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The Sanctifying Effects of Thanksgiving | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  I encourage you to hold on to your Bibles throughout this
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  service because we have many scriptures to explore and to
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  begin, let's read one verse from the book of second Timothy in
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  chapter 3, 2nd, Timothy 3.
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  I would actually like, for us to pray.
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  One more time, is that okay? Can we just ask God to help us
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  again? God, we are weak Lord.
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  We are really weak. I am weak.
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  But Lord, we thank you that. You promise that in our
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  weakness, your strength is made perfect.
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  And we ask that Lord, we would know your strengths as we
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  Endeavor to understand your word.
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  And that Lord the ministry of the word would not just be
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  delivered, in human words, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.
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  We need the Holy Spirit. You told us that he would teach
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  us and he would remind us of all things though.
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  We pray that these things would not just be heard that they
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  would also be retained and not just retained, but obeyed.
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  And so Lord, in this moment, less this meeting be in vain, be
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  ever-present. As you open the minds of the
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  disciples to understand the scriptures.
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  Would you do that? And all of our minds as you
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  allow your word to burn in the hearts of those two on the road
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  to Emmaus, would we experience that same burning passion and
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  our own hearts? Lord protect this message from
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  confusion, from stammering, from anything that would distract
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  from the delivery of your will of your mind.
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  In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
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  Second Timothy, 3 to 4 people will be lovers of self lovers of
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  money proud. Arrogant, abusive disobedient to
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  their parents ungrateful. Unholy.
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  Today we continue and pause highlight reel of the shameful
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  acts that will characterize Mankind in the last days.
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  And Paul by the spirit mentioned something.
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  After our last subject that may not be as gripping.
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  As other things on this list might be, at least on the
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  surface level, because after he speaks about being disobedient
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  to parents, he highlights a peculiarity.
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  That is so important. So crucial.
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  So profound that to not spend a whole day to discover it and to
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  understand it would be a great crime.
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  He tells us after that children will be more rebellious, more
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  resistant to Authority in the last days that there are also be
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  people who will be ungrateful. That in the days, leading to the
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  return of Christ. More and more people will be
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  ungrateful. And this is speaking much more
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  than about a lack of appreciation that one man might
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  show to his fellow man. Though it may include that the
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  concern here, the seriousness is severity of what Paul is saying
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  is that there will be an absence of heartfelt gratitude toward
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  God himself. When the Bible mentions
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  Thanksgiving, its primary application is how we should
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  relate to God. Because the Bible tells us that
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  God is the source of every good, not some, not the spiritual
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  stuff, but every good and perfect gift.
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  He is the fountain from which all things flow.
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  And so, when he speaks about this sin, He's telling us.
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  That this is enough for a person to be judged.
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  And the reason why I bring this up is maybe in your list of
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  indicators of a decaying Society.
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  A lack of Thanksgiving may not be on the top of it, or on it at
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  all. But what you?
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  And I will discover by the word of God today, is that, this lack
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  of, thanks, this ingratitude is actually one of the causes for
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  the great, moral chaos that you would see even on a nationwide
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  level. It is one of the great dangers
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  that people are experiencing and their own spiritual condition.
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  And I want you to see and believe that through God's word
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  today that something as simple. As giving, thanks.
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  Can protect the soul from much. Something as simple as giving.
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  Thanks is actually much more profound in the sight of God
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  than you and I might imagine. And I want to say this, that
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  this lack of gratitude that will be more common.
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  More shared amongst people in these last days, is not just
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  something that will be found among those who are far from
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  Christ. I want to tell you today, that
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  it is something that can even be identified in the heart of a
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  believer. And I want you to leave here,
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  being convinced that out of all the spiritual disciplines that,
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  you know, of we cannot forget the discipline of giving thanks
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  because it will provide a Grace to your soul that you cannot
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  imagine. Perhaps you're not convinced and
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  I can imagine why. But I want you to see what God
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  thinks about ingratitude in gratitude.
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  Here's a place to consider you have your Bibles, right?
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  And Luke chapter 6 verse 35 hear the words of Jesus When he
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  instructs his people about how to relate to their enemies.
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  Luke 635, but love your enemies, love them.
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  Love your enemies, and do good and lend expecting.
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  Nothing in return and your reward will be great and you
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  will be the sons of the most high for.
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  He is kind to The Ungrateful and the evil.
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  Frias kind even to the ungrateful and evil.
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  Here's the thing that I want you to realize Jesus places in
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  gratitude, right beside the category of evil.
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  If I were to ask you, what would, what would be a neighbor
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  to evil? What would be something that you
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  would say in the same sentence as being evil would would being
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  unfaithful be there? With lacking.
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  Thanks be there. In Christ mind it is not
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  difficult for him. For his God and he is Holy, it's
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  not difficult for him to say, in the same sentence that God is
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  kind to the unthankful and the evil.
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  Paul does something similar in our main text, after he mentions
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  that people will be ungrateful right after that.
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  He says, they will also be Unholy unthankful and in the
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  next breath Unholy. Put the words of Jesus and Paul
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  together. And what you have is a
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  revelation of Revelation along the lines of in the mind of
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  Christ, Our King, our Lord, Our God, and in the mind of the
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  greatest Apostle who ever lived, Being unfaithful is very close
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  to being evil. And Unholy.
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  Maybe you're not convinced of this assessment, maybe you're
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  thinking, but I thought you said earlier that you wanted to build
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  this up that I'm not really being built up right now.
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  Don't leave yet turn with me to Jude.
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  That book right before the Book of Revelation.
