1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,280 Thank you for listening to this message from Life House Church. 2 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:22,080 Amen, amen. Well, for those of you that may not know me, may not know who I am, my name is Andrew 3 00:00:22,080 --> 00:00:28,000 Manable. I am the student ministries pastor here, along with my wife Alicia and our little girl Lucy. 4 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:32,320 She's up in Kitts Town right now and we have another little girl on the way in January. We're 5 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:38,160 so excited about that. But yes, yes, well it is great to be here this morning. Also wanted to give 6 00:00:38,160 --> 00:00:45,120 a special shout out to our other family up at the East Shore campus. We're super excited about that, 7 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:49,840 what God's doing up there as well. Super pumped about that. Yes, but yeah, they're up there, 8 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:55,760 they're worshiping this morning. We're so excited to be doing one church, two locations. We're so 9 00:00:55,760 --> 00:01:02,720 excited about that. But this morning, can you feel it? Can you feel it in the air this morning? It was 10 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:09,920 a crisp fall morning, the chill of autumn. Maybe you spent yesterday in the grocery store like I did, 11 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:16,320 right? Thanksgiving is right around the corner, right? Really bad time to go to the grocery store. 12 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:21,840 It was crazy. Or I know even some of you, and we started doing it yesterday too, but some of us 13 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:26,400 started decorating for Christmas already. And which I fully support by the way, and here's why, 14 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:31,040 because that Thanksgiving turkey will taste the same whether the tree's up or not, which I've 15 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:37,680 completely okay with, right? That thanks. So, but anyway, Thanksgiving, we take a whole day of the 16 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:44,560 year to celebrate a holiday which represents thankfulness. We take a specific time to be 17 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:52,320 grateful. And in preparation for my sermon this morning, I looked into what does thankfulness, 18 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:57,280 what does gratitude really mean, right? Well, according to Webster's, gratitude is just the 19 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:00,880 state of thankfulness. I'm like, well, that's a circular answer, right? That didn't really 20 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:06,400 answer my question. So I went in, all right, so what does thankfulness mean, right? Well, thankfulness 21 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:14,880 or thankful means to be conscious of benefit received. Now we're getting somewhere. Conscious 22 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:18,800 of benefit received. That really puts some things into perspective here this morning, right? 23 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:25,280 And too often we aren't grateful or thankful because we don't see, we're not conscious of 24 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:31,040 that benefit that we receive. But this morning, if you have your Bibles, we're going to be jumping 25 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:35,040 around all over the place, hang with me, but the first passage of scripture we're going to be in 26 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:39,520 is in 1 Thessalonians. And if you've heard me preach before, you know I got to give you the 27 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:44,960 context. You know I got to give you the background details on the passage of scripture. Well, 1st 28 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:51,360 and 2nd Thessalonians are letters from the apostle Paul, Silas, and Timothy to the church in 29 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:58,240 Thessalonica. Thessalonica was a city in Macedonia, which is in modern day Greece, right? Back time, 30 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:03,280 you know, back then it was Macedonia. Well, now it's Greece. Well, Paul and Silas traveled to 31 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:09,360 Thessalonica from Philippi on Paul's second missionary journey to preach the gospel. They 32 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:14,000 spent three weeks preaching and teaching in the synagogues, right? They traveled all around the 33 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:19,600 city and preaching and teaching, but most of the Thessalonian Jews didn't like what they had to say. 34 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:24,400 They formed a mob and they drove them out of the city, right? But it says that there were some of 35 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:31,040 the Jews who were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks 36 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:36,880 and quite a few prominent women. And this was the beginning at the church of Thessalonica, right? 37 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:41,520 This is how this church got started. So we see 1st and 2nd Thessalonians. That's a tongue twister 38 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:46,160 there. 1st and 2nd Thessalonians are letters that Paul wrote to these churches. And our passage 39 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:51,760 district will start off with this morning. 