Sermon

Gratitude Part 1 | We Have Superpowers with Chris Schlotterbeck

HCV Hub City Vineyard Podcast

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  1. Welcome to Hub City Vineyard. To get connected

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

  3. connect or hcv .church slash give. If at any

  4. point during this message you feel called to

  5. make a change in your life, text CHANGEME to

  6. 97000. Now enjoy the message. All right, I knew

  7. that would be a mixed reaction, right? I want

  8. nothing to do with the cold, so I'm trying to

  9. cheer myself up that fall is here. Just a couple

  10. things I want to highlight. If you want to learn

  11. more about our community of faith, I'm doing

  12. Start With Why directly after this today. A reminder

  13. that next weekend is our Compassion Weekend.

  14. I've been talking about the run for about a month

  15. now. We're over 100 runners now, and I've been

  16. talking about getting a runner and signing a

  17. runner up. Listen, you don't have to be a runner

  18. to participate. Our family fun run is going to

  19. include Kung Fu Panda, Batman, Superman, okay,

  20. and Godzilla. So the thing about Godzilla, you

  21. know, you don't need to be a runner to participate.

  22. Sign up, change a child's life by getting them

  23. out of poverty. All the proceeds goes directly.

  24. to Compassion International. I do want to highlight

  25. that next weekend, our National Director of Vineyard

  26. USA, Jay Pathak, will be with us all weekend

  27. long. He'll be leading and preaching at our three

  28. Sunday morning gatherings. He will be at the

  29. Gather event next Sunday night. We all know about

  30. the Gather event next Sunday night, right? Boxcar

  31. Stadium. We're expecting thousands. Everyone

  32. say thousands. I'm believing for $4 ,000 or $5

  33. ,000. My good friend Rick Vance is believing

  34. for $20 ,000. Maybe we'll land somewhere in the

  35. middle. I have no idea. The point is, show up,

  36. bring some friends, pack the house. It's going

  37. to be a great night of gathering in the city

  38. center. Remember, the stadium that was supposed

  39. to bring about revival for downtown Hagerstown,

  40. we're going to bring spiritual revival. All right.

  41. So let's stand back up. We're going to share

  42. in communion. It's the first Sunday of the month.

  43. If you're new to our community of faith, every

  44. first Sunday of the month we share communion

  45. together. Let's stay on track. Let's stay on

  46. track. If you need an element, put your hand

  47. up real high and keep it up. If you need gluten

  48. -free, put two hands up real high. And I'm going

  49. to be sharing with you as we prepare. to take

  50. communion together. So this morning, we're kicking

  51. off a new series called Gratitude. And before

  52. we launch into communion, I want to read for

  53. you two familiar passages from the Bible that

  54. were a part of Paul's letter to a church that

  55. he accidentally started while trying to get to

  56. Asia but ended up in Europe. Accidentally started.

  57. Paul is chained to a Roman soldier in prison.

  58. And listen, if you feel like this morning that

  59. your life's not working out the way you want

  60. it to, it's not going in the direction you desire,

  61. what if God has something better planned for

  62. you? What if God has ordained you to go through

  63. this difficult season so that he can reveal to

  64. you his plans in the next months or even years

  65. so that you then express gratitude into your

  66. life? Philippians 4, 12 through 13 reads, I know

  67. how to live on almost nothing. or with everything.

  68. I have learned the secret of living in every

  69. situation. Whether it's with a full stomach or

  70. empty, with plenty or little, I can do everything

  71. through Christ who gives me strength. So at HTV,

  72. we believe that when we share communion together,

  73. it's just not something we do. This was a commandment

  74. of Jesus. an ordinance left for us to participate

  75. in. And we believe that as we partake in this

  76. bread, in this juice, as we allow ourselves and

  77. open ourselves up to get real with God, that

  78. he supernaturally speaks to us. So get your heart

  79. right. Search your heart. If there's sin, if

  80. there's brokenness, lay it down before as we

  81. take these elements. Because I believe as we

  82. take these elements, the Holy Spirit can free

  83. you. Free you of sin, free you of addiction.

