A Cheerful Life - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

[00:00:05] Thank you for listening to the Calvary Monterey podcast.

[00:00:08] Please visit Calvary.com to learn more about our church.

[00:00:12] And visit NateHolderich.com for additional Bible teaching from our lead pastor, Nate Holderich.

[00:00:19] It's such a fun thing for me to be here today.

[00:00:24] Let's go to 1 Thessalonians 5 because I'm attending now just as one of you.

[00:00:32] I'm retired.

[00:00:33] The work that I do is outside here.

[00:00:37] I have a website you can follow me called StrengtheningTheChurches.com, one word lower cap, StrengtheningTheChurches.com.

[00:00:46] And then so when I come to church, I'm not on duty.

[00:00:50] I'm not worried about are the announcements going to be okay or whatever's going to happen.

[00:00:57] In all seriousness, it's the first time in my life where I come to fellowship and I'm

[00:01:03] not either the pastor's son there or the lead pastor or a staff pastor.

[00:01:12] So when I come just like you, I just sit right over here and I'm here to receive, to

[00:01:18] tune in to God, to give prayer and to meet as many people as I can.

[00:01:24] I just can't tell you we're about to leave on a four week trip to Atlanta and being four

[00:01:32] Sundays gone covering a church for a pastor so we can leave town.

[00:01:37] Then to come home and be with y'all.

[00:01:41] It is just everything.

[00:01:42] So I'm glad you're here.

[00:01:44] I hope you know that every person that's here is meaningful.

[00:01:49] So all I'm going to do today is just talk about what's happening in my life spiritually

[00:01:57] the last year.

[00:02:00] And the Bible had became from the moment I committed my life to Jesus such a delight

[00:02:10] to me.

[00:02:12] I grew up in church.

[00:02:13] My dad was an Episcopal priest and we served at the church over on Central Avenue in Pacific

[00:02:19] Grove.

[00:02:20] There is by the sea Episcopal church solid redwood Tiffany windows beautiful.

[00:02:28] And so I've been in church all my life but I also know what it's like to come to church

[00:02:36] and not have much of an experience at all.

[00:02:40] I didn't get saved until 16 years of age in a home Bible study by a guy who had

[00:02:47] been in the Black Panthers one year earlier met Jesus during a drug trip and then was talking

[00:02:55] about receiving Christ into your heart.

[00:02:58] That's where I came to faith.

[00:03:01] So every time I come to a gathering like this it means so much.

[00:03:07] So don't let this be routine for you.

[00:03:09] Don't this be just religion for you.

[00:03:14] I ask God to speak through me as I'll now do formally so that you can hear from God today.

[00:03:19] I have a very simple hope it's not too simplistic for you message but I think it will God willing

[00:03:28] change your life.

[00:03:30] Let's pray.

[00:03:32] Lord indeed life can be so difficult but your word is so practical.

[00:03:38] Your word is a lamp to my feet a light to my path a delight to my soul.

[00:03:45] So Lord change us today send the Holy Spirit to apply the word to us that we might be blessed

[00:03:52] and encouraged in Jesus name.

[00:03:55] Amen.

[00:03:57] This is an intentional rabbit trail but first Thessalonians I like it because it's

[00:04:05] so practical.

[00:04:06] Number two I like it because it tells us five times that Jesus is coming.

[00:04:14] Did you know that?

[00:04:15] Did you know that Jesus is actually going to return to this world for you?

[00:04:21] Pastor Nate has done it through the Bible series and so if you go on his website, NateHolders.com

[00:04:27] and look up first Thessalonians you can learn all about these five things but let me just

[00:04:31] read them to you and encourage you real quick.

[00:04:33] This is an intentional as I called it a rabbit trail but in chapter one verse ten we read these

[00:04:40] words first Thessalonians 110 I encourage you to get your Bible open up and make noise when

[00:04:47] you turn it so I can hear you.

[00:04:51] First Thessalonians 110 we are here to wait for his son from heaven whom he raised from

[00:04:59] the dead Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

[00:05:07] One of the duties and blessings of a Christian is to wait for Jesus return and in Revelation

[00:05:14] 22 Jesus himself says behold I come quickly.

[00:05:19] Doesn't seem like it's been quick but if he said 2000 years ago he'd be quick then

[00:05:25] now he's going to be really quick.

