Christian Sermons | Seeing Blessings Amidst Burdens | Pastor J

We can see God's blessings in our lives if we look.

Human nature is to focus on problems, not blessings.

God's grace abounds in our lives, even in difficult situations.

Meditating on God's Word is key to prosperity and success.

As we're in the holiday season, the Thanksgiving season, you know, my mind thinks of blessings. And I think about God's blessings. And I think about how God blesses His children every hour of the day. If you really looked at your life every single hour of the day, you could see God's blessings in your life. Every single thing, every single way, God seems to bless us. But sometimes we are so preoccupied with problems, we have a hard time seeing the blessings. You ever heard the statement, you can't see the forest or the trees? You ever heard that statement? Well, when I thought about that statement, something came to my mind, and it was simply this. We can't see the blessings for the burdens. And that's true. Sometimes we can't see our blessings because we're too focused on the burdens. Just like you can't see the forest or the trees, we can't see the blessings for the burdens. The burdens seem to be too heavy. The birds seem to be too much. And then we can't look and see all the blessings that God has because we only see all the bad stuff. Human nature is to dwell on the bad instead of the good. Human nature is to only see the glass half empty instead of half full, right? That's human nature. We always look at the dark side of life instead of looking at the bright side of life. That's the way we do things. We're always looking at the bad instead of looking at the good. Well, in 2 Corinthians chapter number 9 and verse number 8, it says this. And God is able to make all grace abound towards you. I like that. God is able to make all grace abound towards you. God can help you flourish in a world full of wickedness. You ever think about that? There's an interesting verse in Romans 5 and verse 20 Romans 5 and 20 it says But where sin abounded Grace did abound Or much more abound if you will I like that Much more abound And we are living in a world that is full of sin All you got to do is look around see hatred and strife and wickedness and all kinds of stuff going on, just bad stuff. Our world is so filled with bad that it's almost palatable. You can almost like taste the wickedness. You ever hear the term, the fog is as thick as pea soup, that type of thing? That's kind of how it feels in this world sometimes. The wickedness and the hatred in this world is so thick sometimes that you can almost reach out and touch it. It's just thick. But where sin abounded, grace much more abounds. Hallelujah. That's the point. How did grace abound the cross? Jesus died on the cross to pour his grace out upon all mankind I think about how that we can abound in grace we can flourish in grace we can be blessed in grace and I think about it and I think of a man named Joseph Joseph sold into slavery by his brothers completely sold out completely put into slavery and it was a good thing he was put into slavery because they wanted to kill him but God's grace was abounding in Joseph's life but beyond that if you look at Joseph's life there is something very interesting that says in Genesis 39 and verse 2 it says this and the Lord was with Joseph and he was a prosperous man and he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. Joseph, because he loved God, was prosperous. And that's exactly what we can be. That doesn't mean we'll all be millionaires. Far from the truth. But we will all be blessed. And that's the point. God will help us prosper. God will bless us in our daily walk if we put our trust in him, if we put our all into him. And that's what Joseph did. Even in the most horrible situation, and you have to think about Joseph's life. Joseph was his father's favorite son. And he went from his father's favorite son to being a slave, being beat and hit with wits and all kinds of stuff so that they could build the pyramids. You've got to think about how far of a drop that is Think about how far of a drop that is And in all this, Joseph didn't give up on God He didn't get on his knees and sit there and say Why God have you done this to me? He never did that Did Joseph maybe question in his mind God, why is this happening? Probably I'm not going to say that But we know Joseph never gave up on God And because Joseph never gave up on God God never gave up on Joseph God continually blessed Joseph And prospered Joseph Because he loved his God I love that God is able to make all grace abound towards you that ye always have all sufficiency in all things. Because of God's grace, he will always have, we will always have more than enough. We always have more than enough I love what it says in Matthew 25 verse 29 It says this For unto every one that hath shall be given and he that hath abundance, but for him that hath not shall be taken away that which he hath. Now what does that mean? It literally means if we have God, we have abundance. And if we don't have God, we don't have nothing. And that's the point. That's why it's so vital. That's why it's so key for us as Christians to have all of God. Have as much of this in our hearts as we possibly can get. It is key. It is vital. It is something we have to have. It's not enough just to say, well, you know, I'll read the Bible once in a while when I get the time. You know what? If we have the, if I get the time mentality with the Bible, you know what's going to happen? You're never going to have the time. That's the point. That is exactly the point. If we go with the if I have time mentality, we'll never do nothing for God. That's true. But if we put God's word deep in our hearts, if we make God first and foremost in our lives, you know what we're going to have? We are going to have an abundance of blessings. Because that's exactly what it says. That's exactly what it says. I love what it continues here in verse number 8 here It says That it may abound to every good work That grace may abound to every good work When I think about the abounding grace of God I think of Joshua Joshua was blessed by God I mean you go through the book and you can