Think About This

[music] ♪ I've seen favor but not like this ♪ ♪ I've seen blessings that don't make sense ♪ ♪ And I'm tested by ♪ ♪ I've seen miracles I could not buy ♪ ♪ I've seen power I can't deny ♪ ♪ And I've tested by ♪ ♪ I'm gonna shout it out ♪ ♪ Yeah, the Lord is good ♪ ♪ I've seen it all my side ♪ ♪ Yeah, the Lord is good ♪ ♪ You're faithful then ♪ ♪ You're faithful now ♪ ♪ For ever more I will shout ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Yeah, the Lord is good ♪ ♪ And I'm tested by ♪ ♪ Yeah, the Lord is good ♪ ♪ And I'm tested by ♪ ♪ He's been with me from the very start ♪ ♪ He's the only one who has my heart ♪ ♪ So can I test it by ♪ ♪ He's the one who never lets me down ♪ ♪ He's the one who turned my life around ♪ ♪ So can I test it by ♪ ♪ I'm gonna shout it out ♪ ♪ Yeah, the Lord is good ♪ ♪ I've seen it all my life ♪ ♪ Yeah, the Lord is good ♪ ♪ He was faithful then ♪

♪ He was faithful now ♪ ♪ For ever more I will shout ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Yeah, the Lord is good ♪ ♪ Yeah, I'm tested by ♪ ♪ He's been with me from the far side ♪ ♪ He's a testament of your goodness, thank you for it ♪ ♪ Can I test it by ♪ ♪ If you only knew what Jesus saved me from ♪ ♪ I was in the dark, He brought me to the sun ♪ ♪ Now I'm living proof that what the Lord has done ♪ ♪ God, I've been good in your life, I've been good in the Amen Church ♪ ♪ It's been holding you when Jesus saved me from ♪ ♪ I was in the dark, He brought me to the sun ♪ ♪ Now I'm living proof that what the Lord has done ♪ ♪ Yeah, again ♪ ♪ Look what the Lord has done ♪ ♪ If you only knew what Jesus saved me from ♪ ♪ I was in the dark, He brought me to the sun ♪ ♪ Now I'm living proof that what the Lord has done ♪ ♪ Yeah, look what the Lord has done ♪ ♪ Yeah, the Lord is good ♪ ♪ Yeah, the Lord is good ♪ ♪ Hey, yeah ♪ ♪ Yeah, the Lord is good ♪ ♪ I've seen it all my life ♪ ♪ Yeah, the Lord is good ♪ ♪ He was faithful there ♪ ♪ He was stable now ♪ ♪ Forevermore I will shout ♪

♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Yeah, the Lord is good ♪ ♪ Can I test me back ♪ ♪ Can I test me back ♪ ♪ Can I test me back ♪ ♪ Can I test me back ♪ ♪ Right ♪ ♪ Come on, good and pray ♪ - Well, hey, good morning. Welcome to the local church. We'll be seated for just a quick minute. And hey, my name is Carson Padraza. It's my privilege and honor to welcome you here today, especially if you're a guest in our house. We're so grateful that you're spending your Sunday morning with us. In fact, we have a free gift just for you. It's our little way of saying thank you for joining us. If you haven't already done so. Do us a favor, fill up that connect card and the seat back in front of you. We want to put a free gift in your hands so much more than that. We want to get to know your name and your story. Make sure to proper welcome here today. And hey, I want to invite everybody in the room to join us this Friday evening. It's familiar night. A familiar night is a free event for the night. bounce houses, some great things to do activities, as well as local kids will

