WEBVTT 00:00:13.480 --> 00:00:18.179 Hello. Thank you for calling the complaint department. 00:00:19.500 --> 00:00:24.960 Please press 1 for weather, 2 for traffic, 3 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:28.879 for my boss gets on my nerves, 4 for my friends 00:00:28.879 --> 00:00:32.179 are fake, 5 for my spouse won't accept that I'm 00:00:32.179 --> 00:00:37.520 perfect, 6 for my kids are lazy, 7 for restaurant 00:00:37.520 --> 00:00:42.439 food quality, 7 for restaurant food quality. 00:00:44.240 --> 00:00:47.039 Eight for waiting in line, waiting on the phone, 00:00:47.179 --> 00:00:49.740 waiting for spring, waiting for summer, waiting 00:00:49.740 --> 00:00:52.420 for fall, waiting for winter, waiting, waiting, 00:00:52.539 --> 00:00:55.079 waiting. If you would like to hear these options 00:00:55.079 --> 00:00:59.840 again, please press pound. Don't we wish there 00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:06.879 was a complaint department? Oh, a complaint department 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:12.040 that would fix all of our issues in life. If 00:01:12.040 --> 00:01:14.000 you haven't figured it out. We're going to be 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:16.079 talking about fasting from complaining today. 00:01:16.879 --> 00:01:20.040 Last week, Pastor Greg introduced us to desire 00:01:20.040 --> 00:01:24.459 paths. They're paths that we prefer to take versus 00:01:24.459 --> 00:01:26.939 the ones that have already been created for us. 00:01:28.299 --> 00:01:33.480 Did you hear that? Sometimes it takes a second 00:01:33.480 --> 00:01:36.000 time for reality to sink in, so I'm going to 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:39.500 say it one more time. They are paths that we 00:01:39.500 --> 00:01:42.739 prefer to take. versus the ones that have already 00:01:42.739 --> 00:01:48.439 been created for us. In the study that Andrew 00:01:48.439 --> 00:01:51.040 Furman, a professor in interior design, did, 00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:56.040 as Pastor Greg said last week, he said that desire 00:01:56.040 --> 00:01:58.939 lines tell us something about the endless human 00:01:58.939 --> 00:02:03.980 desire to have choice. The importance of not 00:02:03.980 --> 00:02:09.139 having someone prescribe your path. Feels about 00:02:09.139 --> 00:02:12.800 right. Right? We want our own entity. We want 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:15.659 to be our own individual. We want to make our 00:02:15.659 --> 00:02:20.039 own choices. But we'll come back to that. The 00:02:20.039 --> 00:02:22.080 Lent season began last week, and many people 00:02:22.080 --> 00:02:25.520 fast from foods, other things that get in the 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:29.699 way of a relationship with God. How was everyone's 00:02:29.699 --> 00:02:34.699 fast from social media? Cold. Looked a little 00:02:34.699 --> 00:02:39.189 bit different for all of us, I'm sure. Fasting 00:02:39.189 --> 00:02:43.509 is not a focus on what we take away, but on what 00:02:43.509 --> 00:02:52.289 we want to bring into our space. Fasting is not 00:02:52.289 --> 00:02:56.449 a focus on what we take away, but on what we 00:02:56.449 --> 00:03:01.509 want to bring into our space. So what do we want 00:03:01.509 --> 00:03:04.229 to fill ourselves with? Let's think about that. 00:03:05.930 --> 00:03:08.550 Perhaps it's asking God to help us grow in a 00:03:08.550 --> 00:03:12.370 certain area of our spiritual lives and making 00:03:12.370 --> 00:03:18.349 a real conscious effort to stay near God. He 00:03:18.349 --> 00:03:23.590 must become greater and I must become less. That's 00:03:23.590 --> 00:03:30.449 John 3 .30. Let's pray. Father God, we just come 00:03:30.449 --> 00:03:34.879 before you and we thank you. We thank you for 00:03:34.879 --> 00:03:37.620 bringing us here today. We thank you for the 00:03:37.620 --> 00:03:40.699 snow this morning. We thank you for the grumbles 00:03:40.699 --> 00:03:44.020 that we had on our way here. We thank you for 00:03:44.020 --> 00:03:46.259 the dog that got loose this morning and had me 00:03:46.259 --> 00:03:50.199 running around for it for three minutes. We thank 00:03:50.199 --> 00:03:54.699 you for bringing us here today. Allow us to clear 00:03:54.699 --> 00:03:58.240 our minds right now and focus on what we want 00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:03.840 to fill ourselves with this morning. Amen. If 00:04:03.840 --> 00:04:05.620 you could stand with me, we're going to be reading 00:04:05.620 --> 00:04:12.219 out of Philippians 2, verses 14 through 16. There's 00:04:12.219 --> 00:04:15.500 Bibles on the tables, or you can open your apps. 00:04:17.160 --> 00:04:20.420 Philippians chapter 2, verses 14 through 16. 