The Gateway of Gratitude: Unlocking God’s Presence

• American History and Thanksgiving 00:32:15 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor refutes the claim that America was not founded on Christian beliefs, citing the Pilgrims' search for religious freedom and historical proclamations by Washington, Lincoln, and FDR to establish a Christian foundation for the nation.
• The Sin of Unthankfulness 00:35:55 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor defines unthankfulness as a sign of non-belief, citing Romans 1:21 and 2 Timothy 3:1-4 to show that failing to glorify God leads to darkened hearts and moral decay.
• The Progression of Sin 00:37:57 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor outlines a spiritual spiral where unthankfulness leads to murmuring, complaining, bitterness, coveting, and ultimately unrighteousness, linking coveting to the root of the Ten Commandments.
• Biblical Example of Complaining 00:38:22 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the story of the Israelites in Numbers 21 to illustrate how complaining against God and Moses due to hardship leads to judgment (fiery serpents).
• Unthankfulness and its consequences 00:38:22 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the biblical account of the Israelites in Numbers 21 to illustrate how unthankfulness leads to complaining against God and Moses, resulting in judgment (fiery serpents).
• The nature of thanksgiving as a choice 00:44:25 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains that thanksgiving is not innate but a deliberate choice to live a thankful life every day, supported by scripture references like Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3.
• The process of worship 00:50:29 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor outlines a 'step process' where a thankful heart leads to praise, which then transcends into deep worship, ultimately leading believers into God's presence.
• Worship vs. Ritual 00:51:51 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor distinguishes true worship from mundane rituals, emphasizing that worship must flow from a thankful heart rather than being a habitual act.
• The Progression from Thanksgiving to Worship 00:52:23 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains that thankfulness opens the heart to praise, which then transcends into worship, where God's presence descends.
• Spiritual Warfare and Overcoming Obstacles 00:53:16 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor asserts that a thankful heart brings down 'walls of Jericho' in one's life, shifting pain into joy and engaging spiritual warfare against enemies.
• The Role of the Holy Spirit in Worship 00:55:28 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor describes how the Holy Ghost reveals God when believers become vessels of praise, causing His presence to come down.
• The Nature of True Worship 01:03:50 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor clarifies that worship is not about outward actions but a heartfelt connection with God that goes beyond appearances.
• Praise and Thanksgiving 01:06:05 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor discusses the necessity of a thankful heart for genuine praise and worship, contrasting it with mere ritualistic actions.
• God's Presence 01:06:12 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains that God's presence falls when believers act out of thanksgiving, referencing the biblical account of Jericho.
• Future Teaching 01:06:25 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor announces upcoming sermons on the true definition of praise and worship and the effects of a thankful heart.

• Sermon Illustration 00:33:13 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts the historical background of the Pilgrims, noting they were separatists fleeing religious persecution from the Church of England, and describes the first Thanksgiving as a three-day harvest celebration following a deadly winter, aided by Native Americans.
• Sermon Illustration 00:38:22 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references the biblical account in Numbers 21 where the Israelites, tired of manna and water, spoke against God and Moses, resulting in God sending fiery serpents as judgment.
• Sermon Illustration 00:38:22 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts the biblical story of the Israelites complaining about manna and water, leading to God sending fiery serpents, and their subsequent repentance and healing through the bronze serpent.
• Sermon Illustration 00:42:45 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his daughter's appreciation affecting his willingness to give her things, using it as an analogy for how God responds to our thankfulness.
• Sermon Illustration 01:00:30 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the biblical account of the Israelites marching around the walls of Jericho for six days and seven times on the seventh day to illustrate how persistent praise and thanksgiving, even when physically exhausting or seemingly foolish, lead to the collapse of impossible obstacles.
• Sermon Illustration 01:04:14 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references the Pilgrims gathering for Thanksgiving to illustrate that giving thanks is a daily walk and a communal act of unity, not just a single holiday event.
• Sermon Illustration 01:06:07 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references the biblical story of Jericho, where marching around the walls seven times resulted in the presence of God falling in a mighty way.
• Sermon Illustration 01:07:07 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the historical example of pilgrims looking for a better way and coming together as an analogy for the church's goal of unity and worship.

• Pastoral Charge 00:46:48 ▶️ 📄
  > The congregation is invited to verbally affirm that God has been good.
• Pastoral Charge 01:04:54 ▶️ 📄
  > Praise God daily in various settings (home, job, car).
• Pastoral Charge 01:00:04 ▶️ 📄
  > Examine one's own level of thankfulness to effect change.
• Pastoral Charge 01:07:40 ▶️ 📄
  > Stand up for prayer

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
May you find peace amongst the busyness of life.

[00:00:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
May you connect with a God who loves you, regardless of how unlovable you may feel.

[00:00:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
May you be inspired and encouraged by a message of hope and truth.

[00:00:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
And may you experience the depths of His great love, no matter what your past may look like.

[00:00:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
In the midst of life's disappointments and heartaches May you be reminded to turn to Him For the stability and the comfort you need May you know that He holds all of our hopes and expectations

[00:00:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_18]:
but knows what is best for each one of us.
[00:00:35] May you be reminded that when you feel like you can't go on, that He is always with you and will never leave you.

[00:00:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
So today, may you take comfort in knowing that God is for you, not against you, that even when you feel alone, that He is carrying you through deep waters.

[00:00:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_18]:
May you rest in the light of his truth which is with you no matter where you go and may you know that he's the same yesterday today and forever amen amen amen
[00:01:17] As we gather here today, may you find peace amongst the busyness of life.

[00:01:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
May you connect with a God who loves you, regardless of how unlovable you may feel.

[00:01:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
May you be inspired and encouraged by a message of hope and truth.

[00:01:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
And may you experience the depths of His great love, no matter what your past may look like.

