TITLE: GRATITUDE  TEXT: 1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV "Give thank in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  

1.     GRATITUDE defined: “eucharistia = “thankfukness”; (eucharist – communion)  

2.     GRATITUDE is a choice we make to STOP. LOOK. GO.   (video)  

a.     Quote: “I don't have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness - it's right in front of me if I'm paying attention and practicing gratitude.” - Brene Brown 

3 THOUGHTS ABOUT GRATITUDE

1.     WHATEVER YOU DON’T TURN INTO PRAISE TURNS INTO PRIDE  

a.     James 1:17 - Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

b.     TALMUD - a man embezzles from God when he makes use of this world without uttering a blessing  

2.     YOUR FOCUS DETERMINES YOUR REALITY  

a.     Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.  

b.     Joy is not getting what you want; it's appreciating what you have. It's not changing your circumstances; it is changing your focus.  

3.     DON’T LET WHATS WRONG WITH YOUKEEP YOU FORM WORSHIPPING WHAT’S RIGHT ABOUT GOD.   

a.     If you want a good night’s sleep, don’t count sheep!  COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS!  

b.     GOOD NEWS: You are not defined by what you have done WRONG;Our identity is wrapped up in JESUS DID RIGHT.  

c.     2 Cor. 5:21- God made him who had no sin became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of Christ    

  i.     THE 10 LEPERS “One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, ‘Praise God!’ He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.” (Mark 8:22-25) ii.     GRATITUDE is going back (a pilgrimage) to your source of healing, strength, forgiveness and giving thanks. Going back to the CROSS!  

d.     Gratitude is thanking God after He does it; But faith is next-level gratitude.   

i. Faith is thanking God before He does it.  It's prophesying your praise.

TAKE HOME: 

Receive Communion: Give Thanks

A Different Spirit: Week 5 - Glorious Humility

Key Point: Humility is having an accurate perspective on reality Joshua 14:6-12

And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the Lord my God….

And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.”                                                                               Numbers 14:6-10 And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel. Translation: “If the LORD delights in us” = I don’t know, but I’ll be courageous and trust him.

James 4:10

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God… Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. 1 Peter 5:6-7 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.    

Key Point: Glory is the result humility.  Actions Steps:

Bored? 1. Take on a project that is way bigger than anything you can do on your own.

2. Learn something new that makes you feel dumb and foolish

Overhwhelmed?

1. Lighten up… You aren’t that important.

2. Stop trying to control all outcomes. Let God be God. 

Different Spirit

Week 4: I Love Fear (aka Life is Too Short to Die a Coward)

Numbers 13:25-30

At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land…. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.” But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.”

And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.                                            

God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.             

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.        

Sermon title – Just keep Going

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

“because they are telling you lies in my name. I have not sent them,” says the Lord. This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again.  For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.  In those days when you pray, I will listen.  If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.  I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.” Jeremiah 29:9-14 NLT

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.[a] Because of the joy[b] awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people;[c] then you won’t become weary and give up.”  Hebrews 12:1-3 NLT

The word Endurance in the original Greek means “To bear up under the weight of”, the ability  To withstand great pain or hardship, the ability to continue despite fatigue, stress or adverse conditions.

“ Dear brothers and sisters,[a] when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.“  “James 1:2-4 NLT

“And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” Romans 5:-5 NLT

Romans 5:-5 NLT

Biblical Description Of Purpose:  

KEY #1

Key #2

KEY 3

KEY 3 Con’ t - Different stages of embracing your purpose Inked By God:

Inked to Surrender

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die… But we do not want to die, and therefore Jesus Christ and his call are necessarily our death as well as our life. The call to discipleship, the baptism in the name of Jesus Christ means both death and life. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Key Point: If every act of surrender to God feels a little like something is dying inside of you

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 

Key Point: Surrendering your identity to Christ is the ultimate victory.