Opening Illustration: Gratefulness vs. Complaining. I did some internet research this week. And since we know that everything on the internet is true, I thought it would share what I found. On average, how many times per day does a person complain? Think about it, have you complained this morning? Will you complain that the sermon was too long? We know you won’t…On average, a person complains 15 to 30 times per day. What about being thankful? On average, a person says “thank you” 6 times per day. So what’s the big deal about complaining? Just in case you thought all I care about is your spiritual health as your pastor, I care about your physical health as well! Listen to this…“Research from Stanford University has also found that complaining reduces the size of our hippocampus, which, is responsible for memory and problem solving. The study found that engaging in complaining or simply hearing someone complain for more than 30 minutes could physically damage our brains.”[1]  The more you complain, you change your physical brain, which means you will complain more. Also…“Repeated complaining results in cortisol being released in higher levels, putting us more at risk of developing heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and strokes.” “One study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry found that on average, optimists tend to live longer than pessimists. Optimists were found to have a 55% lower risk of death across all causes and were 23% less likely to die of heart disease.” Think twice before you have your next “venting” session.

Replacing complaining with gratitude is good for your health, but it’s so much more than that. Listen to Philippians 2:12-15: “¹² Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. ¹³ For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. ¹⁴ Do everything without complaining and arguing, ¹⁵ so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. At its core, consistent complaining reveals the voice we are listening to the most. “But Jess, all these bad things are happening around me and to me”. I believe you, but what we are called to do as Christ-followers is to let the outside things stay outside of us. We are to let the goodness of God dwell in us so that our gratitude for God will come out of us.

Because I want you to have a 55% lower risk of death and because I want the goodness of God to overwhelm you, we are going to spend three weeks as a church family looking at what it means to be grateful. We’re calling these three weeks the “The Gratitude Challenge” (Sermon Series). This Sunday and the next two Sundays, we are looking at three different psalms that are focused on thankfulness and gratitude. In addition, I want you to sign up to receive a daily text that will either encourage you or challenge to be grateful. The challenge will end on Thanksgiving Day.

If you’re in, grab your phone and text the word “Gratitude” to 833-262-6118. Go ahead and do it now!

We are going to start off with Psalm 16 today. Go ahead and open your Bibles to Psalm 16. As you turn there, we are going to see the source of our goodness. Which, should in turn, produce gratefulness. Here’s what I hope we’ll see in Psalm 16. Be grateful for the goodness God gives. Read Psalm 16. Pray. We’re looking at the goodness that God gives us. Which, should produce gratitude. David wrote Psalm 16 in time when he is facing some adversity, possibly death. David takes his fear and turns it into confidence and gratitude. How does he do that? He looks at the goodness of God. Here’s where we start: All the good in your life comes from God.

1) All the good in your life comes from God. (vs. 1-6) Let’s start with verses 1, 2, and 3. What do they say? ¹ Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge. ² I said to the Lord, “You are my Master! Every good thing I have comes from you.” ³ The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them! David says that in hard times, he turns to God. That’s a good place to start. Why does David turn to God? In verse 2, he says two things: 1) You are my Lord. You are my Master. 2) All the good in my life comes from you. “You are the author of good”. And why is God the author of good? Because God is good. Because God is the good. In verse 2, God is putting a foundational statement in front of us:[2] God governs all the good that comes to you because God is the good that comes to you. There may be other rulers in our lives, but there is only one Lord over our lives. The world may offer us good things, but if we don’t taste God in any of those good things, then they aren’t good things. If God isn’t in something you think is good, then it’s not good. But as you experience the good things in this life, you will only experience them as good because God is in them. All the delight we have in this life is because God is that delight. Which is what verse 3 is about. When we surround ourselves with other people who delight in God, then we take pleasure in those relationships. The people that delight in God are the people that we should delight in. All the delight, all the joy, all the treasure – they come from God. If you don’t the source of your good, then it’s hard to enjoy the good.

