Revolution in Attitude
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We want to welcome you to our worship experience...
Last week we had our Kidsfest... I want to thank all of you who invited guest and passed
out the invite cards.
I both services last week, including the children we had 350 on our campus.
Our next big event is Christmas and we are going to begin planning Monday Night.
I need you to:
Be praying for our evangelism team... Tech Arts... Worship team... and Children’s
ministry as we plan.
I want you to make a list of 10 unchurched people that you know and begin to pray for
them.
Most people are open to attending church at Christmas.
We want to live out our vision... Love, Grow, and Serve... We want to live out...“Each
One Reach One”...
This morning we are in week three of our series “Revolution”.
Radical-- fundamental, extreme, cutting to the root of an issue
Revolutionary-- one who constitutes and brings about rapid change
Revolution-- a sudden, radical, and complete change; the over-throw or renunciation of one
ruler or government and substitution of another by the governed.
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We said that Jesus by definition was radical... revolutionary... and brought revolution...
Last week... we saw that when the Kingdom of God enters into our lives there is a
fundamental change in our hearts... We are given new hearts that are responsive to God
and therefore we become new people...
When there is a fundamental change in our hearts there is also a fundamental change in
our attitudes...
We become people who love differently, who think differently, and treat others
differently, and respond to things different.
Today, our message is Revolution in Attitude. New people should reflect the attitude of
Jesus and His Kingdom...
Our Attitudes reflect what is in our hearts...
Prov. 23:7 “As a (man) thinks in is heart so is he”.
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If we have Jesus thoughts in our heart then we will have a Jesus attitude. Jesus had a
different attitude...
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We have all been around people that we thought... Man! ...He or she has a great
attitude.
There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had
only three hairs on her head. 'Well', she said, 'I think I'll braid my hair today?' So she did and
she had a wonderful day. The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had
only two hairs on her head. 'H-M-M,' she said, 'I think I'll part my hair down the middle today?'
So she did and she had a grand day. The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed
that she had only one hair on her head. 'Well,' she said, 'today I'm going to wear my hair in a
pony tail. 'So she did and she had a fun, fun day. The next day she woke up, looked in the
mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head. 'YEA!' she exclaimed, 'I don't
have to fix my hair today!'
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Right attitudes make a difference...
David Cutcliffe tweeted this week; “Performance can never be a higher caliber than your
attitude...”
Attitudes affect our day, our marriages, our relationships, health, and most of all our
attitudes affect our witness.
The Apostle Paul, despite everything that he faced always maintained a hopeful edge...
Quite honestly that is something we should all aspire too...
It does not matter what we have faced, are facing, or even lost... we are to always
maintain a hope...
Because our attitudes are directly linked to what is in our hearts...
Paul...
2 Cor. 4:9-10 (NLT) “We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked
down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death
of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.”
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The world see’s our attitudes and those attitudes reveal how much of Jesus is in us...
Believers that are negative, pessimistic, critical, easily offended etc... etc... etc... do not
show much of Jesus to the world.
Look, we all have a pity parties... and get down in the mouth... Every person here at one
time in their life has sort of questioned... why is this happening?
We need to understand as believers... that our attitudes reflect Jesus... They reflect
what is in the heart...
When Jesus came preaching a revolution of kingdoms... He came preaching as well,
revolution of attitudes.
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Our attitudes will do one of two things... reflect the world and it’s king or they are
going to reflect the Kingdom of God and it’s King.
Jesus said quite a bit about Kingdom attitudes... When we reflect those... we know there
has been a revolution in our life!
Life Attitude
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He is bigger than me.
You may be thinking... what is so revolutionary about that? We know Jesus is bigger...
You are exactly right... in our heads we know that...
But unfortunately too many times we live like “Me is bigger than He”.
We put self-interests before His interests... We put our pleasure before our worship...
We put our needs before the needs of others... Our wants before His wants... We put
our personal beliefs before His truth....
Those are world attitudes...
Gal. 2:20 (NLT) “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ
lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
himself for me.”
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Paul’s attitude of dying with Christ opened that door to Christ living through Him.
We must die daily... we (our flesh) must die daily... This is not a one- time death... it is
daily...
We die daily to “me”...
Jesus preached that... He illustrated that...
He came to overthrow a world attitude that was prevalent in both culture and in
religion.
Some of the most self-centered people were the Pharisees, Sadducee’s, and the
Essenes...
