Well, if you have your Bibles, we're going to turn back to Colossians 3. We've got a couple more points to make on how to cultivate a heart of gratitude. How to cultivate a heart of gratitude. One of the things you may think as we went through the material from this morning and even as we move into this afternoon is, this seems a little bit too complicated. Does it really involve all this stuff? I mean, when I think about cultivating a heart of gratitude, why can't we just count our blessings and move on? Why can't we just fill our mind with what it needs to be filled with and move on? And the reason for that is that you realize that as a human being who's created in the image of God with a soul and a body who lives out of an active heart, you're a pretty complex being. You're not simple. You're not one-dimensional. You're pretty complex. So what do you think is going to be the case if when you're trying to think about a heart of gratitude, if mentally speaking, so we're getting ready to talk about renewing your mind. So if you were going to sit down and just write out a list of blessings to try to stir up your heart to gratitude, let's say you were doing that But at the same time, you were not really rooted and grounded in the love of God and your identity in Christ. You were not seeking things that were above. You were not setting your affections on things above. Do you really think that's going to cultivate a heart of gratitude? If you're pursuing the world, seeking the world, setting your affections on the world, rooting your identity in the world, and writing five things down on a piece of paper that you think God has done for you that's circumstantial, it sounds silly when we say it that way, doesn't it? But we're more than just a thinking being. We're pursuing out of our hearts. Again, we're exercising affections because we're treasuring something out of our heart. And when we slice the pie down into a one-dimensional, reality when we're talking about an attitude of gratitude, we're talking about being thankful in all things, when we're talking about replacing anxious thoughts with thankful prayers and those kinds of things. We're talking about things that, this is the reality that encompasses the whole person, not just one little tiny aspect. So again, it has to do with obviously the way you're thinking, what you're pursuing, what you're treasuring, what you're hoping in, and how you're viewing your identity as it relates to either Christ or the world. So if it seems complex, that's because the Christian walk is not simplistic. And the way that you engage with the Lord, love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, that's not simplistic. There's multiple dimensions there. And so we're hitting those as we think about cultivating a heart. cultivating a heart of gratitude. All right, so we said, number one, be rooting your identity in Christ. Number two, be seeking things that are above. Number three, set your affection on, I'm sorry, yeah, set your affection on things above. and not on earth. And let's read our text again, and we'll look at number four. If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things of the earth, for you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." So we've made it down to verse 3. Verse 3, for you're dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. Our fourth avenue, cultivating a heart of gratitude, is that renewal of the mind. Here, Paul is stating a fact about who you are and where your life is hidden. We are dead and our life is hid with Christ in God. So, not only do we live out of a heart that treasures and a heart that pursues, but we also live out of a heart that thinks and evaluates. We live out of a heart that thinks and evaluates. I've said this before, but in Scripture, It talks about the heart. It talks about the mind. It talks about the soul. These are largely synonymous. Inner man. The inner man is functioning in these realms. And the reason I say that is because you have passages like Proverbs 23, verses 6-7, "'Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats. For as he thinketh in his heart, So is he. Eat and drink, saith he to thee, but his heart is not with thee. As he thinketh in his heart, so is he. There's a book written about this a long time ago. Most of you are probably familiar with it. If you were in college, you probably had to read it, The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. Horrible book. horrible exegesis, don't even come close to what Proverbs is actually talking about, but that's for another sermon. The point I want to get to here is he thinks in his heart. OK, this is something that we do in our inner man or in our heart. Now, here's the here's at least the practical point here. What you value about setting our affections on things above. What you value is always, 100% of the time, based on your evaluation of it. What you think always leads to what you value. You know, one man's trash is another man's treasure, you heard that? What does that have to do with, I mean, how does that work? Somebody sees something and says, ah, I like that. And somebody looked at the same thing and said, I am tired of that. We're talking about evaluations here. Renewing our minds. What you think, and I say it this way, what and how you think is always connected to what and how you feel. Your feelings are always activated and informed by your thoughts. So you are not going to be thinking scary thoughts and having happy feelings. It doesn't work that way. And so this has to do with our evaluations. And it's a blessing and part of what it means to be created in the image of God that it works this way. But as we're thinking about being renewed in our mind, let's go to Romans chapter 12. Romans 12. Familiar passage where Paul says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Now, a minute ago, I say a minute ago, this morning in the message, we talked about adopting God's value system, which means that we value things that God values, but it also means we value things to the same extent that God values them. And that's important if we're going to think about a heart of gratitude, a heart of contentment. So things like, this is just an example, Things like performance, whether it's school or work or something like that. What's God's standard? What does God value in an individual as it relates to their performance in things like school or work? Does God have a high value system or does He have a high regard for straight