Gratitude Part 2 | Praise or Problems? with Chris Schlotterbeck

Welcome to Hub City Vineyard. To get connected

or to give online, please go to hcv .church slash

connect or hcv .church slash give. If at any

point during this message you feel called to

make a change in your life, text change me to

97000. Now enjoy the message. How's everybody

doing today? You sound excited and full of energy.

If you're joining us from home, thank you for

welcoming us into your space. First, a big thank

you to all of our volunteers and participants

on the tie -dye run yesterday. Can you give them

a hand? We had over 140 runners participate in

raising money to make a difference in children's

lives all around the world. We are making a difference.

So when I was a pitcher, I used to be a pitcher

in my first life. That's pre -Jesus. I always

enjoyed using the change -up against opposing

hitters because the change in speed and movement

would throw them off and make them look like

fools. Well. It felt like our enemy was throwing

a lot of change -ups at our team this week, trying

to make us look foolish. But we are trusting

that the Holy Spirit inside of us have allowed

us to not only hit the pitch, but connect on

a home run throughout this entire day. Many of

you were expecting a different speaker this morning.

Unfortunately, Jay had to fly back to Denver

quickly yesterday morning to tend to a family

emergency. And he's unable to join us this morning.

So you're stuck with me. I'm sorry. I'll apologize

in advance. But our team has been praying for

Jay. And if you all could join us this week in

praying for him and his family. We're believing

that God is going to work this out for his good

and his glory. Finally, with all the rain in

the forecast. We decided to pivot and change

the location of Gather 2025. Tonight, the new

location is at Experience Gateway, as you heard

in the announcements. Right off Kemps Mill Road

in Williamsport. Make every effort to be a part

of all that God wants to do in your life through

that worship experience. But let me also say,

the Meredith Park worship event will happen in

2026. Okay? For all of you. That faithfully gave

toward the event. Thank you. And it will happen

next year. As soon as the dates and the times

are set. We will be sure to let everyone know.

And I would like to. If you would join me open

in prayer. This morning. Because I had to quickly

pivot. And had less than 24 hours. To prepare

a talk for you. So this is spirit led. And I'm

believing God is going to use it to change all

of us. So Holy Spirit come. God we are just thankful.

For just being able to gather together to worship

you. We ask, God, that you would open our hearts,

our minds, our ears. God, to receive everything

that you have. Direct us, God. Lead us. We silence

any distractions in Jesus' name. And allow us,

God, to leave here changed. And we're just thankful.

Amen. So the story that we're going to be focusing

on today is in Luke chapter 17. And this encounter

Luke 17 · chapter mention

with Jesus shows us that many people can have

the same encounter but not walk away with the

same change. This story of ten lepers encountering

Jesus in a powerful way reveals to us the power

of gratitude. As only one of them walked away

experiencing all that God had for him. This morning

I would like to discuss with you... What leper,

this one leper, would say to us if he could tell

us about the life change that he experienced.

And our October Gratitude Series continues with

inspiring talk on gratitude changes our outlook.

Gratitude changes our outlook, which leads us

to our first thought. Jesus sees our pain. Jesus

sees us in our pain when no one else. Now, we

don't talk much about leprosy today because with

the modern medical advances, we no longer struggle

with that disease. In this story, however, we

have 10 men gathered together in community. And

it wasn't around their race or religious background,

which would normally bring them together. These

men were connected around their pain, around

their disease, this disease called leprosy. Leprosy

was an awful disease that was a long, drawn -out

death. See, these men could not experience the

pain which is associated with the disease because

one of the many side effects is nerve damage

with the loss of feeling. Leprosy would spread

throughout the body, causing limbs and extremities

to be deformed, bleed, and eventually fall off.

But it wasn't just the physical death for these

men. it was also the social and cultural death.

While the physical death took a long time, the

social and cultural death happened immediately.

As soon as they would receive the diagnosis of

leprosy, they were kicked out of town, sent away

to live on their own. And all of us can picture

Jesus coming down a road toward Jerusalem. And

these men were likely holding up a sign. that

would read unclean. And if they didn't have a

sign by religious law, they had to shout, unclean,

unclean. If someone would come near to them,

they were identified in this place of pain and

suffering. Could you imagine having to shout

out your worst sin, your worst sickness, telling

everyone that you are not well? Imagine yelling

out as you were in community, a daughterer, full

of lust, angry, unforgiveness, as you moved throughout

town. See, these men's primary identity was their

uncleanliness, their sin, their disease, their

sickness. Jesus, on his way to Jerusalem to celebrate

one of the many... Jewish festivals, wouldn't

have been the only person to pass by these men.