be providing a movie night right here in this room on the big screen. So it's a ton of fun to get to spend time with maybe your connect group or your serve team or meet up with people who come to different services than you. It's also great opportunity to invite friends to church and come be a part of the community here. It's gonna be a ton of fun Friday night. I hope you'll join us. And then on your way in, you probably noticed kind of a wall, pegboard walls. This weekend is our serve team weekend. We believe here at the local church that each of us are people of purpose working together on purpose. We believe God has gifted you and equipped you with with callings and giftings and abilities to serve both inside and outside the church walls. Serve team weekend is about finding your spot inside the church walls. God has given you a gift that can make the church better, that can help the church reach more people. And so if you have not yet discovered what that spot for you is, this weekend is just for you. It's an opportunity to see all the different opportunities to serve here the local church. I'd encourage you on your way out. Be sure to stop by some of those boots. Find the best spot for you. Get plugged in. Ask the questions. We want to help you find your spot for serve team weekend. And listen, for a year and a half ago, we decided as a church millia to go all in. To go all in with our prayers, all in with our discipleship, all in with our generosity, believing that God wanted to do incredible things in and through this church. And part of that was to expand this building, not to not to just have a bigger building, but so that we can reach more people so that your one would come to know Jesus and to be baptized. Our goal is to see a thousand people saved and baptized as we've gone all in. And so I wanted to give you guys an update. At the beginning of this year, our plans were submitted to the town of Davy to be approved, to be able to move through the process. And we have remained in that review process for several months. We're at the point that we are needing three more yeses. And I have heard a little birdie told me that there's a verbal, two of those are yeses, that we need one more official, one more yes, we need all three of them to be officially yes on paper. And so that's been our prayer. We're waiting for that. If we get

that yes, we can get on the agenda for planning and zoning through the town of Davy next month or this month. It's October, right? This month. So here's what how you guys can help us. You've continued to stay faithful. You've continued to pray. If we can pray specifically that we would get those yeses to come in, that we can get on that agenda so that we can get this thing moving. Because we're believing that God wants to expand our building, expands these walls, we can break ground so that we can make room for your friends and your family to come and experience his goodness. Does that sound good? So hey, we're gonna pray for that for just a second. But I want to, you know, I share all that to say that's why we give. We're given to make room for people. And so if giving is part of your worship today, there are several ways that you could do so. They're on the screen behind me. We have some offering boxes on your way out. Giving kiosks in the lobby. You can always give safely into healing out in line. But right now we're gonna pass some buckets. And so if you're on the left hand side of your row, if you had reached down and passed that to your right, it would be greatly appreciated. And those are being passed. I'm gonna pray. I'm gonna pray that God uses our generosity. I'm also gonna pray that God begin to open doors for us to be able to get this building moving. Let's pray together. God, we thank you so much. Recognizing everything that we have in our hands comes from you. And so we respond to your goodness, respond to the faithfulness of what you called us to do through the giving this morning. We pray that every gift that is given, whether it's out of a little or a lot that you would use it. You'd multiply it. People come to know your name because of the generosity of your church. God, we thank you that you've provided thus far. We pray that you continue to provide, that you continue to open doors, that you continue to move in the things that are happening behind closed doors in the town and in the engineer's offices and all these things. God, we pray against the roadblocks that are in our way. We pray that you would pave the way for us, that we would get the approvals needed, that we would get the yeses on the votes, that we would need the things to happen, so that we

can continue to make a ground for the work that you've called us to do. God, we love you, we praise you, and we thank you. It's a great way to pray. Amen and Amen. If you could stand to your feet, continue to worship. God has been faithful to the scripture. We can see so many people that had encountered God in different ways and provision through healing. He hasn't changed. He's still faithful and it's here right now. Let's worship Him. God of Abraham, you're the God of covenant, faithful promises. Time and time again, you went through vain, you do just what you said, though the storms may come and the winds may blow, I'll remain, stay in fast and let my heart learn when you speak the word it will come to pass. From the rising sun to the setting, saying, "My will praise your name" Great is your faithfulness to me Your faithfulness never runs out Never runs out, I put my faith in Jesus My anchor to the ground My hope and firm foundation You never let me down I put my faith in Jesus My anchor to the ground My hope and firm foundation You never let me down I put my faith in Jesus My anchor to the ground My hope and firm foundation You never let me down You never let me down My great is your faithfulness to me And great is your faithfulness From the rising sun to the setting, I will praise your name And great is your faithfulness I put my faith in Jesus My anchor to the ground My hope and firm foundation You never let me down I put my faith in Jesus My anchor to the ground My hope and firm foundation You never let me down I put my faith in Jesus My anchor to the ground My hope and firm foundation You never let me down You never let me down

