Sermon

Ep 422 | Attitude - The Paintbrush of Our Mind - Duane Permanter 10/31/21

Church of Christ - Bakersfield, Ca

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  1. It's certainly a privilege to be here today.

  2. It's good to see everybody smiling face.

  3. It's an honor to stand before you and affirmation of God's.

  4. Holy word. We trust that we will say

  5. something that will benefit you. I want to talk a little bit

  6. about attitude. You know, Talent is never

  7. enough, In fact, numbers are not enough.

  8. Education is not enough, a good job is not enough.

  9. You got to have the right attitude.

  10. In fact, really the right perspective is given to us as

  11. Christians, if will allow the Lord to lead us properly, you

  12. know, in the book of Philippians, the Apostle Paul

  13. writes a lot about attitude and he writes all the things that he

  14. writes there in Philippians while he's in prison, Now, if I

  15. were Paul, it'd be pretty tough to Rejoice.

  16. Well, I was behind bars. But he could do that and he

  17. could do that because of his perspective.

  18. Now he didn't do that because it was fun to be in jail, or he

  19. liked being a prisoner. In fact, he was not there

  20. because of Any wrongdoing, he did, he did, he was there

  21. because doing, right? But the point is, it didn't

  22. matter what his state was in this world.

  23. His citizenship, his mind was set on heaven and Eternity.

  24. He Is that Jesus had gone to prepare at home and that home

  25. was now ready and all he had to do was get himself ready?

  26. And so that's what he did. Well, Solomon said, a long time

  27. ago as a man thinks in his heart, so is he?

  28. Now, listen to me. Happiness is not something that

  29. you decide to have at 5:00 in the evening.

  30. It's not something you decide to enjoy.

  31. Once a week, happiness is a state of mind and it's a

  32. decision listen to me. If you're not happy, it's your

  33. choice. See, happiness is the byproduct

  34. of choosing to do the right, things for the right reason.

  35. And then, knowing with Assurance, a peace of mind that

  36. surpasses all understanding. So we're thinking about the

  37. attitude of Our Lives. The attitude that is the

  38. paintbrush of our minds. In Ecclesiastes, 10 verse 2.

    Ecclesiastes 10:2

  39. The writer says, a wise man's heart is at his right hand, but

  40. a Fool's harp at his left. Now that's a little bit

  41. difficult for me to understand, so I like to read it from this

  42. version. I want you to listen to what he

  43. says. Why is thinking leads to write

  44. living? Listen, stupid thinking, Leads

  45. to wrong movie. Now, that's pretty plain.

  46. And that's the truth. If you want the church to

  47. change, if you want to change your life that you have to

  48. change your mind, have to change your thinking.

  49. See that's that's by Design. You know the Bible says

  50. therefore If any man be in Christ he is a new creation.

  51. God has designed the church, he has designed the spiritual life

  52. that we're live to change our thinking.

  53. Paul said, if you then be risen with Christ, Christ, he's just

  54. spoke of baptism. The fact that we are buried with

  55. Christ in baptism and he says we rise up out of that water.

  56. He says if you then be risen with Christ seek those things

  57. which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of

  58. God. So thinking you know one of the

  59. problems I think that I've had through the years, I didn't

  60. think before. I talked, I didn't think through

  61. what was going to happen before I acted.

  62. And right thinking will lead us in a great way and will help us

  63. be what we ought to be for as he fixed in his heart.

  64. So is he Proverbs 23 and verse 7?

  65. Now in Philippians chapter 4 verses 1 through 7 Paul tells us

    Philippians 4:1–7

  66. he gives us gives us a prescription of how to be happy.

  67. He gives us a prescription of how to have the right

  68. perspective, the right attitude. Paul admonishes us on how to

  69. live a fulfilled. Now listen to me some folks live

  70. but they don't live. They can't see the forest for

  71. the trees because they haven't ever learned.

  72. What real living is all about, You know, there's a time in my

  73. life when I worried about things.

  74. And you little bible says be anxious for nothing.

  75. You know what that means it just what the you know what he's

  76. saying there. He's saying and language it's a

  77. little bit couched with with the word anxious, don't be worried.

  78. Now, that's a command none of us, as Christians should be

  79. people who worry about everything now.