[00:01:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
In the midst of life's disappointments and heartaches May you be reminded to turn to Him For the stability and the comfort you need May you know that He holds all of our hopes and expectations

[00:01:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_18]:
but knows what is best for each one of us may you be reminded that when you feel like you can't go on that he is always with you and will never leave you so today may you take comfort in knowing that God is for you not against you but even when you feel alone that he is carrying you through deep waters
[00:02:11] May you rest in the light of his truth which is with you no matter where you go and may you know that he's the same yesterday today and forever amen amen amen
[00:02:36] As we gather here today, may you find peace amongst the busyness of life.

[00:02:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
May you connect with a God who loves you, regardless of how unlovable you may feel.

[00:02:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
May you be inspired and encouraged by a message of hope and truth.

[00:02:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
And may you experience the depths of His great love, no matter what your past may look like.

[00:02:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
In the midst of life's disappointments and heartaches May you be reminded to turn to Him For the stability and the comfort you need May you know that He holds all of our hopes and expectations

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
but knows what is best for each one of us may you be reminded that when you feel like you can't go on that he is always with you and will never leave you so today may you take comfort in knowing that God is for you not against you that even when you feel alone that he is carrying you through deep waters

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
May you rest in the light of his truth which is with you no matter where you go and may you know that he's the same yesterday today and forever amen amen amen

[00:03:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_18]:
As we gather here today, may you find peace amongst the busyness of life.

[00:03:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
May you connect with a God who loves you, regardless of how unlovable you may feel.

[00:04:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
May you be inspired and encouraged by a message of hope and truth.

[00:04:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
And may you experience the depths of His great love, no matter what your past may look like.

[00:04:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
In the midst of life's disappointments and heartaches, may you be reminded to turn to Him for the stability and the comfort you need.

[00:04:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
May you know that He holds all of our hopes and expectations but knows what is best for each one of us.

[00:04:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_18]:
May you be reminded that when you feel like you can't go on, that He is always with you and will never leave you.

[00:04:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
So today, may you take comfort in knowing that God is for you.

[00:04:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
Amen.
[00:04:43] Amen.

[00:04:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
Amen.

[00:05:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_18]:
As we gather here today, may you find peace amongst the busyness of life.

[00:05:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
May you connect with a God who loves you, regardless of how unlovable you may feel.

[00:05:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
May you be inspired and encouraged by a message of hope and truth.

[00:05:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
And may you experience the depths of His great love, no matter what your past may look like.

[00:05:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
In the midst of life's disappointments and heartaches May you be reminded to turn to Him For the stability and the comfort you need May you know that He holds all of our hopes and expectations

[00:05:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_18]:
but knows what is best for each one of us.
[00:05:50] May you be reminded that when you feel like you can't go on, that He is always with you and will never leave you.

[00:05:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
So today, may you take comfort in knowing that God is for you, not against you, that even when you feel alone, that He is carrying you through deep waters.

[00:06:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_18]:
May you rest in the light of his truth which is with you no matter where you go and may you know that he's the same yesterday today and forever amen amen amen
[00:06:32] As we gather here today, may you find peace amongst the busyness of life.

[00:06:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
May you connect with a God who loves you.

[00:06:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Following the service, we have fellowship and then December 10th, our candlelight service and school program.
[00:06:45] Okay, again, we welcome you to the wave.
[00:06:47] We are so excited that you're here this morning.
[00:06:49] We miss those that are absent.
[00:06:50] We have some that are not feeling well this morning, but we know that they're here in spirit.
[00:06:54] Amen.
[00:06:55] All right.

[00:07:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]:
The day is what?
[00:07:05] November the 2nd, so what's that mean?
[00:07:10] All you November babies stand up.
[00:07:13] Any November babies?
[00:07:16] Mia?
[00:07:16] Where's Mia?
[00:07:19] You're a November baby?
[00:07:21] I'm a November baby.
[00:07:24] Are you going to stand up?
[00:07:27] Alright.
[00:07:29] Well, you can come up too.
[00:07:31] All right, let's sing.
[00:07:33] Happy birthday to you.

[00:07:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]:
Happy birthday to you.
[00:07:40] Happy birthday, God bless you.
[00:07:45] Happy birthday to you.

[00:07:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]:
All right, any anniversaries?
[00:07:51] Any anniversaries in the month of November?
[00:07:58] Let's sing Happy Anniversary to them.
[00:08:01] Happy Anniversary to you.
[00:08:06] Happy Anniversary to you.
[00:08:09] Happy Anniversary, God bless you.
[00:08:14] Happy Anniversary to you.
[00:08:19] Amen.
[00:08:20] Again, it is good to see you in the house of the Lord.
[00:08:22] And those that are not here, we miss them, but we're praying for them as well.
[00:08:27] But we are coming into a time of worship and a time of prayer, and the Lord knows our request.
[00:08:32] He sees our heart and so many things that
[00:08:35] that we are praying about but I want you to know that our God is good and our God is merciful and favors us and he is hearing our prayers say amen he hears our prayers let's stand to our feet this morning we'll take up the morning offering and start off with a time of praise and worship and then we'll go into the worship service amen Heavenly Father we just thank you this morning for your goodness and your mercy we thank you for everything that you have done for us you have been good you
[00:09:03] you have been faithful to us and we thank you we thank you that you are still answering prayers and you are meeting the needs of your people lord i pray a special prayer behalf of our government lord those that you have put in leadership above us i ask god that something would be worked out where people would not go without financial help for food in the next coming days and weeks lord i know that you can make a something happen
[00:09:29] I know you will work them out for you are great and you are mighty Lord I thank you that I know you are the healer of all our diseases
[00:09:44] and you make a way when there is no way I just want to praise you this morning for you are worthy of all the praise I thank you for every prayer you've answered and every need that you've met Oh God where would we be if it had not been for you on our side and now we come into a time of worship we're giving it all to you God for you are worthy of all the praise and the glory in Jesus name
[00:10:09] Amen.
[00:10:11] Let's go.
[00:10:11] Amen.
[00:10:12] Alright, come on.
[00:10:13] Let's worship the Lord, kids.
[00:10:15] Come on.