God built our facility. When I see this building we are in today, all I see is God’s goodness. Back in 2020, we had a construction budget of $70k to move into this building. In the end, the total cost ended up being $250k. Each time we got hit with another expense, one of our volunteers would come to me and say, “Bad news, we need another $40k…” Typically within a matter of days, the exact money needed would show up. At one point, this volunteer asked me, “Where is this money coming from? Are you doing something illegal? Am I going to have visit you in prison after this is all done? Are you selling your kidneys?” And to be honest, I still don’t know how it all happened. But here is what I do know: God was the source of it all. Because I know God is the source, I can look at these walls and see God’s goodness. That’s what David is communicating: When you see God as the source of your delight and joy, then you see God.

Jump down to verse 5 and 6. We’ll come back to verse. ⁵ Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. ⁶ The land you have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance! David is looking at both is present and future circumstances. In verse 6, the phrase “the land” is better translated “the boundaries lines”. David is looking at the boundary lines of his life. He’s looking at all that God has given him. In verse 5, David knows there is a more beautiful inheritance coming, which is God Himself. Verse 5 and 6 are another way of saying, “God you are the good in my life because every good thing I have in life is from you.”

In the middle of these declarations, there is verse 4: ⁴ Troubles multiply for those who chase after other gods. I will not take part in their sacrifices of blood or even speak the names of their gods. Let me put verse 4 in my own words: “Don’t be an idiot and run after something that isn’t God. Because if you run after something that isn’t God then it won’t be good. And you will only multiple the troubles in your life.” Good things that aren’t God things will only compound the problems in your life. Which is why verse tells us to stay in the presence of God, our refuge. Know the source of your goodness and stay with the source. Why would you walk away from the good God gives you? When you taste the goodness of God, you don’t want to taste the world’s goodness. When you have Jesus, there is no more shopping around. You don’t need to shop around because God’s goodness is here to stay. And that’s what verses 7 and 8 are about: God’s goodness doesn’t go anywhere. 

2) God’s goodness doesn’t go anywhere. (vs. 7-8) I want to briefly look verses 7 and 8: ⁷ I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. ⁸ I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. If verse 2 was a foundational statement that “God governs all the good that comes to you because God is the good that comes to you.” Then verse 7 is this next building block on top of that foundation. David spent the first six verses realizing that all the good in his life is from God. And now, in verse 7, it’s almost as if David has this next burst of insight. I can imagine that he’s out in the night, looking up at the stars, and he begins to contemplate. He thinks to himself, “How do I even know about the goodness of God?” That’s when he realizes “The only way I know about the goodness of God is because God has made it known to me!” “God is my refuge. God is my goodness. God is my lot. God is my inheritance.” “God holds my life. God is my life.” “And the only way I know this is because God made it known to me.” “He’s the one who guides my life. Even in the middle of the night.” What do you think about in the middle of the night? Do you know one of the most frustrating feelings? You’re tired. You’re in bed. You want to go sleep. But you can’t. That happened to me a couple of weeks ago. And the only thing I could think about is “Why can’t I go to sleep!” And here’s David, possibly in the middle, and all he can think about is God’s goodness that doesn’t go anywhere. All he can think about is the very breath he is breathing is a gift. All he can think about is that God is vert one that is making his heart beat. And there I am, trying to figure out why I had that cup of coffee at 6pm. Next time, here’s what I will be thinking: God’s goodness never leaves me because God never leaves. 

Verse 8 emphasizes this even more. “God is with me and God is beside me.” How much gratitude do you have for a God that never leaves you, never forsakes you, and that always has His goodness ready for you? Next time you find yourself awake at 1am, reflect on that. Open up Psalm 16:7 and marvel at the God that makes your very heart. Because we have a God that gives us His goodness – His goodness that doesn’t go anywhere – that means your endless pursuits of happiness can stop. Here’s what we see in the last 3 verses of Psalm 16: God’s goodness means you can stop chasing momentary happiness. 

