Gratitude Part 2 I Pastor Joshua Gay

[SPEAKER_00]: High Praise Podcasts.

[SPEAKER_00]: Hey everybody, this is Pastor Josh.

[SPEAKER_00]: We'll leave Pastor here at High Praise and I want to thank you for downloading today's podcast.

[SPEAKER_00]: We know that this message is going to encourage and bless you.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I want you to open up your heart and receive with the Lord as for you today.

[SPEAKER_00]: Grab your Bible, go to 1st of the Seloni and chapter 5.

[SPEAKER_00]: I know what time it is.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to preach fast, I promise.

[SPEAKER_00]: In Jesus' name, you'll pray, intercede, holy ghost, and fire, Jesus, amen.

[SPEAKER_00]: But we're going to continue this series.

[SPEAKER_00]: We started called gratitude.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not there yet.

[SPEAKER_00]: Just turn there.

[SPEAKER_00]: But we are gearing up once again to celebrate Thanksgiving.

[SPEAKER_00]: How many of you cited for Thanksgiving?

[SPEAKER_00]: Praise God.

[SPEAKER_00]: How many are already in Christmas?

[SPEAKER_00]: And you're just going to hit the Paul's button.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Amen.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thanksgiving, used to be a season now.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's like two days.

[SPEAKER_00]: We do Christmas.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, the clock hits midnight on November 1st, Mariah Carey, anthals.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: Praise God.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's Christmas.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then you pause on Thursday.

[SPEAKER_00]: right back at it on the Friday after Thanksgiving, but we're gearing up for this and we are talking right now about gratitude and how many you want to live with an attitude and a heart posture of gratitude, amen?

[SPEAKER_00]: I think we all desire that, but if we are really really honest with ourselves.

[SPEAKER_00]: right?

[SPEAKER_00]: If we're really transparent with our own lives and if we are really transparent with humanity in general and our culture, I think we would all agree that it is much easier to lean into negativity.

[SPEAKER_00]: and to lean into complaining that it is to lean into Thanksgiving and lean into gratitude.

[SPEAKER_00]: Your flesh does not innately just want to be like praise God.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's a wonderful day, everything is going great.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's awesome, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: That's not what our flesh generally innately does, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Y'all know what I'm talking about, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Some of y'all are going to wake up tomorrow morning.

[SPEAKER_00]: Be like, I got to go to work.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is an awful day.

[SPEAKER_00]: Some of y'all are going to wake up and go,

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, some of y'all gonna be grateful for that.

[SPEAKER_00]: Some of y'all gonna be like, my body aches more when it's cold.

[SPEAKER_00]: Some of you be like, I didn't move from the frigid north to come to the frigid south.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, y'all know what I'm talking about?

[SPEAKER_00]: And then some of you are me like, I gotta go to work and I'm not getting paid to go to work.

[SPEAKER_00]: And they're saying fair, and I don't necessarily disagree with you.

[SPEAKER_00]: But at the same time, we have to find a way to live in gratitude.

[SPEAKER_00]: Pastor Casey has talked about this quite a bit whenever he's taught on Wednesday nights and even someone Sundays, how we, as a kingdom, as the kingdom of God, as the church, as the people of God, part of our responsibility is to push back.

[SPEAKER_00]: against what is present in the culture of the world.

[SPEAKER_00]: And whenever we hear that, we think, well, bless God, that means we ain't going to do this and we ain't going, and that's all true.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not discounting any of that.

[SPEAKER_00]: But pushing back is just as much about what you do participate in.

[SPEAKER_00]: as what you refuse.

[SPEAKER_00]: We refuse immorality, amen?

[SPEAKER_00]: We refuse all of those things.

[SPEAKER_00]: But we also have to do this.

[SPEAKER_00]: We have to embrace living with Thanksgiving when the world tells us that we need to just live complaining, that we have to embrace living in gratitude when everybody wants to tell us everything that's wrong in the world and the culture.

[SPEAKER_00]: And if you don't believe anything's wrong and you don't know anything that's wrong, just turn on the news for about 3.2 seconds

[SPEAKER_00]: It's real quiet in here already this morning.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm gonna be like, you, I'm tired of hearing y'all talk about the news.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, as soon as we can stop just rehearsing what the news says, and start rehearsing what the word says, maybe we won't have to talk about it as much, be like, well, they're just telling the truth.

[SPEAKER_00]: The main thing, my news ain't bad news.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's just the truth.

[SPEAKER_00]: The news that I listen to, it's the truth.

[SPEAKER_00]: The news that they all listen to is lies in negativity.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're just telling it like it is.