I still bless you In the middle of the storm In the middle of my trial I still bless you In the middle of the road When I don't know where to go I still bless you In the middle of my storm In the middle of my trial And I still bless you When I'm in the middle of the road And I don't know which way to go I still, I still bless you I still bless you And I still bless you And I'll give you worship I still bless you And I still bless you And I still bless you From the rising sun to the setting I will praise your name From the rising sun to the setting I will praise your name From the rising sun to the setting I will praise your name Great is your faithfulness to me We are free because of the sacrifice, yet that on the cross, Lord, only by your blood, we can free the live now and we can worship. Thank you, Jesus. You know, everything change is getting harder to recognize, the person I was before I encountered Christ. I don't walk like I used to, and I don't talk like I used to. I've been lost from the inside, I've been lost from the inside. Hallelujah, hallelujah, I know it was a plan. Could have only been the plan, hallelujah, hallelujah, I know it was a plan, I know it was a plan, hallelujah, I know it was a plan, hallelujah, hallelujah, I know it was a plan, hallelujah, I know it was a plan, hallelujah, I know it was a plan, hallelujah, I know it was a plan, hallelujah, I know it was a plan, hallelujah, I know it was a plan, hallelujah, I know it was a plan, could have only been the plan, hallelujah, hallelujah, I know it was a plan, could have only been the plan. On your way in this morning, you should have received these elements for the Lord's Supper. If you don't have it, if you'd like to receive, would you just stretch out your hand? One of our service guides will put one in your hand.

Every month, we take time intentionally in our service to partake in remembering what Jesus did for us through communion. Short while before Jesus would willingly place himself to die for us, he gathered together with his friends, his disciples, in that moment, he held up unleavened bread and he said, this bread, it represents it's a symbol of my body that will be crushed for you. The body that would be pierced for our iniquities, bruised for our transgressions and by his body broken for us, his stripes, we are healed, he says, as often as you take of this, he says, do it in remembrance of me. Let's remember what our Savior paid on the cross as we receive this bread. He then held up the fruit of the vine, he says, this is a symbol, this represents my blood, my blood that will be spilled for you, the blood of a new covenant that by the blood of Jesus, our sins are washed away, past, present, future, we're made whole. He says, as often as you drink of this fruit of the vine, he says, do it in remembrance of me. Just remember his blood that was spilled that washes us as wide as snow. Thank you, Jesus, that you've done it all. And as we remember with our songs, with our prayers, as we remember partaking in your body that was broken in your blood that was spilled, God, I pray, that we wouldn't leave with a sense of weight of what happened to you, God, but with a sense of freedom and joy that because of what you've done for us, we are free and who the sun sets free is washed thank you that I'm whole it's in your name we thank you and pray and all the people of God who love them said come on church let's continue to sing it's never been about the forest they catch you there's time before a sentence let me tell you it's only by the flood it's never been about the same way to keep this week again let me tell you it's only by the flood oh does anybody want to be holy and righteous you can find his father's let me tell you it's only by the flood does anybody want to be worthy or be a bit just for fire and you live it they can tell you it's only by the flood hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah no it wasn't that could have only been the blood hallelujah hallelujah I know it was a sign could have only been the blood could have only been the blood could have only been the blood thank you Jesus for your blood it's hallelujah come on sing it out hallelujah I know it wasn't blood could have only been the blood

hallelujah hallelujah I know it wasn't blood could have only been but can wash away my sin nothing but the blood of Jesus what can't make me whole again nothing but the blood of Jesus what can wash away what can wash away my sin nothing but the blood of Jesus what can make me whole again nothing but the blood this is a good word time say what can wash away what can wash away my sin nothing but the blood of Jesus what can make me whole again nothing but the blood of Jesus I'll sing this off me oh precious And oh precious is the flood that makes me white as stone, no other than clouds I know nothing but the blood of Jesus thank you Jesus that because of what you did for us on that cross on Calvary we can stand before you free washed whole made new not the same God you want to continue to wash us and cleanse us and grow us you want to give us peace that surpasses all of our understanding you want to guard our hearts and our minds so that we can be transformed by the renewal of our mind and so whatever we've come in with today. Help us to cast all Holy Spirit, open up every ear in this place and at home. Let our hearts all be fertile soil ready to receive your word so that it may bear fruit in and through our lives. Do what only you can do, God. We're here for you. We're grateful. And it's in your name we thank you and pray. And all the people of God said, amen, daymen. You may have a seat, Church. Our scripture reading for today comes out of Philippians 4. Verse 8 says, "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's anything worthy of our praise, Paul says, think about these things." This is the Word of God. I want to welcome you once again to the perfect place