1st Thessalonians 5, 16, and 18. If you don't have 40 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:57,360 your Bibles with you, the words will be on the screen as well. It says, always be joyful, never 41 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:05,360 stop praying, be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to 42 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:10,880 Christ Jesus. We're going into the season of thanksgiving, right? Thankfulness, right? Paul 43 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:18,400 here in this letter makes it very clear when we are to be grateful. He says, in all circumstances. 44 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:23,040 Tell that, lean over to your neighbor and tell them all circumstances. If you're joining us online, 45 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:27,600 put that in the chat. Up at East Shore, you guys too. Lean over to somebody and say all circumstances. 46 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:33,680 We are to be conscious of the benefit we receive in all circumstances, right? That's what 47 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:38,640 thankfulness truly means, right? So what circumstances am I talking about here? 48 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:47,360 I'm talking about the good, the bad, and the ugly. No, I'm not talking about that Clint Eastwood 49 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:50,880 Western, all right? I know some of you got your ears perked up when I said that. We're not at 50 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:56,160 the movies anymore, we're moving on. But the good, right? We're talking about good circumstances 51 00:04:56,160 --> 00:05:00,000 in life. I'm talking about when you have a beautiful, crisp fall morning like you have 52 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:05,600 this morning, or you find five bucks in the laundry, right? That's a good day. I'm talking 53 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:11,440 about good health, whether you're free of sickness, right? Or maybe student, you passed that Spanish 54 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:15,280 test you've been studying for a week for, right? Or you're hitting all green lights when you're 55 00:05:15,280 --> 00:05:21,760 coming through town. These are all good things, right? Or maybe about the bad too, right? Rainy 56 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:27,040 days. Who doesn't like rainy days? I don't like rainy days. Getting sick, stubbing your toe. 57 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:33,520 Always a bad day. Getting stuck in traffic, or even as serious as a bad prognosis from a doctor. 58 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:38,080 There are bad circumstances that we have in this life, right? And last but not least, maybe even 59 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:42,160 the straight up ugly, right? These are the circumstances that we are to be grateful in. 60 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:48,000 The straight up ugly. Whenever we make poor choices and we end up living in consequences 61 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:53,040 of our own actions, right? We find ourselves in a heap of trouble because of decisions that we made. 62 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:58,480 We are called to be grateful in all of these circumstances. That's what Paul says in First 63 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:03,440 Thessalonians there, right? That we are to be thankful in all circumstances, regardless of how 64 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:10,000 we feel, regardless of what's been done to us, regardless of if it's fair or not, regardless of 65 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:16,800 what we've done, we are called to be grateful. Let's take a look at the good, right? Let's start 66 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:23,840 in the good. We're to be grateful in the good. And this seems kind of like an obvious one, right? 67 00:06:23,840 --> 00:06:29,280 It seems obvious that we should be grateful for when good things happen, but we often forget to 68 00:06:29,280 --> 00:06:35,760 thank God and show our gratitude when everything is going right. We take credit when it is an 69 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:41,120 ode to us, right? We take credit for good things happening in our lives and we cut God out of the 70 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:46,400 equation. I've been guilty of it before, right? When good stuff happens in our life, we are called 71 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:51,760 to gratefulness. We are called to be conscious of the benefit that we receive from God because it 72 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:58,960 comes from God. It's easy when good things happen in our life for us to go and just, you know, pat 73 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:03,200 yourselves on the back a little bit, right? We think that we earn these things or we deserve 74 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:08,080 these things, right? Let's look at the example of, let's say you get a promotion at work and you say, 75 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:13,280 I worked really hard for this. I deserve this. You know, you say maybe you were at the right place 76 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:20,240 at the right time or it was my time to shine, right? Maybe the boss finally noticed me. We 77 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:26,800 don't see the fact that we got to that position of getting that promotion because God gave us all we 78 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:32,880 needed to succeed. God gave us the intelligence to do our job well. He gave us our work ethic. 