.
Says it all starts with gratitude. And then that peace of God comes. It'll guard your heart and mind in your relationship with Christ. It's a wonderful, powerful thing that we see.
And it, it shows us that it's a hidden connector.
David also says this, by the way, in Psalm 100, in case you guys have, have remembered this.
But David writes this. Enter his gates, his gates being God with thanksgiving.
Your Bible may have a different translation, a modern translation or something different might say, enter God's presence with the password. And it says, what's the password? Thank you.
The password is thank you. Enter his gates with thanksgiving. Enter his courts with praise. Be. Be thankful to God and bless his name. Give thanks and bless his name. How do I get into the presence of God? It starts with two words, thank you. That's the reason why every day needs to have a beginning prayer. And every prayer, every day needs to start with thank you.
Thank you, Lord. I believe many of us think that we're thankful, but we never express it.
And so our relationship with God becomes more of a Christmas list than a thank you list.
Paul says there's something powerful that begins to happen in our lives and we start thanking God for what he's already done in Christ Jesus, by the way, which is kind of a big deal in the Bible. I don't know if you know that, but before Jesus ever feeds the 5,000, before he does this multiple times, he always gives thanks.
You see this as a pattern in his life.
Now it's interesting that Jesus is God, so he could have said, hey me, I thank me for the meal. So I sound like Terrell Owens. I love me some me, right?
But Jesus, before he does any miracle, he gives thanks.
And it shows us a concept that I think some of us need to see today. And that's that gratitude often precedes the miraculous.
Gratitude often precedes miracles.
Now this is what I'm. This is what I'm not saying. I'm not saying if you're grateful, God will give you a miracle. No, no, no. That's. That's give to get. That's not what I'm saying.
But I will say this. If you're not grateful, you get nothing.
How about that?
Gratitude opens up the door for a miracle. Doesn't guarantee it.
But Jesus shows us that before he does miracle, before he provides for thousands and thousands of people just a few loaves and a couple fish, he gives thanks.
Jesus gives thanks for what he knows is not enough.
We've got no excuse.
Gratitude often precedes the miraculous. I want to finish up with this number three. It says this gratitude has to be put into practice.
When I hear the word practice, I think of Allen Iverson. Anybody remember that practice? Like, why weren't you at practice today? Allen, the reporter asked him. He said, practice, practice. Like, I don't even practice.
Look how great I am.
And it reminded me, by the way, when I came into high school, I had always been raised in homeschool and private school. And so when I finally got to a big public high school, I wanted real bad to play Texas high school football. That was like my goal. And so I go out and we do the 2A days during the summer. And this was back in a time where, you know, water is for sissies and concussions are just part of it.
It's like, well, how many of you had. I've had four. How many of you had. I've had 10. Like, you're gonna make an incredible pastor someday. This is exactly the ministry track that you have to be on is multiple concussions.
And it's, you know, it's Texas summers and it's super hot. And. And because you're a freshman, they make all the freshmen carry the equipment of the seniors. And it's like, it's just way harder on the, on the 14 year old freshmen than it is on the seniors that get to wear the red shirts and nobody could touch them.
And it was hard. And those difficult days of just drill after drill after drill and just getting hit and getting hit and getting hit and getting knocked out and then they won't give you any water. Like, this is back in the real days. Like, I'm just, I'm dating myself. But that's how it used to be.
And I remember after I finally finished that freshman year, I thought, I will never do that again. That is way too hard. We didn't get a single win that year, by the way. This is a horrible, horrible team. Like, why am I working so hard for something that you don't even win?
And so my sophomore year, I'm like, I am not going to play. I'm done with all that. And so I remember after the first six weeks, the report cards come out, and, like, 75% of the high school football team failed.
And so I remember just walking down the hallway, and one of the coaches like, ingram, where have you been? I'm like, I'm right here. Like, why are you not at practice for football? Why are you not coming out for the team? Like, I got six concussions, man. I can barely even see straight.
I said, I didn't want to play this year, Coach.
