HopeLives365

Mark Finley: Praise unlocks the power of God. When you are going through a difficult time in your life, in spite of the difficulty, you are thankful. It unlocks God’s power to work miracles in your life.

Narrator (Female): This is HopeLives365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today’s message: How to Boost Your Immune System, part two. Enjoy, and remember you can always catch up on past messages and stay up-to-date with HopeLives365 and Pastor Mark by going to HopeLives365.com. And now, Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: After the Second World War, a member of his congregation came to a rabbi in Germany and said, "Rabbi, there are nine of us living in one room. It’s horrible. We have no privacy. We have little to eat. Sometimes my children are sick. Rabbi, what can I do?" The rabbi said, "There’s one thing you can do, and this is what it is."

The man said, "Life’s unbearable. Nine of us living in one room. What can I do?" The rabbi said, "Okay, this is what I want you to do. Take your goat in the room with you and then come back and talk to me in a week." The man said, "What?" "Take your goat. You want good counsel? Take your goat in the room with you. Come back in a week."

The man came back in a week and said, "It’s horrible. It’s worse. It’s worse. The place stinks. It’s worse. We can’t live with that goat. What should I do?" "Take the goat out of the room and come back and talk to me in a week." The man came back in a week and said, "Rabbi, life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now. There’s no goat, only nine of us." If you’ve got a problem after this meeting today, come talk to me. I’ve got an extra goat.

Thanksgiving and gratitude make such a difference in your life. Hans Selye, the great stress researcher in Montreal, said, "Among all emotions, there is one which, more than any other, accounts for the presence or the absence of stress in human relations. That’s the feeling of gratitude."

You know, Hans Selye was not a Christian, and he said the way you develop gratitude is even if you don’t have it, just make believe you have it. I am so thankful that as a Christian, there’s a far better way to get gratitude: kneeling at the foot of the cross and saying, "Jesus, I have so much to be thankful for, so much to be thankful for."

I can be thankful for the redemption of Jesus Christ that redeemed me, that forgives my sins. Thankful for the resurrection of Christ, that He’s ascended to heaven. Thankful for the high priestly ministry of Christ. And Lord, whatever happens in my life, I know You care for me and I know You love me.

Robert Emmons of the University of California at Davis published his research on gratitude in a book titled *Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier*. Professor Emmons shows that a systematic cultivation of the unexamined emotion of thankfulness can measurably change people’s lives.

If you want to have better health physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, cultivate an attitude of thankfulness. Look throughout your day consciously of what you can be thankful for. Express that thankfulness to other people. I love that poem:

Today upon a bus, I saw a lovely maid with golden hair. I envied her; she seemed so happy, and how I wished I were so fair. When suddenly she rose to leave, I saw her hobble down the aisle. She had one foot and wore a crutch, but as she passed, a smile. O God, forgive me when I whine. I have two feet; the world is mine.

And when I stopped to buy some sweets, the lad who served me had such charm. He seemed to radiate good cheer; his manner was so kind and warm. I said, "It’s nice to deal with you, such courtesy I seldom find." He turned and said, "Oh, thank you, sir," and then I saw he was blind. O God, forgive me when I whine. I have two eyes; the world is mine.

Then when walking down the street, I saw a child with eyes of blue. He stood and watched the others play; it seemed he knew not what to do. I stopped a moment, then I said, "Why don’t you join the others, dear?" He looked ahead without a word, and then I knew he could not hear. O God, forgive me when I whine. I have two ears; the world is mine.

There is so much for which to be thankful in Christ every single day. You know, Matthew Henry was a preacher of the 18th and 19th century, and Henry was robbed one day. After he was robbed, that night, he wrote these words in his journal: "I have so much for which to be thankful. I mean, the guy’s robbed. I’ve got so much for which to be thankful."

"I am thankful that God wrought such a change in my heart that it was I who was being robbed and not the one doing the robbing. That’s something to be thankful for, isn’t it? I’m thankful that even though the young man took my money, he did not take my life also."

He continues, "I’m thankful that even though he took my money bag, there wasn’t much inside of it. If you robbed me, that’d be the same. I’m thankful that I alone was injured and not any additional persons. I’m thankful that my life is so much more than earthly possessions that God has granted to me in my sojourn here."