  84. That a supernatural encounter can happen right

  85. here, right now, this morning. In Jesus' name.

  86. So in the night that he was betrayed, Jesus took

  87. bread, broke it, gave it to his disciples and

  88. said, Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken

  89. for you. Do it in remembrance of me. Let's eat.

  90. Likewise, after supper, he took the cup of wine,

  91. said, this is my blood which is shed for you

  92. and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Drink

  93. it often. And as you do, do it in remembrance

  94. of me. Search our hearts, God. Reveal to us any

  95. areas of our life that are not lining up with

  96. yours. Let's drink. Holy Spirit, come. We are

  97. thankful we celebrate all that Jesus did for

  98. us. His broken body, his shed blood. I ask now,

  99. God, that you would silence any distraction,

  100. any lies of the enemy, God. You would open our

  101. minds, our ears, and our hearts to receive all

  102. that you have for us. In Jesus' name, amen. You

  103. may be seated. So I know what many of you are

  104. thinking right now. Chris, what's up with the

  105. cape? Why are you wearing Phoenix's cape? So

  106. have you ever thought about what superpower you

  107. would like to have if you could pick one of the

  108. many superpowers? Because I think all of us in

  109. today's age could benefit from a superpower.

  110. What would you choose? Would you choose super

  111. speed so you can be speedy and get everything

  112. done quickly? How about super strength in flight?

  113. I've always thought it would be just cool to

  114. fly. Invisibility? Mind power to control all

  115. the sea creatures in the oceans? How about the

  116. ability to shoot spider webs from your wrists,

  117. swing from skyscrapers, and kiss girls upside

  118. down? Who doesn't want to do that? Or, to quote

  119. Michael Scott from The Office, Jesus had the

  120. power of flight and could heal leopards. Yes,

  121. he did say that. Which superpower would you have?

  122. We all want one, but what if I told you all of

  123. us could have one today? Which leads us to our

  124. first thought. Gratitude is a superpower. Gratitude

  125. was the reason Paul could write a letter of encouragement

  126. and contentment from a prison cell to a church

  127. full of people he desperately wanted to be with.

  128. Picture it. A cold, rat -infested dungeon floor

  129. shackled to a prison guard. We find Paul writing

  130. a letter of gratitude as he shares these words

  131. from Philippians 4. I know how to live on almost

  132. nothing. Now not only does gratitude release

  133. God's power into our lives, it also triggers

  134. the happy hormones in our brains. According to

  135. Harvard Health Publishing, is strongly and consistently

  136. associated with greater happiness. Gratitude

  137. helps people feel more positive emotions, relish

  138. good experiences, improve their health, deal

  139. with adversity, and build strong relationships.

  140. Other studies have shown by daily practicing

  141. gratitude, it almost immediately begins to make

  142. seismic shifts in the rest of your life when

  143. it comes to your mental and physical health.

  144. Gratitude helps to build resilience for future

  145. trauma and helps us to reframe past hurts, pain,

  146. and trauma. Gratitude helps to calm the fear

  147. networks in our brains, increasing the neural

  148. circuits responsible for creating motivation

  149. in life while simultaneously decreasing the neural

  150. circuits responsible for anxiety. Scientists

  151. are actually now calling gratitude the fountain

  152. of youth for our brains, keeping our minds young,

  153. healthy, and agile. Gratitude stimulates a strong

  154. sense of well -being. And listen to this. Finally,

  155. gratitude is an incredibly potent anti -inflammatory.

  156. We don't need ibuprofen. We need gratitude. Because

  157. gratitude is a secret superpower, which leads

  158. us... To our second thought, practicing gratitude

  159. is actually God's will for our life. Paul writes

  160. these words to the church gathered in Thessalonica.

  161. 1 Thessalonians 5, 16 through 18. Always be joyful.