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  In Jude, verse 14, no chapters, one chapter, so Jude 14, I want
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  you to see something else just in case, you may not be
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  convinced of this conclusion that I present to you this
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  afternoon. in Jude 14, we read It was also about these that
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  Enoch. This seventh from Adam
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  prophesied saying behold the Lord comes with ten thousands of
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  his holy ones to execute judgment on all and to convict
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  all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they
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  have committed and such an ungodly way.
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  And of all the harsh things that ungodly, Sinners have spoken
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  against them. What do you think he wants to
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  talk about? Ungodliness.
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  Is that an amazing to think that as early as Genesis would just a
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  few who are roaming the Earth, God was already revealing to
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  some of his servant about his second coming.
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  There are mind about his first Enoch, seventh from Adam
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  receives a revelation, a vision of the return of Jesus Christ
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  with his holy ones, and what does he see?
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  He sees a sweeping Majestic judgment upon the Earth and what
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  what is happening here? Well, God is going to Deal with
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  ungodliness, she repeats it in so many ways.
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  Ungodly ungodly. Sinners.
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  Ungodly Deeds ungodly ways. And I want to ask you today.
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  What comes to mind when you think of ungodliness the
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  ungodliness that Jesus himself will judge in the final hour,
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  what crashes into your thinking, is it is it the sex trafficker?
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  Is it the merciless murderers who roam the streets at night,
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  even a known City? Is it the drug dealers who
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  provide deadly substances for the sake of gain?
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  Are they the rapist? The terrorists, the Isis
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  figures. I'm sure they are all included.
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  But Jude by the Holy Spirit, has in mind, after he says, ungodly
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  ungodly ungodly. They were received Justice and
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  judgement for receiving. Rejecting, rather the Gospel of
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  Jesus Christ. The only thing that can save
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  your soul from this, judgment is what he says in verse 16.
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  These are grumblers. These are grumblers.
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  Malcontents following their own sinful desires.
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  They are loud mouth. Posters showing favoritism to
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  gain advantage. After saying ungodly will be
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  judged the ungodly will be judged for their deeds.
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  Dirt their ways you think well, who are you talking about?
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  Who are these ungodly people? What will they be doing to
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  receive God's judgment and the first thing on the list
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  according to Jude The grumblers. The ones who murmur about their
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  lot in life. The ones who find fault with
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  God's providential leading. The ones who compare.
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  And complain, because they believe that they are more
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  deserving of certain things. If not all things.
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  Those who find fault, those who accuse those, who Express their
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  displeasure in life. These are the ones that Jude has
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  in mind who receive God's judgment.
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  And this grumbling is illustrated by those who
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  traveled through the Wilderness Journey after they were
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  delivered from Egypt, right? Oh, they complained about God's
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  leading they murmured about his timing.
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  They criticized the leadership that God had established and
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  Moses and Aaron, they huffed and puffed about the food that they
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  received miraculously because it didn't taste like the leeks and
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  the onions and the watermelon back in Egypt.
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  And over and over again. You see this murmuring bunch and
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  you also recognize God's kindled, anger.
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  And I want to tell you today, that as murmuring, complaining
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  ungratefulness will, multiply God's Wrath, will will manifest
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  against such attitudes. It was not just in the Old
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  Testament. If you think that we serve a
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  different God from the Old Testament, know, he feels the
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  same way as he did about those Israelites who stuck their nose
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  at God. And expressed how they thought
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  he was unfair, that they deserve more, I could imagine how this
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  might offend some of you. I can imagine how this might
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  disturb you. Is Judgment necessary.
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  Is Judgment. So severe required for something
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  as common as expressing annoyance and frustration with
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  life. It is if you understand how holy
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  God is, that's the problem. That's the problem with modern
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  Christianity. We don't understand just how
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  holy God is. I heard a preacher say something
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  that so ministered to my heart, these are not my words but
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  they've been ringing in my heart for a few days.
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  He said, Earth's perplexity Earth's complaints is why God
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  would judge. How can God judge man show
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  severely? And yet it is Heavens
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  perplexity. Why God would even save to begin
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  with? Well, Earth here is trying to
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  figure out in philosophy. Why God can judge these mere
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  creatures? Made out of dust who are
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  borrowing his are Heaven is wondering why God would even
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  extend salvation. Why is ingratitude so evil?
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  Why is it so heinous? Why is it so ugly?
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  Why is it so worthy of judgment? I'll tell you why.
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  It offends people for me to say such things it's because they
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  think that the Universe revolves around them and they have been
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  hearing teaching that tells them that God is God, because God
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  wants to help, you know what you want and what you desire.
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  And that is bread, much confusion and much unholiness,
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  but I wanted to take you to a miraculous story.
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  That is simple and understanding.
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  But also, when you meditate on, it is profound when it deals
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  with reflecting human nature. So turn with me to the Gospel of
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  Luke again, and 17:11, I want you to see something And we're
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  going to read quite a few verses here, but I want you to, I want
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  you to Envision what I'm saying from the word of God.
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  In Luke 17 11 a very well-known passage when dealing with
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  ingratitude. We read here in verse 11 of
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  chapter 17, on the way to Jerusalem, he was passing along
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  between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he
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  was met by ten lepers who stood at a distance and lifted up
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  their voices saying. Jesus Master have mercy on us.
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  When he saw them, he said to them go and show yourselves to
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  the priests and as they went, they were cleansed.
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  Then one of them when he saw that he was healed, turned back.
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  Praising God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at Jesus
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  feet giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan.
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  Then Jesus answered, we're not ten cleansed.