[SPEAKER_00]: Listen, you can tell it like it is, quote unquote, whatever that means.

[SPEAKER_00]: And still be living in gratitude and still be stirring things in your heart that don't need to be stirred.

[SPEAKER_00]: You need to stir faith, you need to stir gratitude, you need to stir things, giving, not what the culture is just constantly saying, because the culture will give you everything that's wrong and all the problems and all the issues, non-stop, I don't listen to this, I'll listen to podcasts, that's probably worse.

[SPEAKER_00]: You have to realize this, thanksgiving, gratitude is more than just a nice little thankful thought, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: It has the power to unlock the supernatural power of God to work in your life.

[SPEAKER_00]: When you live in gratitude, I need God to do a miracle, start living in gratitude.

[SPEAKER_00]: I need God to shift some things in my life, start offering up praise and thanksgiving,

[SPEAKER_00]: and murmuring, and this ain't right, and that ain't right.

[SPEAKER_00]: And my wife didn't cook me the dinner I liked.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, that's God.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Start offering up Thanksgiving in the old covenant, even in Malachi after two, you see this.

[SPEAKER_00]: That God tells the priest that he's going to to curse the work of their hands if they don't live thankfully.

[SPEAKER_00]: You with me?

[SPEAKER_00]: Even under grace, we see that an attitude that isn't thankful, doesn't empower blessing in your life.

[SPEAKER_00]: Why do you think the enemy wants to make you negative?

[SPEAKER_00]: Why do you think he wants you to get you so hyper-focused on all the things that aren't right, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Why do you think he wasn't want your focus to be what God has done, but instead he wants you to focus on in our eyes what God hasn't done yet.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Why do you think he wants to get you so sidetracked into negativity and complaining because if you live in that manner, it will build a dam that prevents the supernatural power of God from flowing in your life when you don't live with an attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving.

[SPEAKER_00]: First of all, he is five.

[SPEAKER_00]: Says this.

[SPEAKER_00]: You already?

[SPEAKER_00]: Says this.

[SPEAKER_00]: Rejoice always.

[SPEAKER_00]: We can just stop there for a moment.

[SPEAKER_00]: Rejoice always, something y'all didn't rejoice in worship today because you've gotten to a spat with your spouse on the way to church.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's not what scripture says.

[SPEAKER_00]: Rejoice always, something y'all had a problem this morning because you know your eggs got burned before you came to church.

[SPEAKER_00]: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing.

[SPEAKER_00]: Get this in what?

[SPEAKER_00]: come on shout it out, in what, in everything, give thanks.

[SPEAKER_00]: Why?

[SPEAKER_00]: Because this is the will of God and Christ, Jesus, for you.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you want to live in the will of God, you want to live in the will of God.

[SPEAKER_00]: You want to live in the will of God?

[SPEAKER_00]: I want to live in the will of God.

[SPEAKER_00]: You don't want you to do to believe in the will of God.

[SPEAKER_00]: rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and everything give thanks.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know how to live in the will of God?

[SPEAKER_00]: It's not about what, necessarily what TV channel you're watching or what team you cheer for or this, that or the other, it's rejoice always, pray without ceasing and everything gives thanks.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's the will of God for you.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then verse 19, which we don't talk about very much, is the very next thing that a set is says, do not quench the spirit.

[SPEAKER_00]: I want you to read this here as one thought.

[SPEAKER_00]: In every, enjoy, so I always pray without ceasing and everything, get thanks for this little little of God and Christ Jesus for you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Do not quench the spirit.

[SPEAKER_00]: What is Paul telling us?

[SPEAKER_00]: If you don't rejoice, if you only pray whenever it benefits you or whenever you're back to against the wall then you don't have anything else to do like, well, I think I'm gonna try prayer now.

[SPEAKER_00]: And when you refuse to give thanks, regardless of what's going on, it will quench the spirit of God in your life.

[SPEAKER_00]: You want the spirit of God to flow, rejoice, pray, give thanks.

[SPEAKER_00]: Rejoice, pray, give thanks.

[SPEAKER_00]: You want the Lord to move in your situation?

[SPEAKER_00]: Rejoice, pray, give thanks.

[SPEAKER_00]: You want to live in blessing?

[SPEAKER_00]: Rejoice, pray, give thanks.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is the model.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is the key that Paul is giving us.

[SPEAKER_00]: To unlock the spirit moving in our lives.

[SPEAKER_00]: The spirit doesn't necessarily move in your lives, just because you read the Bible more.

[SPEAKER_00]: Although you should read the Bible.

