The Power Of The Spirit Of Gratitude

You are listening to a message from Thrive Community Church, a church located in Southwest Florida. For more info, visit us at thrive-fl.org. So, those of you who were here last week know why I'm here and not Pastor John this week. Last week, Pastor John videoed in his message, and it was a well-done and high-quality video, I would add. I appreciate that a lot. But he was still pretty washed out. He looked like he needed to video it. So, I am not the normal pastor, to stay with the theme. I am the abnormal pastor. My wife will verify that. I have some friends visiting that will identify with that, this abnormal. I am here to bring the word of the Lord on the same and to pray for and recognize Pastor John, who is still recovering. He went to that college gathering up in Atlanta called Passion. And my guess is, John, you tried to keep up with the college kids. And you're not that age. Warm down. So, he did indeed receive an official designation as diagnosis as COVID. He's recovering, but it is my honor and privilege to be here. I love this mission that's here. And I love one of the bylines that's present here at Thrive is, relationships are everything. And I couldn't agree more. And what I offer to you that that's so profound is that we could spend an entire worship series and dive into it in conversation. But it's truly what Thrive tends to do. We have the small groups. We have the gathering of worship. John regularly hosts folks at his home to make sure that we have opportunity to be together and to stir and build those relationships that are so Christ-centered and so powerful and empowering. On a more personal note, we're working on John. We'll pray for him later as well. I want to welcome my mom, who flew all the way in from Chicago because she heard I was preaching. Mom, right? Mom will do anything to do that. So, thanks for being here with us for the winter. So, it's good to see her. I did mention to her, maybe I shouldn't have said it, but I did mention to her, I said, Mom, it's really spectacular. After every sermon, I get a standing ovation at Thrive. So, if you guys want to kind of make sure. Relationships are everything. And if there is a carcinogen to relationships, and there are many, one of them is ingratitude. If you really want to begin to disintegrate a relationship that you've built on, start taking somebody for granted. And that's the heart of the message here today is that God is about connecting us in relationships that are empowering and powerful and literally last forever. We are in the practice of introducing the carcinogens of ungratefulness, ingratitude, and taking others for granted. So, what this is not in the new normal, this is not a call for resolution. Please be more grateful. That's sort of a cliche phrase. We can do that for a while, and you can recognize your spouse. I've also trained as a marriage and family therapist, and there's been plenty of counseling that I've done with couples that indeed learn to take each other for granted. I noticed just the little things last week. Mary Louise went to get my mom and bring her back down. And I'm sure you recognize, especially if you've lost a spouse or partner, or if you've divorced and lost them, that you take for granted the little things. You know, like, did you know that in our household, you actually have to go get the clothes out of the dryer and put them someplace? I thought they automatically appeared. I thought that was a part of the automation system. And I'm being facetious, but only partly. You know what I'm saying? It's that I start to live life integrated with, obviously, 40-plus years of living with Mary Louise. We're married. We're not just living together. But just the little things that you miss, right? And you think, well, I guess I've got to go get those clothes myself. And I bet you they're not going to fold themselves either. Part of that is that it's a natural phenomenon. It sneaks in and it creeps up in our lives and in our relationships without our complete understanding and awareness. And that's what Paul is addressing here today. That's what we're getting at is not a cause. But how do we move from folks who reflexively are sort of self-centered and take each other for granted? Not meaning to do so, but introduce carcinogens into relationships that God is trying to sustain. That's kind of where we're at. What we're looking at here is the power of the spirit of gratitude. And what my hope is for you and me here today is that the spirit of gratitude, we come to grips with exactly that. It is a powerful element. It creates. It's not just a good idea. It's not just a New Year's resolution. It actually has power in it. This is the text that we have here today that Paul wrote for us from Ephesians. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. Having the eyes of your heart enlightened. I love that phrase. Having the eyes of...