[00:10:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_15]:
I praise in the valley, I praise on the mountain I praise when I'm short, I praise when I'm down I praise when I'm numbered, I praise when surrounded Cause praise is the water my enemy's drowning

[00:11:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
I'm breathing, I've got a reason to praise the Lord, oh my soul I praise the Lord, oh my soul I praise when I feel it suck, and I praise when I talk I praise cause I know you're still in control
[00:11:48] My praise is a weapon It's more than a sound More than a sound All my praise is to shout That breaks Jericho down As long as I'm breathing I've got a reason to pray

[00:12:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_15]:
I praise cause you're sovereign I praise cause you reign I praise cause you rose and defeated the grave I praise cause you're faithful I praise cause you're true I praise cause there's nobody greater

[00:13:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]:
Praise cause you're solid, praise cause you reign Praise cause you rose and defeated the grave Praise cause you're faithful, praise cause you're true Praise cause there's nobody greater than you Praise the Lord, oh my soul
[00:13:48] In the name of the Lord

[00:15:14] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
and all that is within me.

[00:15:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]:
Hallelujah, praise the Lord.
[00:15:23] Hallelujah, praising the Lord.
[00:15:25] Thank you, Jesus.

[00:15:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]:
The full in His wonderful fame And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and grace Oh, one more time, just singing it out
[00:16:13] Turn your eyes upon Jesus Look full in His wonderful face And the things of earth will grow strangely
[00:16:41] of Christ, Son of God, Son of His glory and grace.
[00:17:25] Oh, we thank you for the peace.
[00:17:32] Peace, peace, wonderful peace.
[00:17:56] In the fathomless billows of love And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and grace
[00:18:37] I just want to bless your name I just want to make you last I just want to move your heart, God To give you all I am
[00:19:04] I just want to bless your name I just want to make you glad I just want to move your heart, God To give you all I am
[00:19:31] To worship you I live, to worship you I live, I live to worship you To worship you I live, to worship you I live, I live to worship you
[00:19:56] I just want to bless your name I just want to make you glad I just want to move your heart, God
[00:20:25] Give you all I am To worship you I live To worship you I live I live To worship you
[00:20:46] To worship you I live, to worship you I live, I live to worship you Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
[00:21:17] To worship you I live, to worship you I live, I live, to worship you I live, I live, to worship you I live, I live, to worship you
[00:21:47] To worship You, I live To worship You, I live, I live To worship You
[00:22:18] The splendor of the King He's clothed in majesty
[00:22:42] Let all the earth rejoice, all the earth rejoice He wraps himself in light And darkness tries to hide And trembles at his voice, trembles at his voice
[00:23:16] Sing with me how great is our God And all will see how great, how great is our God
[00:23:38] And age to age he stands And time is in his hands Beginning and the end Beginning and the end The God of three in one
[00:24:03] Father, Spirit, Son, the Lion and the Lamb, Lion and the Lamb Oh declare it in this house this morning How great is our God Sing with me, how great is our God
[00:24:31] We will sing how great, how great is our God Your name's the name above all names You are worthy of all praise And my heart will sing how great
[00:25:01] Is my God Your name's my name above all names For You are worthy of all praise And my heart will sing

[00:25:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]:
Can you just raise your hands this morning?
[00:25:32] Let's sing this together, declaring it to our God that you are great.

[00:25:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]:
How great is our God.
[00:25:43] Sing with me.
[00:25:58] is our God.
[00:26:05] Hallelujah, thank you Jesus.
[00:26:08] Hallelujah, you are great in this place Lord Jesus.
[00:26:13] Hallelujah, we bless you.
[00:26:18] Thank you Jesus.
[00:26:19] I will worship
[00:26:39] All my strength I will seek you All of my days
[00:27:09] I will give you all my worship I will give you all my praise You alone I long to worship You alone are worthy of me
[00:27:36] and Hell U.S. King I will serve you
[00:27:56] I will lift up my eyes to your throne I will trust you, trust you alone I will give you all my worship
[00:28:19] I will give you all my praise You alone I long to worship You alone are worthy of my praise One more time sing it out church I will give you
[00:28:44] All of my hope And I will praise you With all my strength I will seek you All of my day I will follow you
[00:29:19] I will give you all my worship I will give you all my praise You alone I long to worship You alone are worthy of my praise Hallelujah, thank you Jesus

[00:29:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]:
God is so good.
[00:30:05] Amen.
[00:30:06] I can't hear you.
[00:30:07] God is so good.
[00:30:09] Amen.
[00:30:10] Isn't he wonderful and awesome?
[00:30:12] Let's turn that back.
[00:30:13] I want to do that.
[00:30:15] Jennifer, turn it back to that.

[00:30:18] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Last verse of that.

