Gratitude Leads to Happiness

Well, thank you, Mariselle. Very beautiful. Appreciate that. Adding some wonderful melodic music on God's Sabbath day. Always deeply appreciated. Appreciate the talent that everyone shows who comes up here and either plays the piano or sings, or in the past we've had people playing other instruments, and that always adds a lot to the Sabbath day. All right, Mr. Thomas is going right to the point today. No nicety of opening comments or sentences. Let's go to Acts chapter 26 verses 1 through 3. No more Mr. Nice Guy. Acts chapter 26 verses 1 through 3.

Paul is standing here on trial, and this could cost him his life, what he says.

And Agrippa said to Paul, you are permitted to speak for yourself. So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself. And here's what he says in verse 2. I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer for myself before you concerning all the things of which I'm accused by the Jews, especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the Jews. Therefore, I beg you to hear me patiently. So here's a man who's on trial for his life, yet here's his attitude in his opening remarks. I think myself happy. Happy comes from the Greek word, macaros, and it means supremely blessed or fortunate. I think myself supremely blessed and fortunate. What he's about to say could cost him his life. Does that seem maybe like a little bit of a contradiction to you? That someone who's faced in that situation could be happy? Merriam Webster defines happiness as enjoying or characterized by well-being and contentment. Now, happiness is not the absence of grief or sorrow. Yes, a faithful believer has periods of sorrow and grief in their lives. Talking about Jesus, in Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 3, it said he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. So even Jesus Christ himself had grief and sorrows. Yet, it says in Hebrews chapter 1 verses 8 and 9, speaking about Jesus, he was anointed with the oil of gladness more than his compassion. So again, I want to emphasize, I want you to look at Paul's example in the verses we just read. Here's a man accused of riot and a legal charge that could lead to his death, but yet he's happy to explain and answer any questions.

Did you know that there's a recent study that shows there's a simple thing you can do every day that will increase your level of happiness and fulfillment? It's just really simple. It's completely biblical and it takes only a few minutes each day. And I will bet, having said that, that 90 percent of you will not do this because I understand human nature. Here it is. It's not that hard. Here's what the study showed every day. Write down three things that you're grateful for. Now, the reason you need to write it down is the same reason that we don't buy property on some just oral acclamation.

Yeah, I'll buy it. No, we write our name. We sign our name to that deed. There's something about writing down that gives clarity, that gives permanence, that gives authority to something we are about to possess or do. The same reason why people with written goals achieve great things and people who don't write their goals down simply live in a world of fantasy and I hope to someday. The process of writing something down gives it permanence, importance, and clarity. And that's exactly why the study said write down, not just think, write down three things that you're grateful for.

And why is this so important? Because we all have human nature. Human nature is grateful for nothing. Human nature spends all of its time wondering why it's not getting the free toy that the guy across the street is getting from the government or why I'm not getting enough attention, why more people don't come and praise me, why I don't have all the good things that everybody else has.

It's negative. It's selfish. It's all about me. It's an attitude of entitlement. That's why we have to overcome that human nature by making the effort to stop and say, you know what, today here is what I'm grateful for and I'm going to write down three things today that I'm thankful for. This is from a study by Martin Siegelman, the director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

And in the study, participants were assigned to write down three good things and their causes each night, and they started to see beneficial effects quickly, according to the study. After one month, they reported feeling happier and less depressed than when they started. And they stayed that way all through follow-ups at three months and six months when the study concluded. So it was a long-term benefit. It wasn't something just happened for a short period of time. The point is this. It's to focus your mind to think about the parts of your life that are good, instead of focusing on the parts that something is lacking, and I'm not getting something that I want, or focusing on stress, or making mountains out of molehills, or focusing on how annoyed we are.

And why is that important? Again, as I said a few minutes ago, carnal human nature doesn't focus on the good things we have. It always focuses on where there is lack, where there's lack in the world, where there's lack in my life. That's what carnal human nature focuses on, and this always creates a mindset of ultimately of entitlement and negativity. What I'm talking about today is an important biblical concept. Paul emphasized the importance of gratitude in Philippians chapter 4 and verse 8, and I'll read it. There's no need to turn there. They'll probably, or they may, put it up on the screen.

