The Great Gratitude Fade-Out

As we said, let's pray together, shall we?

Our gracious Father, we thank you for your word,

and we thank you that the Lord Jesus taught us that your word is truth.

And Father, we pray now that in the power of your Holy Spirit,

we might discern your truth,

and your truth would impact our lives,

that we might be the people you call us to be.

In Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

In the book of Deuteronomy, we read these words,

Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God.

If I think about my own life,

I think about the things that have gone right,

and there's so much that's gone right,

I've always regarded myself as a person who has been very blessed.

But then I have days when things don't feel so right,

and on those days, it's very easy to lose perspective.

Those of you who know your Bibles will know that if you read a psalm like Psalm 73,

you're reading about a man called Asaph.

And clearly Asaph, when he wrote this psalm,

was what we would call today clinically depressed.

He had lost all sense of perspective.

All he could do was look at the people around himself

and compare himself with them,

and he would find himself wanting, resentful, angry,

that even the evildoers, he said,

are doing better than me, Lord.

Of course, that's not true.

As Jesus said in the New Testament,

the rain falls on the good and bad alike.

But this man had lost perspective.

It was all about him.

I was feeling pretty low recently.

As many of you know,

and thank you so much for your prayers and care for us

during the time of Anthea's illness.

But I was feeling pretty low.

Being a primary carer is not my default position.

In fact, to be quite honest with you,

I would hate to be looked after by somebody like me.

Unless you particularly like baked potatoes.

Just saying.

So I was feeling pretty fed up.

And then somebody I've known for a long time wrote a card

and said to me,

you know, Mike, I know this is tough,

but you have so many things to thank God for.

And I was humbled

because I had forgotten

to be as thankful as I really ought to be

for the life that God has given to me.

Not every day has been great.

But I don't want to be one of those people.

You might be one of them.

Who just ends up being ungrateful

and slips into a life

of unrelenting bitterness.

And my dear friend,

if that's you,

what you need to know is

that people spot a bitter person

within about 30 seconds of meeting them.

It's ugly.

So I'm standing here this morning

to talk to you about gratitude.

The Great Gratitude Fadeout

is the title of the talk today.

That idea that actually

we can forget the Lord our God.

Forget the works of His hand upon our lives.

And I want to begin by saying to you

what I'm not talking about this morning.

Seems a bit weird to say that,

but I thought there were three ways

I could approach this.

Here's one which I'm not talking about.

This is not a review of the way

human history,

our view of human history

has changed in recent years.

I was born in 1949.

That means I'm 73 to save you the math.

In the 1950s,

whilst recognizing that the history

of the United Kingdom

had some pretty awful moments within it.

say awful,

I could say wicked moments within it.

But generally at that time,

people were thankful

to be British.

They were even patriotic.

A new queen had arrived on the throne

promising to give her life

in service to her subjects.

Not a word that many of you

are comfortable with.

But people were thankful

to be British.

Sixty years on,

and after what is called today

revisionist history,

many of us don't think like that anymore.

Today, many academics,

Marxists and others,

take the view that we need to forget

any allegiance whatsoever

to our country,

any allegiance in terms of patriotism,

and that the history

that we were taught

in the 1950s

needs to be retold.

Of course,

there is something in that.

It is pretty true

that actually the history

that most of us have been termed,

have been written by white men

for white men.

But actually,

as Professor Nigel Bigger

in the University of Oxford

wrote,

and got cancelled pretty well

within the university,

this is a professor

of moral philosophy,

he dared to suggest

that not all about colonialism

was terrible for the people

on the receiving end of it.

Revisionist historians

hate our colonial past

and anything to do with it.

Revered heroes of that history

are despised and cancelled,

written out of the history script,

and their statues torn down

and thrown into the water.

So let me be clear,

that's not what I'm talking about.

Neither am I talking about

a trend in theology.

I know this is a moment

when you might switch off.

A trend in theology

that emerged

during the first wave

of the renewal movement,

what we call

a charismatic movement

back in the day.

This movement was led

by an extraordinary

ex-military man

called Merlin Carruthers.

Merlin Carruthers

was an extraordinary man.

He'd served

in a very prestigious division

of the American Army,

the 82nd Airborne Division.

This was a man

who must have known

what it was like

to put himself

in very tight spots

in his life.

What was his theological conviction?

It was based

around a very simple idea.

Incidentally,

his book,

some of you may have read him,

his book sold 90 million copies

and were translated

into 59 different languages.

The most read of his books

was a book called

From Prison to Praise.

His theological trend

had a very simple idea.

He said this,

we should praise God

in all situations,

not merely in spite

of our problems,

but for our problems.

Can you imagine that?