  80. Paul, admonishes us on how to get rid of all that worried, he

  81. tells us how it can be different in Philippians chapter 4, verses

    Philippians 4:1–7

  82. 1 through 7. He talks about his beloved

  83. Brethren at Philippi. Why they were very close.

  84. In fact, you know, that's the way it is.

  85. Sometimes you're closer with other folks than you are with

  86. other folks. It isn't because you're not,

  87. Good person that I'm not all that close to you, Terry and I

  88. grew up together. We spent I spent two nights in

  89. his house at Cottage, Grove my grand parents live, it Cottage

  90. Grove reads to see each other when we were kids.

  91. So we're close. We got some, we got some

  92. connection there that I don't have anybody else you know, wave

  93. grew up. In my absence, I left California

  94. 25 years ago. How old are you Wade?

  95. 21 for see him born after I left.

  96. So I hardly know way. Now I love wait because I love

  97. his parents, but I'm going to connect it to wait now.

  98. Paul loved everybody, he did everything he could to help

  99. anybody, but there was a special relationship that existed

  100. between he and the Philippian people.

  101. He had lived there and had spent time there and they had

  102. financially even helped him upon several occasions.

  103. They had seen to his Necessities even when he was not laboring

  104. with them. And so There was a very fast

  105. closeness and he tells me says if you want your life to be

  106. full, if you want to really live then the first thing you've got

  107. to do is Stand Fast. You know my grandpa pointed out

  108. to me what it says in Ephesians chapter 6 and number of years

    Ephesians 6 chapter mention

  109. ago just kind of stuck in my mind all these years here and

  110. noticed how many times Paul says stand in Ephesians 6 Stand.

  111. Therefore stand up. He tells us over and over again

  112. our job is to stand at. What does he mean?

  113. By that? He means Stand Fast in the

  114. faith. Don't just show you ignorance

  115. and stain on something that is not based on any truth.

  116. But stand on the word of God. Now listen to me just because

  117. you have a conviction. Does it mean it comes from the

  118. work God. Because we're all biased, so be

  119. careful. But when the Bible says,

  120. steadfast in the faith, it could have said, Stand Fast in the

  121. gospel. So when you stand fast on some

  122. spiritual principle, don't just it may be a good wife strength,

  123. but unless it's in the Bible that's not what Paul is talking

  124. about. See?

  125. and you can have personal script personal Scruples in fact,

  126. that's what Paul is talking about, in Romans 14, when he

  127. says, keep that Faith to yourself, But here, he's talking

  128. about the faith that Jude says earnestly, we are to contend for

  129. Jude verse 30, he says Stand Fast in the faith, you want to

  130. fulfill life, then live, according to Bible, the Bible is

  131. not written to plague our lives with restrictions.

  132. In fact, sometimes when I sit in the, in the seat in the audience

  133. and preachers, get up and preach.

  134. It almost seems like the Bible is filled with all kinds of Thou

  135. shalt not do this. And thou shalt not do that and

  136. that's true. There are some places where it

  137. says that but listen to me forever - there's a positive and

  138. less you put some things in your app you do I remember and I bet

  139. I bet you to say that Linwood did that very thing.

  140. He wrote a bunch of zeros. You don't have not an adulterer.

  141. I'm not a liar. I'm not Steve thief and wrote

  142. all those zeros on the board and said what happens when you add a

  143. bunch of Zeroes? He said that's what happens to

  144. your faith. When y'all you all went all in

  145. the mounts to is the negative things.

  146. You see we did have to get some things out and we do sometimes

  147. have to realize there are some things that we got to put away,

  148. but listen to me. Christianity is not just - in

  149. fact, Christianity is the greatest life that you will ever

  150. live. If you live to the Lord and

  151. dedicate your life to him, even if you die.

  152. Today, it doesn't matter. Because you're going to live

  153. forever. Jesus said, if you believe in

  154. God believe also in me for my father's house are many

  155. mansions. If it were not, so I would have

  156. told you I go to prepare and he went, he prepared it's ready and

  157. the decision is yours. You see, you got to have the

  158. right perspective. sometimes we're guilty of say, oh Wallace

  159. me and we get on our pity pot and we whale And we seem to

  160. think that our faults, our problems.

  161. Our difficulties are worse than everybody else's.

  162. But you know what? I've come to realize.

  163. Everybody has problems. I used to think.

  164. Why do we have to have somebody problems?

  165. Why do they have to be so many difficulties?

  166. But you know what? I realized one day the Lord is

  167. preparing me to go to heaven. In fact, there's an interesting

  168. word found in Romans chapter 12 in the English Bible, it says

    Romans 12 chapter mention

  169. transform or it speaks of transformation will talk about

  170. that in just a moment. So the first thing you got to do

  171. is Stand Fast in the Lord. Now he says in verse 3 and

  172. irons, you also True Companion. Help these women who labored

  173. with me in the gospel with Clement also and the rest of my

  174. fellow workers whose names are in the Book of Life.