00:04:22.319 --> 00:04:27.220 This verse was written by Apostle Paul while 00:04:27.220 --> 00:04:30.920 he was in prison, and he was talking to the Philippians, 00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:34.100 and it says, Do everything without grumbling 00:04:34.100 --> 00:04:38.040 or arguing so that you may become blameless and 00:04:38.040 --> 00:04:41.300 pure, children of God without fault in a warped 00:04:41.300 --> 00:04:44.600 and crooked generation. Then you will shine among 00:04:44.600 --> 00:04:48.379 them like stars in the sky. As you hold firmly 00:04:48.379 --> 00:04:51.680 to the word of life, and then I will be able 00:04:51.680 --> 00:04:54.459 to boast on the day of Christ that I did not 00:04:54.459 --> 00:04:57.980 run or labor in vain. Amen. You can be seated. 00:05:03.140 --> 00:05:06.180 Have you ever had a friend that has a problem 00:05:06.180 --> 00:05:12.500 for every solution? And sometimes maybe you avoid 00:05:12.500 --> 00:05:16.500 picking up the phone. Oh, it's that person. They're 00:05:16.500 --> 00:05:18.319 going to keep me on the phone for 20 minutes 00:05:18.319 --> 00:05:22.120 about the complaints of something that they're 00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:28.319 doing, the same thing they complain about, but 00:05:28.319 --> 00:05:30.699 they haven't done anything to change it. Right? 00:05:32.300 --> 00:05:35.160 They say they can't do this, they can't do that, 00:05:35.220 --> 00:05:42.560 but did they ever even start? To complain is 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:46.959 of our flesh. It's natural. Things happen, right? 00:05:47.939 --> 00:05:50.379 So do we think that we're the only ones that 00:05:50.379 --> 00:05:52.439 complain? Like, do we think that the Bible is 00:05:52.439 --> 00:05:56.160 full of all this glorious information of beautiful 00:05:56.160 --> 00:05:58.879 things always and in everything give thanks? 00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:03.389 Nope. The Israelites, after being delivered from 00:06:03.389 --> 00:06:07.350 Egypt, they had a complaint to the food quality 00:06:07.350 --> 00:06:11.370 department. They said, you brought us here to 00:06:11.370 --> 00:06:15.069 starve and we're only eating the manna from the 00:06:15.069 --> 00:06:19.649 heavens? This is all we get? Complaint department, 00:06:19.990 --> 00:06:26.269 for sure. Job, he never cursed God, right? But 00:06:26.269 --> 00:06:29.670 there's 42 chapters of him really going through 00:06:29.670 --> 00:06:33.730 it. Right? At one point he even says, I curse 00:06:33.730 --> 00:06:38.550 the day that I was born. Right? Read them. Interesting 00:06:38.550 --> 00:06:41.290 story. Like if you really want to have a chapter 00:06:41.290 --> 00:06:47.389 story, Job is it. Jonah, a prophet, he complained 00:06:47.389 --> 00:06:49.790 and became angry when God wanted him to go to 00:06:49.790 --> 00:06:52.769 Nineveh. And what happened to him? He got swallowed 00:06:52.769 --> 00:06:56.709 by a whale. We know how that story goes, right? 00:06:57.550 --> 00:06:59.649 And he got spit back out and he still had to 00:06:59.649 --> 00:07:05.870 go to Nineveh and fix some things. So to complain 00:07:05.870 --> 00:07:10.170 is of our flesh. It is natural. It's okay to 00:07:10.170 --> 00:07:16.029 feel that life has treated us unfairly. To feel 00:07:16.029 --> 00:07:20.129 desperate, sad, and frustrated, disappointed, 00:07:20.589 --> 00:07:25.329 annoyed, or even disgruntled. It's okay, right? 00:07:25.550 --> 00:07:28.959 There are feelings. They're real. We have them. 