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  Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and
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  give praise to God except this Foreigner and he said to him
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  rise and go your way your faith has made you.
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  Well, A wonderful story, very simple application.
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  But again, when you chew the cud, when you chew on this word,
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  you'll realize that there's so much more to be said regarding
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  who we are and light of this. It is not uncommon to find men
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  crying out to God. When they find themselves in
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  great need or in growing void, it is not a foreign site to look
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  to our fellow man and see that there is a familiar reflex to
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  seek God and to request from God.
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  Nor is it a strange sound in our own Hearts?
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  We see that here. Do we not ten out of the ten
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  lepers? Collectively in concert, ask
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  Jesus for something that they do not have.
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  We need you to restore our flesh.
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  We need you to heal us, we need you to restore us and so, it is
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  that when it comes to crying out to God, especially when there is
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  desperate circumstances, you don't have to look too far.
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  But as we continue with the story, we realize that there is
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  something else we are. We're taught about the
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  fallenness of us. And that, is this, that while
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  there is 10/10 Who Cried Out, who had a need who prayed Only
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  one. Praised.
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  Only one gave. Thanks. the same eagerness, we
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  might have in asking God, often, outweighs the energy, Of our
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  praise and response to his provision.
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  This miraculous moment teaches us something.
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  And it is this, that if we honestly compared are
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  petitioning with are praising, we will find very quickly that
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  the former is much more alive than the latter.
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  What am I trying to say? Let me let me speak.
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  Plain English. We are much better at praying,
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  then we are appraising. We are much more disciplined to
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  cry out for a need to be met and to cry out with simple
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  adoration. I was reminded by reading this
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  story, that this thanking God thing.
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  It has to be intentional. It's not something that comes
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  natural to us. Just like praying.
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  Praying is not natural to us, praying is something that we
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  have to engage our will to perform, and oftentimes, we have
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  to fight our flesh to even do properly.
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  It is no different with praising.
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  The issue is we feel logically believe in Thanksgiving?
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  We listen to verses about it. It's a call to worship.
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  We understand it in the Bible. We understand it's there but
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  practically, I believe that many Christians do not understand
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  that. It's, it's supposed to be a
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  training. It's supposed to be a
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  discipline. That's actually activated all my
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  life. I can tell you, I've heard many
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  sermons on prayer. many many books read on the importance of
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  praying and rightfully so I believe that's a great neglect
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  as well, but I cannot really pinpoint to a moment where where
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  I heard something That taught me the necessity to not pray only,
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  but to praise to, praise God to, thank God.
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  And here's one of the results of this lack is that we have bred
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  Christians who have limited their communication to God,
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  simply and asking him for Stuff. And not just communing with them
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  and loving him and exalting him for what you already have.
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  That's not a small thing that's not just like a suggestion,
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  that's not just something that we should wear as Christians
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  because that's our duty know there's much at stake here.
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  There's much at stake here. Makes you wonder huh.
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  Why didn't the other nine come back?
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  Why didn't they follow suit? Why were they not caught up in,
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  Rogers? Praise and explosive
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  Thanksgiving? Why was that lacking?
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  Why was 90%? Not there.
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  Let's not be quick to condemn them, shall we?
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  Because how many times have we been so lost in our blessings
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  that we forgot site of the blesser?
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  How many times have we got so distracted?
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  While swimming in Provisions, that we forgot that he is the
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  Fountain by, which all these things that we are relishing in
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  come from. It's interesting to note the
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  thought process of this man and verse 15 of our text, how he
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  came to this realization. Look at it again, in verse 15,
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  then one of them when he saw that he was healed, turned back.
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  Praising God with a loud voice, or I can imagine that this
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  miracle is so special because it demanded their faith.
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  He didn't say, you want healing, here's your healing.
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  And they saw the spots and the rotten flesh disappear.
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  He said Go and show yourself, which was according Law.
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  And as you're walking, you're going to be healed.
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  They took his word, they walked. And as they're walking, I could
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  imagine the sight of this set of lepers that there's spots.
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  Maybe one by one were disappearing.
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  Maybe even some parts of their body being restored.
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  I don't know. But we are told about one of
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  them. What we are told about, one of
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  them is that when he saw that, he was healed.
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  When he came into contact with the reality that the miraculous
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  had touched him. His mind raced back to Christ.
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  but the initial thought that came to him in, that moment was
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  God made this possible, And that is the essence of Thanksgiving.
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  The essence of Thanksgiving is that it crowns God.
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  As The Sovereign source of every good and perfect thing.
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  I'm telling you everything, as common as the hot meal that you
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  enjoy in your warm home to the miraculous Provisions, from
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  heaven for the most unlikely cases, Thanksgiving crowns him.
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  It exalts him, it identifies him.
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  I could imagine what was flooding the minds of these
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  other lepers. You got to remember what it was
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  like to be a leper. You were an outcast, you were
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  kicked out. You watch the normal World from
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  a distance while you just stood there and rot it to death.
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  And so, I can just I can sympathize with them that, as
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  they're receiving this healing, all we can be normal citizens of
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  society. Again, we can go to the market.
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  We can, we can go to to the lovely parks that I once knew.
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  I wonder if some of them thought I can finally embrace my wife.
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  Again, I haven't held her in so many years.
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  So many months, so many weeks. Oh, I can't wait to embrace my
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  spouse, perhaps the others, who thought we can resume.
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  Ding memories with our children for all this time.
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  All we can do is wave at them from a distance as they travel
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  to school with their with their mother.
