WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.060 Well, welcome again, as I said at the beginning of the service. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:09.980 So glad that we are able to gather here tonight together, 00:00:10.279 --> 00:00:13.380 and glad that those of you who are here for the first time are visiting. 00:00:13.939 --> 00:00:15.060 Glad that you've come. 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:17.100 We are at the end. 00:00:17.519 --> 00:00:22.500 This is the last Sunday of a series that we started a few weeks ago. 00:00:22.500 --> 00:00:24.800 It's a series that we've done during the season of Lent, 00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:28.219 which is the season of the church calendar that we're in now. 00:00:28.660 --> 00:00:33.979 It's a season where we focus on our need for Jesus and the hope of Easter, 00:00:34.079 --> 00:00:36.920 which we'll celebrate in just a little while. 00:00:37.519 --> 00:00:41.280 But here we are in this kind of last night of this series, 00:00:41.379 --> 00:00:45.140 and it's a series that we've called Habits of Holiness. 00:00:45.259 --> 00:00:48.780 And we've been considering the idea that the Christian faith 00:00:48.780 --> 00:00:51.939 is not merely something that is meant to remain intellectual. 00:00:52.920 --> 00:00:56.700 It's not just a series of things that we assent to intellectually. 00:00:56.700 --> 00:01:00.600 That it's a reality, a way of being, a way of living, 00:01:00.600 --> 00:01:03.420 that needs to be worked into our lives, 00:01:03.560 --> 00:01:06.920 worked into the warp and woof of our daily lives. 00:01:06.980 --> 00:01:08.820 It needs to be sort of ground into us. 00:01:08.859 --> 00:01:12.500 It needs to be the marinade that we steep in. 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:15.600 It needs to be something that is lived out again and again and again. 00:01:16.379 --> 00:01:18.920 That that's how change happens in the Christian life. 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:21.040 And so we've looked at some key areas, 00:01:21.040 --> 00:01:24.400 some key habits that cultivate this new life. 00:01:25.340 --> 00:01:32.500 So the first week we looked at the call to submit everything in our lives to God 00:01:32.500 --> 00:01:34.760 and what that looks like on a daily level. 00:01:34.920 --> 00:01:36.580 Then the next week we looked at Scripture 00:01:36.580 --> 00:01:40.719 and the role that that plays in the lives of people who follow Jesus. 00:01:40.719 --> 00:01:43.519 The next week we looked at contentment, 00:01:44.439 --> 00:01:46.819 which is not unrelated to our topic tonight. 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:50.200 And then the week after that, last week, we looked at contemplation. 00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:54.920 You know, one of my favorite images from Dan's sermon last week 00:01:54.920 --> 00:01:59.640 is the idea of having hearts that are open and hospitable to the Word of God. 00:02:00.920 --> 00:02:05.219 And then tonight all of this sort of culminates in our final topic, 00:02:05.219 --> 00:02:10.659 which is the concept of gratitude, of thankfulness. 00:02:12.060 --> 00:02:14.680 1 Thessalonians 5, 16 through 18, 00:02:15.479 --> 00:02:19.020 Paul is actually listing distinguishing marks of Christians. 00:02:20.079 --> 00:02:22.099 This is a place near the end of his letter where he's saying, 00:02:22.500 --> 00:02:25.939 these are the things, these are the qualities that should set you apart 00:02:25.939 --> 00:02:27.960 that make Christians unique in the world. 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:31.979 And he lists three of them, and the third is gratitude. 00:02:31.979 --> 00:02:36.639 Now what's interesting about that, if you think about that, 00:02:37.879 --> 00:02:39.459 is it sort of raises the question, 00:02:39.759 --> 00:02:42.239 how could gratitude be unique to Christians? 00:02:44.299 --> 00:02:48.079 I mean, why is that something that Christians have the right to claim as theirs? 00:02:49.539 --> 00:02:53.739 In our culture right now, gratitude is one of the most popular things going. 00:02:53.959 --> 00:02:56.319 Everybody loves the idea of gratitude. 00:02:56.500 --> 00:02:59.899 We've talked about some controversial things in this church over the years. 00:02:59.899 --> 00:03:01.939 This is not one of those things. 00:03:01.979 --> 00:03:04.719 There's nothing controversial about gratitude. 00:03:05.939 --> 00:03:10.159 And the answer is, when Christians talk about gratitude, 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:13.259 we're talking about something unique. 00:03:13.500 --> 00:03:15.659 It's actually something that is vastly different 00:03:15.659 --> 00:03:23.319 from what most people think of when they think of being thankful or cultivating gratitude, 00:03:23.319 --> 00:03:27.659 because it's rooted in our understanding of who God is 00:03:27.659 --> 00:03:30.060 and what he's done in the world and what he's done in our lives. 00:03:30.060 --> 00:03:35.640 And it's inseparably linked to that like a tree to its roots. 00:03:36.840 --> 00:03:41.180 So tonight we're going to compare Christian gratitude, 00:03:41.379 --> 00:03:44.819 what Paul talks about, what the Bible talks about in the Old and New Testament. 00:03:45.020 --> 00:03:47.319 We're going to compare that concept of gratitude 00:03:47.319 --> 00:03:52.379 with the sort of more prevalent, common cultural understanding of gratitude, 00:03:52.379 --> 00:03:56.039 which we'll call hashtag gratitude. 00:03:57.840 --> 00:03:59.139 And I'm not being snarky. 00:03:59.199 --> 00:04:02.419 It's just better than saying the common cultural understanding of gratitude in our environment. 00:04:03.159 --> 00:04:06.859 So Christian gratitude versus hashtag gratitude. 00:04:07.120 --> 00:04:08.620 And what we're going to see is this. 00:04:08.659 --> 00:04:11.319 We're going to see that Christian gratitude is unique for three reasons. 00:04:11.319 --> 00:04:14.400 It's unique because of the object of our gratitude. 00:04:14.599 --> 00:04:15.459 That makes it unique. 00:04:16.019 --> 00:04:19.219 It's unique because of the circumstances of our gratitude, 00:04:19.339 --> 00:04:21.000 the circumstances in which we give thanks. 00:04:21.259 --> 00:04:23.519 And then lastly, it's unique because of the reason, 00:04:24.159 --> 00:04:26.959 the reason that we are thankful to begin with. 00:04:27.839 --> 00:04:30.459 So let's pray, ask God to help us, and then we'll get started. 00:04:32.199 --> 00:04:35.459 Our Father, we thank you for all of this. 00:04:35.459 --> 00:04:38.739 As we were gathered praying, some of us before the service, 00:04:38.859 --> 00:04:45.659 we were recognizing that this service is in many ways a symphony of gifts that you've given us, 00:04:45.779 --> 00:04:51.259 gifts that you've given each person to serve or to sing or to set up or to clean or to greet 00:04:51.259 --> 00:04:53.839 or to all of the various ways. 00:04:54.919 --> 00:05:00.079 And also your word says that each man, woman, and child here is himself or herself a gift. 00:05:01.500 --> 00:05:03.879 And we recognize that at the center of all of these gifts 00:05:03.879 --> 00:05:05.259 is the gift of your Son. 00:05:05.339 --> 00:05:12.159 And we pray that tonight our understanding and our joy in who he is would be magnified, 00:05:12.899 --> 00:05:15.379 that he would increase, that we might decrease. 00:05:16.120 --> 00:05:17.920 And we pray this in your Son's holy name. 00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:18.300 Amen. 00:05:19.719 --> 00:05:24.540 So the first thing we're going to talk about is the object of Christian gratitude. 00:05:25.240 --> 00:05:30.060 As I said a moment ago, gratitude has become deeply embedded. 00:05:31.319 --> 00:05:32.659 I mean, that's an understatement. 00:05:32.660 --> 00:05:37.760 It's become deeply embedded in the bourgeois spirituality of late modern America. 00:05:39.439 --> 00:05:46.080 Virtually any episode of Oprah, any self-help book, any corner yoga class, 00:05:46.220 --> 00:05:50.760 you will emerge having been encouraged to cultivate an attitude of gratitude. 00:05:51.960 --> 00:05:58.080 If you look at mainstream publications like Time, the New York Times, Scientific American, 00:05:58.079 --> 00:06:06.379 they are regularly putting out articles that extol the virtues and the benefits of gratitude in your life. 00:06:06.539 --> 00:06:12.860 There was actually an NPR special that aired last, it was around Thanksgiving last year. 00:06:13.539 --> 00:06:15.539 And it was hosted by Susan Sarandon. 00:06:15.719 --> 00:06:20.139 And it was a one-hour special on all of the benefits of gratitude. 00:06:20.139 --> 00:06:21.300 Maybe you caught this. 00:06:22.219 --> 00:06:25.159 There are foundations like the John Templeton Foundation, 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:31.860 who give millions of dollars to gratitude research. 00:06:31.979 --> 00:06:37.519 People like Robert Emmons, who studies what is called the science of gratitude. 00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:38.519 Right? 00:06:39.339 --> 00:06:43.379 So it turns out that gratitude not only makes us feel happier, 00:06:43.519 --> 00:06:47.740 but it can also boost our immune system and lower our blood pressure. 00:06:48.699 --> 00:06:50.839 So gratitude has a lot of benefits. 00:06:51.039 --> 00:06:51.879 It's a good thing. 00:06:51.959 --> 00:06:54.759 We should be thankful for thankfulness. 00:06:55.159 --> 00:06:56.060 But here's the thing. 