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:36.060 It's human. But it's not okay to stay stuck there. 00:07:37.199 --> 00:07:41.560 Right? So, let me grab something real quick. 00:07:48.759 --> 00:07:54.279 Is the glass half empty? Or is it half full? 00:07:56.589 --> 00:08:01.910 Who said half empty? Who said half full? Sermon's 00:08:01.910 --> 00:08:08.449 over, we can go home. Psychology teaches us a 00:08:08.449 --> 00:08:13.430 few things, right? It says that glass half full 00:08:13.430 --> 00:08:19.709 is optimistic. Glass half empty is pessimistic. 00:08:23.470 --> 00:08:26.910 So if you're optimistic, you focus on things 00:08:26.910 --> 00:08:32.269 that... Optimists tend to focus on what they 00:08:32.269 --> 00:08:35.929 have rather than what they lack. Acknowledging 00:08:35.929 --> 00:08:39.889 the presence of something like water and its 00:08:39.889 --> 00:08:42.649 potential. It's half full. It's got some potential. 00:08:43.330 --> 00:08:48.509 While pessimists might focus on the absence of 00:08:48.509 --> 00:08:51.210 what's missing. the empty space in the glass, 00:08:51.509 --> 00:08:55.289 leading to a more negative outlook. And I was 00:08:55.289 --> 00:08:58.730 asking my friend this morning, is it half full 00:08:58.730 --> 00:09:00.730 or half empty? And she said, well, if you get 00:09:00.730 --> 00:09:02.730 a smaller cup and pour it in there, it's full, 00:09:02.909 --> 00:09:05.669 right? That's a good way of thinking of it, too. 00:09:07.090 --> 00:09:09.830 Optimism can contribute to a greater happiness 00:09:09.830 --> 00:09:14.149 and overall well -being. We're able to look at 00:09:14.149 --> 00:09:20.409 challenges as an opportunity for growth. We are 00:09:20.409 --> 00:09:23.570 more resilient in the face of adversity, more 00:09:23.570 --> 00:09:27.429 likely to focus on solutions and maintain a positive 00:09:27.429 --> 00:09:31.029 outlook. Doesn't that sound like a relationship 00:09:31.029 --> 00:09:35.830 with our creator? A little bit of optimism, half 00:09:35.830 --> 00:09:40.730 full. Proverbs 17 .22 says, a cheerful heart 00:09:40.730 --> 00:09:46.490 is good medicine. A crushed spirit dries up the 00:09:46.490 --> 00:09:52.720 bones. Our brain has 100 billion neurons in it. 00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:58.919 Our mind is connected to our body, our blood 00:09:58.919 --> 00:10:03.519 pressure, our stress management. So how we look 00:10:03.519 --> 00:10:08.159 at things affects our body. It's a fact that 00:10:08.159 --> 00:10:12.639 childhood affects adulthood, that our life experiences 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:18.970 mold us and our thought process, right? If you're 00:10:18.970 --> 00:10:21.429 a glass -half -empty pessimist, maybe one bad 00:10:21.429 --> 00:10:25.009 thing happened after another. Maybe you were 00:10:25.009 --> 00:10:29.649 just in survival mode for most of your life. 00:10:31.710 --> 00:10:35.470 And if you've gone through childhood trauma and 00:10:35.470 --> 00:10:37.730 you're in survival mode for most of your life, 00:10:38.009 --> 00:10:45.889 things look a little different, right? Survival 00:10:45.889 --> 00:10:48.940 mode is real. I know a little bit about that. 00:10:49.820 --> 00:10:53.139 Maybe you say, that's just the way that I am. 00:10:55.059 --> 00:10:57.580 Maybe the grumbling and the complaining is just 00:10:57.580 --> 00:11:01.320 who you are, right? But let me tell you something. 00:11:02.220 --> 00:11:07.799 In him, we are a new creation. Psychology might 00:11:07.799 --> 00:11:12.019 tell us something. But in him, we are a new creation. 00:11:12.940 --> 00:11:16.240 In him we step into a body of Christ working 00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:21.679 together for his good. In him we find hope no 00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:26.419 matter the circumstances. Our mouth cannot speak 00:11:26.419 --> 00:11:38.220 what our mind does not tell it. I don't know 00:11:38.220 --> 00:11:40.600 if you've ever been next to a person in bed while 00:11:40.600 --> 00:11:45.370 they're in a coma. They don't have the ability 00:11:45.370 --> 00:11:51.870 to speak. Their mind might be shut off. But in 00:11:51.870 --> 00:11:56.169 him, we are a new creation. We are alive as a 00:11:56.169 --> 00:12:01.990 body of Christ. Let's shift a little bit to our 00:12:01.990 --> 00:12:09.690 heart. Matthew 12, 33 to 34. Jesus is talking 00:12:09.690 --> 00:12:13.360 to the Pharisees. And he's telling him, you know 00:12:13.360 --> 00:12:18.340 what? You have to be known by the fruit of your 00:12:18.340 --> 00:12:22.899 tree. And we know the fruits of the spirit, right? 