for imperfect people to experience the presence of God. I'm Eric. I have the privilege of teaching here today as one of the pastors. And we're in week three of this series we started titled, "Peace of Mind." First week we gather together, we learned that when anxiety comes, our prayer gives it somewhere to go. Last week when we gathered together, we talked about how God wants to transform our lives. And that comes from the renewing of our mind. We said, we need to recognize what's shaping our mind and replace what isn't true. And once we do that, we repeat that truth until it becomes our new rhythm. But today, Paul, he takes it another step further. Because it's not enough for us to occasionally replace a thought that's wrong. Eventually, every single one of us, we have to pay great attention to what we're consistently giving our attention to. Here's why. Your attention matters. And everyone knows this. Everyone is fighting for our attention. We live in a culture where everyone wants our attention. Your phone wants your attention. Your work wants your attention.

If you have kids, they want your attention. Yes, dad, dad, dad, dad, dad, dad, dad, mom, mom. Apparently, every app that we've downloaded believes that we need an update all the time. Oh, thank you. You just told me what one of my friends that I haven't seen 25 years ate for breakfast. Great. We are in a battle for our attention. And if we're not intentional about where our attention goes, someone else will decide for us. Here's a problem with that. Whatever repeatedly gets our attention starts affecting our emotions, our perspective, and the way that we experience life. This is why Paul says, again, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, just whatever is pure and lovely, whatever is commendable. If there's any excellence, if there's anything worthy of our praise, he says, think about these things. Turn your neighbor, tell them, think about these things. Now, again, I said this a few weeks ago, but Paul isn't saying that we can control every single thought that enters our mind. Especially as we're talking about strengthening our mental health. If someone has intrusive thoughts or struggles with anxiety or depression or OCD to simply tell them, don't think that, that doesn't help, right? Doesn't help us.

Sometimes thoughts show up that we did not intend to have, that we have not invited nor do we want. But church, I'm telling you, there's a difference between a thought showing up and then choosing to rehearse it or choosing to feed it over and over again. There's a difference between remembering and recognizing, processing what you went through. And then you keep on thinking about it that now it becomes the lens in which you see everything else. We can't control everything that enters our mind, but here's what I wanna do today. I wanna give us three ways we can become more intentional about what gets our attention. So the first thing is to write this down. Test what you're thinking against what is true. How can we be intentional about what gets our attention? We need to test what we're thinking against what is true. Paul starts with whatever is true. Not whatever feels true, not what someone says is true or assumes is true, not what I'm afraid might be true. He says, whatever is true, think about that. [BLANK_AUDIO] filling in information that we don't have right and then making that the whole story For instance someone can text you four words. Maybe you've gotten these four words before Hey, can we talk? That's it four words and for many of us you laugh because you know it happens From those four words your mind starts playing six seasons of a fictional show in your brain's Netflix Why do they want to talk? What happened?

Are they mad at me? Did I do something? Did they hear what I said? What did I say? I don't know and then you call them up And they say hey remember that restaurant you told me about a few weeks ago I want to go there with my family. What was the name of it again? And we realized I just wasted 45 minutes of my life thinking about a conversation that never happens That's what happens That's what our mind does and if we're not careful we can start responding emotionally to something that isn't actually happening I Had to learn this in my own life There'd be moments where I catch my mind trying to get ahead of the facts start going to places that That I'm not ready to go that I don't want to go and so what I've had to learn to do What I've had to train myself to do is when my mind starts getting ahead of the facts I have to stop and ask myself Eric. What do I actually know is true right now? Not what do I think is true not not what is true that happened last time? What do I feel? No, it's what do I actually know? It's true and church can I can I say that a lot of times the answer is I don't know yet I'm telling you that's a much healthier place to be in. I don't know yet That's a much healthier place to be in that then then then a story made out of fear that came out of nowhere That our mind made up Peace doesn't always come from finally knowing and understanding everything Sometimes peace comes from us being comfortable enough to admit that I don't know the answer but God does I Don't know, but God does and listen that that's not denial It's not enough. It's refusing to let fear fill in the blanks The Old Testament has a story where we see this happen God, he brought the people of Israel out of Egypt out of slavery They're on the precipice of the land that he promised to them And so Moses he sends in 12 spies to to look at the land and when they come back all 12 spies Saw the same thing numbers chapter 13 verses 27 through 28. They told him