79 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:39,120 God gave us our ability to communicate well. All of that is a gift from God. The hands-on skills 80 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:48,400 needed, it all comes from God. We see this really cool example in the Scriptures about what being 81 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:54,320 grateful in the good looks like. And it's this really cool passage of Scripture and we see 82 00:07:54,320 --> 00:08:00,000 it's in Luke 17, 11 to 19, but I'll give a little background on that one as well. We see this 83 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:05,280 passage of Scripture, Jesus is traveling around in his ministry and he comes across the scene. 84 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:08,400 He's going from town to town, he's preaching, he's healing, he's doing all these miracles. 85 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:16,160 And we pick up in Luke 17, verse 11, it says, and Jesus continued on towards Jerusalem. 86 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:21,920 He reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village there, 87 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:28,080 10 men with leprosy stood at a distance, crying out to Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And he 88 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:33,120 looked at them and said, go show yourselves to the priest. And as they went, they were cleansed of 89 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:39,600 their leprosy. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus shouting, praise God. 90 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:45,680 He fell down to the ground at Jesus's feet, doing what? Thanking him for what he had done. 91 00:08:45,680 --> 00:08:51,280 This man was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, didn't I heal 10 men? Where are the other nine? 92 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:57,200 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner? And Jesus said to the man, stand 93 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:03,840 up and go, your faith has healed you. Jesus is in his ministry here and he's traveling from town to 94 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:08,800 town and he sees this, comes across this scene, right? Well, see, in Jesus's day, leprosy was a 95 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:13,600 vile disease, it's still a terrible disease, but because of the severity and the culture back at 96 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:21,120 the time, lepers had to live in their own colonies, separate from rest of society so that no one could 97 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:25,680 be exposed to it other than people who were already exposed to it, already that had it. So these 98 00:09:25,680 --> 00:09:30,560 people had to live away from their friends and family in a group of other people who have the 99 00:09:30,560 --> 00:09:37,840 same disease that they do, right? So Jesus heals these 10 lepers, right? But only one is conscious 100 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:43,760 of the benefit that he received from Jesus and he gives gratitude where gratitude is due. 101 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:49,120 Only one is grateful for Jesus, for the good that he did to him, for the good that he healed them. 102 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:53,200 Maybe the other ones were grateful in their heart, but they didn't express it, right? We only see 103 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:56,720 that one came back and it says he gave thanks to Jesus. 104 00:09:56,720 --> 00:10:03,120 I have to wonder, we also like the leper who came back after being healed, we are also to give 105 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:08,640 gratitude to God when good things happen, right? Whenever good things happen, we're supposed to 106 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:14,160 praise God and thank him, that's what it means to be thankful in all circumstances. When it's a 107 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:19,840 beautiful sunny day and it's amazing and you're so thankful, you give thanks to God, just a little 108 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:26,640 thanks to God, right? And you're thankful for the good that he did to you, right? And you're 109 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:30,320 thankful for the good that he did to you, right? Thank you God, that's a beautiful sunny day. 110 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:34,080 Or you travel somewhere and you arrive safely, give thanks to God. 111 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:40,560 Or you get a good grade on your test, right student? Give thanks to God. When you sit down 112 00:10:40,560 --> 00:10:47,360 to eat your meal, thank God, right? We need to thank God for the benefit we receive, we need to 113 00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:57,520 thank God for the great work that he did in the good. But what about the bad? Like Dixie said, 114 00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:01,120 we go through struggles and strife in this life, right? Bad stuff is going to happen, 115 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:05,360 hopefully I'm not breaking bad news to you here, but bad stuff will happen to you in this life 116 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:11,360 if it hasn't already. Does God really expect us to be grateful in the bad? 117 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:16,360 I'd say one of the most common questions I get asked 118 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:19,400 as a youth pastor and as a minister is, 119 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:22,500 why do bad things happen to good people? 