00:06:56.060 --> 00:07:00.819 There's something in all of this that I think that we need to pay attention to. 00:07:01.060 --> 00:07:02.259 You may have caught the article. 00:07:02.579 --> 00:07:03.660 It came out in December. 00:07:04.280 --> 00:07:08.680 It not surprisingly generated a bit of controversial backlash. 00:07:09.319 --> 00:07:11.920 But it was written by Barbara Ehrenreich. 00:07:13.100 --> 00:07:17.360 And she wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times in December. 00:07:17.579 --> 00:07:18.660 And the title is this. 00:07:19.100 --> 00:07:21.180 The Selfish Side of Gratitude. 00:07:23.060 --> 00:07:23.459 Interesting. 00:07:23.459 --> 00:07:26.219 Here's a quote. 00:07:26.819 --> 00:07:27.139 She says, 00:07:27.239 --> 00:07:31.439 It's good to express our thanks, of course, to those who deserve recognition. 00:07:32.539 --> 00:07:33.500 And then she sort of says, 00:07:33.620 --> 00:07:35.339 But let's admit it. 00:07:36.199 --> 00:07:40.159 This gratitude is really about you and how you can feel better. 00:07:41.740 --> 00:07:46.299 So she's noting that most of the focus with what we're calling hashtag gratitude 00:07:46.299 --> 00:07:49.459 is on the one giving thanks. 00:07:49.459 --> 00:07:57.459 So all the benefits that come when we generate feelings of thankfulness. 00:07:58.259 --> 00:08:00.079 So here's the point that she makes. 00:08:00.159 --> 00:08:00.519 She says, 00:08:00.819 --> 00:08:04.539 So it's possible to achieve the recommended levels of gratitude 00:08:04.539 --> 00:08:08.959 without actually interacting with another human being. 00:08:09.479 --> 00:08:11.879 Without actually interacting with anyone. 00:08:11.879 --> 00:08:15.079 Anyone outside yourself. 00:08:15.159 --> 00:08:15.480 She says, 00:08:15.560 --> 00:08:20.759 All you have to do is to generate within yourself the good feelings associated with gratitude 00:08:20.759 --> 00:08:23.600 and then bask in its warm, comforting glow. 00:08:24.319 --> 00:08:28.060 If there's any loving involved in this, it is self-love. 00:08:28.060 --> 00:08:33.000 And the current hoopla around gratitude is a celebration of onanism. 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:35.080 You can look that one up later. 00:08:36.980 --> 00:08:39.340 Gratitude with no giver in mind. 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:43.899 Thankfulness with no gift giver in mind. 00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:46.960 Gratitude simply for the sake of gratitude 00:08:46.960 --> 00:08:51.019 is really just a form of self-gratification, she's saying. 00:08:51.019 --> 00:08:56.980 And it really only enhances our narcissistic tendencies. 00:08:57.500 --> 00:08:59.519 It's a form of self-help. 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:04.100 So by contrast, Paul calls us to a kind of gratitude 00:09:04.100 --> 00:09:07.299 that has a very specific object outside of ourselves 00:09:07.299 --> 00:09:08.980 and that object is God. 00:09:11.179 --> 00:09:12.439 Now why would he say that? 00:09:12.539 --> 00:09:15.120 Well, places like James 1.17 tell us. 00:09:16.319 --> 00:09:17.699 It says in James 1.17, 00:09:17.700 --> 00:09:22.120 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father. 00:09:23.379 --> 00:09:26.300 So this is something that Paul, that James, that the apostles understood 00:09:26.300 --> 00:09:28.960 that every good gift, 00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:35.080 every good gift is a gift from God. 00:09:35.320 --> 00:09:35.800 Everything. 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:37.360 Now most of the time, 00:09:38.740 --> 00:09:41.980 these are things that come through people into our lives. 00:09:42.740 --> 00:09:44.160 But what they recognize 00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:49.559 is that that gift is ultimately something that has come from God. 00:09:51.219 --> 00:09:54.759 And so the natural response should be to recognize 00:09:54.759 --> 00:09:57.620 that all of our gratitude should be aimed 00:09:57.620 --> 00:09:59.559 not only at the people in our lives. 00:09:59.699 --> 00:10:01.039 I'm not saying don't say thank you. 00:10:02.120 --> 00:10:04.339 What I'm saying is the thank you doesn't stop there. 00:10:05.079 --> 00:10:06.839 We recognize that all of our gratitude 00:10:06.839 --> 00:10:08.120 is ultimately aimed at 00:10:08.120 --> 00:10:10.339 the giver, capital G, 00:10:10.339 --> 00:10:11.120 God himself. 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:14.460 Now, as I'm getting into this, 00:10:14.519 --> 00:10:16.060 I recognize that it might be tempting 00:10:16.060 --> 00:10:17.639 to hear me 00:10:17.639 --> 00:10:19.759 nagging you like your mom. 00:10:19.940 --> 00:10:21.600 You know, God is like your grandmother 00:10:21.600 --> 00:10:22.879 who sent you a sweater 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:23.740 and it's July 00:10:23.740 --> 00:10:24.399 and your mom is like, 00:10:24.440 --> 00:10:25.560 you've got to write that thank you note. 00:10:25.639 --> 00:10:26.440 You haven't done that yet. 00:10:26.620 --> 00:10:28.560 You know, you need to say thank you to God, right? 00:10:29.060 --> 00:10:30.340 He's done all these nice things for you. 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:32.179 But we need to understand 00:10:32.179 --> 00:10:33.899 that it goes a lot deeper than that, 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:35.340 that it's not only important 00:10:35.340 --> 00:10:37.580 that we recognize that God is the giver 00:10:37.580 --> 00:10:41.480 because it's simply a good thing, 00:10:41.560 --> 00:10:43.800 but rather there's a deep spiritual reality 00:10:43.800 --> 00:10:44.580 at work here. 00:10:45.900 --> 00:10:47.220 You know, Romans 121, 00:10:47.300 --> 00:10:48.820 when I was just doing a search 00:10:48.820 --> 00:10:50.620 of all the ways that thankfulness 00:10:50.620 --> 00:10:52.080 and gratitude show up in Scripture, 00:10:52.560 --> 00:10:54.440 I was really struck again 00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:57.660 by what Paul says in Romans 121. 00:10:58.639 --> 00:11:00.580 He's diagnosing the human condition 00:11:00.580 --> 00:11:01.620 and listen to what he says. 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:03.600 He says, 00:11:03.600 --> 00:11:05.220 For although they knew God, 00:11:06.620 --> 00:11:09.019 these are people in the fallen world, 00:11:10.180 --> 00:11:12.180 people like us apart from Jesus. 00:11:12.420 --> 00:11:12.800 He says, 00:11:13.159 --> 00:11:14.220 For although they knew God, 00:11:14.300 --> 00:11:15.720 they did not honor him as God 00:11:15.720 --> 00:11:17.360 or give thanks to him, 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:21.000 but they became futile in their thinking 00:11:21.000 --> 00:11:23.920 and their foolish hearts were darkened. 00:11:24.639 --> 00:11:27.159 So look at this diagnosis from Paul. 00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:27.700 He's saying, 00:11:27.980 --> 00:11:30.180 when we stop giving thanks to God 00:11:30.180 --> 00:11:32.700 and when we stop honoring God as God, 00:11:32.700 --> 00:11:33.100 in other words, 00:11:33.160 --> 00:11:34.379 as the ultimate giver, 00:11:35.500 --> 00:11:36.920 in the broader context, 00:11:37.020 --> 00:11:38.560 this is a place where Paul is talking about 00:11:38.560 --> 00:11:40.580 how we have exchanged the glory of God 00:11:40.580 --> 00:11:43.080 for the glory of the things that God has made. 00:11:44.360 --> 00:11:45.960 So when we cut God off 00:11:45.960 --> 00:11:47.300 and when we cease to acknowledge 00:11:47.300 --> 00:11:48.620 that there is a giver, 00:11:49.940 --> 00:11:52.280 and when we cease giving thanks to that giver, 00:11:53.020 --> 00:11:54.860 recognizing that he's the ultimate source 00:11:54.860 --> 00:11:57.160 of all of the gifts in our lives, 00:11:58.300 --> 00:12:00.280 our thinking becomes futile 00:12:00.280 --> 00:12:02.160 and our hearts darkened. 00:12:02.159 --> 00:12:04.299 And is this not exactly what we see 00:12:04.299 --> 00:12:07.620 in Genesis 3 at the fall of humankind? 00:12:07.839 --> 00:12:09.339 Is this not exactly what happens? 00:12:10.319 --> 00:12:11.579 You know, the fall was motivated 00:12:11.579 --> 00:12:12.860 not only by pride, 00:12:12.939 --> 00:12:14.839 but by ingratitude. 00:12:16.899 --> 00:12:17.539 Ingratitude. 00:12:19.539 --> 00:12:21.620 I mean, God gives human beings 00:12:21.620 --> 00:12:23.100 the whole world 00:12:23.100 --> 00:12:26.179 except for one tree. 00:12:26.179 --> 00:12:28.939 You can have all of it. 00:12:29.479 --> 00:12:31.000 It's all yours. 00:12:31.359 --> 00:12:34.099 You can multiply and expand and fill it 00:12:34.099 --> 00:12:35.659 and oversee it in my name. 00:12:35.819 --> 00:12:38.259 You can rule in my stead. 00:12:39.139 --> 00:12:40.559 It's all yours. 00:12:42.319 --> 00:12:43.579 And what do human beings say? 00:12:43.639 --> 00:12:44.399 Well, what about that tree? 00:12:45.739 --> 00:12:46.039 You know? 00:12:46.459 --> 00:12:47.819 Is that not human nature? 00:12:47.820 --> 00:12:51.200 That's my two-year-old 00:12:51.200 --> 00:12:52.600 every single day. 00:12:53.340 --> 00:12:54.340 Well, I guess he's three now. 00:12:54.980 --> 00:12:56.540 Still acting like a two-year-old, though. 00:12:58.220 --> 00:13:00.680 Every single day. 00:13:01.780 --> 00:13:03.220 This is why we dismiss the kids 00:13:03.220 --> 00:13:04.240 so I can rip on them 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:04.960 when they're downstairs. 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:07.960 And if I'm honest, 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:08.680 it's me 00:13:08.680 --> 00:13:10.060 almost every single day. 00:13:11.460 --> 00:13:12.420 It's human nature. 