Sermon
Gratitude Part 1 | We Have Superpowers with Chris Schlotterbeck
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Welcome to Hub City Vineyard. To get connected
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or to give online, please go to hcv .church slash
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connect or hcv .church slash give. If at any
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point during this message you feel called to
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make a change in your life, text CHANGEME to
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97000. Now enjoy the message. All right, I knew
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that would be a mixed reaction, right? I want
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nothing to do with the cold, so I'm trying to
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cheer myself up that fall is here. Just a couple
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things I want to highlight. If you want to learn
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more about our community of faith, I'm doing
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Start With Why directly after this today. A reminder
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that next weekend is our Compassion Weekend.
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I've been talking about the run for about a month
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now. We're over 100 runners now, and I've been
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talking about getting a runner and signing a
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runner up. Listen, you don't have to be a runner
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to participate. Our family fun run is going to
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include Kung Fu Panda, Batman, Superman, okay,
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and Godzilla. So the thing about Godzilla, you
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know, you don't need to be a runner to participate.
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Sign up, change a child's life by getting them
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out of poverty. All the proceeds goes directly.
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to Compassion International. I do want to highlight
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that next weekend, our National Director of Vineyard
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USA, Jay Pathak, will be with us all weekend
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long. He'll be leading and preaching at our three
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Sunday morning gatherings. He will be at the
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Gather event next Sunday night. We all know about
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the Gather event next Sunday night, right? Boxcar
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Stadium. We're expecting thousands. Everyone
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say thousands. I'm believing for $4 ,000 or $5
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,000. My good friend Rick Vance is believing
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for $20 ,000. Maybe we'll land somewhere in the
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middle. I have no idea. The point is, show up,
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bring some friends, pack the house. It's going
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to be a great night of gathering in the city
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center. Remember, the stadium that was supposed
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to bring about revival for downtown Hagerstown,
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we're going to bring spiritual revival. All right.
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So let's stand back up. We're going to share
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in communion. It's the first Sunday of the month.
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If you're new to our community of faith, every
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first Sunday of the month we share communion
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together. Let's stay on track. Let's stay on
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track. If you need an element, put your hand
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up real high and keep it up. If you need gluten
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-free, put two hands up real high. And I'm going
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to be sharing with you as we prepare. to take
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communion together. So this morning, we're kicking
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off a new series called Gratitude. And before
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we launch into communion, I want to read for
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you two familiar passages from the Bible that
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were a part of Paul's letter to a church that
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he accidentally started while trying to get to
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Asia but ended up in Europe. Accidentally started.
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Paul is chained to a Roman soldier in prison.
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And listen, if you feel like this morning that
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your life's not working out the way you want
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it to, it's not going in the direction you desire,
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what if God has something better planned for
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you? What if God has ordained you to go through
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this difficult season so that he can reveal to
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you his plans in the next months or even years
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so that you then express gratitude into your
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life? Philippians 4, 12 through 13 reads, I know
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how to live on almost nothing. or with everything.
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I have learned the secret of living in every
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situation. Whether it's with a full stomach or
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empty, with plenty or little, I can do everything
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through Christ who gives me strength. So at HTV,
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we believe that when we share communion together,
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it's just not something we do. This was a commandment
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of Jesus. an ordinance left for us to participate
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in. And we believe that as we partake in this
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bread, in this juice, as we allow ourselves and
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open ourselves up to get real with God, that
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he supernaturally speaks to us. So get your heart
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right. Search your heart. If there's sin, if
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there's brokenness, lay it down before as we
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take these elements. Because I believe as we
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take these elements, the Holy Spirit can free
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you. Free you of sin, free you of addiction.
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That a supernatural encounter can happen right
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here, right now, this morning. In Jesus' name.
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So in the night that he was betrayed, Jesus took
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bread, broke it, gave it to his disciples and
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said, Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken
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for you. Do it in remembrance of me. Let's eat.