[SPEAKER_00]: And the church says, Amen.

[SPEAKER_00]: But rejoice, pray, give thanks.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's the will of God in every situation.

[SPEAKER_00]: We are really good about giving thanks in the good situations.

[SPEAKER_00]: Come on, somebody.

[SPEAKER_00]: We are really good when we get the raise, being like, I passed her, I gotta test the money today.

[SPEAKER_00]: Blessed God, the Lord is blessed me, and highly favored me.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that's all well and good.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's awesome.

[SPEAKER_00]: We want that.

[SPEAKER_00]: And the church says, Amen.

[SPEAKER_00]: But it's not just that we give thanks when things go good.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's that we give thanks even when the giant is staring us down.

[SPEAKER_00]: We give thanks before we see the victory.

[SPEAKER_00]: Why?

[SPEAKER_00]: Because giving thanks in the midst of that is what will cause the spirit to move.

[SPEAKER_00]: I talked about this a little bit last week.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you not have anything in your life currently that you feel like you can be thankful for, reach back in time a little bit.

[SPEAKER_00]: Find something that God has done in your life and rehearse it again.

[SPEAKER_00]: Find something he's done before and rehearse it again.

[SPEAKER_00]: We have celebrate, let me say this for us, say this for us, say that.

[SPEAKER_00]: Scripture says in the book of Revelation, they overcame by the blood of the lamb and by what?

[SPEAKER_00]: the word of their testimony, there is something about reaching back to what God has done before and rehearsing it that will unlock victory in your life in the season you're in.

[SPEAKER_00]: That will sustain you and bring you for David does this when he faces Goliath.

[SPEAKER_00]: We think David's just smack talking, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: When he's like, listen, I have killed the lion and I have killed the bear.

[SPEAKER_00]: who are you, you uncircumcised, filistine, and we view this like David is cutting a WWE promo.

[SPEAKER_00]: Let me tell you something, brother, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: That's our view, kids, that's Hulk Hogan, if you don't know who that is, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: We think he's cutting a promo on the giant.

[SPEAKER_00]: We think he's just like, let me tell you what, I'm gonna smack talk you to make you scared.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's not what David's doing at all.

[SPEAKER_00]: What David is doing is he's encouraging himself in the Lord by reaching back and saying, if God led me in victory then, then God will certainly lead me in victory once again.

[SPEAKER_00]: If God delivered me from the Paul of the Lion,

[SPEAKER_00]: And if God brought me through whenever the bear showed up, then God's gonna bring me through whenever the Philistine shows up too.

[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes you have to reach back whenever you're facing a battle right now.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that's what we all have to do.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm so thankful we most of you know on Tuesday nights, we host celebrate recovery here at High Praise and God's doing great things.

[SPEAKER_00]: Amen, praise the Lord.

[SPEAKER_00]: Fair thing is happen.

[SPEAKER_00]: And one of the things that they actually do in CR is it alternates.

[SPEAKER_00]: One week there's a teaching and then the next week there's a testimony.

[SPEAKER_00]: Next week, there's a testimony, why?

[SPEAKER_00]: Because one, whenever people are in the midst of the trial, they need to hear from somebody who's come through the trial, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: But secondly, also for the people who are even giving those testimonies, it starts something in them.

[SPEAKER_00]: It starts something for everyone in the room.

[SPEAKER_00]: To remember that the same God who brought them out is the God who will bring me out.

[SPEAKER_00]: If God brought me out then, he'll bring me out now.

[SPEAKER_00]: We've had someone credit on the Tory asshared.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think Nick is shared, Melissa has shared.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm telling you, these testimonies of victory, they stir something in me.

[SPEAKER_00]: Because I serve that same God, the same God who brought Tori through, is the same God that I serve, and I can be thankful for that.

[SPEAKER_00]: The same God that brought Nick through, is the same God that I serve, and whenever I face something, if God brought Nick through, if he brought Tori through, if he brought Melissa through, if he brought all of us in this room through, he'll bring me through too, he'll bring you through, and we can be thankful for that.

[SPEAKER_00]: Don't stop.

[SPEAKER_00]: But God is doing, because it just doesn't look good right now.

[SPEAKER_00]: Keep thanks in every situation, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yellow Philippine's 413, yellow in that scripture.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's the graduation in scripture.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's the sports scripture, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: In the 90s, I remember I have a very distinct memory of going in the Christian bookstore.

[SPEAKER_00]: I remember Christian book source, and they had a poster section, and you could flip through the posters, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Kids, y'all don't worry about it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Don't try to figure it out.

[SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't make any sense today.