00:13:12.419 --> 00:13:15.439 Focusing on what we don't have, 00:13:15.559 --> 00:13:16.959 focusing on what we're not given, 00:13:17.419 --> 00:13:18.539 rather than what 00:13:18.539 --> 00:13:19.919 has been given to us, 00:13:20.059 --> 00:13:21.439 that's futile thinking 00:13:21.439 --> 00:13:22.659 and it's a darkened heart 00:13:22.659 --> 00:13:23.399 at work. 00:13:25.299 --> 00:13:26.479 So cultivating 00:13:26.479 --> 00:13:28.339 a habitual gratitude to God 00:13:28.339 --> 00:13:29.599 as the ultimate giver 00:13:29.599 --> 00:13:32.120 continually reorients our hearts 00:13:32.120 --> 00:13:33.899 out of ourselves 00:13:33.899 --> 00:13:35.120 and toward God. 00:13:35.179 --> 00:13:36.000 And if you're anything like me, 00:13:36.059 --> 00:13:38.379 we need that all the time. 00:13:38.379 --> 00:13:40.339 Again and again and again. 00:13:40.459 --> 00:13:41.439 It's a habit of holiness. 00:13:42.779 --> 00:13:44.019 It reminds us 00:13:44.019 --> 00:13:45.039 that everything we have 00:13:45.039 --> 00:13:45.779 comes from him 00:13:45.779 --> 00:13:47.159 and that we're therefore 00:13:47.159 --> 00:13:48.500 dependent on him 00:13:48.500 --> 00:13:49.639 for everything. 00:13:50.360 --> 00:13:51.559 And interestingly enough, 00:13:52.439 --> 00:13:54.659 the more we cultivate gratitude 00:13:54.659 --> 00:13:56.099 for the ultimate giver, 00:13:56.459 --> 00:13:57.479 the more you will find 00:13:57.479 --> 00:13:58.839 that we become generous 00:13:58.839 --> 00:14:01.539 and thankful 00:14:01.539 --> 00:14:02.860 to the people in our lives. 00:14:04.299 --> 00:14:06.199 The one encourages the other. 00:14:06.299 --> 00:14:06.759 It's interesting. 00:14:06.759 --> 00:14:07.639 Peter Lightheart, 00:14:08.199 --> 00:14:09.419 a Bible scholar, 00:14:09.539 --> 00:14:10.779 wrote a book on gratitude 00:14:10.779 --> 00:14:12.120 and the history of gratitude 00:14:12.120 --> 00:14:14.120 particularly in the context 00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:15.179 of Greece and Rome 00:14:15.179 --> 00:14:18.299 when Christianity really emerged. 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:21.340 And he says that 00:14:21.340 --> 00:14:22.539 in ancient Greece and Rome, 00:14:23.060 --> 00:14:24.240 they considered gift giving 00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:25.659 and gratitude to be circular. 00:14:26.379 --> 00:14:28.039 So the proper response 00:14:28.039 --> 00:14:29.060 to a gift received 00:14:29.060 --> 00:14:31.320 was to return a gift or favor. 00:14:32.379 --> 00:14:33.279 So you see how that 00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:34.379 could quickly go awry. 00:14:34.940 --> 00:14:36.080 I do something for you 00:14:36.080 --> 00:14:36.919 and then you owe me. 00:14:36.919 --> 00:14:38.500 And society expects 00:14:38.500 --> 00:14:39.279 you better pay me back. 00:14:39.339 --> 00:14:40.360 Well then I do something for you 00:14:40.360 --> 00:14:41.159 and then you owe me. 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:42.620 And what happens is 00:14:42.620 --> 00:14:43.299 you have the development 00:14:43.299 --> 00:14:44.719 of a patronage system. 00:14:45.919 --> 00:14:46.779 And gift giving 00:14:46.779 --> 00:14:48.279 becomes a very effective way 00:14:48.279 --> 00:14:48.939 to manipulate 00:14:48.939 --> 00:14:50.179 and control people. 00:14:50.419 --> 00:14:51.500 Especially if you have 00:14:51.500 --> 00:14:53.279 a very well-resourced person 00:14:53.279 --> 00:14:55.000 doing something kind, 00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:55.860 a gift, 00:14:56.139 --> 00:14:56.799 for somebody 00:14:56.799 --> 00:14:57.839 who's not so well off. 00:14:59.319 --> 00:15:00.919 The sense of indebtedness 00:15:01.500 --> 00:15:02.500 would quickly 00:15:02.500 --> 00:15:03.439 enslave people. 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:05.280 And he says that 00:15:05.280 --> 00:15:06.480 Christianity introduced 00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:08.300 a radically God-centered approach 00:15:08.300 --> 00:15:09.940 that vastly enlarged 00:15:09.940 --> 00:15:12.000 the circle of gift and response. 00:15:13.040 --> 00:15:14.420 The idea that God 00:15:14.420 --> 00:15:15.400 is the ultimate giver 00:15:15.400 --> 00:15:17.040 completely undermined 00:15:17.040 --> 00:15:18.160 Roman society 00:15:18.160 --> 00:15:19.060 and political life 00:15:19.060 --> 00:15:19.960 in profound ways. 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:20.980 And it began to break 00:15:20.980 --> 00:15:22.760 the patronage system apart. 00:15:25.220 --> 00:15:26.120 Placing God 00:15:26.120 --> 00:15:27.500 at the center of all gift giving 00:15:27.500 --> 00:15:28.820 has major consequences. 00:15:29.080 --> 00:15:29.780 And you see this 00:15:29.780 --> 00:15:30.880 in Jesus' disciples. 00:15:30.880 --> 00:15:32.820 They were to give to others 00:15:32.820 --> 00:15:34.540 without anticipating a return. 00:15:35.480 --> 00:15:36.040 You know, Jesus says 00:15:36.040 --> 00:15:36.900 don't give to somebody 00:15:36.900 --> 00:15:38.520 expecting them to repay it. 00:15:38.820 --> 00:15:39.860 Give to those specifically 00:15:39.860 --> 00:15:41.040 who can't repay you. 00:15:41.520 --> 00:15:42.379 Because they knew 00:15:42.379 --> 00:15:43.240 that their reward 00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:45.200 would be from God. 00:15:46.700 --> 00:15:47.660 It freed them 00:15:47.660 --> 00:15:48.460 to give to those 00:15:48.460 --> 00:15:49.540 from whom they could 00:15:49.540 --> 00:15:50.940 never expect a return. 00:15:52.460 --> 00:15:52.940 Moreover, 00:15:53.180 --> 00:15:53.940 Christians were not 00:15:53.940 --> 00:15:54.840 to be beholden 00:15:54.840 --> 00:15:55.440 to anyone 00:15:55.440 --> 00:15:56.800 who gives to them. 00:15:57.120 --> 00:15:57.780 So instead of 00:15:57.780 --> 00:15:58.620 owing favors 00:15:58.620 --> 00:15:59.860 back to the man 00:15:59.860 --> 00:16:00.280 or woman 00:16:00.280 --> 00:16:01.540 who had given them something 00:16:01.539 --> 00:16:03.659 and then owing allegiance 00:16:03.659 --> 00:16:04.980 to benefactors, 00:16:05.319 --> 00:16:06.120 the Christian's duty 00:16:06.120 --> 00:16:07.519 was to make good use 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:08.000 of the gifts 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:08.519 that were given. 00:16:11.099 --> 00:16:12.000 So Lightheart 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:12.539 nicely summarizes 00:16:13.099 --> 00:16:13.599 this view 00:16:13.599 --> 00:16:14.419 of gift and gratitude. 00:16:14.599 --> 00:16:15.120 He says this, 00:16:15.699 --> 00:16:16.639 Christian givers 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:18.459 impose no debts. 00:16:19.599 --> 00:16:20.620 Christian recipients 00:16:20.620 --> 00:16:22.699 acknowledge no debts 00:16:22.699 --> 00:16:23.819 except to love. 00:16:25.240 --> 00:16:26.379 So this is the way 00:16:26.379 --> 00:16:27.019 that we are 00:16:27.019 --> 00:16:28.019 to be shaped 00:16:28.019 --> 00:16:28.919 in our giving 00:16:28.919 --> 00:16:29.699 and serving 00:16:29.699 --> 00:16:30.339 to one another 00:16:30.339 --> 00:16:30.860 in the Christian 00:16:30.860 --> 00:16:31.639 community today. 00:16:31.879 --> 00:16:32.740 I give to you, 00:16:32.839 --> 00:16:33.479 I should expect 00:16:33.479 --> 00:16:34.419 nothing in return. 00:16:35.839 --> 00:16:36.919 If we say thank you, 00:16:36.979 --> 00:16:37.419 that's great, 00:16:37.500 --> 00:16:38.179 we should do that. 00:16:38.779 --> 00:16:39.500 It'll help your immune 00:16:39.500 --> 00:16:40.199 system as well. 00:16:41.059 --> 00:16:41.559 That's good, 00:16:41.639 --> 00:16:42.519 we should say thank you. 00:16:42.579 --> 00:16:43.019 We should write 00:16:43.019 --> 00:16:43.639 thank you notes. 00:16:43.719 --> 00:16:44.719 These are all good habits. 00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:46.620 But we should never 00:16:46.620 --> 00:16:47.599 give and expect 00:16:47.599 --> 00:16:49.039 a thank you. 00:16:49.079 --> 00:16:49.740 We should never give 00:16:49.740 --> 00:16:51.059 and resent somebody 00:16:51.059 --> 00:16:52.079 when they don't thank us 00:16:52.079 --> 00:16:52.679 the way we think 00:16:52.679 --> 00:16:53.240 we deserve. 00:16:53.879 --> 00:16:54.759 Because we ultimately 00:16:54.759 --> 00:16:55.419 look to God. 00:16:55.419 --> 00:16:58.740 So this is the first 00:16:58.740 --> 00:16:59.639 aspect of Christian 00:16:59.639 --> 00:17:00.719 gratitude that makes 00:17:00.719 --> 00:17:01.179 it unique. 00:17:01.319 --> 00:17:01.860 It's the object 00:17:01.860 --> 00:17:02.500 of our gratitude. 00:17:03.219 --> 00:17:03.699 We believe that 00:17:03.699 --> 00:17:04.599 every good and perfect 00:17:04.599 --> 00:17:05.599 gift comes from 00:17:05.599 --> 00:17:06.539 God, the giver. 00:17:07.500 --> 00:17:08.639 The next unique 00:17:08.639 --> 00:17:09.559 aspect of Christian 00:17:09.559 --> 00:17:10.559 gratitude concerns 00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:11.740 the circumstances 00:17:11.740 --> 00:17:14.000 in which we give 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:14.339 thanks. 00:17:16.740 --> 00:17:17.839 So hashtag 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:18.480 gratitude 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:19.940 really only 00:17:19.940 --> 00:17:20.460 focuses 00:17:20.460 --> 00:17:22.279 on things 00:17:22.279 --> 00:17:23.119 which we perceive 00:17:23.119 --> 00:17:24.000 to be good things. 