Thankful Or Grumbling? Series

Sermon: Thankful or Grumbling?

Thesis: The attitude of thankfulness vs the attitude of complaining can make or break your life – thankful attitudes come with the blessings of Heaven and the Promise Land of God but complaining will leave you in the wilderness wandering aimlessly with no joy, no contentment and the struggle of wilderness living. Being thankful will change your life and your perspective about life. You cannot complain when you are thankful and you cannot be thankful when you are complaining. The two mindsets are opposite and one or the other will dictate how your day will go.

Scripture:

Colossians 3:17: 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Phil 2:14-16: 14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, "children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation." Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

Phil 4:8-9: 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Proverbs 17:22: 22 A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Swindoll: quote: The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than success, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company … a church … a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude…I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you, we are in charge of our attitudes.

Quotes on the power of having a thankful attitude:

“We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction." -H.A. Ironside

"No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks".--Unknown

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."--Marcel Proust

"Silent gratitude isn't very much use to anyone." -Gertrude Stein

"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough." -Meister Eckhart

"Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty." -Doris Day

By giving us the command to always give thanks, God is not rubbing salt in a wound or calling us to set aside reason. He knows that being thankful in all circumstances has a powerful impact on every area of our Christian life.

T.S. - We need to live, approach life, work and even play with the right attitude and mindset because it does make all the difference in our day and for eternity.

1. Attitudes impact us every day either in positive or in a negative way.

a. Nelson, “Everyday, when you arrive at your workplace, an attitude arrives with you. Our attitudes are like the perfume or cologne we are wearing; we smell the fragrance when we first put it on, but others smell it throughout the day” (page 93).

i. How do you smell?

1. The apostle Paul reminds us that we are to have the fragrance of Jesus – the attitudes we wear and put on each day should smell like Jesus. These smells are associated with the fruits of the Spirit

a. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

i. These character traits should define our attitudes even at work.

1. Galatians 6: 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self–control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

ii. Nelson states, “Martin Luther reminds us that it is not God who needs our good works, but it is our neighbor who needs our good works. A transforming truth must firmly grab onto is that God is very much at work in our work. God is transforming us in our work and transforming the world through our work.” (Page 92).