Turning Home Into Something Better--Let's Deal With Attitudes

Turning Home Into Something Better “Let’s Deal With Attitudes”

Glenville 11/4/12 Genesis 25:19-34 James 4:1-12

Is there anybody here who is a part of a family that has some kind of attitude problem? Is there anybody here who has been told by others, you need to change that attitude? Is there anybody here who has been tempted to change somebody’s else attitude through the use of force? As a kid I can remember my mother taking a switch off a tree to be used as an attitude adjuster prepared just for me. Did anybody else have attitude adjusters in your home? Okay.

We are beginning a new series today entitled “Turning Our Homes Into Something Better.” The three messages and Life Sharing Lessons will look at “Let’ Deal With Attitudes”, “Let’s Deal With Sharing The Load”, and “Let’s Deal With Encouragement”. Now before you say, “but I live alone, why do I need those topics” remember this. You may live alone, but you still have family members you deal with, and you’re going to be challenged to allow to God to change you to deal with them.

Today we are going to look at a biblical family of a husband, wife and set of twins. We think just because families are in the bible and have a relationship to God, everything works out perfectly for them. That simply is not the case. You would have a hard time finding a family in the bible that you would want to be just like them. People in the bible, are sinners with attitude problems just like us. God shows us He does not have to have perfect people to get His will done. There is hope for your family.

In our New Testament reading, the apostle James tells us that most of our attitude problems center around not getting our own way. There is something we want, we don’t get it, and we get bent out of shape. We show our displeasure by displaying an attitude toward others.

Now bad attitudes come in many forms. Some of them stink, some of them of rotten, some of them are cold, some of them are nasty, some of them humiliate, some of them cause us to walk around with a spiritual sense of superiority, and some of them are distant. One thing they all have in common, is that they work hand in hand with Satan. When we are in the midst of one of our attitudes, we are shutting out the Holy Spirit and keeping ourselves from having the mind of Christ.

We are told in Philippians 2:5, In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude of mind, Jesus had. Is there anybody here besides me who has failed this test on a regular basis at home or in your family? You may be saying, but Pastor Rick, you don’t know the people in my family, they just get on your nerves for no reason. Does God know those people? Did God know about them, before He put this in the bible? Is God giving you a “get out of attitude jail free card’ simply because you are in your family and not somebody else’s.

In our Old Testament text, we ran into the family of Isaac and Rebekah. Just to give you a little bible background. Abraham was a very important man in the bible in that God had made a promise to him, that the whole world was going to be blessed through one of his children. God told Abraham this even though Abraham was 75 and had no kids and his wife was 65. They thought it would be tough having a kid right then and there, but God had them wait another 25 years so that Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 when she got pregnant. The child of the promise was Isaac. Isaac was going to be the son, who would have a lot of children to bless the world.

Now Isaac had to have a special wife. She was to come from Abraham’s clan back in a country God had called Abraham to leave. Not only that, Abraham sent his top aid, to find a wife for his son Isaac. God supernaturally led this top aid to find Rebekkah and bring her back to Isaac. The moment they saw each other, it was like love at first sight and they dated for 10 minutes, and got married before the day was over. And they stayed married for the rest of their lives being faithful to each other.

Expectations ran very high for this couple and the many children they would have. Isaac was 40 when he got married. No doubt there had been plenty of ladies who would have loved to have married this son of one of the richest men in the county years earlier. But Isaac had waited for God to provide him with a wife. Rebekkah was very beautiful had saved herself and kept her virginity for her husband. No doubt Abraham shared with them the vision and promise God had given him about the role God had chosen for them to play in fulfilling the plans of God. Everybody is on board.