We came to the land in which you'd sent us it flows with milk and honey This is its fruit However, the people who dwell on the land are strong and the cities are fortified and very large so far What they're reporting is accurate the land is fruitful the people are big the walls are fortified But listen what happens when they keep on talking verse 31 Then the men who had gone up with him said we're not able to go up against the people For they are stronger than we are Says who? How do you know they're stronger than you? Based simply on what you see that's how you discernment what is true what you see listen I know many of you especially the men you look at me and you think Gonna watch out for Eric Guy's strong stuff. He's mean right Takes a real man to wear pink. I don't want to mess with that guy. He'll mess me up Why do you think that? Based on what you see no listen church here's the lesson don't make a decision Simply based on what you see don't let the fear of what you see Move you into something else Because of what they saw It started to affect how they believed now listen to know what happens when they keep talking Verse 33 we seem to ourselves like grasshoppers and so they seem to us What they saw shape what they believe they're saying we're smaller than them We look at them and we're like we're smaller and that's what they think about us also Did anyone ask them what they thought no But that's what fear does It takes the information I have fills in the information that I don't have and then convince All 12 spies saw the giants. The problem is that only Joshua and Caleb stayed at what they saw.

The other 10, they move from what they saw to what they assumed. And you know what they say about assuming things. Don't do it, right? That's a saying. So Paul, he gives us a filter. He says, is it true? Is it honorable? Is it just? Is it pure? Is it lovely? Is it commendable? Is it worthy of our praise? Is there any excellence here? In other words, before I give unlimited access to what has my attention, he says, I need to test it. Turn your neighbor, tell him test it with truth. We need to test what we're thinking, what we're seeing with truth. And church, peace grows when truth gets more of my attention than my assumptions. Second thing, I want you to write down is this. Pay attention to what's feeding your mind. Pay attention to what's feeding your mind. Paul, again, he says, think about these things. Showing us that we can be intentional about what we give our attention to. The problem though, is that so many of us, we give attention to things that don't give us peace. We ask God, give us peace, and then our actions are,

we're paying attention to things that promote the opposites. This is what happened when those 10 spies, they let fear fill in the blanks. They didn't keep it to themselves in verse 32. So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out. It was a good land, but they brought a bad report saying the land though which we have gone to spy out is a land that devours its inhabitants. And all the people that we saw in it are of great heights. They come and they bring a bad report on what God had promised them. That by the beginning of chapter 14, everyone, all the people, they're crying out, they're complaining, they're saying, we might as well just go back and be slaves under Pharaoh again. Let's go back to Egypt where we had no land. Nothing changed about God's promise, right? Nothing changed about God's power, but the report that they were listening to change what they were focusing on. What they started listening to, shaped what they believed. I had to learn this lesson three years ago when I gave up social media. And when I told people, when I told our team, hey, I'm getting rid of social media, they're like, come on, man, don't be crazy. You're a pastor of a growing church. You have to have a social media presence.

You can't do that, but I did it. And one of the biggest reasons why I stopped doing anything on social media is because I discovered what it was doing to me. I discovered what it was doing in my mind. Now, some of you, you may not like hearing this from a pastor or from a leader, but I just want to be vulnerable for a moment, all right? Some of you, again, you may not like it, but I pray that this helps. In that season three years ago, I was genuinely grateful, genuinely grateful for everything that God was doing here. And I believe God is still doing something great here. After a Sunday, I go home so full of joy, so full of hope, Lord. Thank you for everyone that their eyes were opened to your love. Thank you for everyone that was saved and everyone that was baptized. Thank you, God, for what you've done in this place. And I genuinely was grateful for what we got to experience together in the presence of God, and then I'd pick up my phone. And I'd see what God was doing somewhere else. I'd see the size of their church. I'd see how many more people were baptized. What God was doing on that Sunday. And all of a sudden, what God did here wasn't good enough for me. And I started comparing.