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  I don't blame them for being so excited, but this man, this one
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  man. the moment he realized that there was a provision, the
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  moment that this new opportunity at life presented itself because
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  of the mercy of God, his heart flooded with the revelation of
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  the goodness of God, God. Because of this, he comes back.
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  It takes effort to thank God. He turns back meaning that he
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  put a delay on going to the temple on, being declared clean
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  from running to his home with a surprise from going back to his
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  workplace from seeing his friends at the local coffee
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  shop. He put all of that on pause.
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  Because he needed to praise God. Because he did not want to
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  delay. Somebody made this observation
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  if we are so so, so so so antsy for God, to answer our prayer so
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  quickly than we have no right to delay with our praise when he
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  does act on our behalf. And the great crime of this
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  defensive being ungrateful is found in the words of Jesus in
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  verse 18. Was no one found to return and
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  give praise to God, except for this Foreigner of the
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  transitions would say was there. No one who can returned to give
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  glory to God? You see the connection between?
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  Thanks. Praise And Glory.
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  Jesus Christ is teaching us here, that Thanksgiving as a way
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  of identifying his goodness and his godness, if you will that
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  this learning to be thankful. Listen, it's not about good
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  manners. Okay, your mom and dad might
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  have taught you that We might have been raised by parents who
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  say learn to say thank you because they want to mold our
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  social skills but Thanksgiving in this case Thanksgiving toward
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  God has much more severe implications.
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  When we train in this, when we train and Thanksgiving, it is a
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  matter of giving God his do its worship, its worship, its
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  adoration its rightful recognition, it's exaltation,
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  it's putting the spotlight on the one who deserves the
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  spotlight. It's the sound.
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  Thanksgiving, is the sound that awakens the eyes of the heart to
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  see God behind every gift? It's the stirring the spiritual
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  tool that stirs our affections in a way in which we love him
• 27:32
  over, whatever he gives us to enjoy.
• 27:36
  It's the Declaration of the sovereignty of God and the
• 27:38
  reminder that we are undeserving creatures.
• 27:44
  Who only should expect judgment, but receive so much more so much
• 27:49
  more. The crime of ingratitude is that
• 27:54
  it robs God of Glory. It robs God of his glory.
• 28:02
  It keeps him in the dark. While we might credit ourselves
• 28:07
  or others. no matter what skill or investment you made into
• 28:11
  anything realize that you cannot even get out of your bed unless
• 28:15
  God gives you the power to do so You can't even scratch your nose
• 28:22
  today. Unless Heaven authorizes it.
• 28:29
  Therefore to reserve Thanksgiving us to Rob God of
• 28:32
  glory and that's no small thing. And such such a reservation.
• 28:37
  Such thievery is to be expected amongst The Godly ungodly.
• 28:40
  Why? Because they don't even
• 28:41
  acknowledge God to begin with, there's no acknowledgment of who
• 28:45
  he is, even to begin with. And so, how can they thanked
• 28:48
  him? How can they thanked him?
• 28:53
  But the thing that is concerning to us is that we are a different
• 28:57
  breed of people. We are a different breed of
• 29:00
  people. The very basis of our faith is
• 29:03
  from the place of receiving, something that we did not
• 29:05
  deserve. I want you to think about that,
• 29:08
  that if Jesus Christ never does one more thing in your life.
• 29:12
  If he never answers one more prayer, if you never provides
• 29:15
  one more meal, if you never does one more thing to make your
• 29:19
  life, that much more enjoyable or comfortable, he's still
• 29:22
  worthy of things. Because the gift and in Jesus,
• 29:28
  the gift that was extended to you.
• 29:30
  And I is eternal and because it is eternal, it demands Eternal,
• 29:34
  thanks it demands Eternal, praise the demands, Eternal
• 29:39
  appreciation, beginning now, beginning now, And that is why
• 29:45
  even though you might be enduring a job like situation,
• 29:48
  where everything is stripped from you, even your own health.
• 29:52
  He's still worthy to be worshiped.
• 29:55
  This is what God deserves. This is what he deserves.
• 30:02
  And I can end it here, I can end it here to say he deserves it.
• 30:06
  And that's that's enough because that's the primary function of
• 30:09
  it. That's the primary goal but I
• 30:12
  don't want to end there because there's something else that
• 30:14
  happens in this story. At the end of it.
• 30:16
  After this man comes to give, thanks to God.
• 30:20
  Jesus concludes with a wonderful, wonderful assurance
• 30:25
  and verse 19. He tells them rise and go your
• 30:28
  way your faith has made you. Well, your faith has made you,
• 30:33
  well, Many believe that what Jesus is doing here is not
• 30:39
  restating that his faith led to his healing physically.
• 30:45
  And the reason why people don't believe that is because the
• 30:48
  phrase there, your faith has made you.
• 30:52
  Well in the Greek, it's different than the word
• 30:55
  cleansing and healing in the earlier verses.
• 30:58
  In fact, the phrase used their made you.
• 31:01
  Well, is often the phrase used when it talks about salvation
• 31:05
  when it talks about sins being forgiven.
• 31:09
  And so what you have here if this is true is not just Jesus
• 31:14
  reassuring him that the faith, he expressed earlier has led to
• 31:18
  his healing, but that he receives Another Blessing.
• 31:22
  That is a Samaritan who is worshiping God and
• 31:25
  acknowledging. Who Jesus is in his nature.
• 31:28
  Jesus says, you got healing, but I want to let you know that your
• 31:32
  faith also. Now, got you salvation, Your
• 31:37
  body is healed, but I want to tell you now rise, your heart is
• 31:41
  restored. Your heart is revive.
