Losing the Attitude

I watched a short video of an inspirational speaker named Sam Glenn. I would like to play it for you now.

I love what he says toward the end. “Life is short. Laugh it up a little bit.” If you can’t laugh at yourself, there are several of us that will do it for you. Just kidding.

Not only is it easy to get caught up in our everyday circumstances, we can also get caught up in our own selves. We allow Satan to let us think that the way we think about things is okay. That we are better than what we are. Let’s read our main text found in Luke 17. Reading from the NLT.

In this set of scriptures, Jesus is talking with his disciples. It is believed that this was just a few weeks before Palm Sunday. Maybe a couple of months before His death. So probably about 2 ½ years of time with His disciples.

The disciples lived with Jesus, traveled with Jesus, had first hand experiences of how Jesus did things, how Jesus loved unconditionally and they still had moments of wanting to be first and be considered more than they were.

Think about the different times that the disciples got it wrong. They wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy some of the Samaritans. They ask to sit at his right and his left when he came into his kingdom. They Jesus what was in it for them because they had given up so much to follow Him.

If the disciples can misunderstand what was expected of them, what do you think the possibility that you and I miss it from time to time. What are some things that we can learn about from this part of Jesus’s teaching.

If you lose the attitude, you gain…

1. Forgiveness.

Luke 17:3-4, Matthew 18:21-22

Does anyone remember what happened in October of 2006? I mean I turned 39 and that’s a big deal, but that is not what I am talking about.

In Nickel Mines, PA, a man stormed into a one-room Amish schoolhouse and shot 10 young girls, killing 5 of them. He then took his own life. The man Charles Roberts was not Amish, but was known in the Amish community as the milk truck driver that made deliveries.

Can you imagine the devastation to that community? The heartbreak? The anger? But do you know what the community did. One day after the funeral services for their own children, they went to the funeral service of the man that caused them the pain and loss. They hugged Charles’ widow and hugged other members of his family.

The Amish community donated food and money to the killer’s widow and her three young children. These people were not happy about what happened, they did what was right no matter how much pain and grieving they had. I would even like to believe that if Charles were still alive, he would be welcomed in the Amish community, because they truly forgave him.

See losing you attitude doesn’t just get you forgiveness it helps you give real forgiveness to others and boy oh boy, that can be very difficult. Don’t kid yourself into thinking that you can forgive and shun. We are to forgive like God forgives. Forgive like Jesus told us to forgive.

If God forgave you like you forgive others, how deep would that forgiveness go? “Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and asks for forgiveness, you must forgive.” Matthew 6:14-15 says, ““If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Forgive and you will be forgiven. It is that simple. So what else is there?

If you lose the attitude, you gain…

2. Faith.

Luke 17:5-6, Galatians 5:5-6

I like the movie Evan Almighty. There is a scene where Joan Baxter (Mrs. Noah) has left Noah, because she doesn’t understand what he is doing or why he is doing it.

She and her boys are at a restaurant and she is struggling when “God” shows up. Excuse me. Are you alright? (Yeah. No. It's a long story.) Well, I like stories. I'm considered a bit of a storyteller myself. (My husband... Have you heard of "New York's Noah"? But my husband says God told him to do it. What do you do with that?) Sounds like an opportunity. Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If they pray for courage, does God give them courage, or does he give them opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for their family to be closer, you think God zaps them with warm, fuzzy feelings?

The disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith. Do you think that He just laid hands on them, prayed and their faith was increased? When we read more about the disciples and Jesus, we find out they face many things that they could use to strengthen their faith and they miss it.

If we want to have more faith, there are some things that we can do. We can spend time reading our bibles. There are so many stories of great faith in the bible that we can be encouraged. 2. We can spend more time with other believers and listen to their testimonies about how God was faithful and worked things out. 3. We can ask God to increase our faith. This one follows the same logic that the conversation between Mrs. Noah and God did in the movie.

If you ask God to increase your faith, He will give you opportunities to show faith. For each of us that can be a little different. Maybe He will give you opportunities to increase your faith with your finances. Maybe He will give you opportunities to increase your faith by teaching a class, leading a small group or giving a testimony. Maybe He will give you the opportunity to live by faith by changing jobs.

Faith is not believing in your own abilities. Faith is believing in what God can do. Think of it like this, if you went to the lake (the lake representing God’s power) and could put a small hole in the dam, the size of the hole represents your faith, the more faith the bigger the hole that lets more water flow. the flow of water is like God’s power. Have you ever been at the dam when they open the floodgates? Now that is some awesome power. Can you imagine what could happen in your life if your faith was like a floodgate? If it is the size of a mustard seed, you can tell a mountain to move. WOW!!!

If you lose the attitude, you gain…

3. Humility.

Luke 17:7-10, James 4:5-7,10, Philippians 2:3-4, Luke 14:11

I love my grandchildren so much. They all have their good sides and they all have their “not so good” sides. I will not stand up here and embarrass them…. well except for Jaxon.

Jaxon is one of those teenagers that sometimes gets a little too big for his britches. He will challenge people to different things and brag about how good he is doing those things and then when he loses, he isn’t happy and sometimes makes excuses.

One thing that Jaxon has learned is that you shouldn’t instigate anything with Grandpa Mark. He will say things like, that’s what I thought; when I don’t do what he wants me to do. “That’s what I thought, you are afraid that you will lose.” “That’s what I thought, you’re afraid you’ll get embarrassed.”

On Mom’s birthday, which was a Wednesday night, we had cake and celebrated. Cheryl invited the kids and youth to join us for cake and to wish mom a happy birthday. We did just that. I always like to let Naomi, Abi, Nevaeh, and Afton know that they are special to me. When I see them, I give them a hug and kiss them on the forehead. That night was no different, except Jaxon puckered up and said, “where’s mine?”

So, I started toward him when he backed off and said, “I was just kidding.” So, I backed off and Jaxon decided to poke the bear, he said, “That’s what I thought.” So, I walked over grabbed him by his face and gave him a kiss on the lips. I am pretty sure Jaxon learned a lesson in humility that evening.”

You know what Church? Sometimes we get a little too big for our britches as well. Sometimes we think that we are better than what we really are and we forget to be humble. Jesus said that when we are obedient, that instead of thinking we deserve praise, we should think “We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.”

We are not doing anything special that doesn’t fall under the category of obedience. God has given us more than we deserve through His Son, Jesus and one day, even though we do not deserve it Jesus tells us this in

Revelation 3:20-21 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. 21 Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne.”