Counting Our Blessings

Nice rousing hymn. Always good to get started there. And since the theme of today's message has to do with counting our blessings, it's good to have a positive message like that. Because despite all the difficulties around us, God wants us to be positive, to be with confidence and not let any of our problems get us down in the long run. And the way we can do that is by counting our blessings and realizing how many other people are worse off than we are.

And when we think that our situation is the worst, it isn't. And it's a blessing to just be able to come physically here. There are other people that can't. They're on the cybercast, and we pray for them. They're part of our congregation, but we know people are going through different health crises, especially as the accumulation of all of these poisons and the air and the water and the food and all of this contaminates society. And so the Bible says we would die in a polluted land.

That's in the book of Isaiah. And so even way back then, there was this talk about, well, it's going to be contaminated quite badly. And our human nature tends to focus on what is wrong more than what is right. We can't change many times our circumstances. You know, we can't change our age. We can't change how we deteriorate with time, but we can't change our attitude toward that.

And God wants us to work out our attitudes despite our difficulties to know that He's there, that He's a loving Father, that He cares for us, and that He intervenes. He performs miracles. We should never believe otherwise and doubt that. Notice what it tells us in Proverbs 15, verse 15, because Proverbs is the number one book on psychology. It's better than any book you'll ever learn in a university or anything else. And it tells us basically what God inspires about attitudes. He says in Proverbs 15, verse 15, All the days of the afflicted are evil or negative, but He who is of a merry heart has a continuous or continual feast, a person who has an attitude that's positive, that is happy despite the circumstances.

They're going to live a lot longer. They're going to heal a lot better because depression can lead to a lot of weaknesses in your immune system and sicknesses. Notice another scripture in Proverbs 17, verse 22. Proverbs 17, verse 22 says, A merry heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones. I'd like to read it in two other Bible versions. The Good News Bible says, Being cheerful keeps you healthy.

It is slow death to be gloomy all the time. People that just look and see everything negative, that depresses and that causes a lot of mental and physical problems. In the God's Word version of this verse, it says, A joyful heart is good medicine, but depression drains one's strength. It just wipes a person down. William Penn, the Quaker founder of the state of Pennsylvania, once said, The secret of happiness is to count your blessings while others are adding up their troubles. People are focusing more on their problems and adding them together, forgetting, to count your blessings.

I had a nice conversation before services with John Visser. He always invites me to sit. And this goes very well along with the sermonette about Martha and Mary. Well, John's the type of person that you should sit next to and just listen to his wisdom. Listen. He always has good Bible questions. He's always learning. And here are some things that he always mentions. I've heard it time and time again. So when I see him and maybe he had a bad week, sometimes he will fall and hurt himself.

But he has good sturdy bones and a couple of angels to help him out. Been able to overcome them. He just finished 98 years. And here he is in the congregation. And here's one saying that he has. Suffer in silence and keep smiling. See how they're positive?

Just suffer in silence and keep smiling. When they asked John, how was your week? This is John's answer. My week was perfect. And if it wasn't, I made it perfect. So you see the attitude?

And then he says, be sure to think always positive. Well, he's 98 years old. There's an example of having lasted that long because he was positive and he keeps being positive. And he gets himself up. He gets himself encouraged. When I visited him the other day with Corwin, John gets up and does about 20 minutes on this stationary bicycle at 98 years old. And he does exercise. And he keeps his muscles strong. That's an example for all of us. Mr. Herbert Armstrong, who was our mentor, he was God's leader. He died in 1986. But he would ask, what is the most common sin among mankind? His answer? It is the sin of ingratitude, of being ungrateful.

Now, part of human nature is to take good things we receive for granted and soot and forget them.

But we don't forget the bad things. We got to change that totally around. Notice what happened when Jesus Christ performed this game-changing miracle in Luke 17.

He changed 10 lives in one instant of these 10 lepers. In Luke 17, starting in verse 12, it says, Then as he entered a certain village, there met him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. Now, leprosy is a skin disease that eventually will kill the person, because it is also contagious, so they couldn't be around other people. But it's a very terrible death. And we still have leper colonies in islands where people live, and they can't be in activity with other people. That has not ended. Verse 13, And they lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, master, have mercy on us. They knew who he was. They knew about the miracles, and they just asked, have mercy on us.