[00:30:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]:
Thank you, Lord.
[00:30:19] Thank you, Lord.
[00:30:20] Lord is so good to us.
[00:30:22] Amen.
[00:30:23] He has been faithful and just.
[00:30:25] Wow, what an awesome God we serve.
[00:30:28] What an awesome God we serve.
[00:30:31] Alright, that's alright.
[00:30:32] And I will give Him all my worship And I will give Him all my praise For You alone I long to worship You alone are worthy of my praise

[00:30:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]:
And I will give you all my worship And I will give you all my praise You alone I long to worship You alone are worthy of my praise

[00:31:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]:
Hallelujah.
[00:31:16] Give the Lord another clap of praise.
[00:31:18] Amen.
[00:31:19] Amen.
[00:31:20] Thank you for being in the house of the Lord.
[00:31:21] And when you're out, we miss you very much.
[00:31:24] And those that are sick, we're still praying for you.
[00:31:27] Those that have got different situations going on in your life, we're praying and believing God for...
[00:31:32] A miracle in those situations.
[00:31:35] We know that God is still in control.
[00:31:38] Amen?
[00:31:38] And we are here in the month.
[00:31:40] I know we did.
[00:31:42] We got an early start on Christmas.
[00:31:44] But what we've done so far, doesn't it look nice?
[00:31:46] Come on guys, don't it look nice?
[00:31:48] Yes.
[00:31:49] But that doesn't mean we're going to miss the month of Thanksgiving.
[00:31:52] Because I'm going to be talking about a thankful heart, a thankful life over the next few weeks.
[00:31:58] and many more.
[00:32:15] I've heard on various news media that people are saying America was not founded on Christian beliefs, therefore we are not a Christian nation.
[00:32:28] Burns me up every time I hear that.
[00:32:32] And it is so wrong, you are correct.
[00:32:35] It's obvious they don't know our history.
[00:32:38] We are founded on the Word of God and there is so much history as why Christopher Columbus came to America to begin with earlier than when the pilgrims came.
[00:32:52] But I'll save that for another time.
[00:32:54] You remember the Four Blood Moons series that we did several, several years ago.
[00:33:01] You will know that background behind him as well.
[00:33:04] But I want to give us a little background on what Thanksgiving is.
[00:33:13] Daniel Webster named the ones who traveled from England to the New World as pilgrims.
[00:33:21] 200 years before that these adventurers were called separatists and they also received the name of old comers but today and through our history books we know them as the pilgrims English settlers who set out for the new world in 1620 on the
[00:33:46] Mayflower, yay!
[00:33:48] And many of them were running or fleeing from religious persecution that was going on with the Church of England at the time.
[00:33:58] Some wanted a new life, some wanted a new beginning, but there was those wanting to serve God,
[00:34:07] They were looking for a place to be able to worship God without the Church of England controlling them.
[00:34:18] Aren't you glad that we live in America where we don't have someone controlling how we worship God and we can give Him all our praise?
[00:34:27] Our concept of Thanksgiving comes from the thoughts of a group of people gathering together to give thanks to God.
[00:34:36] God had allowed them to survive the first terrible winter where over half of them that came over on the Mayflower had died.
[00:34:45] Yet by the grace of God and the help of Native American Indians who helped them plant food and have crops had a three-day celebration of the harvest that God had given them and His bountiful blessings.
[00:35:05] We have the first Thanksgiving day proclamation by President George Washington who set aside a time of prayer and thanksgiving for the victory over the British and the establishment of a new nation.
[00:35:21] Abraham Lincoln set aside the fourth Thursday of each November as a day of prayer and a day of thanksgiving.
[00:35:31] But it wasn't until Franklin D. Roosevelt's time and the Congress of that day that made it a federal holiday.
[00:35:38] So despite the opinions of some of those who evidently don't know our history, let me tell you, America was founded on thankful hearts, Christian foundation, and we stand today on that.
[00:35:55] Being unthankful is a sign of being a non-believer.
[00:36:01] Let me say that again.
[00:36:03] Being unthankful is a sign of being a non-believer.
[00:36:08] In Romans chapter 1 verse 21, and I do have a lot of scriptures, so just hang on with me.
[00:36:16] Romans 1 and 21 says, Because of that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were they what?
[00:36:27] Thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts was darkened.
[00:36:35] and 2 Timothy 3 and 1.
[00:36:37] 2 Timothy 3 and 1.
[00:36:40] This know always that in the last days, what days?
[00:36:45] Last days perilous times will come.
[00:36:51] For men will be lovers of them own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents.
[00:37:00] What?
[00:37:01] Unthankful and unholy.
[00:37:06] without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, haughty, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof, for from such turn away.
[00:37:35] Listen, an unthankful person will refuse to acknowledge every good thing comes from God.
[00:37:41] How many knows the Word of God tells us every good thing comes from above?
[00:37:45] Hallelujah.
[00:37:46] We ought to say thank you Jesus right there.
[00:37:48] Do you realize that there's a progression that happens or spirals down when we become unthankful?
[00:37:57] Unthankful leads to murmuring and complaining, which leads to bitterness, which leads to coveting, which leads us to all kinds of unrighteousness.
[00:38:09] We look at the Ten Commandments, number nine is thou shalt not covet.
[00:38:14] Why do you think that's almost at the end?
[00:38:17] Because it's at the root.
[00:38:19] That covenant is the root of all the others.
[00:38:22] The Old Testament talks to us about an unthankfulness that is found in Numbers 21, 4 through 9.
[00:38:32] Now we know in this scripture what had happened.
[00:38:36] The children of Israel had been released from captivity and they were walking around that mountain.
[00:38:43] How many knows how many times, how long they walked around the mountain?
[00:38:47] Long, long time.