• 31:45
  Your heart is now cleansed. She's talking about salvation.
• 31:53
  And I think that this teaches us something more than just about
• 31:57
  faith. I think here that if you look at
• 31:59
  it through the lens of Thanksgiving that we see another
• 32:03
  principle that's true about Thanksgiving, from cover, to
• 32:06
  cover in our Bibles. And this is it think about it.
• 32:09
  This man with the 10 with the nine, rather, when they cried
• 32:12
  out to God for healing, they all got it.
• 32:16
  But when this one man came back with the motivation to give,
• 32:19
  thanks, he got more. He got more, he received more.
• 32:29
  What am I trying to say? This is what I'm trying to say.
• 32:31
  Yes, the primary function of the primary purpose of Thanksgiving
• 32:35
  is that God would receive Glory. But just like many of the
• 32:40
  commands of God that are God focused in their goal.
• 32:46
  As we give, thanks something happens to us as well.
• 32:52
  As we give, thanks, there are benefits that shower on us as a
• 32:58
  result of showering, Praise on him.
• 33:04
  And so if you leave here today thinking, that Thanksgiving is
• 33:07
  merely my duty. Yes, you're right.
• 33:11
  And that should be motivation enough, but our God is so good.
• 33:14
  that when he prescribes such commands, He is not in need.
• 33:19
  He is not nervous, he's not insecure and Heaven, he's not
• 33:24
  complaining to the angels that my creation does not give thanks
• 33:28
  to me. He is sufficient within himself.
• 33:33
  But when he prescribed such things, he knows you need this.
• 33:41
  You need this? And I want to show you at least
• 33:45
  three things I want to show you at least three sanctifying
• 33:48
  effects of Thanksgiving that will change your life.
• 33:56
  If you believe it, you've heard I'm sure most of your Christian
• 33:59
  Life. Pray because prayer does this
• 34:01
  and it does that and it will change your life.
• 34:03
  It will anchor you will protect you and that is right but I want
• 34:06
  to now bring to your attention that if you implement the
• 34:09
  discipline of Thanksgiving it's not natural to you my brother
• 34:13
  it's not natural to you my sister it is not natural to me.
• 34:17
  It's not And if we're just going to wait for waves of emotion, to
• 34:21
  cause us to be thankful, we are as doomed as if we were waiting
• 34:26
  for some motivation to pray every single day.
• 34:29
  It has to be by faith. It has to be something you
• 34:32
  actually actually do intentionally with with
• 34:35
  mindfulness where you pause and you give.
• 34:38
  Thanks it sounds childlike. And then say childish, sounds
• 34:44
  childlike, doesn't it? That's how often God works when
• 34:48
  it comes to his commands. It demands childlike faith and
• 34:52
  you grew up with parents. I'm sure that told you went to
• 34:55
  say thanks. Never forget to say.
• 34:57
  Thanks and your heavenly father today wants to teach you how to
• 35:00
  give thanks. I want to show you sanctifying
• 35:04
  effect. Number one, when a Believer
• 35:06
  implements Thanksgiving in his life, Number one, Thanksgiving
• 35:12
  is a remedy that rescues us. From anxiety.
• 35:19
  Thanksgiving is a remedy that rescues us from anxiety.
• 35:24
  I'm sure if I asked you. If you're an anxious person or
• 35:27
  you experience anxious, thoughts, 98% of you with your
• 35:30
  hand, but I want to show you the Cure, the prescription is found
• 35:35
  in Philippians chapter 4. Verse 6 and 7.
• 35:40
  Philippians 4:6 reads, do not be anxious about anything.
• 35:45
  Do you think he meant anything? Or do you think the Greek means
• 35:47
  something else? I think he meant anything single
• 35:50
  people don't be anxious by the fact that you're single.
• 35:54
  Right? Pandemic pressured people here.
• 35:59
  Don't don't be anxious about the future of your job.
• 36:01
  Don't be anxious. Don't be anxious about anything.
• 36:04
  There is nothing in this life, no matter how severe or
• 36:08
  dangerous or threatening and maybe that deserves your
• 36:11
  anxiety. Do not be anxious about
• 36:16
  anything, well why? But so here's the instruction in
• 36:19
  everything. Do you think it means different
• 36:21
  in the Greek or do you think everything means everything?
• 36:24
  I think it means everything. But in everything by prayer and
• 36:31
  supplication with Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known
• 36:35
  to God. And here's the result, and the
• 36:37
  peace of God, which surpasses all understanding many people
• 36:42
  have difficulty understanding the Trinity, does it my mind
• 36:45
  can't understand how it works. One being three persons, one in
• 36:51
  essence, Before you get to the Trinity, realize that there's a
• 36:55
  peace that God can offer you? That doesn't make sense?
• 37:00
  That surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your
• 37:05
  minds in Christ Jesus. Now this verse is known.
• 37:09
  You've heard it you've preached it you probably counseled your
• 37:12
  own soul with it. You probably offered it to
• 37:14
  somebody else and it's so known that we look at and we kind of
• 37:16
  just by I know this or I don't give it to me.
• 37:19
  May, I suggest to you today, that many people who have
• 37:22
  attempted to apply these instructions have not seen their
• 37:26
  desired results because they don't, they don't obey the full
• 37:28
  instruction. Because these verses are used to
• 37:32
  often say if you're anxious, pray brother, pray and I say,
• 37:36
  Amen. Because it says it anxieties may
• 37:39
  visit your heart, but they may not always be left on his feet.