And he says, well, how are your grades? I'm like, I got straight A's. He goes, you want to start on Friday night? I will see you Friday. I would love to play the game without practice. Absolutely. I ended up. I learned a powerful lesson.
You don't have to practice if you make good grades. You don't have to do anything. Was that the lesson they were trying to tell me? No, but that's the lesson I learned.
I don't have to do anything. Now, here's the thing. When we got into actual games, did I know the plays? Nope.
Just gonna hit that guy, see what happens. I'm gonna run over here and try to catch the ball.
I remember going to my coach at halftime. He's like, ingram, what are you doing? Like, I don't know. I don't come to practice.
But I make this outfit look good, don't I?
I'm in the team, P.
He's like, can you just stop the running back? Can we just get you to do that? I'm like, cool, just tell me what to do. I don't know, because I never went to. Come on, somebody, practice.
And Paul says, whatever you hear from me, whatever you've learned from me, whatever you're working with that you see working in my life, you're going to have to put it into practice. You're going to have to actually do it at some point.
And this is my point. Today. I think many of us feel like we're grateful. We feel like we're thankful. We feel like we have that attitude of gratitude inside of our hearts. But when was the last time you said it?
When was the last time you actually spoke it out? Because gratitude that's unexpressed is unfinished.
Thanksgiving that's not expressed to God is not Thanksgiving. It's unfinished. Let the redeemed tell their story. We're supposed to express it in testimony of how good God has been to us. That's foundational.
And all the things that are unlocked when we begin to do that, become part of our life. When we follow God's plan, and God's plan starts with thank you, Lord.
This will not only help your relationship with the Lord, it'll help your marriage.
I'm thankful for my wife. He ever told her that. She knows.
Does she?
You can feel thankful and not express it.
And Paul says, you're going to have to practice.
It has to become a habit.
It shows us that gratitude, that thanksgiving and gratitude is not a seasonal word just for the fall and pumpkin spice latte and grateful and thankful. We're going to put it on our wall. No, it's not a. It's not a seasonal word. It's a daily lifestyle. It has to become something that you put into practice every single day or it ain't going to work. You're never going to experience the things that God has for your life. And until you do, the foundational principles of learning how to say thank you, God.
Learning how to say thank you for what you've done for me, for how you've kept me, you've healed me, you've changed me, you love me.
Remind yourself of this. Gratitude doesn't change God. It changes us.
It changes us.
So as we're looking at God's word and how powerful it is, it shows us at the conclusion of this portion of scripture, it gives us a result when we do these things, when we have this attitude, the result is, he says, the God of peace will be with you, and the God of peace will be with you. I want that. I need that. I need the God of peace to be with me.
He's showing us Thanksgiving is not a holiday. It's not a season. It's a lifestyle. It's a habit. And when we begin to take that habit seriously, we start replacing worry with worship.
He says, don't be anxious about anything.
Instead, let's talk about how you thank God. By the way, that's worship.
So there's a better way.
So for those of us that struggle with anxiety, for those of us looking for peace, those that need emotional and mental and spiritual protection over our mind and my heart and my emotions. And by the way, that's everyone.
Paul says, do it with Thanksgiving. Start there and put it into practice.
So I've spoken about, you know, the pilgrims coming over and the. The very first recorded, you know, Thanksgiving. And here's what you may not know is that Thanksgiving doesn't become a national holiday until, like, 1863, 64, with President Lincoln. It's the reason why he's considered one of the greatest presidents of all time. Not just that he proclaimed liberty over slavery and set people free, but he Proclaims Thanksgiving as a national holiday. He does this, by the way, in. In the middle of Civil War, our country was never more hotly and intensely divided than during the Civil War between states rights and slavery and all the things that are going on in our country. Our country had split down the middle, and we're slaughtering each other by the thousands. Hatred for one side versus the other, similar to today.
And he proclaims a national holiday of thanking God for what he's done for us.
And the country begins to change.
They begin to unite.
They begin to find a way forward when it seemed like there was no future for us as a country.
It starts with Thanksgiving.