  175. Now, how can you really live Paul by adding value to others?

  176. You see, first you stand in the gospel.

  177. First, you stand in the word of God, but number 2, you add value

  178. to others. You see no wonder.

  179. Paul said in the second chapter. Let each one live for others,

  180. see every day. When you get up you need to ask

  181. yourself what can I do to help somebody else?

  182. And then before you go to bed at night, you need to ask yourself

  183. the question. What did I Day to help others.

  184. I'm serious. The first thing, Jesus said, you

  185. have to do, if you want to go to heaven, is you got to deny

  186. yourself. It's not hear the gospel.

  187. Now, hear the gospel is important, but that's not the

  188. first thing you have to do. If you want to be a Christian,

  189. you got to deny yourself. That's what he said.

  190. Selfishness will not be found in heaven and unless we learn that

  191. we have responsibilities to add value to others to pass on what

  192. we had. And I listen, you can't give the

  193. people what you don't have. one time, I went to a church and

  194. tried to help him out and teachers, get up on Sunday and

  195. tell about how important was to be at Wednesday night and then

  196. not want them to come. I'm going to tell you something,

  197. you can't tell people something to do, unless you do it

  198. yourself. First.

  199. That's why Paul said take heed of the doctrine and continue in

  200. them. That's what he was speaking to

  201. Timothy. He said continuing in them and

  202. he says it was as a result of that, you'll save yourself and

  203. those that hear you. You see, if you want to add

  204. value to others, you got to learn to be valuable yourself.

  205. And you know, you're pretty, you're pretty important.

  206. In fact, your real important. The Bible says for God, so loved

  207. Tina that he gave his only begotten son.

  208. You know, I could go around this audience.

  209. If I can remember everybody's name, what could do that?

  210. But I'm not going to lie about it.

  211. I can't. And we could put your name in

  212. that verse for God, so loved Sandra.

  213. For God, so loved Carl. For God.

  214. So loved Chris. That he gave his only son, you

  215. think about that, the god of the universe, the God, who spoke

  216. everything into existence. Was willing to offer his love

  217. and wants to save you. So desperately that he gave his

  218. son. Think about that.

  219. You're valuable and so because of the Great Value that Christ

  220. is placed on us. We need to walk in his steps and

  221. we need to add value to others. Now listen, you know, I can Pat

  222. Terry on the shoulder. Might say Carrie I love you

  223. brother. But you know what?

  224. If he has a need And I see that need, and I have the ability to

  225. help him. Pat him on the shoulder and says

  226. I'm saying, I love you don't help.

  227. See, that's not a guide people, whatever you have and all of us

  228. have something. Now if I sit back and think like

  229. the one Talent, man, I don't have much to offer and I use

  230. that for an excuse and don't offer anything.

  231. Jesus is going to pronounce Upon Us in the end of time.

  232. Thou, Wicked, and slothful servant.

  233. And he's going to catch this out.

  234. So whoever you are today doesn't matter who you are.

  235. If you're a subject to the king and you are, if you're Christian

  236. If you're a subject to Jesus Christ, you have something to

  237. offer and God has given you something to use.

  238. Now sometimes we throw our hands up because we become discouraged

  239. disillusion. We don't know what to do.

  240. I'm going to tell you something, if you don't know what to do,

  241. you got some breath in here that are experienced some that are

  242. younger and they can help you if they can't help you shape along?

  243. Yes, sir. If you can't help me, buddy

  244. brother, shame on you. You see because we're all of

  245. Great Value and if you're going to be a lot, you're going to

  246. live a life that is fulfilled. You got to learn to add value to

  247. others. Now Paul said in verse 4 rejoice

  248. and he's in prison, how did he say that rejoice in the lord

  249. always? Again, I will say rejoice.

  250. But I want you to know Brethren that the things which happened

  251. to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the

  252. Gospel. Now, think about that.

  253. In fact, he mentions in the book of Acts that even the palace

  254. guard or maybe it's in the book of Romans that says even the

  255. guards in the palace now know about Jesus because of my

  256. imprisonment. Now when you have a tragedy, are

  257. you have a great trial or you have a problem that you're

  258. dealing with while it's going on?

