How Gratitude Conquers Worry [Part 1]

Pastoral author and Bible teacher Alan Wright there is a way of writing in which you are not just bringing a request but you have joined with thanksgiving. Pastor Alan welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light on deliberate excited for you teaching today. In the series. No worries as presented at Ronald church in North Carolina you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today's special offer.

You can learn more about it contact us at pastoralan.org that's Pastor Alan.org or call 877-544-4860 877-544-4860 world. All of this later in the program but now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan Wright I read that learning to drive all can actually increase the gray matter in your brain so I will juggling balls. I haven't had a 20 year is filled at first it was hard but it started coming back.

The brain is an amazing thing. Son is taught first grade by Emily Wagoner was former Dir. of preschool Massey's direct and major projects force with a great teacher but she had a great line.

We use it often. When your mind is quite get it. You don't quite want to think about it they say okay now brings her know about all that life brings her to bring certain, but you keep doing Emily keep amazing to see today is the fact that you can increase the gray matter in your brain by juggling leads us to believe that you're not stuck with the brain. You have right now is really hopeful.

You know what to say today as we conclude this long series called no worries in a defensive passage of Scripture that it is God's will for your life to not worry at all but instead to give thanks all the time. I want to show you today. This remarkable connection between giving thanks having peace and being filled with joy that this is just inseparably connected and what we see is that there's something astonishing because there's a connection between how you think and what you experience of God, which is amazing. Paul was in prison when he wrote to the Philippians when he wrote these words. Philippians 4 starting at verse four.

He was unjustly incarcerated and had no idea what was going to happen for his future is a little wonderful epistle just filled with joy, but here he just speaks definitively the word of the Lord.

If you want to know how God wants you to live in this world. Here is Philippians 4 verse four rejoice in the Lord always again I will say, rejoice.

Let your reasonableness be known to everyone that this word could be translated gentleness. The real best translation of the word.

We don't use very, much magnanimity. Magnanimous means a generous, gentle, kind disposition towards others. Let that be evident to every body.

The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God that there is a way of praying and which you are not just bringing a request though God wants you to do that, but you have joined with thanksgiving and the peace of God, when you pray that way.

Verse seven the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. The image of guarding is of a Roman garrison with soldiers centurions that are guarding the gates so the gate into your heart into your mind has a a a a like image of soldiers guarding it when you have this peace that passes understanding. It's doing something to guard you from spiritual negative onslaught.

Verse eight finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you've learned and received and heard and seen in me practice these things, he saying, praying yourself in this and the God of peace will be with you was a God with us all the time. Absolutely.

What is the main he means when you train yourself in these lifestyle fall life patterns of gratitude you experience the peace of God, he saying something that is mystifying and intriguing and wonderful.

He saying that what you think about your and your mind is a pathway to what transcends the mind's remarkable cement of heart and mind and spirit and soul. It's a mystery, but it means that you don't simply have to wait around and sort out wishfully.

Imagine that you could become a person of peace. There's actually a pathway to this and this is the tool gratitude. I want to talk to you about Thanksgiving and the joy of the Lord in the peace that passes all under stand you know it's interesting in my life I have felt I look back on it, to be honest and say I though I now am generally very positive person, don't.

Don't get me wrong, not always the what you see of me as a preacher. I certainly have my negative moments of worries which is part of the reason for preaching this long series, but there was a season of my life and which I was. I was a negative thinker, just a couple places where it shows up if I would be honest about an inventory of my own soul. And what was as a kid I played tennis every day of my life all the way up through senior high school and I became a window be a pro but I became pretty good tennis player playing targets all over the state and I battled even though I was fairly accomplice as tennis player.

I battled negative thinking on the tennis court when I was in a tight match that I remember specifically, you know, over and over this happen to me where if it if I'm surveying and and now the scores 3040 and and and the games online. I can remember the thought come minimum on too often this would be a bad time to double fault that I am either played any sports knows, if you are trying not to double fall in the thought in your mind is back on the double fault that does not help you battle that can think that's will have more teaching moment from today's important series would be like to be accepted perfectly free to be yourself with no fear of ejection don't roll their eyes make fun of you and what he lacks. No more anxious feeling that you feel like a pressure is always on the railing that lacks right here in my longing for life with no shame in paradise before sin came into the world tells us this relationship found no shipping ever since the fall of the human heart has been windowdressing until you can't be truly acceptable seem condescending, so I try to be perfect in order to meet to decide.