I want you to notice what Paul says he's going to focus on, and what we should be focusing on. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are noble, things are just, things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there's any virtue and if there's any thing praiseworthy, meditate on these things. Not woe is me. Not oh, I'm surrounded by scarcity in my life.

Oh, I lack this. I lack that. I'm not getting enough attention from people. I'm not being recognized for how important or talented I am. You see, that's a scarcity mentality. That's not an abundance mindset. Since the scriptures are writings, that means that somebody wrote them down, just like we need to write down the three things we're grateful for every day. We have this book because someone also made the effort to write it down. This isn't an oral philosophy. This is word. Somebody wrote it down. That should tell us something. So let's see some of the things that might be on our daily list. We only need three, but I want to teach you to go through an exercise in which you can go through a simple scripture.

We could use a hundred like the few that we're going to use today. And just by using the scripture, you can easily pull out of it three things to be grateful for. Let's go to Psalm 100 verse 3. Again, Psalm chapter 100 verse 3.

Let's just read a simple scripture and then see what we can glean from it, what we can be grateful for. Psalm chapter 100 verse 3. Know the Lord that He is God. It is He who made us.

And not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good. His mercy is everlasting. Kind of ties in with our sermonette today. His mercy is everlasting and His truth endures to all generations. That one simple scripture says that we can be grateful for the fact that we have a personal relationship with God. We are His people. Are we grateful for that? We can be grateful that God is my creator and my sustainer.

We can be grateful that I have a church to be part of with, as the verses say, His people and the other sheep of His pasture. Are we grateful that we have a church to be part of? That we have brethren to share our lives with? We have a building to worship and fellowship in. The phrase enters into His gates, His courts with praise. Do we come here every Sabbath?

Praising, having an attitude of joyfulness, thankfulness, and praise. We can be thankful that God is good and merciful towards me, as these scriptures, these verses tell us, and has given me His truth. All of these things that we could be grateful for—there happened to be just five of them in a couple of simple verses—all of these five things that we have to be grateful for come from this John Scripture. Let's see another example. Psalm chapter 144 and verse 11. Psalm chapter 144 and verse 11.

The psalmist's rights rescue me, and deliver me from the hand of foreigners, whose mouth speaks lying words, and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood, that our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth, and our daughters may be pillars, sculptured in palace style, that our barns may be full supplying all kinds of produce, that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields, that our oxen may be well laden, that there be no breaking in or going out, that there be no outcry in our streets. Happy are the people who are in such a state. Happy are the people whose God is the Lord. So let's talk about this state that's written here, the state of being, in Psalm 144. It says, we should be grateful that we live in a peaceful land not invaded by war on our soil. We're not fighting in our soil the hands of foreigners. In many areas of the world, people have literally been invaded by foreigners. Are we grateful for that? Because that's kind of rare in human history. We can be grateful that God has given us children, or He's given us nieces and nephews, to love and to care for and to be the next generation. The phrase here is, plants grown up in their youth regarding the females may be as pillars. Are we faithful? Are we thankful for the children that we have, if not physical, biological children, the children we can share our lives with in the congregation? Nieces and nephews that we can share our lives with? Are we grateful for the material blessings that include plenty of food? The phrase here is, barns may be full. When's the last time you went into a grocery store and all the shelves were empty?

You probably went into a grocery store and the shelves are loaded with food. Now, a lot of it's unclean and we can't eat it, but nonetheless it was loaded with food. It says that our barns may be full, all kinds of produce. Think of all the fruits and vegetables that are abundant that we have available to us today. Are we grateful for that? Because there are many areas in the world where they don't have that kind of abundance.

It says 10 thousands of sheep and animals that are well-laden. Think of all the meat we have available to us. All the chicken and fowl and beef and all the things that are available to us at our fingertips when we walk into a store. Are we thankful that, like in many areas of the world, we don't have to wake up today with one goal? And that is beg, sell, or do anything I must to get food for my family today, to feed my children tonight because they're hungry? And then tomorrow morning I get to do that all over again? Are we grateful that we're in such material abundance that we don't have to live like that? Are we grateful that we live in relative safety? It says no breaking in or going out. And I know that we talk about crime a lot, and crime is certainly too high in the United States, and I know it's become a political issue, but the reality is very few of us are plagued by crime. We live in pretty safe communities. Overall, we live in a nation with incredible safety. Don't we? Are we grateful for that?

