GRATITUDE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE Colossians 1:9-14 Last week I talked about GRUMBING and GRIPPING. A real killer of these two sins is GRATTITUDE. Much in today s society leads us to have an attitude of EXPECTATION not APPRECIATION. Commercials bombard us with the necessities of life you just cannot live without. From the Lexus that you really CAN AFFORD to the GREAT PERFECT SMILE WITH THE PERFECT TEETH that YOU DESERVE! Yes, you deserve that beautiful smile. You deserve that great slim, trim body to look 10 years younger to get rid of those wrinkles and grey hair. Hong Kong and the Oriental People And by the way, You deserve a BREAK TODAY! With all the things we are bombarded with that we should expect to have in our lives, no wonder we have so much to grip and complain about. This attitude of EXPECTATION has come bounding into the church like a roaring lion. It is no wonder that most of the fastest growing churches today are the PROSPERITY GOSPEL churches.
GRATITUDE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE Page 2 of 7 Books like, YOUR BEST LIFE NOW, and I DECLARE: 31 PROMISES TO SPEAK OVER YOUR LIFE, #1 I declare God s incredible blessing over my life. Creative Abundance: Keys to Spiritual and Material Prosperity by Elizabeth Clare Prophet 40 DAY PROSPERITY PLAN, OUR COVENANT OF PROSPERITY: CROSSING THE THRESHOLD TO THE SUPERNATURAL ABUNDANCE Money Won't Make You Rich: God's principles for true wealth, prosperity, and success Prosperity Is the Whole Gospel: Unveiling the Perfect Plan of God for Man This quest for prosperity, has given the majority of Americans an attitude of unachievable EXPECTATIONS We work long hours and then try and full the expectations of our family or others, go to bed exhausted, and wake up tired and grumpy. The enemy of grumbling is GRATITUDE THAT S THE RIGHT ATTITUDE. F.E.E.T. F AITH GRATITUDE IS AN EVIDENCE OF FAITH 1. GRATITUDE FOR FAITH TO BE SAVED Colossians 1:9-14
GRATITUDE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE Page 3 of 7 9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Ephesians 2:8-9 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 2 Corinthians 4:15 15 For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. Philippians 4:6 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
GRATITUDE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE Page 4 of 7 2. GRATITUDE FOR FAITH TO SERVE Colossians 2:5-7 5 For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. 6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. ABOUNDING - Superabound to be in excess, be superfluous; to cause to superabound or excel: Colossians 2:7 THE MESSAGE...start living it [your faith}! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. E - GRATITUDE IN EVERYTING Colossians 3:17 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you When the bad things happen, when there are those events that we wonder about, Even in these, I am supposed give thanks? you ask. Philippians 4:6
GRATITUDE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE Page 5 of 7 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; Romans 8:28 28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. E - GRATITUDE FOR ETERNITY AND ETERNAL GRATITUDE Revelation 7:9-12 I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" 11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying: "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen." Colossians 1:3-5 3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; 5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven...
GRATITUDE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE Page 6 of 7 T GRATITUDE IN TITHING 2 Corinthians 9:9-15 NCV 10c...And your giving through us will cause many to give thanks to God. 12 This service you do not only helps the needs of God's people, it also brings many more thanks to God. 13 It is a proof of your faith. Many people will praise God because you obey the Good News of Christ the gospel you say you believe and because you freely share with them and with all others. 15 Thanks be to God for his gift that is too wonderful for words. 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. THE CURE FOR GRUMBLING AND GRIPPING IS GRATITUDEAND THE SECRET TO GRATITUDE IS CONTENTMENT. Philippians 4:11c 11 I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 1 Timothy 6:8 8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. Hebrews 13:5
GRATITUDE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE Page 7 of 7 5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Hebrews 13:15 15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.