So when he saw them, he said to them, Go, show yourselves to the priests. And so it was that, as they went, in other words, they had to obey. He didn't just say, well, snap his fingers, and everybody is healed. No, he says, you have something to do. Obey God's law, which says, in this case, go to the priests, have them check you out. And so that's what they did. They didn't really believe they were going to be healed, but they said, well, this is what the master said, and we're going to do it. As they went, they were cleansed. They were miraculously healed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned and with a loud voice, glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks. And he was a Samaritan, which was a group that the Jews did not mingle with. There was a lot of enmity between the Jews and the Samaritans. And here's a Samaritan with another nine Jews, and he was supposedly the one that was the least religious and close to God. And yet, he was the one that came, recognized, counted his blessing, and did not forget to be grateful.

So Jesus answered and said, were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?

They could have come back and given thanks, at least. Now, this Samaritan did a lot more. He glorified God. He recognized Jesus as the Son of God, and that this was the power of God that had done it. Verse 18, were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner? And he said to him, arise, go your way, your faith has made you well. And so here, just one out of ten. And guess what? You know, that's almost a percentage that very few actually are grateful. You know, write a note, whatever, give thanks, and at least acknowledge the blessings that we have, not only from God, but also the people that are used by God to bring blessings upon a person.

Let's go to Colossians chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3 verse 12. The Apostle Paul focuses on this point as well. Colossians 3 verse 12.

Therefore, as the elect of God, talking about the members, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another. If anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all things, put on love, which is the bond of perfection, and let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body. And be thankful. In the contemporary English version, it says, and be grateful. That's part of a duty of a true Christian, to be grateful.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in songs, psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God, the Father through Him. So again, giving thanks to God for what we have. Many times, God intervenes, and we don't even give Him thanks. We forget. We're so happy. Oh, I'm so much better. And yet, we don't go to our Father and to Jesus Christ that can help us out in this way.

Now, one of the most grateful people we find in the Bible, in the Old Testament, who do you think could be? Who is one of the most grateful people that you know in the Old Testament? Anybody want to guess? Yes. Job? That's a good one because, boy, he was thankful. Anyone else too? Yeah. David. He wrote 150 psalms. Well, he wrote about half of them, but he probably compiled a lot of the other ones. And all his psalms have to do with praising God, especially as God intervenes in his life. Notice in Psalm 1, verses 1 and 3, the first psalm.

This is composed by David.

This was one of the reasons God loved him so much. David was a person who was very grateful. He did not forget God.

In Psalm chapter 1 and verse 1, it says, Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night.

So here we see that type of blessings in verse 3. It says, He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper. So here again the blessings that come from following God. I'd like to read it again in another version, the easy reading version. It says, Great blessings belong to those who don't listen to evil advice, who don't live like sinners, and who don't join those who make fun of God. Instead, they love the Lord's teachings, and think about them day and night.

Another great psalm was Psalm 119, where David talked about all the blessings of God's laws.

These laws keep us from trouble and guide us in the right paths. And I'd like to focus on Psalm 103. Let's go to Psalm 103. We probably don't cover this Psalm enough, because it's about God's mercy and His blessings. Psalm 103, verse 1, David says, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. And so, when he mentions this in the New Living Translation, it says, Let all that I praise the Lord, may I never forget the good things he does for me.

Another version, the Message Bible, says, O my soul, bless God, and don't forget a single blessing. Well, we have time for other things, but do we have enough time to thank God for the blessings? Every morning, when we wake up and start our prayers, do we thank God that He protected us that last night, and that we also have health to be able to carry out our duties? And not only was there the blessings of protection, but also He's there with His holy angels about us, caring for us, that we thank Him for His protection, for His overseeing all of us. Should be a standard part of our morning prayers. Thank Him for waking up with health, with protection from last night, with a good night's sleep, all of those things. And if we don't, do we ask Him for these things? Maybe because we don't ask, we don't get, we don't receive.

So, exactly what do we need to be grateful about?