[00:05:27] Are you waiting?

[00:05:29] Are you expecting?

[00:05:30] Are you looking for the Son of God to return?

[00:05:35] Chapter two verse nineteen who is our hope or joy or crown of exaltation speaking to

[00:05:41] the church of Thessalonica?

[00:05:43] Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus at his coming?

[00:05:50] He said that just like everybody would know.

[00:05:52] Yeah you know when he comes then in 313 real quick we read these words.

[00:06:00] So that he may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before our God and Father at the

[00:06:08] coming of our Lord Jesus with his saints.

[00:06:13] The best description though is in 415 for this we say to you by the word of the

[00:06:20] Lord that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall not proceed

[00:06:28] those who have fallen asleep.

[00:06:30] Now you saw the word coming again.

[00:06:32] Shall not proceed those who have fallen asleep and get this now.

[00:06:36] This is better than Star Wars.

[00:06:38] This is better than anything.

[00:06:40] For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel

[00:06:47] and the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ my mom, my dad, my grandfather

[00:06:55] the dead in Christ will rise first then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up

[00:07:01] together with the dead in the clouds where?

[00:07:06] We're going to be where?

[00:07:08] Some of you don't like flying but you will be flying.

[00:07:12] We will be caught up your body will be changed and you will be transitioned to heaven without

[00:07:17] going through the doorway of death.

[00:07:20] We will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet with the Lord in the air

[00:07:26] and some of the best words in scripture and thus we will always be with the Lord.

[00:07:35] Better days are coming where we will be outside of time.

[00:07:41] We will live in eternity where every moment is now and we will live with God and 523

[00:07:49] toward the end of the epistle he says,

[00:07:51] Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely and may your entire spirit soul

[00:08:00] and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus.

[00:08:08] So if you haven't heard much about that you can study Nate's teaching on it but

[00:08:12] may I just say 1 Corinthians 16 tells us to say this,

[00:08:16] Maranatha which means in Aramaic our Lord come.

[00:08:23] Come.

[00:08:25] I love it but I want you to focus on three beautiful verses tucked into a very practical

[00:08:32] passage verses 12 through 22 which teaches about church life, about church leadership,

[00:08:38] about respecting the people over us in the Lord not quenching the spirit and despising

[00:08:44] end time messages.

[00:08:46] But in my life as I said to you here is what I have been learning.

[00:08:53] I did this and I encourage you to do the same thing.

[00:08:56] I was so touched on 3 31 23 by this 16 17 and 18 verses that I made a note of that day.

[00:09:08] And as I look back on it I realized it had been about a year since my wife died for six minutes

[00:09:18] in Atlanta while we were on the road and we had a near-death experience

[00:09:23] and it was horrible.

[00:09:26] But here she sits, most beautiful girl in the room but I'd had that experience

[00:09:33] and then about a year after I'd read this passage I retired.

[00:09:40] And so now I'm able to look at my life and steer it the way I think God would want me to

[00:09:48] moving into my 70s and what would God have me to do?

[00:09:53] These are the words.

[00:09:55] I wish I could reach down and unscrew your heart and I could just pour these into you or into

[00:10:01] your mind and then into your heart.

[00:10:04] But listen to these beautiful words.

[00:10:06] Verse 16, first can even say Thessalonians 516.

[00:10:15] Rejoice always.

[00:10:20] Pray without ceasing.

[00:10:24] In everything give thanks for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.

[00:10:34] Any place where I read for this is the will of God for you, I'm happy because sometimes I can't

[00:10:40] figure out what the will of God is and here it simply tells me one thing you can know is

[00:10:48] is you got to be thankful.

[00:10:51] And then notice the absolutes in this passage.

[00:10:56] Paul was a practical guy.

[00:10:57] Paul was a guy who did not write things he didn't do

[00:11:01] and notice he says rejoice always.

[00:11:07] That's a lot.

[00:11:09] Pray without ceasing.

[00:11:13] Who could do that?

[00:11:16] And in everything give thanks.

[00:11:20] Who could do that?

[00:11:21] Those absolutes, always without ceasing all the time.

[00:11:26] Who could do that?

[00:11:28] Who could always be rejoicing?

[00:11:30] Who could do that?

[00:11:32] Who can pray without ceasing?

[00:11:36] And who in every stinking situation could be giving thanks.

[00:11:43] But see we're not normal people.

