Salt + Light Fort Worth

/ So we're starting a new series today.

Uh, it's called Life and Prayer.

So over the next four weeks, we're
gonna take a break from the book

of Genesis and we're gonna consider
a few different themes on prayer.

'cause we wanna grow into being more
and more of a prayerful people, um,

who really rely on God in that way.

And so we're gonna be using the Book of
Psalms and several Psalms in particular

as really a guide to help us pray.

The Psalms are a great place to
go to learn how to pray because

they're filled with all sorts
of really raw human emotions.

This week, uh, we're gonna be focusing
on, or actually this month we're

gonna be focusing on four particular
like human emotions and kind of some

psalms that kind of help cultivate
those emotions and those prayers.

Uh, these four are, uh, thank you.

I trust you.

Help and you are great.

Uh, so this week, uh, today we're
gonna begin by focusing on prayers

of gratitude and Thanksgiving.

Um, and that was the psalm that,
uh, Allison read a moment ago.

We're gonna come back to
that psalm, uh, one 11.

It's a great prayer of thanksgiving and
gratitude, but I also wanna propose,

um, as we consider this topic of
thanksgiving, of gratitude, uh, that this.

Practice is more than just
being a polite Christian.

You know, we, uh, you know, we
teach our kids like, don't forget

to say please and thank you.

You know, if you know a grownup
gives you something or somebody does

something for you, and that's important.

But I also want to propose that
thanksgiving and gratitude is actually

foundational to our belief system as
Christians and who we are as Christians,

and it's really a formative process.

For becoming who we're supposed to be, for
believing what we're supposed to believe.

Thanksgiving is kind of a root that
determines the fruit of our lives, and

it's an essential aspect of experiencing
what it means to be truly human.

Thanksgiving is a recognition
that we have received something

that hasn't been earned.

In fact, it's beyond our capacity to
earn, and the practice of giving thanks

always has the same starting point.

In order to be thankful for something,
what do you have to do first?

Someone brave.

What do you have to do in order
to express thanks for something?

What do you have to do
before you can do that?

Did somebody say something?

Anyone brave?

Reflect.

Reflect?

Yeah.

What'd you say?

Sebastian?

Receive something, receive some.

Yes.

You have to receive something.

And then as a person, we have to reflect.

We have to remember, we have to,
uh, recall that thing that has

happened in order to practice
gratitude and Thanksgiving.

So that's where we're going this morning.

Uh, I'm gonna start us off and I'm
gonna pray and then we'll jump in.

All right.

Heavenly Father, we thank
you, God for this time.

Uh, we thank you, uh, that you have, uh,
called us to yourself, God, not based

on anything that we've earned because
of your generosity and your kindness.

God, we thank you for your son
Jesus, who's our king and our savior.

God.

Uh, we pray that you would help us
to, uh, understand more about who

he is and how we can depend on Him.

And we thank you for your Holy Spirit
that you have sent to empower us to

know you, God, to be in communion
with you and to be on your mission.

God.

We just pray that as we spend time in
the Psalms today, God, as we consider

prayer and what it means to be thankful,
grateful beings, uh, that you would just

speak to us and stir our hearts towards
you, God, and, uh, bless his time.

I pray that you'd speak through me
and in my imperfections and things

that I say, uh, that are incorrect.

God, I pray that you would guard against
those things and that you would just

by your Holy Spirit, that you would
just draw us closer to yourself and

we pray these things in Jesus name.

Amen.

Um.

So, uh, Ben asked if I would, uh, be
willing to, uh, teach on this week, um,

and if I was interested in doing it.

And I said yes, uh, because, um,
I don't get up here super often.

Um, but this personal, uh, my
personal experience with gratitude

has been really important to me.

Um, and I really kind of grappled
with this a lot, um, through

my struggles with anxiety.

And so you might, uh, wonder what does
anxiety have to do with gratitude?

Um, but it turns out, um,
it has a lot to do with it.

Um, as a person, I've always
been like pretty, like chill,

like laid back, easy going.

Like, I don't kind of get
worked up about a lot.

And that's always kind of been
my, my style and my personality.

Um, never experienced like big swings and
emotions or things like that, but then.

Like eight or nine years ago probably,
I started experiencing like really

significant anxiety attacks in my life.

Uh, and these things would
be like overwhelming and

they would be unrelenting.

Um, and I was just in this constant state
of where I worried about everything.

I became like a health
like hypochondria act.

I had climate change, an anxiety.