Are we grateful that there's no revolution or rioting in our society? There's no starving masses of people. The phrase used in the scripture was, no outcry in the streets.

Are we thankful that there's stability? That we have a form of government that allows people to speak freely but mutes outgoing revolution in our streets? These are things that we can all be grateful for. The five different things just in the couple of verses we read in Psalm 144. Finally, verse 15 says, happy that the Lord is our God, and we are His people. Notice that in a few simple verses there are many things for us to be thankful for that we can write down on a list. We only need three. Every day they can be different because they might be. Depending on what we're experiencing that day or blessing we've just noticed or focused on, those three things will change continually. Isaiah chapter 12 and verse 2, if you will turn there with me, this is a simple one to focus on, simple point of something to be grateful for. Isaiah chapter 12 and verse 2, behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid, for Yah the Lord is my strength and song, and He also has become my salvation. Therefore, with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. Are we happy because we've been saved? How many billions of people have lived on planet earth, yet God has only offered in their first physical lifetime salvation to very, very few. That includes you. Are we grateful for that? Are we taking it for granted? Does it have no meaning to us, really, anymore? Are we grateful again that of all the billions who have ever lived, we've been offered salvation now? It says God is my salvation. There was a time when we were spiritually lost. There was a time when we were condemned to eternal death because we violated God's law, we were sinners without a Savior, and then God made it possible for us to be totally forgiven because Jesus Christ died for our sins. Christ Himself became my salvation.

Are we grateful for that gift, that awesome privilege, that wonderful thing that we've been given, that we don't earn, that we don't deserve? Or do we think we're somehow now entitled because maybe we've been in a church for 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years. It has no real meaning to us anymore. I'm going to read verse 3 from the New Century version. You will receive your salvation with joy as you would draw water from a well. You know, if you were really thirsty and you walked and you found a well and had a bucket on the end of a rope, you'd really be excited cranking that thing, that bucket up to drink the water, the cool, refreshing water from that well. Is that how we look at salvation today? Is that how we look at our salvation? Something to look forward to? Something that refreshes? Something we strongly desire? Or have we just taken it for granted? Has it lost meaning in our lives because of a sense of entitlement? Let's now go to the New Testament, Colossians chapter 3 and verse 16. Colossians chapter 3 and verse 16.

We'll allow the Apostle Paul to teach us how we can take a simple few verses virtually anywhere and pull out things to be grateful for, to remind us of things that we can be grateful for. Colossians chapter 3 and verse 16. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching, and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks, in other words, being grateful, to God the Father through him.

Are we grateful that we have access to godly wisdom? Paul says we have access to all wisdom. That's what he says in this verse. That's something to be grateful for. How many people on earth have the wisdom of God? Can we receive the deep things of God? That's something to be thankful for. Are we grateful that we have access to biblical teaching? It's said here to dwell richly in you through all wisdom, teaching. That's the second thing mentioned. Are we grateful for the fact that we can come here every Sabbath and be taught about God's word? That we can read his word and with the right attitude and mindset in the guidance of the Spirit, we can be taught by God.

Are we grateful that we have, brethren, to caution us, to warn us, and also encourage us in the faith? It's as admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Are we so proud? We think, well, nobody should be telling me. No one should be correcting me. No one should be admonishing me because I'm smarter and better than everyone else in here. What is our attitude? Are we grateful? Are we grateful that there's spiritual music that's inspired and we have an entire hymn? We heard special music today. We have spiritual music to inspire us. The verse says, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. You know, so far, in just a few scriptures that we looked at, we've seen 15 entirely different things that we could write down on our gratitude list. Again, why is all of this important? Because we either live in a mindset of abundance or we live in a mindset of scarcity. We are either thankful for what we have or we're critical for what we think we should have. It's one or the other. Let's see what Jesus himself taught about having the right mindset because what Jesus does is he did virtually everything, is he turns it on his head. He takes a number of things but most people would think is a negative. Oh, that's bad. And Jesus says, no, you are blessed if you have these qualities. You should be happy if you have these qualities. So let's see what they are. Let's go to Matthew chapter 5 and verse 2. I thought Mr. Howson might be stealing my thunder today, but I guess the Bible is everybody's word. I can't put a patent or copyright in a particular scripture, so it'll all work out okay because I'll probably emphasize different things. Matthew chapter 5 and verse 2.