[SPEAKER_00]: Just like six, seven, doesn't make sense to us.

[SPEAKER_00]: Ask kids, what does it mean like?

[SPEAKER_00]: We don't know.

[SPEAKER_00]: Low key.

[SPEAKER_00]: We had these Christian bookstores.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's another one for y'all.

[SPEAKER_00]: Y'all don't know what that one means either.

[SPEAKER_00]: When there's a Christian bookstore, you flip through the posters, and I have a very vivid memory of, there was a poster of a dude on a basketball court, like Jump into Dunk, like he was Jordan.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then it said, Philippine's 413, I can do all things to Christ, who strengthened me.

[SPEAKER_00]: What?

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, it was communicating this.

[SPEAKER_00]: You want a Dunk of Basketball?

[SPEAKER_00]: Philippine's 413 is the key.

[SPEAKER_00]: You just quote, Philippine's 413 enough, you're gonna be like Mike.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm a 5 9 white guy.

[SPEAKER_00]: I can quote, Philippine's 413 till I am red in the face.

[SPEAKER_00]: I ain't getting the ups to throw down like MJ.

[SPEAKER_00]: It ain't happening.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's not the point of that scripture, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Paul, if you actually read it in his context, I'm gonna read it till you pulse as this.

[SPEAKER_00]: I know what it is to have a little.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I know what it is to have plenty.

[SPEAKER_00]: in any and in all circumstances, I've learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry.

[SPEAKER_00]: Of having plenty end of being in need, I can do all things through Christ who strengthened to me.

[SPEAKER_00]: Paul was not talking about dunking a basketball.

[SPEAKER_00]: Paul was not talking about having good grades.

[SPEAKER_00]: Paul is not talking about, if you forgot to study, just say this magic words.

[SPEAKER_00]: And what's going to happen is the Holy Spirit is going to fill you with all knowledge and wisdom and revelation.

[SPEAKER_00]: I tried it.

[SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't work.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right?

[SPEAKER_00]: That's not what Paul was talking about.

[SPEAKER_00]: What he is saying is, no matter what is going on in your life, you can endure because it is Christ who strengthens you, and not only can you endure and hold on and make it to the end, but you can endure with thanksgiving, and you can endure with gratitude, and you can endure with a thankful heart, no matter what is going, if you're hungry,

[SPEAKER_00]: Or if you have plenty, you can do all things to Christ who strengthens you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Whether people are for you or people are against you.

[SPEAKER_00]: You can do all things to Christ who strengthens you.

[SPEAKER_00]: This whole thing is saying no matter what is going on, you're gonna make it through because Jesus is giving you strength.

[SPEAKER_00]: So you can be thankful in the midst of it.

[SPEAKER_00]: And somebody says, Amen, you have to learn to be thankful in all things.

[SPEAKER_00]: Once again, there is this intrinsic connection.

[SPEAKER_00]: between Thanksgiving and the supernatural, because it is only by the supernatural power of God that you can be hungry and do all things to Christ who strengthened you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Just all about you, but I'm prudent to hangryness.

[SPEAKER_00]: Come on, somebody, where are you all at?

[SPEAKER_00]: Where are my people in the room?

[SPEAKER_00]: Get to all things to Christ who strengthened you.

[SPEAKER_00]: As long as I don't go 15 minutes past, my schedule time to eat, and then I'm gonna get a little bit frustrated.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's this intrinsic connection between, between thanks give you a miracle, it's turned to John's six real quick real quick.

[SPEAKER_00]: While you're turning there, I'm gonna give you a little bit of backstory before we read this.

[SPEAKER_00]: Somebody all probably talk about this story before.

[SPEAKER_00]: Hopefully, if you've been in church or read the scriptures, you're already vaguely familiar with this.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is the story of where Jesus feeds the 5,000 men, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: So the story is, Jesus is out preaching.

[SPEAKER_00]: He goes up to the mountain, he's set with his disciples.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's right at the feast of Passover.

[SPEAKER_00]: He lifts up his eyes, he goes, oh, it's a great turnout for church today.

[SPEAKER_00]: And everybody's come and they're expecting us to feed them.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is the Christmas family feast, then he's some food.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we did not prepare.

[SPEAKER_00]: And Jesus looks at Philip and he says, hey, where shall we get some bread that these

[SPEAKER_00]: You talking to me?

[SPEAKER_00]: He says, 200 didn't already worth a bread, ain't gonna feed these people.

[SPEAKER_00]: 200 didn't already worth about two thirds of a year's wage.

[SPEAKER_00]: So you're talking about a large sum of money.