[00:38:48] And this is where we're at today.
[00:38:50] It says, And the people spake against God.
[00:38:53] Well, first of all, they was angry with God because they thought life should be better.
[00:38:57] Then they was angry with Moses because Moses was listening to God and Moses took them out, right?
[00:39:03] It says, And they journeyed from Mount Horeb, the way of the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom.
[00:39:09] And so the people were much discouraged because of the way.
[00:39:13] They were getting tired, weren't they?
[00:39:14] And the people spoke against God, but they also spoke against Moses.
[00:39:20] Wherefore have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?
[00:39:25] For there is no bread, neither is there any water, and our soul loatheth for this like bread.
[00:39:32] It's getting tired of the manna from heaven if you didn't catch that.
[00:39:35] And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and bit the people, and much of the people of Israel died.
[00:39:43] Therefore the people come to Moses and said, Uh-uh, we've messed up.
[00:39:47] Uh-uh, we have sinned.
[00:39:48] For we have spoken against the Lord and against thee.
[00:39:51] Pray unto the Lord that he take away these serpents from us.
[00:39:56] And Moses prayed for the people.
[00:40:01] And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole, and thou shalt come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
[00:40:11] In verse 9 it says, And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if the serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
[00:40:23] Think about this.
[00:40:24] After a few days,
[00:40:26] Of being happy, they start going back to their old tune.
[00:40:31] The old tune.
[00:40:33] Why did you bring us here to die?
[00:40:35] What in the world was you thinking when you took us out of our home?
[00:40:39] At least we had leeks and garlics and we had plenty of it.
[00:40:45] I hate what you've given to us.
[00:40:48] I'm tired of this manna every day.
[00:40:50] It's light bread.
[00:40:51] I want the good stuff.
[00:40:54] The water, look what happened.
[00:40:56] I only get water when you hit a rock and you get mad.
[00:40:58] I wanted good fresh water every day.
[00:41:01] I had that back in Egypt.
[00:41:02] What have y'all done to us?
[00:41:05] Wow.
[00:41:07] But they forgot how God had brought them through time and time again, right?
[00:41:12] And how He had sustained them for 40 years and met all their natural nutritional needs.
[00:41:19] And you know what?
[00:41:20] Their shoes didn't even wear out.
[00:41:22] 40 years of travel and their shoes were still good.
[00:41:26] See, we the people are, for the most part, are not thankful people.
[00:41:34] We've been so blessed and sadly we don't appreciate what we have or better yet sometimes we take what God has given us for granted.
[00:41:44] We expect it.
[00:41:47] Does that sound familiar in the day in which we live?
[00:41:50] See, being unthankful is going to take us down a path to many other things.
[00:41:59] As a parent, it is our responsibility to teach our children to be thankful.
[00:42:04] As a leader, it's our responsibility to teach thanksgiving.
[00:42:09] But do you know, as a born-again believer, how powerful a thankful person really can be?
[00:42:16] Being thankful is a heart change.
[00:42:20] We're not born that way.
[00:42:21] We're born greedy, selfish human beings.
[00:42:25] And it is God that makes us or changes us through the power of the Holy Ghost when Jesus Christ comes into our heart.
[00:42:33] See, God will bless you for having a thankful heart.
[00:42:40] And He returns more to us.
[00:42:41] Just sort of like this, as a parent,
[00:42:45] The more appreciative my daughter was, the more I wanted to give her.
[00:42:50] But when she didn't appreciate what I was doing, my brakes went on real fast.
[00:42:56] Does anybody know what I'm talking about?
[00:42:59] That is the same way with God.
[00:43:01] I see Him as long as we're blessing Him, as long as we're giving it back to Him, as long as we're loving, as long as we're thankful, He's going, yeah, that's my child.
[00:43:10] They're doing good.
[00:43:12] Let me just bless them a little bit more.
[00:43:15] But it's real easy for that to dry up when we get selfish and greedy in our own life and unappreciative In Ephesians 5 and 19, Ephesians 5 and 19
[00:43:29] Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns.
[00:43:33] Now wait a minute.
[00:43:34] Let's understand what we're saying right here.
[00:43:36] Speaking to yourselves.
[00:43:38] That's not me speaking to you.
[00:43:40] That's not somebody else speaking to you.
[00:43:42] That's you speaking to yourself in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs doing what?
[00:43:48] Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.
[00:43:54] Verse 20.
[00:43:57] Oh, I bless you, Lord.
[00:43:59] Giving thanks always for the things unto God and the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:44:09] Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
[00:44:14] Listen, giving thanks is always connected to that preceding verse.
[00:44:20] Speaking to yourself with psalms and hymns is thanksgiving and praise.
[00:44:25] This scripture shows us that being thankful and showing God that we are thankful is a choice to live a thankful life every day.
[00:44:35] That means we gotta tell ourselves, hey, wait a minute.
[00:44:38] The Lord's been good to me.
[00:44:41] Yes, the Lord's been good to me.
[00:44:44] I bless his name I honor him and whatever else comes out that's what you start doing you make a melody in your heart you tell yourself to bless the Lord this scripture shows us that you have to tell yourself this fleshly body to be thankful this is always the main design of how God wants us to worship
[00:45:13] God who provides everything we will ever need.
[00:45:17] God who gives us life.
[00:45:22] and being thankful is a part of our worship and it should be daily in our lives when we have to remind ourselves I don't know about you but there's been times I've had to remind myself see like all the world was going wrong and things was wrong hard and I was frustrated and I was aggravated and I had to stop and say Tammy wait a minute look what the Lord has done for you
[00:45:46] You might be going through a hard time right now, but look at all the things the Lord has done.
[00:45:50] Be thankful for what He's already done.