There are two wonderful things that come out of 1863 and 64 when he proclaims us a national holiday. Number one is Thanksgiving, and number two is A1 Steak Sauce. I don't know if you knew that right in the middle of the Civil War. Here we go. What do we need? Steak sauce. Cool. And unity.
That comes with Thanksgiving.
Well, what you may not know about that story, though, is. Is.
Is that this wasn't Lincoln's idea.
As a matter of fact, there was a lady named Sarah Hale that had written to presidents asking for them to make Thanksgiving a national holiday for 30 years.
Every president before said, no, I don't have time for that.
That's foolish. But Lincoln said, this lady has been asking for this for 30 years. Maybe she's onto something.
And Sarah Hill, with no political platform, no power of any kind, just a letter and persistence, writes to president after president for year after year for 30 straight years, asking them, we need a national day of Thanksgiving. It will help us. It's a biblical principle. Everything in our nation can be solved when we get back to what made us great. And it was Thanksgiving to God for his great grace.
And Lincoln said, I think she's onto something.
Think of where we've come.
We've come from incredible disunity and a bloody history in our past and what Thanksgiving has been able to build. You're living in it.
Generations before you that were reminding themselves to be grateful. We get to live in the product of that.
And let me ask you this. What could God do in my family if we focused on gratitude? What could the future of your family look like if gratitude was more than something that you just scream at your kids when they don't like their chicken tendies?
Be grateful like it's more than that. Why? Because they learn it from you.
And if you begin to put it into practice, the things that come out in your family could be bigger than. Than you think.
It matters.
We have an entitled spirit because we've been spoiled. We've been given so much.
But when we replace that with an attitude of thanksgiving, if we remind ourselves of what God has done for us, we find that godliness with contentment is great gain.
I've learned to be content because God's already given me everything that I need.
He's been good to me. Has God been good to you?
He's been good to me.
As we finish up today, I want to invite you to not just hear about it, but as James says in his fantastic book, to be doers of the word, not just hearers of the word. So today you're going to practice a little bit. How about that?
I want you to think about one thing that you are thankful for that God has done for you. One thing specifically that God has done for you, that you're thankful for. And when you have it, when you have something particular in your mind, go ahead and slip up your hand, and we're going to wait until every single person has something to thank God for. Where you at? You got it? Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on. Hands, hands, hands.
Some of you need a little bit more time. Some of you were not raised in a Pentecostal church because you will not raise your hand no matter what. Look, I have lots of things to be thankful for, but I can't raise my hands in church. That's not biblical. Yes, it is.
Some of you were raised Pentecostal. You got both hands up in the air. I love that. That's good. All right, you got something to thank God for.
All right, you can put your hands down. You have it in your mind. You have it locked.
All right, this is what we're gonna do.
We're gonna say thank you, Lord for. And then you're gonna say exactly what you're thankful for. All of us together, we're gonna jam heaven, switch sports with Thanksgiving. Thank you, Lord, for. And then you say whatever that thing is. That way nobody's gonna listen to you. Like, did he say, thank you, God, for me?
Okay, he did. I'm gonna stay married to him. Like, don't do that. This ain't about you.
This is about them. Okay?
So thank you, Lord. We're gonna say that together. Thank you, Lord, for. And then you say out publicly in the presence of your brothers and sisters in the courts, in church, on Sunday morning, what you're thankful for. Ready? Here we go. Thank you, Lord, for. Say it.
That's Thanksgiving. You put it into practice. Good for you.
It starts there.
You may say, I'm not sure how to do that. You just did. You're fine.
And now I want to encourage you husbands and wives, this should be how you end every single day, by praying out loud together and starting your prayer with, thank you, Lord, for another day. Thank you, Lord, for my family. Thank you, Lord, that we had food to eat today. I recognize there's not a lot of people in the world that have all the things that we have. Thank you, God, for providing for every one of our needs. It is that simple. The things that are unlocked in your family are waiting on the other side of your gratitude.
Not on the other side of your toys. Not on the other side of your insurance payout. Not on the other side of your next job or your raise. No, no, no, no. No gratitude for what God has already done.
Can you receive that?