[SPEAKER_00]: He goes, that's not even enough to feed all these people.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it says, actually, it tells us this and John, that Jesus told them this to test them because he knew what he was gonna do.

[SPEAKER_00]: And one of the disciples, it's actually, it's Andrew.

[SPEAKER_00]: He looks and goes, hey, there's this kid here.

[SPEAKER_00]: And he's got five barley loaves in two small fish.

[SPEAKER_00]: But what are they to do when everybody is here?

[SPEAKER_00]: And this is not nearly enough.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then we at the verse 10, and it says this, then Jesus said, make the people sit down.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now there was much grass in the place, so the men set down in number about 5,000.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now it's imperative to note there, it says the men set down in number about 5,000.

[SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't say that's everybody in the room.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're just counting the men.

[SPEAKER_00]: So there's a lot more than 5,000, verse 11.

[SPEAKER_00]: And Jesus took the loaves from the boy.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then the key is right here.

[SPEAKER_00]: And when he had given thanks,

[SPEAKER_00]: And when he had given thanks, he distributed them to the disciples and the disciples of those sitting down and likewise at the fish, get this as much as they wanted.

[SPEAKER_00]: He takes the loaves and he takes the fish.

[SPEAKER_00]: And he offers Thanksgiving, and then gives it to the disciples, and they give the people there as much as they want to eat.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now, once again, we host eating events around here.

[SPEAKER_00]: I know what people do when there's free food.

[SPEAKER_00]: I've seen y'all's plates.

[SPEAKER_00]: I am sitting silently judging sometimes.

[SPEAKER_00]: Praise God.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm playing.

[SPEAKER_00]: I've seen y'all's plays.

[SPEAKER_00]: I know how much y'all can throw down when everything comes to an eating function.

[SPEAKER_00]: These people aren't taking just a little bite and going, that's enough for me.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right?

[SPEAKER_00]: This is the all you can eat buffet and scripture is clear.

[SPEAKER_00]: They ate as much as they wanted.

[SPEAKER_00]: They ate until their heart was content.

[SPEAKER_00]: And once again, if you were like me, where are my church kids at?

[SPEAKER_00]: How many people grew up in church praise God?

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, where's the heathens at in the room?

[SPEAKER_00]: Y'all believe the praise God for y'all too.

[SPEAKER_00]: Amen.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you like me and you grew up in church, if you grew up in kids church, if you grew up in a Sunday school, you probably remember Flanographs, if you're my age or older.

[SPEAKER_00]: They might know what a Flanograph is.

[SPEAKER_00]: Come on, somebody, the good old days, blessed God.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean,

[SPEAKER_00]: And if you're like me, you probably grew up in a at some point saw a flannel graph of this story.

[SPEAKER_00]: And the flannel graph of this story that we saw was like this.

[SPEAKER_00]: It was giant, sub-public, sub-way party subs, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: You know what I'm talking about?

[SPEAKER_00]: That for some reason had lettuce and tomato and turkey and ham on them, and I think somebody had bacon and they couldn't even eat bacon.

[SPEAKER_00]: They were Jews.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then the fish were these giant, I was just in Maine and we went in a seafood market and in the seafood market, there were these giant fish, you know, like the ones y'all tell people you catch, I caught one, it was like fish was this big, I was like this.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: They were giant.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that's the picture in the final graph, the giant hole fish and the giant party subs.

[SPEAKER_00]: This was a lunch for a boy.

[SPEAKER_00]: He was not carrying party subs and hole fish.

[SPEAKER_00]: He was carrying small silver dollar kind of size pieces of unleavened bread and sardines, essentially.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's the most translated he even said in John, he had small fish.

[SPEAKER_00]: They were small, sardine, like fish.

[SPEAKER_00]: It was a lunch for a singular boy.

[SPEAKER_00]: It was enough to feed one person, not 5,000 men, plus the women, plus the children.

[SPEAKER_00]: What's the key here?

[SPEAKER_00]: The key is not Jesus did a magic trick to somehow make it to where there's more food.

[SPEAKER_00]: The key is this, can you thought back up there for me, Kelly?

[SPEAKER_00]: The key is this, he took them and when he had given thanks.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is the key, when he had given thanks for what he had.

[SPEAKER_00]: When he had given thanks for what was placed in his hand.

[SPEAKER_00]: Because this is what we want to do.

[SPEAKER_00]: We want to complain that what we have isn't enough.

[SPEAKER_00]: And Jesus, if he would have been like us with a woman like what are we going to do, let's not even try because we don't even have enough to make it happen.