  259. You can't rejoice when you lose your loved one, you know, my

  260. dad, lost my mom, a couple of months ago and when he goes to

  261. church is so hard. Because they went to church

  262. together for 65 years. They sit together for 65 years.

  263. And she's not that many more. I'll tell you something.

  264. If my dad lives long enough, there's going to come a time in

  265. his life when he helped somebody else.

  266. Understand. That this world is not my home.

  267. I'm just passing through. My treasures are laid up

  268. somewhere beyond the blue. Doesn't have been grow sweeter

  269. every day. Don't you get tired of all?

  270. The hustle and bustle of this life, and all the problems.

  271. I'm telling you. When you understand?

  272. What Paul understood? Even while he's being beaten.

  273. He could Rejoice not because of the whipping. but because of the

  274. joy that set before him, the Bible says, even Jesus despised

  275. The Shame of the cross. But he endured it.

  276. Now, that means he hardly can in, ER, that can stand it, but

  277. he endured it. Why for the joy that was set

  278. before him, because he knew there was more to this life than

  279. the physical life that he was didn't living.

  280. And even when he died, he knew life would go on there.

  281. That didn't always fix everything.

  282. If you're Christian there, your emotions are not going to be

  283. high all the time. Sometimes you're going to be in

  284. the valley. but if you can tell yourself, even in the valley,

  285. That there's a something better coming God's in control.

  286. I don't understand. Everything is happening, I can't

  287. comprehend why things are like they are.

  288. My situation seems awfully gray, you know, our daughter and her

  289. husband had five children under five, They're planning to have

  290. forward with the fourth ones twins.

  291. So they had five under five and she asked Lord one day.

  292. She said, mom does God, is it possible that God sometimes

  293. gives you more than you can bear?

  294. Well Lori said, I don't think so.

  295. But you know what? Someday you're going to have

  296. five weddings. Probably one year.

  297. In other words, it don't get easier.

  298. If you think things are hard today, they can get harder

  299. tomorrow. And what you have to do is

  300. you've got to have the right perspective and you can Rejoice,

  301. even in tragedy. Now, you don't Rejoice over the

  302. tragedy. All sometimes, somebody will

  303. say, well, hey, if the wife's going to be a better person,

  304. going to get to be a better person.

  305. I'm going to treat her me. I'm going to tell you something.

  306. That's all. That's a terrible attitude.

  307. You don't create or cause problems for anybody.

  308. You won't be justified and you'll be judged for it.

  309. But sometimes things come. Things happen.

  310. And I don't understand why sometimes seems like some

  311. families just face more than than any person should have to

  312. bear. But listen to me.

  313. In spite of it. You can get through and there's

  314. glory in future. There's glory in the future for

  315. you. The Bible speaks of member.

  316. I mentioned a while ago. The word transform that original

  317. term comes from the Greek word from which we get the word

  318. metamorphosis. And you know it's kind of like

  319. the worm that becomes a butterfly.

  320. There's a transformation that's the way God looks at us.

  321. We're worms, but he wants us to be a butterfly.

  322. It's sort of like the great of sand in the Shell of moisture.

  323. That grain of sand is an irritant that grain of sand,

  324. would that or stir would like to remove and he works at it and

  325. strives to remove it, but it can't remove it.

  326. It remains there and it becomes a perv.

  327. Girl, you see your suffering today because God wants you to

  328. be a pulley. When you endure problems,

  329. there's a reason for that. And that's why the inspired

  330. writer. Use the concept of

  331. metamorphosis. He's transforming you.

  332. When you face trials, while you grieve, while you endure the

  333. trial, it may appear. It may seem that you just can't

  334. stand it anymore, but you hold on.

  335. You hold on. and on the other side, you'll learn how to love

  336. in a deeper way. You'll learn how to comfort in a

  337. special way. You know, on somebody.

  338. Loses a child. My heart goes out to them.

  339. How he had handle that? How you deal with that?

  340. It took Ed Daniel seven years. To even get to the point.

  341. He could look at a picture of his son, he died when he was 17

  342. in his sleep. but now, add Holds his head high and he can Comfort

  343. like nobody else when somebody loses her spouse.

  344. Are they lost a child? Because he'd been there.

  345. He's done that. I would wish hardship on

  346. anybody. I would wish problems on

  347. anybody, but I'm telling you when you face trial, God's

  348. working on your heart. He's working on your life and

  349. you can keep from being angry. Now, listen to me, angers the

  350. monster. If your child makes you angry.

