The 7 Ups of Life
Scripture Ref: Psalm 118:24
1 Samuel 16:7
Proverbs 3:5-6; 13:3
Galatians 6:9-10
Philippians 4:6, 13
Matthew 6:25-33
Other Ref: The Bible Knowledge Commentary
1. Introduction
a. Are you a Tigger or an Eeyore? Do you start each day with a smile and full of excitement or are you always down and sure that things won’t go your way?
b. Did you know you have a choice?
c. Today we are going to focus on how to be “up.”
d. Read “Attitude Is Everything” by Francie Baltazar Schwartz
Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"
He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don’t get it! You can’t be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"
Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.’ I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."
"Yeah, right, it’s not that easy," I protested.
"Yes it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line—It’s your choice how you live life."
I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business—he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gun point by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.
I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I’d be twins. Wanna see my scars?"
I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices—I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live.
"Weren’t you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, ’He’s a dead man. " I knew I needed to take action."
"What did you do?" I asked.
"Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. ’Yes,’ I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, ’Bullets!’ Over their laughter, I told them, ’I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.
e. Jerry knew the secret—being happy and having a positive attitude is a choice.
f. Here are the Biblical foundations for that attitude, the seven “Ups!”
2. First—Wake Up!!
a. What is your attitude when you first awaken?
(1) Do you rush right into your routine? Are you immediately focused on what the day has in store for you, what lies ahead?
(2) Or, do you take the time to thank God for His grace and mercy, and ask His blessings on what lies before you?
b. Read Psalm 118:24—This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
c. The Psalmist makes it very clear, this day, or any day, is a gift from God. We should rejoice because of this great gift and be glad or happy in it.
3. Second—Dress Up!
a. So now you’re awake. It’s time for the morning routine—shower, shave, brush your teeth, and dress.
b. When you consider your attire for the day, do you consider your physical attire as well?
c. The best way to dress up, to put the finishing touches on your appearance, is to put on a smile.
d. Read 1 Samuel 16:7—But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
(1) Your friends, your co-workers, even your family, may focus on your outward appearance. That is, your new dress or your new suit, but God is not concerned with such things.
(2) Rather, God is concerned on what is on the inside. With Christ in your heart and the knowledge of what ultimately lies in store for you, how can you not smile?
4. Third—Shut Up!
a. I was taught long ago, if you can’t say anything nice about somebody, then say nothing at all.
b. Although the thought is a bit cliché, it would seem that since God gave us two ears and only one mouth He intended for us to speak less and listen more.
c. My Dad used to quote this little poem:
The mighty owl is a wise old bird.
The less he spoke, the more he heard.
The more he heard, the more he learned.
Now, wasn’t that a wise old bird?
d. Read Proverbs 13:3—He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.
(1) Being careful of what you say keeps you out of trouble; whereas speaking hastily and thoughtlessly can bring trouble to not only you, but also to others.
(2) Speaking without thought can cause you to make promises you can’t keep, reveal information you shouldn’t, offend others, or misrepresent the truth.
e. Make it a point to engage your brain before you open your mouth.
5. Fourth—Stand Up!
a. Aaron Tippin, a couple of years ago, released a song that included these words in the lyrics, “…you’ve got stand for something or you’ll fall for anything.”
b. As Christians, it is important that we stand up for our beliefs, for what we know to be true and right.
c. Read Galatians 6:9-10—Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
(1) It is easy to become discouraged or frustrated with spiritual sowing, because we often do not see the result of that planting and even less often do we see the harvest of that planting.
(2) We often reach the point we say, “why bother?” “Nothing is going to happen anyhow.”
(3) We have to keep in mind, though, that the harvest is God’s timing, not ours. When we plant our gardens, we don’t instantly see the plants grow and bear fruit like Jack’s mystical beanstalk.
(4) We do, however, have a responsibility to always do good, whether to Christian or non-Christian.
(5) When Christ fed the 5,000, it wasn’t to just 5,000 saved people and the un-saved were left to fend for themselves.
(6) While the church is not a social organization, it does have the responsibility and the charge to minister to people as it able and as it has the opportunity.
6. Fifth—Look Up!
a. A television program from the 50s frequently used the line, “Look! Up in the air, it’s a bird, it’s a plane. No, it’s Superman.”
b. Whenever problems arose, they could always count on meek and mild-mannered Clark Kent to shed the suit, glasses, and shy persona and become Superman. They could count on him to save whatever problem they were collectively facing at the time.
c. While we don’t have a Superman, we do have a super God. And though he doesn’t come flying in faster than a speeding locomotive to solve our problems, he does equip us to solve or contend with our problems.
d. Read Philippians 4:13—I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
(1) In this statement, Paul tells the church at Philippi that he could handle anything through Christ, even handling poverty or living in abundance.
(2) This was not an expression of pride in his abilities, but rather a statement of the strength he received through his reliance on Christ.
e. So, when you wake up, if you can’t dress up, then look up. Look up to the God who has given you so much.
7. Sixth—Reach Up!
a. Do you have those moments when you just aren’t sure? Do you question whether the actions you have decided on are what God would have you do?
b. It is important that when you have these doubts, as you look up, reach up!
c. Read Proverbs 3:5-6—Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
(1) Trusting in God means so much more than just trusting in Him when the times are tough.
(2) While we may not understand God’s ways or His reasoning, the one thing we can understand with certainty is that He has our best interests at heart.
(3) We may be wise beyond our years, but that wisdom can never replace the need for a full and complete trust in God’s superior ways.
(4) If we trust in God and acknowledge Him, not with just a nod of recognition, but with a deep and intimate knowledge of Him; we find that he will make our paths straight. That is, He removes obstacles, or shows us a way around them, and makes a smooth path for us to travel, or gives us a better life, or helps us to achieve that unachievable goal.
8. Seventh—Lift Up!
a. Do you remember that sleek new bicycle you wanted? How about that pretty new dress? Or, years later, that car you just had to have in order to continue living?
b. Whatever your wants, your desires, your problems, the ultimate solution was to take them to Dad or Mom.
c. Is it any different now? Only now, we have a heavenly father who wants to be the answer to everything.
d. Read Philippians 4:6—Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
(1) This is not a call to a carefree life, but rather an entreaty to not be worried about anything.
(2) Paul and Timothy cared for or were concerned those they ministered to, yet they retained trust in God.
(3) Jesus Himself warned against worry, which reduces or eliminates trust in God.
(4) Read Matthew 6:25-33
(5) Paul encouraged the Philippians to pray rather than be anxious.
e. There is an acronym about prayer. It is P.U.S.H.—pray until something happens.
f. In all things we should lift up all things and pray until something happens.
9. Summary
a. Being “up” isn’t difficult. It does require a conscious effort on our part to involve God in our daily lives.
b. We must first wake up with the realization we have been given the gift of another day to serve God and advance His kingdom.
c. We must dress up with the smile that comes from the knowledge that God is all in all.
d. We must shut up when it is appropriate, not saying things we shouldn’t.
e. We must stand up for God and our belief in His son.
f. We must look up to Him for our every need, our every problem.
g. We must reach up to Him. When everything or everyone else fails us, we know we can depend on Him.
h. And, finally, we must lift up to Him not just all our burdens and cares, but also our gratitude for what He has done for us.
10. Invitation