[00:11:46] I know some of you, you're really not normal.

[00:11:49] And I'm certainly abnormal in some ways.

[00:11:53] But see when Christ comes to live in you, you become a supernatural person.

[00:12:01] You have the Holy Spirit inside you to teach you these things and so all I'm going to do

[00:12:06] is talk about how some of this has worked in my life.

[00:12:10] I read once Luke 10 21 where after Jesus had talked about the childlike people that

[00:12:18] would understand the kingdom of God and the wise people wouldn't get it all

[00:12:22] it says in Luke 10 21 in that hour Jesus rejoiced greatly.

[00:12:29] Greek word agaleo and its literal rendering is to jump for joy, to leap for joy.

[00:12:39] I thought well I can't picture Jesus doing that and I certainly can't picture me doing that.

[00:12:44] I grew up in the Episcopal church so you know and I love the Episcopal church.

[00:12:50] I love the Episcopal church but that was a priest and I knew the prayer book.

[00:12:54] This is my prayer book.

[00:12:55] I was confirmed February 12 1967 most of you didn't exist then.

[00:13:04] But I didn't rejoice.

[00:13:09] I didn't have the definition of joy, the best definition is gladness of heart.

[00:13:16] Joy is a heart thing.

[00:13:18] It's not a mental thing.

[00:13:20] It's a heart thing.

[00:13:22] That's why God can teach you regardless of mentally how you were raised.

[00:13:28] Maybe you were raised in an abusive home, a neglectful home, maybe it was a perfect home

[00:13:33] but joy comes from the heart.

[00:13:36] You know why I didn't rejoice?

[00:13:39] I didn't have any joy.

[00:13:42] Then I became a Christian and from the very first night in that home

[00:13:47] Bible study there was something in the air and I think it was two things in that supercharged atmosphere.

[00:13:56] There was love and then there was such joy.

[00:14:01] The guy to my right who his parents were hosting the meeting was the biggest drug dealer in my school

[00:14:09] and Rick was sitting there and he was smiling like he'd swallowed a light bulb.

[00:14:15] It was the craziest thing.

[00:14:17] He was so happy and I just couldn't get it.

[00:14:22] And I saw other people in my school and I thought well they look different.

[00:14:27] There's something that's going on in this and the other thing was there was such joy.

[00:14:32] And so I saw stuff I'd never seen before.

[00:14:34] Somebody started playing a guitar, never saw that.

[00:14:37] Then I saw people lifting their hands, never saw that.

[00:14:42] And I saw people clapping.

[00:14:43] Now if you would, if I was right clapping in my church, I don't think they were called sidesmen.

[00:14:49] I don't think the sidesmen would have been happy.

[00:14:52] But now I live in this life, in this world where not just in church but in my own life

[00:15:02] in the car when no one can hear me sing.

[00:15:06] In my prayer closet and I can do it around my wife because we're married 48 years and

[00:15:11] nothing surprises her.

[00:15:14] But I can rejoice always.

[00:15:17] The thing about, the thing I learned about rejoicing is it always involves your body.

[00:15:30] It doesn't mean you do stupid things like jump, you know jump pews or roll on the floor.

[00:15:36] But when there's joy inside you, it affects your body.

[00:15:41] And in you, like a lot of times when Riley is playing and he's doing some instrumental

[00:15:46] stuff here, I start to say things like, Jesus, thank you.

[00:15:53] Jesus, I love you.

[00:15:55] And then when something really gets to me, I find myself just putting my hands on my heart

[00:16:00] saying, Lord, I want this sealed into my heart forever.

[00:16:05] And I just lift my hands because not because everybody else is doing it,

[00:16:11] but because it just seems right to just honor him and thank him.

[00:16:16] And sometimes I kneel, but see rejoicing involves your body.

[00:16:21] I wasn't used to that.

[00:16:22] I was a pew sitter and I would stand like that.

[00:16:27] And then that's what I knew.

[00:16:30] May I just encourage you?

[00:16:32] There's so much more in the realm of rejoicing.

[00:16:37] You might say, well, Jeff, that's fine for you, but I don't have joy.

[00:16:41] I grew up as a super serious, very hatred of self, all of that stuff.

[00:16:50] But I learned the art of joy and see what joy does.

[00:16:54] It gets you out of yourself.

