The Key of Gratitude
Recap
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” — Matthew 16:13-19
Jesus told us that it was HIS JOB to build the church! I believe that our job is to learn how to use the KEYS that we might ENTER the Kingdom. As we focus on building heaven’s culture on the earth, He will build His church with us and around us.
What is the Kingdom?
The Kingdom is the realm that Jesus rules over in righteousness. (Hebrews 1:8-9) It exists uncontested in heaven, and our job is to invite it and establish it “on earth as it is in heaven.”
The Kingdom is the realm of our truest citizenship. (Phil. 3:20)
The Kingdom has a culture that is antithetical to the earthly realm. (Romans 14:17)
How do we access this realm? BY LEARNING TO USE THE KEYS!
Those who have been reborn through the blood of Jesus have had their citizenship transferred to the realm of heaven. As newborn spiritual children, we begin an entirely new growth process called discipleship. Discipleship is simply learning the culture of heaven and growing into spiritual maturity by learning to use the keys that Jesus gave us.
The Keys are spiritual truths. These keys are not carnal, earthly principles. They are heavenly, spiritual realities that we must learn to access by faith.
Discipleship is simply learning how to govern our lives by spiritual principles that “pull” heaven’s culture down into our lives.
We find these keys in the teachings of Jesus. His sermons and His parables contain a treasury of Kingdom Keys that gives us access into the unshakable nature of His Kingdom.
The Key of Gratitude
1. Gratitude is an ENTRYWAY to His Courts (Where HE dwells!)
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5 For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
— Psalm 100:1-5
Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. — Hebrews 12:28-29
Gratitude for “receiving the KINGDOM” is intimately connected to WORSHIP.
2. Gratitude crushes ANXIETY
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness[d] be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 4:4-7
Anxiety obsesses over what’s missing whereas gratitude focuses on what’s present.
3. Gratitude is God’s WILL for Our Lives
See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil. — 1 Thessalonians 5:15-22
IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES! Gratitude looks into Heaven and appreciates the unchanging goodness of God no matter what may be going on here on the earth.
What Anxiety Says vs What Gratitude Says
I might not have enough → God has always provided
The future is uncertain → God has been faithful in the past
I can’t control this → God is in control
What if it falls apart? → God holds me together
I’m overwhelmed → God is sustaining me
There isn’t enough → God will multiply what I have
Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii[a] worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. — John 6:4-13
Kingdom people walk in this kind of child-like faith!
By focusing on what God has provided through gratitude, we magnify the LORD’S GOODNESS AND FAITHFULNESS, which multiplies it in our lives!
Whatever we magnify multiples.
Anxiety crowns the problem as king; Gratitude crowns GOD as King.
Practically…
Start your day NAMING God’s gifts. Keep a gratitude journal.
Turn worry into worship by letting anxious thoughts trigger praise statements.
Thank God BEFORE the outcome.
Response
Let’s bring our 5 loaves and 2 fish to the Lord! Whatever area of your life seems to be lacking, let’s lift it up to Him with thankfulness. Let’s MAGNIFY the Lord with gratitude and trust His to MULTIPLY our lack with His faithfulness. Anxiety gets crushed today.