00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:26.700 Kindness, gentleness, patience, all those beautiful 00:12:26.700 --> 00:12:31.559 things. And then he goes on to say, for out of 00:12:31.559 --> 00:12:35.039 the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. 00:12:38.019 --> 00:12:43.919 So what are you holding in your heart? Is there 00:12:43.919 --> 00:12:49.299 any bitterness or resentment? Is there any past 00:12:49.299 --> 00:12:53.299 hurt? Is there any forgiveness that needs to 00:12:53.299 --> 00:12:59.899 take place? A person's words reveal their character. 00:13:01.240 --> 00:13:04.039 Have you ever been around somebody and they say, 00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:17.029 I didn't mean to say that. But did they? Sometimes 00:13:17.029 --> 00:13:22.309 we have to let whatever's in our heart go so 00:13:22.309 --> 00:13:27.509 that it can be filled with the things that take 00:13:27.509 --> 00:13:32.309 us closer to Christ, that hold us near him. It's 00:13:32.309 --> 00:13:37.950 easy to say, just let it go. Easier said than 00:13:37.950 --> 00:13:41.029 done. But the word of God does say, do everything 00:13:41.029 --> 00:13:43.509 without grumbling and in everything give thanks, 00:13:43.710 --> 00:13:52.799 right? It's okay to feel it. To process it. Sit 00:13:52.799 --> 00:14:02.879 with it. But don't get stuck there. Sometimes 00:14:02.879 --> 00:14:07.019 we want to go to the complaint buffet too. We 00:14:07.019 --> 00:14:12.519 just want to go fill ourselves of all this complaining 00:14:12.519 --> 00:14:17.019 and ugh. the world and we eat our feelings away 00:14:17.019 --> 00:14:21.879 just full of it right just full of the we want 00:14:21.879 --> 00:14:24.179 to be in this sorrow we want to be having a pity 00:14:24.179 --> 00:14:27.240 party we want to be there we just want to be 00:14:27.240 --> 00:14:30.519 there and it's a buffet we get to go again second 00:14:30.519 --> 00:14:34.019 round third round we just get to be there right 00:14:34.019 --> 00:14:39.360 and you know what that's okay too just don't 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:41.860 get stuck there make sure you tell your friends 00:14:41.860 --> 00:14:45.000 to pull you out of the buffet And we just can't 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:54.820 get stuck there. Ephesians 4, 29 says, do not 00:14:54.820 --> 00:14:58.000 let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, 00:14:58.100 --> 00:15:01.480 but only what is helpful for building others 00:15:01.480 --> 00:15:04.919 up according to their needs, that it may benefit 00:15:04.919 --> 00:15:10.779 those who listen. So how does complaining build 00:15:10.779 --> 00:15:14.480 us up? How does... Complaining build up your 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:18.039 friend, your sister, your mom, your daughter. 00:15:20.500 --> 00:15:25.000 How does that edify the church? How does it build 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:34.539 us up? Guess what? It doesn't. It doesn't. What 00:15:34.539 --> 00:15:36.960 you're doing when you're complaining is having 00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:39.399 a spirit of ungratefulness, and you're telling 00:15:39.399 --> 00:15:46.169 God that you don't trust him. You're planting 00:15:46.169 --> 00:15:49.409 a seed of doubt, and you're telling him, is his 00:15:49.409 --> 00:15:55.549 goodness really good? And we know that God is 00:15:55.549 --> 00:16:01.250 good, right? So coming back to desire paths, 00:16:01.649 --> 00:16:09.950 they can also reveal where people refuse to tread. 