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Likewise, after supper, he took the cup of wine,
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said, this is my blood which is shed for you
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and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Drink
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it often. And as you do, do it in remembrance
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of me. Search our hearts, God. Reveal to us any
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areas of our life that are not lining up with
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yours. Let's drink. Holy Spirit, come. We are
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thankful we celebrate all that Jesus did for
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us. His broken body, his shed blood. I ask now,
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God, that you would silence any distraction,
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any lies of the enemy, God. You would open our
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minds, our ears, and our hearts to receive all
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that you have for us. In Jesus' name, amen. You
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may be seated. So I know what many of you are
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thinking right now. Chris, what's up with the
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cape? Why are you wearing Phoenix's cape? So
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have you ever thought about what superpower you
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would like to have if you could pick one of the
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many superpowers? Because I think all of us in
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today's age could benefit from a superpower.
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What would you choose? Would you choose super
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speed so you can be speedy and get everything
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done quickly? How about super strength in flight?
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I've always thought it would be just cool to
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fly. Invisibility? Mind power to control all
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the sea creatures in the oceans? How about the
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ability to shoot spider webs from your wrists,
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swing from skyscrapers, and kiss girls upside
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down? Who doesn't want to do that? Or, to quote
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Michael Scott from The Office, Jesus had the
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power of flight and could heal leopards. Yes,
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he did say that. Which superpower would you have?
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We all want one, but what if I told you all of
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us could have one today? Which leads us to our
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first thought. Gratitude is a superpower. Gratitude
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was the reason Paul could write a letter of encouragement
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and contentment from a prison cell to a church
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full of people he desperately wanted to be with.
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Picture it. A cold, rat -infested dungeon floor
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shackled to a prison guard. We find Paul writing
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a letter of gratitude as he shares these words
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from Philippians 4. I know how to live on almost
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nothing. Now not only does gratitude release
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God's power into our lives, it also triggers
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the happy hormones in our brains. According to
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Harvard Health Publishing, is strongly and consistently
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associated with greater happiness. Gratitude
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helps people feel more positive emotions, relish
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good experiences, improve their health, deal
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with adversity, and build strong relationships.
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Other studies have shown by daily practicing
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gratitude, it almost immediately begins to make
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seismic shifts in the rest of your life when
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it comes to your mental and physical health.
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Gratitude helps to build resilience for future
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trauma and helps us to reframe past hurts, pain,
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and trauma. Gratitude helps to calm the fear
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networks in our brains, increasing the neural
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circuits responsible for creating motivation
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in life while simultaneously decreasing the neural
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circuits responsible for anxiety. Scientists
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are actually now calling gratitude the fountain
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of youth for our brains, keeping our minds young,
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healthy, and agile. Gratitude stimulates a strong
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sense of well -being. And listen to this. Finally,
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gratitude is an incredibly potent anti -inflammatory.
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We don't need ibuprofen. We need gratitude. Because
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gratitude is a secret superpower, which leads
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us... To our second thought, practicing gratitude
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is actually God's will for our life. Paul writes
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these words to the church gathered in Thessalonica.
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1 Thessalonians 5, 16 through 18. Always be joyful.
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Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances.
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For this is God's will for you who belong to
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Christ Jesus. Now think about this for a second.
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As I was reading... Those three verses this week,
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did Paul just throw out the meaning of human
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existence in one verse? And the answer is yes.
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This is God's will for you. And what is his will?
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That we daily practice gratitude. Now, if I would
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have made a promo video for this series six weeks
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ago. And I would have invited you and all your
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friends to join us at HCV for October. I'm going
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to reveal to you God's plan, God's will for your
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life. We would have had a month full of packed
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house. Because everyone wants to know what God's
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will is for their life. Because when people hear
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the will of God, you know what their minds begin
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to think of? Who am I going to marry? What job
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should I be working? What does God want me to
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do with my life? Should I marry this man or should
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I be dating her? Should I take this job or should
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I relocate and move from Maryland to Virginia
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or Florida? Listen, God cares about all areas
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of our life. He cares about our families, cares
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about our jobs, our kids, our health. I believe
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he even cares about our parking spot when we're
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going to Sam's. And why do I know that? Because
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our God has no beginning or no end. He cannot
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be exhausted. He cannot be bothered by you. I
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dare you, every single one of you this week to
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try and bother God. Because there's nothing more
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that our Father in Heaven wants than for His
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kids to bother Him. To spend time with Him. Talk
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His ear off about all the stuff you're happy
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about, you don't like, you're struggling with.
