Grapevine Ministries
Messages from the bible to uplift and encourage those that need a word from the Lord, to strengthen their faith. Ps Phillip Barker is an itinerant pastor in Perth, Western Australia.
Grapevine Ministries
Part VI The Power of Gratitude
The transformative power of gratitude takes center stage as we explore the sixth part of God's Benefit Package. This spiritual practice isn't just about being thankful for what we've already received—it's about expressing gratitude to God in advance for His answers, demonstrating powerful faith that recognizes His goodness before outcomes materialize.
Looking to Jesus as our perfect example, we discover something fascinating: though He surely lived in constant gratitude, only four specific instances of His expressed thankfulness appear in scripture. Each reveals profound wisdom about spiritual gratitude that transcends human understanding. When Jesus thanked God for "hiding truth from the wise while revealing it to the childlike," He demonstrated gratitude not just for acceptance but even for rejection—recognizing that unprepared hearts might reduce divine revelation to mere intellectual exercise.
The COVID-19 pandemic taught us all how easily we take everyday blessings for granted. From the simple joy of a grandchild's laughter to the beauty of sunrise over the Swan River, these gifts deserve our attention and appreciation. True gratitude connects us deeply with God by acknowledging Him as the source of all good things in our lives.
Most powerfully, we see Jesus consistently thanking God before miracles manifested—like when facing thousands of hungry people with minimal food. This pattern of pre-emptive gratitude demonstrates complete confidence in divine provision. Since we have "the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16), we can approach prayer with the same grateful anticipation, moving beyond human doubts into spiritual certainty.
Ready to experience more of God's kingdom in your life? Start by cultivating Christ's mindset of gratitude—finding something to rejoice over in the spirit even when circumstances seem challenging. When you express gratitude before your prayers are answered, you position yourself to witness God's faithful response in ways that will transform your faith journey.
Good morning, good afternoon, wherever you are in the world - Welcome to Grapevine Ministries.
Today we start with part six of God's Benefit Package. And uh just a review of what we did last week when we were talking about motives matter. And in keeping in line with motives matter, this next part is about the power of gratitude. It's a matter of being grateful and expressing gratitude to God in advance for his answers, because this is an act of powerful faith, recognizing God's goodness and faithfulness before the outcome is seen, much like Jesus did, and as described in the scriptures. This practice builds strong faith, it cultivates peace, and it demonstrates understanding of God's character, leading to increased blessings and a deeper connection to Him. Now, the reason I'm emphasizing on this in particular is because our faith is based upon our understanding of the word of God and how it does, and always, and I mean always, using Jesus as an example for the way that he did things, you know, and I'll talk about this a bit later on in the message, but I just want to reiterate this particular aspect of it as well, is Jesus said that he never did anything except what the Father told him to do. And yet, when you read into it a little bit further, he never asked his disciples to do anything that he wasn't prepared to do. Sometimes that aspect of it there is not clearly uh understood in the scriptures because the focus is mainly around him. I give it a little bit of a uh an insight. I mean, um, you know, I I'm normally not one that likes referring to um American customs, traditions, and all this sort of stuff, but I've sort of had to do it by default now because um when my kids go on holidays and um they go to places like Japan or America, they seem to be mesmerized by some of the things that they do that we don't actually do in our culture in Australia. So after a trip to the US in 2014, my kids kind of become obsessed with everything American. So we're approaching that stage now where the Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, uh, which is on the 4th November of um in each month, the month of November, right? So Thanksgiving in 2025, just to sort of like put things into perspective, is Thursday, November the 27th, okay? So two months time, okay. So in getting spiritually ready for this message, I could not go past this most celebrated event of Thanksgiving because it has become apparent that it there's had a flow-on effect from the way that America does this sort of thing, and especially in Western society, it's been adopted by a lot more people, um, mainly because there's such a um a growing uh population of Americans living in other parts of uh Western society, so uh it makes sense to a certain degree, all right. So this is a much celebrated event not only in America and my family by all counts. So I've realized that even with all of the challenges and the struggles from the last three years that me and my wife and my kids have had to go through, um, there is much to be thankful for. So, with all that in mind, who needs a secular holiday to celebrate and give thanks for all the big and the small blessings we've received from our Heavenly Father? We don't, but you know, we live in this world, but we're not of it. So there is a very, very strong uh draw in in our you