Parkway Bible Church | Victorious Attitude # 1

IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT DAY
#1 - SERIES: THE VICTORIOUS ATTITUDE

Eph. 4:23 NIV

INTRODUCTION

** "IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT DAY."
Have you ever awakened on a beautiful sunny Saturday morning, the birds are singing, nothing is bothering you, and you think,
"IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT DAY."

- Some people are like that every day, their attitude is always great. They just make you mad.

Or, maybe you just woke up and somebody said something to you that just set you off and you've said, "What a lousy day this is going to be."

Illustrate: (Here we projected on the screen a Flight Simulator. While one of our young people flew it over Toronto, a pilot briefly explained the various instruments on the aircraft. The final instrument explained was the Attitude Indicator).

** AIRCRAFT - ATTITUDE INDICATOR
- position of plane in relation to the ground.
- Climbing - "Nose-High Attitude"
- Diving - "Nose-Down Attitude"
* ATTITUDE DETERMINES THE AIRCRAFT’S PERFORMANCE.

*** SINCE THE PERFORMANCE OF THE AIRPLANE DEPENDS ON ITS ATTITUDE, IT IS NECESSARY TO CHANGE THE ATTITUDE IN ORDER TO CHANGE THE PERFORMANCE.

** YOUR ATTITUDE DETERMINES YOUR ALTITUDE.*

* In the Christian Life -IT IS NECESSARY TO CHANGE THE ATTITUDE IN ORDER TO CHANGE THE PERFORMANCE.
* Attitude will make the difference between Victory and Defeat in the Christian Life.

"But that isn't what you were taught when you learned about Christ. Since you have heard all about Him and have learned the truth that is in Jesus, throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception. Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God's likeness--righteous, holy, and true." (Eph. 4:20-24 NLT)

* GREEK = NOUS (Voos) - Often refers to the mind, the seat of understanding.
– But it also refers to the "frame of mind" or "conception of the mind" and to feelings and judgement. THEREFORE = ATTITUDE.

* Context (4:17-24) = Our new life in Christ. Paul makes it clear -- Now that you are in Christ, as your attitude towards life changes, so will your performance.
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
(Rom. 12:1-2)

* PRINCIPLE -VICTORY AND ENJOYMENT IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE COMES AS OUR ATTITUDES CHANGE AND BECOME MORE IN LINE WITH THE MIND AND ATTITUDE OF CHRIST.
- THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VICTORY AND DEFEAT IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS ATTITUDE.

** THE RESULT OF A CHANGED ATTITUDE IS TO PROVE AND FULFILL THE WILL OF GOD IN OUR LIVES.

*** GOD WANTS US TO CHANGE OUR ATTITUDE TO A VICTORIOUS ONE SO THAT WE LIVE OUT IN FULNESS AND JOY THE NEW LIFE THAT WE HAVE IN CHRIST.

SERIES: THE VICTORIOUS ATTITUDE
A series that could change your life and bring you from being a DEFEATED, discouraged, unhappy person, to a VICTORIOUS, excited, happy person as you apply the principles we're going to explore together.

I. Your Attitude Is Showing
* No matter what, the attitude of your heart shows up in your performance.

** MY ATTITUDE DICTATES MY PERFORMANCE

1 . What Is Attitude
AN INWARD FEELING TOWARDS SOMETHING OR SOMEONE THAT IS EXPRESSED BY BEHAVIOUR.

* Often expressed by our body language and even the look on our face.

2. Your Attitude Is Contagious
* Ever notice what happens to a group when one person, by his expression, reveals a negative attitude?
or - the lift you get by a friend's friendly smile and expression of love and acceptance.

* IN THE SPIRITUAL REALM, YOUR ATTITUDE AND MY ATTITUDE, BECAUSE THEY ARE HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS, CAN HINDER OR HELP OTHERS IN THEIR WALK WITH THE LORD.

* YOUR ATTITUDE AND MINE CAN MAKE A CHURCH VICTORIOUS AND GREAT - OR A NEGATIVE ATTITUDE CAN CAUSE IT TO BE DEFEATED, SHRIVEL UP AND DIE.

3. Your Attitude Will Always Reveal Itself
* Can seek to cover up our poor or negative attitude, but eventually it will reveal itself.
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. (Matt. 12:35)

Illustrate:
4-yr.-old boy told by mother to sit in corner and be quiet.
"Mommy, I'm sitting on the outside, but I'm standing on the inside."

PRINCIPLE: WHATEVER IS HAPPENING ON THE INSIDE WILL AFFECT WHAT IS HAPPENING ON THE OUTSIDE.