120 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:25,920 And the answer for that is because we live 121 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:27,640 in a fallen and sinful world. 122 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:30,200 Back in the beginning in the Garden of Eden 123 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:33,200 when Adam and Eve sinned and they chose to disobey God, 124 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:36,680 at that moment, bad things entered into the world, 125 00:11:36,680 --> 00:11:39,140 death, sin, right? 126 00:11:39,140 --> 00:11:42,880 All these things that started to happen because of sin. 127 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:45,880 When sin entered the world, so did bad things. 128 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:48,480 See, God never intended us to live like that, right? 129 00:11:50,380 --> 00:11:53,960 But even though we live in a fallen and broken world, 130 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:56,860 we can still be grateful to God in the bad. 131 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:00,000 But listen to me here, church, God doesn't want 132 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:04,240 or expect us to be grateful for the bad things in our life. 133 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:05,060 Hear me what I'm saying. 134 00:12:05,060 --> 00:12:06,040 He doesn't want us to be thankful 135 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:07,560 for the bad things in our life, 136 00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:10,920 but we can be grateful in spite of them. 137 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:14,520 We can be grateful for the hope that we have in Jesus 138 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:16,480 and the promises that he has made. 139 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:18,600 Dixie, it's like you were reading my sermon this morning 140 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:19,920 because Hebrews 13, five says, 141 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:22,800 God will never leave us or forsake us, right? 142 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:26,200 Those are promises that God has made to us 143 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:27,760 as his children, right? 144 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:31,620 We can be grateful in the bad because he is with us, 145 00:12:31,620 --> 00:12:34,640 because our hope is in him. 146 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:38,200 We can be grateful even then. 147 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:42,160 I love this passage of scripture, Paul kind of, 148 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:44,120 the apostle Paul in Philippians kind of gives us 149 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:49,120 a good blueprint on how we can be anxious for nothing, right? 150 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:53,080 How we can be, even in the bad, how we can be grateful. 151 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:56,240 Philippians four, six says, be anxious for nothing. 152 00:12:56,240 --> 00:13:00,200 But in everything, by prayer and supplication, with what? 153 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:01,920 With thanksgiving. 154 00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:03,820 Let your requests be made known to God 155 00:13:03,820 --> 00:13:06,540 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, 156 00:13:06,540 --> 00:13:10,260 will guard your hearts and your minds through Christ Jesus. 157 00:13:11,380 --> 00:13:14,060 When we know where our hope comes from, 158 00:13:14,060 --> 00:13:19,060 when we know that nothing can touch us, 159 00:13:19,260 --> 00:13:23,900 that even if we're taken out, right? 160 00:13:23,900 --> 00:13:25,580 That God is still with us. 161 00:13:25,580 --> 00:13:27,900 Even if we get a bad prognosis from a doctor, 162 00:13:27,900 --> 00:13:29,220 God's still with us. 163 00:13:29,220 --> 00:13:30,900 Regardless of what happens in our life, 164 00:13:30,900 --> 00:13:33,420 God is with us. 165 00:13:33,420 --> 00:13:34,540 When we know where our hope comes from, 166 00:13:34,540 --> 00:13:37,180 we can be grateful even in the bad times. 167 00:13:38,340 --> 00:13:40,500 And I think the best example for this in the scripture 168 00:13:40,500 --> 00:13:41,740 is the story of Daniel. 169 00:13:45,020 --> 00:13:46,100 I love the story of Daniel. 170 00:13:46,100 --> 00:13:47,140 My brother's name is Daniel 171 00:13:47,140 --> 00:13:48,540 and I just love this passage of scripture. 172 00:13:48,540 --> 00:13:51,060 But Daniel was taken as a young man, 173 00:13:51,060 --> 00:13:53,540 a young teenager about, he was taken captive 174 00:13:53,540 --> 00:13:55,300 into the nation of Babylon. 175 00:13:55,300 --> 00:13:58,660 He was an Israelite and he was groomed for leadership 176 00:13:58,660 --> 00:14:00,380 in the nation of Babylon, right? 177 00:14:00,380 --> 00:14:02,020 They raised him up, they trained him, 178 00:14:02,020 --> 00:14:04,860 they taught him, they educated him, right? 179 00:14:06,020 --> 00:14:07,780 And he excelled in all that he did 180 00:14:07,780 --> 00:14:10,540 because God's favor was on him 181 00:14:10,540 --> 00:14:12,620 and because he followed God. 182 00:14:13,860 --> 00:14:16,060 And see, Daniel kept excelling and excelling 183 00:14:16,060 --> 00:14:18,180 and doing more and doing more and doing better 184 00:14:18,180 --> 00:14:21,540 in his position of power. 