know, in our genetic makeup, because from a very, very young age, okay, we you know, we're born into sin. The the reality of the fact is we're born into sin. And we are taught things based wholly and solely around a secular perspective. Even if you're born into a Christian family, um, you you still have a tendency to look at so many aspects of what goes on in the world today from a secular perspective, that um we go along with the flow of things, you know. Um I don't want to go into too many details, otherwise I'll get bogged down in this. Um maybe later, I make little notes and I think, okay, this is something that I could speak to about uh at a later date. But I want to try and stay on track. You know, I mean, I've probably said it once, I've said it a thousand times. I have a tendency to do this. I just go off my notes, and before you know it, uh, we've gone down the rabbit hole, and um we're looking for Alice in Wonderland, but we're not gonna do that today. Now, there's been so many personal blessings this year alone with us, both big and both small, but sometimes the little things that I am simply aware of that there are things to be thankful for uh that mean so much. I mean, simple things like the joyful laughter of our grandchildren that is so infectious. My little uh granddaughter, I mean, just last time we had her doing a sleepover, that laugh, it's just it's it's just uh you can't describe it, but it just makes you feel so precious inside of you. Things like moonlight on a wet grass, the spring blossom of new flowers, the swan river, which Maria calls her happy place, or just seeing the morning sunrise, these are all things that we naturally take for granted. Uh, everybody remembers where they were during COVID 19. And in some parts of the country, and in other parts of the world, just the fact that we were deprived from our everyday, everyday tasks that we took for granted, and we do, we all take for granted the things that we do on a daily basis. But as soon as we are deprived of that, we think that the whole world has come to a standstill, which it almost did during COVID-19, and there were challenges in every direction because I mean, I know there's been some horrific things happen throughout history and all of that sort of stuff, but this was the very, very first genuine global pandemic, and it changed the way that we look at things forever, you know, and everybody was saying, well, let's wait until we get back to some form of normality, but we will never get back to a normality because we've got back to what is known as a new normal. So we were very, very grateful for the most basic of principles. I mean, the amount of people that went out and and bought dogs because uh that was the only way you could get out of the house if you're you know doing exercise or taking your your pet for a walk. So people just went and got dogs or borrowed the next door neighbour's dogs, they did all sorts of things because they were deprived of their basic human principles of things that they thought that they were entitled to. So each Thanksgiving that my kids celebrate in their own unique way, both myself and Maria, my wife, we try to think of fresh ways to think of being grateful and reaffirming why we are grateful is even more important in the first place. It's not a matter of being grateful, it's a matter of being grateful for the little things, the simple things. And see, gratitude is important because it connects us with God. It's about acknowledging our relationship with the divine, and that God is the source of all the good, all the blessings in our life, irrespective of how they are. So gratitude and thankfulness go hand in hand. One of the things I'm most grateful for this year is the increasingly clear focus in my life of the importance of living with the mindset of Jesus. So, in thinking about all I have to be grateful for this year, I got to be wondering, just out of curiosity, what was Jesus grateful for? So going through the scriptures, and I've probably mentioned this a hundred times, and I probably shouldn't. I'm not bragging or anything like that, but I am I'm at the moment, uh, through Nikki and and Pippa Gumble, I am reading the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you always keep coming across these golden nuggets, as Pastor Margaret Court used to always say, um, but I look at it this way in a lot of aspects, what we are doing is we get this ram of knowledge, this this revelational aspect of different scriptures, and we're constantly reminded of the things that have taken place that sometimes we overlook when we're focusing on certain parts of the Bible, we have a tendency to overlook things, or you know, if we're in a challenging part of the Bible, we sort of like skip read to a certain degree. This time I'm taking a more in-depth look into it and and getting a lot of uh additional um commentary to go with it. So, what I want to focus on at the moment is how did Jesus express his gratitude? See, I would imagine that Jesus lived in a constant state of gratitude to God. He was always quick to point out to his followers that he could only do what he did because his relationship with God and the Father was directing him to do. But there are only four specific times when the gratitude Jesus expressed was recorded in one of the four Gospels. Sometimes it was reported in more than one gospel, but there's only four times, four specific times that you hear Jesus saying that he was grateful for something. So here's what I've discovered. As you hear how Jesus expressed gratitude, think how you can follow his example. Because