00:17:24.879 --> 00:17:25.359 Right? 00:17:25.660 --> 00:17:27.140 So, you know, 00:17:27.380 --> 00:17:28.380 staying at the Waldorf 00:17:28.380 --> 00:17:29.120 tonight, hashtag 00:17:29.120 --> 00:17:29.519 gratitude. 00:17:30.340 --> 00:17:31.460 You know, look at 00:17:31.460 --> 00:17:32.360 this amazing view 00:17:32.360 --> 00:17:33.000 from my deck, 00:17:33.300 --> 00:17:34.240 hashtag gratitude. 00:17:34.620 --> 00:17:34.820 Right? 00:17:35.580 --> 00:17:36.620 We look at the good 00:17:36.620 --> 00:17:37.259 things in our lives 00:17:37.259 --> 00:17:37.660 and we say, well, 00:17:37.660 --> 00:17:38.220 I should really be 00:17:38.220 --> 00:17:38.940 thankful for this. 00:17:42.019 --> 00:17:43.019 By contrast, 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:45.800 1 Thessalonians 5.18 00:17:45.800 --> 00:17:46.279 says, 00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:48.779 give thanks in all 00:17:48.779 --> 00:17:49.360 circumstances. 00:17:50.600 --> 00:17:51.460 And then it goes on 00:17:51.460 --> 00:17:51.980 and this is something 00:17:51.980 --> 00:17:52.660 that applies to the 00:17:52.660 --> 00:17:53.340 whole of the section 00:17:53.340 --> 00:17:53.840 that we read. 00:17:53.839 --> 00:17:55.019 for this is the 00:17:55.019 --> 00:17:57.339 will of God 00:17:57.339 --> 00:17:58.779 in Christ Jesus 00:17:58.779 --> 00:17:59.459 for you. 00:18:01.159 --> 00:18:01.859 So people say, 00:18:01.919 --> 00:18:02.419 well, surely he 00:18:02.419 --> 00:18:02.899 doesn't mean, 00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:04.199 I mean, surely 00:18:04.199 --> 00:18:04.839 is he just kind of 00:18:04.839 --> 00:18:05.480 getting carried away 00:18:05.480 --> 00:18:06.079 and then Paul kind 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:06.619 of drives it home? 00:18:06.679 --> 00:18:07.299 No, this is the 00:18:07.299 --> 00:18:08.179 will of God 00:18:08.179 --> 00:18:09.379 in Christ for you. 00:18:10.179 --> 00:18:10.799 Give thanks in 00:18:10.799 --> 00:18:11.720 all circumstances. 00:18:11.720 --> 00:18:12.399 Do you know anything 00:18:12.399 --> 00:18:13.279 about Paul's life? 00:18:13.279 --> 00:18:17.660 It's amazing to look 00:18:17.660 --> 00:18:18.940 at the lists of 00:18:18.940 --> 00:18:19.759 sufferings that he 00:18:19.759 --> 00:18:20.139 endures. 00:18:20.359 --> 00:18:21.299 He's beaten, 00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:22.619 he's tortured, 00:18:22.779 --> 00:18:23.339 he's imprisoned 00:18:23.339 --> 00:18:24.160 multiple times, 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:25.519 he gets deathly ill, 00:18:25.559 --> 00:18:26.259 he has multiple 00:18:26.259 --> 00:18:27.500 near-death experiences, 00:18:27.700 --> 00:18:28.859 he has multiple 00:18:28.859 --> 00:18:29.819 shipwrecks, 00:18:29.960 --> 00:18:31.720 he describes times 00:18:31.720 --> 00:18:32.539 where he's naked 00:18:32.539 --> 00:18:33.180 and alone 00:18:33.180 --> 00:18:33.920 and feels betrayed 00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:34.639 by everybody. 00:18:36.519 --> 00:18:37.220 And yet he says, 00:18:37.319 --> 00:18:38.139 give thanks in all 00:18:38.139 --> 00:18:38.779 circumstances. 00:18:38.779 --> 00:18:40.639 And the reason 00:18:40.639 --> 00:18:41.220 is because he 00:18:41.220 --> 00:18:43.319 believed the theology 00:18:43.319 --> 00:18:44.319 that he lays out 00:18:44.319 --> 00:18:45.259 in Romans 8, 28. 00:18:45.619 --> 00:18:46.440 That he believed 00:18:46.440 --> 00:18:47.200 with all of his heart 00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:48.680 that for those 00:18:48.680 --> 00:18:49.399 who love God, 00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:50.379 all things work 00:18:50.379 --> 00:18:51.220 together for good. 00:18:51.819 --> 00:18:52.599 For those who are 00:18:52.599 --> 00:18:53.180 called according 00:18:53.180 --> 00:18:53.740 to his purpose. 00:18:53.839 --> 00:18:54.639 He believed that 00:18:54.639 --> 00:18:55.619 and he lived it out. 00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:01.399 We had one of the 00:19:01.399 --> 00:19:03.359 most heated 00:19:03.359 --> 00:19:04.779 Bible studies. 00:19:05.579 --> 00:19:07.119 Yeah, it's possible. 00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:09.579 Our staff had a heated 00:19:09.579 --> 00:19:10.579 Bible study discussion 00:19:10.579 --> 00:19:12.919 when the first chapter 00:19:12.919 --> 00:19:13.739 of Job came up. 00:19:14.500 --> 00:19:15.299 It is one of the 00:19:15.299 --> 00:19:16.659 most breathtaking passages 00:19:16.659 --> 00:19:17.619 in all of Scripture 00:19:17.619 --> 00:19:18.439 in my humble opinion. 00:19:20.359 --> 00:19:21.119 I don't know if you 00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:22.199 caught it when we read it, 00:19:22.879 --> 00:19:23.859 but Job is a kind 00:19:23.859 --> 00:19:24.919 of epic poem. 00:19:25.599 --> 00:19:26.539 It's a unique genre. 00:19:26.699 --> 00:19:27.179 It's part of the 00:19:27.179 --> 00:19:27.899 wisdom literature. 00:19:29.019 --> 00:19:30.279 And it's an epic poem 00:19:30.279 --> 00:19:30.939 and in the beginning 00:19:30.939 --> 00:19:32.199 Job has it all. 00:19:32.279 --> 00:19:33.099 He has a great family, 00:19:33.199 --> 00:19:33.919 he has a lot of wealth, 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:34.659 he has a lot of land, 00:19:34.719 --> 00:19:35.459 he has a great home. 00:19:35.460 --> 00:19:37.240 But then God 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:38.259 allows Satan 00:19:38.259 --> 00:19:39.220 to bring massive 00:19:39.220 --> 00:19:40.340 suffering into his life. 00:19:41.259 --> 00:19:42.319 So you hear 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:43.759 four messengers come 00:19:43.759 --> 00:19:45.279 and Job finds out 00:19:45.279 --> 00:19:45.960 essentially that 00:19:45.960 --> 00:19:46.700 all of his wealth, 00:19:46.819 --> 00:19:47.559 all of his livestock, 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:48.779 his home, 00:19:48.900 --> 00:19:49.660 and all of his children, 00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:50.720 all ten of his children 00:19:50.720 --> 00:19:52.360 are gone. 00:19:54.299 --> 00:19:55.100 And then how does 00:19:55.100 --> 00:19:56.220 Job respond to this news? 00:19:57.840 --> 00:19:58.900 I think this is one 00:19:58.900 --> 00:19:59.519 of the most amazing 00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:01.279 verses in the whole Bible. 00:20:01.400 --> 00:20:01.680 It says, 00:20:01.680 --> 00:20:04.580 Then Job arose 00:20:04.580 --> 00:20:05.740 and tore his robe 00:20:05.740 --> 00:20:06.779 and shaved his head 00:20:06.779 --> 00:20:07.820 and fell on the ground 00:20:07.820 --> 00:20:08.500 and worshipped. 00:20:11.420 --> 00:20:12.120 And he said, 00:20:12.200 --> 00:20:12.779 Naked I came 00:20:12.779 --> 00:20:13.580 from my mother's womb 00:20:13.580 --> 00:20:14.799 and naked I shall return. 00:20:16.400 --> 00:20:17.380 The Lord gave 00:20:17.380 --> 00:20:18.600 and the Lord has taken away. 00:20:20.580 --> 00:20:21.519 Blessed be the name 00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:22.000 of the Lord. 00:20:22.539 --> 00:20:22.779 Oh. 00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:26.680 And then later, 00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:28.360 Job finds himself 00:20:28.360 --> 00:20:29.279 very ill, 00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:31.000 covered in boils. 00:20:32.359 --> 00:20:32.759 And you know 00:20:32.759 --> 00:20:33.519 what his wife says? 00:20:34.899 --> 00:20:36.279 Oh, just curse God 00:20:36.279 --> 00:20:36.859 and die. 00:20:38.859 --> 00:20:39.259 Thanks. 00:20:43.759 --> 00:20:44.660 Job's response, 00:20:47.359 --> 00:20:48.639 Shall we receive good 00:20:48.639 --> 00:20:49.460 at the hand of the Lord 00:20:49.460 --> 00:20:50.420 and not receive evil? 00:20:53.220 --> 00:20:54.660 See, what Paul understands 00:20:54.660 --> 00:20:56.000 and I think what we see 00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:56.899 in the book of Job, 00:20:56.940 --> 00:20:58.200 I think one of the main themes 00:20:58.200 --> 00:20:59.000 in the book of Job 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:02.279 is an incredibly unique way 00:21:02.279 --> 00:21:03.299 of understanding suffering. 00:21:03.700 --> 00:21:04.400 I don't think you find 00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:05.240 this anywhere else. 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:07.539 Because in Job, 00:21:07.700 --> 00:21:08.680 God is not the one 00:21:08.680 --> 00:21:09.859 actively causing 00:21:09.859 --> 00:21:10.519 the suffering. 00:21:10.660 --> 00:21:12.000 He's not generating 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:12.539 the suffering 00:21:12.539 --> 00:21:13.400 in Job's life. 00:21:13.500 --> 00:21:15.380 He's not making it happen. 00:21:17.720 --> 00:21:19.140 When God created the world, 00:21:19.220 --> 00:21:19.980 the Bible tells us, 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:20.839 he made it perfect. 00:21:21.299 --> 00:21:22.400 He made it a world 00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:23.220 without suffering. 00:21:23.400 --> 00:21:24.059 He made it a world 00:21:24.059 --> 00:21:25.200 without disease, 00:21:25.400 --> 00:21:26.299 a world without illness, 00:21:26.420 --> 00:21:27.460 a world without injustice. 