WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.800 I'm sure I am not the only one here who's received a gift and had to act really, really grateful 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:14.400 whilst inside thinking, why did you think that I would want this? 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:19.440 But come on, facial muscles, smile, nod, say thank you quickly. 00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:27.120 This Christmas, my parents over there, they got me a great present and I've got props. 00:00:27.240 --> 00:00:28.260 I've got the presents. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:36.140 They got me a warning triangle for my car. 00:00:39.079 --> 00:00:42.359 And a high-vis jacket to wear just in case. 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:45.740 Lovely, thank you mum and dad, it's just what I've always wanted. 00:00:51.159 --> 00:00:58.379 Of course I am actually really grateful that if I did ever break down in my car, I would have exactly what I need to stay safe. 00:00:58.380 --> 00:01:06.219 Especially after we had to jumpstart my brother's car on the corner of a very busy road in Bath in the dark just before Christmas. 00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:09.400 But that's the thing, isn't it? 00:01:09.400 --> 00:01:18.380 Sometimes we get given a gift that initially we're not really sure that we want, need or even have space for in our lives or in our homes. 00:01:18.379 --> 00:01:24.599 But somewhere down the line, we realise that that gift is exactly what we needed for that moment. 00:01:25.219 --> 00:01:29.619 Although hopefully that will be quite long down the line in terms of my new car accessories. 00:01:29.620 --> 00:01:34.840 Today's theme is grateful for God's gifts. 00:01:34.960 --> 00:01:39.780 And I wonder if there's a time that you've been especially grateful for the gifts that God has given you. 00:01:39.780 --> 00:01:44.700 When we think about the gifts of God, they really are numerous. 00:01:45.180 --> 00:01:56.180 We might think of the spiritual gifts of God, like speaking in tongues, prophecy, words of knowledge, encouragement, teaching, preaching, evangelism, hospitality. 00:01:56.819 --> 00:01:58.040 We could go on and on. 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:04.579 We might think about the people, the things, the places that God has put in our lives. 00:02:04.579 --> 00:02:08.460 We might think of his blessing or his favour. 00:02:09.359 --> 00:02:21.360 And actually, the whole of our salvation is pinned on the fact that God so loved the world, he gave as a gift to us, his children, his one and only son, 00:02:21.759 --> 00:02:26.680 so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life with him. 00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:28.659 John 3, 16. 00:02:28.659 --> 00:02:36.759 And in Matthew 7, Jesus gives us permission to ask, seek and knock. 00:02:37.819 --> 00:02:40.620 Saying that to the one who asks, it will be given. 00:02:40.939 --> 00:02:42.560 The one who seeks will find. 00:02:42.699 --> 00:02:45.780 And to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:52.000 He continues to say that we know how to give good gifts to those that we love. 00:02:52.000 --> 00:03:02.060 Using the analogy that a father wouldn't give a rock to his son who asks for a piece of bread or a snake to his son who asks for a fish. 00:03:03.500 --> 00:03:14.159 And Jesus says, so if you sinful people know how to give good gifts, how much more will your father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him? 00:03:14.159 --> 00:03:23.939 He's saying we, mere humans, are capable of giving good gifts, even though we're sinful, even though we're imperfect, even though we don't know everything. 00:03:24.579 --> 00:03:26.120 But God is perfect. 00:03:26.780 --> 00:03:28.099 And he is all-knowing. 00:03:28.180 --> 00:03:29.680 And he knows us inside and out. 00:03:29.800 --> 00:03:33.659 He knows the things we need, the things we want, and the desires of our hearts. 00:03:34.460 --> 00:03:38.000 And so how much more perfect are those gifts that he gives us? 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:49.419 In focus, our Wednesday night youth Bible study group, we've been looking at Psalm 40, in which David, the psalmist, says, 00:03:50.020 --> 00:03:56.340 Many, my Lord, my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. 