the attitude of gratitude.
Robert Morris pastor gateway church. 11-27-11
Thanksgiving is about thanks, but it is more important to have that attitude year round.
Possessions reveal hearts. The opposite of gratitude is greed. "And he said to them, 'Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.' " (Luke 12:15 ESV)
Stuff is just stuff. Does the stuff have us?
Stuff is just a test. What are you going to do with it? Deut 5:21 do not covet. Upamatheo to set your heat on someone else's stuff. (Covetting)
Upamathea is to set your eyes on someone else. (lust)
Gratitude is passing the stuff test.
Pride- proud of there stuff. From Ourselves. I deserve more.
Poverty- guilt for possessions. From the Devil. I deserve less.
The problem with both is focus is still in stuff.
Pride and poverty always compare themselves to others. Gratitude simple says thank you.
"The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. "Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. Beware lest you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.' You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. (Deuteronomy 8:1-6, 11-19 ESV)
Created 6 months ago