00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:30.420 And we see suffering 00:21:30.420 --> 00:21:31.119 as being something 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:32.400 that enters in. 00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:35.480 something that enters in 00:21:35.480 --> 00:21:36.980 in the form of a serpent, 00:21:37.700 --> 00:21:38.940 evil and suffering 00:21:38.940 --> 00:21:39.560 and wickedness, 00:21:39.620 --> 00:21:40.240 but then ultimately 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:41.360 takes root in this world 00:21:41.360 --> 00:21:42.100 because of us. 00:21:43.740 --> 00:21:44.900 Because we throw our lot 00:21:44.900 --> 00:21:45.480 in with that. 00:21:46.580 --> 00:21:47.420 Instead of with God, 00:21:47.480 --> 00:21:47.800 we say, 00:21:47.960 --> 00:21:48.820 what about that one tree? 00:21:49.560 --> 00:21:50.400 And we throw everything else 00:21:50.400 --> 00:21:51.019 away to get it. 00:21:52.420 --> 00:21:53.180 But in Job, 00:21:53.259 --> 00:21:53.800 you see that God 00:21:53.800 --> 00:21:55.259 is not actively generating 00:21:55.259 --> 00:21:55.860 that suffering. 00:21:56.120 --> 00:21:57.600 He is allowing Satan 00:21:57.600 --> 00:21:59.220 to do that. 00:21:59.380 --> 00:22:00.700 So he's allowing this 00:22:00.700 --> 00:22:01.240 to happen. 00:22:01.660 --> 00:22:02.559 And yet what we see 00:22:02.559 --> 00:22:02.980 is this. 00:22:03.319 --> 00:22:04.400 Satan is on a leash. 00:22:05.740 --> 00:22:06.539 He's on a leash. 00:22:07.500 --> 00:22:08.319 And at the very beginning, 00:22:08.420 --> 00:22:08.799 God says, 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:09.620 I will permit you 00:22:09.620 --> 00:22:10.000 to do this, 00:22:10.039 --> 00:22:10.720 I will not permit you 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:11.160 to do that. 00:22:11.299 --> 00:22:12.480 He gives him his parameters. 00:22:12.840 --> 00:22:14.100 He gives instructions. 00:22:15.400 --> 00:22:16.740 And Satan has no choice 00:22:16.740 --> 00:22:17.200 but to obey. 00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:18.559 This is not an epic battle 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:19.539 of good versus evil 00:22:19.539 --> 00:22:20.940 and evil sometimes win 00:22:20.940 --> 00:22:22.960 and good sometimes wins. 00:22:23.120 --> 00:22:23.960 This is God saying, 00:22:24.140 --> 00:22:24.960 I will give you permission 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:25.440 to do this 00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:26.299 and only this. 00:22:26.299 --> 00:22:29.059 And there's no negotiation. 00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:31.960 And then if you see 00:22:31.960 --> 00:22:32.839 what ends up happening 00:22:32.839 --> 00:22:33.259 is this. 00:22:33.299 --> 00:22:34.099 In the book of Job, 00:22:35.720 --> 00:22:36.799 God allows Satan 00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:37.519 to bring suffering 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:38.359 into the world, 00:22:38.940 --> 00:22:41.019 but he only allows Satan 00:22:41.019 --> 00:22:41.940 enough leeway 00:22:41.940 --> 00:22:42.579 to accomplish 00:22:42.579 --> 00:22:43.680 the very opposite 00:22:43.680 --> 00:22:45.000 of what he intended. 00:22:46.500 --> 00:22:47.519 The opposite of what, 00:22:47.579 --> 00:22:48.740 what's Satan's goal 00:22:48.740 --> 00:22:49.299 with Job? 00:22:49.680 --> 00:22:50.299 It's to get Job 00:22:50.960 --> 00:22:51.720 to do what his wife 00:22:51.720 --> 00:22:52.259 told him to do. 00:22:52.339 --> 00:22:53.039 Curse God 00:22:53.039 --> 00:22:53.700 and die. 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:54.299 Give up. 00:22:54.599 --> 00:22:55.440 Lose your faith. 00:22:55.440 --> 00:22:57.880 But by the end 00:22:57.880 --> 00:22:58.180 of the book, 00:22:58.259 --> 00:22:58.820 what has happened? 00:22:59.660 --> 00:23:00.440 God has returned 00:23:00.440 --> 00:23:00.920 to Job 00:23:00.920 --> 00:23:02.539 ten times over 00:23:02.539 --> 00:23:03.400 everything that he lost 00:23:03.400 --> 00:23:04.299 and Job is the one 00:23:04.299 --> 00:23:05.059 praying for 00:23:05.059 --> 00:23:06.000 and interceding for 00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:06.960 his friends. 00:23:08.120 --> 00:23:09.440 And Job is put up 00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:10.480 as the great example. 00:23:12.140 --> 00:23:13.340 So it's the opposite 00:23:13.340 --> 00:23:14.960 of Satan's intention. 00:23:17.700 --> 00:23:18.460 And of course, 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:19.400 the ultimate example 00:23:19.400 --> 00:23:20.420 of this is the cross, 00:23:20.539 --> 00:23:20.840 right? 00:23:22.039 --> 00:23:22.799 On the cross, 00:23:22.880 --> 00:23:23.480 you see Jesus 00:23:23.480 --> 00:23:24.360 suffering worse 00:23:24.359 --> 00:23:27.079 than any man, 00:23:27.159 --> 00:23:27.299 woman, 00:23:27.339 --> 00:23:27.699 or child 00:23:27.699 --> 00:23:28.679 will ever suffer, 00:23:29.839 --> 00:23:30.199 ever. 00:23:30.719 --> 00:23:31.599 It's the worst 00:23:31.599 --> 00:23:32.939 suffering imaginable. 00:23:33.939 --> 00:23:34.559 And yet, 00:23:34.719 --> 00:23:35.959 God uses the cross 00:23:35.959 --> 00:23:36.740 to bring about 00:23:36.740 --> 00:23:38.459 the most beautiful 00:23:38.459 --> 00:23:39.019 redemption, 00:23:39.259 --> 00:23:40.159 the most beautiful 00:23:40.159 --> 00:23:40.799 reality 00:23:40.799 --> 00:23:41.799 that the world 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:42.359 has ever seen. 00:23:42.479 --> 00:23:43.579 The worst suffering, 00:23:43.679 --> 00:23:44.339 and yet God brings 00:23:44.339 --> 00:23:44.959 out of that 00:23:44.959 --> 00:23:45.759 the most beautiful 00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:46.119 victory. 00:23:48.119 --> 00:23:49.579 By allowing Satan 00:23:49.579 --> 00:23:50.379 to have victory 00:23:50.379 --> 00:23:51.619 over Jesus on the cross, 00:23:51.699 --> 00:23:52.479 by allowing Satan 00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:53.819 to create that suffering, 00:23:54.720 --> 00:23:55.440 God ultimately 00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:57.099 defeats Satan 00:23:57.099 --> 00:23:58.460 and liberates us 00:23:58.460 --> 00:23:59.120 from sin and death. 00:23:59.319 --> 00:24:00.200 It's because of 00:24:00.200 --> 00:24:00.860 that suffering 00:24:00.860 --> 00:24:01.759 that the Bible 00:24:01.759 --> 00:24:02.599 can make a promise 00:24:02.599 --> 00:24:03.140 that one day 00:24:03.140 --> 00:24:03.579 there will be 00:24:03.579 --> 00:24:04.299 no more suffering. 00:24:06.700 --> 00:24:08.120 So Paul sees this, 00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:08.640 I believe, 00:24:08.799 --> 00:24:09.539 and sees this 00:24:09.539 --> 00:24:10.380 and says that 00:24:10.380 --> 00:24:10.680 this is, 00:24:10.920 --> 00:24:11.339 the cross 00:24:11.339 --> 00:24:12.120 and the suffering 00:24:12.120 --> 00:24:12.599 of the cross 00:24:12.599 --> 00:24:13.819 is a paradigm. 00:24:15.019 --> 00:24:16.120 It's a paradigm 00:24:16.120 --> 00:24:17.259 within which 00:24:17.259 --> 00:24:18.079 we should understand 00:24:18.079 --> 00:24:19.220 all of our suffering. 00:24:19.660 --> 00:24:20.019 He's saying, 00:24:20.220 --> 00:24:20.559 do you want to know 00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:21.759 the shape of suffering 00:24:21.759 --> 00:24:22.259 ultimately? 00:24:22.500 --> 00:24:23.419 It's the cross. 00:24:24.879 --> 00:24:25.659 And so Paul looks 00:24:25.659 --> 00:24:25.919 at this 00:24:25.919 --> 00:24:26.639 and he looks 00:24:26.639 --> 00:24:27.139 at the reality 00:24:27.139 --> 00:24:27.879 that he's imprisoned 00:24:27.879 --> 00:24:28.539 and beaten 00:24:28.539 --> 00:24:29.720 and rejected, 00:24:30.220 --> 00:24:31.079 that he's mocked 00:24:31.079 --> 00:24:31.740 and ridiculed 00:24:31.740 --> 00:24:32.119 and he looks 00:24:32.119 --> 00:24:33.179 at all of this suffering 00:24:33.179 --> 00:24:34.359 and he says, 00:24:34.519 --> 00:24:35.419 if God could take 00:24:35.419 --> 00:24:36.839 the unimaginable 00:24:36.839 --> 00:24:37.700 suffering of Jesus 00:24:37.700 --> 00:24:39.019 and bring out 00:24:39.019 --> 00:24:39.579 of that 00:24:39.579 --> 00:24:41.599 a thing of such beauty 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:42.279 as the redemption 00:24:42.279 --> 00:24:42.919 of the world, 00:24:43.460 --> 00:24:44.379 then surely 00:24:44.379 --> 00:24:45.179 he can take 00:24:45.179 --> 00:24:45.940 my suffering 00:24:45.940 --> 00:24:49.200 and ultimately 00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:49.900 bring something 00:24:49.900 --> 00:24:50.640 beautiful out. 00:24:52.360 --> 00:24:52.920 He doesn't 00:24:52.920 --> 00:24:53.580 understand it. 00:24:54.299 --> 00:24:55.140 Anybody who tries 00:24:55.140 --> 00:24:55.940 to explain it to you, 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:56.539 don't trust him. 00:24:57.220 --> 00:24:57.759 They're probably 00:24:57.759 --> 00:24:58.380 selling a book. 00:24:59.660 --> 00:25:00.920 It doesn't make sense. 00:25:02.580 --> 00:25:03.980 It won't make sense 00:25:03.980 --> 00:25:06.620 until Jesus comes again. 00:25:07.480 --> 00:25:08.539 But there is that place 00:25:08.539 --> 00:25:09.340 in the book of Revelation 00:25:09.340 --> 00:25:10.220 at the very end 00:25:10.220 --> 00:25:10.779 when all things 00:25:10.779 --> 00:25:11.340 have been restored 00:25:11.340 --> 00:25:11.840 where it says 00:25:11.840 --> 00:25:13.000 Jesus will wipe away 00:25:13.000 --> 00:25:14.019 every tear. 00:25:14.019 --> 00:25:16.359 And I've always thought 00:25:16.359 --> 00:25:16.940 when I read that 00:25:16.940 --> 00:25:17.779 that that's more than 00:25:17.779 --> 00:25:18.960 just a poetic image 00:25:18.960 --> 00:25:19.680 that I believe 00:25:19.680 --> 00:25:20.440 that that's a place 00:25:20.440 --> 00:25:21.500 where God is promising 00:25:21.500 --> 00:25:22.960 a kind of reckoning. 