00:03:56.460 --> 00:03:58.060 No one can compare with you. 00:03:58.580 --> 00:04:02.520 Were I to speak and tell of your deeds, there would be too many to declare. 00:04:02.520 --> 00:04:15.060 And I love this perspective of looking back at all the things that God has done for us, his wonders, and looking forward to the future and all the things that God has planned for us. 00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:23.560 All these things that he's given to us, past, present and future, are so worthy of praise and gratitude. 00:04:23.560 --> 00:04:26.379 And David, who wrote this song, got the right response. 00:04:27.080 --> 00:04:31.660 He praised God for all the good gifts that he had given him. 00:04:32.519 --> 00:04:40.240 But I think sometimes, in the moment, it can be really difficult to recognise God's gifts, can't it? 00:04:41.139 --> 00:04:48.259 Sometimes, in fact very often, God doesn't answer our prayers in the way that we expect or even that we'd hoped for. 00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:56.939 We might have prayed and told God exactly what he should do, exactly how he should move, exactly what we need. 00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:00.099 And then his answer looks really different. 00:05:00.100 --> 00:05:08.939 Sometimes God intervenes in a situation and it might not even be obvious straight away that God is even in the situation. 00:05:10.200 --> 00:05:16.520 And that's where the Israelites find themselves in our reading this morning that Jim's just read for us. 00:05:17.720 --> 00:05:23.960 The Israelites have been wandering through the desert for a while now in their exodus from slavery in Egypt. 00:05:23.959 --> 00:05:29.439 They'd seen amazing things by the power of God, plagues that they'd been protected from, 00:05:30.039 --> 00:05:35.959 the softening of Pharaoh's heart so that they could escape Pharaoh, Egypt, slavery. 00:05:37.620 --> 00:05:43.079 They'd seen the parting of the Red Sea so that they could walk through on dry ground 00:05:43.079 --> 00:05:47.659 and the sea that then crushed the enemy as the enemy pursued them. 00:05:47.660 --> 00:05:52.460 They'd been led by a pillar of cloud by day and a fire by night. 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:58.580 God had provided them with manna to eat and caused water to come out of a stone so they could drink. 00:05:59.160 --> 00:06:04.080 And finally, finally, they are so close to Canaan. 00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:10.659 In the previous chapter, chapter 13, just before our reading this morning, 00:06:11.039 --> 00:06:16.939 God commanded Moses, send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. 00:06:18.379 --> 00:06:22.759 So Moses sends 12 men, one from each of the tribes of Judah, 00:06:23.699 --> 00:06:26.879 to scope out the land and see what kind of towns they're living in, 00:06:27.019 --> 00:06:31.899 what the land is like, what the soil's like, what fruits are growing. 00:06:31.899 --> 00:06:38.839 And after 40 days, they come back and report that it is, in fact, a land flowing with milk and honey, 00:06:39.379 --> 00:06:43.659 suggesting that the land is good for livestock, which will produce milk, 00:06:44.259 --> 00:06:48.939 and various plants and flowers that will produce nectar and pollen for honey. 00:06:49.959 --> 00:06:55.659 However, those who'd gone to the land spread a bad report to all the other Israelites 00:06:55.659 --> 00:07:01.359 that those who are currently occupying Canaan were too strong for the Israelites to defeat. 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:04.379 And the members of the community got worried and upset. 00:07:05.280 --> 00:07:06.879 And that's where we join the story. 00:07:07.980 --> 00:07:12.120 The Israelite community members are shouting, crying, grumbling, saying, 00:07:12.540 --> 00:07:16.600 if only we had died in Egypt or in this wilderness, 00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:21.580 why is the Lord bringing us to this land only for us to fall by the sword? 00:07:22.319 --> 00:07:25.040 Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt? 00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:29.939 I mean, this isn't a new complaint for the Israelites. 00:07:30.120 --> 00:07:34.700 They'd found plenty of other reasons to complain in the past on their exodus. 00:07:36.400 --> 00:07:39.840 And times when they tried to take matters into their own hands. 