* Eph. 4:23
- Controlled by Old Man = attitude corrupted
- Controlled by Spirit = Mind and Attitude of Christ.
** WHEN THE ATTITUDE IS POSITIVE AND VICTORIOUS, YOU WILL BE GROWING AND PROGRESSING IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.

II. Your Attitude Is Important

1. The More Positive Your Attitude, the Greater Your Growth and Enjoyment of Life

2. Your Attitude Determines Your Performance
* Attitude determines whether you'll be happy or miserable, whether the knocks of life will crush you or build you, whether the people around you will disgust or delight you, whether you'll be a loser or a winner, whether you'll live in defeat or victory.

(A.Q. = Attitude Quotient)
It is your A.Q. not your I.Q. that will make you or break you in this life.

A.Q. = the way you think - feel -- the way your mind operates

If you want to live better, you must change the way you think. Change your attitude.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your attitude, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2 -Hayden)

III. Your Attitude Is a Choice

2 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES THAT COULD RADICALLY CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

PRINCIPLE: IT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU BUT WHAT HAPPENS IN YOU THAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

(*** USE JOSEPH AS THE BIBLICAL EXAMPLE HERE. HIS BROTHERS MEANT IT FOR EVIL BUT JOSEPH'S ATTITUDE WAS THAT GOD MEANT IT FOR GOOD AND HE WOULD MAKE THE BEST OF IT) Genesis 37:23-24;26-28 Genesis 50:19-20

1. You Cannot Control What Happens to You
- Bad things happen to positive people. Good things happen to negative people.
Neg. people take good things and make them bad things.
Pos. people take bad things and make something good.

2. You Can Control What Happens Inside You
- Lots of things you can't control, but you can control how you react to what happens to you.
- You are not responsible for what has happened to you, but YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT HAPPENS IN YOU.

** Some of you have been terribly treated by others.

* We drive ourselves crazy trying to change things we can't change.

3. There Are People and Things You Cannot Change

1. Things You Cannot Change
i.e. What happened to you as a child. Way your parents treated you. Way you were brought up, etc. etc.
* AS MUCH AS THESE MAY HAVE HURT YOU, THERE IS NOT ONE THING YOU CAN DO TO CHANGE THAT. BUT REMEMBER -- IT DEPENDS NOT ON WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU BUT WHAT HAPPENS IN YOU. AND WHAT HAPPENS IN YOU DEPENDS ON WHAT ATTITUDE YOU DECIDE TO FACE LIFE WITH.

2. There Are People You Cannot Change

4. You Are Responsible for Yourself
* Some people focus on the bad things that happen to them. Get angry at other people, God, self, and the world. Or they say, "Poor me!" and have a life-long pity party, and life passes them by and they are not happy because they refuse to grow up and take responsibility for their own happiness and success in life, and they fail to understand
IT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU BUT WHAT HAPPENS IN YOU THAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE.

* YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE - quit blaming other people for the way you are and for your unhappiness.
YOU CAN CHANGE. I CAN'T CHANGE YOU, OR I WOULD. GOD HAS GIVEN YOU NEW LIFE AND THE POWER TO CHANGE.
Illustrate: In counselling - I always tell people that I cannot help them, I can point them in the right direction but they will cure themselves. Only they can change their perspective on life.
I can tell two people the exact same thing about their position in Christ. One will choose to believe, experience emotional healing of past hurts and move on to abundant joyful Christian living, while the other will choose to keep nursing those hurts and grudges and be miserable. THE CHOICE IS THEIRS - THE CHOICE IS WHAT WILL BE THEIR ATTITUDE TOWARDS LIFE.

** YOU ARE NOT A VICTIM - STOP BLAMING OTHER PEOPLE FOR WHERE YOU ARE RIGHT NOW.
- Where you are right now is where you determined to be.
Choices you made yesterday determined where you are today and the choices you make today will determine where you will be tomorrow.

IF YOU DON'T LIKE WHERE YOU ARE AT TODAY - GUESS WHOSE FAULT IT IS. It’s time to allow God to renew the spirit of your mind.

* YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOURSELF AND NEED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

5. If You Do Not Learn To Take Responsibility, You Will Develop a Negative Attitude and it Will Destroy You

* IT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU, IT'S WHAT HAPPENS IN YOU THAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE. (Repeat it with me)

*** HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED HOW SOME PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT COMPLAIN ALL THE TIME -- AND SOME PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOTS TO COMPLAIN ABOUT NEVER DO.

-Do you know what the difference is? ATTITUDE.