• 37:43
  Pour your heart out to him. Tell them your needs be detailed
• 37:47
  grown if you need to do it. But is that all it says no and
• 37:54
  this is where many people fail. They come to God in their
• 37:58
  anxiety, and their fear, and their concern and their, uh,
• 38:00
  knees and they pray, they present their needs.
• 38:03
  They tell God what he needs to do about these needs.
• 38:06
  And they fail that in the midst of that.
• 38:10
  To be thankful. With thanks giving.
• 38:18
  So you punched in one set of numbers, but you forgot the
• 38:20
  other set and you're wondering why as you press enter, there's
• 38:24
  error and your soul. You see what God is trying to
• 38:28
  say, is, don't just come to me and express your needs.
• 38:31
  Come to me, yes. But turn your attention away
• 38:35
  from what you don't have, or what you would like for me to do
• 38:38
  to what I have already done. Turn your attention to that.
• 38:43
  And let me be extremely practical here.
• 38:46
  Don't be General. And your thing I'm thankful for
• 38:48
  you. Okay?
• 38:49
  Wonderful, be detailed. Be detailed because that is the
• 38:54
  instruction. When you couple the relief that
• 38:56
  comes from unburden, your soul and prayer as well as the
• 39:01
  mindfulness of his faithfulness as you declare with those same
• 39:04
  week lips, the goodness of God. You will extinguish everything
• 39:12
  that is uneasy in your soul and not only.
• 39:14
  Will it be extinguished, it will be replaced with a supernatural.
• 39:17
  Peace. Remember somebody telling me
• 39:21
  that about their day, it wasn't anything spectacular but it
• 39:25
  blessed my heart that after a long day where they have to go
• 39:28
  to some event, they were so they just it was just a Dark Night of
• 39:32
  the Soul. There was clouds covering the
• 39:35
  Rays of warmth with the knowledge of God and they
• 39:38
  couldn't seem to shake out of it. and as they were getting
• 39:43
  ready in the bathroom, doing their hair, fixing their beard,
• 39:49
  They couldn't shake this off. But couldn't, it was just heavy,
• 39:54
  and it was just, it was destroying, even the hopeful
• 39:57
  plans for that same night. And this verse came to mind.
• 40:03
  And so as he had a razor in his hand and he looked at himself in
• 40:07
  the mirror, he said I'm going to do this, I'm just going to give
• 40:11
  thanks to God for whatever I can think of right now.
• 40:16
  So what does he do? God, I thank you that I can see
• 40:18
  with my eyes. God.
• 40:21
  I thank you that as I'm standing in my bathroom.
• 40:23
  There's no pain. I'm not bound to some bed.
• 40:29
  God, I thank you that that I have a church family.
• 40:35
  That loves me, that loves God, Lord.
• 40:36
  I Thank you that that I can be comfortable in this house and
• 40:41
  everything is functioning just fine.
• 40:42
  And as she began to list these things, the Rays of God's life
• 40:50
  penetrated through the cloud that covered his soul.
• 40:53
  And he found himself being able to worship without gifted
• 40:59
  musicians. Without the right worship track
• 41:03
  playing in the background without anything.
• 41:06
  Other than the Simplicity of the sacrifice of, praise listing,
• 41:11
  the different blessings that he could identify and it rescued
• 41:16
  him. It rescued him and it put a
• 41:20
  Fresh Step into him. It's the remedy.
• 41:27
  I've heard of a Preacher because of the circumstances of his own
• 41:32
  body. He had a, he had a strange voice
• 41:34
  that made preaching very difficult because people would
• 41:37
  laugh at him with his voice. And he learned this principle of
• 41:41
  sacrifice of praise. And so he made it his duty that
• 41:45
  every single morning before he would step foot on the ground,
• 41:48
  on the floor, he would spend 10 minutes, just thanking God.
• 41:53
  Thanking God for different things.
• 41:55
  He would not begin his day, otherwise I'm not saying you
• 42:00
  need to do 10 minutes. All I'm saying is if you thank
• 42:03
  God enough intentionally with mindfulness I thank you God God
• 42:07
  I think no no you calculate your thoughts?
• 42:11
  You will know a Deliverance. From Dark Nights of the Soul.
• 42:21
  Number two. Not only is Thanksgiving the
• 42:24
  remedy that rescues us from anxiety among other things, but
• 42:27
  Thanksgiving is a practice that protects us from sin.
• 42:34
  Being thankful, let me, let me emphasize, this is not just your
• 42:38
  duty being thankful. Thankfulness gratitude, carries
• 42:43
  a force that keeps in at Bay. There are such power behind
• 42:49
  this, that it can actually protect your heart from the
• 42:54
  passions of the flesh that war against your soul.
• 43:00
  I want to prove that to you in the Book of Romans and verse 29
• 43:03
  of chapter 1. In Romans 129 we read about what
• 43:08
  society looks like. You've heard this passage before
• 43:10
  in the past few weeks, what society looks like?
• 43:13
  What their hearts are filled with by banding God.
• 43:19
  And here's what people are filled with, notice filled not
• 43:22
  visited by filled with, they are filled with all manner of
• 43:26
  unrighteousness, Evil covetousness.
• 43:30
  Malice. They are full of Envy murder
• 43:33
  Strife, deceit, maliciousness, they are filled.
• 43:39
  They are living in a continual state of these horrible things.
• 43:44
  Now notice two of them, you ready covetousness Envy.
• 43:49
  Meaning what living in a Perpetual state of comparison?