185 00:14:21,540 --> 00:14:22,940 And he got some opponents, right? 186 00:14:22,940 --> 00:14:25,540 He got some people that didn't like him very much. 187 00:14:26,340 --> 00:14:28,860 And see, Daniel's opponents wanted to take him out. 188 00:14:28,860 --> 00:14:30,860 They didn't wanna compete with this Hebrew. 189 00:14:30,860 --> 00:14:32,300 They didn't wanna compete with this Israelite. 190 00:14:32,300 --> 00:14:33,980 So they're like, they come up with a plan 191 00:14:33,980 --> 00:14:36,460 or like, how are we gonna take Daniel out? 192 00:14:36,460 --> 00:14:38,380 What's the best way we can do to take Daniel out? 193 00:14:38,380 --> 00:14:40,780 And the only thing they could find against him 194 00:14:41,500 --> 00:14:42,340 was his faith. 195 00:14:44,180 --> 00:14:45,580 So they plotted and they schemed 196 00:14:45,580 --> 00:14:49,100 and they kind of tricked the king Nebuchadnezzar 197 00:14:49,100 --> 00:14:53,260 to pass this law, right? 198 00:14:53,260 --> 00:14:55,420 And this law said that anybody who prayed 199 00:14:55,420 --> 00:14:59,580 to somebody who wasn't one of their gods or wasn't the king 200 00:14:59,580 --> 00:15:01,660 that they would be arrested and they would be harmed 201 00:15:01,660 --> 00:15:04,060 that they would be thrown into the den of lions. 202 00:15:05,180 --> 00:15:09,580 But we see Daniel grateful even in the bad times. 203 00:15:09,580 --> 00:15:13,340 Daniel 6, 10 says, but when Daniel learned 204 00:15:13,340 --> 00:15:16,620 that the law had been signed, he went home 205 00:15:16,620 --> 00:15:19,500 and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room 206 00:15:19,500 --> 00:15:21,900 and with the window opened towards Jerusalem. 207 00:15:21,900 --> 00:15:23,580 See, Daniel's not ashamed here, right? 208 00:15:23,580 --> 00:15:26,780 His windows are wide open, he's not hiding his prayer. 209 00:15:26,780 --> 00:15:29,660 He prayed three times a day just as he had always done. 210 00:15:29,660 --> 00:15:32,620 Doing what? Giving thanks to God. 211 00:15:34,860 --> 00:15:36,620 Daniel, in spite of the circumstance, 212 00:15:36,620 --> 00:15:39,260 Daniel knows what it's gonna cost him. 213 00:15:39,260 --> 00:15:41,180 He knows what's at stake here. 214 00:15:41,180 --> 00:15:44,060 He knows what's on the line. 215 00:15:44,060 --> 00:15:47,100 And yet he intentionally takes that time 216 00:15:47,100 --> 00:15:49,420 to give thanks to God just as he had always done. 217 00:15:49,420 --> 00:15:51,420 We continue on to verse 16. 218 00:15:51,420 --> 00:15:53,740 It says, so at last the king gave orders 219 00:15:53,740 --> 00:15:57,740 for Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the den of lions. 220 00:15:58,540 --> 00:16:00,860 The king said to him, may your God whom you serve 221 00:16:00,860 --> 00:16:03,340 so faithfully rescue you. 222 00:16:03,340 --> 00:16:04,780 Jump down to verse 19. 223 00:16:04,780 --> 00:16:07,340 It's very early the next morning, the king got up 224 00:16:07,340 --> 00:16:09,420 and hurried out to the lion's den. 225 00:16:10,540 --> 00:16:13,180 And when he got there, he called out in anguish, 226 00:16:13,180 --> 00:16:15,660 Daniel, servant of the living God, 227 00:16:15,660 --> 00:16:18,380 was your God whom you served so faithfully 228 00:16:18,380 --> 00:16:20,620 able to rescue you from the lions. 229 00:16:20,620 --> 00:16:23,340 And Daniel answered, long live the king. 230 00:16:23,340 --> 00:16:26,940 My God sent his angel to shut the lion's mouths 231 00:16:26,940 --> 00:16:28,620 so they would not hurt me. 232 00:16:28,620 --> 00:16:30,540 For I have been found innocent in his sight 233 00:16:30,540 --> 00:16:32,940 and I have not wronged you, your majesty. 234 00:16:32,940 --> 00:16:35,020 The king was overjoyed in order that Daniel 235 00:16:35,020 --> 00:16:38,540 be lifted from the den and not a scratch was found on him 236 00:16:38,540 --> 00:16:40,780 for he had trusted God. 237 00:16:42,540 --> 00:16:44,380 Regardless of the trouble that was in his life, 238 00:16:44,380 --> 00:16:47,180 regardless of the trouble that Daniel knew was gonna do, 239 00:16:47,180 --> 00:16:48,940 the trouble that Daniel knew was coming, 240 00:16:49,820 --> 00:16:51,580 he was giving thanks to God 241 00:16:52,860 --> 00:16:54,860 because he knew where his hope was found. 242 00:16:55,580 --> 00:16:57,660 He knew that God would protect him. 243 00:16:57,660 --> 00:16:59,180 He knew that God was with him 244 00:16:59,740 --> 00:17:01,580 regardless of what happened in his life. 245 00:17:01,580 --> 00:17:03,740 He had peace and confidence in God 246 00:17:04,380 --> 00:17:06,060 and for that he was grateful. 247 00:17:07,020 --> 00:17:09,740 Daniel wasn't thanking God, oh, thank you God 248 00:17:09,740 --> 00:17:11,740 that I'm gonna be thrown into the lion's den. 249 00:17:11,740 --> 00:17:15,180 He was giving thanks to God that he was with him even then. 250 00:17:15,180 --> 00:17:17,100 He was not grateful for his circumstances 251 00:17:17,100 --> 00:17:19,420 but in spite of them, he was grateful. 252 00:17:23,420 --> 00:17:25,420 And church, we can follow Daniel's example 253 00:17:25,420 --> 00:17:27,420 for gratitude and gratefulness here, right? 254 00:17:27,420 --> 00:17:29,180 For the, we can be grateful for the hope 255 00:17:29,180 --> 00:17:31,820 that we have in Jesus, even when our life seems 256 00:17:31,820 --> 00:17:33,020 to be falling apart. 257 00:17:34,700 --> 00:17:36,620 Gratitude, even in the bad times, 258 00:17:36,620 --> 00:17:39,340 helps us to see past our circumstances, 259 00:17:39,340 --> 00:17:42,700 however bad they may be, however bad things might seem, 260 00:17:42,700 --> 00:17:45,340 we can be grateful and we can see the benefit 261 00:17:45,340 --> 00:17:49,260 that we have gained by having our hope and trust in Jesus. 262 00:17:51,260 --> 00:17:53,980 Like Daniel, when all odds are stacked against us, 263 00:17:53,980 --> 00:17:56,220 we need to give thanks to God. 264 00:17:57,260 --> 00:17:59,980 And sometimes that looks like starting small, right? 