I had anxiety about AI and taking over
the world, technology, uh, anxiety

about the state of the world, anxiety
that something would happen to my

family, anxiety that I was doing,
you know, everything wrong in life.

Um, I experienced insomnia where I
had like, had a hard time sleeping.

And so I was oftentimes up for a lot of
the night with like my heart racing, with

my mind racing, and I couldn't sleep.

Um.

My anxiety manifested
itself physically as well.

So there was like seasons where
I experienced just like tremors,

like my body would just like shake.

I experienced migraines.

Uh, I had heart pal, heart
palpitations, had spikes in my blood

pressure, all this like weird stuff.

I'm like, what is happening here?

Um, and it was scary, you know?

And so, um, it was this like awful like
rollercoaster that like didn't end that

I was like, I want off the rollercoaster.

And I couldn't like figure out how
to get off of this rollercoaster.

Um, and I was an elder, uh,
at our church at the time.

Uh, church, uh, we were at
previously before Salt and Light.

I talked with our elders about it
and shared with them, honestly,

kind of about all these struggles,
uh, that I was dealing with.

They were kind, um, and
prayerful and supportive with me.

Um, I was loved well by my church
family, uh, by my family, and a lot

of people just came alongside me.

Um, and during this season I
also started seeing a Christian

therapist, uh, for like counseling.

I also started seeing a doctor, um, a
practicing doctor who is also a believer.

And that was really helpful and
important for me just to have someone

who was treating me who had, was
grounded in a similar worldview and

perspective of who we are as humans
and how medicine applies to that.

Um, and they both helped me realize that
a big part of the struggle with anxiety.

Is often caused by feelings of a loss of
control or feeling out of control, which

I was like, okay, I resonate with that.

And they helped me realize that most
of the things that I was anxious

about were actually things that were
completely outside of my control

that I was trying to control.

Um, that may not, uh, seem like it
would've been very helpful, um, in

the process of dealing with anxiety.

Um, but stick with me.

Uh, anxiety is at epidemic
levels in our country,

specifically in our country.

Even though we're generally safer and
more prosperous than any generation

of human beings that have ever come
before us, we're arguably more anxious

than humans that have existed before.

And I wonder why that is.

There's one interesting theory about
that that I've heard lately that

it, uh, one thing that could be
contributing to that is our technology.

It's making us more anxious.

People say, um, and perhaps
that's the case, but I'm gonna

take it one step further.

I think that our technology
misleads us into thinking

that we are God in many ways.

So each of us, or most of us,
have a phone in our pocket.

And our phone makes us feel these
attributes that we oftentimes use to

refer to aspects and attributes of God.

One of those things is it
makes us feel omniscient.

Omniscient means, uh, all knowing.

Knowing everything because at any
moment you can pull up your phone,

you can pull up the internet, or
now you can pull up chat, GPT or ai.

You can get answers instantly.

You can have access to everything
that's happening, not everything,

but seemingly everything that's
happening real time around the world

to the furthest reaches of the globe,
you can know about them instantly.

Uh, good things, bad
things, more oftentimes.

Awful things that are happening.

We can have access to all that
real time through our phones.

Humans have never had that level
of like access to awareness,

knowledge and things like that.

So there's not as much sitting and
pondering the mysteries of life anymore

when we can just pick up our phone and
it makes us feel, um, uh, omniscient.

Your phone can also make
you feel omnipresent.

Um, omnipresent means, you know.

God is unique in the situation or
in the, in the, uh, instance that

he can be everywhere at all times.

Human beings and all created
beings, like even, uh, the devil

cannot be present everywhere.

That's an aspect that's
only true about God.

But our phones kind of give us this
like, false impression of omnipresence

where you can be present everywhere.

Your digital self can be in this meeting
or whatever, and we can connect in

virtually and work remotely or whatever.

And so there's very little like.

Grounding and presence that we feel
as human beings because of our phones.

Tell us, oh, you can be
present everywhere at any time.

Your technology, uh, oftentimes even
can make you feel omnipotent, which is

like all powerful, which is an attribute
that's only attributed to God, but.

We can just say things like with
the, Hey, Google or Alexa, and you

can control with your words, the
thermostats, the lights, all these things.

And so there's an aspect of our
technology makes us feel more and more

powerful and more and more God-like.

Our technology also gives us way to seek
glories through social media apps or

things like that where we're looking for
approval and likes and things like that.

Um.

So we have access to more and more
awareness and things that we've never

had access to as humans, but when it
comes to the things of life, of being

born, of dying, of things like that,
there so much of our lives are things

that are outside of our control.

Right.

