Overflowing gratitude thirdly, protects from pride—protects from pride. And I said, “Well, I bet his prayer is going to be an expression of gracious gratitude,” and of course, I wasn’t at all surprised, and here is how his prayer begins. I’m going to be more thankful this year than I was last year.” Good! It’s a Greek verb that you find, for example, at the end of 1 Corinthians 15, which we studied a few Sunday evenings ago, where he says that he wants them in light of all that Jesus is to them by way of the resurrection to be abounding in the work of the Lord. This is a prayer for Thanksgiving. But rather, as William Jay has said in his prayer here, all of the things that come our way in our lives are under your paternal guidance. And so there's a humble spirit. “Oh, God, you are very great.” I’ll change it from “thou” to “you.”. People will be lovers of the money, they’ll be lovers of themselves, they will be ungrateful, inhospitable,[6] and so on, but ingratitude is in the heart of it. It’s not found solely in Jonathan Edwards, but Edwards helps his readers in his book The Religious Affections[8] to distinguish between what he refers to as “natural gratitude” and “gracious gratitude.” I’m not going to spend long on this, but it’s an important distinction. “Sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, [greediness], which is idolatry.” It’s not impossible for these Colossian Christians to come out in this gear, it is incongruous for them to come out in this gear. © 1994 - 2021 Truth For Life. We had no television, no video games, we’d read most of the books—what can you do? Used by permission. Well, it’s expressed in all kinds of ways. | If you don’t understand that, then what you will hear me say is something that I’m not saying: “Begg had a sermon on Sunday about how you’re supposed to find some way to overflow with thankfulness. This dear fellow servant, this faithful minister of Jesus, has been the one who has established the church there apparently in Colossae. It is produced by the Spirit of God as we respond with transformed minds, wills, and hearts to the unchanging goodness of our Father, who works in all circumstances to accomplish His will for our good. And every so often, if someone turns us to the Bible, we discover this ugly truth about ourselves, but it is actually in some measure liberating to realize, “Oh, I get it now. We thought that perhaps if socially things were different around us, then that would have taken care of it; but socially things are really not bad even when they are bad, and we’re still a mess. "My heart overfloweth with a goodly matter; I speak the things which I have made touching the king: My tongue is the pen of a ready writer." For your Son’s sake. Now, speak this confession of faith out loud with me: “I am living in the overflow. Having an attitude of gratitude as opposed to a spirit of entitlement 2. My heart is overflowing with gratitude to our revered Leader for having given to the world her revelation of Truth, which heals and comforts. Well, he says, “just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord”—that’s verse 6 of chapter 2— that takes us back to chapter 1 and to what we read. For easy, one-click sharing make sure your pop-up blocker is disabled for this site. So, when the news is overwhelming, the believer can thank God that God sits enthroned over all the military, political, social, and economic forces of our day. No. From the December 1946 issue of The Christian Science Journal. For sermons preached before We’re going to read from the Bible in the New Testament in Colossians and in chapter 1 and beginning at verse 3. Happy 1st Birthday my angel on earth! Paul says, “Since you heard God’s grace in all its truth, since you were reconciled to God although previously alienated, since you once lived in darkness and now live in light, since you were once trapped and have now been set free, since you were once dead and you’ve now been made alive, the dynamic for the gratitude that flows from you is the dynamic of the gospel itself.” So that as one of my friends recently wrote, “purposeful, perpetual thanks to God is absolutely central to Christian character.”[7] Purposeful, perpetual thanks to God is absolutely central for Christian character. (I won’t give it all to you.) As believers, our gratitude should overflow because of the benefits we receive as children of God. They’re just thankful! So, that is how thanksgiving or thankfulness overflows. Seeing the good and positive in life and focusing on that 3. That doesn’t mean an inane grin. He says, “The olden days—if you want to see the olden days, go to chapter 3 and verse 5. I am who I am today because of you. My mind is turned away from him. This website uses cookies to improve functionality and performance. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. I am overflowing with gratitude and appreciation. Let’s bow for a moment just in silent prayer. The Devil comes and says, “The whole thing’s finished.” The Devil comes and says, “You shouldn’t trust that Bible, you shouldn’t trust God, you shouldn’t really pay attention to that stuff at all.” Overflowing gratitude is an antidote for that. © 2021 The Christian Science Publishing Society. Somebody just gave me their e-mail address about ten days ago, and the e-mail address is “luckydog at such‑and‑such, such‑and‑such.” And I thought about the person, and I thought about the address, and I said, “You know, I think that is a genuine expression of humility on this person’s part, that they’re saying, you know, ‘I have a tremendous amount to be thankful for.’” The distinction between them and William Jay here is that the individual who sees life as the unfolding of chance—and you may see life that way this morning—the individual who sees life as the unfolding of chance almost inevitably welcomes the events that are enjoyable and favorable and resents those that are unpleasant or objectionable. So, myself and my sister, we’d go in our parent’s closet and ferret around and find clothes that we thought looked absolutely ridiculous. A smallpox vaccination took him out under the overruling providence of God who, looking upon his servant, determined that this would be a fine way to bring him home to his eternal reward; and God always does what is right and never gets his time wrong. Psalm 136:1. [MOU1]Overflowing gratitude will allow us to rest in the realization that God’s loving purpose is being worked out in experiences that are not only pleasant and encouraging, but also in the experiences that are unsettling and painful. I always like to open my Bible and look at it because if the fellow goes south, then at least you have the benefit of having the Bible to read, and ’cause you’re pretty well trapped. It is more than keeping lists of the good things that we enjoy, and it can't be produced by our own effort or resolve. November 6, 2011 are taken from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), I had the privilege of attending the Christian Science Sunday School from the age of five, and in recent years have been grateful for the opportunity of teaching in the Sunday School. My gratitude journals are testimonies that on my hardest days and in the worst circumstances, God’s record of faithfulness is 100%. Their gratitude made it all worthwhile. I am blessed beyond measure. And this kind of overflowing gratitude will do a number of things. Overflowing gratitude thirdly, protects from pride—protects from pride. … Secondly, such overflowing gratitude defends against the Devil’s insinuation to despair and to distrust. He indwelt you. For Jesus’ sake. Policies So just by virtue of existence, such gratitude is possible and observable. I have more than enough. It’s the word that is used here for overflowing. All rights reserved. Site Map. A person has a grateful heart is a person with a humble spirit for the simple reason you recognize that it's all of God and none of you. The listening queue will play items sequentially from the "Up Next" list below. rooted and overflowing is based on Colossians 2:6-7 which reads “Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, overflowing with gratitude.” I had suffered for many years with severe nervous headaches, and was practically a nervous wreck. It seems that we’re in a bit of a pickle now, and I resent that. Alistair Begg is Senior Pastor at Parkside Church in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Bible teacher on Truth For Life, which is heard on the radio and online around the world. My friend, Marva from Sun Sparkle, Shine are doing a 5-Day email course called Wake up to Gratitude as a preparation for the holiday season! 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