265 00:17:59,980 --> 00:18:01,900 Sometimes that looks like starting small 266 00:18:01,900 --> 00:18:03,580 and finding the smallest thing possible 267 00:18:03,580 --> 00:18:05,180 in your life to be grateful for 268 00:18:05,180 --> 00:18:07,740 but soon that starts to stack and it starts to grow 269 00:18:07,740 --> 00:18:10,300 and you find thing after thing to be grateful for. 270 00:18:10,300 --> 00:18:13,500 And that will change your heart and change your mind 271 00:18:13,500 --> 00:18:15,820 and your attitude on your circumstances. 272 00:18:20,860 --> 00:18:22,940 And that's how we can be grateful in the bad. 273 00:18:25,180 --> 00:18:28,380 Okay, so we're to be grateful in the good, right? 274 00:18:28,380 --> 00:18:31,740 We're to be grateful when God provides good things for us. 275 00:18:31,740 --> 00:18:34,380 We're grateful for the good that God has given us. 276 00:18:34,380 --> 00:18:36,540 We can also be grateful in the good 277 00:18:36,540 --> 00:18:39,100 when we're grateful for the good that God has given us. 278 00:18:39,100 --> 00:18:43,980 We can also be grateful in the bad for who God is 279 00:18:43,980 --> 00:18:45,660 and how he'll see us through 280 00:18:46,620 --> 00:18:49,100 and realize that our hope lies in him. 281 00:18:49,100 --> 00:18:51,100 But what about the ugly? 282 00:18:51,100 --> 00:18:55,100 How can we be grateful in the ugly, right? 283 00:18:55,100 --> 00:18:57,100 I mentioned earlier, the ugly, right? 284 00:18:57,100 --> 00:19:00,540 That's whenever we mess up so badly 285 00:19:00,540 --> 00:19:03,500 that our lives just turn ugly, right? 286 00:19:03,500 --> 00:19:05,500 We make mistakes, we all make mistakes, right? 287 00:19:05,500 --> 00:19:07,020 Big ones sometimes, right? 288 00:19:07,020 --> 00:19:10,700 We end up living in the consequences of our own wrongdoing. 289 00:19:12,940 --> 00:19:14,940 How then can we be grateful? 290 00:19:16,380 --> 00:19:18,620 How then can we see our benefit gained 291 00:19:18,620 --> 00:19:21,180 if we're in the middle of reaping what we have sown? 292 00:19:23,260 --> 00:19:26,300 Maybe it looks like you told a lie for years 293 00:19:26,300 --> 00:19:28,220 and it ended up finding you out, right? 294 00:19:28,220 --> 00:19:30,620 And it hurts those around you that you love. 295 00:19:30,620 --> 00:19:32,780 Maybe the circumstances of life, 296 00:19:32,780 --> 00:19:34,140 some things happen to you in your life 297 00:19:34,140 --> 00:19:36,460 and it caused you to put God in an arm's length 298 00:19:36,460 --> 00:19:37,740 to seize yourself from him. 299 00:19:37,740 --> 00:19:40,620 Or maybe you made bad choice after bad choice 300 00:19:40,620 --> 00:19:41,660 and you ended somewhere 301 00:19:41,660 --> 00:19:44,460 that you never thought your life would be. 302 00:19:44,460 --> 00:19:46,780 How can we be grateful in circumstances like that? 303 00:19:48,140 --> 00:19:50,140 When we have to learn lessons the hard way, 304 00:19:50,140 --> 00:19:52,220 what do we have to be grateful and thankful for? 305 00:19:53,340 --> 00:19:56,140 And I'll tell you this, we can be grateful 306 00:19:57,980 --> 00:19:59,740 when we realize that our help 307 00:19:59,740 --> 00:20:01,820 and our salvation comes from the Lord alone. 308 00:20:01,820 --> 00:20:05,980 He is our salvation when we have our lives so messed up 309 00:20:05,980 --> 00:20:08,140 that only he can right our wrongs. 310 00:20:08,140 --> 00:20:10,540 And God will see us through even messes 311 00:20:10,540 --> 00:20:12,540 that we have made ourselves. 312 00:20:15,740 --> 00:20:18,780 And this is, I tell a lot of stories when I preach, 313 00:20:18,780 --> 00:20:21,420 so bear with me here, but this is, 314 00:20:21,420 --> 00:20:23,420 this one I think of messes like this 315 00:20:23,420 --> 00:20:25,340 and I think there's only one man in the Bible 316 00:20:25,340 --> 00:20:27,020 that comes to my mind first and foremost, 317 00:20:27,020 --> 00:20:29,580 that somebody that got themselves so twisted 318 00:20:29,580 --> 00:20:34,380 so messed around that it was only God who could get them out. 319 00:20:34,380 --> 00:20:36,940 And that's the man Jonah, the prophet Jonah. 320 00:20:38,060 --> 00:20:39,100 Jonah was a prophet, right? 321 00:20:39,100 --> 00:20:41,420 A prophet was a man of God, 322 00:20:41,420 --> 00:20:44,780 a direct messenger from God to his people. 323 00:20:44,780 --> 00:20:46,940 And Jonah had lived an honorable life up to this. 324 00:20:46,940 --> 00:20:48,860 He followed God, God gave him message 325 00:20:48,860 --> 00:20:50,460 for the nation of Israel. 326 00:20:50,460 --> 00:20:53,100 And Jonah would give the people those messages. 327 00:20:53,100 --> 00:20:55,900 One time we hear in the book of Jonah in the Old Testament, 328 00:20:55,900 --> 00:20:58,620 we see that God gave the people the message 329 00:20:58,620 --> 00:21:02,860 that God gave Jonah a message for a foreign nation, 330 00:21:02,860 --> 00:21:04,460 for the city of Nineveh. 331 00:21:05,580 --> 00:21:09,740 And Jonah doesn't wanna go to the nation of Israel. 332 00:21:09,740 --> 00:21:13,660 Jonah disobeys God, says, I'm not going to do that. 333 00:21:13,660 --> 00:21:17,420 God sends somebody else, I'm not going, right? 334 00:21:18,860 --> 00:21:20,060 Jonah runs from God. 335 00:21:20,060 --> 00:21:23,660 He gets on a ship and heads as far away as possible from God. 336 00:21:23,660 --> 00:21:25,500 He tries to run from God, 337 00:21:25,500 --> 00:21:28,860 which if you've ever tried to do that, you can't do it. 338 00:21:28,860 --> 00:21:31,580 Jonah tries to physically run from God and he can't do it. 339 00:21:33,100 --> 00:21:35,500 The consequences of his actions of disobedience 340 00:21:35,500 --> 00:21:36,780 finally catch up to him, right? 