...in every circumstance

Thanks living is our series about living a life of thanks. My name is Adrian. I'm one of the pastors here at Twin Lakes Church. Thank you so much for joining us for our live stream. Just a quick reminder during this message, you can follow along with notes that we have for you. Go to TLC.org/notes to download them. Print them if you want. You can also download the Twin Lakes Church app in any of the app stores.

If you want to gather that stuff, get ready for the message. I want to share a little bit about my family. I like to give an update any time I get up here to speak, just because it's been a while. Just so you know, this is a picture of us. That's me on the right, just in case. Ella is our 9-year-old. She is in the fourth grade and is loving it. She loves to read and to act and to sing. She's growing into a beautiful young woman.

She is our 7-year-old little spitfire. She loves school and she loves to play. I say that she loves to do things at 100%. When she's playing, she plays at 100%. None of her pants don't have holes in them. When she's happy, she's 100% happy. When she's mad, she's 100% mad. She's an awesome little girl. She's our cuddler too. My wife Jamie, she's a physical therapist at Dominican. If you want to know more about her, she's a physical therapist. She's 15 years of marriage this year. I know you are applauding at home. That's why I pause.

But we are so grateful to the Twin Lakes Church family for all your prayers. Any time you think of us, we covet your prayers. Appreciate them. I'm excited to kick off this sermon series on thankfulness. Our theme verse is 1 Thessalonians 5:18. It says, "Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."

Jamie and I were talking earlier this week, and I remember we were in our living room, and she said, "I know what you're talking about. You're talking about gratitude this weekend." I just have to be honest. That's really hard right now. Do you kind of feel the same way? I mean, I do. Talking about gratitude, being thankful right now for what? Because our circumstances right now are tough. Are crazy, right?

I mean, just think about this year. We had the pandemic. Still have the pandemic. We have the racial reckoning and the racism in our country. We have locally here the fires. This election seems like it will never end. And most of all, the division that we see in our world and our country and our community and our church, even in our homes. Being grateful when life is hard and crazy and when the world seems like it's falling apart, is that even possible? What does God mean by "be thankful in every circumstance"? Am I supposed to be grateful for all the bad things that are going on?

I want to show you that picture of my family. This picture we took up at Camp Hammer. And if I'm honest, when I look at this picture, it makes me sad. I feel grief. Because Camp Hammer has become one of our family's favorite places on this planet. And as many of you know, that magical place burnt down. Along with the camp burning down, it's a very, very beautiful place. And along with the camp burning down, so did the homes and belongings of some of our dearest friends. And it's such a terrible situation. And I'm not thankful to God for that.

But when I look at this picture, I am grateful. I'm grateful that I got to go up there for nine summers as a speaker and bring my family. And I'm thankful for Camp Hammer each summer as a speaker's kid and experience that beautiful place in such a special way. Even before they could attend as campers, that we could go up as a family for family camp and go up and visit friends. And I'm thankful for this day that we took this picture. Because just days after that, that place burned down.

And God isn't saying in this verse that we have to be thankful for our circumstances. What he's saying is that we need to be thankful in all circumstances. We have to have a heart of gratitude no matter what's going on. But you might ask the question why? Why should I do that? Why should I be grateful when things are going wrong?

I'm going to share this quote with you that I read this week. I actually watched this video of David Stein-Drasse, a monk, and had a TED talk, a popular TED talk called "Want to be happy, be grateful." And in it he says this: What is the connection between happiness and gratefulness? Many people would say when you are happy, you are grateful. But think again. Is it really the happy people that are grateful? We all know quite a number of people who have everything that it would take to be happy, and they are not happy. Because they want something else or they want more.

And we all know people who have lots of misfortune, misfortune that we ourselves would not want to have. And they are deeply happy. They radiate happiness. So it is not happiness that makes us grateful. It is gratefulness that makes us happy. Do you know somebody like that? Somebody who, even in the midst of some of the hardest times in their life, they radiate joy and happiness and gratitude? I don't know about you, but I want to live like that. Being able to practice gratitude even when life is hard.

And today we are going to learn how we can do that. We are going to turn to Psalm 77. This is a Psalm of Asaph. I want to give you a little background on Asaph. He is one of my favorite psalmists. He is a singer-songwriter. And back in the day, King David appoints him to be the worship leader for all of Israel, the whole nation. And he was there for David's reign. He lived through the golden age of the nation of Israel through the reign of Solomon. But he was also there when Solomon fell away.

So he saw some of the best times and some of the worst times. And in this psalm that he writes with all of those experiences, in this psalm we are going to see three steps to thanks living in every circumstance. We are going to jump right in. Number one, the first step is to be honest. Starting in verse 1: "I cried out to God for help. I cried out to God to hear me. When I was in distress, I sought the Lord. At night I stretched out untiring hands and I would not be comforted." I remembered you, God, and I groaned. I meditated, and my spirit grew faint. Selah.

