A Heart of Gratitude

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Everybody I'm Bernie Dake and I'm Cheryl Gillam Cheryl have I told you that I'm glad you're here you have. Thank you so much we really try to make it a fun environment and the if you ever get a chance to meet Cheryl. You'll know she's a lover of the Lord and she's fun to be around this week. The Salvation Army officers, particularly in the southern territory. The's the candidate officers learn about their new appointments and how exciting this will be the first time as pastors that they will go out into the field and practice what they've been learning the last two years, both at a seminary and sort of a vocational school to learn how to become a pastor and an administrator in a van driver and all of the things that you have to do is a Salvation Army officer dear member those days.

Cheryl I do remember those days and I remember feeling so overwhelmed. Not now, and how it's all going to come together and thinking about that. Not only that, now picking up the kids and doing the programs but also the finances of the Salvation Army and how I how huge that is ingesting out learning how to trust God day by day for everything that we needed. I cannot fathom how you go from, you know, just sort of cut may be, in some cases coming right out of college, or just right out of practical life experience in taking over what could be a million-dollar budget in a small community and having to learn to work with advisory organizations. People: man, I commend all of you who have answered God's call.

In this way, we have a good system in the Salvation Army, accountability and accounting so and we have some of the best people on board so awesome I last week we started a new series on finance and we been joined by salvation army officer Mike Harris as we begin to discuss our finances.

Last week we started from the beginning. Where do our blessings come from in the first place. I think this is such a simple and crucial thing to remember and if we recognize that all we have is a gift. As a result, we can't help but have a heart of gratitude which leads us into today's discussion. I'm a grateful person. I'm the glass is half full person. I like to remember to thank God, as often as I can for the blessings that is bestowed upon us, but when it comes to personal finances. I think sometimes panic and you have that moment where not sure if everything's going to be okay.

I'm the same way I feel like I'm full of gratitude as well. But something about money right weekly dissenting is a need we have. And yet God promises us in his word that everything that we need. He will provide and so to have the attitude of gratitude is so important because somehow in the kingdom principle that releases God's hand of blessing upon us earlier, Mike and I were getting ready for the series, and just talk you through it.

As we were doing the recording of a great quote that I heard that Mike and I were discussing is how thankfulness goes a long way thankful. This leads to peace and peace is the enemy of stress.

So if when it comes to your finances. You're feeling stressed out.

The first piece of advice I'd like you to cling to his start from a place of gratitude and peace will come close behind. Colossians 315 says let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Yeah remembering who God is. First of all, right he is. He is our provider is all that we need. He has everything we need every provision that that we have is from him and then remembering what is done in the past has he ever really let us call me he hasn't.

So the next question is William, will you do it again Lord and the answers yes he well he will provide you with.

We love to hear thoughts on this topic. Whether you have a testimony to share our advice of your own to share with our listeners reach out to us.

Send us an email at radio at USS.Salvation Army.or or call 1-800-229-9965. It really is a privilege in our second week to have a dear friend back major Mike Harris you can call him Mike, please do. He is a father that he is a husband. I hope that will get to hear a little bit about your family, not just in sermon illustrations, but perhaps her listeners would enjoy knowing a little bit more about who you have become. But you're here over the series to share with us the idea of financial want, see freedom, we use the word peace last week and we I think it's important for us to understand scripturally where that peace comes from from the father above limit payment to them.

So this week we want to focus on the heart of gratitude. Help me understand what where you want us to go with Mike. Well I think gratitude to second Corinthians chapter 9 where Paul says the Lord loads a cheerful giver. So Socha what that says to me is that is that giving is an expression of what's in your heart okay so so so I think that's really where will it come from and being a Christian. My giving my heart's response its response to to go out in his provision to me and I think that the oven you want to taken at some point I like to talk about the story of Joseph I think is very helpful to illustrate the point of trying to make you will do my level best to remember that for a list of course you use Psalm 10789 and are the notes that you sent us in for a listers. I just want to read that to them.