You're going through

a really hard time

in your life

and Merlin Carruthers

is telling you,

praise God

for your situation.

Why?

Because,

says Merlin Carruthers,

when we praise God,

praise releases

the power of God

into situations

and enables us

and empowers us

and empowers us

to use those problems

and turn them

to God.

Because praise

involves an element

of gratitude,

it could be very relevant

to today's message,

but this is not

what I want to talk to you

about today.

there is something

in what Merlin Carruthers

said,

and I wouldn't want

to lose that,

but like most trends

in theology

or new

or rediscovered

trends in theology,

the case was probably

overstated.

Pastorally,

I would suggest to you,

and we know more

about this stuff

these days,

that to tell people

to praise God

for being sexually abused

seems to me

to be a bit

of a long shot,

or to praise God

for those spouses

who suffer from

extreme control

from their partners.

I ask myself

in those situations,

who is it

that really needs

to learn something?

Today's theme

is the great

gratitude fade-out.

The idea

that being

a thankful person

can readily

become stale

in our lives,

can fade out.

And so I want

to do two things

this morning.

Not saying

I'll achieve them,

but this is my desire.

Firstly,

I want to answer

the question,

why is consistency

in being grateful

important?

in our discipleship.

And secondly,

I want to try

and give you

some tips

on how you might

maintain

a consistently

grateful heart.

Recognizing

that this is not

easy

when life

is hard

for you.

And for many

of us in the house

today,

life is hard.

two voices

from the past

who tell us

why gratitude

is important.

The first

is Meister

Eckhart,

who is a

13th century

German theologian.

He said this,

if the only

prayer you said

was thank you,

that would be

enough.

The second

voice

is that

of Marcus

Cicero,

a man

who lived

before Christ

and who

was a Roman

statesman,

lawyer,

scholar,

philosopher,

and academic,

all of those

things.

He said this,

gratitude

is not only

the greatest

of virtues,

but it is

the parent

of all

others.

Clearly,

whoever wrote

the book

of Deuteronomy

thought that

the risk

for God's

people,

you and me,

was that

they would

forget,

we would

forget,

what God

has done

for us.

And the

consequence

would be

a diminished

response

of gratitude.

gratitude.

And so

he pleads

with them

to remember,

do not

forget.

He tells

us that

three factors

will play

into our

fading memories.

The first

is disobedience.

You want

to live

your life

your way,

as per

Frank Sinatra,

then you

will discover

that one

of the

consequences

of that

is that

gratitude

will slip

away.

Isaiah

Isaiah 64 · chapter mention

chapter

64

and

verse

6.

We read

these,

All of us,

said Isaiah,

all of us

have become

like one

who is

unclean,

and all

our righteous

acts are

like filthy

rags.

We all

shrivel up

like a leaf,

and like the

wind,

our sins

sweep us

away.

So let me

ask you a

question.

Would you

describe your

life as

shriveled,

less than it

could be?

Because there

are things

going on in

your life

that only

you,

or maybe

those who

are close

do you

know

about.

It's

difficult to

live a

thankful

life,

a life

of gratitude

if you

decided to

do life

your way.

Secondly,

there is

the resulting

complacency

that comes

from

normalizing

sin in

your life.

We pick

that up in

Deuteronomy,

don't we?

Where the

writer says

this,

I'm struck

again by it

as Suzanne

read it to

us.

He says

this,

be careful

you don't

forget the

Lord your

God.

And then

verse 12,

otherwise when

you eat and

are satisfied,

when you build

fine houses

and settle

down,

when your

herds and

flocks grow

large and

your silver

and gold

increase,

and all you

have is

multiplied,

then your

heart will

become proud

and you

will forget

what the

Lord your

God has

done with

you.

In the

book previous

to the

book of

Deuteronomy

is the

book of

Numbers,

where there

is the

most

unbelievable

scenario,

and it's

this.

Moses has

led the

people of

God out

of bondage

in Egypt,

a horrible

life,

a life of

extreme

violence,

extreme

work.

The Egyptians

were like

this,

right?

This is the

kind of

bosses the

Egyptians

were.

The task

was to

build

bricks,

but they

never gave

people enough

raw materials

to make

the bricks,

and then beat

them when

they didn't

meet their

quota.

Let me ask

you a

question.

Would you

like to

work for

an employer

like that?

Okay,

someone say

no.

No.

You would

hate that.

So

complacency

can easily

set into

our lives

peace.

When we

become

comfortable,

we can

forget,

says the

writer of

the book

of Deuteronomy.

And the

third reason,

and I

would imagine

the most

relevant

reason to

the people

sitting in

the house

today,

is what

theologians

call your

sit in

laban,

your

setting in

life.