  162. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances.

  163. For this is God's will for you who belong to

  164. Christ Jesus. Now think about this for a second.

  165. As I was reading... Those three verses this week,

  166. did Paul just throw out the meaning of human

  167. existence in one verse? And the answer is yes.

  168. This is God's will for you. And what is his will?

  169. That we daily practice gratitude. Now, if I would

  170. have made a promo video for this series six weeks

  171. ago. And I would have invited you and all your

  172. friends to join us at HCV for October. I'm going

  173. to reveal to you God's plan, God's will for your

  174. life. We would have had a month full of packed

  175. house. Because everyone wants to know what God's

  176. will is for their life. Because when people hear

  177. the will of God, you know what their minds begin

  178. to think of? Who am I going to marry? What job

  179. should I be working? What does God want me to

  180. do with my life? Should I marry this man or should

  181. I be dating her? Should I take this job or should

  182. I relocate and move from Maryland to Virginia

  183. or Florida? Listen, God cares about all areas

  184. of our life. He cares about our families, cares

  185. about our jobs, our kids, our health. I believe

  186. he even cares about our parking spot when we're

  187. going to Sam's. And why do I know that? Because

  188. our God has no beginning or no end. He cannot

  189. be exhausted. He cannot be bothered by you. I

  190. dare you, every single one of you this week to

  191. try and bother God. Because there's nothing more

  192. that our Father in Heaven wants than for His

  193. kids to bother Him. To spend time with Him. Talk

  194. His ear off about all the stuff you're happy

  195. about, you don't like, you're struggling with.

  196. He desires we get close to Him. All those prayer

  197. requests. All those questions about God's plan

  198. for my life. Allow it to be noted that his priority

  199. for us, his will for us, according to these verses,

  200. is that we're always joyful. We never stop praying.

  201. And we're grateful. That's his will for you and

  202. me. And imagine. Imagine if we lived like that

  203. every single day. The tri -state area would be

  204. transformed because it would make a difference

  205. in our lives, which would then spill out into

  206. everybody else in our sphere of influence. So

  207. let's look at the four ways gratitude makes us

  208. alive and free. Four ways gratitude makes us

  209. alive and free. Number one, gratitude unlocks

  210. the door to God's presence. Psalm 100, verse

    Psalms 100:4

  211. 4. Enter his gates with thanksgiving. Go into

  212. his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and

  213. praise his name. God's presence on our lives

  214. means we have more of God's power in our life.

  215. Jesus shares this with us in Mark 10, 27. Jesus

  216. looked at them intently. He looks at us and he

  217. says, humanly speaking, it is impossible. But

  218. not with God. Everything is possible with God.

  219. In other words, be encouraged. We can't do it

  220. on our own, but we can do it with God's power.

  221. And that's why Paul writes to us in Philippians

  222. 4 .13, I can do everything. How? Through Christ

  223. who gives me strength. Gratitude unlocks the

  224. door to God's presence. See, gratitude is the

  225. difference between shouting and screaming our

  226. prayers from outside of the house to having a

  227. heart -to -heart, face -to -face with God at

  228. the kitchen table in his presence like his son

  229. or like his daughter. We enter into his courts.

  230. We enter into his presence with thanksgiving.

  231. Thanksgiving is not one day a year. For Jesus

  232. followers, it should be 365 days. And what is

  233. the power of being grateful? Remember the story

  234. of the prodigal son from Luke chapter 15? See,

    Luke 15 chapter mention

  235. the focus of Jesus' parable quite often goes

  236. to the lost son who spent all of the father's

  237. inheritance. But let's not forget about the older

  238. son that remained in the fields, working, earning,

  239. serving his father. Unfortunately, though, his...

