Thankfull

Sermon: The Power of Gratitude - Being Thankful

Have bucket of blessings

And a mug of moaning

List of blessings in strips

List of moans – no holiday,

Introduction:

Today, I want to talk to about the power of being thankful.

It truly is a very powerful attitude to have.

It can also take quite a bit of practice.

The society we are part of often focuses on what we lack or what goes wrong.

SHOW MUG OF MOANING (BIG)

People point fingers – they moan and complain.

And Sadly it seems that this is increasing.

IT’S LIKE FOLK GO AROUND FILLING UP THEIR LIFE MUG WITH MOANING!

As followers of Jesus Christ, I strongly believe that we should cultivate a spirit of being thankful.

There’s a range of numbers due to translation, but the word for thankful in the bible appears between 130 – 180 times.

Most times, its about being thankful as an instruction.

Guess how many times the bible instructs us to moan or complain? You know it

Being thankful not only

enhances our relationship with God, but also

has a profound impact on our overall well-being and the way we interact with others.

In other words, being thankful can change our lives – AND the lives of people around us.

So let’s get into this.

1. Recognizing God's Blessings:

How do we do at

Recognising, and responding to the blessings and provisions that God gives us each day?

Do you daily thank God for His provisions?

It’s one reason why we have our declare time each Sunday (not put on YouTube because it doesn’t get picked up on the audio).

It’s having opportunity to verbalise just some of the good things that we have from God.

And if it goes quiet during our “Declare” time, I get worried; because we should be able to fill up the whole of Sunday with declaring the great things that come from God.

In fact, we should always be able to fill up a “Bucket of Blessings”! [SHOW]

We have a mug of moaning, now a bucket of blessings

[p]

I got a list….. [DROP EACH IN THE BUCKET]

So the start of being thankful is:

Recognising the many things we have from our God.

Because, once we fill up a few buckets of blessings, the mug of moaning [swap] ……..looks so small.

As Christians, we are called to recognize and appreciate the many blessings that God has given us.

- From the breath in our lungs to the relationships we cherish.

- Every good thing in our lives is a gift from above.

I encourage you to Daily take a moment to reflect on the countless blessings you have received, both big and small.

Remember, "Every good and perfect gift is from above" (James 1:17).

Gratitude in All Circumstances:

Let’s be clear, being thankful does not mean that we will avoid facing challenges or difficulties.

In fact, it is during these times that being thankful becomes even more important.

The apostle Paul reminds us to what?

"give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

This is not an easy task,

but when we choose to be thankful –

in the midst of trials, we shift our focus from our problems to God's faithfulness.

It’s a change of perspective.

Being thankful allows us to not focus on the negative thing, but to see beyond our circumstance - to the big picture.

To the life beyond our temporary problem.

A Heart of Contentment:

One by-product of being thankful – it brings contentment into our life.

When we are truly thankful for what we have, we no longer feel the need keep wanting more and more.

I have a bucket of blessings!

How can I make such a big deal of my mug of moanings when I have a bucket of blessings?

I’m content with this bucket.

God has provided me so much

I don’t feel I can moan those others things.

[p]

God gave His people freedom from the slavery of the Egyptians.

God put Moses in the right place to go and demand from Pharaoh that his people be released to find the land promised them.

“Yes! – a land flowing with milk and honey. Thank you God.”

How far did they get before they really weren’t thank – ful at all. They were thank – empty.

God led them out – over the sea, and towards the land prepared for them.

They moaned about the food God FREELY provided.

They moaned about the water provided

And when they reached the land God was giving them with to live and prosper, what did they do?

They moaned – “the people = giants….. “

Their perspective was a magnum of moans, and a bit of blessings.

God got mad with them!!!