  351. If your problem makes you angry and you hold on to that anger,

  352. it will grow and it will destroy you.

  353. And bitterness But if you can control that anger, now you

  354. might be angry for a while, but you can control that anger and

  355. get rid of that anger. You can do like Joseph said, God

  356. was there working in my life all the time.

  357. I'm telling you. There is no life.

  358. Worth living and the Christian Life.

  359. And someday. We're going to go home, I'm

  360. telling you. We need to keep that in our

  361. hearts, we need to remember everyday this world is not my

  362. home. Don't get so wrapped up in

  363. school or, or a job or even your family that you forget that.

  364. Because I'm telling you there is anything in this life.

  365. That's not Temple and you're going to lose it sooner or

  366. later. Some of it.

  367. You might even retain till you die but when you die, you lose

  368. it rest of it. But you're hoping heaven.

  369. Your home in eternity. It's forever and ever, think

  370. about that. You see, you've got to have the

  371. right perspective. And if you have the right

  372. perspective, God will make you perv.

  373. God will transform your life, your attitude.

  374. Everything about you, my brethren, count, it all joy,

  375. when you fall into various trials, and he didn't mean to

  376. that, that the trial itself is joyous but he says you count his

  377. joy. In other words, you

  378. intellectually. Remember You intellectually

  379. remember that when this grieving process is over and you're on

  380. the other side because of this trial, you're going to be a

  381. better and a different person. And that will help you get

  382. through the problem. Listen, be anxious for nothing

  383. and other words, don't let your thought, take away your

  384. strength, but in everything by prayer and supplication with

  385. Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the

  386. peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard

  387. your hearts and Minds through Jesus Christ.

  388. He says, this is how you live the fulfilled life.

  389. You stand fast in the faith. You follow the Bible, you live.

  390. By the Bible, it becomes a part of your being becomes a part of

  391. your thinking. If it comes apart here, walking

  392. You add value to others, you reach out to others.

  393. You rejoice even in spite of the problems.

  394. And you never stop praying. Did you pray since Wednesday

  395. night or last Sunday? Did you pray besides just

  396. offering? Thanks for your food.

  397. You know, sometimes we don't even do that.

  398. When was the last time you just got on your knees and just

  399. poured your heart out of the god.

  400. You see, if you want to live a fulfilled life, you not only

  401. have to know what God's word says because that's how he talks

  402. to you through the Bible. But you talk to him in prayer.

  403. Prayers, not only a powerful help, but listen to me, it's a

  404. work. We need to be, we need to have a

  405. Praying life. Paul is telling us how to live.

  406. I want to ask you this morning, is your life complete.

  407. Do you have the right attitude? Will Paul gives us the

  408. prescription? Now I want to look at for more

  409. things and I'm going to close I hope I'm not like Glee and my

  410. wife gets on me sometimes, you know, Glen can tell you if he's

  411. fixing the closing might be at our later.

  412. Now, that's an exaggeration. I loved when I said that carries

  413. benefit, but these are four things that you got to have.

  414. Possess a teachable spirit. If you want to be you'll live to

  415. live a fulfilled life. You never stop learning doesn't

  416. matter how old you are, do no matter how higher education is.

  417. It doesn't matter how many books you've read.

  418. You've got to continue to learn and anybody can teach you when

  419. you get to the point that you think somebody can teach you,

  420. then you got bigger problems than maybe it you had before.

  421. You need to keep a teachable spirit possess a teachable

  422. spirit. Do you see a man wise in his own

  423. eyes? There is more hope for a fool

  424. than for him. Solomon said, without counsel

  425. plans, go awry, but in the multitude of counselors, they

  426. are established. Have you ever noticed how much

  427. we talk? Sometimes, in fact, it's hard to

  428. talk to others, because they're talking so much themselves or

  429. it's hard for them to talk because I'm talking so much.

  430. You see? But if you want to be a

  431. teachable person, if you want to have that attitude, you have a

  432. listen. You gotta be willing to hear

  433. others. You know, we're guilty of of

  434. listening to answer. But really, what we need to do

  435. is learn how to listen. Just to hear, not the answer.

  436. but to hear and sometimes when we're getting ready to answer,

  437. if we had to sit and listen, The person might have answered

  438. themselves, you know my children used to love to punch my

  439. buttons. They knew just exactly what to

  440. say and my son and I sometimes will getting such disagreements.