when all gets said and done, if I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. Um we need to try and be more Christ-like each and every day. That's what that's what our ultimate goal should be. But Jesus gave thanks four times that we know of. Uh I'm not sort of like saying this as gospel, so to speak, in case there's somewhere else and I've missed it, or it's just the way that it's been interpreted. I don't want to anybody thinking, oh, but Pastor Phil said this and and he's wrong. Um I'm going based on my understanding of the word of God. Uh, and if there's somewhere else, please send me a message, tell me about it. I'm happy to be corrected. Now, the first time we see Jesus expressing thanks is in Luke 10. Uh, but this particular one is also found in Matthew 11. Now, I don't want to sort of like uh be stuck on the scriptures, so please write them down, okay, and look for yourself. Now, Jesus had been teaching and he was preaching and he was healing all over the place. There were certain people who believed on him as a result, but there were many who didn't. And Jesus refers to several cities in particular which weren't very receptive to who he was. Now Jesus rebukes uh Corazin uh Bethesda and Capernaum for not accepting him or his message, even after seeing him heal so many people. And you read about this in Luke 10 13 to 21. And then he thanks God. At that same time, Jesus was filled with joy of the Holy Spirit, and he said this, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way, and that's Luke 10 21. I used to only see one thing here, and Jesus being grateful for that God had revealed to the childlike. His disciples and the others of his followers, these spiritual things, who he was, and the healing power which came with it. But it dawned on me one day that Jesus is actually thanking God for two very different things. He first thanks God that these deep spiritual truths have been hidden from those who are wise and clever in their own eyes, and then he thanks God for revealing the truth to the childlike hearts. Now, I don't want you taking this the wrong way, and that that is implying that all intellectual people were too well educated and smart to um believe what was going on in Jesus' time on earth, and everybody that was simple-minded or childlike um were the only ones that came to know Jesus. That's not what I'm saying. Read the scriptures and get a better understanding of what I'm actually saying here. Jesus gave thanks for two opposite things. See, why was Jesus grateful for the wise and the clever not receiving the truth? It's easy to be grateful to God when things work out the way that we want them to, or even better than what we could have imagined. But how do you find something to be grateful for when people reject your God-given purpose and your message when you face opposition, defeat, or setback? See, when you've been rejected, misunderstood, and mistreated, it seems more natural to have a pity party, and I know I've been very guilty of that very thing. But at some point, you have to disinvite yourself from that scene and shift your thoughts to a more spiritual perspective. Now I'll say it again, we live in this world, but we're not of it. And Jesus also said when he was sending out the disciples, and he said, Go out two by two in all the world, preach the gospel. But if they reject you, you know, kick the dust from your feet and move on. In other words, don't be kicking against the goads, you know. Either people are gonna accept you for who you are and and and what you believe in, or they're not. There's no need to start an argument or a debate over it. Um you're just simply telling them this is what the word of God says. I mean, this is not me saying this, it's this is this is Jesus' words. See, gratitude is often the way out, even if we sometimes miss this the first time around, or sometimes even the second time, uh, thank God for grace, because sometimes even the third and the fourth time, uh, we are sometimes a little slow on the uptake. But this is the prayer of rejoicing in the spirit. There's not always something to rejoice over in human circumstances, but there is always something to rejoice over in the spirit. This is exactly what Jesus was doing. He vents his frustration just as you and I would, but then he turns directly to God and finds something to be grateful for. And it's not just some random gratitude list, he specifically mentions these two particular things. So why would Jesus thank God for holding the truth from some people? Wasn't he supposed to minister to everyone? Well, yes, and wasn't he for the salvation of all mankind? Well, yes, of course. But your heart has to be ready, prepared to receive the truth. Jesus came to bear witness to it. Now, excuse me, I remember uh there was a a preacher that came to Victory Life one one year, and um and he was saying that every one of us um has the opportunity to bring ten people to Christ each year, right? Even if you're not an evangelist or anything like that, he says that you will come across ten people each year that are ready to hear the gospel. Now, that's all about discernment. So when you feel there's an opportunity to share the gospel, then you need to take that opportunity. You you're not evangelizing and you're not Bible bashing, but but it it's very clear that you get to share the gospel, and the way that he put it, you know, and I I've I've looked at this a lot because I've you know when I worked at a community outreach program, I was always leading people to the Lord and speaking into people's lives on many, many occasions. But