Since I'm not a measure at them as well.

Right now the road ahead is pleasing by shame and there is only one the grace of God in Jesus Christ and his highly acclaimed book for yourself yourself not only exposes the lies of shame. He leads you into a revolution of God's love that heals your cell discover freedom, joy, and destiny as you shall performance-based rating shame and fear for good life-changing full-length book from Alan Wright for yourself. The gospel is shared when you get Alan Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you get today. We will send you a special offer now these are the final days. This offer is being made available to you this month. We are happy to send this to you as I thanks from Alan Wright Ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website past Rowan.like today's teaching now continues once again is this is embarrassing even admit but I remember as a youth, having times where I'm in a tight match and having a losing mentality, cross me enough that I can remember while I'm in the match rehearsing in my mind what I would say to someone after the match about while lost it, even though I was a Christian for a number years I've experienced the Holy Spirit. I understood the word and I was a student and seminary struggled in my seminary years was part of my training was to work in a local hospital for clinical pastoral education we call it, so I was a chaplain part time at the VA hospital in Atlanta and all throughout my time in that hospital. I struggled. I remember a specific event of one evening we were asked expecting we had company coming in from out of town and we were going to go over Stone Mountain.

You can go out there in the spring and summer and put a blanket out sit there and watch a laser show up on Stone Mountain's beautifully in our company was coming and that's what we were going to admit at the VA hospital and I just before (with a man who was a vet and he was having part of his leg amputated. The next day and I prayed with him and I remember specifically sitting on that blanket trying to watch that show, Stone Mountain and being miserable because I could not turn the thought off in my brain that was saying who are you to be out here enjoying a nice evening with your family. While that man is over there in the hospital again right at this now of course I wasn't doing a single good thing for him by just circulating that worry negative thoughts in my mind was mainly to go pray for them and pray for them and sit with him and sit with the man, but not turn that thought off and out of trouble. Turn it off. I had trouble turning off negative thoughts.

I give you a lot more examples as I look back over my life. So what has been the nature of the transformation that is I've experienced a lot of this is just the direct growth and empowerment of the Holy Spirit because Holy Spirit brings peace and joy is a fruit but in terms of what is actually changed my life.

I realize it is been a growing depth perception and appreciation of the radical grace of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Because the more that you see the center of the gospel and at the center of your life is that you have received the gift of God that you did not deserve the more that you see that the more grateful you become. This is why any form of legalism will never produce gratitude. If you accomplish something that you set your mind on and you reach your goal and you get a reward that's gratifying that's satisfying in its own way, but it does not produce gratitude. If you purchase something with your money and then you get it. You may be satisfied, but you're not spilling over with thanksgiving.

You don't go to the car dealership.

Write the check and then fall down on your knees and the salesman's cubicle and sale thank you thank you thank you for this car you walk out and say well I think I got for you and you enjoy your car but is not granted, but the life they get centered around the gospel.

This says that God came and died in your place so that instead of experiencing alienation from God, now and forever. You have been adopted as his own. The thought of that produces granite. The Scriptures are simply replete with the exhortation to be grateful first Chronicles 16 80 give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name and make known his deeds among the people. Psalm seven verse 17 I will give thanks to the Lord due to his righteousness, and sing praise to the name of the Lord. Psalm 91. I'll give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart heart, I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.

Psalm 30 verse four sing praises to the Lord all you saints and give thanks to his holy name. In fact, the whole morning just in the Psalter. Psalm 33 Psalm 44 Psalm 54 Psalm 5775 7986 92 9700 hundred 500 600-700-8109, 111, 118, 122, 136 by my reading all in one way or another, say, give thanks to the Lord all himself begins to speak of this, he is very direct. Ephesians 520 giving thanks always and for everything to God the father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in Colossians 3 he says similarly verse 17 what ever you do whatever you do in word or deed doing everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him and in first Thessalonians 518. He is as clear and succinct as he is in any epistle when he says give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. You are not the will of God is for your life is to give thanks in every circumstance.

This is what God wants. This is what God desires. This is how God is designed so when you look at it in that context, it's not surprising that when we come to Philippians 4 Paul's language throughout this text is in the superlative.

