Title: Best Evidence of The Spirit, Gratitude

Date: 2008-07-20

Reference: Psalm 92: 1-5 and Col. 3:17

"Several of you have been kind to ask about my vacation. This year we enjoyed a stay-cation. I enjoyed time at home with my family. This was not what we had planned but unexpected things happen. My wife injured herself, we were presented with a large unexpected car repair bill. At one point I was feeling absolutely overwhelmed wondering what in the world could or would happen next. There are times in life when we are discouraged and fearful.

In times like that, it is important to remember the Spirit Filled life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination. Each minute we live is a miracle that cannot be repeated. Spirit filled people realize the value of time and see the world as a place of wonder and new possibilities. I believe a Spirit Filled person is a grateful person.

Through it all there is always much to be grateful for. I worked in the garden every day these last two weeks. Our yard has never looked better. Rather than gain weight on a vacation trip, I actually dropped a pound or two sweating in the garden. I’m not happy about the car repair, but am thankful it happened at home and not on the road somewhere. My wife is recovering and we were all there to help her. And by being home at the right time, I was able to take advantage of a once in a life time opportunity I would have missed if I had been gone. And best of all, next month when the bills come rolling in there won’t be a lot of vacation to pay off.

None of this is to say we should ever minimize the problems and challenges of life. But the Bible calls us to be grateful always, grateful in and through the difficulties that come our way.

Joel Osteen says:” We must let go of the past ans start dwelling on the fact that God has a great future in store for us. God has a new beginning for us. We should start dwelling on the fact God has promised He will turn this situation we are facing around and use it to our advantage.” He continues: “We cannot prevent negative thoughts from knocking at our door. But we can control whether or not we are going to open the door and allow them to come in. In the tough times of life, instead of dwelling on our problems we must decide to dwell on God. Dwell on the fact that Almighty God is on our side. Dwell on the fact that God still has a great plan in store for life. God will always open a bigger better door.” We must do our part and live a grateful hope filled life.

I know many of us spend time believing that the good life is going to begin some time in the future. Life is going to be great when we have enough money, when we meet someone who truly understands us, when we have our own business, when we retire. When we no longer have any problems. We can never be thankful for what may be if we cannot be thankful for what is.

Thanksgiving has always been one of my very favorite holidays. I love everything about Thanksgiving.the cool air, the Fall colors, the food, the football our Thanksgiving Eve Service. Family traditions.

As much as I love the Thanksgiving holiday, I sometimes wonder if it’s been good for God’s people that we have one day a year when we celebrate Thanksgiving. We sometimes act as if we can be as ungrateful and self centered as we want to be 364 days a year and thankful for one day.

This Summer we have been considering the Holy Spirit, His ministry and power among us. More than one of us have noticed the Spirit’s presence here on Sunday Mornings. We feel Him here with us. I’m so glad for that. May I remind you that the very best evidence of the Holy Spirit is Gratitude. The strongest evidence for the Spirit Filled life is gratitude.

The Bible teaches us about the importance of a grateful spirit. The Spirit filled person is always thankful, each and every day. We know that some days it’s tough to live a thankful life. But each day is a gift. Every moment is a precious treasure. And sometimes we have to go through a difficult time in order to learn about the grace of gratitude. When we possess a thankful spirit, the Holy Spirit can begin to do His work in us and through us.

Ingratitude is poor company and has no friends. No one wants to be around someone who is constantly negative and unable to express thanks for what he or she has. I learned a long time ago the happiest person is not the one who counts his losses, but the one who learns to live a very full life on what he has left. The Spirit filled person knows there is always something to be thankful for.

Helen Keller once wrote: “It would be a great blessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf for a few days early in adulthood.

Then he or she would be more appreciative of sight and sound. She went on to say: “Use your eyes today as if tomorrow you would be stricken blind.” In other words, don’t take the blessings of this day for granted. They may not last and we don’t know what we face tomorrow.

Spirit filled people worship God with Thanksgiving. When the Psalmist was lonely and discouraged he was strengthened when he remembered the joyful praise and worship with God’s people. We come together in worship each week to share life. To hold each other up. To support one another and to thank God for His many blessings. Worship has always been so important to me. I truly don’t understand how people stay away from worship for weeks, months, and even years at a time. There may come a time when I am shut in and cannot get here. But today I am thankful to be here with God’s people.

In the New Testament we read: “Be filled with the Spirit, singing and making melody in your heart to God giving thanks always to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Spirit filled people come together each week to worship God and to thank God for all He has done.

In the book of Eph. We read: “Be filled with the Spirit, giving thanks always for all the good things God has done.” Spirit filled people are grateful people thankful for what we have, and anxious to share it with others. We are people overwhelmed with gratitude to God for God’s goodness and faithfulness to us. It is truly a blessing to be around grateful people.

Ingratitude drains the spirit and shrivels the soul.

Eph. 5 says it plainly and clearly: “When one is filled with the Spirit, gratitude is the result.” The Apostle Paul understood the connection between being Spirit filled and being grateful. Paul writes: “In everything, give thanks, for this is the will of God for you. Be thankful, Gratitude is the will of God for your life. If you are not a grateful person, you are not walking in the Spirit. The Spirit filled believer gives thanks to God in all things. Whatever you do in the world, do it all giving thanks.” Paul didn’t write these words while enjoying a vacation somewhere. He wrote them from a prison cell. We sometimes get confused thinking gratitude belongs in a palace not in the prison.

We are grateful, first of all, for the good things in life. Gratitude isn’t something that develops within us because of the good things we experience. True gratitude is an evidence of the Holy Spirit’s Presence in our lives. When we are filled with the Spirit, we are grateful.

Satan knows the only place the seeds of discouragement will not sprout and grow is in the heart of a grateful person. Only God knows what each of us is facing this hour. Any one of us could be discouraged for any number of reasons. Health, relationships, finances., a War that just won’t end. The high cost of eating and staying alive, a shrinking paycheck. Rather than dwelling on these and other issues we are invited to bring them to God, and with a grateful heart leave them there. When gratitude fills a heart there is little room for discouragement.

There is much to be thankful for this morning. As we said in our call to worship earlier, we are grateful for many things. For food, friends, family, home, pets, our church, this wonderful nation, health, fresh air, the beauty of nature, another day.

We are thankful for forgiveness and for the Grace of a God who loves us and restores us. On the tombstone of her husband’s grave an old woman in the Southland had chiseled in this epitaph.”He always appreciated.”

Appreciation is the best evidence of the Holy Spirit’s Presence in our lives. May we always appreciate. May we appreciate what God has done and is doing in our lives. What others have done for us. As we look around for manifestations of the Holy Spirit’s Presence among us may we remember the best evidence is gratitude. "