Go ahead and put away your Bibles, if you would. And then bow your head and close your eyes.
I want to pray for you, just kind of lead you in a place to receive from the Holy Spirit what he might be speaking to you today. I think if I've done my job correctly, then there's some things that you need to get right between you and the Lord. Maybe some repentance for not being grateful.
So would you bow your head and close your eyes and let's just begin to pray today.
Father, I thank you for this day. I thank you for your word that still comes to life and speaks to us right where we are. Lord, we need this. We need your word to speak to us. And, Father, we have been entitled. Lord, we so quickly get distracted by the next thing that we want and our goals and our dreams and our hopes and our ambitions and. And some of those are right, and some of those are not.
But what we know is right biblically and foundationally is gratitude. So, Father, with grateful hearts, today we come into your presence by saying, thank you. Say that with me, church. Thank you, Lord. Come on. Thank you, Lord. You have been good to me. You've been good to my family. You've been good to our church. You have been good. You are good.
Not all of our circumstances are good, but you're good.
So we choose joy in the Lord today because we're grateful.
Now with heads bowed and eyes closed, perhaps you came here today and you'd say, pastor, if I'm going to be honest with you, I don't have a relationship with the Lord.
Maybe you were even raised in church, but you've gotten away from God, and you know that. You need to come home, my friend. You're right. You need to come home. You need a relationship with God. You need a relationship with Jesus.
You may say, I know that I need that. I'm just not sure how to do it, my friend. It starts with a prayer.
As a matter of fact, I'm going to tell you the words to say, and I want you to pray with me just like we did before. When we're giving thanks, you're going to say this out loud and I'm going to help you.
As a matter of fact, all of us in the service, we're going to say it out loud together so that you're not embarrassed or singled out in any way. But you need to pray this prayer. This next part is just for you. So if you want a relationship with Jesus, join us right now. Come on, church. Let's pray this together. Just say Jesus.
Come on. Say it like you mean it. Jesus, I believe that you're the Son of God.
I believe that you came and died.
I believe that you rose from the grave so that I could have grace and forgiveness for my sins.
I've messed up.
I asked for forgiveness.
Will you please forgive me and I'll give you the rest of my life in Jesus name with heads bowed and eyes closed. If you prayed that prayer today and you meant that prayer, can I just see just those of you that prayed that prayer, Would you lift up your hands all across this place? That was me. Good, good, good.
I see you up there in the balcony. Yes, sir. I see you.
Good for you.
So proud of you. The decision that you just made. If you can put your hands down. For those of you that responded and you raised your hands, I want you to know that I'm going to put a phone number up on the screen behind me. If you're watching online and that was you, there's a phone number appearing on your screen as well.
I want to ask you to text me, text the words I prayed to that number.
And I'm going to send you back the link to some things that will help you understand what just happened in your heart and what to do next. It's the greatest honor of my life to help people know Jesus and I'd love to help you.
Good for you.
For everyone else, would you go ahead and look up at me then? Stand to your feet. We're just about finished up today, but I'm going to invite our elders forward and these guys are going to be available to pray with you about anything that you might need prayer for. For those of you watching on YouTube or you're watching on Facebook, it's such a joy to have you joining us online today. I want to ask you for for a special favor. If you believe that our world needs to hear a message on gratitude, especially during Thanksgiving season, would you do us a huge favor and click the share button? It's making a massive difference when you do that. There's between three and five thousand people every single week that might not ever be a part of what's happening in Longview, Texas. They're getting fed spiritually because of the miracle of the Internet and the fact that they can have church right there on their phone. So when you click the share button, it matters greatly to us and we appreciate that so much. If you would do that for us, that's a big deal. For everybody else. I'm going to pray for you and bless you and send you out.
So let's pray. Father, I thank you for my friends. I pray you bless them with an incredible week. A week of gratitude, a week of thanksgiving, a week of telling ourselves to be content because you have already given us so much. You're a good God and you give good gifts to your children.
Would you bless my friends in Jesus name and all of us said together, Amen. God bless you as you go. I hope you have an awesome week.
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