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He desires we get close to Him. All those prayer
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requests. All those questions about God's plan
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for my life. Allow it to be noted that his priority
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for us, his will for us, according to these verses,
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is that we're always joyful. We never stop praying.
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And we're grateful. That's his will for you and
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me. And imagine. Imagine if we lived like that
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every single day. The tri -state area would be
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transformed because it would make a difference
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in our lives, which would then spill out into
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everybody else in our sphere of influence. So
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let's look at the four ways gratitude makes us
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alive and free. Four ways gratitude makes us
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alive and free. Number one, gratitude unlocks
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the door to God's presence. Psalm 100, verse
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4. Enter his gates with thanksgiving. Go into
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his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and
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praise his name. God's presence on our lives
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means we have more of God's power in our life.
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Jesus shares this with us in Mark 10, 27. Jesus
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looked at them intently. He looks at us and he
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says, humanly speaking, it is impossible. But
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not with God. Everything is possible with God.
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In other words, be encouraged. We can't do it
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on our own, but we can do it with God's power.
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And that's why Paul writes to us in Philippians
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4 .13, I can do everything. How? Through Christ
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who gives me strength. Gratitude unlocks the
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door to God's presence. See, gratitude is the
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difference between shouting and screaming our
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prayers from outside of the house to having a
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heart -to -heart, face -to -face with God at
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the kitchen table in his presence like his son
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or like his daughter. We enter into his courts.
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We enter into his presence with thanksgiving.
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Thanksgiving is not one day a year. For Jesus
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followers, it should be 365 days. And what is
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the power of being grateful? Remember the story
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of the prodigal son from Luke chapter 15? See,
Luke 15 chapter mention
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the focus of Jesus' parable quite often goes
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to the lost son who spent all of the father's
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inheritance. But let's not forget about the older
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son that remained in the fields, working, earning,
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serving his father. Unfortunately, though, his...
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earning leads to his entitlement. His entitlement
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keeps him outside of the father's house, outside
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of his father's presence. And please understand,
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this isn't a salvation issue. This is a blessing
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issue. The father didn't want his older son outside
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of the house. The father wanted his son in the
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house celebrating that his brother had returned
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home and joined the party. But entitlement was
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the son keeping himself out of the house with
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a scarcity mindset. Let's read the story, Luke
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15. The older brother was angry and wouldn't
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go in. His father came out and begged him, but
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he replied, all these years I've slaved for you
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and never once refused to do a single thing you
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told me to do. And in all that time, you never
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gave me even one young goat for a feast with
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my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes
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back after squandering your money on prostitutes,
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you celebrate by killing the fattened calf. His
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father said to him, look, dear son, you've always
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stayed by me and everything I have is yours.
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What does a scarcity mindset look like for us?
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That promotion he got, it should have been mine.
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That life that she's living, those pictures I
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see on Facebook, on Instagram, they should be
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mine. I deserve a party like that. I deserve
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it, not them. Entitlement leads to a scarcity
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mindset that keeps us out of God's presence,
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while gratitude leads us into God's presence.
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John Gordon was quoted as saying, abundance flows
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into your life. When gratitude flows out of your
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heart. Our second way, gratitude takes what we
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have and makes it enough. Takes what we have
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and makes it enough. See, it's really hard to
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define gratitude without two words. Grateful
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and thankful. See, gratitude is when you have
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what you need because you want what you have.
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Gratitude. is when you have what you need because
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you want what you have. Let's look at the feeding
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of the 5 ,000 in John chapter 6. Then Andrew,
John 6 chapter mention
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Simon Beter's brother, spoke up. There's a young
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boy here with five barley loaves and two fish.