Luke 9:23 (NLT) “Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must
turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.”
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Jesus is clear... This was a revolution in attitude... If you want to follow me you have to
die...
Luke 9:24 (NLT) “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life
for my sake, you will save it.”
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We see in the book of Mark 10:21... a young man who had great wealth.
He was eager to experience what Jesus had to offer. He wanted eternal life...
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A lot of people want eternal life... They want what Jesus has to offer...
But they do not want it at the expense of death.... (What do I do? Don’t murder,
Adultery, Steal, Lie, Cheat, Honor Parents)
Jesus reply to this man was unexpected... “Go and sell all that you have and give it to
the poor... then come and follow me”...
Jesus said... die to yourself... take your cross... and follow me... If you give up your life
for me... you will save it!
Spurgeon: “There are no crown bearers in heaven that were not cross bearers on
earth.”
Jesus requirement for us to die is for our benefit!
Our life attitude... is “He is bigger than me”.
Love Attitude
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When there is revolution in our lives we have a change in “love attitude”...
A love that is for me first, goes to He first.
When revolution occurs in our lives our attitude toward how we love changes...
When we received Jesus, at that moment of that redeeming work... the Holy Spirit came
into our life He poured God’s love into our life...
Romans 5:5 (NLT) “And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly
God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.”
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When He fills us with His love, we can love a different way... That is revolution in the
way we love...
A way that is different from the way that we used to love.
A love that goes from Me first to He first...
Can you imagine people listening to Jesus teach in His day... They heard Him say:
Mark 12:30 (NLT) “And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all
your mind, and all your strength.”
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31... love your neighbor as yourself...
He was talking to crowds who were trained by the synagogues and religious leaders to
love those who love them and to hate their enemies...
Matt 5:43-44 (NLT) “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your
enemy. “But I say, love your enemies!”
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That was totally a foreign concept!
I will love you if you love me... .
Matt. 5:47-48 (NLT) “If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone
else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is
perfect.”
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We are to be mature in love... because God’s love is in us...
It takes a whole new attitude adjustment to love this way...
How do we do this?
When He is bigger than me... Love for me first goes to He first.
When we die... the old way of loving dies... our old attitudes die... So Christ can live and
love in us...
That is the only way you can love God with all your heart... love your neighbor... and
enemies...
That is a Revolution of love... a new attitude...
Forgiveness Attitude
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What Jesus said about forgiveness was radical...
Most of us are sort of like Peter... Fool me once... shame on you... fool me twice shame
on me...
 Cross me once shame on you... but ... we might be able to work it out... Cross me
twice... you’re crossed off my list.
 That is the attitude of the world...
 Satan majors in petty unforgiving attitudes... and he has a lock on un-forgiveness when
it comes to traumatic offenses...
3. I have been forgiven that I may forgive.
 Don’t ever forget what you have been forgiven from before Jesus.
 Don’t forget how many times He has forgiven you since you have become His child.
 In Matthew 18; Peter knew human nature... He saw his own nature... He made a lot
of blunders... even as a disciple...
 Peter was asking a very honest question... because men have the tendency to sin
against God and each other...
 And He understood... forgiveness... people needed to be forgiven.
 So he asks Jesus... what is reasonable? We are your disciples... we want to follow in
your path... How many times... really? Do we need to forgive a person?
 Peter had been taught as a young man by the Rabbi’s that forgiving the same person
three times was sufficient... That was Jewish tradition...
 Rabbi Hanina: “He who begs forgiveness from his neighbor must not do so more than
three times”...
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Rabbi Jehuda: “If a man commits an offense once, they forgive him; if he commits an
offense the second time, they forgive him; if he commits and offense the third time,
they forgive him; the fourth time they do not forgive him”.
Matt 18:21 (NLT) “Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive
someone who sins against me? Seven times?”
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I respect that Peter wanted to know... He wanted to get it right. He had been around
Jesus long enough to know that He forgave deeply... He was free with grace...
Peter did not want to miss this. He said... we are taught three... but what about seven?
Is than enough... too much? Too little?
Jesus say something revolutionary...
Matt 18:22 (NLT) “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!
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A life that dies daily, loves daily, and forgives daily have Jesus attitudes in life...
Because Revolution has come to their hearts!
Bottom line: “Dying, loving, and forgiving are attitudes that reflect our hearts gratitude.”
That is Revolution!