00:07:40.100 --> 00:07:43.700 For example, when God and Moses had been talking up on the mountain 00:07:43.700 --> 00:07:46.280 and the Israelites decided they'd been gone too long, 00:07:46.360 --> 00:07:49.180 so they were going to make a calf to worship instead. 00:07:49.180 --> 00:07:53.699 But right now they were so close to Canaan. 00:07:54.639 --> 00:07:58.079 God had led them all this way and they were still grumbling. 00:07:58.259 --> 00:08:03.699 They still wanted to go back to this horrendous situation that God had saved them from. 00:08:04.259 --> 00:08:07.639 They couldn't fathom why God had brought them so far 00:08:07.639 --> 00:08:12.819 after such a long journey only to be killed by those who are currently living in Canaan. 00:08:12.819 --> 00:08:20.139 In that moment, they couldn't see that God had been with them all the way 00:08:20.139 --> 00:08:22.360 and he wasn't going to just leave them now. 00:08:22.699 --> 00:08:27.420 He would fulfill his promise in giving them the land that he told them about. 00:08:27.740 --> 00:08:30.159 It wasn't called the promised land for nothing. 00:08:31.819 --> 00:08:34.879 But the Israelites, they were not grateful. 00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:40.279 They were caught up in the anxiety of the unknown and the unseen. 00:08:40.279 --> 00:08:43.779 They weren't willing to seek God's heart and his purpose. 00:08:44.259 --> 00:08:46.959 They couldn't see that despite the difficult journey, 00:08:47.100 --> 00:08:51.559 God had brought them to a thing that was so much better than where they had been. 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:59.600 They might have another battle ahead and it would be a very literal battle as well, 00:08:59.799 --> 00:09:02.279 but God wasn't going to leave them alone. 00:09:03.100 --> 00:09:04.639 And so Moses says to the people, 00:09:04.980 --> 00:09:06.600 do not rebel against the Lord 00:09:06.600 --> 00:09:11.259 and do not be afraid of the people of the land because we will devour them. 00:09:11.779 --> 00:09:14.940 Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. 00:09:15.639 --> 00:09:17.740 Don't be afraid of them. 00:09:19.899 --> 00:09:21.759 Because Moses knew God. 00:09:21.899 --> 00:09:25.399 He knew that God would give them everything that they needed. 00:09:25.620 --> 00:09:29.680 The gift of his presence, his strength, his protection and his provision. 00:09:29.679 --> 00:09:34.139 Just as he had every step of the way so far. 00:09:34.719 --> 00:09:37.559 He knew the truth of the lyrics that we've sung this morning. 00:09:37.899 --> 00:09:39.120 You're a good, good father. 00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:42.179 You know just what we need before we can say a word. 00:09:43.219 --> 00:09:48.719 And in death, in life, I'm confident and covered by the power of your great love. 00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:52.779 But the rest of the Israelites are less sure. 00:09:54.860 --> 00:09:58.240 And if we really think about it, isn't that quite relatable? 00:09:59.139 --> 00:10:01.860 That God does stuff in our lives all the time, 00:10:01.940 --> 00:10:04.480 but if we don't have our eyes open to see it, 00:10:04.519 --> 00:10:08.860 we can so easily miss the process or even the end result. 00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:14.360 We get impatient and frustrated when we think that God isn't doing anything. 00:10:14.360 --> 00:10:20.300 But just like we said before, sometimes he moves and answers our prayers 00:10:20.300 --> 00:10:24.560 in ways that are so different to how we'd have done it if we were in control ourselves. 00:10:25.220 --> 00:10:28.639 And thank goodness we are not in control ourselves. 00:10:33.019 --> 00:10:37.320 For Christmas, my parents didn't just get me a warning triangle and a high-vis jacket. 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:38.340 They were very generous. 00:10:38.500 --> 00:10:41.519 They gave me some little gold stud earrings. 00:10:41.519 --> 00:10:47.559 And I was very grateful because I could wear them all day, all night, 00:10:47.620 --> 00:10:50.819 on a run, in the shower, in bed, and I didn't have to take them out. 00:10:51.120 --> 00:10:53.600 They wouldn't make my ears go green or sore. 00:10:53.879 --> 00:10:58.100 And this is really good news for me because I'm really rubbish at changing my jewellery. 00:10:59.220 --> 00:11:02.439 And a few days after Christmas, Mum and I went on a really nice walk. 00:11:02.519 --> 00:11:04.620 It was about eight and a half kilometres. 