"And I’m thankful that even though I should have lost my life in this encounter, I know heaven is awaiting me, where the riches of God’s glory far outweigh the total of man’s riches." In every circumstance of life, through Jesus Christ, understanding His all-sustaining purpose, we can be thankful.

Romans chapter 8, verse 28 says—read it together with me—"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God and to them that are called according to His purpose." The Bible does not say all things are good, does it? Because there are many things that are not good. They are bad or evil.

But it says all things work together. In other words, in the controversy between good and evil, the only thing that God will let to come upon you is something that ultimately, in spite of your human lack of understanding, He will work out for your good and His glory.

We can trust Him because the Christ that died on Calvary’s cross provides us grace, freedom from guilt, provides us deliverance from the bondage of Satan. And as the result of the cross, Satan is a defeated foe. So we can live with positive cheerfulness in life and a hopeful outlook.

Our sins are forgiven through the Christ of the cross. Our lives are empowered through the Christ of the cross. On the cross, Jesus took upon all evil, all wickedness, all sin. He drunk the depths of degradation on the cross, and consequently, He was victorious over Satan.

Dr. Paul Tournier, the Swiss psychiatrist, has written much to show that guilt can make us sick, but grace frees us to live joyful, happy lives. The grace of God gives us a positive outlook. Although the world may throw evil at us, we know that Satan is a defeated foe.

Paul was filled, secondly, with courage, not only because he had a sense of God’s overruling purpose but because he had a sense of Christ’s all-sustaining power. Paul knew that whatever circumstance he was in, Christ would give him power to sustain him in that.

Not only was there purpose, but there was power. Christ had a purpose, and Christ would supply him with power. When Paul and Silas were in prison, they were thrown in prison, they were in stocks, they were chained, they were being beaten. Their backs were lashed and bloody. They began to sing.

Singing when you’ve been whipped? Singing when you’ve been imprisoned? Singing when you are isolated in that cell? They were singing praises to God. The Bible says in Acts 16, verse 25 and 26, "But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them."

You can imagine those prisoners were amazed. What gives these apostles the ability to sing? They’ve just been whipped; they’re bloody, they’re in pain. What gives them the ability to sing? They’re in prison. How could they be thankful in the middle of what had been their worst night?

Here’s how. Philippians 4:19: "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." They had a sense that in the context of their suffering, Christ was there to strengthen, Christ was there to empower, Christ was there to give them new courage and new hope.

Whatever you’re going through today in your life, Christ has an all-wise purpose, and Christ has abundant power for you. He will not allow anything to come upon your life that He does not empower you to face. As they sang, Acts 16, 25 and 26, suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains were loosed.

Praise unlocks the power of God. Can you say it with me? Praise unlocks the power of God. Again. Praise unlocks the power of God. When you are going through a difficult time in your life and in spite of the difficulty you praise, in spite of the difficulty you are thankful, it unlocks God’s power to work miracles in your life.

Now, what if Paul and Silas were in there, and Paul looks over at Silas and says, "Silas, where’s God now? Silas, what’s going on here? Silas, we are serving God and they beat us. Silas, God’s forsaken us. We’re in this dark dungeon. Silas, we’re never going to get out of here."

Silas looks at Paul and he says, "Paul, you’re right. We’re never going to get out of here. Paul, we’re going to die here. Paul, I told you." You think there would have been an earthquake? You think God would have sent an angel to open those prison cells?

So when you’re driving down the street and there’s a traffic jam and you say, "I told you we shouldn’t have gone this way!" When you get cancer and you’ve been trying to follow the best you could principles of health and then you say, "God, why? Lord, I can’t praise You for this cancer. I can’t, Lord. I can’t rejoice in the cancer."

"But I can rejoice in You. I can’t rejoice that I just lost my job, but I can rejoice that You’ll provide for me. I can’t rejoice that I just went through divorce, but I can rejoice that You’ll meet my love needs." You see the difference? We shift our thinking process from the negative, depressing, discouraging, evil circumstance and focus them on the One who will supply us the power to cope.