see, sometimes, right, you will come across a person and you will plant a seed. So you will speak to them about the the word of God in some aspect, okay, um, and they may not be ready to receive it. Someone else will come alongside that person at another stage, and they will water the seed that you planted, and then someone else at a later time will harvest that and that will bring them to salvation. So it's it's not all up to you to be the be all and the end all, you know, but by the same tokens, this is like Jesus, right? Um, if they reject the word of God that you're trying to portray to them, don't let it worry you. You know, they are not ready. See, hearts of childlike folks are ready. They knew they needed something beyond themselves, they knew they needed God, they took to heart the teachings of Jesus and saw his healing works. It convinced them that this hillside preacher from Nazareth was not just some ordinary guy out to tell a few good stories and to promote his own agenda. Many people, even today, they know of Jesus, they know who he was, and they knew what he did, and they saw him not as the Messiah, but as the greatest prophet to ever walk the face of the earth. So there's no disputing that Jesus did exist. It's not like some Greek mythological thing or anything like that. He actually did exist, he was crucified. Uh, it's only the resurrection where people have us has an issue and a stumbling block. But he is known throughout the world in many, many different faith levels and many different religions, okay, as the greatest prophet who ever walked the face of the earth. And this is why so many people fear Jesus because the prophecies that he spoke of have been fulfilled. See, the thing is they began to hope and glimpse that he was the fulfillment of their deepest longings for the Messiah to come. But these wise and clever ones were not ready for the message. They were like the people whom God rebukes because they trust in their own wisdom. It says in Isaiah 40 10, Your wisdom and your knowledge lead you astray. It also says that we perish through lack of knowledge. So why was Jesus grateful for the wise that didn't understand him? Well, if you give a full-size hammer to a three-year-old, you shouldn't be surprised if he hurts himself and wreaks havoc on the surrounding and punches holes in walls and does all sorts of things. Because he's not ready to use this tool. So you start with baby steps, give him a plastic toy hammer first, and let him use that to practice banging on things and banging nails in and doing all that stuff, and as he gets older, he can use the real one. That is the simplest way of looking at it, okay? See, it's the same when someone starts as an apprenticeship in any field, you don't give them power tools or get them to start building uh a brick wall of a house because that will be the crookedest thing this side of the black stump. They need to start off in the apprenticeship stage, and as they learn, they progress through their apprenticeship to become the actual uh master of their trade. It's the same with everything else, all things have to do the same thing. See, I think Jesus is thankful God, he's thankful to God for hiding the grown-up hammers. For these spiritual toddlers, there was a reason as a parent that we teach our children some things, but not everything. You teach them to walk and use a a spoon and a knife and a fork, but you don't teach them how to cook straight away. See, they were not mature enough in humility and spirituality to understand and to use Jesus' message appropriately, they would have turned it into a doctrinal debate or an intellectual exercise using the human mind to try and make sense of what Jesus said. Look, if you're a preacher or an evangelist, Evangelist, or just someone who was willing to share your faith with people. Have you ever thanked God when people didn't believe the gospel you just shared and preached? Until well into my ministry walk, I had not done this. Once again, I am grateful for grace, but now I see the wisdom of Jesus shining through this type of gratitude. He was grateful that unprepared hearts didn't accept this message because it might end up being just an exercise of the human mind, the intellect, the gerbil will that will start spinning around and around but getting nowhere spiritually. Now I have got so much more to go through, and I'm not going to be able to actually do this all. See, in the presence of very little food, hardly enough for one or two families, Jesus prayed and thanked God. This was the feeding of the 5,000. But I'm gonna I'm gonna leave it there because I I've just looked I don't want to sound like a broken record, but we need to be just like Jesus and always thank God before our prayers are answered. Can you and I pray with the same degree of gratitude and confidence that God will hear and answer our prayers? Remember, we have the mind of Christ. Yes, we can, because we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2 16. If you pray with your own human mind, it is all fears and doubts and cannot get through to our Heavenly Father. There is so much more I can say on this matter, but listen, I just want to finish off with this. Ponder the ways Jesus expressed gratitude, albeit in his mindset. Be grateful with the mind of Christ, not just your little human mind. Bear witness to the kingdom of God at hand and be grateful for its presence, and you will see the kingdom come more and more into your life. And we'll leave it there. Got so much more to say, but uh that's enough for today. God bless you and take care. Bye for now.