So much of our experience as
humans is reconciling being in a

world where we are not in control
of things that are happening.

So what do we do about that?

Because that can be anxiety
inducing, you know, when we

sit and just think about that.

Um, anxiety is at levels
it hasn't been before.

So what should we do about it?

Um, one thing I wanted to talk about
just briefly is that medicine can be

a helpful treatment to rebalance us
chemically when we get out of whack.

And just to kind of share for me
personally, like God has used medicine

during certain seasons of my life to
help in my healing process, to help

give some relief, but ultimately.

Okay.

Those things don't fully
address the underlying issues

of what is causing us anxiety.

They can help with symptoms, but they
aren't going to completely resolve

the underlying issues of anxiety.

So one of the most helpful things for
me, um, during my treatment process

with anxiety, uh, it was seemingly,
it was kind of unexpected and it

seemed kind of basic, but my doctor
and my therapist who were both.

Christians who were both believers
and were helping, you know,

kind of lead me through this
process of healing restoration.

They both recommended prayer
and meditations of gratitude

as a part of my treatment plan.

And I thought that was like
interesting, but also like it

didn't really connect to me.

I thought that there, that there
was something more, you know,

that I was looking for to address
this issue because it was causing

so many problems in my life.

Um.

But honestly it was, you know,
probably the most recentering and

healing practice for me to experience
restoration during that season.

And I learned, um, during this
time that neurologically, like

scientifically the emotions of gratitude.

And anxiety or in
competition in the brain.

These emotions engage
different parts of your brain.

They fire up different
synapses in your brain.

They release different chemicals
and they cause the body to respond

and either fight or flight.

This feeling of constantly being
like running for our lives.

Something's out to get us, we're gonna
die, you know, and experiencing that or.

Feelings of satisfaction and peace
and rest, and you can't really like

experience these things together.

It's one or the other.

It's like off or on or
like analog or digital.

It's like two different things.

And that's interesting.

And as a believer, as someone who
receives my worldview from the Christian

perspective and the biblical guidance, I
think that that is how God has designed

us and how he's wired us intentionally.

I think, uh, what is most important,
um, is, is, is not like the

scientific aspects of this and what
we can learn about anxiety through,

you know, these, these studies.

But I think what we can learn
about ourselves spiritually.

What our anxiety tells us about
our relationship with God.

Because when your mind and your body
start flashing red with anxiety, it

means we're experiencing a disconnect
from our source of peace and our

source of provision, which is God.

And if that breaks down and
it's not addressed, it leads us

further away from him, not closer
into relationship with him.

And this is just a reality
of the fallout from sin and

experiencing life in a broken world.

But thanks to Jesus, we have a
better story and a better hope

that's available to us as humans.

And the Psalms getting back to those
are a helpful place for us to go, to

give us words of thanksgiving, to put
our hearts in a posture of gratitude.

Um, and to lead us closer
into relationship with God.

So, uh, today we're gonna look
at two psalms, uh, Psalm, uh, 1

0 1, which we looked at earlier.

And I also want us to look at Psalm 1
0 6, uh, which you're welcome to turn

there, but it's gonna be up on the screen.

We're just gonna read
through a portion of it.

And I wanna use these two psalms
to compare and contrast two

different, like paths in life,
two different ways of being human.

Um, and then on the back
end we will circle back.

Uh, to Psalm 1 0 1, and we'll use that
as a guide just for a prayer time.

But first, let's take
a look at Psalm 1 0 6.

Um, and before we read this together,
I'm gonna give a little background

and context to Psalm 1 0 6.

Psalm 1 0 6 is an interesting
psalm and a lot of Psalms.

Uh, which Psalms are just the, the, uh,
Hebrew like, uh, songbook, the hymn book.

It was written by David and a lot of other
song leaders that are theologically rich.

Like songs that were put to music
that people would sing together,

but they also framed up a lot of
opportunities for people to pray

and to recite and to remember and
store those things in their heart.

Psalm 1 0 6 is really interesting
because it actually recounts the story

of a very specific group of Israelites.

This is a kind of a call of remembrance of
a group called the Wilderness Generation.

So the wilderness generation is the
group of people who were the ones

who were rescued miraculously from.

Slavery in Egypt.

This is the Exodus story.

This is, that's those people.

So they were rescued miraculously
from slavery in Egypt, from

Pharaoh, the greatest, most powerful
country in, you know, nation state.

In the, in the world.

Uh, God used these amazing
10 miraculous plagues.

He parted the Red Sea.

To rescue them from,
uh, from, uh, Pharaoh.