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:08.779 It was through bogs, through fields, through mud. 00:11:09.240 --> 00:11:11.100 It was a bit like going on a bear hunt. 00:11:11.960 --> 00:11:15.440 And when we got back, I went to the bathroom. 00:11:15.560 --> 00:11:19.340 I took my jumper off and I just heard this ding, plop. 00:11:20.700 --> 00:11:24.320 My earring had fallen in the toilet. 00:11:27.000 --> 00:11:30.720 And some important information is that it wasn't just water in there. 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:38.300 I'm really sorry if this is too much information, but I'm a youth worker and everyone loves a toilet story. 00:11:40.580 --> 00:11:43.840 And so I have to put my hand into the toilet. 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:44.800 It was gloved. 00:11:44.899 --> 00:11:45.340 Don't worry. 00:11:45.420 --> 00:11:46.300 It was just wee. 00:11:46.460 --> 00:11:47.060 Don't worry. 00:11:47.059 --> 00:11:51.159 And I fish around and I pull out my earring. 00:11:51.159 --> 00:11:53.259 Yes, I've got the earring. 00:11:53.539 --> 00:11:55.819 But I can't find the earring back. 00:11:55.820 --> 00:12:05.000 So I'm on all fours crawling around the bathroom with my torch, just looking for this tiny little earring back, thinking, oh my goodness. 00:12:05.420 --> 00:12:08.960 God, why couldn't you have let this fall out somewhere different? 00:12:08.960 --> 00:12:11.420 Why can't you just show me where the earring back is? 00:12:11.660 --> 00:12:14.600 I've already put my hand in my wee. 00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:17.700 Please, can you just show me where it is? 00:12:17.960 --> 00:12:18.900 And then I had a thought. 00:12:19.420 --> 00:12:26.100 Maybe the earring back had fallen out in my bed because that would be so much better than it having fallen off somewhere on this walk. 00:12:26.580 --> 00:12:28.580 So I go and I check in my bed and there it is. 00:12:28.740 --> 00:12:29.080 Yay! 00:12:29.340 --> 00:12:31.340 I've got the earring in all its parts. 00:12:31.340 --> 00:12:43.040 And I realised that I'd walked this entire walk through the mud, through the bogs, through the fields in 40 mile an hour winds. 00:12:43.180 --> 00:12:45.740 And the earring never had a back on it. 00:12:45.820 --> 00:12:51.000 It could have fallen out in any of those places and it would have been gone for good. 00:12:52.019 --> 00:12:52.960 But it wasn't. 00:12:53.940 --> 00:12:59.740 And that story is nothing like finding the promised land after years of wandering through the desert, 00:12:59.740 --> 00:13:02.580 after years of slavery. 00:13:03.220 --> 00:13:04.899 But it did make me think. 00:13:05.379 --> 00:13:10.980 Sometimes we can be so, so ungrateful for the situations we find ourselves in. 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:18.460 But we have no idea what the situation could have been had it not been for God's gracious intervention. 00:13:20.259 --> 00:13:23.019 And I think that's maybe where the Israelites got it wrong. 00:13:23.019 --> 00:13:32.860 It seems at least sometimes they just mindlessly followed the leadership of Moses and Aaron and grumbled when it got uncomfortable. 00:13:35.899 --> 00:13:43.639 Now something I've been learning over the last year or so, and I'm learning very surely in theory and very slowly in practice, 00:13:43.639 --> 00:13:52.199 is that it's very biblical in times of uncertainty, insecurity, overwhelm or just pure lament, 00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:54.759 to call to mind the goodness of God. 00:13:55.559 --> 00:14:00.460 In the book of Lamentations, in the middle verses of the middle chapter, 00:14:01.620 --> 00:14:06.600 Lamentations, by the way, is a book that is all about the lament of the woes of life. 00:14:06.600 --> 00:14:08.480 And in this verse it says, 00:14:09.100 --> 00:14:12.320 Yet this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope. 00:14:12.860 --> 00:14:16.080 Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed. 00:14:18.580 --> 00:14:20.279 I've lost my place. 00:14:20.420 --> 00:14:23.600 Because of the Lord's love we are not consumed. 00:14:24.620 --> 00:14:27.779 For his compassions never fail, they are new every morning. 00:14:28.139 --> 00:14:29.980 Great is his faithfulness. 