[SPEAKER_00]: But that's not what Jesus does.

[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus is showing us something.

[SPEAKER_00]: And cannot say this, Jesus is doing more than just doing a miracle to go, hey, look at me, look what I can do.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's not what he's doing.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's showing us this principle

[SPEAKER_00]: that whenever you give thanks for it, whenever you are thankful for what is placed in your hands, it becomes more than enough.

[SPEAKER_00]: It no longer is just enough, it is no longer insufficient, but it becomes completely sufficient to supply the need and for there to be extra left over to be keep reading the story, they collect baskets of leftovers.

[SPEAKER_00]: Are you with me this morning?

[SPEAKER_00]: This is what we do, this is what we do.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, shutting down, this is going on, and that's going on, this person's arguing, that person's saying that, blah, blah, blah, blah, and I understand being frustrated.

[SPEAKER_00]: I get it, I'm frustrated with it.

[SPEAKER_00]: It hasn't even really impacted me as far as my family directly.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're not even impacting a lot of you are.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we're praying for you, we're believing for, like Dad said, we're believing for there to be a meeting of the minds, we're believing for there to be peace, we're believing for people to put the needs of the American people before their own posturing and all of those things.

[SPEAKER_00]: And the church says, Amen.

[SPEAKER_00]: But at the end of the day,

[SPEAKER_00]: talking about it incessantly, isn't getting us anywhere in our own lives.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know what we need to do?

[SPEAKER_00]: We need to take a moment and pause and be thankful for what God has blessed us with and watch what He'll do on the other side.

[SPEAKER_00]: God, I don't like this.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't like that, I need better.

[SPEAKER_00]: Be thankful for what He has blessed you with.

[SPEAKER_00]: and then watch what happens when you offer it up to him in Thanksgiving, how he multiplies it beyond your greatest understanding, but you could ever hope or imagine Jesus does more with a thankful heart than anything else.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thanksgiving unlocks a supernatural power, gratitude, unlocks a supernatural power of multiplication in your life.

[SPEAKER_00]: It releases miracles.

[SPEAKER_00]: I firmly believe this, God's greatest blessing can't be released into your life until you are first thankful for what's already been put in your hand.

[SPEAKER_00]: God's greatest blessing can't be released in your life until your first thankful for what he's already placed in your hand.

[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus does this whenever he goes and he raises Lazarus from the dead in John 11.

[SPEAKER_00]: The first thing he says, before he says Lazarus come forth, he says, Father, I thank you

[SPEAKER_00]: Before he says Lazarus conforms to his father, I thank you before I even say it.

[SPEAKER_00]: You've already heard me, and you're gonna do it.

[SPEAKER_00]: We will even, even the famous passage where the shortest verse of scripture in the Bible.

[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus went, all right?

[SPEAKER_00]: I went to a Christian school at one point that was like everybody's favorite fact of it, whenever you're like eight years old.

[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus wept and it even talks about when Jesus is talking to Mary and Martha that Jesus when he's weeping, he already knows what he's going to do, it's a whole other message.

[SPEAKER_00]: But Jesus already knows what he's going to do and he goes, Father, I thank you that you've heard me.

[SPEAKER_00]: What unlocks resurrection power, Father, I thank you that you've heard me.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's this attitude of thanksgiving and gratitude, before there's any supernatural power, there's an expression of thanksgiving.

[SPEAKER_00]: We are looking for thanksgiving from Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, we're looking for supernatural from Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie.

[SPEAKER_00]: And God wants to release the supernatural from Father.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for what you've done.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for what you've given me.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for what you've done.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.

[SPEAKER_00]: I know my life isn't perfect, which, by the way, nobody in here has a perfect life.

[SPEAKER_00]: We are human beings in a broken world.

[SPEAKER_00]: None of us live a perfect existence, but you know what?

[SPEAKER_00]: We are all very blessed people.

[SPEAKER_00]: I said it last week, I'm gonna say it again.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you don't feel like you have anything else to be thankful for,

[SPEAKER_00]: you're alive.

[SPEAKER_00]: Have you been through some things?

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Everybody in this room has been through things.

[SPEAKER_00]: We've all been through different things.

[SPEAKER_00]: Some people have been through greater trauma and greater obstacles and greater things and others.

[SPEAKER_00]: And you know what?

[SPEAKER_00]: That means that God's given you a great testimony.

[SPEAKER_00]: I know this may sound funny to some of you right now, but if nothing else through the midst of all of that, be thankful for the testimony that you have that can help somebody else.

[SPEAKER_00]: Be thankful that the story that God rewrote it, and you're in a good place now, are you perfect, of course not, is God still working absolutely, but you aren't where you once were.