Um, he handed down 10 commandments.

His law, which was written on the
stone with his, his finger, he

gave it to Moses on Mount Sinai.

But ultimately, this generation doesn't,
they're not allowed to enter the promised

line, which is the ultimate goal.

So instead of seeing them formed
into this faithful people, we

see like this awful story of a
people who actually are deformed.

They go through this defor process of
ratitude and grumbling and idolatry,

and it starts in a very specific part.

And kind of their mindset
and what they believe.

And so I'm gonna read through
this and I want you to read

through it with me on the screen.

And as we're reading through it, I want
you to pay attention to some of the words

that describe this generation's thoughts
and how it leads to different actions.

So I'm gonna pull that up on the screen.

Alright, Psalm 1 0 6, praise the Lord.

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good,
his faithful love endures forever.

Who can list the glorious miracles of
the Lord who can ever praise him enough?

There is joy for those who deal justly
with others and always do what is right.

Remember me, Lord, when you show favor
to your people, come near and rescue me.

Let me share in the prosperity
of your chosen ones and let me

rejoice in the joy of your peoples.

Let me praise you with
those who are your heritage.

Like our ancestors.

We have sinned, we have done wrong.

We have acted wickedly.

Alright.

Start paying attention, words
that describe what they think

and how it leads them to action.

Our ancestors in Egypt were not
impressed by the Lord's miraculous deeds.

They soon forgot his many
acts of kindness to them.

Instead, they rebelled against
him at the Red Sea even.

So he saved them to defend
the honor of his name and to

demonstrate his mighty power.

He commanded the Red Sea to dry up.

He led Israel across the sea
if his as if it were a desert.

So he rescued them from their enemies
and redeemed them from their foes.

Then the water returned
and covered their enemies.

Not one of them survived.

Then his people believed his promises.

They sang his praise.

Yet how quickly.

How quickly they forgot what he had done.

They wouldn't wait for his counsel.

Skipping down to verse 19, the
people made a calf at Mount Sinai.

They bowed before an image made of gold.

They traded their glorious God
for a statue of a grasse bull.

They forgot God, their savior, who
had done such great things in Egypt.

Such wonderful things in the land of
Ham, such awesome deeds at the Red Sea.

The people refused to enter the
pleasant land for they wouldn't

believe his promise to care for them.

Instead, they grumbled in their
tents and refused to obey the Lord.

Therefore, he solemnly swore
that he would kill them in the

wilderness, that he would scatter
their descendants among the nations.

Exiling them, the distant lands,
and it goes on and on and on,

and talks about this cycle.

So

what did you guys notice?

You can talk to me here out loud.

What did you notice about
what this generation, their

mindset, what they believed?

Anyone?

They're forgetful.

They're forgetful.

They forget what they believe.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Forgetful.

Anything else?

Any other observations?

They were not impressed by God.

They were not impressed.

The Exodus story, the the plagues,
the Party of the Red Sea, Mount Sinai.

Not impressed, you know?

Okay.

All right.

What else?

They didn't wait for his counsel.

They're impatient.

Right?

Didn't wait for his counsel.

Anything else?

They wanna be in control.

They wanna be in control.

Yeah.

It'd be better for us.

This wasn't mentioned in the Psalm, but
you know, if you know the story, it'd

be better for us to be back in Egypt.

'cause at least we had meat there.

It's fine if we're slaves, but at least
we had meat there, you know, crumbling.

Anything else?

Ultimately, where did it,
where did it get them?

Exile?

Where?

Exile.

Exile, that's right.

God had promised that he would lead
them into a promised land flung

with milk and honey where he would
dwell with them personally and.

Because of this belief system that
they had, because of their rebellion.

Ultimately they experienced
exile separation.

Right?

So I, I put together kind
of this almost like a chart.

If you skip to the next, uh, slide,
Sebastian, I'm calling it like this.

It's actually like instead of we talk
about like spiritual formation of being

formed into the image of being more
Christ-like, what that looks like.

They almost go through like this defor
process, you know, or, or it starts

out kind of good and then just slowly
they are deformed away from like

what they should be as god's people.

And it's really this process that is, uh,
in gratitude is kind of woven through it.

So it starts with forgetfulness,
forgetting who God is, forgetting

what he did, leads into anxiety or
fear, worry, let 'em to grumbling.

So it says that they complained a lot
about their circumstances and that led

them to rebellion, you know, to turn
away from God led them to idolatry.

So actually to put their
hope and their trust.