[00:16:57] Joy puts you into the joy of when you're first handed a grandchild.

[00:17:03] There's just nothing like that.

[00:17:05] I was telling Denise recently, I think back 50 years ago to when I first realized how deep

[00:17:14] into my heart she had gotten.

[00:17:16] And that's when I realized, I got to catch this kid and we got engaged and so on.

[00:17:22] But the joy that I thought about, I found that person I'm going to walk with forever.

[00:17:30] Joy, gladness of heart.

[00:17:32] So maybe today you say, I don't have that.

[00:17:35] Let me give you a gift.

[00:17:37] Romans 1513.

[00:17:40] This prayer and if you pray prayers of the scripture, guess what happens?

[00:17:44] They work.

[00:17:46] Romans 1513.

[00:17:48] Now, may the God of hope.

[00:17:51] God has a name.

[00:17:52] He's called the God of hope.

[00:17:55] May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you may abound

[00:18:08] in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

[00:18:10] It's wonderful.

[00:18:11] You can pray for joy.

[00:18:13] If you're really down and out in joy, write down these three verses real quick.

[00:18:19] I discovered these.

[00:18:20] They talk about having a merry heart.

[00:18:23] Proverbs 1513, 1515, and 1722.

[00:18:34] You and I can rejoice because we're coming to know this God that's showing us how strong he is.

[00:18:44] When I come to church, I don't just sing the songs, but I'm wondering, God, what do you want to

[00:18:48] say and do in me today?

[00:18:51] See, I grew up by the prayer book.

[00:18:53] And so all I knew was the Holy Eucharist and all of that.

[00:18:58] But one day I noticed my dad over to my left over at St. Mary's during the moment before

[00:19:05] the consecration of the elements and the distribution of the Eucharist.

[00:19:10] There was a quiet moment.

[00:19:11] And so I just thought I'm supposed to sit there and just be quiet.

[00:19:15] But I looked down at my dad is saying something.

[00:19:19] And then I noticed he did this every Sunday only at that moment.

[00:19:23] So I did what any 12 year old would do.

[00:19:27] I just went a little closer each week because I wanted to hear what my dad was saying.

[00:19:34] Now, why I didn't just ask him, I don't know.

[00:19:37] But it took me three or four weeks of getting a little closer and a little closer.

[00:19:42] I can't believe I did this until I heard my dad, he was praying.

[00:19:47] He was having his own moment with God when he wasn't leading the service.

[00:19:53] And I recognized the verse, the words from the liturgy.

[00:20:00] But he was saying these words.

[00:20:02] This is Matthew 8.8.

[00:20:05] He said these words very quietly.

[00:20:08] Lord, I am not worthy that you would come under my roof,

[00:20:15] but speak the word only and thy servant will be healed.

[00:20:22] I would encourage you to look at that verse.

[00:20:25] The centurion who didn't have to have Jesus come to his house.

[00:20:28] He said just say the word and my servant will be healed.

[00:20:31] But my dad who suffered greatly from arthritis

[00:20:34] during that moment where nothing was happening in the script,

[00:20:39] he was active and he was asking for the healing touch of God.

[00:20:44] And how my dad ever made it through life with the difficulties he had.

[00:20:48] I think partly it was because of his life in prayer.

[00:20:51] Lord, I'm not worthy that you come under my roof.

[00:20:54] So see, I don't know what anyone else is going to experience in church.

[00:20:58] Everyone's experience can be different, but say for you,

[00:21:02] you want to concentrate.

[00:21:04] Worship is not just a means to an end, it's an end.

[00:21:08] It is a wonderful experience in itself.

[00:21:11] Oh my goodness.

[00:21:12] So at my house, there's actually a girl that lives at our house

[00:21:17] that helps us in worship.

[00:21:19] Her name is Alexa.

[00:21:24] Here are the three things I ask Alexa, which is being practical.

[00:21:29] Elevation worship, some really good gospel kicking out their worship.

[00:21:35] Elevation worship, Chris Tomlin kind of a mainstream contemporary kind of worship.

[00:21:42] Really, really good stuff.

[00:21:44] And then Charity Gale, the girl that sings, I speak the name of Jesus.

[00:21:49] You know, what helps me is having that stuff going.

[00:21:54] So rejoicing always.

[00:21:56] And a lot of times I'll hear myself singing and don't even realize I'm doing it.