It is in the extreme. It is in the notion of the totality of thing I verse four rejoice in the Lord always. Verse five. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. Verse six. Do not be anxious about anything, verse six, in everything with thanksgiving verse seven peace of God, which surpasses all understanding. Verse eight what ever is true, what have her as honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure is lovely St. in the thing that you can think anything that fits the category of virtue is describing in verse eight he says if there's any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on these things, he is saying every facet of your life. It's God's will for you to find something to be thankful for. Whether you have a lot of whether you have a little whatever it is that you face. You can train yourself to be a grateful person you can be like the woman who had very little maintenance and sometimes her cupboard was bare. She love the Lord and she just was thanking Jesus all the time she'd be out in the morning in the front yard and she be praising Jesus and I just want to thank you for the beautiful day Lord and I just want to thank you that I'm alive today and not just want to thank you for your many many blessings all, thank you Jesus.

Well, her neighbor was an atheist and it was quite bothersome to him. All of this thanking Jesus when he was like she is so do she just thinks they got this and that's not and so one day he knew that her cupboard was bare, and he decided to try do a good deed and prove a point. So he went to the grocery store and bought some bags of groceries came over put on her front porch and then hid and sure enough she came out she saw the food out there and she said oh thank you, Jesus of thank you Jesus.

I am so thankful Lord.

Look at all this food you brought to me.

What a blessing and he jumped out from behind a bush and set off I get sick.

God didn't bring you those groceries I did. I went to the grocery store brought over here which she turned her face heavenward, and she said oh, thank you Jesus, thank you all the more.

Not only did you bring me this food which may the devil pay for it. You can Paul says put these things in the practice you can train yourself in this wiseguy care so much about it, partly as a father and I this day as a parent we like our children to be grateful. It was a very, very, very, very important thing in our house. I would save you disability or household use.

I will this must been a major party. We don't line and we are grateful. I just felt like the most blessed people in the whole world. We got so much with so much but five of four so were not aligned with going to be thankful but I did notice parents of children come into the world thankful so you have to train a minute and it takes years. It is so funny because we be like take them out for ice cream thereby enjoy the ice cream we get a ride home after we don't enjoy ice cream yeah okay what you say oh yeah, Frank can thereby have a good time on the trip. The big vacation was acted was great. What you say can swear about it is that even when you make your child say and I say it like this, I can still feel pretty good even though he makes a say thank you to but a lot of the reason that we see over and over in Scripture and the reason we see over and over and Philippians 4. Reason Paul is so direct about this about a life of gratitude as it is not ultimately just for God's benefit is your father, and his heart to be warm as you worship them. It's for you right.

I've done a lot of studying of gratitude really is a wonderful wonderful tool is conquering worried that sword teaching today how gratitude conquers worrying her series.

No worries. Alan is back in the studio in just a moment sharing aborting good news thought for the day. Stick with us when it would be like to be accepted perfectly free to be yourself with no fear of rejection that don't roll their eyes make fun of you. I love you last how we kind look for yourself yourself not only exposes the house of Saul, he leads you into a revolution of God's love that heals your soul, discover freedom, joy, and destiny as you shall perform if they sleeping?

You think I'd life-changing full-length book from Alan Knight for yourself.

The gospel is shared when you get Alan Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you get today. We will send you a special offer. We are happy to send this to you as I thanks from Alan Wright Ministries. These are the final days. This offer is being made available to you this month, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor out.work back here in the studio how gratitude conquers worrying is the teaching wonderful if I could use the word tool or weapon to conquer. Worry is actually I think and hope that our listeners have learned throughout her series, that instead of trying to manage your worries. We've been develop different biblical strategy strategies that are about getting at the roots of it and so here's another example where instead of saying I'm talking worrying not to worry it's gonna try harder not to worry, break and practice an attitude of gratitude and we are learning some today and actually tomorrow in this verse is about the amazing new research on what's called neuro- plasticity. The capacity that God put into our brains actually for our brains to grow and develop. And let's not forget Daniel what the radio listener can't see is that I began this sermon by juggling on state real law reason was that I had. I had read an article said that those that learn to juggle the gray matter of their brain grows well on a thing to get my brain to grow but what we really saying is that you can put into place practices of thought there were actually change the way you think now today's good news message is listener supported production Alan Wright Ministries