Attitude Determines Altitude

2. God’s power enables you to overcome giants (17:13).

The giants you and I face today are not like Canaanites, but more often times the daily battle with the giant of sin. It is God’s Holy Spirit power that enables us to overcome. Romans 8:11 - If you are a follower of Jesus, you can rejoice that the same Spirit that raised Christ from the grave is alive in you!

3. God gives you a purpose worth living for.

What kept Joshua and Caleb on the right road into the Promised Land? Why was it those 2 pleased God and entered into God’s plan victoriously, while 600,000 died in the wilderness? Joshua and Caleb believed God. No matter how long they stayed in the wilderness the promised land was on their mind!

* I was reading in Hebrews 10:23-25 this week. I’ve read this passage many times before, but the Spirit of God spoke to my heart in a tremendous way. Listen, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

God is faithful. Let’s never forget that. One of the reasons He has us here is to worship Him, witness to others, build up love, good works in the Body of Christ. God’s church has a purpose. Do you know that purpose for why you are here as a Christian?

* Apple’s purpose statement is, “"To make a contribution to the world by making tools for the mind that advance humankind." We have 5 main purposes as a church family. We are here to worship God, evangelize, disciple, minister, fellowship.

II.. Avoid Spiritual Apathy (17:14-16).

* Often times Christians will say their walk with God just seems dry. It is normally during those dry times that believers tend to neglect their personal fellowship with the Lord. Dr. Mark Brister (my pastor during teen years) said when he went through dry times in his walk with God, he’d take out one of his old favorite Bibles, go back and read some of those underlined verses. Go back and recall times when he felt closer to the Lord.

How can you avoid spiritual apathy?

(1) Let go of a complaining attitude (17:14)

* A constant complainer stumbled upon a $10 bill. He said, “Just my luck, if someone else would have found this, it would have been a $20 bill.”

The Manassites were constant complainers. They were upset about Joshua’s spiritual stance and felt they deserved special treatment.

(2) Let go of a complacent attitude.

Always remember, the day you stop learning is the day you stop growing. Sometimes we take this attitude into our church live, family life, work life. “I’ll always be stuck here. I can’t ever get any better. I’ve gone as far as I want to go.” What often leads us to become complacent? It’s the feeling of, “I’m better than others. I should not have to work because I’m in the upper class.”