  441. But you know, it was all said, and done.

  442. He heard every word. I said he just didn't want me to

  443. know that. Sometimes people talk out loud

  444. because they need to be heard because they're really saying

  445. something that you have to worry about.

  446. They just need you to here. I'm telling you.

  447. You'll never live a fulfilled life unless you, you remain

  448. teachable. Because you say, I am rich and

  449. have become wealthy and have need of nothing.

  450. That was the attitude of the laodiceans and Jesus said your

  451. wretched. Miserable poor blind and naked.

  452. Well number to take responsibility for your

  453. attitude, stop passing, the buck just a month or so ago.

  454. Maybe maybe six weeks ago I was talking to a fellow that's was

  455. renting my house about coming to church used to come to church.

  456. At all, he had such a hateful attitude to the church, blame

  457. everybody for everything blame God, because he's dad died,

  458. blame God, because the people work friendly.

  459. You know, he died with covid about 3 weeks ago.

  460. And he died while he's blaming everybody else for his problem.

  461. I will tell you something blaming people will not help you

  462. or anybody else. What we have to learn if we want

  463. to live a fulfilled, life is take responsibility ourselves.

  464. You see with somebody even wrongs us.

  465. Somebody says something sharp. Just our something ugly to us

  466. when we get angry, that's our fault.

  467. That's her choice. You see what we're doing.

  468. When we get angry at how people treat us, is we're actually

  469. allowing that person to make us have the wrong attitude.

  470. Now I don't mean that people are justified in treating us wrong.

  471. With the point is you don't have to allow that to influence your

  472. head to you can live above that and if you want to, if you want

  473. to be the kind of Christian that God wants you to be.

  474. If you want to have the right attitude, then you've got to

  475. learn to take responsibility for yourself.

  476. Fill your mind with good things, meditate on, good things,

  477. practice, good things. You must take.

  478. Oil responsibility. You cannot change the

  479. circumstances the seasons or the wind, but you can change

  480. yourself. That is something you have

  481. charged up and that's what you got to.

  482. Remember, when you face difficulty in this life.

  483. Well in Romans, it says that tribulations work, produces Pate

  484. perseverance, and perseverance character, and character hope,

  485. you know, one time I was talking to my grandma on and I told her,

  486. I said, why do I have to be somebody problems?

  487. Why is it when you try to do the right thing?

  488. People who claim they're doing the right thing create such.

  489. She said well son. Don't you want to go to heaven?

  490. Well, I was going to take it back by that, of course I want

  491. to go to heaven, the trying of your faith.

  492. Worketh patience. You see you have trials.

  493. And those trials have the power to change your life.

  494. If you have the right attitude, one thing I learned when I was

  495. Learning to Fly, I got a soldier on 16 and got my pilot license.

  496. When I was 18, I don't fly anymore that I have my own

  497. personal reasons for that, but but I love to fly.

  498. And one thing that I learned, what when I slime is, there are

  499. so many variables, and so many things coming at you, the wind

  500. and, and up, currents and down currents.

  501. You know, sometimes you're flying in the mountains that the

  502. right place, the wind would be going over the mountain.

  503. Pull you down into the canyon. You had to prepare for that

  504. before you cross the ridge. When you flew from point A to

  505. point B, you had to recognize if you if you had a crosswind and

  506. you had to figure that your magnetic course.

  507. Against that, we honor you drift off course.

  508. Sometimes the updraft would raise you higher than you wanted

  509. to be. Sometimes it would cause you to

  510. be lower than you want to be. So what I learned was is if

  511. you're going to fly and do well, you got to correct all the time.

  512. Well, that's a little bit like Christianity. if you want to be

  513. successful, you got to make Corrections all the time.

  514. You got to keep at it. You got to stay on it.

  515. The Bible says, if we walk in the light even as he is in the

  516. light, we have Fellowship one with another and the blood of

  517. Jesus Christ. His son cleanseth us from all

  518. sin. The listen folks, Why did he

  519. tell us that we need the blood of Jesus?

  520. If you're walking in the light to walk her to the line, you're

  521. not a sitter. But see the problem is, we're

  522. human. And sometimes we're going to

  523. fall. But Paul John says when you saw

  524. you just get up, you seek forgiveness.

  525. He said in verse 10 if we confess our sins he is just and

  526. faithful to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all

  527. unrighteousness. So that means as you walk in the

  528. light you walk along, sometimes you may take a step to the left

  529. or step to the right settings. You may fall flat on your face.