[SPEAKER_00]: and you can be thankful for that.

[SPEAKER_00]: It is everything in my life where I want it to be absolutely not, but I'm thankful that God is continuing to write my story.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm thankful for the way she has blessed me.

[SPEAKER_00]: Is that am I, do what I, be say this.

[SPEAKER_00]: I believe the best days of this church are still to come and there's things we want to do differently, and do differently, you know what I'm saying?

[SPEAKER_00]: There's more things we want to do.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's things we want to expand, but you know what, I'm thankful.

[SPEAKER_00]: that we aren't in a dance studio anymore.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like when we started, I'm thankful for that we don't have an overhead projector anymore.

[SPEAKER_00]: But we've got these incredible LED screens that work most of the time.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for bearing with our technical difficulty this morning that was not any one of the back.

[SPEAKER_00]: Kelly was doing a great job in doing her best.

[SPEAKER_00]: Computers and technology, they're wonderful and just some days they just don't want to work.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm thankful that we don't have to pick up and set up chairs.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's actually not true.

[SPEAKER_00]: We have to pick up and set up chairs about eight times a week right now, because we have so many things going on.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm thankful we don't have to set up the sanctuary every week, can tear it down and move in a sound system and all that.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm thankful for what God did.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm thankful for what God is doing, and I'm also thankful for what He's going to do.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I'm not going hear me.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is what people do.

[SPEAKER_00]: We do this all the time in our own personal lives.

[SPEAKER_00]: We miss being thankful for what God is doing because we get so dissatisfied and we want him to do more.

[SPEAKER_00]: We want to be in chapter 12 and God's in chapter 2.

[SPEAKER_00]: And you need to be thankful in chapter two.

[SPEAKER_00]: You need to be thankful for what he's doing right now.

[SPEAKER_00]: thankful for the way he's blessed you right now.

[SPEAKER_00]: And whenever you do that, it will unlock miracles and faith and God doing great things.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm closing, I promise.

[SPEAKER_00]: Philippine's four says this.

[SPEAKER_00]: Says this, be anxious for nothing.

[SPEAKER_00]: Boy, if there's a word that our culture needs right now.

[SPEAKER_00]: Be anxious for nothing.

[SPEAKER_00]: But in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

[SPEAKER_00]: Once again, Paul is riding to a church as under persecution, their under turmoil, their under issues, there are a lot of things they could have been anxious for, and Paul is saying, don't be anxious about it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Don't be anxious about what's going on.

[SPEAKER_00]: Don't be anxious about what Rome is doing.

[SPEAKER_00]: Don't be anxious about what Nero's doing.

[SPEAKER_00]: Don't be anxious about what the empire is doing.

[SPEAKER_00]: If he was writing to us today, he'd say, don't be anxious about what Congress is doing.

[SPEAKER_00]: Don't be anxious about what the news media say.

[SPEAKER_00]: Don't be anxious about the rumors and the rumblings and this, that and the other.

[SPEAKER_00]: Don't be anxious about those things.

[SPEAKER_00]: Don't be anxious about what's going on in your kit with your kids.

[SPEAKER_00]: Don't be anxious about what's going on in your finances.

[SPEAKER_00]: Don't be anxious about what's going on in your health.

[SPEAKER_00]: But by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, make your request for known to God that He's going to bring you through.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then the peace of God that passes all understanding.

[SPEAKER_00]: will guard your hearts and minds.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know what?

[SPEAKER_00]: The greatest thing to guard your heart in a culture that is wild is Thanksgiving.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's what you're saying.

[SPEAKER_00]: We like to quote, God give us peace, it surpasses all understanding.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know the key that gives you that?

[SPEAKER_00]: Thanksgiving.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know the key that's gonna give you peace that passes understanding when everything's top to turn the upside down sideways.

[SPEAKER_00]: It was going to give you peace whenever you feel like you're on a roller coaster and getting flipped upside down 37 times.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know what's going to give you peace?

[SPEAKER_00]: Thanksgiving.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know what's going to give you peace?

[SPEAKER_00]: Gratitude.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know what's going to guard your heart and mind being thankful.

[SPEAKER_00]: It is certainly not simply rehearsing.

[SPEAKER_00]: And once again, we've all been guilty.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, you've been guilty before.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'll weigh both my hands.

[SPEAKER_00]: How many have you been guilty of doom scrolling?

[SPEAKER_00]: And by the way, the algorithm will lie to you, because you watch one thing and then guess what it's gonna give you.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you watch one negative video and guess what's gonna happen, you're getting negative videos so kingdom come.