And he opened his mouth and taught him, saying, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God. Here's the first thing I want to point out. This word, blessed, is from the same Greek word going back to my first scripture in Acts chapter 26 where Paul says, I think myself happy. Same Greek word is translated blessed. As a matter of fact, some translations say, happy are you if you do these things rather than blessed are you if you do these things. And the word means supremely blessed or fortunate. So let's see what we can learn from the beautiful attitudes. That's what attitudes means, the beautiful attitudes are sometimes called the blessed sayings. Christ states in verse 3 that you are blessed if you have spiritual needs. Do you have a spiritual need? I know that I certainly have spiritual needs. So why are you blessed or happy if you have these needs? Because the coming kingdom of God will supply all of those needs and you will be completely full. See how Jesus turns on his head? How the idea of a lack of something or the scarcity of something, if you have the right focus, is actually a blessing, will actually make you happy? Can we begin to see that?

Verse 4, blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. The new century version reads this way, those who are sad now are happy. Wow, that almost seemed like a contradiction in terms. Those who are sad now are happy because God will comfort them no matter what you're going through in life today. We can be happy knowing that God's promises are guaranteed and we're mourning now and we may be mourning for a good legitimate reason, but it's only temporary because God has promises. He has big things planned for your existence. We have a bright future ahead of us and it will be filled with abundance on the eve of his death by extreme torture. And Jesus knew exactly what he faced on the eve of his death. He told his disciples in John chapter 15 and verse 11, these things I have spoken to you that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full. Think about that. Similar to what Paul's, his life is on the line when he makes the phrase that he thinks himself happy. Jesus knowing, anticipating the torture he's going to be going through in a few short hours, says, I want my joy to remain in you and that your joy be full. Not just a little bit of joy, not just joy sometimes when you get what you want, but that your joy may be full. That's his prayer. Are we willing to accept that? Do we realize that when we're going through period of mourning, that when we're comforted, we'll appreciate it all the more? That what we're learning through a period of mourning is preparing us for greatness in the kingdom of God, is preparing us to be more empathetic towards people in the future who go through mourning? Because been there, done that, I know how you feel.

Let's take a look at verse five. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Of course, meek means humble, or those who do not seek personal advantage. Again, it means being humble, or those who do not seek personal advantage. It's those who are trying to direct all of their energies into the perfect control of the Holy Spirit in their lives. It's incredible strength, dynamic personal strength held by the maturity of the Holy Spirit. Controlled, directed properly, all of that strength that they have, directed properly by the gift of the Holy Spirit. Because they have learned meekness, and not everything is about them, they will share in God's rule over the whole earth. That's why they will inherit the earth. They've learned to be humble now. They've learned to bite their tongue now. They've learned to control their emotions now, so that they can rule for eternity. Verse 6, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Jesus is saying, blessed are those who desire a right relationship with God by becoming more like Him. If you're hungry, you want food. That's all you think about is food.

If you're thirsty, all you think about is water. If you're truly thirsty, you just want some water.

And that's the way that we should be in learning more about God. His values, His character, what He believes, how He thinks. That's an important thing for us to realize. Are we hungering and thirsting for those things? Because if we do in this lifetime, then in the kingdom of God, we will ultimately find complete personal fulfillment.