And because I played the comparison game, I got hard on myself. Why isn't that happening here? How come I can't do that? And nothing changed about what God was doing here. I want you to understand that. God was still doing a great thing here, but my focus had gone somewhere else. And I went from gratitude to comparison in just mere minutes. I don't want to continually go down this path every Sunday and every Monday, me being depressed. And so three years ago, I just decided I'm going to get off social media. And can I tell you the way that that has strengthened my mental health, that has grown my faith, everyone said, you're going to be missing out. And I thought I'd be missing out. But you know, over the past three years, guess what, the world has kept on spinning without me being on social media. It's kept on spinning even though I don't know what someone had for lunch or where they went on a date with their wife or what their new car looks like. And I want to say this, I'm not standing up here saying everyone should delete Instagram. That's not what I'm saying. What I am saying though is we need to be honest about what we are continually letting grow our minds, what we're continually allowing to cultivate inside of our lives. This is bigger than social media. The question is, what am I continually feeding my mind? Remember we talked about this last week. What am I watching? What am I listening to? What conversations do I keep on getting involved in? What's the first thing I reach for in the morning?

What gets my attention in the morning? What's the last thing I look at before I close my eyes at night? Proverbs 4.23 says, keep your heart with all vigilance for from it, flow the springs of life. In other words, pay attention to what you're allowing into your inner world, because what you allow to come in here will show up out of your life. Again, this isn't a formula, okay? Hear this. I'm saying if everyone deletes Instagram, we will all be more peaceful. All your anxiety will disappear. I'm not saying that. I'm saying we need to become aware of what is shaping what we allow to continually shape our internal worlds. Church, at some point, we have to stop acting like we're powerless to everything that has access over lives. We may not be able to control everything that we think. Church, we can absolutely control what we give access to. You can turn the thing off. You can put it down. You can get out of the group chats. Somebody's like, praise God, I want to get out of this group chat. You can stop starting every moment with bad news. You can wake up and say, what gets my attention is the most important thing to me, so God, you have my attention. We have to stop giving access to something that is stealing our peace. Now what is that for you? I'm not going to tell you. That's what it was for me, but what it is for you? Ask God. Pray, Lord, what is robbing my attention?

What am I giving too much of my attention to that's shaping the way that I'm thinking apart from who you are? Ask Him, and I'll tell you, He'll convict you, and when He does tell you, don't just let it convict you, do something about it. That's what I had to do. I've told you before that counseling and therapy have been an important part of my story of growing in my faith. One of the things that good counselors have helped me to recognize is patterns that I couldn't see by myself. Why does my mind seem to always go to this place when this happens? Why does this fear keep on popping up? Why do I keep rehearsing this in my mind? Church, sometimes it takes somebody trained to help us identify what's happening. I said this week, let me say it again. If you're dealing with persistent anxiety, depression, intrusive thoughts, OCD, or something that's affecting your ability to function in everyday life, I want you to write this down and hear it. Being professional help is not a failure of faith. It's not a failure of faith. No, it's quite the opposite. I want to encourage you, talk to a counselor. Talk to your doctor. This medication is part of the care that you and your doctor decide is going to be important to you. Don't feel shame about that either! Listen, we come together, we go to His Word, we pray, we praise, we get in community, and we get help when we need help, amen? Those things, they don't have to compete with one another. I'm telling you, for me in my life, one of the ways that I saw God helping me was when I had the humility to say, I can't do this on my own.

Third thing, what I dwell on determines what I magnify. What I dwell on determines what I magnify. Have you ever noticed that when you start looking for something, you see it everywhere? For example, I don't know if any of you have ever planned on getting a new car, we're going to get this car, we've done the research, we like the way that it looks. We like the way our family feels it, then all of a sudden, you start seeing that car everywhere, right? It's like, what are all these cars covered? They were always there. It's just now you're paying attention to them. Attention has a powerful way of magnifying things, magnifying what we see. Now, I'm not saying that giving attention makes it happen. This isn't manifestation, okay? We don't make reality. We don't create reality with our words. But your focus absolutely affects what becomes prominent in your experience of reality. You can have 10 things that are going great in your life, well in your life. And one thing that isn't going the way that you intended, that didn't work out the way that you had planned. And what happens is we focus on that one thing. That one thing that didn't work, that one person that didn't show up. And because we focused on the one thing, now it becomes the way we see everything else. It affects the way we interpret our life that's exactly the apple of the spice. Same spice, they saw giants, they saw fortified cities. They became consumed with the size of what was standing in front of them. But we have Caleb and Joshua who saw the same giants, who walked through the same land, who saw the same fortified walls, numbers 13, 30. But Caleb, he quieted the people before Moses and said, "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it." Same land, right?