Give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. So in a sense what I'm hearing you may be direct our thoughts towards us again with that peace that God will provide. But it's not prosperity, as we learned last week, in the sense that we hear about you know becoming richer. Having all of the things in life God that when Jesus came to the earth in the form of man as God came in his son Jesus. You know he was basically a homeless carpenter itinerant preacher going around with 12 of his friends help me understand where you want us to go on in the idea of the Psalm the Scripture that we brought some that will get it so talks about social response doesn't it give thanks to God for his unfailing love and I'm not what unfailing is a very significant wood here because we become guilty in tough times of questioning God's love never fails. Never fails and and and so if we have accepted Christ in our hearts. We then become somewhat like we could become people of love and so I giving his response to that. I just think back in my life and I'm something of a particular individual.

You remember this this this family that would cost upon all times and very difficult and they were people of faith and it really was tough for you to basically to particular provisions to get through the drawer where it can go on welfare themselves talking about how they want to get out of this, but what happened when the rent this period of time was they really prayed a lot close to God, and somehow go to was provided we got through this particular time in a flash forward right you get good for them, talking about the 20 years later there she did quite well things are going well spiritually than not, where they were story tell me which children God wants us to rely upon him, we pray.

Give us this day our daily bread does that that implies to me that this is a daily conversation we have with God showing provide for my future showing provide for my retirement was singled. Give me this day our daily bread an answer by keeping close to him. We can both respond to him and therefore every day we are recognizing that God has provided, and therefore every day we acknowledge him with cheerful heart that's good Mike but I love it when a preacher breaks those types of things down for us because I think we take for granted. Sometimes the things that we do out of tradition.

I don't mean that in a negative way.

I think there's wonderful traditions as Christians that we observe.

But when you, the Lord's prayer as an example, I don't think I've ever thought that when you say. Give us this day. You know it that were stopping were saying today.

Lord, give what I need today for today, let's. I appreciate that.

I'm grateful for that idea of thankfulness can go a long way. We want to be cheerful in our giving, but in in some of the things that we want our listeners to hear thankfulness leads to peace and peace is the enemy of stress.

This will be Joseph. It is the story of Joseph, the favored son of Jacob who is cost into a position of servitude. With Pulsifer, yet his ability, his skills, it allowed parts of us have to flourish. Why because Joseph was a great steward not of things stood by nature is is is management of other people's resources so Pulsifer flourish because of Joseph. Then when Joseph was very unfairly put into jail. The jail flourish if you read it because the jail. Recognize you put Joseph in charge and that, of course, through a series of miracles that pertain to dreams of Pharaoh, Joseph was in cost into this position of enormous power of enormous responsibility second only to Pharaoh in this powerful country, and so on. Jump ahead in the story Joseph to a chapter we really look at liberty hood preached on Genesis 47 this is what happened in Egypt. Once Joseph, the taken power. As you recall the story is that the dreams told Pharaoh he was left seven years of plenty to be so much food, it will be coming out.

That is, and that would be followed by seven years of awful famine and Joseph idea was let's take 20% of everything we go in the 70s aplenty. That story and stored in storage so that we have what we need in the seven years of famine. So the farming hits the world's future pitch Canaan and so people, of course, needed to survive and they knew there was food in Egypt so they they came from all over to Egypt to buy food simply to survive until the money gone. Genesis 47 tells you think the most limiting the people said we do now. We got no money left. And Joseph said will you publish talk you have League of cheap will swell food for that. Will you be going for that soap and Cpl. all their livestock and all the livestock was gone and so the people subsequently money regret my livestock but we still need to live.

Joseph should we plan bring the deeds bring that the steel and swap that for the food and so the people broke the deeds to their land Joseph to the people given up all of the money Pharaoh had a war money at all the livestock handle the land and how Egypt became so powerful. This is now, and I met in the farming was over the people known so that you Joseph said his some seeds go back to the land you living only goes to Pharaoh but go it music pump seed get 20% back to Pharaoh. The rest of it feels a little on the response of the people was this. Thank you. Thank you. They lost everything but the response was thank you wife because you saved our lives.

Spiritualize that would Jesus do for us. He saved our lives, our eternity is in him. Therefore we shouldn't care about anything that we lose down here because our response to him should be granted shoot gratitude for saving our lives that we are not storing up treasures in Egypt were storing up treasures in heaven, I met a man so that they know that I want to encourage our listeners to consider that very idea to trust in God the Salvation Army's mission doing the most good means helping people with material and spiritual needs.

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