Having A "Whatever" Attitude Series

Having a “Whatever” Attitude

1 Tim 6

This pastoral letter written by Paul to his young charge Timothy is filled with practical advice to us in the 21st century. The entire letter has to do with an attitude. Once on a program called “Full House” the neighbor Kimmy had a boyfriend named Dwayne, all Dwayne would say is “whatever.” The only attitude a Christian should have is “whatever.” Not in an irreverent way, but the attitude of doing “whatever” is necessary to build HIS KINGDOM.

As we have considered God’s call on our lives, to be the person He desires for us to and become the church that He desires for us to become we have considered the following:

1. Paul’s testimony from 1 Cor. 9:22-23 of “becoming all things to all people using all possible means to share the Gospel” should become our testimony, too.

2. That Jesus had a “whatever” heart

Because of His heart and His commitment, he faced temptation, rejection, and diversions. We must remember that in our quest to do “whatever” and live out that commitment, we will face the enemy’s temptations. We will have to deal w/ rejection from those who do not understand our commitment, don’t share our commitment, and feel threatened by our commitment. We need single-minded devotion to battle against diversions that threaten to keep us in our comfort zones where we are accepted, settling for good things when we could have the best.

3. Look at the lives of Martha and Mary

We must learn to survive and thrive in the midst of our busy lives by letting Christ in, listening to His words, and limiting the distractions in our lives. Martha was so busy about the house that she forgot the most important thing. Mary was so interested in listening to Jesus that nothing else mattered. Our lives must have a balance, but balance with priority goes nowhere.

Each of these messages dealt with our personal commitment to being a “whatever” person. Tonight, the focus is on this congregation. We must remember that we are the Lord’s, we are blood bought saints of the living Christ. Yet we must also understand that judgment will not start with the world, but with us. We will answer to HIM. We will stand judgment, if there is a question it will be “what have you done for me?” Chuck Colson has said: “For the church in the West [us] to come alive, it needs to resolve its identity crisis, to stand on biblical truth, to renew its vision…and, more than anything else, recover the fear of the Lord. Only that will give us the holy abandon that will cause us to be the church no matter what the culture around us says or does.” (Being the Body, p. 130-131) Do we have the desire to be the Body of Christ we are called to be in this day and age? Do we have a “whatever” attitude?

To have this attitude we must:

I. PREACH TRUTH – Ch. 1

In Chapter 1 we see that Timothy was facing difficult situation in his church. False teachers were leading people away from the foundations of their faith. Only way to counter their teachings was to stand his ground, command them to stop teaching the false doctrines, and fight the good fight of the faith. We are living in a day in which there are more and more false teachers espousing their views.

a. Talk shows are full of them.

b. Websites are abundant.

c. Even in some Christian churches all over the world.

d. Mormon Church has launched the largest publicity campaign in its history.

To be a “whatever” church, we must preach the truth of the Gospel as strongly as we possibly can, in every way we possibly can, as often as we possibly can.

The Bible has the truth. This is the truth that the world needs to hear! As we do this, there will be battles to fight. Only by doing “whatever” it takes to preach the truth – and LIVING the truth – will we be victorious!

“Saving Pvt. Ryan” – toward end of movie. Young soldier whose sole job was to get ammo to the soldiers fighting the enemy was too terrified to move. Soldiers died because he did not get them ammo. People will die in their sins and be lost for eternity if we do not take the truth to them.

II. WE WILL PRAY FERVENTLY – Ch. 2

We know that God is all-powerful and all-knowing. But what an incredible privilege He has given to us in letting us help Him change the world through our prayers. A “whatever” church will pray diligently, especially for the lost! The language Paul uses about prayer would mean to literally fall on your face and beg. Prayers are to be lifted up with reverence. Prayer is a part of worship. We are called to intercede on behalf of the saints, but we can also intercede on behalf of the lost. We pray for them by name, we pray for opportunities to talk to them, we pray for circumstances in their lives that would turn their attention to GOD. And we pray thanking God for what he has done, what he is doing and for what he will do.