A's in school? Is there anything in Scripture that would lead you to believe that? No, but we can, can't we? We can get our value system all out of whack at times where we just can't believe we got an A-. Or work. What's God's value system for work? Is it that you're always performing perfectly without any mistakes? God does have a value system, but His value system goes far beyond straight A's and a flawless performance. God's value system is that whatever your hand finds to do, you do it with all your heart. Sometimes that turns into a B. And sometimes that's an imperfect performance at work. But you see, if we're concerned with what God is concerned with, then we're not going to have a meltdown because we're valuing things above and beyond what God values. And that's a silly example. We could do that with all kinds of other categories in life. But I'm not going to waste any more time this afternoon. But there's an illustration. So renewing our thoughts so that we can renew our value system. So to renew your mind, it's just a renovation of the mind. Just like you renovate an old house, you take out the old, you put in the new. So the old thoughts, the old evaluations, the old perspectives are being replaced with new thoughts, new perspectives, new evaluations. And where do you suppose those new ones are coming from? Scripture, right? So it's like we talked about this morning. As far as living a life of faith, it is imperative that we are in Scripture. I has not seen, neither has ear heard what God has prepared for them who love him, but he has revealed them. Revealed them how? Through his spirit and his spirit has given us a book. So thinking about renewal of the mind. Now for the Christian, this can quickly transform a heart that's discontent to a heart that is thankful in the Lord. So for example, now when I say quickly, I don't necessarily mean the snap of a finger, but it can get us moving in the right direction. So look in Genesis 42. Just to give an example. In Genesis chapter 42, the famine has hit. Jacob's sons went to get grain. They get back. They figure out that Joseph had put their money back in their bags. And he had already told them, do not come back for more food unless you bring your youngest brother. And so they tell Jacob this. And here's Jacob's response. Jacob, their father, said unto them, Me have you bereaved of my children? Joseph is not. and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away, all these things are against me." All these things are against me. Well, there are times in life where we feel that way. Aren't there? I mean, that's a legitimate place to be. All these things are against me. I didn't want to lose Joseph, and I lost him. I didn't want to lose Simeon, I lost him. I don't want to lose Benjamin, but it looks like I'm either going to have to lose him one way or the other. Either we all starve to death or I send him. All these things are against me. But if we're seeking to have our mind renewed, then Scripture will not allow us to stay there very long. You already know where I'm going. Romans 8.28 lets us know that God is working all these things together for good for those who love Him. Now, that's not a truth that you just upload like a USB or a microchip or something that makes everything better. That's a truth that frames your perspective, your perception of what's going on. Where is God in this? Well, He's not against me. I know that. If God be for me, who can be against me? Where is God in this? Well, I know that He's for me and that He is working this for my good someway, somehow. He said, well, you can say that, but I don't feel better. Well, gratitude is not a feeling. It's an attitude. Gratitude is an outlook on life. It's not a feeling that comes and goes. And so even when we're feeling bad, we can be thinking about truth and eventually our feelings will catch up to our thoughts. So here's another one. I'm sorry, 2nd Corinthians chapter 4. Jacob says all these things are against me. And again, we can. We can fellowship with Jacob. There are times where it feels that way. But 2nd Corinthians chapter 4. In verse 17, it says, "...for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but things which are not seen are eternal." What's he saying here? Well, number one, he's saying whatever it is that we're going through, whatever affliction we're enduring, it has eternal significance. And it is working for you an eternal benefit. You say, well, it's hard to see that sometimes. Well, that's because you have to look through the temporal to the eternal. While we look not at the things that are seen, but the things that are unseen, that are not seen. Well, how do we see those? Well, we're informed by Scripture. That's how we see those. These are the things that eye has not seen and ear has not heard, but that God has stored up for those who love Him. And He's revealed those things to us in Scripture. So by the eye of faith, we go through difficult, painful experiences. Gratitude, again, doesn't mean that you're always, you know, cheerful and chipper and bubbly and all those kinds of things. Gratitude means that even when our heart is crushed, we can still praise God for His faithfulness to us. We can still praise God for His presence in our lives, His blessings in our lives. As Christians in a fallen world, sometimes we are tempted to live as if life is either all or nothing. Either it's all good or it's all bad. That's not true. There's a lot of bad and there's even more good. And when you're going through the bad, you can still be thankful for the good. So this is where James is thinking. In James 1, verse 2, what we talked about this morning when he says, consider it all joy when you go through divers temptations. Now, notice the word is consider, esteem, judge. He's talking about your evaluation of something. You're thinking in your heart about something. How is it? I mean, you can turn to James 1 and we'll see it because it flows pretty naturally in the text. How is it that you're supposed to esteem or consider it all joy when you go through diverse temptation? Well, verse 3 clues us in. It's based on what you know. how you're thinking about what it is that you're going through. Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience. But let patience have a perfect work that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. Let patience have a perfect work that you might be whole. Well, you're not counting it all joy that you're experiencing severe pain. You're counting it all joy that God is using the severe pain for a good and necessary purpose that will lead to your wholeness. So, renewed thought patterns, renewing your mind. A heart of gratitude is cultivated as you are renewing your mind. And then number four, this is our last one out of Colossians 3. We just finished with verse 3. "...For you are dead and your life is hid with Christ. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with Him in glory." Be living with the end in mind. Be living in the present with the end in mind. We can get so messed up because we forget this one principle right here. You know, this is talking about a heart that is anticipating, hoping in something. And where you set your hopes will be the basis for your thinking and evaluations. See, these things are all interconnected. It's not just neat little categories. We live in a world where relationships crumble, where people sin and are sinned against, where people suffer, where people who we love suffer. We live in a world where once flourishing churches dissolve. where people who live faithful, godly lives for a season fall away. We live in a messed up world. And if we're expecting all of that to be resolved before Christ comes back, we got our hopes set in the wrong place. If we're expecting that we're not going to be touched by the fallenness of this fallen world, our expectations are out of whack. And hope is synonymous with expectation. Hope is just a confident expectation in that which is good, but hope and expectation, that's the same. And so where we set our hopes will be the basis of our evaluation. There is no way Paul could have said in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 17, that these light afflictions work in us a more eternal way of glory. There's no way he could have called those afflictions light if he didn't have his hopes set on the second coming of Jesus Christ. I've said this before, but it fits here and I'll say it again. Sometimes people say time heals all wounds. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. That is a whopping lie. Sometimes time fuels bitterness. And what doesn't kill you influences you to isolate yourself from everybody. And your life becomes infinitely worse than it was before. You see, the hopes that we have have to be wrapped up in Christ. So for those who are walking in the Spirit, and those who are walking with the Lord, and those who are anticipating the second coming, because you've seen this happen before too. Someone who, and I'm not making light out of it, but it happens. Someone who goes through a very significant loss or trial, and that characterizes them for the rest of their life. They never move past it. That is the ultimate reference point for their existence until the day they die. If we're living with the end in mind, that's our ultimate reference point. We're going to lose some significant things in this world. but our hopes will not be dashed because our hopes are set on the second coming of Christ. Our hopes are not set on this reality that we will never be hurt again in this world, that we will never be disappointed again in this world, that we will never experience difficulties. We know that in the world that we live in, that's just par for the course. So Titus 2.11 says that grace teaches us, 11-13, that grace teaches us to anticipate the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3. Verse 20 says, "...for our conversation is in heaven." That is, our citizenship is in heaven. "...from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself." You see, we may be American citizens, but brothers and sisters, our citizenship is in heaven. That's the one that's not going to fade. That's the one that's not going to disappoint, and that's the one that's not going to spiral down and be replaced by some other empire one day. Our citizenship is in heaven, and so if that's the case, then we look for the Savior to appear. We were here not too long ago, but I will close here as we think about, again, living with the end in mind. Revelation 21, 3-5, John says, And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God. and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, but the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write, for these words are faithful and true." The next chapter, Revelation 22.3, he talks about the fact that there is no more curse. You realize the curse of sin affects 10 out of 10 people. Equal opportunity. Nobody misses out. Until this day, where there is no more curse. There are no more tears. There is no more sorrow. There's no more death, no more pain, no more crying. Why? Because the former things are passed away. and redemption has been fully accomplished and consummated so that all things are made new. You want to cultivate a heart of gratitude? Live with the end in mind. So many times we have dashed hopes because our hopes were placed in the wrong hands. We should never place our hopes in something God has not guaranteed. And we are so prone to doing that. Live with the end in mind. God has not promised that we'll have a healthy life. God has not promised that we'll have a carefree life. He has not promised that we won't have heartaches in this life. He hasn't promised any of that. He hasn't promised a life of comfort and ease. But He has promised that He's coming back. And He has promised that He will be with you until He does come back. And He's promised that when He does come back, all the things we just mentioned will be the reality that you'll exist in with no tears, no pain, no curse. And so a heart of gratitude is cultivated as we are actively identifying ourselves in Jesus Christ. It's cultivated as we are actively seeking those things which are above. It's cultivated as we are actively setting our affections on things above. It's cultivated as we are actively renewing our minds through the Word. And it's cultivated as we live with the end in mind. Let's pray. Father, we thank You, particularly this last point, that our hope is in Heaven. Our hope is in Jesus Christ who will one day return and who will one day make all things new. And so crying and sorrows and pains and tears will one day be a faint memory because of the work of redemption that He has accomplished for His people. And so I pray that you would bless us to grow in each of these categories that we would cultivate a heart of gratitude that would stand even in the midst of trials and difficulties. I pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.