00:25:24.099 --> 00:25:24.680 Where there will come 00:25:24.680 --> 00:25:25.960 a time when every tear 00:25:25.960 --> 00:25:26.980 will make sense. 00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:29.420 That every tear 00:25:29.420 --> 00:25:30.759 will somehow fit. 00:25:32.359 --> 00:25:33.220 That we'll be able 00:25:33.220 --> 00:25:34.519 to look at the suffering 00:25:34.519 --> 00:25:35.119 in our lives 00:25:35.119 --> 00:25:35.639 and in the lives 00:25:35.639 --> 00:25:36.119 of everybody 00:25:36.119 --> 00:25:36.819 that we care about 00:25:36.819 --> 00:25:37.639 in the lives of the world 00:25:37.639 --> 00:25:38.160 and we'll be able 00:25:38.160 --> 00:25:39.200 to say about it 00:25:39.200 --> 00:25:40.319 what we can now say 00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:41.019 about the cross. 00:25:42.119 --> 00:25:42.940 And I don't know 00:25:42.940 --> 00:25:43.359 how it's going 00:25:43.359 --> 00:25:44.019 to all play out. 00:25:44.279 --> 00:25:44.899 And I don't know 00:25:44.899 --> 00:25:45.259 how it's going 00:25:45.259 --> 00:25:45.619 to play out 00:25:45.619 --> 00:25:46.159 in your life. 00:25:46.479 --> 00:25:46.939 I don't know 00:25:46.939 --> 00:25:47.259 how it's going 00:25:47.259 --> 00:25:47.599 to play out 00:25:47.599 --> 00:25:48.099 in my life. 00:25:49.579 --> 00:25:50.240 But even though 00:25:50.240 --> 00:25:50.879 we don't know 00:25:50.879 --> 00:25:51.959 next week 00:25:51.959 --> 00:25:52.599 or next month 00:25:52.599 --> 00:25:53.219 or next year 00:25:53.219 --> 00:25:54.419 we know the end 00:25:54.419 --> 00:25:55.099 of the story. 00:25:55.759 --> 00:25:56.319 Every tear 00:25:56.319 --> 00:25:57.139 gets wiped away. 00:25:58.159 --> 00:25:58.919 There's a reckoning. 00:26:00.259 --> 00:26:01.159 And at some point 00:26:01.159 --> 00:26:01.699 we'll understand 00:26:01.699 --> 00:26:02.359 that our suffering 00:26:02.359 --> 00:26:03.119 as hard as it might 00:26:03.119 --> 00:26:03.500 have been 00:26:03.500 --> 00:26:05.619 it was not meaningless 00:26:05.619 --> 00:26:07.679 and it was not wasted. 00:26:10.679 --> 00:26:11.759 So Christian gratitude 00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:12.379 is unique 00:26:12.379 --> 00:26:13.379 in that we give thanks 00:26:13.379 --> 00:26:14.440 to God as the giver 00:26:14.440 --> 00:26:15.420 and it's unique 00:26:15.420 --> 00:26:16.000 in the sense 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:17.119 that we give thanks 00:26:17.119 --> 00:26:18.440 in all circumstances 00:26:18.440 --> 00:26:19.680 not only the good times 00:26:19.680 --> 00:26:20.579 but the hard times. 00:26:20.819 --> 00:26:21.700 Unless you believe 00:26:21.700 --> 00:26:22.440 in the cross 00:26:22.440 --> 00:26:23.599 and understand 00:26:23.599 --> 00:26:24.400 the kind of redemption 00:26:24.400 --> 00:26:24.960 that comes through it 00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:25.460 I don't know 00:26:25.460 --> 00:26:26.279 that you can give thanks 00:26:26.279 --> 00:26:27.119 in all circumstances. 00:26:27.900 --> 00:26:28.579 If you don't believe 00:26:28.579 --> 00:26:29.440 in the cross like that 00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:29.740 do you know 00:26:29.740 --> 00:26:30.279 what it becomes? 00:26:30.400 --> 00:26:31.099 It becomes what 00:26:31.099 --> 00:26:32.799 Melissa on our team 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:33.200 called 00:26:33.200 --> 00:26:35.559 band-aid thankfulness. 00:26:35.799 --> 00:26:36.460 A band-aid gratitude. 00:26:36.680 --> 00:26:36.900 You know 00:26:36.900 --> 00:26:38.099 the person who says 00:26:38.099 --> 00:26:38.640 oh 00:26:38.640 --> 00:26:40.039 you think you have it bad 00:26:40.039 --> 00:26:40.700 everybody else 00:26:40.700 --> 00:26:41.420 has it so much worse 00:26:41.420 --> 00:26:41.720 than you 00:26:41.720 --> 00:26:42.460 you should be thankful 00:26:42.460 --> 00:26:43.159 for what you have. 00:26:43.299 --> 00:26:44.059 That's a band-aid 00:26:44.059 --> 00:26:45.359 that's emotionally dishonest. 00:26:46.200 --> 00:26:46.839 That's not what 00:26:46.839 --> 00:26:47.599 we're talking about here. 00:26:47.659 --> 00:26:48.019 We're saying 00:26:48.019 --> 00:26:49.480 the cross was horrible 00:26:49.480 --> 00:26:51.559 and yet God made it beautiful. 00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:53.019 The suffering in your life 00:26:53.019 --> 00:26:53.720 is horrible. 00:26:54.159 --> 00:26:55.200 Never diminish that 00:26:55.200 --> 00:26:55.759 and yet 00:26:55.759 --> 00:26:58.759 at some point 00:26:58.759 --> 00:26:59.899 God will do something beautiful. 00:27:01.180 --> 00:27:02.299 Maybe he already is. 00:27:05.720 --> 00:27:06.599 So the third 00:27:06.599 --> 00:27:07.279 and final thing 00:27:07.279 --> 00:27:08.200 that makes Christian 00:27:08.200 --> 00:27:09.099 gratitude unique 00:27:09.099 --> 00:27:10.939 is the reason 00:27:10.939 --> 00:27:11.619 for the gratitude 00:27:11.619 --> 00:27:12.279 that we have. 00:27:12.699 --> 00:27:13.579 Why are we thankful? 00:27:14.699 --> 00:27:15.719 What's the source of it? 00:27:16.699 --> 00:27:17.719 That article I mentioned 00:27:17.719 --> 00:27:18.559 at the beginning of the service 00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:20.059 Barbara Ehrenreich's article 00:27:20.059 --> 00:27:21.639 she makes another 00:27:21.639 --> 00:27:22.539 interesting point. 00:27:22.779 --> 00:27:23.679 She links 00:27:23.679 --> 00:27:24.359 our current 00:27:24.359 --> 00:27:25.240 cultural obsession 00:27:25.240 --> 00:27:25.839 with gratitude 00:27:25.839 --> 00:27:27.459 to the power 00:27:27.459 --> 00:27:28.459 of positive thinking 00:27:28.459 --> 00:27:29.179 movement 00:27:29.179 --> 00:27:29.879 that sort of 00:27:29.879 --> 00:27:30.579 took hold 00:27:30.579 --> 00:27:31.359 over the last 00:27:31.359 --> 00:27:32.119 several decades 00:27:32.119 --> 00:27:33.699 in our culture. 00:27:33.779 --> 00:27:34.579 You know what I'm talking about? 00:27:34.659 --> 00:27:35.480 One of the more 00:27:35.480 --> 00:27:36.519 sort of far out 00:27:36.519 --> 00:27:37.419 ridiculous examples 00:27:37.420 --> 00:27:38.560 is that book 00:27:38.560 --> 00:27:39.279 called The Secret. 00:27:40.500 --> 00:27:40.759 Do you remember 00:27:40.759 --> 00:27:41.160 The Secret? 00:27:41.340 --> 00:27:41.640 Anybody 00:27:41.640 --> 00:27:43.080 sort of have 00:27:43.080 --> 00:27:43.740 the misfortune 00:27:43.740 --> 00:27:44.420 of coming across this? 00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:44.759 Well anyway 00:27:44.759 --> 00:27:48.360 it basically says 00:27:48.360 --> 00:27:48.920 if you want 00:27:48.920 --> 00:27:49.759 that nice car 00:27:49.759 --> 00:27:51.019 or that expensive house 00:27:51.019 --> 00:27:51.880 or that nice necklace 00:27:51.880 --> 00:27:52.860 then you need 00:27:52.860 --> 00:27:53.920 to visualize it 00:27:53.920 --> 00:27:54.720 and you need to send 00:27:54.720 --> 00:27:55.620 the positive vibes 00:27:55.620 --> 00:27:56.500 out into the universe 00:27:56.500 --> 00:27:57.600 and that the universe 00:27:57.600 --> 00:27:58.779 will then return to you 00:27:58.779 --> 00:27:59.240 those things. 00:27:59.380 --> 00:27:59.980 They say you know 00:27:59.980 --> 00:28:00.740 this is the secret 00:28:00.740 --> 00:28:01.779 across the ages 00:28:01.779 --> 00:28:02.580 and now we're going to 00:28:02.580 --> 00:28:03.600 let you in 00:28:03.600 --> 00:28:04.259 on the secret. 00:28:04.259 --> 00:28:06.339 I can't even say 00:28:06.339 --> 00:28:07.259 it with a straight face 00:28:07.259 --> 00:28:07.960 it's so ridiculous 00:28:07.960 --> 00:28:09.740 but this really 00:28:09.740 --> 00:28:10.539 takes hold 00:28:10.539 --> 00:28:11.779 and you know 00:28:11.779 --> 00:28:12.480 there are Christian 00:28:12.480 --> 00:28:13.400 versions of this. 00:28:14.539 --> 00:28:15.200 There are tons 00:28:15.200 --> 00:28:16.720 of churches 00:28:16.720 --> 00:28:17.640 and tons of pastors 00:28:17.640 --> 00:28:18.619 that make a lot 00:28:18.619 --> 00:28:18.859 of money 00:28:18.859 --> 00:28:19.259 and sell a lot 00:28:19.259 --> 00:28:19.480 of books 00:28:19.480 --> 00:28:20.140 talking about 00:28:20.140 --> 00:28:20.680 the power 00:28:20.680 --> 00:28:22.740 of visualizing 00:28:22.740 --> 00:28:23.379 that house 00:28:23.379 --> 00:28:24.200 visualizing 00:28:24.200 --> 00:28:24.740 and having 00:28:24.740 --> 00:28:25.500 enough faith 00:28:25.500 --> 00:28:26.720 and praying enough 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:27.119 or praying 00:28:27.119 --> 00:28:27.960 in a certain way 00:28:27.960 --> 00:28:29.299 and just seeing 00:28:29.299 --> 00:28:30.180 what God does 00:28:30.180 --> 00:28:31.579 and see if God 00:28:31.579 --> 00:28:32.099 doesn't give you 00:28:32.099 --> 00:28:32.619 that thing. 