  530. Well, what do you do? You get up You make a

  531. correction. And the blood of Jesus Christ

  532. continually cleanses you as long as you walk in the light.

  533. You know, I guess, maybe it's preacher.

  534. Some of the, some of us as preachers fault.

  535. But people sometimes act like that they can just barely live

  536. the Christian Life, you know. In fact I've heard people pray

  537. Lord. If there's any signal him to

  538. this prayer I listen to me just because you committed a sin

  539. yesterday, doesn't mean your prayers here today.

  540. The prayer that's hindered is the prayer that the person has

  541. lived in Rebellion when he prays and knows he's a sinner knows

  542. he's wrong, and he won't repent of You see if you're a Christian

  543. you're a priest and the priest can go to God through Jesus

  544. Christ and seek forgiveness. And one Sins not going to hinder

  545. your prayer. It's a bitch will soon when he's

  546. talking about, it's, if you're in, Covenant relationship with

  547. the Lord, that's what he's talking about when he says, he

  548. heard not Sinners. He's not talking about.

  549. Just anybody who says we're all sinners in that respect, but

  550. he's talking about those who are not in Covenant relationship

  551. with the Lord. If you're in Covenant

  552. relationship with there or you could speak to him at any time

  553. and seek forgiveness, God will hear you.

  554. But when you live in rebellion and you ignore his word, then

  555. he's not going to hear you. He's not going to forgive you

  556. unless you repent in your heart. So possess a teachable spirit,

  557. take responsibility for your attitude.

  558. Travel, the high road know what does that mean?

  559. You see, if you travel to Lower Road, you treat people worse

  560. than they treat you. Now, they're so people even the

  561. church like that, I regretfully must say.

  562. The middle row. Now there's a lot of us like

  563. this treat people. The same way they treat me, you

  564. know, that brother said people weren't friendly, well, we're

  565. you friendly. Sure, people have responsibility

  566. to be friendly to others, but tell me friend.

  567. That does not excuse you from being friendly from your

  568. perspective. Even if nobody talks to, you can

  569. talk to me. And most of the time, almost

  570. without exception, when you talk to them and smile, people enjoy

  571. that and I'll talk back to you. We'll talk with you.

  572. But the third roads where we need to be the high road, If you

  573. want to be successful, if you want to live a fulfilled life in

  574. Christ, then he got to walk the high road.

  575. What's that mean? Treat people better.

  576. Than they treat me. See it's easy.

  577. It's easy. It.

  578. Did he walks up to me after church and says you're fat?

  579. Well, that's true. But I don't have to let that

  580. bother me. Some folks have told me that you

  581. didn't see, I really worried about it. but the point is, No

  582. matter what, somebody says to you, you don't have to allow

  583. that to destroy you or to make you negative.

  584. Because you're not serving them, you're serving the lord.

  585. The Lord's on your side. And I have false and I have

  586. problems. And I have difficulties But the

  587. Lord's Everett my side, you know, it's like that proverbial

  588. poem Footprints in the Sand. The man said why I noticed there

  589. were two Pricks in the, in the sand, all along till I had a big

  590. problem and then the other one other set of prints disappeared.

  591. He said, I want to know why you left my side when I needed you

  592. most. Do you ever feel that way?

  593. The Lord said why sir? That's when I was carrying you.

  594. And there was only one set of prints in the sand.

  595. I'm telling you, he don't need you.

  596. You may feel forsaken. You may feel unappreciated, but

  597. the Lord's ever at your side, listen to me friends.

  598. When we live in this world, we need to treat everybody, like

  599. they're the most important person on the planet, you know,

  600. years ago, George Hogan? Well, maybe some of, you know,

  601. him from Lubbock, Texas, sent me some tapes that Earl Nightingale

  602. had made and one of the things that, that really Shook Me, is

  603. he said you treat everybody, like they're the most important

  604. person on the life, even the elevator operator.

  605. And he said, first of all, because that's really what they

  606. believe anyway. But secondly.

  607. That's the way we're supposed to treat each other.

  608. You know, I thought about that a lot. it's so easy to bite back

  609. when somebody barks at you, It's so easy.

  610. To treat others as they treat you. but, you know, if we would

  611. treat each other Like the other propellers, the most important

  612. person on the planet, how would the church change?

  613. How about my home? You know what I found when?

  614. I'm treating my wife, like she's the most important person on the

  615. planet. We don't even have an argument.