I

guarantee

that if

you stand

at the

back of

the church

and people

walk out

through the

door and

somebody says

to them,

how are

you?

What are

you going

to say?

I'm fine,

thanks.

Listen,

you've got to

get over

it.

Many of

you in the

house today

are far

from fine

and nobody

much knows

about it.

And the

problem

with

holding

on to

the stuff

that's not

working in

your life

is that it

will grow

something

terrible in

your soul.

It will

grow a

root of

bitterness.

I'll tell you

again,

if you're a

bitter person,

people will

work it out

within about

20 minutes.

I'm not just

talking about

grumpy old

men,

incidentally.

I am.

I'm an A-level

student,

honestly.

So,

disobedience

that results

in complacency

in your

situation in

life.

Let's just

read again

what God

says about

that.

In verse

7,

God is

promising

his people

a great

life.

They're going

to come

out of

bondage

in Egypt

and enter

a land

that will

be

extremely

productive

for them.

Economically,

they're not

going to

have

problems.

In terms

of provision,

they're not

going to

have

problems,

but the

warning is.

And is

this a

warning for

21st century

Europeans?

when you

get comfy,

the danger

is you're

going to

be

complacent

and stop

thanking

God.

Verse 10,

our text,

the writer of

Deuteronomy

tells us,

don't forget

to thank

God for

what he

has given

you.

I need

to learn

that just

recently.

I've got

so much

to thank

God for,

to sit

in my

own

mire,

feeling

sorry for

myself as

a primary

carer.

It's not

particularly

a winsome

trait.

Somehow,

we've got

to get

past that.

Third thing

is,

verse 11,

there's a

reminder that

we need to

keep God's

laws and

commandments,

because this

was to

old covenant

people.

The old

covenant

people who

did not

receive the

Holy Spirit

in general,

but if you're

a Christ

follower,

you have

received the

Holy Spirit.

What the

Holy Spirit

is meant to

do in

your life

is change

you from

the inside

out.

The Lord

tried to

change you

from the

outside in.

God had a

plan B,

and plan B

was God

is trying to

change you

from the

inside out.

You'll think

that having

the Holy Spirit

means you

might sing a

bit louder

or wave

your arms

around in

worship.

No,

it's the

tough stuff

of transformation,

change from

the inside

out.

Don't

forget that.

And verses

12 and

14, I

read that

to you.

Beware the

complacency

when you

try and

mix the

grace of

God with

your own

disobedience.

grace of

Jesus.

So, I

want to

close by

telling you,

suggesting to

you, that

an ungrateful

disciple is

an oxymoron.

Anybody who's

a disciple of

Jesus should

be intrinsically

grateful.

I don't think

you'd disagree

with that,

but the

issue is,

how can

we stay

thankful?

How can

we stop

the great

gratitude

fade out,

not for

all situations,

but in

all situations?

I realize

that is

very challenging,

particularly

for those

of you

who are

finding love

uncompromisingly

tough at

the moment.

so here

are five

things,

very briefly,

that you

could do to

try and

maintain

gratitude in

your life.

One,

wake up

thankful.

The first

thing I

suggest you

could do

every day

is to start

thinking about

what can I

say thank you

for?

Well, the

first thing you

can thank God

for is your

breathing still.

wake up

thankful.

It sets a

tone for the

day.

If you wake

up and the

first thing you

think about is

all the stuff

you really don't

want to do

today,

that's going to

have a negative

impact on the

rest of the

day as far as

I can see.

Wake up

thankful,

one.

Two,

remember the

most basic

thing that God

has done for

you.

I like to

quietly say to

myself that

verse from

William Walsham

Howe's

wonderful hymn.

It is a

thing most

wonderful.

It's a

marvelous hymn.

I sometimes

think about

the cross and

close my eyes

and try to

see the cruel

nails and

crown of

thorns and

Jesus crucified

for me.

If you're a

Christ follower

and you don't

get that,

you're probably

not a Christ

follower.

You might be

a church

goer,

but you

won't be a

Christ follower.

Until you

understand the

pain,

the part of

the cross,

until you

understand the

peace of the

cross,

the peace that

that brings

to sinner's

souls.

Unless you

understand that

and thank God

for it daily,

you will

struggle.

Sometimes

think about

the cross.

Maybe we

all need to

think about

that a little

more.

Third thing is

throughout the

day and

especially at

the end of

the day,

thank God for

the small

things throughout

that day that

have brought

you joy.

Be a joy

hunter.

Little things.

I am so

incompetent,

especially as a

carer,

that I thank

God when

something goes

right, it

gives me joy.

I try to

boil an egg,

can you

believe this?

It exploded.

It exploded.

Thank God for

the power of

nature.