  240. earning leads to his entitlement. His entitlement

  241. keeps him outside of the father's house, outside

  242. of his father's presence. And please understand,

  243. this isn't a salvation issue. This is a blessing

  244. issue. The father didn't want his older son outside

  245. of the house. The father wanted his son in the

  246. house celebrating that his brother had returned

  247. home and joined the party. But entitlement was

  248. the son keeping himself out of the house with

  249. a scarcity mindset. Let's read the story, Luke

  250. 15. The older brother was angry and wouldn't

  251. go in. His father came out and begged him, but

  252. he replied, all these years I've slaved for you

  253. and never once refused to do a single thing you

  254. told me to do. And in all that time, you never

  255. gave me even one young goat for a feast with

  256. my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes

  257. back after squandering your money on prostitutes,

  258. you celebrate by killing the fattened calf. His

  259. father said to him, look, dear son, you've always

  260. stayed by me and everything I have is yours.

  261. What does a scarcity mindset look like for us?

  262. That promotion he got, it should have been mine.

  263. That life that she's living, those pictures I

  264. see on Facebook, on Instagram, they should be

  265. mine. I deserve a party like that. I deserve

  266. it, not them. Entitlement leads to a scarcity

  267. mindset that keeps us out of God's presence,

  268. while gratitude leads us into God's presence.

  269. John Gordon was quoted as saying, abundance flows

  270. into your life. When gratitude flows out of your

  271. heart. Our second way, gratitude takes what we

  272. have and makes it enough. Takes what we have

  273. and makes it enough. See, it's really hard to

  274. define gratitude without two words. Grateful

  275. and thankful. See, gratitude is when you have

  276. what you need because you want what you have.

  277. Gratitude. is when you have what you need because

  278. you want what you have. Let's look at the feeding

  279. of the 5 ,000 in John chapter 6. Then Andrew,

    John 6 chapter mention

  280. Simon Beter's brother, spoke up. There's a young

  281. boy here with five barley loaves and two fish.

  282. In other words, it was a lunchable. Notice what

  283. they say. But what good is that with this huge

  284. crowd? Tell everyone to sit down, Jesus said.

  285. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. The

  286. men alone numbered about 5 ,000. Then Jesus took

  287. the loaves and gave thanks to God and distributed

  288. them to the people. Afterward, he did the same

  289. with the fish. What did he do? He gave thanks

  290. to God. And notice, after giving thanks, they

  291. all ate as much as they wanted. After everyone

  292. was full, Jesus told his disciples, now gather

  293. the leftovers so nothing is wasted. At first,

  294. there wasn't enough food. But as soon as Jesus

  295. gives thanks, expresses gratitude for the food,

  296. then there's abundance. There's more than enough,

  297. even with leftovers. Gratitude takes what we

  298. have and makes it enough. Now, with that thought

  299. in mind, let's reread Philippians 4, 12 through

  300. 13. I know how to live on almost nothing or with

  301. everything. So Paul's saying, church, regardless

  302. of what you have, Paul learned the secret of

  303. living in every situation. In other words, the

  304. secret of contentment, whether it's with a full

  305. stomach or empty, with plenty or little, I can

  306. do everything through Christ who gives me strength.

  307. Contentment is having and being enough. It has

  308. even been said that contentment is the greatest

  309. wealth there is in this world. Which means learning

  310. the secret to it might be the most valuable thing

  311. all of us can practice. I believe our world needs

  312. some inspiration right now from Jesus followers

  313. on how to live a life of contentment. Because

  314. there are very few people in our culture that

  315. actually live a life of contentment. Even though,

  316. think about this, we live in a day and age where

  317. we have infinity on our phones. Like we can take

  318. our phone out of our pocket. I literally can

  319. talk and have a face -to -face conversation with

  320. my son who is on the other side of the globe

  321. in Kenya right now. It's never been done before.

  322. Oh, and a quick Isaac update. He gave us an update

  323. on Wednesday. Isaac received his placement in

  324. Kenya for the next two years. He will be teaching

  325. in secondary school in one of the poorest villages

  326. in the country. And not only that, listen to

  327. this, listen to this, there has never been. A

  328. volunteer serve in this village. He will be the

  329. first outsider to ever walk foot into the village.