See, people would have traveled from all over

the known world to Jerusalem to celebrate these

festivals. But with most people, when walking

down the road and seeing these lepers, they would

quickly move to the other side. As far away as

possible. Trying to get past them without contact,

without interacting. Because this simply is what

culture does. Let's be honest. Our culture tells

us to avoid anything that is different, that

is intimidating, that poses a threat. But not

Jesus. He looked at them. He noticed them. He

saw their pain, Luke 17, 11 to 14. As Jesus continued

on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between

Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village

there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance,

crying out, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

He looked at them. He looked at them. Now, why

did Jesus do that? Well, here's the reality.

Jesus always moved toward people with pain. It's

like he had a radar in his heart that guided

him toward people who were in pain. He always

found himself in the proximity of people that

were hurting. Why? Because Jesus is the hope

of the world. Jesus is a visual reflection of

God that desires to be close to the brokenhearted.

And if we're honest, all of us experience this

heartache, this pain. And nothing opens us up

to the need of hope more like pain. Nothing gets

our attention like pain. Listen to these encouraging

words from Psalm 34. The Lord hears his people

when they call to him for help. He rescues them

from all their troubles. The Lord is close to

the brokenhearted. He rescues those whose spirits

are crushed. The righteous person faces many

troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each

time. See, Jesus doesn't need to make his way

toward pain. He's always there. And that's good

news for you and I. And if you're gathered here

this morning, if you're watching online and you're

in pain today, know that Jesus is drawing near.

Our desire as a church, as a community of faith,

is to live the same way. We desire to rally around

you as family, as community, to support and encourage

you. So I ask, I pose the question, where is

your pain today? Some of you may be grieving.

To you I say, Jesus is near. Some of you may

be heartbroken. To you I say, Jesus is near.

Some of you are dealing with the pain of regret,

a bad decision. To you I say, Jesus is near.

Some of you are struggling with physical and

emotional pain. To you I say, Jesus is near.

Some of you are living in isolation and loneliness.

To you I say. Jesus is near. But not only is

Jesus near, we are near because God desires that

we, as a church, step into each other's pain.

We are called to follow in Jesus' footsteps,

to show support to those that are hurting and

struggling. This is why we partner with Compassion

International because they show up and support

and encourage children that are hurting all around

the world. And in just a few minutes, you will

hear Catherine's story, which leads us to our

second thought. Gratitude releases the presence

and power of God. Luke chapter 17, verses 14

Luke 17:14–16

through 16. He looked at them and said, go show

yourselves to the priests. Now I want to pause

there just for a second. Notice, Jesus asked

them to act on his word before it became their

reality. I mean, just imagine these ten men.

They're struggling with leprosy. They're outsiders,

outcasts, forgotten. They still have leprosy

on their bodies. They can see it. Yet Jesus says,

go and walk and see the priest. I mean, their

minds, they must have been overwhelmed thinking,

why would we do that? Why would we go when we're

not healed? And that's where faith comes in.

And the question I want to pose to all of you

is, what if we began to live the same way? See,

Jesus wants us to believe in him, trust in him,

and press into his promises before we often feel

it or experience it in our lives. These men,

they respond with obedience before the healing

happens. What if we began to do the same? See,

I believe if we begin to live that way, we will

see more healings, more miracles, more testimonies

of God's power if we press in and believe before

we ever see it or feel it. Let's continue. And

as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.

One of them, when he saw that he was healed,

came back to Jesus shouting, praise God. He fell

to the ground at Jesus' feet, thanking him for

what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. Now,

I want you to notice nine of these ten men missed

out on all that God had for them. Ninety percent

of these lepers missed out on all that Jesus

had for their lives. Why? Because gratitude is

a response. Gratitude is a response. This Samaritan

man recognized what Jesus had done in his life,

and he responded with gratitude. How many days

do I walk through life following my busy schedule

and don't recognize the goodness of God in my

life and respond in gratitude? See, quite often

what happens is we take God's goodness for granted.

And then when we take God's goodness for granted,

we get frustrated when the blessings of God aren't

happening or flowing in our lives. What has God

done in your life? That you take for granted.

See, perspective is powerful. The way I choose

to see things will change whether I take it for

granted or I'm grateful. Our mindset, our outlook

on life needs to focus on gratitude. Why? Well,

Luke continues in chapter 17, verses 20 to 21.

One day, the Pharisees asked Jesus, when will

the kingdom of God come? Jesus replied, the kingdom

of God can't be detected by visible signs. You

won't be able to say, here it is, or it's over

there, for the kingdom of God is already among

you. The kingdom of God church is all around

us. And if you're in a relationship with Jesus,

God's spirit is now living inside of you. And

so many times, when we think about eternity,

We think of eternity in terms of what happens

after we die. But let me challenge you, eternity

begins the minute we put our faith in Jesus.