  616. The problem is sometimes, it'll treat her like that.

  617. Then we argue. You see, we need to take the

  618. high road, we need to travel the high road and finally we need to

  619. understand the value of attitude.

  620. Talent is Never Enough. Knowledge is not the all answer.

  621. Now knowledge helps no doubt about that.

  622. But knowledge is not all of it, you know.

  623. Some people seem like sometimes there's too smart for the long

  624. britches. Sometimes people are pretty is

  625. pretty. Does, you know, my mom used to

  626. say But all of that is nice. But it's not the most important.

  627. It's not the all-encompassing answer attitude.

  628. Attitude is the maker. Or breaker of Our Lives.

  629. You see, if you could Master the right attitude, that will make

  630. all the difference in the world Zig.

  631. Ziglar said your attitude, not your aptitude will determine

  632. your altitude. And buddy, that's true.

  633. You want to live a fulfilled life, then change your attitude.

  634. That's what it takes. That's what the Lord demands of

  635. us your attitude. Teddy Roosevelt said your

  636. attitude about who you are and what you have is a very little

  637. thing that makes a very big difference. and you don't tell

  638. you Roosevelt was crippled when he's a kid and doctors and and

  639. people who are supposed to know, told me he'd ever amount to

  640. anything and he became president In fact, he became one of the

  641. Rough Riders. He became a man who could mix

  642. and mingle with those New Yorkers too.

  643. He became a lot and they said he'd be nothing.

  644. I'm telling you, your attitude makes all the difference in the

  645. world in conclusion. Listen to what this verse says.

  646. Hearing take it home today and read it again, and think about

  647. it. Talk about it.

  648. Finally, Brethren whatever things are true, whatever things

  649. are noble, whatever things are, just, whatever things are pure,

  650. whatever things are, lovely, whatever.

  651. Things are of good report. If is if there is any virtue and

  652. if there is anything praiseworthy, praiseworthy

  653. meditate on these things. Now listen, what Paul.

  654. I said in the last verse there, the things which you have

  655. learned and received and heard and saw in me these do and the

  656. God of Peace will be with you. I'm going to tell you this

  657. morning if you're not a Christian.

  658. Then you're letting slip by the greatest life that you could

  659. live. If you're in this audience

  660. today, you never obeyed the gospel.

  661. Jesus came and died for you. The Bible says the grace of God,

  662. which is Jesus Christ, hath appeared to all men.

  663. If you're in this audience, God's grace can cover your sin.

  664. And the Bible tells us that by hearing the gospel, it is

  665. necessary to believe that gospel vulnerable Hearts.

  666. Jesus said he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.

  667. You believe in Jesus? Surely you do repent of your

  668. sins recognize that Jesus Christ died on the cross because of

  669. your surname? And change your mind.

  670. That's what repentance is. You see?

  671. You got to understand what repentance is our you're not

  672. going to be baptized, you just couldn't take a bath.

  673. Repentance means you change your mind.

  674. You turn about face as a result of repentance the change of.

  675. Will you change your life? Then you got to confess him.

  676. Now, I love this, this part. Jesus made a promise.

  677. He said, you confess me and I'll confess you.

  678. You think about that? Can you imagine?

  679. Can you imagine Jack holiday be confessed to God?

  680. The father and the Holy Angels. And yet, if you confess him with

  681. your mouth, On the salvation. That'll happen and then we

  682. buried him, baptism. Why you have your sins washed

  683. away. Baptism saves you.

  684. First Peter 3 verse 21, that's not the figment of some

    1 Peter 3:21

  685. preachers imagination. That's the inspired Apostle.

  686. Peter, he says, baptism saves us here in this audience, you will

  687. bait that gospel and you allowed to see him to come back into

  688. your life. Don't let another moment pass

  689. you by, get on your knees and seek God's forgiveness.

  690. If you want us to assist you in that forgiveness, and you want

  691. to make your wishes known to us while we stand while we sing

  692. together won't you come? We thank you for listening to

  693. our podcast. Put on by the Church of Christ

  694. at 22:15 plans. Road in Bakersfield, if you

  695. would like any additional information or you would like to

  696. receive a free Bible correspondence course by mail.

  697. Please email us at info at search of Christ.

  698. Bakersfield.com, our service times are on Sundays at 10:30

  699. a.m. and 5 p.m. and Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. please make plans

  700. to join us. We would love for you to be our

  701. honored guest