  330. And the only reason he is in that village is

  331. because a Lutheran church in the United States

  332. paid for the opportunity for him to be there.

  333. And you don't tell me God doesn't have a plan.

  334. But not only can I talk to my son on the other

  335. end of the world, we now have 72 -inch high -definition

  336. TVs that would have cost over $10 ,000 a decade

  337. ago, and I can leave here and want to go and

  338. buy one at Sam's Club for $500. Those TVs give

  339. us 4K access to millions of sports, TV shows

  340. and movies at the click of a button. We don't

  341. have to go to the theaters anymore. We can stay

  342. at home in our own living room. We can literally

  343. get a college degree on YouTube for free. You

  344. can listen to a podcast and receive enough advice

  345. and wisdom that you can start your own company

  346. tomorrow. You can book and schedule a flight

  347. today and travel anywhere you want to by Wednesday.

  348. After these gatherings, you can go out and grab

  349. lunch at hundreds of different restaurants around

  350. the tri -state area. We can eat a meal we didn't

  351. have to grow or hunt or kill. Heck, we don't

  352. even have to cook it. We can just sit there and

  353. be served. There are now more places to go with

  354. easier means to get there. More things to do,

  355. see, and experience than ever before. We truly

  356. live in the most entertained, available, and

  357. wealthy world in the history of man. Yet for

  358. much of the people in our country, they are bored.

  359. And miserable. They're bored. There's nothing

  360. to do. And the reason is, deep within us, there's

  361. this cry for more. More money, more success,

  362. more recognition, more stuff, more clothes, more,

  363. more, more. What is it for you? Is it the promotion?

  364. Is it a new house? Is it a dream school, a new

  365. car? Is it a husband? Is it a wife? Heck, for

  366. some of you, it's a date. Just saying. But we

  367. have to learn what it means to be content. We

  368. don't need more to have enough. We need gratitude.

  369. 1 Timothy chapter 6, verses 6 through 8. A true

    1 Timothy 6:6–8

  370. godliness with contentment is what? Great wealth.

  371. You want to be a millionaire? Practice godliness

  372. with contentment. After all, we brought nothing

  373. with us when we come into the world and we can't

  374. take anything with us when we leave it. So if

  375. we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

  376. Gratitude takes what we have and makes it enough.

  377. Our third reason, gratitude reframes how we see

  378. the world. Now, many of you know I got a new

  379. Spectacles about six. And these new glasses that

  380. I've been wearing are absolutely amazing. Right?

  381. When I'm wearing these glasses, the world around

  382. me is better. I get it. So I can see. Right?

  383. It's clear. It's not like trees walking around

  384. with eyeballs. I can see with fresh eyes. Gratitude

  385. is seeing life with these new glasses. It's just

  386. better than normal. It's exercising our superpower.

  387. This is normal for human beings. On average,

  388. we think 40 ,000 thoughts every single day. 40

  389. ,000 thoughts. And it's normal for 80 % of them,

  390. four out of five of those thoughts, to drift

  391. in the negative direction. Four out of five of

  392. our thoughts daily drift towards negativity.

  393. And why is that? The survival instinct of our

  394. brains makes us much more prone to notice what

  395. is wrong as opposed to what is actually right.

  396. Then we focus on what we don't have rather than

  397. focusing on what we do have. That's why bad news

  398. sells. The news media outlets, they focus on

  399. the bad news. Heck, you can bond with a friend,

  400. realize you both hate something. And then say,

  401. let's start a podcast and make thousands of dollars.

  402. Because you're simply mad. Psychiatrists call

  403. this the negativity bias because mad is easier.