You kept my eyes from closing. I was too troubled to speak. I thought about the former days, the years of long ago. I remembered my songs in the night. My heart meditated, and my spirit asked, "Will the Lord reject me forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?" Selah.

Just a quick note on that word Selah. It's sort of a breath, a break, a musical break. In a modern song, you have a guitar solo or a piano solo. And just remember this psalm isn't just a psalm to read. This was a psalm for people to sing. And Asaph is being brutally honest and says, "I remembered you, God, and I groaned. I thought about you. I got tired. I got weak." Selah.

Wow. And the devil, are you a liar? He wanted them to sit in that brutal honesty, the despair, the sadness, and the hopelessness he was feeling. Because this is the thing. Many of us think to be a Christian means to always be bubbly and happy and smiling. And Asaph shows us that it's okay to be upset. That it's important to lament and to cry out for injustice, to be upset and grieve and yell and shout.

When we're feeling these emotions and when the world is like this, we're not supposed to just push it down and hide it. We're supposed to be honest. But God doesn't want us to stay there. And the other thing today is to get angry, to get mad, and then pack all your stuff and move in there. And live in your anger. Live in your grief. And that's what the news and social media does. They just feed you things to make you more angry at that person, more upset about that situation.

And then they want you to live there and they say, "Hey, come back later because we got more things for you to be angry about." And you have to be honest. And if you continue to scroll on Twitter or Facebook and read and watch more of these things that make you upset. But God is saying that we need to move, though be honest, move out of there. And that's exactly what Asaph does in this psalm.

I want to skip a few verses to see where Asaph moves to. Where does he pack his stuff and go to? Starting in verse 13. He says... Wow, huge guitar solo and drum solo. What just happened? Asaph went from, "God, has your love disappeared? You said you would do all of these things and be loving, but you're not. Are you a liar?" And he goes from that in just four verses to, "What God is as great as our God?" That's a serious 180.

He goes from the pit of despair to the peak of joy. And just like Asaph, you and I, we need to move from the despair and the grief we might be feeling to joy and to praise. Because listen, it's in those moments. It's in the moments when everything seems like it's falling apart. In those moments when we display strength and gratitude and joy and praise, it's in those moments when people see a difference between the world's answer to grief and suffering and despair and God's answer.

Asaph does it in just three verses. It's in those three verses that we're about to read that we see the secret to thanks living in every circumstance. Starting in verse 10, Asaph writes this... What did Asaph do? It's the word that we see over and over there. He remembered. And this isn't just some passive memory like he's super sad. He's like, "Oh, you know what? That's right. You're a good God." No. He makes a decision to actively remember God's faithfulness.

He says, "I will remember." He wills himself to look back and cut through the fog of despair and see God's goodness and his faithfulness. And that brings us to our second step. The second step to finding gratitude to thanks living in every circumstance is to remember your story.

Recently, Jamie and I were asked to record a video testimony. They said, "Hey, can you think of a time in your life where God was faithful?" And one thing immediately came to our minds, and it was our move here to Santa Cruz. I want to share that story with you. Jamie and I are originally from South Florida, and I was a youth pastor there for what was going on six years. And Jamie was finishing her master's degree in physical therapy.

And there was one night I was laying in bed, and I felt God kind of impress on my heart. It's time for you to move. Move on from your job. Move on from this place. And let me say this, that was a huge deal. We owned a home. Most of our family lived there and still lives there. I had the stable job. My wife, she was about to graduate with her master's degree, and she had a job all lined up. It was all ready to go. But I really felt like God was leading us away.

And for me, that meant moving to California. When I was 15, I visited San Diego, and I was like, "One day I am moving to California." And so we talked over it, and I talked with Jamie, and she was like, "Let's think about it. Let's look into it." So I started looking for jobs mainly down south and had interviews lined up, and I was far down the process. I don't know why, but I looked at the listings again and I saw this listing for a job. I was a part-time worship leader for an alternative service called Genesis at a church called Twin Lakes Church in Santa Cruz, California.

I'm like, "Part-time job. Santa Cruz, is that near San Diego?" And I looked it up. Nope. Not close. And so I don't know why, but let me send an email out and see if this is still available. I get in contact with Charlie Brockston, who is the pastor at the time. We set up a phone meeting, and we start talking a couple of hours, and we hit it off. And then just a few days later, we set up a time, two months later in February 2007 for Jamie and I to fly here to visit and to check out Santa Cruz and check out the church.