* PEOPLE WHO ARE NEGATIVE AND COMPLAIN ALL THE TIME AREN'T THE PEOPLE WITH THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS - THEY JUST HAVEN'T LEARNED THIS PRINCIPLE.

ILLUSTRATE:
AMOS AND ANDY -- Amos kept smacking Andy in the chest.
One day Andy was talking to Kingfish and said, "You know how Amos is always smacking me on the chest. Well, I'm tired of it and I'm goin' ta fix him."

Kingfish said, "How are you goin' ta fix him?"

Andy opened his coat, and there he had 6 sticks of dynamite strapped to his chest. "THE NEXT TIME AMOS SMACKS ME ON THE CHEST, HE'S GOING TO BLOW HIS HAND OFF."

*** LISTEN TO ME NOW.
- When you don't understand this principle, it is like carrying dynamite around. When you hold on to the hurts and pains and failures of the past, when you carry around old grudges and bitterness - when you refuse to let go of those painful childhood memories -- IT IS LIKE STRAPPING DYNAMITE TO YOUR CHEST AND WHEN IT GOES OFF, IT NOT ONLY HURTS THOSE AROUND YOU, IT DESTROYS YOU.

* BE RENEWED IN THE SPIRIT OF YOUR MIND.

*** YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THIS PRINCIPLE FOR A HEALTHY ATTITUDE. IT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU BUT WHAT HAPPENS IN YOU THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE.

PRINCIPLE: YOUR ATTITUDE IS A CHOICE

* THE ATTITUDE YOU HAVE YOU CHOSE.
    -If positive - you chose to be positive
     -If neg. - you chose to be neg.
    -If smiling and happy - you chose to smile and be happy

* DON'T BE IMPRISONED BY THE WAY YOU ARE

Don't say, "That's the way I am."
- If that's the way you are and it's not right, FIX IT!

* YOUR ATTITUDE IS A CHOICE
- If you don't like what you are and the attitude you have or if it's not right, CHANGE IT! ALLOW CHRIST TO RENEW YOU.

- People with a rotten attitude choose to have a rotten attitude. It is their way of manipulating people and getting their own way.

Conclusion

* EVERY DAY YOU WAKE UP AND MAKE A CHOICE. YOU CHOOSE WHETHER IT IS GOING TO BE A GREAT DAY OR A LOUSY DAY.
- You decide whether you get out on the right or the wrong side of the bed.
- YOU CAN DECIDE TO LIVE ACCORDING TO THE CARNAL MIND AND ATTITUDE, OR YOU CAN PUT ON THE MIND AND ATTITUDE OF CHRIST.

ILLUSTRATE : Chuck was a 14-year-old boy whose job was to get up every morning, go outside, get the coal and warm up the house.
Every morning his mother would come into his room at 5:30 a.m. and say, " CHUCK, IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT DAY."
- Not exactly what a 14-yr.-old wants to hear at 5:30 in the morning.
One day, Mom said, "Chuck, it's going to be a great day." And Chuck said, "MOM, IT'S GOING TO BE A LOUSY DAY. I hate going out into the cold to get the coal and warm the house. It's going to be a lousy day. I just want to stay in bed."

Mom said, "Sweetheart, I didn't know you felt that way. Why don't you just stay in bed and come down when you're ready."

Chuck rolled over and began to think, "Man, why didn't I think of this sooner."

Couple of hours later Chuck woke up. The house was warm and he could smell breakfast. He got up, went downstairs and sat at the breakfast table. "MOM, I'M SO HUNGRY. WHAT'S FOR BREAKFAST?"

MOM SAID, " Sweetheart, you don't get any food today. Remember when I woke you this morning, you said it was going to be a terrible day. WELL, IT'S STARTING NOW. As your mother, I'm going do my best to make this a terrible day for you. You go back to bed and stay there all day. You can't come out and you don't get anything to eat. I'LL SEE YOU TOMORROW MORNING AT 5:30."

Chuck went back to sleep for an hour or two, but there is only so long you can sleep. He'd wander around the bedroom and by night time he was so hungry. He couldn't sleep because he had slept through the day.

By 5:30 the next morning Chuck was dressed and sitting on the edge of his bed. That door opened and he said, "MOM, IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT DAY."

*** ATTITUDE IS A CHOICE
"and be renewed in the spirit of your mind" (Eph. 4:23)

1. You Cannot Begin To Change The Attitude Of Your Mind Until You Have Changed The Ruler Of Your Heart
- Jesus Christ brings new life

2. You Can Allow God To Renew Your Mind Putting Off The Attitude Of The Old Man And Developing The Mind And Attitude Of Christ.

** It’s Going To Be A Great Day

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