And by putting this conversation after the story

of the healing of the ten lepers, Luke is telling

us, challenging us, that the kingdom of God is

wherever the people of God are doing what God

had created them to do. Worship and life change

doesn't only happen here on Sunday mornings.

It can happen in your car, in your home, at your

workplace, at the gym, on vacation, with others,

by yourself. Here's the reality. We drift toward

what we focus on. We're drifting toward what

we focus on. Practicing gratitude will not only

grow your personal relationship with Jesus, it

will also help you see how he is at work in the

world around you. And then how you can join in

with that. We're at Hebrews 12, 28 to 29. Since

we are receiving a kingdom that is unshakable,

let us be thankful, let us be grateful and pleased,

God, by worshiping him with holy fear and awe,

for our God is a devouring fire. The Samaritan

man turned and noticed immediately. He didn't

think about it. He didn't question it. Immediately

responded with gratitude while the other nine

went on with life. The Bible does not tell us

what they did, but we know they did not respond

with gratitude. They moved on and they missed

out. But unfortunately, that happens with so

many of us in our everyday life. It's easier

to have faith when we're sick than when we are

well. And God daily asks us to take a step of

faith. And let's be honest, when we're sick,

it's much easier to cry out, yes, God, I need

you to take a step, I need to believe. But when

we're well, when we're good, oh, I'm good, Chris,

and not practicing gratitude, we can move on

and miss out on all that God has for us, which

leads us to our final thought. Gratitude turns

into praise. Now I'm going to start in verse

15, back up just a little, of chapter 17. One

of them, when he saw that he was healed, came

back to Jesus shouting, praise God. He fell to

the ground at Jesus' feet, thanking him for what

he had done. This man was a Samaritan. Now in

the Greek, that word shouting is made up of two

Greek words, megas and phony. Megas and phony,

which today translate to the modern word megaphone.

And remember, this man... Had to constantly walk

around shouting, unclean, unclean, everywhere

he went. Jesus heals him and suddenly this man

returns and begins to shout, praise God. Praise

God with a loud voice. Now my question to all

of you this morning is, which gets a bigger megaphone

in your life? Your problems or your praise? Which

gets the bigger megaphone, your problems or your

praise? And you don't have to go very far to

answer that question because the people living

in your house, think about all them. Do they

hear about your overflowing gratitude or do they

hear more about your abundance of problems? And

either way, we are using a megaphone in our homes,

in our workplaces, in our schools, in our churches,

at the practice fields. Are people in your sphere

of influence hearing your problems or your praise?

Which one is louder? And if we're in a relationship

with Jesus, we don't need attention. We should

be giving praise back to him. Jesus asked, didn't

I heal 10 men? Where are the other nine? Has

no one returned to give glory to God except this

foreigner? And Jesus said to the man, Stand up

and go. Your faith has healed you. Now let's

pause there for a second. Jesus healed ten lepers.

But we must realize only one of them walked away

healed and whole. Because see, the word Jesus

uses there is the Greek word sozo, which means

sin. Saved, healed, and delivered. Whole. All

of us experience the grace of God in our everyday

lives. Theologians call it common grace. Common

grace is seeing beautiful sunsets, experiencing

the birth of a child, enjoying a delicious meal.

These are all common graces, and we're recipients

of the good things that God gives us as human

beings. Think about the other nine lepers. They

were healed. That was a part of the common grace.

We have fun in our lives. We fall in love. We

make money. We drive around in a car. We do amazing

things. And God says these are gifts of common

grace. One leper returned with gratitude. And

not only did he experience common grace, he received

abundant life. And God wants that for all of

us. See, no matter who you are and what you're

going through today, we receive common grace.

But are you living in abundance? Or are you distracted

with life and walking through this good life

numb to the reality of all that God wants to

do in you and through you? The choice is given

to us every single day. Will you respond with

praise? Psalm 107, 20 -22. He sent out his word

and healed them, snatching them from the door

of death. Let them praise the Lord for his great

love and for the wonderful things he has done

for them. Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving

and sing joyfully about his glorious acts. Philippians

4, 4 -5. Always be full of joy in the Lord. I

say it again, church, rejoice. Let everyone see

that you are considerate in all you do. Remember,

the Lord is coming soon. Where are you this morning?

Is everyone hearing about your problems or your

praise? It's a decision that all of us have every

single day. So I would now like to invite Catherine

to the stage. If you could join me, Miss Catherine.