[00:22:00] And most of the time it's good songs.

[00:22:02] Sometimes it's 60s rock.

[00:22:05] The doors, the Beatles, the whatever's.

[00:22:10] But then usually because I'm bathing myself in it.

[00:22:14] And I think God loves that and it's all the time.

[00:22:16] It's outside a church.

[00:22:18] It's outside of class.

[00:22:20] The second thing is pray without ceasing.

[00:22:25] Wouldn't you love to be like that?

[00:22:28] Wouldn't you?

[00:22:28] I, you know, you got to raise kids and change diapers and shop for your kids

[00:22:32] college and you got all kinds of stuff to do.

[00:22:34] Obviously.

[00:22:36] But when he says pray without ceasing, it means that's a regular thing

[00:22:40] and you're plugged in during your day.

[00:22:43] I don't do this because I'm a pastor.

[00:22:46] I do this because I'm a Christian.

[00:22:49] Pray without ceasing.

[00:22:51] Oh, I would love to be like that.

[00:22:55] A friend of mine called me about three, four weeks ago.

[00:23:00] And you know, I talked to you about this ministry to pastors.

[00:23:03] All I'm doing is being a friend to guys around the country.

[00:23:06] I look them up on Sunday morning.

[00:23:07] I peek in what they're doing.

[00:23:08] I pray for them.

[00:23:09] And this guy called me.

[00:23:10] This is the church that by my count, the last time I visited,

[00:23:14] there were 5000 adults in Sunday morning worship,

[00:23:18] not including kids and dogs and whoever else was on property.

[00:23:25] And he said, Jeff, I want you to come down three times a year.

[00:23:27] I want you to be the grandfather and father figure that we need here.

[00:23:31] Just come down and live among us and come two, three times a year.

[00:23:36] And I never expected a door like that to open.

[00:23:41] But I've had this thing distracting me in my personal life.

[00:23:45] And I know this wouldn't ever happen to you.

[00:23:48] But I have this thing happening on my property on Prescott in Monterey.

[00:23:54] And it's called gophers.

[00:23:57] And so, you know, when your wife plants nice plants and then all of a sudden they disappear

[00:24:03] and you have ice plant that's, you know, all that stuff, gophers.

[00:24:07] Now I don't know anything about gophers.

[00:24:09] I never had them before.

[00:24:10] I don't know where they've been, but they finally showed up.

[00:24:14] And so I was walking down my stairs after I got the coffin that got that.

[00:24:17] I just can't sit around thinking about gophers for four months.

[00:24:21] I've tried to trap them.

[00:24:22] I put traps out and all that stuff.

[00:24:24] And I got nothing.

[00:24:27] So I come down.

[00:24:28] This is the truth of the story.

[00:24:29] So I'm just praying, Lord, please help me with this.

[00:24:31] I don't want to think about this.

[00:24:32] And I come down and I step into my living room looking across Prescott

[00:24:37] and there's this big white van.

[00:24:39] And you know what it said?

[00:24:41] Got gophers?

[00:24:44] Got gophers?

[00:24:46] I don't, I don't go for sales pitches of any kind.

[00:24:49] But when I saw that, I said, yes!

[00:24:52] I ran out there.

[00:24:53] There was a young man on his lunch hour who agreed to help me,

[00:24:58] has become kind of a friend and eight gophers later and still counting.

[00:25:04] I don't think about them because I got other stuff to do.

[00:25:07] But it is infuriating when you look down a hole

[00:25:10] and you see something looking up at you, just laughing

[00:25:13] and then goes back down and comes back up and see.

[00:25:18] See, but I was praying.

[00:25:20] I wasn't thinking think about it.

[00:25:22] Lord, please, this is crazy.

[00:25:24] Please help me with this.

[00:25:25] I want you to turn with me to Luke chapter 11 about prayer.

[00:25:30] And one of the reasons why I'm so keen on this

[00:25:34] and doing it in formal ways, of course,

[00:25:38] you know, you can pray through the five parts of the Lord's prayer

[00:25:42] right here in verses two to four.

[00:25:45] Here's the abbreviated version of the model prayer.

[00:25:48] There's five sections to it.

[00:25:49] Use it as just a guide.

[00:25:51] Don't just say the words, but use it as a guide.

[00:25:55] In Luke 11, 2, Father, hallowed be thy name.

