Reclaiming The Can Do Attitude

What ever happened to that Can Do Attitude, That confidence that American Spirit that we once had in our Great nation?

Tomorrow is President’s Day and you know what? We have had some awesome presidents that have help mold this Country into what we are today. But what have we become? Have we become the nation that our forefathers had planned for? Would they be disappointed in us, at what we have become?

I am a firm believer that America was founded on Christian beliefs by Christian men and women. One of my favorite presidents during my lifetime is without a doubt President Ronald Reagan! I believe he was a great man of faith that God placed in office.

Illustration: Ronald Reagan said the following in February 9, 1982, at the National Religious Broadcasters Annual Convention: “Its been written that the most sublime figure in American history was George Washington on his knees in the snow at Valley Forge. He personified a people who knew that it was not enough to depend on their own courage and goodness, that they must seek help from God - their Father and Preserver. Where did we begin to lose sight of that noble beginning, of our convictions that standards of right and wrong do exist and must be lived up to?"

Illustration: President Truman hit the nail on the head when he said: “I do not believe there is a problem in this country or the world today which could not be settled if approached through the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount.”

So very true! Our country once lived by God’s teachings. We had that old fashioned “Can Do Attitude that seemed to get us through all the difficulties that the world tossed our way. Where do you suppose we gained that Can Do Attitude? Yep, from Scripture.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

America once believed that our strength came from above and by acknowledging it came many blessings to our Great Nation. I believe we were once at a place in America when we could admit that we were weak in order to draw strength from God. And this is something that we still need to do today. In order for us to reclaim that Can do Attitude ….,

I.We Must Admit.

A.We must admit that we are weak and cannot do it alone.

1.I am sure we have all heard this before haven’t we? “The first step to recovery is to admit you have a problem”. I am here to tell you that each and every soul on this planet has a problem.

2.We all have the same problem and it has been a problem since the beginning. We all have sin in our lives and our flesh has a hard time accepting it.

3.We all have our hang-ups, our faults, and imperfections. We want to blame all of it on someone else. We have a difficult time accepting the sin in our hearts.

4.In the book of Genesis we read about how Adam & Eve ate from the tree of knowledge. And when God questioned them about it, what did they do? They couldn’t admit their sin against God; they tried to pass the blame elsewhere.

Genesis 3: 11-13 “…..Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

5.It’s the oldest game known to man, “The Blame Game”. I believe it’s an issue of pride really.

B.And it is because of silly pride that many have missed out on the saving grace of God.

Illustration: Did you hear about the clever salesman who closed hundreds of sales with this line: "Let me show you something several of your neighbors said you couldn't afford."

1.Isn’t this how it works? We have a serious problem. The problem of comparison, the problem of self, the problem of me and I is running ramped in our Country.

2.Yes, we are deemed as the land of the free but we all have become slaves to our own devices. With each technological leap we find ourselves needing and desiring the next best thing.

3.We fool ourselves into believing that we need more and the truth is we don’t even know what more is but we sure know we want it.

4.Our pride has elevated ourselves to a level that is above God. We feel we can do it on our own because if we have all the gadgets, self-help books, and Oprah to answer all of our questions, why would we need God?