just see the blessing of God all over Joshua. Well, Joshua, in his book, in chapter 1 and verse 9, it says these words. This book of the law shall not depart out of my mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that which is written therein. For then, and only then, shall not make thy way prosperous and then thou shalt have what? Good success. I love that. I love that. The only way we will be a success is to have God and to have His Word. And I love what he said there. To meditate on God's Word what? day and night. Now I'm not going to ask you, but I'm just saying in your own mind, think about it. Is God's word something you meditate on day and night? Is God's word something that you continually have in your mind thinking about? I'll be honest with you, I'm going to be honest with you today. I fail at that. I fail at that. I need to work more on that. I need to work more on that. I really do. I'm not ashamed to say I need to work on things. Because I'm not perfect. Far from it. Far from it. But that's what I'm striving for. I want to have so much of God in my mind and in my heart that Satan don't even come near me. Because he knows he's wasting his time. That's what I want. I want Satan to know beyond a shadow of a doubt. I might as well not even go near him because there is no reason because I'm wasting my time. I'm going to go to somebody else because there's no reason to go to Pastor Jay because he will not give up. He will not give in. He will not turn away from God. And there's no reason that I'm going to even put nothing on him. I'm going to go to somebody else and I'm going to waste my time. That's what I want. That's what I want in my life. I want to sing the no beyond a shadow of doubt that he's fighting to lose and battle when it comes to me. I want to meditate on God's word day and night. I've got to do better at that. But if you look at your own heart and your own life, would you say that you meditate on God's word day and night? Or would you sit there and say, maybe I fail just a little bit. something to think about because when we do meditate on God's word day and night every good word is going to abound everything that we do is going to abound we're going to have good success we're going to be blessed when we do that I love what it says in verse 9 it says it is written it's written in Psalm 1, 12 and verse 9 This right here, this verse is found in Psalm 112 and verse 9 It says, he hath dispersed abroad I like that God has the ability to bless every part of your life Every part of your life Your physical life, your spiritual life, your mental life, your financial life Every single aspect of your life He can disperse blessings to every single one of them Anybody here today got enough blessings? I didn't think so. I was waiting. I was waiting for somebody to say, yes, I got too many. No. I kind of thought nobody was going to raise their hand for that one. Yeah. No, no. I can always use another blessing I can always use another touch I can always use a little bit more from God right And that the point God can disperse the blessings to all parts of our lives Hallelujah. I love what it says in Philippians 4.19. This is Paul speaking to the church of Philippi. Or literally writing to the church of Philippi. But anyway, he says this. But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now when you think about that, you've got to think about the fact that God, I love what an old preacher once said, God wants the cattle on a thousand hills and all the potatoes in the hills. I love that. And that's so true. God created this world So what does that mean? This is God God created this universe That means everything is God People have that mindset They have a mindset that if I don't believe it, it's not true Right? That's how they have a mindset of it. If I don't believe there is a God that I won't stand before on Sunday, well, it doesn't work that way. It's the same way with this. You can sit there and say, I'm getting in my car, and I don't believe a sign that says 65 miles an hour. So I don't believe that sign, and I'm going to hit 90 in my car, and I'm going to drive. And now then, see how that gets you when the car sees you and pulls you over. Oh, I saw a sign, but I didn't believe it. See what the cop says. Well, we'll see how you believe this. And it'll take you down to jail. You know, and then, oh, I don't believe this jail is real. Well, when that door slams, you'll see if you feel that it's real then. You know, that's the point. We have a mindset that all of us die. If I don't believe it, it's not real. If I don't believe it, it's not true. We're coming a day, there's coming a day when every single solitary human that has ever lived is going to stand before a righteous God and they're all going to give an account for the things that they did. And that is exactly why we have to live for Christ. We have to live a holy life. We have to live the way Jesus would. because we're all going to give him a counseling day. But even more than that, the blessing is that if we live a life like Jesus lives and lived, we will be blessed beyond measure. And that's the point. None of us raised a hand and said, hey, I've got too many blessings, so hey. Why not want a little more? Why not get a little more? Amen? I'm a little greedy, I guess. I want more of God. I want some more blessings from God. You know? And I'll put it this way, too. That may be a little greedy when it comes to the blessings, but if I do this, if I plant this in my heart, is it really greedy? Not really. It's I want to plant this in my heart So that God will bless me I want to be blessed by God I want to see the blessing of God in my life I love what it says in the final part of this verse here It says, he hath given to the poor His righteousness remaineth forever Let's be honest Every one of us are poor And I'm not talking about financial stuff That's not what I'm talking about I'm talking about every single human is poor Why do I say every single human is poor? Because in our own hearts We cannot save ourselves People will sit there and say Well I'm going to get to heaven because I do good works It's not about words listening to me It's your boast I'm going to get to heaven