Verse 7, the one that was mentioned in our sermonette today, blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. I'm going to read this again from the new century version. Those who show mercy to others are happy because God will show mercy to them. Jesus said that to the same degree we offer forgiveness to others when we are offended, the same degree to which we offer forgiveness to others, God will offer forgiveness to us. He said in Matthew 6, verse 12, forgive us of our debts as we forgive our debtors. We forgive our debtors. God will forgive us. We don't forgive our debtors. We hold grudges. God has every right not to forgive us of our debts and to hold those against us. In a similar way, God gives mercy to those who extend mercy to others who make mistakes and need help because God is a merciful. God, mercy is a godly quality. Verse 8, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. This is really important because it's dramatically lacking in the Church of God in the 21st century. The pure of heart are those who strive to see the best in others in spite of their flaws, obvious weaknesses, and disfunctions. They look for the best in others. When things go wrong, they look for the silver lining. They give others the benefit of the doubt rather than quick judgment. As Paul wrote in Romans chapter 4 and verse 17 regarding God's character, God God who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.

God looks into the future. When he sees us, he doesn't see us just as we are today, the frail, bumbling clowns that we are in this physical world. He sees us not as we are. He sees the potential in us. He sees us as we can be, as we shall be someday. God sees the best in us.

Are we willing to give that consideration to other people? Because when you have that attitude and you're willing to look for the best in others, when you're willing to look for the positive in any negative situation, when you're willing to give the benefit of the doubt to someone rather than judging them quickly, you are pure in heart. Very important principle. Verse 9, blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God peacemakers. Are those who reconcile others to God, and they also work hard to maintain healthy relationships with other people rather than being offensive themselves, rather than causing problems themselves.

As Paul said in Colossians chapter 1 and verse 19, he said, for it please the Father, that in him all the fullness should dwell, and by him to reconcile all things to himself, by him, referring to Jesus Christ, whether things in earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of his cross. So we peacemakers? Do we try to be peacemakers in our family, physical family, in our spiritual family, or are we always trying to egg things on? Are we always trying to be the skunk at the garden party, ruin it for somebody, make a mountain out of a molehill, make some little thing in some big offense, or in contrast to that, are we peacemakers? Is that something we long for and desire? Verse 10, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. These are those who are criticized or mistreated for maintaining and teaching righteous values. They're mocked, they're scoffed at, and the reward for their suffering is a permanent position in the kingdom of God.

See, again, Jesus Christ takes something that most people would perceive as a negative. Persecution? I should be grateful for persecution? Absolutely yes, according to Jesus Christ. You should be happy if you're persecuted, because what you're experiencing through persecution, if you're grateful for what you're going through, as painful as it may be, is teaching you things you will never learn any other way. Verse 11, it adds on to just being persecuted. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. This goes beyond just mere persecution. It includes being insulted, being ridiculed like Jesus Christ was before he was crucified. He was mocked, slapped, Trana Thorne's rammed on his head, spit upon. And it says here that blessed are you if you're experiencing these things.

This is an attempt to destroy you because of your faith in Jesus Christ, and then you slander, and they use lies about who and what you believe. And we see some of this in the news. We see teachers who refuse to use particular man-made pronouns for other human beings losing their jobs, being fired, driven out of the teaching profession because they won't use some pronoun on a student. So we see these things going on in our society today. Verse 12, it says, Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. These things that most people would term as scarcity, as negative, Jesus says no. When you're experiencing these things, blessed are you for experiencing these things because they're going to make you better than they are. The experience of endurance and receiving those things is going to make you a better being, greater character, more faithful traits that you will carry with you throughout eternity. Great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the soul of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? Then it is good for nothing to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You know, salt preserves. For millennia, people have taken meat and so on and wrapped it in salt, put it in a cool environment to preserve it. So later on when they need it, it's there.

Are we preserving the truth of God? Are we preserving the things that we know, or are we just making compromises to conform with everyone else? Or is our mindset and our attitude, are we grateful for the truths that we have been given? And are we, like salt, a preservative of those things? Salt also creates thirst. Are we salty in that when people come in contact with us, they want to know more about God?

Are we creating thirst in others by our example, by our personal lifestyle, how we conduct ourselves, how we carry on in front of crowds of people? Or at a party, or the neighborhood block party, or the person we run into at Walmart, or the people we work with? Is our example creating thirst in them to want to know more about God, to be like God? And of course, salt also cleanses.