In a Baal statue that was of a
grasse bull, you know, that, uh, the

psalmist was clear to kind of mock
that they would put their, their trust

and their faith in that, and then
ultimately, like God would not allow

them enter into the promised land.

So it, it, it led to this ex, at
least this exile and separation.

And this is a picture, uh, of, it's a
story of what actually happened with

the wilderness generation, but it's
also a picture of the human condition.

For people who live this lifestyle, right?

Living in the flesh, living apart
from God and not into his promises.

We can participate in this de formative
process if that's what we choose.

Um, this reminds me a little bit of a
story of, uh, in the Chronicles of Narnia.

Is anyone familiar with
the Chronicles of Narnia?

Okay.

Not the really well known ones,
but more the like deep track.

The magician's nephew who's read that one.

Okay.

All right.

Good.

Okay.

So Magician's nephew is the
creation story of Narnia.

It's meant to reflect and
kind of be a picture of what

God, how he created the world.

In Genesis Aslan, who is the lion,
who is the Jesus figure, he creates

Narnia and he creates Narnia with his,
with his, uh, singing with his words.

And it's a really beautiful
picture of creating it out of

nothingness and forming it.

And then there's this really interesting
part after he creates the animal, he

calls some of them together and he
breathes his breath into them and it

actually gives them the ability to speak.

To be, uh, uh, beings and animals
that could communicate with him and

reflected something distinctly different
than the Dumb Beasts is kind of what

CS Lewis calls it, you know, in like
1940s or fifties, you know, language.

Um, and I think that there's, there's
kind of a parallel of like what CS Lewis

is trying to communicate can happen.

Um, through this picture in Narnia.

You know what happens is that
these beings, you know, they're

given this ability to speak,
but some of them forget Lan.

Some of them forget.

That they were created by him, given
the ability to speak by him, they

lose, you know, their identity.

They start to doubt and become
separated, you know, from his will

and his kingdom and the things that
he advocates for, the fear of him as

their, uh, their king and their leader.

And so over time, these talking
animals, they forget about him and

they lose their ability to talk.

They just become like the regular animals.

They lose their identity and who they are
is set apart like beings and creatures.

I just think that's like a, like a
really interesting picture and parallel

of like we were created to be something
uniquely special as image bearers of

God, but that is not to be independent
beings or to be our own God, to be

self-sufficient or to be in control.

Something very different than that.

So I wanna propose that there is
a near opposite way of living that

contrasts the wilderness generation
that we just read about in Psalm 1 0 6.

Um, Psalm 1 0 6, what we see is
really like living in the flesh.

And in Psalm one 11, we see much
more about what it looks like to be

formed in the process of gratitude,
uh, to be God's people in this way.

And it's a formative process that
really it starts with gratitude.

And so, uh, I want us to read through,
uh, I'm gonna read through Psalm one 11.

You're gonna hear it a lot 'cause we're
gonna read it through it one more time.

I'm gonna read this real quick.

So pay attention to
like different mindsets.

Pay attention to different
responses in this passage.

Praise the Lord.

I will thank the Lord with all my
heart as I meet with his Godly people.

How amazing are the deeds of the Lord?

All who delight in him should ponder them.

Everything he does reveals
his glory and majesty.

His righteousness never fails.

He causes us to remember his
wonderful works, how gracious

and merciful is our Lord.

He gives food to those who fear him.

He always remembers his covenant.

He has shown his great power to his people
by giving them the lands of other nations.

All he does is just in good, and all
his commandments are trustworthy.

They're forever true, to be obeyed
faithfully and with integrity.

He has paid a full ransom for his people.

He has guaranteed his
covenant with him forever.

What a wholly awe-inspiring name He has.

Fear of the Lord is the foundation
of true wisdom and all who obey his

commandments will grow in wisdom.

Praise him forever.

So I wanna propose that there's
like this alternative pathway.

To be formed in this process of gratitude.

Go ahead and click to
the next slide for me.

It's really kind of the opposite here, so,
right, it starts with remembrance, okay?

Instead of forgetfulness starts
with remembrance, which should

move us to a posture of gratitude.

Recognizing that we have received
something outside of our control,

something we did not deserve.

You did not make yourself be created,
you know, even just your existence.

Is something outside of your control.

So to reflect in gratitude
leads to a heart of praise.

It helps us grow in our trust of God,
it which leads us to, uh, obedience.

If we can trust that he is good, we can
trust and see his works and reflect on

those things, it should lead us to trust
him and obedience and what he calls us

to and ultimately leads us to Rest leads
us to communion or oneness with God.