Same giants, same fortified walls, different focus, different focus. Numbers 14, Joshua and Caleb, they tell the people why they saw it differently. If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey, only do not rebel against the Lord and do not fear the people in the land, for they are bred to us, the protection is removed from them and the Lord is with us, so do not fear them. What were Joshua and Caleb doing? They weren't pretending that the giants weren't real. They weren't pretending that the people they saw in front of them were tall. They weren't even practicing positive thinking. No, they were rooted in the promise of God's power with them in presence with them. They were rooted in the promise of his power and his presence, ten spies. They magnified the giants, they enlarged their view of what they saw, the giants in front of them. Joshua and Caleb, what did they do, they magnified the Lord, they made much of their God. And church, I'm telling you, this is why gratitude is so powerful. In November, as we head into a season of Thanksgiving, we're going to talk for a few weeks on the lost art of gratitude, it's going to help grow us and help us to see things as God sees them. But today, here's what I want you to know about gratitude, write this down. Gratitude redirects my attention toward the goodness of God. That's what it does. It redirects my attention to the things around me, onto the goodness of God's. Psalm 103, verse 2, David says, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." Why would David have to tell us not to forget the Lord's benefits? Why? Because we forget, don't we? [BLANK_AUDIO] past, where we're quick to remember our hurt and pain we're going through, and forget

all the ways that God has carried us through. We remember what hasn't happened, and we forget all the things that God has already done. And this is part of what went wrong for Israel. They were so consumed by what was standing in front of them that they forgot their history behind them. They forgot all the ways that God had been faithful years prior. This is the same God that brought them out of slavery. The same God who helped them and provided and supplied every need as they wandered through the wilderness. They had a history with God. Church I had to learn to do that. When I'm so consumed of what is in front of me, I've had to stop myself and look back and give thanks to what God has already done. Gratitude, it doesn't mean I'm pretending nothing's wrong. No, that's not what gratitude is. It means that what's wrong doesn't get to become all that there is. Yes, this is hard, and God has been faithful. Yes, I don't know, and God has carried me before. Yes, I don't like this. I wish something were different, and there's still evidence of God's goodness all around me. I'm so grateful that Carson gave this update of where we are, and all of them continue to pray that we can get put before the town of David, for the planning and zoning, but I'm telling you, Church, there have been so many times in this season of our all-in-faked adventure when what had been easy for me to do is just look at everything that we have not accomplished ahead of us, all the challenges. Another approval that's needed, another decision that needs to be made, another know that we got another go back to it. There have been times where I looked at what's in front of me, what's in front of us as a

church and felt overwhelmed, and it's in those moments I had to stop and look back, and to see all that God had done before. There's giants in front of us. There's giants before the promised land that God has for us, and it's overwhelming, and I've never done this before, but man, I look back and remember all that God has already done. I look back and I remember how this church started, I look back and I see all the people that he saved in this place, all those who have been baptized, all those families that have been restored, all the generosity that has been unleashed by the people of God. I look back and I'm reminded of our history with God. And sure, there are challenges ahead where we're not going to pretend that they're not giants in front of us, but he's been so faithful that I have no doubt that he will continue to be faithful. Peace of mind isn't just God changing what we're looking at. We can begin to experience peace of mind when we change what we're looking for. Not simply what I'm looking at, but what I'm looking for. Because if I'm looking for everything that goes wrong, church, I'm going to find it. Amen? If I look at everything that didn't work out, every person that didn't show up, I'm going to find it. What if we spent every day intentionally looking for the things of the Lord? What if we woke up in the morning and instead of thinking about what we need for the day, we start thanking God for what we already have? That when I wake up in the morning, before I give my attention to anything, attention to what needs attention or to things that are going wrong, I give my attention to God. How did that change? You Gratitude isn't just something we feel when everything is going right now. Gratitude is not necessarily a feeling. Gratitude is a response. Gratitude is something we practice consistently, so we can remember what is still right. I want to give us some practice this week. What we talk about is helpful if we put into practice. The Word of God is true, but it will not produce fruit in our life until we put feet to our faith. So I want to give us some peace of mind practice this week. Three things talked about. Let me say them again. First one is name what's getting your attention. Name what's getting your attention. What I've been thinking about. What have I been rehearsing. What does God say about? Name it. And then after that, test it against what is true.