Let's focus on seven main blessings that we can focus. As the feast is less than two months away, we need to have that right, positive attitude. Time and time again, when God tells us to go to the Feast of Tabernacles, He says, and you shall rejoice with your family. Time to be happy and joyful for everything God has done. So, I'd like to go over seven things that we should be thankful, that we should never forget, to be grateful to God about. Number one, to be grateful for our calling. I always say it's comparable to winning the lottery ticket of the universe, but you have to persevere to the end to cash it. See, when you're baptized, receive God's Spirit, it's almost like having this ticket. Okay, this is my entrance into that first resurrection in the kingdom of God, but I have to persevere to the end, to the last breath of air that I breathe. And then later, you'll be resurrected. You can cash that. You can be in that first resurrection. So, that's the greatest blessing that I consider in my life at 17 years old, being called by God.

And it changed my entire life, entire focus. I was going off to another career and another way of life, and with this, God brought me into the knowledge of the truth. I wasn't looking for it. I stumbled across it thanks to a classmate of mine who was in the church. Notice what it tells us in Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10 and verse 20. When Jesus' disciples came back after performing miracles and healings, and then they were so happy, and yet Christ said in verse 20, Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. You're part of that list to be resurrected in the first resurrection, to have your names be placed on that list, the greatest of privileges.

Notice also in Philippians chapter 4. Who are these that receive this privilege of having their names written in heaven? People don't focus on this in other religions. They think, oh, it's going to heaven. No, it isn't. Your names are written in heaven, but heaven is coming down here with Jesus Christ. And so it tells us here in Colossians, I mean, Philippians chapter 4. It says in verse 3, And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. So that's the book of life. That's a book that's up in heaven. And that's where a person's name is written for that first resurrection. We should be so thankful about it.

People gave up and sacrificed their own lives just to be part of that first and better resurrection. Notice in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 35.

Hebrews 11, verse 35.

Talking about the men and women of faith. It says, Women received their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection. They didn't want the second one. They didn't want to be resurrected with Chinese and Africans and Eskimos and people in ignorance. No, they wanted to be in that first resurrection, to be transformed when Jesus Christ returns. And we know that time is coming faster and faster. We are definitely in the end time period, and all of these horrible things are happening around the world and how degenerate society has become.

Secondly, we should be grateful to know God, His truths, and laws. It's not just a calling, but it's a calling to know God better, His truths and His laws. Jeremiah 9, verse 23.

Jeremiah 9, verse 23. It spells it out very clearly. It says, Thus says the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom.

Let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches, but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight, says the Lord. I delight these types of people that are there. So we have these truths that guide us, and we have been freed from making terrible mistakes in our lives by coming to the knowledge of the truth. John 8, verse 32.

John 8, 32. Jesus told us what was going to happen once we followed Him. He said, And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free, free from all of these horrible mistakes in our ignorance. Many people do. See, we have the freedom to be living within God's laws, not outside of them, but there's enormous freedom within God's laws.

They're good for us. They don't ever cause damage. The third blessing we should remember is be grateful for what God the Father and Jesus Christ have done for us. Should never forget that. Despite all the problems we have, God's on His throne. Jesus Christ's on a right hand. They're in charge. Everything's going to turn out for good at the end. Nobody can frustrate those plans. John chapter 1, verse 29.

It says, The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. That's a description of what Jesus Christ came to do. To die for our sins, for our imperfections, for everything that we've done wrong, so that we can be purified and one day be transformed into a perfect person that has no longer desires of the flesh, is not attracted by sin. All of these things are going to happen in the future.

And through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, all of that is possible. In Romans chapter 8, Romans chapter 8, verse 31, also describes how we are in a relationship with God that produces these fruits. John chapter, I'm sorry, Romans chapter 8, verse 31. It says, What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Who's stronger than God? No one. He who did not spare his own Son but delivered him up for us all, how shall he, not with him, also freely give us all things? That's his purpose, to give us all things. Who shall bring a charge against God's elect?

It is God who justifies Jesus Christ paid for our sins. He continues to pay for our sins, as long as we follow God's way and repent and change. The fourth blessing we should remember is grateful for the abundant life he has given us. Jesus Christ did not come to make life miserable. He made it abundant. He made it rich. And what a blessing to do it! In John 10, verse 10, Jesus said, The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly, much more blessed. I can testify to that. I was just a young boy, 17. I didn't know any better, but I entered the church. And after that, everything God has done intervened, and it is the abundant life. It doesn't mean we're not going to have trials and difficulties. I've had my health issues, but they didn't last. And thankfully, you're able to do what you can to overcome them. But it has been such an abundant life. I wouldn't trade this life for any of kings and riches and anything else. This is the best life to do things with love, with kindness, with the spirit of service, the spirit of having hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Looking at God's Word and just falling in love with God's Word and wanting to obey Him better and better. The fifth blessing is we should be grateful to be part of God's work.