  404. Cynical is easier. Complaining is easier. Have

  405. you ever noticed that modern pessimists now call

  406. themselves realists? When in reality, it's a

  407. lie. Authentic realism is focusing on the bad

  408. and the good at the same time. So if we naturally

  409. drift towards what is wrong, which we now know,

  410. what is negative, then we need a nudge, a kick

  411. in the butt from the Holy Spirit to move towards

  412. what is right. And that is faith. Faith is genuine

  413. realism. And when we combine that with gratitude,

  414. daily gratitude, blessings flow, Matthew 13,

  415. 16, but blessed are your eyes because they see

  416. and your ears because they hear. Friends, the

  417. kingdom of God is here right now. And as Jesus

  418. followers, we are called. We are called to bring

  419. that new reality to earth right now. We're to

  420. pray it daily. Thy kingdom come. And that happens

  421. with gratitude. Because the one who is grateful

  422. will see what everyone else cannot. While society

  423. walks around stirring with anxiety, their hearts

  424. focused on everything negative, whether past,

  425. present, or future, gratitude gives us new eyes

  426. to see the same world through a kingdom lens.

  427. Paul writes these words a few verses earlier

  428. in Philippians 4 .8. And now, dear brothers and

  429. sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts,

  430. 40 ,000 thoughts, on what is true. And honorable

  431. and right and pure and lovely and admirable.

  432. Think about things that are excellent and worthy

  433. of praise. So he's not telling us to just pretend

  434. there's no negativity in the world. Paul understands

  435. the patterns of human nature. He knows our focus

  436. is going to drift towards the bad. Way more than

  437. the good. So Paul asked the question, church,

  438. what is right in front of you to be grateful

  439. for? Because when we practice gratitude, We don't

  440. have to pretend. Practicing gratitude allows

  441. us to think about things that are excellent and

  442. worthy of praise. But it's not going to be easy.

  443. These past few weeks in preparation for this

  444. series and for this talk today, God has been

  445. changing my heart by having a grateful outlook

  446. on life. And this grateful outlook on life means

  447. that I cry a lot more. But it's not negative

  448. cries. It's tearful cries of joy and abundance

  449. and happiness. Tears are just a part of it. Finally,

  450. our fourth thing, gratitude gets us through any

  451. trouble this world throws at us. Now many of

  452. us know we're going to have trouble. Jesus' words

  453. in John 16, I have told you all this so you may

  454. have peace in me. Here on earth, you're going

  455. to have trials and sorrow. But take heart because

  456. I've overcome the world. See, the JV level of

  457. gratitude is being grateful for good things that

  458. go right. Everyone can do that. That's JV. But

  459. when we graduate in gratitude to the varsity

  460. team, this is what it looks like. Being grateful

  461. even when it doesn't. And it's not easy when

  462. things aren't going right, working out the way

  463. we want them to. It's frustrating. We get negative.

  464. We can feel it coming on. But what if this trial

  465. is creating a better version of you? What if

  466. this valley is making us stronger and releases

  467. God's presence into areas of our lives that we've

  468. never allowed Him to go? I don't know why bad

  469. things happen in this world. I don't have all

  470. the answers. It's called faith. And I am no way

  471. saying that God wants us to be happy about heartache.

  472. The Bible tells us that God grieves with us,

  473. counts our tears, walks us through our pain.

  474. But we have to learn to praise God for what the

  475. pain will produce in our life. That is varsity

  476. level gratitude. Romans 8, 28, and we know that

  477. God causes everything to work together for the

  478. good of those who love God and are called according

  479. to his purpose for them. And I don't know what

  480. you're going through today. I don't know what

  481. you brought into this gathering. I get it, pain

  482. is difficult. It's a challenging season to walk

  483. through, but you have to reframe the way you

  484. see the pain. Trials and pain can produce a better

  485. version of ourselves if we allow the Holy Spirit

  486. to walk us through that pain. C .S. Lewis says

  487. it this way, God whispers to us in our pleasures,

  488. but shouts to us in our pain. So today, if you're

  489. struggling, I want to encourage you, silence

  490. the distractions, the negativity, the questions,

  491. and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart

  492. right now. And how do I know he wants to speak

  493. to your heart? Because if there was ever anyone

  494. that deserved to be negative, that deserved to

  495. be a pessimist, full of doubt, it was Paul. Listen

  496. to Paul's life. I've worked harder, been put

  497. in prison more often, been whipped times without

  498. number, and faced death again and again. Five

  499. different times the Jewish leaders gave me 39

  500. lashes. And we all know that 39 lashes is what

  501. Jesus experienced before he went to the cross.

  502. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was

  503. stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I

  504. spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea.