[00:45:54] Being thankful is part of your life every day.
[00:45:58] Thanksgiving is when we're consistently, constantly remembering God for all the things He's provided for us.
[00:46:08] To remind us and to remember that His mercy and goodness is every day.
[00:46:14] Providing for us a job to work at.
[00:46:17] To be able to pay for the things we enjoy.
[00:46:20] He gives us blessing after blessing.
[00:46:23] Food on our table.
[00:46:24] Clothes on our back.
[00:46:26] Every part of our life is a blessing to us because God has allowed it to happen.
[00:46:33] See, thankfulness should be a part of your life.
[00:46:37] It should be an everyday work, so to speak.
[00:46:40] The Scripture said we have to sing to ourselves.
[00:46:43] That means we have to tell ourselves every day that God has been good.
[00:46:48] Can we say God has been good?
[00:46:54] The lack of thankfulness shows that a heart that needs mending.
[00:46:58] A lack of thanksgiving shows a heart that needs instruction.
[00:47:03] The lack of thanksgiving shows a heart that needs to be directed
[00:47:09] Paul puts it like this.
[00:47:10] It is God's will for you to be thankful.
[00:47:13] God expects you to be thankful.
[00:47:16] He anticipates that you're going to be thankful because in Colossians 3 and 17 it says, Colossians 3 and 17, And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.
[00:47:30] What?
[00:47:31] Giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.
[00:47:36] 1 Thessalonians 5 and 18.
[00:47:39] Our kids should know this one very well.
[00:47:41] This is their scripture of the month.
[00:47:43] In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
[00:47:50] In everything in life give thanks.
[00:47:53] We can find something to be thankful for.
[00:47:56] And there will always be a reason why we ought to be thankful, even in the hardest times of life.
[00:48:03] Being thankful will put you in the will of God and put you in an upward spiral.
[00:48:10] Life will look and feel differently.
[00:48:13] Only a true thankful person can have joy, peace, be loving, not be critical, not be hateful, not have an attitude, because it's hard to have those negative things in your life when you've got a positive, thankful heart.
[00:48:29] Having a thankful heart that praises God and worships Him is essential in your faith.
[00:48:37] Praise and worship is not just acts we perform.
[00:48:41] It's connected deeply with God.
[00:48:45] It's coming from a thankful heart, an outward expression of what is already going on in our hearts.
[00:48:52] Whether it's the raising of our hands in total submission or dancing before Him, our thankfulness will be an action of what's going on in the heart.
[00:49:06] Our praise is showing God that we are appreciative for everything He's done for us.
[00:49:11] And our worship is being thankful for who He is.
[00:49:15] The song that we sung, I'm coming back to the heart of worship, is saying we realize that we've made praise and worship about us and our feelings and our emotions.
[00:49:26] We have made a choice to give it back to where it deserves and belongs.
[00:49:34] Our worship is not about us.
[00:49:37] It is about Him.
[00:49:39] Because He's God.
[00:49:41] And we have a thankful heart.
[00:49:43] See, the church has restricted our praises to God for so long.
[00:49:49] It's went to the opposite way to make it more worldly.
[00:49:54] But it is time that we get our hearts back and have a thankful heart that leads us back to the heart of worship.
[00:50:06] It is from a thankful heart our praise flows.
[00:50:09] As that praise begins to come out, then the love of God changes in our entire being.
[00:50:15] So we worship the true and living God for who He is.
[00:50:19] Now, I want to talk to you about the process.
[00:50:29] Okay, and this morning I want to talk to you about the process, the process of what it means.
[00:50:39] It is from a thankful heart our praise flows, even the robots.
[00:50:47] A praise that begins to come out.
[00:50:50] Then the love of God will change our entire being so that when we worship, we worship the true and living God for who He is.
[00:50:59] This amazing step process leads us to the very presence of God.
[00:51:04] This kind of thanksgiving will change us.
[00:51:07] It affects how we live and how we love and how we handle our everyday life.
[00:51:12] Listen, the reason that we don't experience God more is because of the condition of our hearts.
[00:51:21] Praise will open the door to heaven and lead us into the very presence of God and it starts with us having a thankful heart.
[00:51:29] It is with a thankful heart He will prepare us to receive more of God's blessings.
[00:51:34] His love providing for His children but He's also looking for someone who will take out time out of your busy, busy life to let your heart cry out with thanksgiving and praise unto God for He has done great things.
[00:51:51] Listen, being thankful isn't just an act.
[00:51:56] You know, there's so many things that we do as rituals and things that we do out of habit, but your worship, your praise is not a ritual.
[00:52:09] It shouldn't be just a mundane thing.
[00:52:13] It should flow from your heart.
[00:52:16] See, it is the gateway that will lead us to the very throne room of God.
[00:52:23] When we are thankful, it opens our heart to God to give Him praise.
[00:52:27] And then praise quickly changes to worship.
[00:52:30] And worship transcends into a place that many are forever changed.
[00:52:34] So let's just break it down here.
[00:52:38] So when you have a thankful heart,
[00:52:42] That heart comes out of you, out of your belly, of being thankful.
[00:52:48] And you're praising God for all His blessings.
[00:52:51] But then, whenever you get in the mode, when you get past that, when you're thanking God for all that He is and all that He's done, then it turns into something else.
[00:53:00] It transcends into a worshiper, where the worship is where you just adore Him and you love Him because He is all in all.
[00:53:11] Being thankful is more than just singing a song.
[00:53:14] It's more than playing an instrument.
[00:53:16] It literally will bring the walls of Jericho down in your life.
[00:53:22] Are you facing battles that look impossible to overcome?
[00:53:26] How can we stand when we have mountains so tall that we don't think we're going to get over it?
[00:53:34] Let me tell you how we're going to do it.