Narrator (Female): We’ll be right back with Pastor Mark Finley. We thank you for listening and hope you’re enjoying today’s message. Our mission is to attractively present the Christ-centered biblical truths of scripture in a practical, relevant way to people around the world so that they may experience the abundant life that Christ offers and effectively share with confidence His life-changing truths with others. You can support this ministry and help us reach even more by going to HopeLives365.com/donate. And now, back to Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: What are the three secrets that Paul learned? First secret: in spite of what happens to be in life, God has an overarching purpose. Second: in spite of what happens to me in life, God has an all-empowering strength to strengthen me with what I go through. Thirdly: Paul was filled with hope because he recognized and he had a sense of Christ’s overarching plan.

He knew that God had a purpose in suffering. He knew that God would supply power in suffering. But he also knew that Christ had an overarching plan. And if you know that whatever you are going through in life, Christ has an overarching plan, that this life is not all that there is.

The Apostle Paul came to the end of his life, and he looked at that plan. 2 Timothy 4, verse 6 to 8, he says, "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering. I’m dying. And the time of my departure, my death, is at hand. I have fought a good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that day. And not to me only, but all who love His appearing."

Paul looked beyond what was to what would be. He looked beyond the fading, temporary, transitory nature of earth to the eternal, permanent, everlasting reality of heaven. Paul looked beyond his suffering to the day that he would have an immortal body.

He looked beyond the injustice of the Roman Empire to the glorious kingdom of Christ where justice will reign. He looked beyond the persecution that he faced to the glory of living in eternity. There is something about hope that instills you to have a positive outlook on life.

And Christians know that this world is not all there is. Fifteen hundred times in the Bible, the Bible describes the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. David says, "Our God will come and not keep silence." In the book of Jude, Enoch, the seventh from Adam, predicted that Christ would come with ten thousand of His saints.

Jesus, when He was here, said, John 14:1 to 3, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again." What hope!

Paul says in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verse 16 and 17, "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with a voice of the archangel, with the trump of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together to meet them with the Lord in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord."

Revelation chapter 1, 7, John says, "Behold, He comes with clouds, and every eye will see Him." We are filled with hope because beyond the despair, beyond the disappointment, beyond the sorrow of earth, beyond the sickness and suffering and heartache and trauma, Jesus Christ will eventually set up His eternal, everlasting kingdom.

That’s why Paul could say in Titus, write to the young man Titus in chapter 2, verse 13, "looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ." When down seems up in your life and when up seems down in your life, when you walk through the dark valley of discouragement, when things seem to be going wrong, when all of life around you seems to be crashing in on you, look up, look up, look up.

Because beyond what is, Christ has an overarching plan for your life. Beyond the circumstances of your life, there is a living Jesus in a sanctuary called heaven that makes intercession for you and will give you strength to cope. And beyond what is, Jesus Christ is preparing an eternal kingdom for you. One day the earth will shake. One day the buildings will crumble. One day the sky will be lighted with the glory of God. And one day Jesus Christ will come.

And it was just a little girl. She was going to celebrate a birthday, and her daddy said to her, "Anna, what would you like for your birthday?" They lived in New Bedford, Massachusetts. New Bedford for many years was a great whaling city, and you can even hire a boat today and go out 100 miles, 150 miles and see the big fish, the whale, jump.

Anna always wanted to see a whale jump. And she said, "Daddy, Daddy, what I would like more than anything else for my birthday is let’s buy some tickets on the whale boat. Daddy, I want to see the big fish jump." So her dad bought the tickets and they went out on that whale boat, out offshore.

And they saw those whales jumping, but there was one problem. The boat was crowded that day and everybody was standing at the rails. And Anna and her dad were standing about four back and people were "ooh-ing" and "ah-ing." They were saying, "Look at the fish! Look at the whale!" And Anna kept saying, "Daddy, I can’t see anything. Daddy, I can’t see anything. Daddy, I can’t see anything."

Finally, her father said, "Anna, don’t worry about it." He picked her up and put her on his shoulders. And she looked out and said, "Daddy, Daddy, I can see now. I can see farther than my eyes can look." On the shoulders of faith, we see farther than our eyes can look. On the shoulders of faith, we look beyond what is to what will be. We look beyond time and we get a glimpse of eternity. By faith, we see Jesus.