341 00:21:38,460 --> 00:21:40,300 Jonah, and he's on the ship 342 00:21:40,300 --> 00:21:42,300 and he's bound for the complete opposite end of the map 343 00:21:42,300 --> 00:21:43,420 from where he's supposed to go. 344 00:21:44,780 --> 00:21:47,260 And we see the storm raise up in the book of Jonah. 345 00:21:47,260 --> 00:21:48,700 We see the storm raise up on the ship 346 00:21:48,700 --> 00:21:50,780 and the sailors are all crying out to their gods, 347 00:21:50,780 --> 00:21:52,220 their false gods, right? 348 00:21:52,220 --> 00:21:54,140 And they say, they have Jonah on board 349 00:21:54,140 --> 00:21:56,140 and they say, Jonah, what's going on here? 350 00:21:56,140 --> 00:21:58,460 And Jonah confesses, Jonah admits what he's done. 351 00:21:59,100 --> 00:22:00,620 He said, the only way you're gonna fix this 352 00:22:00,620 --> 00:22:03,340 is if you throw me overboard into the raging sea. 353 00:22:04,540 --> 00:22:06,060 They say, well, sure, if we can fix it, 354 00:22:06,060 --> 00:22:06,860 we'll throw you overboard. 355 00:22:06,860 --> 00:22:08,860 So they throw Jonah overboard 356 00:22:11,420 --> 00:22:15,500 and God sends a giant fish to swallow up Jonah whole. 357 00:22:16,700 --> 00:22:19,580 So Jonah's consequences for his actions, right? 358 00:22:19,580 --> 00:22:23,500 Jonah is only here in the belly of a giant fish 359 00:22:23,500 --> 00:22:25,340 because of his disobedience for God. 360 00:22:27,020 --> 00:22:28,380 Jonah's life is a little bit ugly. 361 00:22:28,380 --> 00:22:30,300 I don't know if you've ever smelled the inside 362 00:22:30,300 --> 00:22:32,140 of a fish before, but it ain't great, all right? 363 00:22:33,340 --> 00:22:35,580 And Jonah was in there for quite some time, 364 00:22:35,580 --> 00:22:38,460 but we see, even in the ugly, 365 00:22:38,460 --> 00:22:41,340 we see Jonah praying to God. 366 00:22:41,340 --> 00:22:44,380 And Jonah's prayer was recorded in Jonah chapter two. 367 00:22:44,380 --> 00:22:45,580 We'll pick up in verse one, it says, 368 00:22:45,580 --> 00:22:48,700 and then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God 369 00:22:48,700 --> 00:22:50,220 from the fish's belly. 370 00:22:50,940 --> 00:22:52,620 And he said, I cried out to the Lord 371 00:22:52,620 --> 00:22:54,540 because of my affliction and he answered me. 372 00:22:55,500 --> 00:22:58,540 Out of the belly of Sheol, I cried and you heard my voice. 373 00:22:59,180 --> 00:23:02,220 For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas 374 00:23:02,220 --> 00:23:03,580 and the floods surrounded me. 375 00:23:04,380 --> 00:23:07,100 All of your billows and your waves passed over me. 376 00:23:07,740 --> 00:23:09,740 Then I said, I have been cast out of your sight, 377 00:23:10,380 --> 00:23:12,620 yet I will look again towards your holy temple. 378 00:23:13,180 --> 00:23:16,300 The water surrounded me, even to my soul, 379 00:23:16,300 --> 00:23:18,140 the deep closed around me. 380 00:23:18,140 --> 00:23:19,740 Weeds were wrapped around my head. 381 00:23:19,740 --> 00:23:22,620 I went down to the mooring of the mountains. 382 00:23:23,660 --> 00:23:26,620 The earth with its bars closed behind me forever, 383 00:23:26,620 --> 00:23:31,500 yet you have brought up my life from the pit, oh Lord my God. 384 00:23:32,140 --> 00:23:35,100 When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord 385 00:23:35,100 --> 00:23:38,220 and my prayer went up to you into your holy temple. 386 00:23:39,500 --> 00:23:42,220 Verse eight, those who regard worthless idols 387 00:23:42,220 --> 00:23:43,740 forsake their own mercy. 388 00:23:44,700 --> 00:23:46,940 Verse nine, this is the verse, guys, 389 00:23:46,940 --> 00:23:49,580 but I will sacrifice to you with what? 390 00:23:49,580 --> 00:23:51,820 With the voice of thanksgiving. 391 00:23:52,940 --> 00:23:54,940 I will pay what I have vowed. 392 00:23:54,940 --> 00:23:57,900 Salvation is of the Lord. 393 00:23:57,900 --> 00:23:59,580 The Lord spoke to the fish 394 00:23:59,580 --> 00:24:02,060 and then it vomited Jonah onto dry land. 395 00:24:03,820 --> 00:24:06,140 See Jonah, even in the belly of this fish, 396 00:24:07,020 --> 00:24:10,140 from his own disobedience, he's here because of the consequences 397 00:24:10,140 --> 00:24:11,420 of his own actions, right? 398 00:24:11,420 --> 00:24:14,380 He chose to run away from God and he got swallowed by a fish. 399 00:24:14,380 --> 00:24:17,020 He calls out to God asking for forgiveness 400 00:24:17,020 --> 00:24:20,780 and with thanksgiving, because Jonah knows 401 00:24:20,780 --> 00:24:23,100 the only way he's getting out of this fish 402 00:24:23,100 --> 00:24:24,460 is if God helps him out. 403 00:24:26,540 --> 00:24:28,620 When we find ourselves in a mess like that, 404 00:24:28,620 --> 00:24:31,500 maybe not literally in the belly of a fish, 405 00:24:31,500 --> 00:24:33,020 but we find ourselves in a mess 406 00:24:33,020 --> 00:24:35,660 that only God can get us out of, 407 00:24:35,660 --> 00:24:39,660 we can still be grateful for our God who saves. 408 00:24:41,260 --> 00:24:42,860 See, God saved Jonah, right? 409 00:24:42,860 --> 00:24:45,020 God gave Jonah a second chance. 410 00:24:45,020 --> 00:24:47,180 The fish vomits him out on dry land 411 00:24:47,180 --> 00:24:49,820 and Jonah goes and does what God commanded him 412 00:24:49,820 --> 00:24:51,180 to do in the first place. 413 00:24:54,140 --> 00:24:56,220 And like Jonah, we too can move from a place 414 00:24:56,220 --> 00:24:58,620 of self-destruction and calamity 415 00:24:58,620 --> 00:25:00,780 to a place of peace and gratitude, 416 00:25:00,780 --> 00:25:03,180 knowing that God has saved us. 417 00:25:07,100 --> 00:25:08,620 Regardless of whatever circumstances 418 00:25:08,620 --> 00:25:10,780 we might find ourselves in, whether they're good, 419 00:25:10,780 --> 00:25:12,540 they're bad, or they're ugly, 420 00:25:12,540 --> 00:25:14,140 we have a reason to be grateful. 