00:28:32.619 --> 00:28:34.259 And so she says 00:28:34.259 --> 00:28:35.039 that this gratitude 00:28:35.039 --> 00:28:35.639 movement 00:28:35.639 --> 00:28:36.959 is sort of a 00:28:36.959 --> 00:28:37.719 continuation 00:28:37.719 --> 00:28:40.359 of that positive 00:28:40.359 --> 00:28:41.239 thinking movement 00:28:41.239 --> 00:28:42.939 post housing crash 00:28:42.939 --> 00:28:43.799 because you know 00:28:43.799 --> 00:28:44.500 our country got all 00:28:44.500 --> 00:28:45.159 swept up in this 00:28:45.159 --> 00:28:46.099 and buy a bigger house 00:28:46.099 --> 00:28:46.919 and get a bigger yard 00:28:46.919 --> 00:28:47.539 and all this stuff 00:28:47.539 --> 00:28:48.379 and then all of a sudden 00:28:48.379 --> 00:28:49.759 boom the bottom 00:28:49.759 --> 00:28:50.439 falls out 00:28:50.439 --> 00:28:51.539 and now we have to be 00:28:51.539 --> 00:28:52.379 a little more cautious 00:28:52.379 --> 00:28:53.559 maybe positive 00:28:53.559 --> 00:28:54.399 maybe that's a little 00:28:54.399 --> 00:28:55.019 but gratitude 00:28:55.019 --> 00:28:55.739 sounds good 00:28:55.739 --> 00:28:58.259 but it's still 00:28:58.259 --> 00:28:59.019 a way of trying 00:28:59.019 --> 00:29:00.159 to do the same thing. 00:29:02.619 --> 00:29:03.339 You know 00:29:03.339 --> 00:29:04.079 we look at this 00:29:04.079 --> 00:29:05.179 power of positive 00:29:05.179 --> 00:29:05.500 thinking 00:29:05.500 --> 00:29:06.019 we look at the 00:29:06.019 --> 00:29:06.559 sort of power 00:29:06.559 --> 00:29:07.099 of gratitude 00:29:07.099 --> 00:29:07.899 for the effect 00:29:07.899 --> 00:29:08.599 that it brings 00:29:08.599 --> 00:29:08.939 about our own 00:29:08.939 --> 00:29:09.159 you know 00:29:09.159 --> 00:29:10.539 just visualize it 00:29:10.539 --> 00:29:11.159 and you'll have it 00:29:11.159 --> 00:29:13.919 and what about 00:29:13.919 --> 00:29:14.379 all those people 00:29:14.379 --> 00:29:15.379 who still get cancer? 00:29:16.639 --> 00:29:16.839 You know 00:29:16.839 --> 00:29:17.379 what about all those 00:29:17.379 --> 00:29:18.279 people who still 00:29:18.279 --> 00:29:18.819 get evicted? 00:29:19.979 --> 00:29:20.739 And the gospel 00:29:20.739 --> 00:29:22.079 shatters this delusion 00:29:22.079 --> 00:29:23.500 in a rather abrasive way. 00:29:23.919 --> 00:29:24.699 The gospel says 00:29:24.699 --> 00:29:25.899 that God owes us 00:29:25.899 --> 00:29:26.399 what? 00:29:28.299 --> 00:29:28.779 Nothing. 00:29:30.639 --> 00:29:31.119 Nothing. 00:29:31.119 --> 00:29:31.219 Nothing. 00:29:31.220 --> 00:29:31.339 Nothing. 00:29:32.980 --> 00:29:33.779 The first thing 00:29:33.779 --> 00:29:34.180 to understand 00:29:34.180 --> 00:29:34.720 about the gospel 00:29:34.720 --> 00:29:35.240 the good news 00:29:35.240 --> 00:29:35.880 of Jesus 00:29:35.880 --> 00:29:36.539 is that God 00:29:36.539 --> 00:29:37.299 doesn't owe you 00:29:37.299 --> 00:29:37.799 anything. 00:29:39.160 --> 00:29:40.400 Job 41 11 says 00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:41.140 who has 00:29:41.140 --> 00:29:42.579 God is speaking here 00:29:42.579 --> 00:29:42.900 and he says 00:29:42.900 --> 00:29:43.960 who has given me 00:29:43.960 --> 00:29:44.900 anything that I need 00:29:44.900 --> 00:29:45.319 to repay? 00:29:46.299 --> 00:29:47.500 Everything that exists 00:29:47.500 --> 00:29:48.220 is mine. 00:29:49.960 --> 00:29:50.720 God is saying 00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:51.299 what could you 00:29:51.299 --> 00:29:51.880 possibly do 00:29:51.880 --> 00:29:52.299 that I would need 00:29:52.299 --> 00:29:52.839 to repay you? 00:29:52.920 --> 00:29:53.740 All of this belongs 00:29:53.740 --> 00:29:54.120 to me. 00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:56.079 It's already mine. 00:29:57.319 --> 00:29:58.180 So the opposite 00:29:58.180 --> 00:29:58.759 of gratitude 00:29:58.759 --> 00:30:00.240 is not ingratitude 00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:00.559 really. 00:30:00.559 --> 00:30:01.759 It's not precisely. 00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:02.960 The opposite 00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:03.539 of gratitude 00:30:03.539 --> 00:30:05.759 is entitlement. 00:30:07.119 --> 00:30:07.839 It's the idea 00:30:07.839 --> 00:30:08.480 that we're somehow 00:30:08.480 --> 00:30:09.419 owed something. 00:30:10.659 --> 00:30:11.559 And that idea 00:30:11.559 --> 00:30:12.179 is totally 00:30:12.179 --> 00:30:12.740 antithetical 00:30:12.740 --> 00:30:13.379 to the gospel. 00:30:14.179 --> 00:30:14.700 And it's interesting 00:30:14.700 --> 00:30:15.559 and it's worth saying 00:30:15.559 --> 00:30:16.279 because in our culture 00:30:16.279 --> 00:30:16.960 I believe that 00:30:16.960 --> 00:30:18.139 we're very quick 00:30:18.139 --> 00:30:19.000 to sort of pat 00:30:19.000 --> 00:30:19.940 ourselves on the back 00:30:19.940 --> 00:30:21.639 and pat one another 00:30:21.639 --> 00:30:22.139 on the back 00:30:22.139 --> 00:30:23.139 and you know 00:30:23.139 --> 00:30:24.099 that promotion 00:30:24.099 --> 00:30:24.759 or that credential 00:30:24.759 --> 00:30:25.399 or that accomplishment 00:30:25.399 --> 00:30:25.960 good job 00:30:25.960 --> 00:30:26.679 you earned it. 00:30:26.680 --> 00:30:29.100 you earned it. 00:30:30.240 --> 00:30:30.799 And you hear that 00:30:30.799 --> 00:30:31.080 and you know 00:30:31.080 --> 00:30:31.600 as Christians 00:30:31.600 --> 00:30:32.080 we should say 00:30:32.080 --> 00:30:32.940 I earned it? 00:30:33.039 --> 00:30:33.279 Really? 00:30:34.220 --> 00:30:34.560 Really? 00:30:36.240 --> 00:30:37.000 It's all because 00:30:37.000 --> 00:30:37.960 of my hard work? 00:30:38.120 --> 00:30:38.400 Really? 00:30:38.700 --> 00:30:38.960 We should 00:30:38.960 --> 00:30:40.539 is that all? 00:30:42.600 --> 00:30:43.660 I love the quote 00:30:43.660 --> 00:30:44.900 from George Monbiot 00:30:44.900 --> 00:30:45.460 he's kind of 00:30:45.460 --> 00:30:46.500 an activist writer 00:30:46.500 --> 00:30:48.120 he says 00:30:48.119 --> 00:30:48.839 if wealth 00:30:48.839 --> 00:30:49.519 was the inevitable 00:30:49.519 --> 00:30:50.719 result of hard work 00:30:50.719 --> 00:30:51.319 and enterprise 00:30:51.319 --> 00:30:52.919 every woman in Africa 00:30:52.919 --> 00:30:53.699 would be a millionaire. 00:30:56.399 --> 00:30:57.199 The fact that 00:30:57.199 --> 00:30:57.839 our hard work 00:30:57.839 --> 00:30:59.179 has produced anything 00:30:59.179 --> 00:31:00.519 anything 00:31:00.519 --> 00:31:02.179 is due to factors 00:31:02.179 --> 00:31:02.619 that are outside 00:31:02.619 --> 00:31:03.219 of our control. 00:31:04.779 --> 00:31:05.500 The fact that 00:31:05.500 --> 00:31:05.859 our kind of 00:31:05.859 --> 00:31:06.759 stick-to-itiveness 00:31:06.759 --> 00:31:07.619 has produced 00:31:07.619 --> 00:31:08.500 anything 00:31:08.500 --> 00:31:09.859 is due to factors 00:31:09.859 --> 00:31:11.559 that we had no say in. 00:31:13.219 --> 00:31:13.619 Right? 00:31:13.719 --> 00:31:14.539 Where we were born 00:31:14.539 --> 00:31:15.679 who our parents were 00:31:15.679 --> 00:31:16.439 the kind of schooling 00:31:16.439 --> 00:31:16.879 that we got 00:31:16.879 --> 00:31:17.539 the kind of neighborhood 00:31:17.539 --> 00:31:18.359 that we grew up in. 00:31:18.779 --> 00:31:18.940 You know, 00:31:18.980 --> 00:31:19.599 our race 00:31:19.599 --> 00:31:22.779 has nothing to do 00:31:22.779 --> 00:31:23.500 with our hard work. 00:31:24.359 --> 00:31:24.980 There are plenty of people 00:31:24.980 --> 00:31:25.740 that work way harder 00:31:25.740 --> 00:31:26.319 than us 00:31:26.319 --> 00:31:28.099 who have far less. 00:31:30.139 --> 00:31:31.119 The fact that we even 00:31:31.119 --> 00:31:32.079 survived to adulthood 00:31:32.079 --> 00:31:32.819 the fact that we were 00:31:32.819 --> 00:31:33.920 even born to begin with 00:31:33.920 --> 00:31:34.839 the fact that we can even 00:31:34.839 --> 00:31:35.680 sit here tonight 00:31:35.680 --> 00:31:36.579 with breath in our lungs 00:31:36.579 --> 00:31:37.460 is due to the factors 00:31:37.460 --> 00:31:38.480 largely outside 00:31:38.480 --> 00:31:39.159 of our control. 00:31:40.440 --> 00:31:40.839 Right? 00:31:40.920 --> 00:31:42.039 So we take on average 00:31:42.039 --> 00:31:43.980 23,000 breaths 00:31:43.980 --> 00:31:44.639 every day. 00:31:45.899 --> 00:31:46.819 The Bible says 00:31:46.819 --> 00:31:48.419 every single breath 00:31:48.419 --> 00:31:48.980 is a gift. 00:31:50.559 --> 00:31:51.399 So right there 00:31:51.399 --> 00:31:52.419 if you're making your list 00:31:52.419 --> 00:31:53.099 you know like 00:31:53.099 --> 00:31:53.819 Ann Voskamp 00:31:53.819 --> 00:31:54.799 a thousand gifts 00:31:54.799 --> 00:31:56.759 you have 23,000 00:31:56.759 --> 00:31:57.579 to get you started. 00:32:01.779 --> 00:32:02.700 Everything is a gift. 00:32:02.839 --> 00:32:03.419 And so that means 00:32:03.419 --> 00:32:04.200 that we live solely 00:32:04.200 --> 00:32:05.200 by the mercy of God. 00:32:07.200 --> 00:32:08.339 Solely by the mercy of God. 00:32:08.559 --> 00:32:08.819 You know, 00:32:08.879 --> 00:32:09.819 we have rights 00:32:09.819 --> 00:32:10.399 in our country. 00:32:10.639 --> 00:32:11.799 We have human rights. 00:32:11.799 --> 00:32:13.740 And as Christians 00:32:13.740 --> 00:32:14.919 we believe that those rights 00:32:14.919 --> 00:32:15.819 are rooted in God 00:32:15.819 --> 00:32:16.940 and His creation of us. 00:32:17.599 --> 00:32:18.200 And so as Christians 00:32:18.200 --> 00:32:18.899 we should fight 00:32:18.899 --> 00:32:19.779 for the rights of others. 00:32:20.419 --> 00:32:21.399 Particularly for those 00:32:21.399 --> 00:32:21.960 who can't, 00:32:22.119 --> 00:32:22.700 don't have a voice 00:32:22.700 --> 00:32:23.220 of their own. 00:32:24.480 --> 00:32:25.299 That's part of what 00:32:25.299 --> 00:32:25.819 being a Christian 00:32:25.819 --> 00:32:26.579 in the world is. 00:32:27.539 --> 00:32:28.659 But before God 00:32:28.659 --> 00:32:31.839 we have no rights. 00:32:32.599 --> 00:32:33.259 You have rights 00:32:33.259 --> 00:32:33.819 in this country 00:32:33.819 --> 00:32:34.659 you have no rights 00:32:34.659 --> 00:32:35.220 before God. 00:32:35.220 --> 00:32:39.960 So the reason 00:32:39.960 --> 00:32:40.759 for our gratitude 00:32:40.759 --> 00:32:41.420 is simple. 