because I never murdered anybody Well that's great but this just means you're not murdered I'm going to get to heaven because I never lied Well there's your lie I don't think there's any person that can ever say they never lied I just don't think there is I just don't think there is I'll be honest with you I've lied in my life I have I think everybody has I like to say it this way but it's true the ladies come to us and they say does this make me look fat and it does and you say no you lied you know I mean that's the point if somebody comes to you and says hey do I look good this way does this haircut make me look good I'll talk about this my mom is almost with me when I took my hair not what I can wear okay that's fine but I mean I'm going to say it with her you like this if you like it it's okay well that pretty much means you don't like it take what you want. But the idea is true. We lie. We do. The idea comes down to this. We're all sinners. Every single one of us. And the only way we can get to heaven is by the grace of God. That's it. And I am thankful that His righteousness remaining forever. That is beautiful. I love what it says in Psalm 136, 1-3. It says these words. Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods His love endures forever Give thanks to the Lord of lords His love endures forever I love that That is so cool I'm going to use that on Thanksgiving Day Hallelujah That's just so good Hallelujah You know, it's true though Life is tough. We look at life and we see life is tough, but God is good. That's the point. Life is tough, but God is good. I ask you this, can you see your blessings every day? Or are you more like, I can't see the blessings for burdens? where would you lie when it comes to that? If maybe you're in that part where it's, I can't see my blessings for my burdens, I want to pray for you today. And I want to pray for you honestly and earnestly. So let's bow our heads before the Lord. And I don't want anyone looking around today. I just want us to focus on God today. And I want everyone to focus on God and focus on your own life this morning. I want you to look deep down inside of your heart today. I want you to be honest with yourself and more importantly to God. I want you to look and I want you to see I'm blessed. I have no need for anything because I'm blessed. I search out the blessings and I see them and I know they're there. And if you do, then I applaud you and I say, keep on the road. But if maybe the burdens seem to get you down sometimes and you can't see your blessings because the burden seems so heavy and you want that to be pushed aside so that you can see your blessings instead of your burdens? I want you to raise your hand to God today. If there's anyone that would be honest and say, I want to see the blessings and not the burdens, will you raise up a hand today? Hands going up. I appreciate that. God does too. That's beautiful. Almost everybody in the house is beautiful. I got my hand up too today. Because sometimes it's true. Sometimes the burdens, we look at them and we see, and that's all we see. And we can't see our blessings and how God is working in our lives because all we see is the darkness. Maybe somebody's watching the video. I want you to raise your hand if you're saying that today too. I want you to raise your hand because you need that. You need that honesty with God. Father God, you saw hands going up all over. All over this place. Father God, maybe somebody watching the video and they saw it and they heard it and they said, you know what, I need that too. And they raised up their hand wherever they're at. I ask Father God right now in Jesus' name that Father God you will reach down upon these ones. Father God, that you will help them. That Father God, you will touch them. That Father God, that these burdens, when they are so heavy, when they are so, so heavy and so dark in our lives, that we will be able to push those aside through the grace of God and see the blessings of God that are right in front of us. We won't look for the burdens. We will look for the blessings. We won't see the burdens. We will see the blessings. And Father God, that will be part of our lives, that we will look for the good things, that we will focus on the bright side of life and stop living in the dark side of life, that, Father God, we will live for you, that we will live and meditate on your word day and night, that it will become so much a part of our lives that we will not think of anything else but you. And then through that, Father God, we want to turn and be blessed and blessed beyond measure. I pray that right now in Jesus' name. I pray, Father God, for all those that raised up their hand. Father God, I pray right now that as they think about it and as they have a meditator on that, you will pour down upon them that blessing. Pour it down upon them right now like a hot fire and set them ablaze in you Father God. That the word will be like a burning fire shut up in their bones and they won't be able to do anything but speak it. I pray it right now in Jesus name. And now Father God I want to thank you for the blessing that it is to be in your house. I want to thank you, Father God, for the fact that we can gather together. I want to thank you, Father God, for this time of the year when we focus on the thankfulness that we should have for all the blessings you pour upon us. Father God, as Thanksgiving comes, may we focus on you. And then that Thanksgiving spirit will continue every single day of our lives all the rest of the year at all in the next year to come. Father God, may it be the case. I pray in Jesus' name. And now, Father God, as we dismiss, Father God, I ask that you will not dismiss us, but Father God, I ask that you will go with us. I ask, Father God, you will keep us safe. And then, Father God, I ask you will bring us back safe into your house. Then, Father God, we might be able to worship you one more time. Father, for all that you are, for all that you do, and give you the praise and the honor and glory for it all for you're truly worthy of our praise. In Jesus' name we beg these blessings. And we say a hearty amen. Thank you.

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