[00:25:59] You always start prayer with praise.

[00:26:03] Thy kingdom come.

[00:26:05] Number two, that's submission.

[00:26:07] Bring your kingdom.

[00:26:08] Bring your kingdom.

[00:26:10] Rule my life.

[00:26:12] Number three, give us each day our daily bread.

[00:26:14] That's provision.

[00:26:16] Number four, forgive us our sins for we ourselves also forgive

[00:26:22] everyone who sins against us.

[00:26:25] That's the fourth section.

[00:26:28] And sometimes when you're praying,

[00:26:30] you realize I'm really bitter

[00:26:32] and you got to let that person go.

[00:26:35] And you may have to do it again the next day

[00:26:37] and the next day,

[00:26:38] but pretty soon you can have a complete lack of bitterness.

[00:26:43] And then you come into number five,

[00:26:46] lead us not into temptation.

[00:26:47] That's protection.

[00:26:49] Protect me today.

[00:26:51] But nine, 10 and 11, look at those please.

[00:26:56] And I say to you, ask in it she'll be given,

[00:26:58] you know that passage?

[00:27:00] And I say to you, asking it she'll be given to you,

[00:27:02] seek and you will find knock and the door

[00:27:06] will be opened for everyone who's in the room.

[00:27:12] And you ask, receives he who seeks finds

[00:27:18] and to him who knocks the door will be open.

[00:27:23] That's precious to me because when I was a young Christian

[00:27:26] I asked God to begin speaking to my heart by the Holy Spirit.

[00:27:30] I heard people say God told me Jesus said to me

[00:27:33] and I never heard any of that.

[00:27:36] But one night after I'd asked God to speak to me

[00:27:39] and nothing had happened.

[00:27:40] I rolled back in my bed.

[00:27:41] You've heard me say this before

[00:27:43] and all of a sudden across the screen of my mind

[00:27:48] scrolled these very words.

[00:27:50] I'd never memorized them.

[00:27:51] I don't remember ever reading them.

[00:27:54] But in my spirit, I saw and heard those words.

[00:27:59] Ask and it'll be given to you.

[00:28:02] Seek and you'll find knock and the door will be open to you.

[00:28:07] Now if somebody was at the rear of the church

[00:28:10] selling this today, you'd go buy it.

[00:28:14] What? I can ask seek and knock and know that it will happen?

[00:28:18] Oh, beloved praying without ceasing.

[00:28:22] Even out of frustration.

[00:28:24] You know your wife yells at you for the 20th time

[00:28:26] or the dog bites you for the 60th time

[00:28:29] or you failed with the kids or whatever.

[00:28:33] Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, I don't get it.

[00:28:35] Please help me.

[00:28:36] Anything like that.

[00:28:38] Just praying honestly without ceasing.

[00:28:46] And it might even solve your gopher problem.

[00:28:51] Pray without ceasing in this last one.

[00:28:56] In everything you thanks.

[00:29:00] Now that's easy to do on Christmas morning.

[00:29:03] That's easy to do on Easter morning.

[00:29:06] Hard to do when you're a pastor and you get a call to come to

[00:29:11] Salinas Valley Memorial where a young couple, this happened here

[00:29:17] about 10 years ago, a young couple who wanted to have babies.

[00:29:22] And she was taking fertility drugs and she conceived triplets.

[00:29:29] And then at the hospital I found out that she'd lost all three.

[00:29:35] And all three little babies laid out on a steel tray on the

[00:29:47] whatever it is you put the food on, laid out on a steel tray right there.

[00:29:53] Now what do you do when you walk into that situation and there's three little babies

[00:29:59] whose spirits have departed to be with the Lord?

[00:30:01] And I thought what am I going to do?

[00:30:05] You don't want to say some platitudes.

[00:30:09] But I realized we got to get vertical.

[00:30:11] We've got to get vertical here.

[00:30:13] And after I wept with my friends and all of that, I touched each of the babies

[00:30:18] and I began to thank God.

[00:30:20] I don't know how I knew to do that, but Lord we thank you for these children.

[00:30:25] We thank you for the little time we've had with them.

[00:30:28] We don't understand this.

[00:30:29] We don't like this, but we worship you and we honor you.

[00:30:34] And it was such a help.

[00:30:37] Now what's really wild is she conceived again on fertility drugs triplets.