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In other words, it was a lunchable. Notice what
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they say. But what good is that with this huge
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crowd? Tell everyone to sit down, Jesus said.
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So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. The
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men alone numbered about 5 ,000. Then Jesus took
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the loaves and gave thanks to God and distributed
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them to the people. Afterward, he did the same
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with the fish. What did he do? He gave thanks
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to God. And notice, after giving thanks, they
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all ate as much as they wanted. After everyone
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was full, Jesus told his disciples, now gather
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the leftovers so nothing is wasted. At first,
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there wasn't enough food. But as soon as Jesus
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gives thanks, expresses gratitude for the food,
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then there's abundance. There's more than enough,
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even with leftovers. Gratitude takes what we
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have and makes it enough. Now, with that thought
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in mind, let's reread Philippians 4, 12 through
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13. I know how to live on almost nothing or with
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everything. So Paul's saying, church, regardless
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of what you have, Paul learned the secret of
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living in every situation. In other words, the
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secret of contentment, whether it's with a full
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stomach or empty, with plenty or little, I can
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do everything through Christ who gives me strength.
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Contentment is having and being enough. It has
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even been said that contentment is the greatest
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wealth there is in this world. Which means learning
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the secret to it might be the most valuable thing
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all of us can practice. I believe our world needs
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some inspiration right now from Jesus followers
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on how to live a life of contentment. Because
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there are very few people in our culture that
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actually live a life of contentment. Even though,
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think about this, we live in a day and age where
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we have infinity on our phones. Like we can take
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our phone out of our pocket. I literally can
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talk and have a face -to -face conversation with
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my son who is on the other side of the globe
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in Kenya right now. It's never been done before.
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Oh, and a quick Isaac update. He gave us an update
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on Wednesday. Isaac received his placement in
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Kenya for the next two years. He will be teaching
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in secondary school in one of the poorest villages
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in the country. And not only that, listen to
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this, listen to this, there has never been. A
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volunteer serve in this village. He will be the
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first outsider to ever walk foot into the village.
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And the only reason he is in that village is
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because a Lutheran church in the United States
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paid for the opportunity for him to be there.
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And you don't tell me God doesn't have a plan.
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But not only can I talk to my son on the other
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end of the world, we now have 72 -inch high -definition
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TVs that would have cost over $10 ,000 a decade
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ago, and I can leave here and want to go and
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buy one at Sam's Club for $500. Those TVs give
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us 4K access to millions of sports, TV shows
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and movies at the click of a button. We don't
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have to go to the theaters anymore. We can stay
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at home in our own living room. We can literally
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get a college degree on YouTube for free. You
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can listen to a podcast and receive enough advice
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and wisdom that you can start your own company
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tomorrow. You can book and schedule a flight
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today and travel anywhere you want to by Wednesday.
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After these gatherings, you can go out and grab
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lunch at hundreds of different restaurants around
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the tri -state area. We can eat a meal we didn't
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have to grow or hunt or kill. Heck, we don't
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even have to cook it. We can just sit there and
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be served. There are now more places to go with
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easier means to get there. More things to do,
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see, and experience than ever before. We truly
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live in the most entertained, available, and
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wealthy world in the history of man. Yet for
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much of the people in our country, they are bored.
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And miserable. They're bored. There's nothing
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to do. And the reason is, deep within us, there's
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this cry for more. More money, more success,
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more recognition, more stuff, more clothes, more,
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more, more. What is it for you? Is it the promotion?
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Is it a new house? Is it a dream school, a new
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car? Is it a husband? Is it a wife? Heck, for
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some of you, it's a date. Just saying. But we
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have to learn what it means to be content. We
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don't need more to have enough. We need gratitude.
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1 Timothy chapter 6, verses 6 through 8. A true
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godliness with contentment is what? Great wealth.
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You want to be a millionaire? Practice godliness
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with contentment. After all, we brought nothing
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with us when we come into the world and we can't
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take anything with us when we leave it. So if
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we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.
