Attitudes

Introduction

One lady writes, I tell you, men drivers are a hazard to traffic. Driving to work this morning on Highway 11 from Albert Street, I looked over to my left and there's this man in a Mustang doing 95 miles per hour with his face up next to his rear view mirror.... shaving!!! I looked away for a couple of seconds and when I looked back, he's halfway over in my lane. It scared me so bad I almost dropped my eye liner pencil in my coffee.

This morning in preparation for our national Thanksgiving Holiday I thought I would talk about attitudes.

I am going to read a number of isolated passages from the New Testament:

2 Corinthians 4:15 NKJV

For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 9:11 NKJV

while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.

Philippians 4:6 NKJV

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

Colossians 2:7 NKJV

rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

Colossians 4:2 NKJV

Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;

1 Timothy 4:3-4 NKJV

forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. {4} For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving;

The overriding attitude spoken of in these verses is gratitude, Yes gratitude is an extremely important attitude.

But I want to explore another attitude. This story comes from the 1960's. We all know what this country was like back then. A young man, a beach bum, we might have called him, came to know Jesus Christ as his Savior. Come Sunday morning he knew he needed to go to church to worship Christ. So he selected his best cloths for the occassion. His best tie died shirt, his best beach shorts and his best flip-flops. He went to an old church in town, the church was well over 100 years old, solid gray stone, stained glass windows and the like, you know the type. In the church were women in diamonds, firs, and pearls. The men in three piece suits, diamond stick pins, and silver headed canes. Into this fine church came the young hippy. The congregation was aghast, how could this hippy just waltz into their church? The young man walked down the center isle looking for a good seat. Can you imagine what those good Christians did as he approached their row? They spread out a little to insure that he might not think there was enough room on their row. But he walked on, think of it, the very best place in the church was vacant, just waiting for him. He reached the very front of the church and sat right there in front of the pulpit on the floor. The people were horrified. But an elderly man, in his three piece suit walking along with his silver headed cane began to walk down the isle toward the young man. As he walked down, the people relaxed, brother Jones would set that hippy right, he would escort him out before the service started. Brother Jones got to the young man and leaned down and said something in his ear, the young hippy nodded then brother Jones struggled to sit down next to the young man and put his arm around him and nodded to the preacher to begin.

Years ago, we lived in Massachuset and attended Highland Baptist Church in the town of Leominister about 40 minutes from our place. One Sunday a family walked into the church just about the time to begin the worship service. The wife and kids were clean and polished, all decked out for church. But the father’s hands and cloths were covered in dirt. In my mind, to my shame, I judged the guy as not being worthy to worship with us. I found out after the service that on the way to church they had a flat, dad had to put on the spare. In doing that little chore he got dirty. But instead of going back home to clean up, he decided to go to church and still be on time, a little dirty.

Lets examine some attitudes in these two illustrations

In the first illustration about the young hippy the first attitude to look at is the attitude of the young fellow.

He had come to know Jesus Christ as his Savior.