00:16:11.250 --> 00:16:14.330 If you've been walking the same route for years, 00:16:15.200 --> 00:16:18.860 An itchy -footed urge to go off, even just a 00:16:18.860 --> 00:16:21.399 few meters, is probably something you'll identify 00:16:21.399 --> 00:16:25.519 with. And that's in the article that was in the 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:29.379 Desire Paths. If you've been walking in the same 00:16:29.379 --> 00:16:33.919 route for years, you're just a natural complainer. 00:16:34.779 --> 00:16:38.679 You're just a natural grumbler. You just want 00:16:38.679 --> 00:16:49.080 to be there sometimes. But guess what? We can't 00:16:49.080 --> 00:16:56.080 get stuck there. How do we cultivate a glass 00:16:56.080 --> 00:17:03.159 half full mentality? How do we start to feed 00:17:03.159 --> 00:17:07.980 into the spirit of gratitude, a heart of thanksgiving, 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:13.140 a mouth of joyfulness? Who wants dried up bones? 00:17:14.650 --> 00:17:22.049 Anybody? I don't. How do we cultivate that? We 00:17:22.049 --> 00:17:24.490 start practicing gratitude and focusing on the 00:17:24.490 --> 00:17:28.029 positive aspects of our situations and things 00:17:28.029 --> 00:17:31.390 that are going on. And when we have a negative 00:17:31.390 --> 00:17:35.710 thought, we fill it with a positive one. Does 00:17:35.710 --> 00:17:40.269 that sound easy? Maybe. In the situation you 00:17:40.269 --> 00:17:42.990 might be going through, maybe not. But maybe 00:17:42.990 --> 00:17:49.690 it does. Reframing negative thoughts can help 00:17:49.690 --> 00:18:00.769 cultivate a more optimistic perspective. There 00:18:00.769 --> 00:18:05.490 has to be at some point in our lives, if we are 00:18:05.490 --> 00:18:12.970 holding on to old things and negativity, as a 00:18:12.970 --> 00:18:15.769 body of Christ, there has to be a point of surrender. 00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:24.500 of complete surrender, a real desire, an immediate 00:18:24.500 --> 00:18:29.660 response to getting into our deepest relationship 00:18:29.660 --> 00:18:38.279 with Christ. When I was young, the story of Zacchaeus 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:42.079 stuck in my mind. There was a song in Spanish. 00:18:47.099 --> 00:18:49.940 It's in English, too, isn't it? Zacchaeus was 00:18:49.940 --> 00:18:54.079 a little, little man who lived in Jericho. Where 00:18:54.079 --> 00:18:58.940 did he live? Okay. Well, in Spanish, it tells 00:18:58.940 --> 00:19:04.339 us that he lived in Jericho. Ours is a little 00:19:04.339 --> 00:19:23.359 better. Porque a tu casa voy a ir. Okay, and 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:25.880 it says that, can anybody sing it in English? 00:19:26.259 --> 00:19:28.880 I don't know it in English. He was a wee little 00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:33.339 man, a wee little man was he. He climbed up in 00:19:33.339 --> 00:19:38.720 a sycamore tree to sing to the sea. Jesus saw 00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:42.599 him and said, take it, come down, for I'm coming 00:19:42.599 --> 00:19:46.019 to your house today. I'm coming to your house 00:19:46.019 --> 00:19:50.099 today. Yep. Same concept, right? Mine sounded 00:19:50.099 --> 00:19:58.220 better. But imagine if Zacchaeus in the Bible 00:19:58.220 --> 00:20:00.579 says that he was a short man. And that's why 00:20:00.579 --> 00:20:06.099 he went up to the tree to see Jesus. And when 00:20:06.099 --> 00:20:08.559 Jesus was there with him, he said, Zacchaeus, 00:20:08.599 --> 00:20:11.019 come down from the tree. Because I want to go 00:20:11.019 --> 00:20:14.039 and meet with you and have a relationship with 00:20:14.039 --> 00:20:16.930 you in your home. Like our home is our intimate 00:20:16.930 --> 00:20:20.869 space, right? And imagine if Zacchaeus was like, 00:20:21.009 --> 00:20:24.210 I'll be down in a minute. Just taking my time 00:20:24.210 --> 00:20:27.170 here. I can imagine Zacchaeus jump down from 00:20:27.170 --> 00:20:30.690 that tree. And that story stuck with me like 00:20:30.690 --> 00:20:34.650 all of my life because if anybody in here, is 00:20:34.650 --> 00:20:38.750 anybody an overanalyzer? Like overanalytical? 