Are we cleansing our lives of sin, personal dysfunctions, parts of our attitude, persona, personality, character that are negative, turns people off, sometimes turns our own spouses off, turns our own children off, turns the person across the street off?

Are we cleansing our lives, making ourselves a reflection of the mind of Christ?

He says there in verse 14, you are the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. It's set on a hill so that people a hundred miles away can say, look at that light up in that hill. Look at that incredible city. That's why it's on a hill. It cannot be hidden. Verse 15, nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket. Have you ever done that in a dark room? I'll bet you've never had you lost your power in your house, turned on a flashlight, and then covered the light with a pan so you couldn't see any. I'll bet you've never done that. Why? Because that is against the whole purpose of a flashlight. It's to give light, and the same is true with us being the light of the world.

And it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. So believe it or not, Jesus here gives an additional number of additional items we could write on that gratitude list.

He takes things as he usually does and turns them on their head. Things that many of us might perceive as a negative. Oh, I don't want to be poor in spirit. No, blessed are you if you're poor in spirit because you're still humble enough to recognize you have a need. That's why, blessed in being poor in spirit, the problem is with the person who knows it all, who thinks they have all knowledge, who thinks it's just between them and God, and they're beginning to have their doubts about God. In contrast to that, blessed are those who are poor in spirit because they recognize their need for a deeper relationship with God. So again, Jesus takes these beautiful attitudes and he turns them on their head. What we just read in these beatitudes should ask, we should ask ourselves questions like, am I grateful that I experience occasional mourning because then I appreciate joy and happiness when it's available.

The periods of mourning make those periods of joy and happiness all the more satisfying, rather than living in joy and happiness all the time because being human we would soon take it for granted, we would soon think we're entitled, and the joy and happiness would have very little meaning in our lives because that's the way we're wired as selfish, carnal human beings. Are we grateful that humility or meekness keeps me grounded in my relationship with God and others so I don't get the big head, so I don't think I'm smarter or better than someone else or everyone else, but I realize that there's a lot that I still need to learn. Are we grateful that I still desire to be like God by hungering and thirsting for those godly qualities that are mentioned in His Word? Are we grateful for the mercy God shows us daily and the reminder that we have to be merciful to others when they hurt us, when they are offensive, when they do things that are wrong?

Am I grateful that I can see God more clearly and honestly when I work to be pure in hearts? And when I follow the model of God in Jesus Christ and I look for the best in others and I look beyond their foibles and bumbling and stumbling shortness of sin and things that human beings struggle with today and you see them as they will be someday, as they can be, fulfilling the potential God gave them. That's what pure in heart means. Are we grateful that I not only personally experience the fruit of peace but that I strive to bring peace and reconciliation everywhere I go, everyone I meet, every situation I run into? Are we grateful that when I patiently suffer persecution or I'm slandered or I experience evil toward me, it's preparing me for position in the kingdom of God. I am learning things about myself and how I react and how I deal with these stressors that I would never learn any other way. It's actually making me better.

So, brethren, in conclusion, today we focused on a simple thing that we can do every day that will increase our level of happiness and fulfillment. It came from a study that was very complete, that was very fulfilling for many people because it takes only a few minutes each day and people's lives were transformed. They weren't even in a church. They weren't even religious. They don't know one one-millionth of what we know, but they did learn this, that their level of personal happiness and fulfillment increased when every day they wrote down three things they're grateful for because that's so contrary to our self-talk, which is about me and lack and scarcity.

It's so contrary to that, and that's exactly what we need each and every day. We need to understand that, and then to reinforce this, we looked at numerous reasons we all have to be very thankful for. We looked at nearly 30 different, totally different things that we can be grateful for, that we could write down on a list just from the few scriptures that we covered today. And you know what? We barely scratched the surface. So, brethren, let's not be like the world.

Let's not accentuate the negative, but instead take the time each day, just a few minutes, to focus on gratitude and to take those minutes to write them down because it'll change your life. If we have the courage to do this, it will change how we view our purpose. It will change our attitude towards others so it's not so negative and judgmental and condescending because we'll be pure in heart, and we'll see them as God sees them.

So, brethren, have a wonderful Sabbath, and looking forward to chatting with some of you after services.