INTRO.- Do you have an attitude problem? Who doesn’t at certain times or on certain days?! Something perturbs you and it begins to show in your attitude.
ILL.- Here is a true story about a man who said that one particular event cured him of being obnoxious in a restaurant. He had ordered a steak well done. But when they brought it to him, he cut into it and it was rare. The blood was running out of it.
He waved at the waitress and said, “Come here, come here.” She came and he said, “This steak is too rare.” So she took it to be cooked some more. When she brought it back he cut into it again, but they had overcooked it. Again he waved for the waitress, “Come here. Look, it’s almost burnt to a crisp.” So she took the steak, went to the kitchen and got him another one.
He started cutting it and then waving once again for the waitress, he complained, “It’s too tough. I can’t eat it. Take it back.” So she took it back and brought him yet another one. With the waitress standing there, he cut into that steak and it was just right this time.
Then he cut into his baked potato and it had a black spot in it. Turning to the waitress, he said, “Look at this potato. It’s a bad potato!”
Well, the waitress, who evidently had just about had it at this point, picked up the potato and said, “Bad potato, bad, bad, bad!” (spanking it as she did). Then she put the potato back down on his plate and said, “If you have any more trouble with that potato, just let me know.” And she walked off.
He said that was the last time he ever complained in a restaurant. Chronic complainers have an attitude problem.
ILL.- The Baldwin brothers have been making the news again. That is, the acting Baldwin brothers. Daniel Baldwin, 45 and young brother of Alec Baldwin, was busted for cocaine possession in a Santa Monica motel room. He has admitted that he’s been battling a cocaine addiction since 1989.
The most famous of the Baldwin brothers, Alec, is being sued by an ex-costar. Why? What’s the problem? What’s wrong with Alec Baldwin?
The co-star in Alec Baldwin’s latest play has quit the production and filed a legal case against the actor, claiming her "physical safety, mental health and artistic integrity" were being endangered.
In a personal e-mail that was leaked to the press this week, the actress claimed Baldwin was violent and was endangering her well-being. She brought legal charges against him soon after.
Whether Alec Baldwin is guilty or not of bad behavior, violence, throwing fits, etc. it has been proven in the past that he’s had that problem. His ex-wife, Kim Basinger, has testified to the fact of Baldwin’s anger, temper, etc.
It sounds to me like Alec Baldwin has an attitude problem, a bad attitude rather a blessed attitude!
ILL.- Somebody once said that there are only three ways to make a basic, fundamental change in another person’s attitude: deep psychotherapy, deep religious conversion, or brain surgery. TAKE YOUR CHOICE! I prefer conversion to Christ.
It is my conviction that only the Lord can change anybody, attitude or otherwise. If He can create then He can re-create.
II Cor. 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
PROP.- The way to a blessed attitude in life is by the power of God and we see this in the beatitudes.
1- A blessed attitude toward self
2- A blessed attitude toward God
3- A blessed attitude toward people/others
I. A BLESSED ATTITUDE TOWARD SELF
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
To have a blessed attitude in life we all need to be poor in spirit. We need to recognize our spiritual poverty.
ILL.- A man told his friend that he never ate cake, pie or candy. And he never ate food with additives or anything that had been sprayed or anything biologically engineered. His friend ask, “Well, how do you feel?” He replied, “Hungry.”
ILL.- Suppose you were to receive an invitation from me for dinner. And at the same time you received an invitation from Ted Smith for dinner on the same night. And I was going to fix my finest cuisine. Would you like to know what that would be? Tuna helper…cheesy pasta or perhaps Creamy Broccoli.
Do you know how hard it is to prepare tuna pasta? Can you boil water in a microwave?
And let’s say that Ted Smith was also going to prepare his finest cuisine, homemade bread and all.
With whom would you choose to dine? Well, duh. By comparison to Ted Smith and his cooking skills I am very poor. Even worse than poor. My food would be edible but his would be a delight to your palate.
We’re all poor by comparison with certain standards or certain people.
ILL.- After the church service a little boy told the pastor, "When I grow up, I’m going to give you some money. "Well, thank you," the pastor replied. "But why?" "Because my daddy says you’re one of the poorest preachers we’ve ever had."
We’re all poor in certain ways.
ILL.- I have been preaching about 41 years. I work hard to prepare the best messages I can. I read a lot. I look for the best stories to illustrate scriptural truths. I spend hours looking for the best stories. Why? Because Jesus was a great storyteller. He used stories to illustrate spiritual truths. And good illustrations help people to understand Biblical truth. They make sermons come alive!
I consider myself to be an average preacher or perhaps a little above average. But sometimes someone comes along and you get humbled very quickly.
Elaine and I attended the Arkansas Christian Convention in Little Rock just before Palm Sunday. The preacher for the convention was Tom Moll from Christ’s Church, Mason, OH.