[00:53:36] We're going to start with a thankful heart that turns into praising God for what He has done and what He's doing in this hour.
[00:53:45] And then it's going to change us into worship, where worship is praising Him for who He is and how mighty and wonderful He is.
[00:53:53] And when we get to that place, that thanksgiving that leads us upward is going to change the heart, but it's also going to change the situation.
[00:54:04] Thankful heart is powerful.
[00:54:07] It will turn your pain, your problems, your heartache into the joy of the Lord.
[00:54:13] It shifts everything that you have faced, everything that you have been through.
[00:54:19] A thankful heart will change it to that praise knowing that your Lord has been with you all the way.
[00:54:26] Every step of the way that you have had to go through, God has been there with you.
[00:54:32] He's never left you.
[00:54:33] But that's our heart recognizing and thankful that He's been there.
[00:54:39] But it's my choice.
[00:54:42] See, you've got to have a thankful heart.
[00:54:45] That thankful heart's going to lead you closer to the Lord.
[00:54:48] Our thankfulness will lead us to a change of perspective and with our hearts are open to praise and then the worship comes and when the heart opens up and the Lord sees that we're praising Him and the Holy Spirit says, you know what?
[00:55:04] I can use that person.
[00:55:06] They have a thankful heart.
[00:55:08] They're giving praise to the Father.
[00:55:10] Now we're going to change this around.
[00:55:13] And I'm going to tell you what happens when we let the praise come out from a thankful heart, when we get in the presence of Almighty God, when we start worshiping Him with all that we are, then His presence will come down.
[00:55:28] That's what the Holy Ghost will do.
[00:55:30] The Holy Ghost will reveal Him when we become the vessel of praise.
[00:55:35] When we come into His presence with thanksgiving and worship the only true and living God, the One who deserves all the glory, we become that vessel of praise and we worship Him.
[00:55:51] That thankful heart reminds this human fleshly ways
[00:55:56] that God is still faithful and God is in control and God is sovereign and God will make a way regardless of what I see before my eyes I will trust in God because I know it is Him who has made everything else happen for me in my life.
[00:56:14] Can I ask you something?
[00:56:17] When was the last time you truly praised God from your heart?
[00:56:21] I mean, really praise Him.
[00:56:24] Not just in word, but in everything within you.
[00:56:27] When have you taken time just to praise Him?
[00:56:32] When have you lifted up your hands in total submission to Him and say, Lord, here I am.
[00:56:37] Use me.
[00:56:38] Use me, Lord.
[00:56:40] When did you clap your hands and shout, Hallelujah?
[00:56:45] What is in your heart will come out.
[00:56:48] Praise is much more than a song of words.
[00:56:50] It's a declaration that God is greater than anything.
[00:56:55] God is greater than any person, any position that we have in our life.
[00:57:00] God is greater than all these things and you was placed on this earth for a purpose.
[00:57:06] You was placed on this earth this time for a reason and God has it all worked out.
[00:57:13] But it's not only that.
[00:57:17] But when we learn to praise with a thankful heart, it will engage into the spiritual warfare.
[00:57:27] With thankful hearts our praise flows and we're not just singing words.
[00:57:32] We are declaring that our God is stronger than any enemy we face and the enemy has no
[00:57:38] The place in our lives because my heart is thankful for what God has already done.
[00:57:44] My heart is praising Him and my body is praising Him because I know that He's in control.
[00:57:51] Understand this.
[00:57:53] When you have a thankful heart, praise will start to flow.
[00:57:57] When you are a appreciative person, it's automatic.
[00:58:01] It's going to start happening.
[00:58:03] God just don't listen to it.
[00:58:06] He don't say, that's nice.
[00:58:08] No, when we get into the heart of worship, He comes down and is in the middle of it.
[00:58:17] God's very presence through the power of the Holy Spirit will descend on this place as He is being praised.
[00:58:24] Church, this is why I've said for a long time,
[00:58:28] Praise and worship time, we call it that, our music time, is the only time during church that is totally for the Lord.
[00:58:37] And that time is our time to give back to Him.
[00:58:40] The rest of the service is for us.
[00:58:45] But when we're in the middle of worship, praise and worship, when we're singing psalms and hymns and we're lifting Him up, that's when we're talking to Him, we're giving Him praise, we're giving Him honor.
[00:58:57] Let me ask you something.
[00:58:59] God wants to see your thankful heart.
[00:59:02] And when He sees it, He's going to check it out.
[00:59:07] Have you ever felt God's presence?
[00:59:09] Does anybody know what I'm talking about when you've felt God's presence and you know it was God?
[00:59:15] The atmosphere will change.
[00:59:18] It'll shift.
[00:59:19] You can feel it.
[00:59:21] It's when God steps in the room, it's not just a feeling, it's not just the glory bunts, it's the tangible presence of an almighty God coming down to inhabit the praises of His people.
[00:59:36] Do you want an experience with God?
[00:59:39] If you do, it starts with a thankful heart.
[00:59:42] A thankful heart of praise will change everything.
[00:59:52] Remember, praise comes from a thankful heart.
[00:59:55] And when you totally surrender God, that praise will shift into worship.
[01:00:00] And worship is where God dwells.
[01:00:04] If you want things in your life to change, examine how thankful you are.
[01:00:10] We need to do that.
[01:00:11] Well, I did it myself.
[01:00:12] No, you did not.
[01:00:14] It was God that gave you strength.
[01:00:16] God that gave you that ability.
[01:00:19] Well, I manage money well.
[01:00:21] Well, He gave you the common sense to do it.
[01:00:25] If you want to experience God, you've got to praise Him.
[01:00:30] Remember when the people of Israel started marching around Jericho?
[01:00:34] Do y'all remember that?
[01:00:36] What appeared to be foolish, and I'm sure of them was saying, Well, I sure don't feel like praising today.
[01:00:43] Or I don't feel like lifting my hands.
[01:00:46] My hands is tired.
[01:00:47] I carried in the wood.
[01:00:50] I don't want to walk around that...