So our first visit to Santa Cruz. We fly in February to sunny surf city, and it was freezing and raining. Remember when it used to rain in the winter? It was cold. We get down to Santa Cruz from San Jose and go to church on Sunday and help lead worship over in Munskey Hall. It was great, and we met a lot of people. And then I remember Charlie walked me over into this building right down there. I can remember it like it was yesterday, and there were two people standing on the corner right there. And I went, and he wanted to introduce me. So I talked to them. They were pretty nice. And I was like, "I'm going to meet him."

This is the thing: even if you make a monument, over time, that monument, if it just sits there, gathers dust. Like we put -- we make a monument and put it on a shelf. But when you share that story, it's like you're taking it off that shelf and you're dusting it off. Blowing off the dust so you can see it more clearly. It's why I love sharing that story of our move. Every time I do it, I dust it off. This week I was so encouraged by just thinking about that story and God's goodness in our lives. And it encourages me. And I know it encourages others. So share your story.

Well, how do you share it? Well, I mean, just tell people. Tell the people around you when something happens. You know what? Social media can be such an evil thing in the world. But we can use this tool. Post it on Facebook. God -- let's put some positivity and testimony of who God is and what he's done on social media. On Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram, in your blog. Are people still blogging? I don't know. But share it.

And I want to give you one other way you can do that. TLC.org/stories. At this page, you can find, we have a ton of videos of people who have shared their stories here locally and all around the world that are connected to Twin Lakes Church. You can be encouraged by that. Also on there, you can click a button to submit your own story. We want to hear what's going on in your life and how God is moving. Go on there and share it with us.

So how can we be thankful in all situations? Be honest. Number one. Number two. Remember your story. Make monuments. Share your story. But listen. Maybe you're here. You're listening. And you say, "Adrian, I'm not sure I have any instance of God moving in my life." Well, that brings me to my final point. Number three: Remember His story.

Because if you look back at your life and you feel like all you see are mistakes and failures and despair and pain and grief, I want to tell you this today. That the same God who opened the Red Sea, who parted the Jordan River, the same God who helped my wife and I make that huge move across the country, that same God loves you. And He demonstrated that love to you in an incredible, amazing way.

One of my favorite verses in all the Bible, Romans 5:8, says this: "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." God sent Jesus to live a perfect life on the earth and die on the cross. And He rose from the dead. And this is the thing. God didn't do that just as a reminder of who He is. It isn't just a memorial for you to look back and say, "Oh, God is loving to me." Jesus' death and His resurrection, it affects you and it affects me personally.

He did those things to change your life. Jesus came and died on the cross to forgive your sins. He rose from the dead, defeating death to offer you new life. And our God is loving and gracious. Check this out. Not only did He die for you, not only did He defeat death in His resurrection, but He fills us. When we put our trust in Jesus, in our faith in Jesus, believing those things, He fills us with His Holy Spirit, and the Bible tells us that we can live this life He has called us to.

Thanks living in every circumstance, we can live it through the power of the Holy Spirit. He not only does that for us, but He empowers us to live this life. That's why Paul says in his famous verse Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." He's telling them, "Listen, I know you're worried about me." And this is the thing. Here's a secret. I know that I can live no matter what's going on if I have everything or I have nothing. You know why? Because I can do it all through the power of Christ in me.

And if you've received the gift of salvation, you can always look back to that. No matter what's going on, you can look back at that and you can remember God's love for you, His grace, and rejoice in your salvation. But if you're here, you're listening, and you can hear my voice and you've never made that decision, I want to invite you today. Invite you to make that decision.

Are you tired of living in despair and grief and hopelessness? I want to tell you this: God, through Jesus Christ, offers you hope. He offers you new life. He offers you forgiveness. And He offers you the power to live it. And you can make that decision today. Let's pray together.

If you can hear my voice and you are ready to place your faith in Jesus, you know the Bible says all you have to do is believe and confess it. And if you want to do that, I want to encourage you and invite you to pray this prayer with me. You can say it out loud or in your heart. All you have to do is say this: "I believe Jesus died for my sins. I believe He rose from the dead, defeating death and offers me new life." And if you pray that prayer, that's it. You've accepted His free gift of salvation, and God has filled you with the Holy Spirit.

Let's pray together. God, I thank you so much for your love for us. For your grace. That you died on the cross. You rose from the dead to forgive our sins. To give us new life. An eternity with you in heaven because you defeated death, but also, Lord, a life with you here on earth. On this hopeless, broken earth. Through your power, we can live here with hearts of gratitude because we know who you are and what you've done. God, help us to remember that.

When we're feeling down, when we're feeling no hope, that we have hope, that the same God who did all those miracles long ago is the same God today and is the same God forever. In Jesus' name, amen.