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Gratitude takes what we have and makes it enough.
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Our third reason, gratitude reframes how we see
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the world. Now, many of you know I got a new
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Spectacles about six. And these new glasses that
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I've been wearing are absolutely amazing. Right?
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When I'm wearing these glasses, the world around
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me is better. I get it. So I can see. Right?
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It's clear. It's not like trees walking around
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with eyeballs. I can see with fresh eyes. Gratitude
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is seeing life with these new glasses. It's just
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better than normal. It's exercising our superpower.
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This is normal for human beings. On average,
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we think 40 ,000 thoughts every single day. 40
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,000 thoughts. And it's normal for 80 % of them,
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four out of five of those thoughts, to drift
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in the negative direction. Four out of five of
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our thoughts daily drift towards negativity.
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And why is that? The survival instinct of our
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brains makes us much more prone to notice what
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is wrong as opposed to what is actually right.
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Then we focus on what we don't have rather than
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focusing on what we do have. That's why bad news
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sells. The news media outlets, they focus on
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the bad news. Heck, you can bond with a friend,
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realize you both hate something. And then say,
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let's start a podcast and make thousands of dollars.
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Because you're simply mad. Psychiatrists call
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this the negativity bias because mad is easier.
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Cynical is easier. Complaining is easier. Have
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you ever noticed that modern pessimists now call
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themselves realists? When in reality, it's a
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lie. Authentic realism is focusing on the bad
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and the good at the same time. So if we naturally
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drift towards what is wrong, which we now know,
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what is negative, then we need a nudge, a kick
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in the butt from the Holy Spirit to move towards
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what is right. And that is faith. Faith is genuine
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realism. And when we combine that with gratitude,
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daily gratitude, blessings flow, Matthew 13,
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16, but blessed are your eyes because they see
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and your ears because they hear. Friends, the
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kingdom of God is here right now. And as Jesus
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followers, we are called. We are called to bring
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that new reality to earth right now. We're to
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pray it daily. Thy kingdom come. And that happens
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with gratitude. Because the one who is grateful
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will see what everyone else cannot. While society
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walks around stirring with anxiety, their hearts
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focused on everything negative, whether past,
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present, or future, gratitude gives us new eyes
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to see the same world through a kingdom lens.
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Paul writes these words a few verses earlier
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in Philippians 4 .8. And now, dear brothers and
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sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts,
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40 ,000 thoughts, on what is true. And honorable
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and right and pure and lovely and admirable.
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Think about things that are excellent and worthy
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of praise. So he's not telling us to just pretend
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there's no negativity in the world. Paul understands
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the patterns of human nature. He knows our focus
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is going to drift towards the bad. Way more than
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the good. So Paul asked the question, church,
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what is right in front of you to be grateful
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for? Because when we practice gratitude, We don't
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have to pretend. Practicing gratitude allows
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us to think about things that are excellent and
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worthy of praise. But it's not going to be easy.
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These past few weeks in preparation for this
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series and for this talk today, God has been
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changing my heart by having a grateful outlook
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on life. And this grateful outlook on life means
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that I cry a lot more. But it's not negative
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cries. It's tearful cries of joy and abundance
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and happiness. Tears are just a part of it. Finally,
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our fourth thing, gratitude gets us through any
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trouble this world throws at us. Now many of
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us know we're going to have trouble. Jesus' words
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in John 16, I have told you all this so you may
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have peace in me. Here on earth, you're going
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to have trials and sorrow. But take heart because
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I've overcome the world. See, the JV level of
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gratitude is being grateful for good things that
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go right. Everyone can do that. That's JV. But
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when we graduate in gratitude to the varsity
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team, this is what it looks like. Being grateful
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even when it doesn't. And it's not easy when
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things aren't going right, working out the way
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we want them to. It's frustrating. We get negative.
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We can feel it coming on. But what if this trial
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is creating a better version of you? What if
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this valley is making us stronger and releases
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God's presence into areas of our lives that we've
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never allowed Him to go? I don't know why bad
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things happen in this world. I don't have all
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the answers. It's called faith. And I am no way
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saying that God wants us to be happy about heartache.