Tom and I are the same age and he’s probably preached as long as I have and maybe longer. I attended Ozark Bible College and Tom went to that other Bible College, Cincinnati Bible College.
Tom preached three times for the convention. His first sermon was outstanding. And, of course, most preachers can preach one good sermon out of three. But often, three sermons from the same preacher within 24 hours will tell a whole lot about that preacher and his ability to preach.
Well, Tom did an excellent job with all three sermons. In fact, I told Tom that he was the best I’d heard in many years. He was so good that I felt very poor. Even at my best, I felt poor by comparison to Tom Moll.
Brothers and sisters, we’re all poor by comparison to someone who is greater. We’re all poor by comparison to Jesus who never sinned! By comparison to Jesus we’re all broken sinners and in need of divine mercy! And every day we should recognize this in order to have the right attitude; in order to have a blessed attitude!
We’re all bankrupt before God! We need to recognize where we came from and where we are now. And even though we now wear the righteousness of Christ we must still realize how poor we really are! Even at our best or on our best days, we’re still poor.
Even though we’ve accepted Christ and have surrendered to Him in faith and obedience, we must still have a proper attitude toward self in order to be blessed.
Romans 12:3 “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”
ILL.- I once heard a story about an Amish farmer who bought a new pair of overalls. Of course, the Amish are famous for their simplicity, and trying to avoid pride. As he put on his new overalls and looked in the mirror, he said, “Oh, this will never do! I’ll be too proud in these!” So he removed the new overalls and put on the old patched, worn, and dirty overalls. He stood in front of the mirror again and said, “Ahh, you’d look good in anything!”
No matter how good we are, it’s only because of the grace and graciousness of God. We should never get bigheaded over anything good we do in life, because it’s the Lord who works in us to do good things.
Phil. 2:13 “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.”
Here’s the attitude we should always have.
Luke 18:9-14 “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ’God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ’God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
ILL.- Someone once observed: “Pride is so subtle that if we aren’t careful we’ll be proud of our humility. When this happens our goodness becomes badness. Our virtues become vices. We can easily become like the Sunday School teacher who, having told the story of the Pharisee and the publican, said, ‘Children, let’s bow our heads and thank God we are not like the Pharisee!’”
Brothers and sisters, when we go back and scrutinize our lives and our thoughts, how can we not be humbled?
It may be that the best prayer of the Bible is: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner!” And it’s a prayer that perhaps we don’t pray often enough.
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
In order to enter the kingdom of heaven a person must first go down. They must recognize how bankrupt they are before God. We all need to be humble and especially, humble before the Lord.
I Pet. 5:5-6 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”
There is something else in this text to consider in order to have a blessed attitude toward self.
V. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
ILL.- Hymn writer Charles Wesley (brother of John) wrote:
Gentle Jesus, meek and mild,
Look upon a little child;
Pity my simplicity,
Suffer me to come to Thee.
Lamb of God, I look to Thee;
Thou shalt my Example be;
Thou art gentle, meek, and mild;
Thou wast once a little child.
Jesus was meek and mild, but He was not always mild! Certainly not when He cleansed the temple of the moneychangers. And meekness is not necessarily weakness. Jesus was meek but He was not weak!
He was strong when He cleansed the temple. He was strong when he told the Pharisees who had caught the woman in adultery, “Let him who is without sin be the first to cast a stone.” He was strong when He rebuked Satan with “Away from me, Satan! For it is written….”
In the original language, the word “meek” is used in bridling a horse, or taming a wild animal. The word “meek” is a picture of “power under control.” So when we talk about a meek person, we’re talking about one whose life is under the control of God. God is in control of his or her life.
ILL.- This is expressed so well in Carrie Underwood’s hit Song, “Jesus Take the Wheel.”
Jesus take the wheel
Take it from my hands
Cause I can’t do this all on my own
I’m letting go
So give me one more chance
To save me from this road I’m on
Jesus take the wheel
V. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
Did Jesus mean that if we allowed Him full reign in our lives that we would have everything this world has to offer? No, I don’t think so. I think perhaps the idea is that while we are on earth we will enjoy our lives more when Jesus is in control. And that makes a whole lot of sense. The way of Jesus is always best. He came to give us life and give it more abundantly.
I think the happiest people in the world and those who enjoy life the most are those who allow Christ to lead them in life.
As the song says, “When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, what a glory He sheds on our way!”
CONCLUSION-------------------------------
ILL.- Many years ago, Walter Levine was diagnosed with multiple myeloma – a type of bone cancer. Today he dedicates his life to helping others beat the disease. He said, “Ninety-nine percent of everything you do in life is attitude.
“If you have a relationship with God and you have the right attitude, you’re going to learn to ask the one question in life that covers everything: How can I help you?”
The way to a blessed attitude is through Christ and that attitude always humbles itself and concerns itself with helping others. What’s your attitude in life?