• 43:56
  Sensing this dissatisfaction as you continually, look at what
• 43:59
  you don't have, what other people's have, what you think
• 44:01
  belongs to you, and that can be anything from a car to a
• 44:05
  husband. I can be anything from a
• 44:09
  Ministry position. To a promotion.
• 44:15
  This craving this ugly craving because of their abandoned of
• 44:19
  God, the people will be filled with this filled with it.
• 44:24
  And this is not just a danger for unbelievers.
• 44:25
  Listen, James says, why are you guys fighting?
• 44:28
  He's speaking to the churches in chapter 4.
• 44:31
  Why are you guys fighting? Why is there a quarreling?
• 44:33
  Why is their Strife? Let me answer it for you because
• 44:36
  you have desires. And they are not met. you covet
• 44:42
  and you don't have, listen, if we get a room filled with people
• 44:47
  in this place, That are covetousness or are filled with
• 44:51
  jealousy or Envy guaranteed War. Guaranteed War.
• 45:01
  There is chaos in any setting, when a heart is not satisfied in
• 45:06
  God alone. When a man or woman does not
• 45:09
  draw from God as their source of fulfillment.
• 45:13
  There is left this kind of filling because something has to
• 45:18
  go in there. There's no neutrality, there's
• 45:21
  no emptiness, something will fill this heart and neither it
• 45:25
  will be God himself or things such as these.
• 45:29
  But wait, hold on. How?
• 45:35
  How are people filled with this? This is, this is not just the
• 45:39
  fruit. This is the symptom.
• 45:41
  This is a symptom to a deeper issue and Paul brings that up
• 45:45
  earlier in the same chapter in verse 21. for, although they
• 45:49
  knew God, They did not honor him as God or give thanks to him.
• 46:00
  They didn't give thanks to him. They did not discipline
• 46:03
  themselves to say God. You are the Reason God apart
• 46:08
  from you. This would not be God apart from
• 46:11
  you. I would not be.
• 46:12
  They did not thank him. Therefore they were filled with
• 46:18
  covetousness. And envy.
• 46:24
  You see giving thanks Shields us from being filled with all
• 46:29
  manner of unrighteousness. It keeps us humble It keeps us
• 46:34
  joyful. It keeps us full.
• 46:38
  It keeps us prioritizing what needs to be prioritized.
• 46:43
  And it keeps God where he belongs in our hearts.
• 46:50
  You can know this for certain that people who Walk In the
• 46:52
  Flesh even within the community of Faith people that strive
• 46:57
  against one. Another people that bigger
• 46:58
  against one other people that complain all the time, just like
• 47:01
  the Israelites complained about Moses and about Aaron about
• 47:04
  this, and people that do that, I can tell you one thing, they
• 47:07
  don't give, thanks to God. Or they might pair it some words
• 47:12
  off a screen but there is no personal praise in their lives.
• 47:18
  Do they pray? They asked God for a lot of
• 47:19
  things but they do not stop to say God before I ask for another
• 47:25
  thing. I thank you.
• 47:27
  For what you've given me already.
• 47:30
  They don't do that because that's what my Bible teaches.
• 47:35
  Thanksgiving Shields your heart. It's The Floodgate from all this
• 47:39
  filth coming in because mankind refused to give, thanks to him.
• 47:46
  They inherited all these things that are described how there's
• 47:50
  so many things about Thanksgiving.
• 47:52
  But let me give you a final one Thanksgiving.
• 47:54
  Not only is a remedy that rescues us from anxiety.
• 47:57
  Thanksgiving is not only the protection From so much sin.
• 48:04
  Thanksgiving is a light that brightens our Witness. our final
• 48:08
  text is back in Philippians 2:14 Philippians 2:14 you and I heard
• 48:18
  in the beginning that in the last days, there will be those
• 48:21
  who will grow in their ingratitude more and more people
• 48:24
  will be ungrateful. So what do we do about it?
• 48:29
  What's our duty as Believers? Well here it is.
• 48:31
  Philippians 2:14 do all things without grumbling or disputing.
• 48:38
  Do you think the Greek means all things or do you think it means
• 48:40
  some things? All things.
• 48:42
  This is probably one of the most challenging things, most
• 48:46
  challenging, Christian disciplines, all things without
• 48:49
  grumbling or disputing. God, why can't you leave room
• 48:53
  for some things all things? Because there's something at
• 48:57
  stake, that's why. That you may be blameless and
• 49:03
  innocent children of God without blemish, in the midst of a
• 49:06
  crooked and twisted generation among whom you shine as lights
• 49:10
  in the world. See what he's saying here.
• 49:16
  This is for the sake of the Gospel. because if we're not
• 49:20
  careful, we can muddy the gospel with our grumbles and groans.
• 49:30
  The motivation is be careful how you express your frustration.
• 49:36
  Be careful how you voice your annoyance.
• 49:39
  Be careful how you manage your attitude as you perform all
• 49:43
  duties. All kinds of duties.
• 49:46
  Because there's a watching world.
• 49:49
  There's a listening world. By performing all things with
• 49:53
  the genuine Spirit of gratitude. We stand out.
• 49:59
  We stand out. Let me give you a very simple
• 50:02
  observation that you probably made.
• 50:04
  Isn't it wonderful to be around people who don't complain.
• 50:08
  Like I feel lighter. Not only that I'm blessed
• 50:11
  because when you know what that person is going through and
• 50:14
  they're not being superficial, they're not being like plasticy,
• 50:18
  they're being real. When they can they can look at
• 50:22
  the positivity. They can look at the sanctifying
• 50:24
  element of whatever they're experiencing.