421 00:25:16,460 --> 00:25:18,460 We can be grateful because we serve a God 422 00:25:18,460 --> 00:25:20,860 who provides good things for us. 423 00:25:21,820 --> 00:25:24,140 We can be grateful because we serve a God 424 00:25:24,140 --> 00:25:26,780 who gives us hope and a future, 425 00:25:26,780 --> 00:25:29,100 and we can be grateful because we serve 426 00:25:29,100 --> 00:25:31,180 a God who saves. 427 00:25:31,180 --> 00:25:32,940 Church, if you'd stand with me in closing. 428 00:25:32,940 --> 00:25:34,940 I don't know what circumstances you're experiencing 429 00:25:34,940 --> 00:25:36,460 right now in your life, whether they're good, 430 00:25:36,460 --> 00:25:37,900 they're bad, or they're ugly. 431 00:25:39,900 --> 00:25:41,500 You're gonna be somewhere in between there. 432 00:25:41,500 --> 00:25:43,980 Sometimes you got some of each going on, 433 00:25:43,980 --> 00:25:45,580 but we have a reason to be grateful. 434 00:25:48,540 --> 00:25:50,540 If you bow your head, you're gonna be grateful. 435 00:25:50,540 --> 00:25:52,540 You're gonna be grateful because you're grateful 436 00:25:52,540 --> 00:25:54,540 for the things that you've done for us. 437 00:25:54,540 --> 00:25:56,060 You're gonna be grateful for the things 438 00:25:56,060 --> 00:25:57,420 that you've done for us. 439 00:25:57,420 --> 00:25:59,020 You're gonna be grateful for the things 440 00:25:59,020 --> 00:26:00,540 that you've done for us. 441 00:26:00,540 --> 00:26:03,900 If you bow your heads with me this morning. 442 00:26:13,580 --> 00:26:15,820 Church, if you feel the spirit tugging on you this morning, 443 00:26:15,820 --> 00:26:18,460 maybe you haven't been as grateful to God 444 00:26:18,460 --> 00:26:19,820 for the good things in your life. 445 00:26:20,860 --> 00:26:25,180 You haven't been conscious of the benefit 446 00:26:25,980 --> 00:26:27,260 that you have this morning. 447 00:26:27,260 --> 00:26:30,060 And you feel convicted and you feel that you need 448 00:26:30,060 --> 00:26:33,500 to give God more gratitude than you've been giving him. 449 00:26:34,300 --> 00:26:35,660 Whether you're in good circumstances, 450 00:26:35,660 --> 00:26:38,860 bad circumstances, or ugly circumstances, 451 00:26:38,860 --> 00:26:41,260 and you haven't been as grateful to God as you ought to be, 452 00:26:41,260 --> 00:26:43,260 would you slip your hand up and put it right back down for me? 453 00:26:43,260 --> 00:26:45,900 You wanna give God more gratitude than you have been lately? 454 00:26:46,780 --> 00:26:48,220 Thank you for the honesty. 455 00:26:49,980 --> 00:26:51,260 My hand's up as well. 456 00:26:51,260 --> 00:26:53,180 And you'd be more grateful than I have been. 457 00:26:54,380 --> 00:26:55,820 Or maybe you find yourself feeling 458 00:26:55,820 --> 00:26:57,420 like you're in a bad situation. 459 00:26:57,420 --> 00:27:00,220 Or maybe you find yourselves in an ugly circumstance 460 00:27:00,220 --> 00:27:03,180 this morning, and you don't know how you're gonna get out. 461 00:27:07,020 --> 00:27:09,340 You know that it's only gonna be by the grace of God 462 00:27:09,340 --> 00:27:11,100 that you will see another day. 463 00:27:14,380 --> 00:27:15,340 Come to Jesus. 464 00:27:18,220 --> 00:27:20,300 Come to the God who serves, and you can be grateful 465 00:27:20,300 --> 00:27:22,540 for that salvation that he has offered you. 466 00:27:23,420 --> 00:27:25,420 And the Bible makes it really clear 467 00:27:25,420 --> 00:27:25,900 that it's true. 468 00:27:26,940 --> 00:27:28,060 He's gonna let you go. 469 00:27:44,220 --> 00:27:46,700 All we have to do to accept Jesus. 470 00:27:46,700 --> 00:27:48,220 We have to do, it's as simple as A, B, C, 471 00:27:48,220 --> 00:27:50,060 you have to first admit that you're a sinner, 472 00:27:50,060 --> 00:27:52,460 admit that you have wronged God. 473 00:27:52,460 --> 00:27:53,740 Admit that you have done something 474 00:27:53,740 --> 00:27:57,940 sins, that He paid that sacrifice for you, that He is willing to pull you out of the 475 00:27:57,940 --> 00:28:00,940 belly of a fish. 476 00:28:00,940 --> 00:28:04,060 And the last thing you need to do is you need to confess that Jesus is Lord. 477 00:28:04,060 --> 00:28:06,620 You need to put Jesus as Lord of your life. 478 00:28:06,620 --> 00:28:08,140 And that just means you put Him first. 479 00:28:08,140 --> 00:28:13,380 You put Him above everything else in your life. 480 00:28:13,380 --> 00:28:21,060 And if you've never done that this morning, I would love to pray with you. 481 00:28:21,060 --> 00:28:29,260 Pastor Kipp would love to pray with you and talk to you about what that looks like. 482 00:28:29,260 --> 00:28:30,260 Let's pray. 483 00:28:30,260 --> 00:28:32,620 Heavenly Father, God, I thank you for your word this morning. 484 00:28:32,620 --> 00:28:36,300 God, I thank you that we have so much in our lives to be grateful for. 485 00:28:36,300 --> 00:28:42,820 God, whatever circumstances, God, in all circumstances that we face, God, help us to be grateful. 486 00:28:42,820 --> 00:28:48,020 God, whether we find ourselves in good, bad, or ugly circumstances, Lord, help us to be 487 00:28:48,020 --> 00:28:50,620 grateful even then. 488 00:28:50,620 --> 00:28:55,900 God, help us to be conscious of the benefit that we receive from you. 489 00:28:55,900 --> 00:29:02,340 Well, God, if there's any in the house this morning who don't know you, God, that they 490 00:29:02,340 --> 00:29:08,420 would find that gratitude in salvation this morning. 491 00:29:08,420 --> 00:29:14,540 God, we pray all these things in your precious and holy name. 492 00:29:14,540 --> 00:29:15,540 Amen and amen. 493 00:29:15,540 --> 00:29:26,140 Thank you for tuning in to this message from Lifehouse Church. 494 00:29:26,140 --> 00:29:30,140 We pray that you were impacted powerfully by this message. 495 00:29:30,140 --> 00:29:35,020 If you have been personally affected by our ministry and you would like to partner with 496 00:29:35,020 --> 00:29:46,620 us as we love God, love people every day, visit our website at www.lifehousecog.com.