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The Bible tells us that God grieves with us,
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counts our tears, walks us through our pain.
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But we have to learn to praise God for what the
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pain will produce in our life. That is varsity
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level gratitude. Romans 8, 28, and we know that
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God causes everything to work together for the
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good of those who love God and are called according
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to his purpose for them. And I don't know what
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you're going through today. I don't know what
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you brought into this gathering. I get it, pain
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is difficult. It's a challenging season to walk
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through, but you have to reframe the way you
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see the pain. Trials and pain can produce a better
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version of ourselves if we allow the Holy Spirit
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to walk us through that pain. C .S. Lewis says
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it this way, God whispers to us in our pleasures,
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but shouts to us in our pain. So today, if you're
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struggling, I want to encourage you, silence
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the distractions, the negativity, the questions,
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and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart
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right now. And how do I know he wants to speak
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to your heart? Because if there was ever anyone
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that deserved to be negative, that deserved to
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be a pessimist, full of doubt, it was Paul. Listen
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to Paul's life. I've worked harder, been put
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in prison more often, been whipped times without
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number, and faced death again and again. Five
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different times the Jewish leaders gave me 39
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lashes. And we all know that 39 lashes is what
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Jesus experienced before he went to the cross.
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Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was
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stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I
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spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea.
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I've traveled on many long journeys. I've faced
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dangers from rivers and from robbers. I've faced
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danger from my own people, the Jews, as well
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as from the Gentiles. I've faced danger in the
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cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And
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I've faced danger from men who claim to be believers
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but are not. I have worked hard and long and
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during many sleepless nights, I've been hungry
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and thirsty and have often gone without food.
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I have shivered in the cold without enough clothing
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to keep me warm. And I don't know about you,
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but I haven't experienced a lot of that. Yet
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through all that, Paul writes, I have a secret
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superpower. Philippians 4, 6, and 13. Don't worry
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about anything. Instead, pray about everything.
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Tell God what you need. Thank him. Thank him
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for all he's done. For I can do everything through
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Christ who gives me strength. See, gratitude
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gets us through any trouble the world is going
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to throw at us. It changes our entire outlook.
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Think about it. I'm walking around on this stage
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right now. And if just this week, unfortunately,
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I'm in an accident, I no longer can walk, I'm
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going to long to walk again. There are so many
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things we have right now and can do right now
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that we should be grateful for. Because many
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of us, if we just think about them, if we lose
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them, we're going to want them. And it doesn't
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matter what we're going through. You have to
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see the good right now. What if I told you there's
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over a billion people on this planet right now
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whose one prayer request is to be where we are
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and experiencing what we have right now? See,
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our hearts should be full of gratitude. It changes
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the way we see the world. We focus on the good
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right now. And you say, well, Chris, I'm struggling.
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I lost someone in my family. Fine, hug the ones
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that you can right now. Hug the loved ones that
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you can right now. Cry with the loved ones that
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you can right now. You have a heart that's beating
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in your chest. You have lungs that are processing
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oxygen. You have vocal cords that enable you
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to talk. It's going to be 82 and sunny on this
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beautiful fall day. Think about those things
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that are pure, noble, and true. And we're not
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pretending that there's not bad in this world.
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We're an expert in seeing the bad. We're human.
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But I don't know about you, but I'm going to
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graduate to varsity gratitude. I want to see
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the good and the beauty that's right in front
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of us. How about this? How about the billions
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of people all over the world? That would tell
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us we are so blessed. Because we have a crappy
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car. Billions. There's so many ways. That we
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can learn to practice gratitude. And my encouragement
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to you. Start small. Do not despise these small
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beginnings. For the Lord rejoices to see the
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work begin. Start small. As you brush your teeth
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in the morning. Take a moment and tell Jesus.
