It’s Not About Me… When It Comes To:
ATTITUDE
Philipians 2:5-11
Video Clip: Facing The Giants
My attitude is a window to my heart. Not necessarily my desired heart, but my true heart… depraved and self-serving as it is.
We all fight with our attitudes. The victories are many times hard fought and the defeats come more often than we would like. When we lose the battle very little good, if any, comes from it. We usually end up embarrassing ourselves and others while bruising our testimony.
I searched several dictionaries for an appropriate definition of attitude and here is a personal rendering of what I discovered.
Attitude is a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways; often indicated by body posture and position.
In the end my bad attitude indicates, that I at that moment, I believe it’s “all about me.”
If you think about it there are many attitudes:
Positive Attitudes
Negative Attitudes
Attitudes of Indifference
Selfish Attitudes
Caring Attitudes
Carefree Attitudes
Responsible Attitudes
Irresponsible Attitudes
The list is long. So it’s rather impossible for us to look at each individual attitude. Rather, if we could find a scriptural example of the perfect attitude maybe we could gain some insight that would help us improve ours.
Now… when it comes to a perfect attitude there is only one place to turn… Jesus Christ exemplified the perfect attitude. His responses are flawless, His answers penetrating and dead accurate, His composure was unmatched, and His compassion without limits. That is where we must look… Because after all it’s all about Him… right?
Philippians 2:5-11 5Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
PRAYER
In verse 5 the Greek word for “mind” is phroneō, which has to do with one’s attitude. Paul tells the Philippians that they should have the same attitude that Jesus Christ had.
Now understand that the bar has not been lowered for us. We too must have the same attitude that Christ had. He demonstrated for us how to respond in such a way as to bring glory to our heavenly Father… which, by the way, was His main objective… 11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
- When Jesus was tired, He kept going because He wanted to glorify the Father.
- When others mocked Him for centering His life around God’s word, He marched on because He wanted to glorify the Father.
- When He faced death and even prayed that the cup be passed from Him… He endured the cross because He wanted to glorify the Father.
An ironically enough, the Father’s main motivation in allowing Jesus Christ to endure so much was His intense love for you… and Jesus, being one with the Father and Holy Spirit, had the same motivation… love for you and a desire to glorify the Father held Him to that cross…
Don’t think for a moment that Roman nails were capable of holding the King of Kings on two pieces of rough lumber… NO… it was His love for you that held Him there!
Many times ministry and our walk with Christ becomes difficult, or maybe old and stale… when that happens, our attitude usually follows suit. Attitude is so important in remaining committed to Jesus Christ and His church…
Much has been written about attitude…
REBECCA MANLEY PIPPERT
God . . . gives me the freedom to acknowledge my negative attitudes before him but not the freedom to act them out because they are as destructive for me as they are for the other person.
ED HOWE (1853–1937)
If you don’t learn to laugh at trouble, you won’t have anything to laugh at when you’re old.
WILLIAM JAMES (1842–1910)
People can alter their lives by altering their attitudes.
VIKTOR E. FRANKL (1905– )
We who lived in the concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number; but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of his freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.
Charles Swindoll said: “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past, we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string that we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you. We are in charge of our attitudes.”
So… what does the bible tell us in regards to this “mind or attitude of Christ” that we are to possess?
1. He did what was necessary to get the job done!
6Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Notice several things about Jesus’ attitude…
- He didn’t feel cheated (thought it not robbery)
- He didn’t mind serving (form of a servant)
- He stepped out of His comfort zone (likeness of men)
- He didn’t let pride affect Him (he humbled himself)
- He didn’t let fear stop Him (obedient unto death
One of the things that usually follow a bad attitude is a bad excuse… in all that Jesus had to face, He never made excuses…
- Do you think He got tired?
- Do you think He faced criticism?
- Do you think He had other options available to Him instead of advancing the kingdom?
- Do you think advancing Himself could have been encouraged by others? “Forget that ministry and church stuff Jesus, I can make you into a big star!”
It happened you know… Luke 4:5 - 8 (KJV) 5And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. 8And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
When presented with promoting Himself or redeeming you… He chose you… How does that make you feel about your service toward Him?
1. He was exalted by God after the job was done!
9Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Now you may be thinking about now… “Okay, God exalted Jesus for His attitude, but what about me?”
I want to show you how you and I are linked to Christ and His exaltation… In other words, what God gave Him for doing the job and keeping the right attitude… God will do for us. Check it out!
Ephesians 2:4 - 7 (KJV) 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Listen… attitude is a choice. You can always find something to complain about and someone to agree with you… If you are wise, you will seek out individuals who have positive attitudes about what God is doing and get on board.
God is doing some great things in the life of this church and we must all examine our hearts and check our attitudes so that we can take full advantage of what God intends to do.
In September, I will begin a series of messages on stewardship and How God gets things done through churches who have a heart to work…
I’m excited about what God has called me to do… and I’m excited that He’s called you to be a part of it with me… I love this church and Love this work…
I have learned and am still learning, It’s Not About Me! When it’s about Him there are no limits to what He’ll do!
Are you giving God your BEST!!! Prayer