3) God’s goodness means you can stop chasing momentary happiness. (vs. 9-11) David started off this psalm in verse 1 with the cry to God to “keep me safe.” Then in verse 8, David declares, “I will not be shaken for God is right beside me.” The reason David is able to go from petition to peace is because of God’s presence. In verse 9 and 10, he knows that God’s presence is forever. ⁹ No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. ¹⁰ For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave.David is declaring that even after this life ends, God is still there. Eternal life comes only from God. Then in verse 11, David makes it clear that the only way to eternal life is Jesus. “You will show me the way of life”. Hear me clearly:[3] The path of life is a person and his name is Jesus. 

GOSPEL PRESENTATION.

When you accept Jesus as Savior and Lord, when you take that path of life, you are granted something. Look at rest of verse 11: ¹¹ You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. This way of life – what are you granted?! The joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. This verse is an “underliner!” Underline it, highlight it, start it. What Jesus provides us a way to live for God forever – the pleasures of living with God forever. One of things I hear often about this idea of eternity, living forever, and heaven is “Will I get bored?” “Will I just be sitting on a cloud, playing a harp all day?” People want to know how harp lessons can I take before I’m ready to move on to something else. First, that’s not what heaven is going to be like. Second, do you think God would create a heaven with boredom? Do you think God would create a heaven where you won’t be happy and joyful? If you don’t believe that God is capable of making you happy forever, then you don’t know God. You won’t be bored because you are forever living with the author of joy.

You are going to experience a fullness that you have never experience on this life because you will be with the author of goodness and fullness. The path of life today is full of fullness – a fullness that will be fully known when we experience pleasure of living forever with God. There’s nothing better than God. Quote: “Is there anything fuller than full? No. Is anything longer than forever? No. This is no rocket science. This is just glory! Nobody anywhere in the world can offer you anything better than Psalm 16:11. Because nothing is even conceivably better than verse 11. Nothing is fuller than fullor longer than forever. “Fullness” means completely satisfying. And “forevermore” means those pleasures never stop.” – John Piper. In Jesus, you have all the goodness and fullness you could ever want. Nobody can offer you anything better than the goodness of God. Here’s what this means for your life: You don’t have to spend your life chasing the next happy high. God wants to give us a life of fullness.

Take a note from Adam and Eve. They were the first to chase a momentary “high”. They traded God for a piece of fruit. We can sit here and say, “I would never do that.” But the reality is that we do. We are still looking for those moments of happiness. We are still look for those daily hits. What’s your relationship with social media? Social media’s goal is to keep you coming back for a quick hit. Do you control social media or does social media control because you’ve got that have the momentary hit of endorphins. Do you trade God for screen? What about how you appear to others? Do you want those cars, clothes, and homes because you want the approval of others? Do you trade God for man’s approval? What about that power you want? That corner office with window? Do you trade God for power? What about the comfort in life? This is where is I struggle. Do you find those momentary escapes of reality? Do you trade God away for you comfort?

All of that stops when you realize that you have the “joy of God’s presence and the pleasures of living with Him forever”. It doesn’t get any better than God’s goodness. So, next time you reach for that momentary happiness, stop and turn to gratefulness. Instead of reaching for your phone, stop and reach out to God. Sit in His goodness and be grateful. Your challenge this week is simple…

Be grateful.

• Be grateful for the goodness God gives.
• If you want joy…
• If you want happiness…
• If you want satisfaction…
• If you want purpose…
• If you want meaning…
• If you want fullness…
  • Be in presence of God where joy and pleasure last for all eternity
  • And while you are there, live in gratitude.
  • Who knows, maybe you’ll brain will grow and you’ll live a few more years on this earth because of it! :)

Let’s pray.

[1] https://m1psychology.com/complaining-is-bad-for-your-brain/#:~:text=While%20we%20may%20think%20we,and%2030%20times%20a%20day.

[2] https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-lord-governs-my-good-and-is-my-good

[3] https://summitchurch.com/GetFile.ashx?Guid=8773cdf7-c777-4242-859d-984d3913325a

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