What do I know? What am I assuming? Then after we name it, and after we test it against what is true, the third thing is find something to thank God for. Find something to give him praise for. Not because everything that's happening is good. No, no, because God is good in the middle of everything. Amen. Church, I'm not just saying that detach from experiencing this. I'm telling you, I've seen the power of God's promise come to pass him on. I've experienced peace that surpasses all understanding. That doesn't make sense given to circumstances surrounding me. Don't underestimate the power of putting this into practice. I truly believe church, seekers, those at home, that if we start putting this into practice. We start naming what's grabbing our attention, testing against what is true. And then giving God gratitude for what he's done. We'll start to experience peace of mind. I can't wait to hear the stories. I can't wait to see what God does over the next weeks and months as we give it to him. Would you stand to your feet right now? I don't just want us to talk about this. I want us to put into practice what we just talked about. I want us to do what Paul said, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of our praise. If there's anything of excellence, think about these things. Would you close your eyes? It's between you and the Lord. I want you to, before we sing this final song of Thanksgiving, I just want you to think of something that you're grateful that God has done. Picture that in your mind. Whether it was giving you mercy when you didn't deserve it. Think about a time where he met every need at just the right moment. Think about where you were before he found you. And then when he saved you. How your sins were washed. How your confidence grew of your relationship with him. Church, we have a history with God. He has a history with us. Now that you have that in your mind. Give him gratitude. It's all across the spectrum to start telling him thanks. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for life. Thank you for restoring our relationships. Thank you for bringing back our prodigal children. Thank you, God, for healing, for provision. Thank you, God, for giving me a church familiar. Thank you that your word speaks to where I'm at right now, God. I don't know all of what's ahead, but God, I thank you for the history that we've had. Thank you. Thank you for you. God, I'm grateful for all of who you are and what that means for me. Let's not just say it in a moment. Let's let his songs of praise and gratitude continually come from our lips church. So let's sing this right now. Let's just continue to tell him how we're grateful. Thank you, Lord. (upbeat music) ♪ There was no way until you made one ♪ ♪ Grace upon grace, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Even though I don't deserve it, you did it ♪ ♪ Even though I couldn't earn it ♪ ♪ Give it ♪ ♪ Who am I that you keep me on your mind ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪

♪ Oh my life, you've been right here by my side ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, there's only one ♪ ♪ I give you glory for all that you've done ♪ ♪ Even though I don't deserve it ♪ ♪ You did it ♪ ♪ Even though I couldn't earn it, give it ♪ ♪ Who am I that you keep me on your mind ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ Oh my life, you've been right here by my side ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ Who am I that you keep me on your mind ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ 'Cause if you have something to be grateful for, just extend your hands up and surrender, say, "Lord, I owe you my life." You gave me a new name in the holy because of your blood. I'm gonna sing it out. ♪ And I, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ I live in both my hands ♪ ♪ 'Cause you need me chance after chance after chance ♪ ♪ And I, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ And I give it all that I give it ♪ ♪ 'Cause you need me chance after chance after chance ♪

♪ 'Cause I, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ I live in both my hands ♪ ♪ 'Cause you need me chance after chance after chance ♪ ♪ To give me, to give me, to give me, to give me, to give me, to give me ♪ ♪ With my, that you keep me on your mind, God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you, oh, my Lord ♪ ♪ You've been right here by my side, God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you, oh, my Lord, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you, oh, my Lord ♪ ♪ You've been right here by my side, God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you, oh, my Lord, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you, oh, my Lord, I'm all right ♪ ♪ If they say, I'm out of my mind, my God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you, oh, my Lord, I'm all right ♪