00:14:29.980 --> 00:14:35.840 I say to myself, the Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait on him. 00:14:36.600 --> 00:14:38.779 And then the writer goes back to lamenting. 00:14:39.820 --> 00:14:43.700 And what this teaches us is, that when we have those difficult times, 00:14:44.279 --> 00:14:48.420 we can call to mind the ways that God has been there for us in the past, 00:14:48.519 --> 00:14:53.840 the gifts that he's given to us then, the ways that he's moved, the things that he's done. 00:14:54.279 --> 00:14:59.060 We can call to mind his character, his faithfulness, his love, his compassion, his mercy, 00:14:59.060 --> 00:15:00.860 his trustworthiness. 00:15:01.660 --> 00:15:06.160 We can look to the Bible and see how God has been faithful from generation to generation, 00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:11.460 we can hear the stories and testimonies from our friends and our families 00:15:11.460 --> 00:15:13.879 and be encouraged by their stories too. 00:15:16.200 --> 00:15:19.639 But the Israelites didn't have the Bible, 00:15:19.779 --> 00:15:23.159 and they didn't have a whole heap of history to learn from. 00:15:23.720 --> 00:15:28.379 In fact, their most recent history was 430 years of slavery in Egypt, 00:15:28.379 --> 00:15:32.240 and I'm not really sure that's what they wanted to call to mind and remember. 00:15:32.240 --> 00:15:38.299 In short, their lives weren't void of the goodness and faithfulness of God, 00:15:38.779 --> 00:15:42.360 because they existed in the time of the Exodus, 00:15:42.659 --> 00:15:46.360 but they didn't have the Psalms and the Proverbs for wisdom. 00:15:46.840 --> 00:15:50.379 They didn't have the Gospels for inspiration from Jesus. 00:15:50.860 --> 00:15:53.600 They didn't have the letters for instruction. 00:15:53.740 --> 00:15:59.899 They didn't have revelation for the promise of a future free of mourning and pain and sorrow. 00:15:59.899 --> 00:16:06.459 Their own story was going to be one that would be used by New Testament writers 00:16:06.459 --> 00:16:11.879 to describe the goodness of God, to demonstrate his character. 00:16:12.379 --> 00:16:15.659 And it's always my favourite book for teachable moments 00:16:15.659 --> 00:16:20.360 on how God provides his rescue mission, his faithfulness. 00:16:21.659 --> 00:16:25.960 But they didn't have that to look for, to look to. 00:16:25.960 --> 00:16:32.820 They didn't have Psalm 23 to know that the Lord is their shepherd and they have all they need, 00:16:32.940 --> 00:16:36.840 that God would provide a table for them in the presence of their enemy, 00:16:37.400 --> 00:16:39.879 even current occupants of Canaan. 00:16:40.519 --> 00:16:45.320 They didn't have Proverbs 3 to tell them to trust in the Lord with all of their heart 00:16:45.320 --> 00:16:49.560 and lean not on their own understanding, but in all of their ways to submit to him, 00:16:49.559 --> 00:16:54.019 because he would make their paths straight all the way to Canaan, 00:16:54.899 --> 00:16:56.639 all the way to the Promised Land. 00:16:58.199 --> 00:17:01.519 And isn't it such a gift to be able to lean on God, 00:17:01.639 --> 00:17:04.619 on his word, on his promise, on his plans and his purposes, 00:17:05.259 --> 00:17:07.379 rather than trusting our own understanding? 00:17:07.380 --> 00:17:11.260 Isn't it a gift to be able to say, 00:17:11.780 --> 00:17:13.500 God, I don't know what you're doing, 00:17:13.980 --> 00:17:18.120 but I have faith that you're doing something good for your glory. 00:17:19.300 --> 00:17:20.320 And so I'm grateful. 00:17:24.840 --> 00:17:28.180 Paul says in Philippians 4, verses 6 to 7, 00:17:28.180 --> 00:17:46.039 He says, 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:46.060 He says, 00:17:46.059 --> 00:18:00.859 Gratitude, thanksgiving, gratefulness, 00:18:00.919 --> 00:18:05.460 it changes the atmosphere of our hearts, of our minds, of our souls. 00:18:05.460 --> 00:18:09.000 It steers us away from an inward focus of anxiety 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:13.299 to an upward focus towards God who is in control. 00:18:13.299 --> 00:18:18.500 An upward trust that God has his hands on the steering wheel. 00:18:18.819 --> 00:18:20.259 And so we can have peace, 00:18:20.599 --> 00:18:24.319 and we can be grateful because his gifts are good. 00:18:28.579 --> 00:18:34.579 But how do we take a sermon about the grumbling Israelites 00:18:34.579 --> 00:18:39.500 and gratitude for God's gifts into the coming days, weeks and months? 