Developing Our A.O.G.
Study Guide, November 17, 2024
Pastor Clay Olsen
On Thursday the Chapel Preschoolers had an early Thanksgiving program. It was great. The Teachers do a great job with these little people. I think the Parents wanted to get in on the motion songs…especially the ‘If You’re Happy and You Know It’ song…with the ‘stomp your feet’ part! You’re probably wanting to do that one right now, right? Anyway, we appreciate the Preschool Ministry here and the Chapel is happy to support it all. Now, you can stomp your feet about that happy part!
But we shared with the kids and the parents that developing a thankful habit is a life-long practice. And so we gave them a little help in developing it further. In fact, we gave them 1,000 reasons to give thanks to God…in the form of this little booklet called ‘The Bible Promise Book’. It has 1,000 promises that we can use to help us in the giving of our personal thanks to God. As you read a promise, then turn it into a prayer of ‘Thanks’. It can be a great help in further developing your A.O.G…your Attitude Of Gratitude! So the Chapel has a gift for you when you leave. You can pick up your own copy of this Bible Promise Book. There are two different translations…one is the King James Version and the other is the New Life Version. Either way, the promises are the same and just as powerful and inspiring.
Actually, we reminded the Preschool parents that another reason for these promises from God is that they are intended to be superimposed over the problems of life. We all have problems of various types and degrees. But, we also have God’s promises to put on top of our problems in order to have God’s victories over the seeming defeats of our problems. So be sure and pick up your copy and start walking through these promises, turning them into thanksgiving prayers as you go along. It will greatly help your A.O.G.
Now then, why is it that ‘gratitude’ has to be taught, but ‘grumbling’ just comes naturally? With children you never hear Parents reminding their children – “Now, remember to complain today, okay?” “Remember to grumble!” What? Griping and grumbling doesn’t have to be taught…kids of all ages, young and old, just by nature already know how to do that! What you hear Parents saying is “Remember to say ‘thank you’.” “Remember to give thanks!” A thankful habit has to be taught. Even the Psalmist, as an adult, was still reminding himself of this critical need and was still developing his A.O.G., as he said – Ps 103:1-2- “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits.” NASU In fact, 168 times throughout the Bible we are called to ‘remember’ various significant and important things!
One thing we should clearly know about our OSN, or our Old Sin-Nature, is that we are prone to grumbling. Grumbling is clear evidence of ONT, or Old Nature Thinking. (As you have already noticed, I’m kind of into acronyms…they are just so helpful for remembering things…the military is permeated with acronyms…which is great…like your DOD – Department of Defense, and MOS – Military Occupational Specialty, and JCS – Joint Chiefs of Staff, and so on) But what spiritually Born-Again people are to be focused upon and led by is our NNT, or our New Nature Thinking, particularly as in our focus here…particularly in relation to our commitment to walking in ‘gratitude’ instead of stumbling in ‘grumbling’. And here are just a few Biblical statements about just how serious God is about His people refraining from the sinful habit of grumbling. Notice:
Phil 2:14- “Do all things without grumbling or disputing…” NASU Now, It’s normal to have questions…it’s fine to have concerns…and it’s okay to express frustrations…but it is not alright to grumble about them in the ears of God and others!
James 5:9- “Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door!” NLT Grumbling and complaining and destructive criticisms of others means that we are going to have to give an account to God about doing that, and we will wish we had not done that!
1 Cor 10:10-11- “And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death. These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.” NLT Remember, the sinful practice of ‘grumbling’ before God was a major reason that many Israelites forfeited their inheritance of the promised land. Oh my! Plus, remember that the Promised Land was not a symbol of Heaven, or salvation, but a symbol of their inheritance privileges or loss of inheritance privileges. It was based upon ‘obedience’ to God, just like our Kingdom inheritance privileges are based upon our ‘obedience’ to God.
Ex 16:8- “…the Lord hears your grumblings which you grumble against Him. And what are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against the Lord.” NASU Next time you are moved or tempted to grumble or gripe or destructively criticize something or someone, remember that God takes your grumbling as grumbling against Him! And you don’t want to grumble against God! Nothing good becomes of that…only judgment!
And one more passage here: Ps 106:24-25- “Then they despised the pleasant land; They did not believe in His word, but grumbled in their tents; They did not listen to the voice of the Lord.” NASU Grumbling indicates that we have not been listening to, and learning from, and honoring our God. So again, there is no gain to be found in grumbling…only loss.
And here is something else that we need to add to our understanding of why grumbling is so offensive to God. We need to understand just what grumbling actually is. Note this: The Hebrew word for ‘grumble’ is made up from two words. One is ‘Lun’…and ‘lun’ connotes ‘growling’. Yes, ‘growling’, as in a disgruntled animal. Or, sometimes you even hear Parents say to their children as they listen to them griping and complaining…they say, “What are you ‘growling’ about?” And the other word is ‘Ragan’. (Ra-gahn) And ‘ragan’ indicates a ‘whispered rebellion’. We often see it translated as ‘murmuring’, or a muttering underneath a person’s breath, as they say. This grumbling person has a cantankerous sort of personality. But again, no wonder God is so serious in His commands for us to not give in to our sin-nature and to not act upon the sin of grumbling…for grumbling comes across as ‘growling before the Lord in a rebellious spirit.’
So grumbling and griping and complaining are not only dishonoring of God, but they are destructive to the very character that God desires to develop in His children. A grumbling Christian who is following his own sin-nature is acting more like a non-Christian than a grateful Christian who is trying to follow Christ in his character and conduct. Plus, when you destroy your character by grumbling and complaining you also destroy your testimony for God and thus, your usefulness to God. And you are tearing down whatever good you have tried or hoped to build up in your life.