00:32:41.759 --> 00:32:42.440 You read it in places 00:32:42.440 --> 00:32:43.940 like Ephesians 1 verse 3. 00:32:45.259 --> 00:32:46.140 Blessed be the God 00:32:46.140 --> 00:32:46.500 and Father 00:32:46.500 --> 00:32:47.620 of our Lord Jesus Christ 00:32:47.620 --> 00:32:48.880 who has blessed us 00:32:48.880 --> 00:32:49.400 in Christ 00:32:49.400 --> 00:32:51.720 with every spiritual blessing 00:32:51.720 --> 00:32:53.180 in the heavenly places. 00:32:53.640 --> 00:32:55.460 Even as He chose us 00:32:55.460 --> 00:32:56.019 in Him 00:32:56.019 --> 00:32:57.200 before the foundation 00:32:57.200 --> 00:32:57.980 of the world. 00:32:58.500 --> 00:32:59.480 Why do we give thanks? 00:32:59.579 --> 00:33:00.279 What's the reason? 00:33:01.360 --> 00:33:02.740 Because at some point 00:33:02.740 --> 00:33:04.160 before you existed 00:33:04.160 --> 00:33:05.600 God decided 00:33:05.600 --> 00:33:06.519 that He was going 00:33:06.519 --> 00:33:07.220 to bless you. 00:33:08.400 --> 00:33:09.759 And that is the only reason 00:33:09.759 --> 00:33:10.820 that you're here. 00:33:11.040 --> 00:33:12.400 It's the only reason 00:33:12.400 --> 00:33:13.740 that we're here. 00:33:14.860 --> 00:33:15.840 So the gospel is this. 00:33:15.920 --> 00:33:16.759 God owes you. 00:33:16.920 --> 00:33:18.080 God owes us nothing 00:33:18.080 --> 00:33:18.840 and yet 00:33:18.840 --> 00:33:20.480 He's given us everything. 00:33:21.360 --> 00:33:22.279 That's the reason 00:33:22.279 --> 00:33:23.279 that we give thanks. 00:33:24.700 --> 00:33:25.840 He owes us nothing 00:33:25.840 --> 00:33:26.900 and yet He's given us everything. 00:33:27.900 --> 00:33:29.300 So I pray that we would be 00:33:29.300 --> 00:33:30.600 people who cultivate 00:33:30.600 --> 00:33:31.900 gratitude. 00:33:32.540 --> 00:33:33.360 This is not something 00:33:33.359 --> 00:33:35.679 that we can hear tonight 00:33:35.679 --> 00:33:36.399 and say okay 00:33:36.399 --> 00:33:37.459 now I'm going to be thankful 00:33:37.459 --> 00:33:38.259 done 00:33:38.259 --> 00:33:39.099 on to the next thing. 00:33:39.659 --> 00:33:40.619 It's a habit of holiness. 00:33:40.879 --> 00:33:41.539 It's something that needs 00:33:41.539 --> 00:33:42.759 to be cultivated again 00:33:42.759 --> 00:33:43.459 and again 00:33:43.459 --> 00:33:44.019 and again 00:33:44.019 --> 00:33:44.539 and again 00:33:44.539 --> 00:33:44.979 and again 00:33:44.979 --> 00:33:45.679 in our lives. 00:33:46.839 --> 00:33:48.419 There are lots of great ways 00:33:48.419 --> 00:33:48.979 of doing this. 00:33:49.079 --> 00:33:50.199 I mentioned Ann Voskamp. 00:33:50.319 --> 00:33:51.119 She wrote a book 00:33:51.119 --> 00:33:51.959 One Thousand Gifts. 00:33:52.079 --> 00:33:52.819 Virtually every woman 00:33:52.819 --> 00:33:53.619 in the western hemisphere 00:33:53.619 --> 00:33:54.199 has read it. 00:33:54.459 --> 00:33:54.919 If you've not 00:33:54.919 --> 00:33:55.419 it's good. 00:33:55.839 --> 00:33:56.740 It's worth a read 00:33:56.740 --> 00:33:57.319 but essentially 00:33:57.319 --> 00:33:58.539 it lays out 00:33:58.539 --> 00:33:59.679 her experience 00:33:59.680 --> 00:34:01.820 her experience 00:34:01.820 --> 00:34:02.940 of moving 00:34:02.940 --> 00:34:03.440 to a place 00:34:03.440 --> 00:34:04.299 of greater awareness 00:34:04.299 --> 00:34:05.140 of the gifts of God 00:34:05.140 --> 00:34:06.060 by writing 00:34:06.060 --> 00:34:06.940 a list 00:34:06.940 --> 00:34:08.200 of a thousand things 00:34:08.200 --> 00:34:10.760 and it really 00:34:10.760 --> 00:34:11.760 shifts her perspective 00:34:11.760 --> 00:34:12.820 but I would say this 00:34:12.820 --> 00:34:13.619 one of the best ways 00:34:13.619 --> 00:34:14.680 to begin cultivating 00:34:14.680 --> 00:34:15.180 a sense 00:34:15.180 --> 00:34:16.400 of gratitude 00:34:16.400 --> 00:34:17.320 is through the meal 00:34:17.320 --> 00:34:18.260 that we're about 00:34:18.260 --> 00:34:18.980 to share here. 00:34:19.700 --> 00:34:20.320 In a little while 00:34:20.320 --> 00:34:21.079 we're going to come together 00:34:21.079 --> 00:34:21.740 and we're going to share 00:34:21.740 --> 00:34:22.740 a meal that we call 00:34:22.740 --> 00:34:23.680 the Eucharist 00:34:23.680 --> 00:34:24.760 and what does Eucharist mean? 00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:25.659 It simply means 00:34:25.659 --> 00:34:26.360 Thanksgiving. 00:34:26.360 --> 00:34:28.380 You know 00:34:28.380 --> 00:34:29.420 there's a debate 00:34:29.420 --> 00:34:30.660 over how do you 00:34:30.660 --> 00:34:31.740 approach the table 00:34:31.740 --> 00:34:32.740 at the Eucharist 00:34:32.740 --> 00:34:33.480 like how do we 00:34:33.480 --> 00:34:33.940 come to it? 00:34:33.960 --> 00:34:34.360 What should our 00:34:34.360 --> 00:34:34.980 posture be? 00:34:35.340 --> 00:34:37.180 Should we be penitent 00:34:37.180 --> 00:34:38.440 and reflective 00:34:38.440 --> 00:34:39.180 of our sin? 00:34:40.880 --> 00:34:41.640 Should we come 00:34:41.640 --> 00:34:42.480 sort of with our heads 00:34:42.480 --> 00:34:43.500 sort of lowered 00:34:43.500 --> 00:34:44.380 in a posture 00:34:44.380 --> 00:34:45.160 of sort of 00:34:45.160 --> 00:34:46.640 humble hope 00:34:46.640 --> 00:34:47.160 for mercy? 00:34:47.559 --> 00:34:48.340 Or should it be 00:34:48.340 --> 00:34:48.900 celebratory? 00:34:49.820 --> 00:34:50.640 Should it be 00:34:50.640 --> 00:34:51.360 more like a party? 00:34:51.360 --> 00:34:52.280 Like a festival? 00:34:52.920 --> 00:34:53.579 And people debate 00:34:53.579 --> 00:34:54.960 what's the proper tone? 00:34:55.120 --> 00:34:55.960 I would say both. 00:34:57.039 --> 00:34:57.960 I would say both 00:34:57.960 --> 00:34:58.680 in equal measure. 00:34:59.559 --> 00:35:00.420 Because here's the thing. 00:35:00.820 --> 00:35:02.460 You know what gratitude is? 00:35:03.440 --> 00:35:04.320 It's not just 00:35:04.320 --> 00:35:05.579 something that you think. 00:35:05.620 --> 00:35:06.120 It's not just 00:35:06.120 --> 00:35:07.000 something that you feel. 00:35:08.579 --> 00:35:09.440 Sometimes you have 00:35:09.440 --> 00:35:10.059 to give thanks 00:35:10.059 --> 00:35:11.019 in order to feel thankful. 00:35:12.440 --> 00:35:13.599 Here's what gratitude is. 00:35:13.940 --> 00:35:14.660 Gratitude is what 00:35:14.660 --> 00:35:15.960 comes out of our hearts 00:35:15.960 --> 00:35:17.880 when the truth 00:35:17.880 --> 00:35:19.160 of who we are 00:35:19.160 --> 00:35:22.360 collides with the truth 00:35:22.360 --> 00:35:22.980 of what God 00:35:22.980 --> 00:35:23.640 has given us 00:35:23.640 --> 00:35:24.079 in Jesus. 00:35:24.079 --> 00:35:26.319 When the truth 00:35:26.319 --> 00:35:27.139 of who we are 00:35:27.139 --> 00:35:28.259 collides 00:35:28.259 --> 00:35:30.119 with the truth 00:35:30.119 --> 00:35:30.639 of what God 00:35:30.639 --> 00:35:31.239 has given us 00:35:31.239 --> 00:35:31.699 in Jesus, 00:35:31.819 --> 00:35:32.799 the ultimate gift, 00:35:33.840 --> 00:35:35.019 what comes out 00:35:35.019 --> 00:35:37.279 is gratitude. 00:35:38.619 --> 00:35:39.500 So when we come 00:35:39.500 --> 00:35:40.079 to this table, 00:35:40.179 --> 00:35:41.119 let us come with hearts 00:35:41.119 --> 00:35:42.579 overflowing with gratitude, 00:35:43.319 --> 00:35:44.699 ready to receive 00:35:44.699 --> 00:35:45.699 the gift of Christ, 00:35:47.159 --> 00:35:48.239 ready to give thanks 00:35:48.239 --> 00:35:48.920 to the giver, 00:35:49.319 --> 00:35:50.079 the ultimate giver, 00:35:50.079 --> 00:35:52.099 ready to give thanks 00:35:52.099 --> 00:35:53.219 regardless of 00:35:53.219 --> 00:35:54.259 whatever circumstances 00:35:54.259 --> 00:35:55.059 you find yourself 00:35:55.059 --> 00:35:55.659 in tonight, 00:35:56.420 --> 00:35:57.719 and ready to give thanks 00:35:57.719 --> 00:35:58.519 because we know 00:35:58.519 --> 00:35:59.920 that all of this 00:35:59.920 --> 00:36:02.099 is an undeserved gift 00:36:02.099 --> 00:36:05.319 purely out of God's love 00:36:05.319 --> 00:36:06.480 for you and for me. 00:36:07.139 --> 00:36:07.860 Let's pray. 00:36:07.860 --> 00:36:14.000 Lord, may we not be 00:36:14.000 --> 00:36:17.620 ingrates in your presence. 00:36:19.579 --> 00:36:21.220 May we recognize 00:36:21.220 --> 00:36:22.500 some afresh 00:36:22.500 --> 00:36:23.440 and some perhaps 00:36:23.440 --> 00:36:24.280 for the first time 00:36:24.280 --> 00:36:25.900 the extraordinary gift 00:36:25.900 --> 00:36:27.680 of Jesus Christ 00:36:27.680 --> 00:36:30.160 and may that produce 00:36:30.160 --> 00:36:30.620 in us, 00:36:30.860 --> 00:36:31.960 as Paul says 00:36:31.960 --> 00:36:32.660 in Colossians, 00:36:32.780 --> 00:36:33.880 hearts that overflow 00:36:33.880 --> 00:36:34.720 with gratitude, 00:36:35.720 --> 00:36:36.559 that it would be 00:36:36.559 --> 00:36:37.440 too much for us. 00:36:39.599 --> 00:36:40.539 And may this be 00:36:40.539 --> 00:36:41.199 the font 00:36:41.199 --> 00:36:42.639 of our obedience 00:36:42.639 --> 00:36:43.219 to you. 00:36:44.820 --> 00:36:45.420 May it be 00:36:45.420 --> 00:36:46.099 the wellspring 00:36:46.099 --> 00:36:47.199 of life in our church 00:36:47.199 --> 00:36:50.480 and may it be 00:36:50.480 --> 00:36:51.559 that which motivates 00:36:51.559 --> 00:36:52.119 us 00:36:52.119 --> 00:36:54.460 to desire 00:36:54.460 --> 00:36:55.059 that one day 00:36:55.059 --> 00:36:55.659 every tongue 00:36:55.659 --> 00:36:56.340 would confess 00:36:56.340 --> 00:36:58.099 the name of Jesus Christ. 00:36:58.259 --> 00:36:58.679 We pray this 00:36:58.679 --> 00:36:59.579 in your son's holy name. 00:36:59.759 --> 00:36:59.960 Amen.