00:18:39.659 --> 00:18:43.279 How do we take it from something that we don't just know in theory, 00:18:43.299 --> 00:18:48.159 but actually affects the way that we live our daily walks with Jesus? 00:18:50.680 --> 00:18:54.279 I suppose something that keeps coming back to me 00:18:54.279 --> 00:18:57.940 as I pondered this subject in preparation 00:18:57.940 --> 00:19:00.980 is that it's up to us to look. 00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:03.940 It's up to us to ask God to move 00:19:03.940 --> 00:19:06.000 and then let go of the steering wheel 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:08.399 so that he can have his way. 00:19:09.060 --> 00:19:12.400 We have to choose to look for how God is working, 00:19:12.580 --> 00:19:14.300 how he's answering our prayers, 00:19:14.600 --> 00:19:15.680 how he's intervening, 00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:17.340 what gifts he's giving us, 00:19:17.460 --> 00:19:20.720 and then to take hold of all of that with thanksgiving. 00:19:22.080 --> 00:19:23.820 And that's not to say that it's easy 00:19:23.820 --> 00:19:25.300 because I know that it's not, 00:19:25.420 --> 00:19:28.300 but it is true that he is always with us, 00:19:29.300 --> 00:19:31.540 that he always listens to us. 00:19:31.539 --> 00:19:37.480 Earlier I read a verse from Psalm 40 00:19:37.480 --> 00:19:40.519 and I'd love to read the opening verses of this psalm 00:19:40.519 --> 00:19:42.759 as we finish. 00:19:42.759 --> 00:19:45.940 I waited patiently on the Lord 00:19:45.940 --> 00:19:48.420 and he turned to me and heard my cry. 00:19:49.420 --> 00:19:52.000 He lifted me out of the slimy pits, 00:19:52.339 --> 00:19:53.539 out of the mud and mire. 00:19:54.119 --> 00:19:55.779 He set my feet on a rock 00:19:55.779 --> 00:19:57.599 and gave me a firm place to stand. 00:19:57.940 --> 00:20:00.099 He put a new song in my mouth, 00:20:00.420 --> 00:20:02.440 a hymn of praise to our God. 00:20:02.440 --> 00:20:08.160 No matter what the situations we face, 00:20:08.220 --> 00:20:10.140 whether they feel slimy and muddy, 00:20:10.279 --> 00:20:12.380 whether they feel sparkly and glorious, 00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:15.059 or whether they feel somewhere in between, 00:20:15.480 --> 00:20:18.140 the gifts of God are his presence, 00:20:19.120 --> 00:20:21.860 his love, his faithfulness, his word, 00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:26.539 the way that he loves to come into relationship with us. 00:20:26.539 --> 00:20:32.139 So why don't we take a leaf out of David's book this week 00:20:32.139 --> 00:20:34.720 and know that we can wait on him 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:38.240 and he will hear our prayers, 00:20:38.960 --> 00:20:42.399 that he'll fight for us and overcome every battle, 00:20:43.019 --> 00:20:47.019 that the promises he makes us he will surely fulfill. 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:51.799 Let's choose to look this week 00:20:51.799 --> 00:20:56.299 and I am so sure that we will be filled with gratitude 00:20:56.299 --> 00:20:58.059 for the things that he does 00:20:58.059 --> 00:20:59.819 and the gifts that he gives us. 00:21:01.099 --> 00:21:01.879 Let's pray. 00:21:04.259 --> 00:21:07.579 Lord God, thank you for the gift of your presence, 00:21:08.559 --> 00:21:12.039 your compassion, your mercy that is new every morning. 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:16.579 Thank you for the way that you intervene in our lives, 00:21:17.119 --> 00:21:19.639 the ways that you move and the ways you bless us. 00:21:21.079 --> 00:21:23.359 We're sorry for the times that we've been blind 00:21:23.359 --> 00:21:25.480 to the gifts that you give us, 00:21:25.480 --> 00:21:30.099 for when we've been ungrateful or unthought that we know best. 00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:36.579 God, whatever the situations and circumstances of our lives today, 00:21:36.700 --> 00:21:40.779 whether they feel slimy and muddy or sparkly and glorious, 00:21:41.140 --> 00:21:45.360 would you help us know that you are with us? 00:21:45.500 --> 00:21:47.000 Help us to see what you're doing. 00:21:47.339 --> 00:21:50.920 Help us to respond with gratefulness and thanksgiving. 00:21:50.920 --> 00:21:55.279 Would you give us vision to see things like you do? 00:21:56.539 --> 00:21:56.940 Amen. 00:21:56.940 --> 00:21:57.100 Amen. 00:21:57.099 --> 00:21:57.119 Amen. 00:21:57.119 --> 00:21:58.119 Amen.