[01:00:53] Jericho, whoa, that's huge!
[01:00:56] I'll be exhausted!
[01:00:57] Can you hear the people complaining and mumbling?
[01:01:01] Listen, it wasn't what they wanted to do.
[01:01:04] It was the matter that they did it.
[01:01:07] They believed and with a thankful heart they believed God was going to give them Jericho.
[01:01:13] They didn't depend on their own strength, their own wants, or how they felt or how they didn't feel.
[01:01:19] They did it because they depended on God and they knew God was faithful.
[01:01:24] I don't know about you, but I've experienced God's faithfulness in my life and I know that He is.
[01:01:32] Remember what it took.
[01:01:35] When they obeyed, they got into one heart and one mind.
[01:01:38] God showed up in those walls that were so strong and too tall come crashing down.
[01:01:45] For six days they marched around the walls of Jericho.
[01:01:50] And on the seventh day, they marched seven times.
[01:01:55] Thirteen times they went around the walls of Jericho.
[01:01:58] Think about it.
[01:02:00] I don't know why it took them marching around that city that many times.
[01:02:04] I don't know why God required it.
[01:02:07] But what if the one day wasn't enough to get the thanksgiving flowing?
[01:02:12] What if one time a day wasn't enough to say, hmm, God's been good?
[01:02:19] What if God knew it was going to take six days of them to get a heart of thanksgiving?
[01:02:27] But what if on that seventh day they were so full of praise and thanksgiving?
[01:02:32] They didn't have no doubts.
[01:02:33] They didn't have nothing went in their mind.
[01:02:36] They weren't worried about the firewood they had to gather.
[01:02:38] They weren't worried about how tired their feet was.
[01:02:41] They didn't worry about nothing but worshiping God.
[01:02:45] and what happened every time they walked around those walls of Jericho they got more excited and more excited why because they kept on praising that heart kept on thinking Lord I don't know how many times we got to do this but I'm trusting you that you're gonna work all things out for my good I'm gonna keep on walking
[01:03:04] I'm on walking, but while I'm walking, I'm praising.
[01:03:07] While I'm praising, I've got a thankful heart remembering all the times you've been good to me.
[01:03:12] Lord, you've not brought us this far to let us down now.
[01:03:15] I'm going to continue walking.
[01:03:17] I'm going to keep on praising.
[01:03:18] I'm going to keep on having a thankful heart.
[01:03:21] And what happened?
[01:03:23] As they went around the seventh time and their hearts was full of worship, what happened?
[01:03:28] Kaboom!
[01:03:29] And the walls come tumbling down.
[01:03:31] God showed up.
[01:03:33] Being thankful and having a desire to praise God shifts your focus of the greatness of God.
[01:03:40] Praise is the key that will unlock the power of your life and worship will take you into the presence of God.
[01:03:48] Please understand this.
[01:03:50] Our worship isn't about the things we do on the outward.
[01:03:54] It's about the process of true worship.
[01:03:57] It's a heartfelt connection with God that goes beyond appearances and action.
[01:04:03] It all begins with a thankful heart.
[01:04:05] It starts with praising God and a pure heartfelt praise that shifts into worship.
[01:04:14] What about that first Thanksgiving?
[01:04:16] The pilgrims gather together, together to give thanks.
[01:04:21] Church, that's what we do too.
[01:04:24] Not just one day set aside in November, but this is a daily walk.
[01:04:28] And every day, yes, you should be thanking God.
[01:04:31] Yes, you should be praising God.
[01:04:33] And then when we get to church, we're all ready.
[01:04:37] We got our mind made up.
[01:04:39] We're going to be in unity.
[01:04:40] We're in love.
[01:04:41] And what's going to happen?
[01:04:42] That thankful heart will start.
[01:04:44] And that praise will come on.
[01:04:45] And next thing you know, we're worshiping together with that heart that's exploding for the love of God.
[01:04:54] I encourage you to praise God daily.
[01:04:57] In your home, on your job, in your car, anywhere you are.
[01:05:03] Praise Him out loud.
[01:05:06] Praise Him in your heart.
[01:05:09] Lift those hands.
[01:05:11] Say Amen.
[01:05:13] Say Hallelujah.
[01:05:15] Glory to the Lord.
[01:05:17] Great and mighty is the Lord our God.
[01:05:21] Get those banners going.
[01:05:24] Can you imagine what would happen if we would get ready throughout the week and have an expectation of what God is going to do when we gather together with our community Thanksgiving?
[01:05:40] That expectation of what God is going to do
[01:05:44] We'll come when we have a thankful heart.
[01:05:47] When the praise is already in our lives.
[01:05:50] You know, I shouldn't have to coach you to raise your hands.
[01:05:54] I shouldn't have to coach you to get a banner.
[01:05:56] I shouldn't have to coach you to march around these walls.
[01:05:58] You should have a heart of praise that wants to show God that you're giving Him all the glory.
[01:06:05] But just what?
[01:06:07] If you've walked around these walls seven times, then what happens?
[01:06:12] The presence of God falls in a mighty way.
[01:06:16] See, it can happen because when we do this out of the thanksgiving of our heart, God's presence comes down to us.
[01:06:25] The next few weeks I'm going to be talking to us about what praise and worship really is.
[01:06:29] and what having a thankful heart will bring up.
[01:06:35] Church, I'm ready for a move of God in my life and in this place like we've never experienced.
[01:06:41] I'm looking for God's Holy Spirit to come and just tear us up and let the presence of God be so real.
[01:06:49] Grant it, Lord.
[01:06:51] But let me tell you, it starts with us having a thankful heart.
[01:06:57] Just as the pilgrims looked for a better way and came together with others, that should be our goal.
[01:07:07] Sometimes it's hard to praise out there in that world we live in.
[01:07:11] But when we come together, we've got a safe place.
[01:07:15] A place that so many people gave their lives that we could be here today.
[01:07:20] So I want to say this.
[01:07:23] I pray that our hearts will be turned to God.
[01:07:26] With a heart of thanksgiving, praise to come forth out of our lips, our being, and a desire to worship Him in truth and in His Spirit.
[01:07:39] Let's pray.
[01:07:40] Stand to your feet.