  505. I've traveled on many long journeys. I've faced

  506. dangers from rivers and from robbers. I've faced

  507. danger from my own people, the Jews, as well

  508. as from the Gentiles. I've faced danger in the

  509. cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And

  510. I've faced danger from men who claim to be believers

  511. but are not. I have worked hard and long and

  512. during many sleepless nights, I've been hungry

  513. and thirsty and have often gone without food.

  514. I have shivered in the cold without enough clothing

  515. to keep me warm. And I don't know about you,

  516. but I haven't experienced a lot of that. Yet

  517. through all that, Paul writes, I have a secret

  518. superpower. Philippians 4, 6, and 13. Don't worry

  519. about anything. Instead, pray about everything.

  520. Tell God what you need. Thank him. Thank him

  521. for all he's done. For I can do everything through

  522. Christ who gives me strength. See, gratitude

  523. gets us through any trouble the world is going

  524. to throw at us. It changes our entire outlook.

  525. Think about it. I'm walking around on this stage

  526. right now. And if just this week, unfortunately,

  527. I'm in an accident, I no longer can walk, I'm

  528. going to long to walk again. There are so many

  529. things we have right now and can do right now

  530. that we should be grateful for. Because many

  531. of us, if we just think about them, if we lose

  532. them, we're going to want them. And it doesn't

  533. matter what we're going through. You have to

  534. see the good right now. What if I told you there's

  535. over a billion people on this planet right now

  536. whose one prayer request is to be where we are

  537. and experiencing what we have right now? See,

  538. our hearts should be full of gratitude. It changes

  539. the way we see the world. We focus on the good

  540. right now. And you say, well, Chris, I'm struggling.

  541. I lost someone in my family. Fine, hug the ones

  542. that you can right now. Hug the loved ones that

  543. you can right now. Cry with the loved ones that

  544. you can right now. You have a heart that's beating

  545. in your chest. You have lungs that are processing

  546. oxygen. You have vocal cords that enable you

  547. to talk. It's going to be 82 and sunny on this

  548. beautiful fall day. Think about those things

  549. that are pure, noble, and true. And we're not

  550. pretending that there's not bad in this world.

  551. We're an expert in seeing the bad. We're human.

  552. But I don't know about you, but I'm going to

  553. graduate to varsity gratitude. I want to see

  554. the good and the beauty that's right in front

  555. of us. How about this? How about the billions

  556. of people all over the world? That would tell

  557. us we are so blessed. Because we have a crappy

  558. car. Billions. There's so many ways. That we

  559. can learn to practice gratitude. And my encouragement

  560. to you. Start small. Do not despise these small

  561. beginnings. For the Lord rejoices to see the

  562. work begin. Start small. As you brush your teeth

  563. in the morning. Take a moment and tell Jesus.

  564. One thing you're thankful for. And if you say

  565. Chris. I don't brush my teeth. I'm going to get

  566. you a toothbrush. Because you should start your

  567. day by brushing your teeth. And I'm sorry for

  568. the neighbor that's sitting beside you. But one

  569. thing. Tell Jesus what you're thankful for. Create

  570. a gratitude note in your phone or carry a gratitude

  571. journal for your old schoolers. Matt Chandler,

  572. a pastor in Dallas, has a gratitude journal he

  573. calls Don't Cry For Me. And in this journal,

  574. He records one thing every day and he writes

  575. down, don't cry for me. I'm married to the most

  576. beautiful woman in the world. Don't cry for me.