Remember, no one wants to get close to a growling animal, and neither is anyone drawn toward a growling person, whether they call themselves a Christian or not. The only way to get closer to God and to make it so that others want to get closer to you is to become a person of gratitude…become a grateful Christian…become a person who exudes ‘thankfulness’ toward God and others.
And the ‘grateful Christian’ is the Christian man or woman, boy or girl that is pleasing to God, and one that God is pleased to use, and others are pleased to draw closer to them as well. And that is why we have to be so adamant about rooting out any habit or practice that we have of grumbling and complaining and destructively criticizing others. It greatly disturbs God…it damages our character and our personality…and God will not use us then for the works that He planned to do through us. Basically, grumbling is one way to ensure that you will miss God’s will for your life. You will miss out on God’s works in and through your life.
So when it comes to grumbling about your life, murmuring about others in your life, or complaining about this, that, or the other thing in your life…give it up! Resist it! Fight against the sin of grumbling! Instead, seek to develop deeper and further your AOG…your Attitude Of Gratitude! For, whereas a grumbling person is a ‘weak person’, a grateful person is a ‘powerful’ person. How so?
A grateful attitude has the power to…let’s explore that. How about on the physical level? Remember that your behavior affects your biology. Gratitude not only blesses spiritually, it also blesses chemically. God designed us in such a way that when we express gratitude and receive the same, our brain releases oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin into our system. These are the crucial neurotransmitters responsible for our emotions, or…they are the ‘good feelings’ chemicals that God created within us. Plus, they also enhance good relationships with others as well.
We should mention that ‘grumbling’ also affects chemical reactions in our body. Cortisol is a hormone that, at healthy levels, assists us in dealing with stress, and helps our immune system, and lowers inflammation, and regulates energy levels and such. However, when we let our brain set off onto grumbling and complaining, it pushes our cortisol levels into very ‘unhealthy levels’. It stresses this ‘stress hormone’ and turns it into doing just the opposite…into damaging our ability to deal with stress, and damaging our immune system, and raising inflammation…basically harming our bodies in many ways. Essentially, by letting yourself grumble and complain you are in fact harming yourself. You are actually doing damage to your own mind, and body, and soul! So, in addition to resisting giving into grumbling for God’s sake, and for other’s sake…resist it for your own sake as well.
But on the contrary, the effects of gratitude, when practiced consistently, can be the same or better than medications. Our God created us to be grateful and to practice thankfulness. And when we do, it benefits us in body, soul, and spirit. It produces feelings of long-lasting happiness and contentment. Just going through some expressions of blessings to the Lord and giving thanks to God is like going through a ‘detoxing session’ for your mind and body. How amazing is that? And how about the effects on our brain?
A brain filled with gratitude and kindness is more likely to sleep better, and can better handle stress, even reducing anxiety and depression. By merely acknowledging and appreciating the little things in life, we can rewire the brain to deal with our present circumstances with more awareness and perception. That makes us think of Rom 12:2 – “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” NASU
How kind of our God, to create our brain with the ability to be reorganized or rewired throughout our lives. As we develop godly thinking patterns and practice thankful disciplines, the very pathways in our brains are changed. We have a great example of this from a passage in 2 Corinthians. Problems in life like afflictions, confusion, persecution of various sorts, and just feeling struck down by the troubles of life can push even believers to turn to grumbling and griping and complaining…which only makes things worse anyway, and even damages their health and personality, like we pointed out.
However, the Apostle Paul gave us a ‘key’ to turn these trials into triumphs…a way to have victory over these seeming defeats. Notice: 2 Cor 4:7-10- “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” NASU
You see that? We have to deal with the same troubles and trials and messes and stresses that others have to deal with in this cursed and sin-damaged world. But because we have been re-united to Christ in our spirit and have immortality in our soul, and one day will also be immortal in our body, we have a new power to deal with them all. The ‘power’ is not from ourselves, but it is the power of God working in us. So we can now say to afflictions, confusion, persecution, trials, and troubles… “But God has overcome them all. And in my union with God in Jesus Christ, I, too, will overcome them all!” And that also inspires a whole host of things to then thank God about! And, once again, whereas grumbling weakens us…gratitude strengthens us…strengthens us to face troubles and trials with more and more victories rather than defeats.
And just like in our reading this morning, the practice of giving thanks is the very pathway to getting closer to God and connecting more deeply with God. Ps 100:4- “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.” NASU Thanks and praise are both how we enter into a deeper and more vital relationship with God, but also the way that God works deeper in our mind and heart and life. God takes up residence in the place where thanks and praise live.
And we’ll wrap this up with a remarkable thing about the Hebrew word for ‘Thank you’. The Hebrew word is ‘Toda’. The first letter represents a covenant, an everlasting covenant. The second letter symbolizes a nail. The third letter represents a door. And the last letter in the word is a symbol that depicts a person holding up their hands in prayer. So even the Hebrew word for ‘Thanks’, ‘Toda’ makes us think of Yeshua…Jesus, who made an everlasting covenant with us through His sacrifice on the Cross for us, and who, Himself, is the door through which we enter into a relationship with God, which all leaves us in a prayer of thanksgiving to our God who loves us so and made a way for us to be with Him forever. What a great way to think about what giving thanks is really all about…both giving thanks to God and giving ourselves in thanks to God for Him giving Himself to us.
(Some biological information gleaned from – Uclahealth.org)
(Hebrew word information from: David Phillips, Thanksgiving: The Deeper Meaning Behind the Word ‘Toda’ Midnight Call)