Catherine flew in. Yes, give her a hand, please.

Catherine flew in from the Dominican Republic

Friday evening, and she is joining us as part

of our Compassion Weekend. And Catherine is going

to share her incredible story of life change

and praise. So, Catherine, tell me about your

life before Compassion. Well, hi, everyone. Pastor,

if I would use a word, it would be sadness. My

life was so sad, and I was so troubled as a child.

I remember this day I was in school, and my teacher

told me that my mom was there to pick me up.

I was happy. I was going home. But when I approached

to the lady she referred to as my mom, I'm like,

well, you're wrong, teacher. She's my aunt. Well,

I learned that she was my real mother. As a child,

you go like, then who's that lady at home? Who's

Regina? Who's been acting like my mom? Of course,

nobody would answer because they thought I was

so young, too young to being told this truth.

But they did say that my mom was not my mom.

So I grew up with these unanswered questions.

And plus, I had to work. Because this lady, she

said she was my mom. She was never there. She

disappeared after this day. And so Regina, the

lady who was my foster mother, had four daughters

of her own. So she would have to work so hard.

Plus, she was a single mother. So I remember

after school, I would go to her workplace and

do the laundry and cleaning houses of wealthy

ladies in other communities. And I remember it

was a funny thing to me because that was the

only time that I would eat the fruities and the

snacks. So I was happy to go to work. And it's

funny because today I see back and I see like,

oh, I was poor. I didn't have enough food. At

home, we had two bedrooms for seven people. And

I remember there was a neighbor of ours. He had

a land. He would grow sweet potatoes. And he

would let us go and pick sweet potatoes for dinner

or lunch. And that would be our single meal.

during the day. We had an avocado tree in the

backyard and we would eat avocado with sweet

potato. If we were lucky, we would have both

things. If not, only sweet potato. Today, I do

hate avocado toast. I'm sorry. Don't offer it

to me. It's fancy and all that, but no. Thank

you. You know... As a child, you're not supposed

to go through these things. You're supposed to

have your mom and your dad. I did not. I didn't

even meet my father. Because when I talked to

my mother, my biological mother about it, she

was in town this day. And I was willing to, you

know, to establish a relationship with her. I

was grown up. I was 11. And the only thing she

said, you know, Catherine, you're a mistake in

my life. You should not have been born. She was

troubled. She was a drug addict person. She was

a prostitute. So she was not really equipped

to have a baby. So when I heard these words coming

from my mother, instead of finding hope and,

you know, restoring a relationship, I found rejection.

So all this to say that before compassion, my

life was really sad. Sounds. Now tell us about

what happened when you entered the compassion

program. Well, everything changed. I no longer

had to work. Although I liked the food at work,

they were provided in this compassion center.

The first day I entered the compassion center,

my mom, my foster mother, was there with me,

and they were serving pizza. So I go, like, Mom,

I belong here. I will stay here. So I do love

pizza today rather than avocado toast. So I also

had godly people walking with me because a troubled

girl with all these unanswered questions needed

somebody there with her. And I did. I had Ramona.

I can mention their names. I had Mary who knew

about my story and still didn't kick me out of

the program because I was a hard kid. Because

I would try to call somebody's attention, right?

And affection. Because although Regina, my foster

mother, would care for me, she would never mention

the words, I love you. But in the letters from

my sponsors, I did receive these words. And it's

amazing how somebody who you don't know, who

lives far away, says, Catherine, we love you.

We believe in you. So I thought, I want to honor

these people. I want to honor their effort, and

I want to become someone in life. So I did. I

went to school, and I am the only one from my

family who have ever gone to school. I graduated

in linguistics and English, and I now own my

own company. That's awesome. Yes. And who would

have thought, right? That's right. So share with

us now your praise, if you will. One of my praise

is that I am able to be here and speak on behalf

of these children. One day I was Anna, and Anna

is not here to speak about her, about her reality

and story. So I represent Anna and many others

out there, and I want to give back. Same as in

my company, we translate for organizations, Christian

organizations and NGOs. And what we want to do,

we want to give back. I want to give back because

I was once a leper and God cleansed me and I

want to be back. I want to be that one that came

back and said our praise to God. Amen. That's

incredible. Thank you, Pastor, so much. Can you

give her a hand? I appreciate it. Thank you.

So this morning, I want you to simply ask yourself,

am I living in abundance? Am I walking in that

promise that Jesus had for us to be saved? healed,

and delivered that we read about in Romans 10,

9 through 10. If you openly declare that Jesus

is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised

him from the dead, you will be saved. Sozo. For

it is by believing in your heart that you are

made right with God, and it is by openly declaring

your faith that you are saved. See, God desires

to release a healing. That is so much bigger

than our pain. So much bigger than our struggles.