In 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Corinthians 15, and verse 58, It says, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

We are an active church. This isn't a church where the minister has to do everything. We have all of these responsibilities given out. So everybody has a chance to serve God in different ways. That's the way we learn. Do our jobs well, and God will add, and He will bless. He is concerned about the work that is being carried out. Somebody has to tithe for these booklets to go out. Somebody has to be out there doing the work and spreading it and doing whatever. See, God could have angels do it. They do a lot better job than us.

But He is teaching humans to be part of His spiritual family. And so we have the privilege of being involved in sending out the truth to the world, making people understand how to properly apply God's laws. This world is so confused.

This week I read in the Orange County Register, for instance, it was really sad. But I read that the pope visited Portugal. And of course, the first day or two, he had to be out there in a forgiveness tour about all the abuses of the priests and all that happened. But then afterwards, today, I read that they had a whole LGBTQ group of Catholics that were there, and they had a celebration for them. And when was that ever something that happened? Are you supposed to just say, oh yes, just come in and we'll just accept them all? Well, of course, that is discrediting, because it's not applying God's Word. It's applying politics, because everybody can be in this broad tent. And so we have to be part of the work to show what God tells us in His Word. That should be done. I don't know if any of you read here in Deuteronomy. I mentioned this in the newsletter this week. Deuteronomy, let me think here, it was 22. Yes, Deuteronomy 22.5. It says, A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God. In other words, a man should be a man he should wear man's clothes, a woman should wear women's clothes. And God says it is disgusting for him when he sees men wearing dresses or women wearing men's clothes. And this is why God is going to punish this world, because they're not applying this. And it is his world, not ours. He's still in charge, and so he's going to have to put some discipline into this world, and soon. Number six, blessing number six, grateful that we have two great comforters, God the Father and Jesus Christ.

They're concerned about our illnesses more than we can ever imagine. They're concerned about our difficulties. Notice in 2 Corinthians 1 verse 3, 2 Corinthians 1 verse 3, Paul says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulations, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, that's because of persecutions and difficulties, so are consolations also abound through Christ. We're able to console others. Now, if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same suffering which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation of the blessings. And so what God is saying is that we have to go through things, because then when people go through similar things, we can say, I understand. I went through that. I can help you. It's not somebody that's aloof and distanced from the person, but as we go through things, we identify and we can have more compassion and empathy toward those that have the same problems. And the last one, we should be grateful to live in the country that we live in.

Still has relative peace, order, abundance. That's not the case in the rest of the world, in most places. In Genesis 49 verses 22 through 26, it talks about the blessings of those that were going to live in Joseph's extension of the children of Jacob, who were going to be one day living in the blessings that Joseph would have. And this is actually Manasseh, and England is Ephraim, that these are the old tribes that would come back into history. And it says, Genesis 49 verse 22 through 26, it says here, Joseph in the contemporary English version, you are a fruitful vine growing near a stream and climbing a wall.

You just, the abundance just climbs over the wall. Enemies attack with arrows, refusing to show mercy.

We've had all kinds of enemies, but you stood your ground swiftly shooting back with the help of Jacob's God, the all-powerful one. His name is the shepherd, Israel's mighty rock. Your help came from the God your father worshiped, from God all-powerful. God will bless you with rain and streams from the earth. He will bless you with many descendants. My son, the blessings I give are better than the promise of ancient mountains or eternal hills. Joseph, I pray these blessings will come to you because you are the leader of your brothers. And so, never take for granted, living in this country that still has the Bible as a certain basis. It's eroding quickly, but it's still the most religious and Christian and Bible-backed country in the world.

So let's finish in Hebrews chapter 13. Let's read verses 14 and 15. Hebrews 13, verses 14 and 15. It says, for here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come, that one that Christ is going to bring. Therefore, by him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God. That's very pleasing when he hears us praising God for blessings that we receive. That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. So, as we present ourselves to God, let's be grateful for the many things that God has provided for us and never forget to count our blessings.