  577. I've eaten the perfectly cooked steak. Don't

  578. cry for me. I have children to continue to live

  579. a legacy after me. Chandler goes on to say he

  580. wants this journal read during his funeral, during

  581. his celebration of life. And the very last statement

  582. that will be read from this journal says, don't

  583. cry for me because I'm now home. Just yesterday,

  584. I put in my gratitude note in my phone. Today,

  585. I ate a crab omelet. And let me tell you something.

  586. It was the best crab omelet that I've ever eaten.

  587. And I am grateful to eat it because I may never

  588. eat it again. Gratitude note. Number three, every

  589. day, tell someone. You appreciate them. Learn

  590. from me. If you get texts from me, who are you

  591. giving them back to? Because typically when I'm

  592. texting you and encouraging you, guess what?

  593. I'm in a valley and I'm trying to get out. Before

  594. you fall asleep at night, take one moment as

  595. your head hits the pillow and focus on one thing

  596. that you can be thankful for. Scientists say

  597. the one thing that taps in to the gratitude circuitry

  598. of your brain is story. Can you find a story

  599. that will fill your mind with gratitude? And

  600. listen, if you're in a relationship with Jesus,

  601. you have the greatest story ever recorded. Will

  602. you stand with me? There's this story about a

  603. God who left everything and experienced all the

  604. lows and pain this world has to offer. He didn't

  605. just want to sympathize with us. He wanted to

  606. empathize with us. He was tortured and made fun

  607. of even though he lived a perfect life. He was

  608. crucified on a cross and slowly suffocated to

  609. pay the wages for all sin so that this world

  610. would be the worst place that we've ever lived

  611. in. This world would be the worst place that

  612. we ever lived in because if we believe in him,

  613. We're going to go to be in heaven forever and

  614. spend eternity with Jesus, worshiping him and

  615. celebrating him day in and day out. And that's

  616. why we talk about Jesus every chance we get.

  617. Every time we gather, we're going to point people

  618. to Jesus because it's the good news and it's

  619. the greatest story that's ever been told. This

  620. world is not all there is to offer. There's another

  621. world coming. And as Jesus follows, we're called

  622. to bring that world here. Amen? So we're going

  623. to pray a simple prayer like we always do. And

  624. listen, if you're distant, far from God, you've

  625. never started this journey, this is your day.

  626. And as we pray these words, you pray with all

  627. of us because we'll all pray them together. And

  628. we're going to say to you, welcome home. Welcome

  629. home. Let's pray. Jesus, I'm broken. I'm full

  630. of doubt, shame, regret, sin. Change me. Forgive

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

  632. died for me. Make me new. Set me free. Fill me

  633. with your spirit. Help me, God, to serve others.

  634. In Jesus' name, amen. So if you prayed that prayer,

  635. listen, see me, text me, do something. I want

  636. to get you baptized. I want to get you in a group.

  637. I want to get you started on your journey with

  638. Jesus. Now, here's what I want you to do. I want

  639. you to close your eyes. And I want you to think

  640. about one thing. Think about one thing that you're

  641. grateful for. One thing. Picture it. See it.

  642. Now sing these words like you've never sung before.

  643. before and allow God to change your heart, mold

  644. your heart, and form your heart into a new creation.

  645. Amen? Our prayer team's here on my right. If

  646. you have any needs, prayer for anything, if your

  647. shoulder, you can't lift your shoulder up more

  648. than that, like right here, I think Mark said,

  649. come up here and get prayed. You're going to

  650. get healed. Okay? But otherwise, we are singing

  651. boldly. The void was finished I thought I was

  652. diminished But back then, I was deep I was deep,

  653. I was deep, I was I was deep in the dark, he

  654. ain't leave me there Now I step in the light,

  655. I don't need a fear Had to die to myself just

  656. to see it clear All life in his hands, I'ma leave

  657. it there