So much bigger than our fear or our doubt that

we can overcome. Just like Catherine who had

no father, no mother. Was told that she was a

mistake. But yet now is prospering through her

relationship with Jesus. It's an inspiration

to all of us. But yet we constantly, living in

our everyday lives, focus on our what? Our pain

and our obstacles and our struggles rather than

our praise. And all of that changes when we pause

to realize that gratitude is the key. Gratitude

is the key to us moving from problems to praise.

Will you stand with me? See, I believe that all

of us brought pain into this place this morning,

even those of you watching online. And I believe

that God wants to release that pain from our

hearts. It could be something from our past.

It could be a decision we made yesterday. It

could be an argument we had with our spouse.

It could be unforgiveness. It could be regret,

whatever it may be. It's still pain, and Jesus

still sees it and is... Drawing near. But we

have to choose to lay it down. We have to choose

to seek forgiveness. We have to choose to move

on if we want to walk in abundance. Otherwise,

we're going to just be proclaiming our problems

rather than shouting our praise. And as we shout

our praise, that's good news for others to hear

and receive so that they can see you as an example

to follow. So I'm going to invite the Holy Spirit

to come, and if you have a pain that you're struggling

with, I'm going to invite you to lay it down.

And then I'm going to pray that the Holy Spirit

overwhelms your heart and your mind, and that

you have the faith to not only lay it down, but

shout praises back to God. Holy Spirit, come.

Reveal to us, God, any areas of our hearts that

are in pain, that are broken. that are struggling.

God, we choose as an act of our will to lay that

down. And now, Holy Spirit, we ask that God,

you would invade our hearts, our minds, and set

us free. Set us free from the pain of the past,

the pain of the present, the fear of the future.

And may we daily offer back to you praise. For

all that you do for our lives, in our lives,

in our families and through us. In Jesus name.

Amen. Now many of you know that every week we

believe that God brings people into our midst

that are distant, far from God and haven't begun

this relationship yet. We're going to pray a

simple prayer and I want to invite you to pray

it with all of us. Because today could be your

day to come into God's family. To be welcomed

home by Jesus. And you can today start walking

in that abundance. Let's pray. Jesus, I'm broken.

I'm full of doubt, shame, regret, sin. Change

me. Forgive me. I believe you're God's son. I

believe you died for me. Make me new. Set me

free. Fill me with your spirit. Help me, God,

to serve others. And proclaim your praise. In

Jesus' name, amen. Now listen, I want to encourage

all of you that Catherine and Derek are out at

the compassion table. Go by, have a conversation

with them. Be encouraged by them. Get prayed

for if you need to. Choose a child. Make a difference

in a child's life in a simple, practical way.

Think about it. Here's Catherine. When through

the Compassion Program, now is giving back and

her sponsors, who was sponsoring her monthly

through a financial gift, now can celebrate what

God has done in their life. It's life change.

But it's life change that's happening all around

the world. Now, there are several words of knowledge

I want to share with you before we go. Our prayer

team is here on my right, your left. You have

a burning sensation in your skin on the lower

part of your right leg. Left leg. Sorry about

that. You have right knee pain. You have sciatica

pain in the lower part of your back on the right

side. And I was going to have Jay, if he came,

to pray for, I felt like God wanted to pray for,

any 19 to 31 -year -olds that feel like you're

stuck. And last night as we were praying for

our gatherings, I felt like just because Jay

wasn't here, I shouldn't pray for that. I'm going

to pray for that. So if you're a 19 to 31 year

old and you just feel like you're stuck, you're

just not making a difference in the life that

you've been given. I'll be here on your right,

my left to pray for you because I believe that

God wants to significantly change and impact

your life this morning. Now, I want to encourage

you. We're going to gather tonight for Gather

2025. Where? At Gateway in Williamsport. Just

because it's not outside at a baseball stadium

doesn't mean that God wants to impact and change

your life as we worship together. Make it a point

to be there to celebrate all that God is doing,

not just in our church, but in many churches

in the tri -state area. Amen? Stop by the compassion

table. You heard the words of knowledge. God

bless you guys. I'll see you next. I remember

by this grace to where I am really brought me

to this place. The void was finished. I thought

it was diminished, but back then I was deep.

I was deep. I was deep. I was, I was deep in

the dark. He didn't leave me there. Now step

in the light. I don't need a fear. Had to die

to myself just to see it clear. Holy finish hands.

I'm gonna leave it there. Yeah.