And by faith, we’re not lying on a bed of illness with cancer racking our bodies. By faith, we are running through fields of waving grain with a new immortal body. By faith, we’re not sitting in our living room with our hands in our head crying in loneliness.

By faith, we’re surrounded by ten thousand times ten thousand angels singing praise and glory to God in a new land. By faith, we’re not poverty-stricken. We are rich in Jesus Christ. We’re picking fruit from trees laden with fruit.

By faith, we imagine the grave opened. By faith, we hear Jesus calling our name: John, Mary, Dora, Richard, come forth. By faith, we’re embraced by Christ. By faith, we travel millions of miles through space, beyond the planets, through that great open space in Orion.

By faith, the heaven’s gates open. By faith, we join the angels singing, "Worthy, worthy, worthy is the Lamb." By faith, we travel with Jesus to the holy land, that glorious eternal New Jerusalem. I have good news for you tonight: you and I can rejoice. I have good news for you tonight: you and I can have hearts that are filled with thankfulness.

Today, this very day, we can be filled with thankfulness. Today, this very day, we can be filled with gratitude. Today, this very day, we can be filled with joy. Why? Because Christ has an overriding purpose for your life. We can be filled with joy. Why? Because Christ has overwhelming power to strengthen you. We can be filled with an overriding sense of joy. Why? Because Christ has a plan. He is coming to take you home.

One thing I know for sure. One thing I know for sure. This world is not my home. It is not my home when I’m called to the bedside of a family and I hold the hands of a woman 48 who breathes her last and dies, and I have to counsel that husband and her children. When I see her die too young, I know this world is not my home.

This world is not my home when I walk the streets of India. For ten years, my wife and I have been traveling for a special mission in India. I know this world is not my home when little children fall at my feet, skinny, thin, and emaciated, and their little brown eyes look up at me and say, "Can I have a little food?"

This world is not my home when I go into impoverished homes in Africa and see a woman who’s been raped dying of AIDS. There’s something wrong with the picture here, something wrong. This world is not our home when some man goes out and gets drunk in Orlando and comes home and hits his wife in the face and breaks her nose.

There’s something wrong with that. There’s something tragically wrong with a world that’s filled with war and poverty and sickness and conflict and strife. Deep within my heart I know it, and you know it too. There has to be something better for this world. And Jesus says to you, "My child, I’m preparing a world for you, a world for you that’s beyond your imagination. A world for you where there is no sickness or suffering or heartache or death." One thing I know. I want to be there with Him forever and ever. What do you say?

As we bow our heads to pray, is there something in your life, something in your life, some attitude, some habit, some lifestyle practice that you know is not in harmony with His will? But you want to live with Him forever. Then you want to say, "Jesus, I want right now just to lift my hand and say, Jesus, take that thing."

Jesus, take that thing. Just lift your hand. Something in your life, something not in harmony with His will. You want to give it to Him this morning. Is there somebody here today that you sense that at times your attitudes haven’t been positive? At times you’ve let the circumstances of life keep you from seeing the beauty of His plan and the beauty of His purpose and experiencing His power.

And you just want to say, "Lord, I want to be a thankful person filled with gratitude. I want to be a person of positiveness." Would you just raise your hand?

Narrator (Female): You’ve been listening to HopeLives365 with Pastor Mark Finley. We hope you’ve enjoyed today’s message and remind you that you can find more in our many ministry resources at HopeLives365.com. And you can support this ministry by going to HopeLives365.com/donate. And now, a final prayer from Pastor Mark.

Mark Finley: Oh Jesus, You see our hands. You know our hearts. We thank You so much that You can place within us positive emotions. We thank You so much that You can sweep away the negativeness of our lives.

We thank You so much that Jesus Christ died, that we’re forgiven, that grace sets us free, that the bondage of hell has been broken, that the forces of hell have been cast down, that You triumphed over them in the cross. We thank You that there’s power, power in Jesus, our high priest, to strengthen us, to face life.

And we thank You that we’re not left alone on some speck of cosmic dust, that Jesus Christ is coming again. May we leave this place today with hearts filled with hope and joy. In the name of Jesus, amen.