"Living A Life Of Gratitude"

“Living A Life Of Gratitude”

Building A Great Life – part 6

TEXT: PSALM 18

In his book – “In The Eye Of The Storm” author Max Lucado describes the following scene..

An old man walks down a Florida beach. The sun sets like an orange ball on the horizon. The waves slap the sand. The smell of salt water stings the air. The beach is vacant. No sun to entice the sunbathers. Not enough light for the fisherman. So, aside from a few joggers and strollers, this gentleman is alone.

He carries a bucket in his bony hand. A bucket of shrimp. It’s not for him. It’s not for the fish. It’s for the sea gulls.

He walks to an isolated pier cast in gold by the setting sun. He steps to the end of the pier. The time has come for the weekly ritual.

He stands and waits.

Soon the sky becomes a mass of dancing dots. The evening silence gives way to the screeching of birds. They fill the sky and then cover the moorings. They are on a pilgrimage to meet the old man.

For a half hour or so, the bushy- browed, shoulder-bent gentleman will stand on the pier, surrounded by the birds of the sea, until the bucket is empty.

But even after the food is gone, his feathered friends still linger. They linger as if they’re attracted to more than just food. They perch on his hat. They walk on the pier. And they all share a moment together.

Can you see the scene… OKAY now I want you to file that scene away for awhile…we’ll open it up again at the end of my message….

Today is our sixth week in our sermon series called building a great life… NOW – a few things have become readily apparent during last few weeks; 1) a great life is something that we all want, 2) a great life does not happen automatically 3) to have a great life you need to have the proper ingredients.

SO far we have talked about 5 of those ingredients;

Faith – the foundation of a great life

Commitment – the power of a great life

Purpose – the cornerstone of a great life

Service – the expression of a great life

Sacrifice – the heart of a great life

This morning we are going to talk about gratitude which is the attitude of a great life….

PRAYER……

This coming Thursday we will be celebrating Thanksgiving Day... Many will be busy cooking turkeys, making stuffing, baking pumpkin pies.... and watching football games. And that is fun stuff -- it is important; to get together with family & loved ones... But LISTEN - that is not what thanksgiving is really about – (food, football and fun)... NO – it’s about giving thanks to the Lord God Almighty.

AND – thanksgiving is not just an American holiday – NO – thanksgiving is an occasion that God’s people have been celebrating for 1,000 of years…

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this year let’s not allow the family, the food, the fun and the football – to crowd out the Lord.... He is the reason for this season too!

God has been good to us/you.. We have many reasons to be thankful.. And today as we consider our Thankfulness to God I want us to answer 2 very simple and basic questions, Why should we give thanks to God? and how do we give thanks to God? Our text will be David’s song of praise found in Psalm 18.

Why Should You Be Thankful To God?

Turn in your Bibles to the Psalm 18. NOW – if you have spent anytime in the Old Testament you know that David had a lot of enemies.... He spent many years in hiding.... And one of his greatest enemies was King Saul.

David wrote Psalm 18, after God had delivered him from his enemies, especially from the hands of Saul. LISTEN - Because of who God was and what he had done for him, David breaks out in a song of praise - And as David praises God, he gives several reasons in these first 3 verses, as to why you should be thankful to God.

PSALM 18:1-3

You Should Be Thankful to God Because:

God Wants A Personal Relationship with You..

Did you notice how many times David uses the word "my" in these 3 verses. I counted 9 times.... UNDERSTAND - what David is emphasizing here is his personal relationship with God... And he is thankful for that…

LISTEN - to David, God was not some far off deity with a long white beard up in the clouds somewhere... A God, that he had to please, but who didn’t really know... On the contrary, David had a personal relationship to God... And the only reason David had this relationship, was because God in His grace - had given him the opportunity to know him.