[00:30:45] And I get another call to go to SCM and she's lost one of them.

[00:30:51] And so we have the whole thing again of a little baby laid out there and we gave thanks.

[00:31:01] The other two survived and when they visit our church, those kids are crazy.

[00:31:10] What else are you going to do?

[00:31:14] You give thanks.

[00:31:16] I don't like this.

[00:31:17] I don't agree with this.

[00:31:18] You ever told God I don't agree with you?

[00:31:21] But what are you going to do?

[00:31:24] One of the best things you can do on one of the most important ways to give thanks,

[00:31:29] give thanks for the people in your life.

[00:31:34] Even if they're nuts, even if you're not getting along with them, there are 16 other people in my

[00:31:40] family and a day doesn't pass that I don't thank God for Denise and the rest of the game.

[00:31:49] And something is different when you meet people that you give thanks for all the time.

[00:31:54] I give thanks for Pastor Nate and Pastor Manny and Pastor Mike.

[00:31:59] I give thanks for the five-man leadership team that's here.

[00:32:04] I invest in that and I'm really thankful for them in every circumstance.

[00:32:14] Give thanks.

[00:32:15] Here are some verses that have really helped me also.

[00:32:19] Five other verses on thanks.

[00:32:21] There's a few of you that are going to take all of this, most of you probably won't,

[00:32:26] but here are some great verses on thanks.

[00:32:28] John 6.23, the disciples are going on one of those boat rides across the Sea of Galilee

[00:32:36] and it says, when they came to the place where the Lord had given thanks for the bread

[00:32:42] and it multiplied for 5,000.

[00:32:46] Isn't that interesting?

[00:32:47] But what John remembered was, Jesus gave thanks for it and it multiplied.

[00:32:54] That's the way it always works.

[00:32:56] Whenever you thank the work of God is multiplied in your life.

[00:33:03] 1 Corinthians 15-57, give thanks to God who always gives us the victory.

[00:33:11] Ephesians 1.16, speaking to the Ephesians church where he spent three years, I never cease from

[00:33:19] thanking God for you.

[00:33:22] Ephesians 5.20, always giving thanks for all things in the name of Christ.

[00:33:30] I'm reading Wayne Gruden's systematic theology which I showed you a couple of times ago

[00:33:34] when I preached about this thick.

[00:33:36] I'm reading through it.

[00:33:37] And something that Wayne said the other day in what my reading was, he said,

[00:33:43] try to dwell consciously in the presence of the Holy Spirit Himself.

[00:33:50] I love trying to do that.

[00:33:51] I'm 69, going to be 70, God willing.

[00:34:00] In my brain I'm going to go strong another 10 years if the Lord will help me.

[00:34:04] I have foot issues.

[00:34:06] That's why I'm wearing tennis shoes and I have rheumatoid arthritis.

[00:34:11] I have things, but you know what I can do?

[00:34:14] I can thank God for the health I have.

[00:34:18] I can thank Him for the health I've got.

[00:34:21] I'm here tormenting you and having a marvelous time.

[00:34:27] And so I find I'm rejoicing more always.

[00:34:37] I'm praying more without ceasing even when I don't realize I'm doing it.

[00:34:43] And in everything I'm trying to give thanks.

[00:34:47] That's how I've got through life is exercises like this.

[00:34:53] Do remember the title of this message if I said it or not is called a cheerful life.

[00:35:00] You can have a cheerful life.

[00:35:02] You can actually be someone, you know on my block

[00:35:05] I've made friends with all seven neighbors.

[00:35:10] Not one of them will be in church today, not one.

[00:35:15] I can't look down my streets and know anyone there that's in church.

[00:35:23] And so my goal is to be the kind of light, the kind of witness

[00:35:31] that I can tell people, hey I got a great church.

[00:35:35] Would you come?

[00:35:37] And whether they come or not is up to them.

[00:35:40] Please remember Christ is coming.

[00:35:43] He's coming for you, so it's time to rejoice.

[00:35:52] Thank you for listening.

[00:35:53] If you would like more teachings and information about Calvary Monterey

[00:35:57] please visit calvary.com.

[00:35:59] You can also find books, teachings through the Bible,

[00:36:02] and articles from our lead pastor at nateholdrich.com.

[00:36:06] Thanks again for tuning in.

[00:36:08] See you next week.