00:20:39.190 --> 00:20:41.990 I'm like, man, what if he like, you know, like 00:20:41.990 --> 00:20:45.309 I said, took his time and... But I can imagine 00:20:45.309 --> 00:20:50.410 that it was an immediate surrender. It was an 00:20:50.410 --> 00:20:53.750 immediate response to Christ calling him down 00:20:53.750 --> 00:20:58.150 from that tree. And at one point or another, 00:20:58.430 --> 00:21:01.569 that's the kind of surrender that we have to 00:21:01.569 --> 00:21:10.730 have. An immediate surrender. I had a disclaimer 00:21:10.730 --> 00:21:17.529 in the beginning. That I should have said. There's 00:21:17.529 --> 00:21:20.450 mental health problems, right? There's psychological 00:21:20.450 --> 00:21:22.950 problems. There's things that we go through. 00:21:23.069 --> 00:21:25.109 There's depression is real. All those things 00:21:25.109 --> 00:21:31.690 are real. Those feelings are real. Justice. All 00:21:31.690 --> 00:21:35.190 those things are real. So this is not to say 00:21:35.190 --> 00:21:38.609 that those things are not real. This is not to 00:21:38.609 --> 00:21:42.910 say get over it. This is not to say you can't. 00:21:43.160 --> 00:21:47.559 talk to your friend about a real concern. This 00:21:47.559 --> 00:21:51.000 is to say that we have to want to fill our space 00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:55.799 with things that edify us. We have to not want 00:21:55.799 --> 00:21:58.839 to be stuck in those spaces that don't build 00:21:58.839 --> 00:22:19.900 us up. Right? You like that one? So, in closing, 00:22:20.039 --> 00:22:25.039 getting into our deepest relationship in the 00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:29.819 body of Christ takes some work. It takes relationship 00:22:29.819 --> 00:22:35.279 building. It takes wanting to know him. It takes 00:22:35.279 --> 00:22:39.660 inviting him to your table. It takes inviting 00:22:39.660 --> 00:22:43.920 him into your space. How do you get to know him? 00:22:46.059 --> 00:22:51.880 Just by coming here on Sundays. The word of God. 00:22:52.700 --> 00:22:59.299 Worship. Fellowship. Intentional practices of 00:22:59.299 --> 00:23:03.579 positivity and positive thinking. Gratitude. 00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:09.819 Gratefulness. Cultivating that complete surrender. 00:23:11.019 --> 00:23:17.190 So this week. Our fast is to stay away from the 00:23:17.190 --> 00:23:20.410 complaint department and the complaint buffet 00:23:20.410 --> 00:23:25.029 and to replace them with gratitude in your hearts. 00:23:25.589 --> 00:23:27.930 I challenge you this week that when you want 00:23:27.930 --> 00:23:29.849 to grumble or complain, and my daughter knows 00:23:29.849 --> 00:23:33.609 that that number six for restaurant food quality 00:23:33.609 --> 00:23:35.990 is my favorite call to the complaint department. 00:23:37.650 --> 00:23:40.130 I promise, daughter, I will not do that this 00:23:40.130 --> 00:23:45.079 week. So when you want to complain this week, 00:23:45.220 --> 00:23:48.000 fill it with three things that you're grateful 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:51.460 for. That's my challenge to you guys this week. 00:23:52.900 --> 00:23:55.359 And I'm going to add to what Greg said last week. 00:23:55.400 --> 00:23:58.079 When you want to complain, try smiling while 00:23:58.079 --> 00:24:04.160 you're complaining. Is that a good one? Hey, 00:24:04.220 --> 00:24:06.660 I really don't like the food here today. The 00:24:06.660 --> 00:24:11.440 quality is not that great. And so just try to 00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:15.380 replace some. complaining with gratitude. Amen? 00:24:16.059 --> 00:24:19.119 Amen. Father God, we just thank you so much for 00:24:19.119 --> 00:24:24.759 this time of your word, of building us up, of 00:24:24.759 --> 00:24:30.759 filling our space with you. Less of me, more 00:24:30.759 --> 00:24:37.779 of you. And as we go into this time of taking 00:24:37.779 --> 00:24:47.460 bread, and your blood that is shed. Help us to 00:24:47.460 --> 00:24:51.339 find those areas of gratitude in our lives. Help 00:24:51.339 --> 00:24:55.299 us to dig deep. Help us to surrender. Help us 00:24:55.299 --> 00:24:59.779 to come down from that tree immediately and want 00:24:59.779 --> 00:25:06.400 to be transformative. In Jesus' name we pray. 00:25:06.799 --> 00:25:07.319 Amen.