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One thing you're thankful for. And if you say
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Chris. I don't brush my teeth. I'm going to get
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you a toothbrush. Because you should start your
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day by brushing your teeth. And I'm sorry for
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the neighbor that's sitting beside you. But one
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thing. Tell Jesus what you're thankful for. Create
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a gratitude note in your phone or carry a gratitude
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journal for your old schoolers. Matt Chandler,
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a pastor in Dallas, has a gratitude journal he
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calls Don't Cry For Me. And in this journal,
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He records one thing every day and he writes
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down, don't cry for me. I'm married to the most
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beautiful woman in the world. Don't cry for me.
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I've eaten the perfectly cooked steak. Don't
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cry for me. I have children to continue to live
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a legacy after me. Chandler goes on to say he
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wants this journal read during his funeral, during
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his celebration of life. And the very last statement
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that will be read from this journal says, don't
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cry for me because I'm now home. Just yesterday,
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I put in my gratitude note in my phone. Today,
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I ate a crab omelet. And let me tell you something.
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It was the best crab omelet that I've ever eaten.
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And I am grateful to eat it because I may never
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eat it again. Gratitude note. Number three, every
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day, tell someone. You appreciate them. Learn
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from me. If you get texts from me, who are you
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giving them back to? Because typically when I'm
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texting you and encouraging you, guess what?
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I'm in a valley and I'm trying to get out. Before
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you fall asleep at night, take one moment as
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your head hits the pillow and focus on one thing
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that you can be thankful for. Scientists say
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the one thing that taps in to the gratitude circuitry
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of your brain is story. Can you find a story
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that will fill your mind with gratitude? And
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listen, if you're in a relationship with Jesus,
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you have the greatest story ever recorded. Will
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you stand with me? There's this story about a
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God who left everything and experienced all the
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lows and pain this world has to offer. He didn't
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just want to sympathize with us. He wanted to
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empathize with us. He was tortured and made fun
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of even though he lived a perfect life. He was
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crucified on a cross and slowly suffocated to
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pay the wages for all sin so that this world
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would be the worst place that we've ever lived
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in. This world would be the worst place that
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we ever lived in because if we believe in him,
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We're going to go to be in heaven forever and
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spend eternity with Jesus, worshiping him and
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celebrating him day in and day out. And that's
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why we talk about Jesus every chance we get.
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Every time we gather, we're going to point people
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to Jesus because it's the good news and it's
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the greatest story that's ever been told. This
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world is not all there is to offer. There's another
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world coming. And as Jesus follows, we're called
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to bring that world here. Amen? So we're going
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to pray a simple prayer like we always do. And
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listen, if you're distant, far from God, you've
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never started this journey, this is your day.
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And as we pray these words, you pray with all
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of us because we'll all pray them together. And
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we're going to say to you, welcome home. Welcome
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home. Let's pray. Jesus, I'm broken. I'm full
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of doubt, shame, regret, sin. Change me. Forgive
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me. I believe you're God's son. I believe you
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died for me. Make me new. Set me free. Fill me
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with your spirit. Help me, God, to serve others.
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In Jesus' name, amen. So if you prayed that prayer,
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listen, see me, text me, do something. I want
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to get you baptized. I want to get you in a group.
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I want to get you started on your journey with
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Jesus. Now, here's what I want you to do. I want
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you to close your eyes. And I want you to think
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about one thing. Think about one thing that you're
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grateful for. One thing. Picture it. See it.
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Now sing these words like you've never sung before.
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before and allow God to change your heart, mold
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your heart, and form your heart into a new creation.
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Amen? Our prayer team's here on my right. If
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you have any needs, prayer for anything, if your
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shoulder, you can't lift your shoulder up more
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than that, like right here, I think Mark said,
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come up here and get prayed. You're going to
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get healed. Okay? But otherwise, we are singing
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boldly. The void was finished I thought I was
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diminished But back then, I was deep I was deep,
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I was deep, I was I was deep in the dark, he
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ain't leave me there Now I step in the light,
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I don't need a fear Had to die to myself just
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to see it clear All life in his hands, I'ma leave
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it there