[SPEAKER_00]: Because once again, they're trying to monetize your fear and monetize your rage.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're not trying to keep you informed.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're trying to make money off of you.

[SPEAKER_00]: And your anxiety, turn that off.

[SPEAKER_00]: And instead, turn on some worship music.

[SPEAKER_00]: I've got a reason to praise, come on.

[SPEAKER_00]: Turn on some worship music and begin to thank him for what he has done and is doing reach back once again.

[SPEAKER_00]: And thank him for what, come on see, thank him for what he has done in the past.

[SPEAKER_00]: Begin to dial into that, rather than dialing into all the voices.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's not going to give you peace that passes all understanding.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thanksgiving is.

[SPEAKER_00]: Gratitude is.

[SPEAKER_00]: You want peace living gratitude.

[SPEAKER_00]: So then my wife and I do, we just kind of intrinsically.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm something we necessarily like set out to do.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's not even anything that we, I don't think we even consciously do, but especially whenever it's just the two of us and we're having a meal, we will try to at least take a few moments just to,

[SPEAKER_00]: talk about what we're thankful and grateful for that God has done and is doing in our lives because in a world that's full of everything else.

[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes you've got to just pause.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Time out.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're not going to talk about all the issues anymore and we're going to give some gratitude and we're going to have some honest reflection and whenever we have those conversations a lot of times we both find ourselves getting a little bit emotional.

[SPEAKER_00]: Because whenever we really pause and we think of all the good things God has done for us, how can we not be overcome with anything but gratitude?

[SPEAKER_00]: How can we be overcome with anything other than thanksgiving?

[SPEAKER_00]: You were lost.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now you're found.

[SPEAKER_00]: You were blind.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now you see.

[SPEAKER_00]: sin was destroying your life, and God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous life.

[SPEAKER_00]: I said it last week, I'm going to say the end.

[SPEAKER_00]: Some of you in this room, I know your stories, and I know where your marriages were, and God put things back together.

[SPEAKER_00]: Tori gave her testimony.

[SPEAKER_00]: A lot of you, no Tori Sesame testimony.

[SPEAKER_00]: Some of you don't.

[SPEAKER_00]: Tori was had all sorts of problems, and I don't mean that means she knows that Tori had Tori's life was in shambles, and God put it back together.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, I don't know that she won't mind.

[SPEAKER_00]: She didn't have custody of any of her children.

[SPEAKER_00]: God put it back together and she regained custody of all of her children.

[SPEAKER_00]: Come on, somebody.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't think you realize that kind of stuff doesn't just happen.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's uncommon to fear.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's uncommon.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's those of you in this room that I know whenever you showed up into this place, how messed up you were.

[SPEAKER_00]: And God's done a work in your life.

[SPEAKER_00]: We can give gratitude.

[SPEAKER_00]: Is everything perfect right now?

[SPEAKER_00]: Of course not.

[SPEAKER_00]: Until the kingdom comes, it never will be.

[SPEAKER_00]: But we can be thankful that where we are, isn't where we were.

[SPEAKER_00]: Where I am today, it's better than I was six months ago, better than I was a year ago, the Bailey's up here have wonderful children that the world says shouldn't be here because of medical problems and conditions.

[SPEAKER_00]: But you know what?

[SPEAKER_00]: God has a better word.

[SPEAKER_00]: And if you aren't living in that place right now, that's okay.

[SPEAKER_00]: You can just grab on to their testimony.

[SPEAKER_00]: And you can say, Lord, you're no respect for persons.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you did it for Larry and Serena, if you did it for Tori, if you did it for Nick, if you did it for whoever in this room, if you did it for Will, if you did it for KB, then you'll do it for me too.

[SPEAKER_00]: Gratitude is gonna unlock that supernatural power stand-up GV.

[SPEAKER_00]: Once you lift your hands to Lord, don't want you to pray with me this morning, say this, say, Father God.

[SPEAKER_00]: I thank you for everything that you have done for me and for my family.

[SPEAKER_00]: I thank you that supernatural power is unlocked on the other side of my Thanksgiving.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thanks again for downloading this podcast.

[SPEAKER_00]: We trust that this message has blessed and encouraged and identified you

[SPEAKER_00]: Make sure you subscribe so you never miss a message here for high praise.

[SPEAKER_00]: Also, you can follow us on social media, on Facebook and on Instagram, and don't forget to go subscribe to our YouTube channel.

[SPEAKER_00]: We'll be back soon with another incredible message.

[SPEAKER_00]: God bless you and have a great week.