• 50:26
  It's like your magnetized towards such people.
• 50:30
  And sometimes it even can Vic's you and sometimes you even like,
• 50:33
  yeah, but it really bothered. You didn't handle.
• 50:35
  I cannot praise. God.
• 50:35
  God is in control. You like you sure like, I didn't
• 50:37
  do anything to you and you're like because there's something
• 50:39
  Supernatural about it. And the opposite is true, it's
• 50:45
  amazing. How contagious negativity is,
• 50:48
  it's amazing that you can sit with people even a group of
• 50:50
  friends, and all of a sudden, somebody starts complaining
• 50:53
  about the church about how they don't do this and what starts
• 50:56
  happening. Oh yeah, you know, it alls.
• 50:57
  I also don't like that. And then you were intending to
• 51:03
  come to be built up. As we should would, leave it in
• 51:05
  your. Leave me there more frustrated
• 51:06
  than anything I know this is really practical but it will
• 51:11
  save your soul if you're serious about being a witness for Christ
• 51:15
  and you're going to be serious about Thanksgiving.
• 51:19
  You're going to be serious about it.
• 51:22
  And I want to tell you today that a watching world needs a
• 51:25
  thankful Church. Come on, man.
• 51:29
  Are you serious? I'm serious.
• 51:31
  I didn't write this. God did.
• 51:36
  And the more twisted and crooked a generation becomes, the more
• 51:40
  we must be disciplined to make sure that we don't complain like
• 51:44
  they do how fitting for a covid age.
• 51:49
  How fitting for a day in which we see things that are causing
• 51:53
  people to act in a certain manner.
• 51:54
  I'm not saying that I agree with it and I'm not saying I'm not
• 51:57
  mad about it. I am frustrated about it.
• 52:02
  Had a chance to go to the gym with after these crazy things,
• 52:06
  these mandates. And I went to the employee and I
• 52:10
  just I just looked at him because I had to go through a
• 52:12
  process to make sure that I can go in.
• 52:15
  And as I looked at him, I just said, sure, people are giving
• 52:19
  you a lot of headache, right? And he just, he didn't even say
• 52:22
  anything. He just stopped and he looked at
• 52:23
  me, he goes and he went back. And I thought to myself, check
• 52:28
  this out. This actually ran through my
• 52:29
  mind because I was giving him my religious exemption.
• 52:35
  I better not blow this. Because the world, the world,
• 52:40
  they're good at their good at expressing themselves with no
• 52:44
  restraint. But this guy knows that I'm
• 52:48
  coming in here and there's my faith is involved to why I don't
• 52:51
  do this. And I don't do that.
• 52:54
  He knows now. He knows who I am.
• 52:57
  Every time I come in and I give my barcode, he sees religious
• 53:01
  exemption. There's a watching world.
• 53:09
  And Thanksgiving. It's not just for you and me,
• 53:13
  it's for people to be convinced that the gospel is enough.
• 53:18
  Thanksgiving is for people who have no one to thank.
• 53:22
  To see that we actually believe in a God who is good and who is
• 53:26
  perfect, and who supplies all our needs?
• 53:29
  And who is our salvation, And if you think I'm pointing the
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  finger you today, you've heard it, right?
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  The three right back at me. I thank God for the Holy Spirit
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  or else we're doomed. We're doomed, even in
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  Thanksgiving. But I can tell you this, he is
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  our helper. And if you by faith just as
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  though, I preached on praying on different occasion, If You by
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  faith will say, I'm going to apply this to my life.
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  I have no doubt in my mind that you will be a different person.
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  I have no my I have no doubt in my mind that you will be saved
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  from much unnecessary harm. Let's give, thanks.
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  Lord, we thank you for the sharp blade of your word.
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  We thank your God. That your prescription is for
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  our good. Heavenly Father.
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  Let the world be ungrateful. But may not be found in US.
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  Teach us to praise. Not just the prey but teach us
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  to praise teach us to specifically sanctify.
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  Certain. Moments of our day.
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  To give you praise. And as we do that, Lord protect
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  us from legalistic attitudes, protect us from from not knowing
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  the joy of this process. Lord, we are grateful to you.
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  Apart from you. We are nothing and we have
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  nothing but we thank you. We, thank you that you are for
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  us and not against us and we thank you, o God, that you have
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  primarily saved our soul from hell, you've saved our soul from
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  your wrath that we have eternal life with you forever.
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  We thank you. We, thank you that we have more
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  than enough resources beyond for the need of survival.
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  We are now swimming in enjoyment and in comfort, and in
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  Opportunities, and in toys, We are thankful.
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  We're thankful that we have friendships in this place.
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  We're thankful that we can worship you without any threats
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  for our lives. We thank you that will get into
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  cars in the next couple of hours and drive and we don't have to
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  walk three hours to get home. We thank you, we thank you that
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  we will have food to eat right after this.
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  We thank you. Help us.
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  Oh God, to always find your goodness.
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  And not find fault. Help us.
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  Oh God! We've realized the seriousness
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  of our murmurings. So protect us from such things.
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  And Lord, we may fail at this. So continue to teach us and
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  guide us moving forward. And Lord as people come to this
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  church, may they find a grateful people filled with contentment
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  filled with joy satisfied in God and God Alone, we want to
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  worship you. And thanks for your goodness in
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  Jesus name we pray. Amen.
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  And Lord as people come to this church, may they find a grateful
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  people filled with contentment filled with joy satisfied in God
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  and God Alone, we want to worship you.
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  And thanks for your goodness in Jesus name we pray.
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  Amen.