Being

thankful for

the small

acts of

grace that

you see,

the small

acts of

mercy, the

small acts

of effort,

whatever will

help you

cultivate

gratitude for

the bigger

things.

I wonder

if this is

true.

It's not

biblical, but

it strikes me

as potentially

true, and

that is if

we're grateful

for the

small things,

maybe we'll

be grateful

for the

bigger things.

But I also

think that

works in

reverse as

well.

Fourth thing

is always

thank others

for anything

they do for

you at

work, at

school, at

home, wherever

God puts you

for the other

six days of

the week.

I think

again, if

you become

a person

who's very

happy to

express thanks

all the

time, you

are more

likely to

build a

consistently

thankful

heart in

your own

life.

And

surprisingly,

a lot of

people aren't

very good at

this.

And

surprisingly,

even more

surprising is,

a lot of

people in

churches are

not very

good at

this.

there are

not many

churches that

will do

what we

have done

this morning.

And that

is, ask

people to

stand up

who are

involved in

a particular

area of

ministry so

we can thank

God for

them and

honor them.

I have a

friend who

was very,

very involved

in his

church in

France.

He even

bought a

house that

would facilitate

a congregation

on a Sunday

morning.

It had a

massive room

in it.

He bought

chairs so

that people

could sit

down, all

that stuff.

You know

what, he

doesn't even

go to the

Church of

England anymore

because when

he left,

not one

person said

thank you.

That's a

church for

crying out

loud.

We should

be honoring

people,

thanking

them for

their dramatic

and undramatic

and menial

acts of

giving.

They're just

talking about

money, we've

done that.

And the

final thing is

this.

Remind

yourself every

day that

everything you

are,

everything you

ever will

be,

everything you

have is a

gift from

God.

We're losing

that sense in

our secular

society, aren't

we?

Sometimes I

worry that we

don't see

children as a

gift anymore,

we just see

them as an

acquisition to

manage.

Everything

you are,

everything you

will ever be

is a gift

of God.

It might

not be a

bad thing

for you as

you get

into bed

tonight,

just to do

a very brief

self-audit

to establish

why it

might be

that you're

not as

grateful as

you might

be.

So let

me close,

I want to

speak to

you today,

to those

of you who

know full

well that

sin and

complacency has

overtaken your

life and

you've been

overtaken by

and obsessed

with self-gratification.

Not being

thankful to

God, but

just seeking

to gratify

your own

desires.

Second, I

want to

speak clearly

to those

of you who

know that

a root of

bitterness

dominates

your life

and has

robbed you

of the

joy of

being a

grateful

person.

And finally,

I want to

speak to

those of

you who

have

effectively

discounted

the cost

of what

it cost

God to

forgive you

your sins.

Maybe it

was a time

when you

were hot

for that,

but now

it's

barely a

flicker in

your remembrance

of what

God has

done to

you.

The power

of God's

love left

you behind

years ago

and maybe

coming to

church is

born of

habit now

rather than

born of

conviction.

salvation.

I'm praying

that right

now God

is speaking

directly

into your

heart.

Forget me,

it's about

what God

wants to

say to

you.

And those

of you who

have got

ungrateful

hearts are

going to

find it

harder to

listen than

those of

you who

have

grateful

hearts.

is this

your moment?

Is this

your moment

to stop

being bitter?

To stop

being willfully

disobedient

to the

call of

the life

that God

has for

you?

Is this

your moment?

Let's

pray.

Father,

Father,

we are

so

inconsistent

somehow

in our

discipleship.

And Lord,

maybe when

this

consistently

and

persistently

comes to

being people

who are

thankful.

Lord,

for those

of us who

know full

well today

that gratitude

has faded

out in our

lives,

we pray,

Lord,

that you

give us

the courage

today to

do something

about it

and turn

up the

volume

that we

might have

thankful

hearts.

Lord,

let that

begin now.

Maybe even

at the end

of the service

we need to

go to

somebody and

thank them

for some

small,

maybe undramatic,

take a

menial act

of service

that they

have done.

Lord,

maybe we

need to be

thankful,

more thankful

to the

staff of

this church

who seek

to bring

the good

news of

the gospel,

what God

has done

in Jesus

to us

and to the

wider world.

God,

we pray

your forgiveness

if we've

discounted the

cost of

what you

did for us

on the

cross of

Calvary.

Sometimes I

think about

the cross

and close

my eyes

and try

to see

the cruel

nails

and crown

of thorns

and Jesus

crucified

for me.

Holy Spirit,

would you

burnish

that act

of history

in our

hearts

that we

might be

truly grateful

people.

And we

pray these

things in

Jesus' name

and the

people who

agreed

said together

emphatically,

Amen.