THE TEST OF FIRE TO OUR ATTITUDES
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com (YouTube: Wade Hughes) (Two part lesson)
How do you view things… It is said the average person has between 12,000 and 80,000 thoughts a day. Your attitudes, words and mindset are established by YOU! You choose what thoughts linger in your mind. It is up to you how your PERCEPTION and THINKING PATTERNS are. You decide to live: GOOD, BETTER, OR BEST
Growth? DO WE EVER EVALUATE AND HOLD OURSELVES ACCOUNTABLE FOR OUR WORDS AND OUR ATTITUDES? YOU CANNOT GROW WITH BAD ATTITUDES. Bad attitudes are like a flat tire. You can’t go far on a flat. You have to change the flat tire to travel.
THE GREAT DEPRESSION HAS MANY STORIES.
The years from 1929 to 1939 are known as the GREAT DEPRESSION… The stock market crashed. The world trade collapsed. Government policies caused panic and the banks collapsed. There was little money available unless someone had seen ahead and had taken great care of their wealth. The GREAT DEPRESSION was the longest and deepest downturn in financial history.
There was a man that foresaw what was coming and he secured his vast wealth and funds that were not affected by the DEPRESSION. He had money and was able to continue as before. One of this BUILDERS friends lost everything. He had been very wealthy and had lost all his assets in one day. He lost his house, his cars and all his property. This broken friend considered suicide as many others had.
One day the successful and wise money manager heard of his dear friend’s total collapse. The man started praying and he felt like he should help. So the wealthy man went to the crushed builder and made an offer. He said I have 25 acres on the west side of town. I want you to BUILD ME A GREAT HOUSE in the middle of my land. The MAN TOLD HIS FRIEND SPARE NO EXPENSES. Nothing is too good for my house. After one week the owner of the property never came to visit the new building site. The owner sent a bonus check for his friend and the material. There was a note of appreciation with the check. The owner said build the best house ever in this county. The second week of work was finished. Still no visit from his friend. The man was very slow in building the house. He wanted to collect all the money he could. The first month of work the man used the best supplies he could find. After 4 weeks the worker thought he is not ever going to come and inspect this new house. The worker started cutting the edges and using cheap building materials. The owner would not know. Cheap stuff at high prices so the worker could make more money. After several months the worker knew the master would not come. Every week on Friday the check was delivered.
The work went on for several years. The worker was building the new mansion out of cardboard. He was so good with the cardboard and paint no one could see it was a cardboard house sealed and painted and it looked beautiful from the road. Again the owner never checked his friends work. Every Friday the wealthy man paid his friend and often included a bonus.
In 1941 the President declared the GREAT DEPRESSION WAS OVER. The builder friend could find work anywhere in the county. So one day the WEALTHY MAN HAD HIS CHAUFFEUR drive him to the brand new house. It was beautiful from the road. The rich man called his friend to come out to the road. For all this time he was rewarded with a wonderful salary. He told the owner HERE IS THE KEY, THE MANSION IS FINISHED. You can move in tomorrow. The wonderful owner THANKED HIS FRIEND FOR BUILDING THIS MANSION FOR HIM. The owner accepted the key and hugged his dear friend. They cried together how good God had been. The owner had a piece of paper, the deed to the property. The material of the house was to be the best material of the day. The owner cried and thanked his friend. The owner hugged his friend real tight and placed the KEY BACK IN HIS HAND. Then the owner said I have a beautiful mansion and land. I don’t need this mansion. FOR BEING SUCH A GOOD FRIEND I GIVE YOU THIS HOUSE. It belongs to you and your family.
The Chauffeur loaded the owner up in the limo. There were great tears in the eyes of his boss. There was tears in the eyes of the builder. He knew he was now the proud owner of a cardboard mansion. He could have had the best mansion in the area. He could have had a house that would last several hundred years. His children could have lived in the best that money could buy. BUT NOW THE TEARS FLOWED, HIS FRIEND HAD TRUSTED HIM. History would record a FOOL, A FOOL IN A CARDBOARD HOUSE… THE HOUSE BUILT ON THE SAND…
LIFE HAS 3 BASIC ATTITUDES: 1. DO I HAVE TO… 2. I GET TO… 3. I WANT TO… WHICH PROGRAM ARE YOU RUNNING?
TWO COATS ARE BEFORE US… THE BAD ATTITUDE COAT IS WORN AND TATTERED. THE NEW COAT HAD NEVER BEEN TAKEN OUT OF THE BOX. THE OLD SONG TAUGHT: PUT OFF THE OLD COAT AND PUT ON THE NEW COAT… OFTEN WE NEED AN ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT… THE BEST THING I EVER DID WAS TAKE OFF THE OLD COAT AND PUT ON THE NEW COAT.
GROWTH COMES WHEN I EVALUATE MY ATTITUDES. YOU CAN MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE BY CHOOSING AND KEEPING THE RIGHT ATTITUDES. ATTITUDES ARE CHOICES. NO ONE CONTROLS YOUR ATTITUDES BUT YOU.
Joshua 24:14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. 15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO CONSIDER PERSONAL ATTITUDES, A SIMPLE VALUE SYSTEM KNOWS…
Is the glass ½ empty or ½ full? We can consider this a measure of the attitudes. The Bible mentions this in several ways.
Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit.
Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
HAVE WE CONSIDERED WHERE DO WE GET OUR ATTITUDES?
ARE WE GROWING AND DEVELOPING? GROWTH? THE RIGHT ATTITUDES CHANGE EVERYTHING… THE WRONG ATTITUDES TRAP A PERSON IN DOOM AND GLOOM. The Bible warns us to PUT AND END to the works of the flesh. We walk in a mean, angry, bitter and negative world. There is something better than bitter. ATTITUDES ARE LEARNED AND REINFORCED BEHAVIOR AND HABITS. Our attitudes come from our feelings, our emotions, our perspectives, our family history.
**ATTITUDE: the way you look at life, a settled way of thinking, the expression of how you feel, predisposition or tendency to respond positive or negative, mindset, A SETTLED WAY OF THINKING, mental state, mental position with regard to a fact or state, how you evaluate others.
I love dogs. The dog growls? My attitude? A dog bites, does my attitude change?
IS IT POSSIBLE TO GO 4 HOURS WITH OUT COMPLAINING ONCE??
Philippians 2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputing:
TALKING ABOUT ATTITUDES? I was driving by the CRISPY CREAM DONUT SHOP. I felt a little internal voice say: YOU NEED A COUPLE OF DONUTS THIS MORNING. I thought: Lord, if there was an empty parking place in front of the donut store it is Your Will for me to have a few donuts. If there is an empty parking place it must be the Lord’s will. So, I would run in and grab a few jelly filled donuts to eat. To my surprise there was a parking place right in front of the door. I had driven around and around the block 22 times, but there it was a parking place right in front of the door.
On a more serious note, we had a friend that was normal and healthy and she would go shopping and pray for a parking place near the store. She would get angry if there was not a parking place near the door. She asked me: WHY DOESN’T GOD GIVE ME A PARKING PLACE NEAR THE STORE? She got angry at my answer: I TOLD HER SHE NEEDED EXERCISE AND IT WAS PROBABLY GOOD FOR HER TO WALK. MAYBE SHE SHOULD LEAVE THE PLACES CLOSER FOR THE ELDERLY AND THE HANDICAPPED. Maybe the Lord was making a strong suggestion: PARK AWAY AND WALK?
LOOK AT PETER’S ATTITUDES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT…
Matthew 16:22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Peter was 1. Quick to jump to conclusions. 2. He was impulsive. 3. In anger he cut off an ear … 4. Peter jumps out of the boat and sinks. Peter had to learn to submit his attitudes and relationships with others and with Jesus. Peter had to learn SERVANT SHIP… 5. Peter was PREJUDICE, JEWS ONLY? Peter had to learn how to adjust his attitudes. PETER WENT FROM HAVING A COWBOY ATTITUDE TO BEING A GOOD SHEPHERD OF THE FLOCK OF GOD.
PETER NEVER UNDERSTOOD…PETER SLEEPS THROUGH THE PRAYER MEETING AND THEN SAYS: LET US BUILD 3 CHURCHES? PETER LEARNED THE RIGHT ATTITUDE BY BEING PATIENT AND WALKING IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD.
Matthew 17:4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
BAD ATTITUDES COST: NOT ME, NEVER, I WOULD NEVER DENY YOU…
Matthew 26:33 Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. 34 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. 35 Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.
PETER IS BORN IN THE HOLY SPIRIT. PETER’S ATTITUDE CHANGES FROM DENIER AND ANGER TO PROCLAIM THE FIRST PENTECOSTAL MESSAGE IN THE BOOK OF ACTS.
Acts 2:12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
Peter learned to LISTEN, to be PATIENT, to be KIND and HUMBLE. PETER IS A GREAT EXAMPLE ABOUT CHANGING YOUR ATTITUDES.
ELI WAS A GOOD PREACHER… ELI HAD TWO SONS: HOPHNI and PHINEHAS.
Eli was a good preacher. His two sons had bad attitudes. They cheated in the offerings and they were immoral with the women. HOPHNI AND PHINEHAS HAD THE ARK OF THE COVENANT AND THEY KNEW HOW TO SPIRITUALLY SHOUT… BUT THE BAD ATTITUDES GREW TERRIBLE FRUIT…
1 Samuel 2:34 And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.
1 Samuel 4:6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp. 7 And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.
The two sons die, BUT THE SAD STORY IS THEY LOST THE ARK OF THE COVENANT WHICH REPRESENTED GOD’S PRESENCE.
1 SAMUEL 4:11 And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.
ELI, HAS TWO SONS AND HIS DAUGHTER IN LAW PAY THE PRICE OF BAD ATTITUDES AND BAD DEEDS… BAD NEWS TRAVELS WITH BAD ATTITUDES…
1 Samuel 4:17 And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken. 18 And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years. 19 And his daughter in law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her.
The name of the grandson that was born that day, was name: ICHABOD--- THE GLORY OF THE LORD HAS DEPARTED…
NOT GROWING GOOD ATTITUDES IS EXPENSIVE. SAMSON’S BAD ATTITUDES COST HIM HIS EYE SIGHT WITH THE LIFE OF AN ANIMAL. SAMSON’S ATTITUDE CHANGED WHEN HE WAS IN THE ENEMY’S CAMP.
Judges 16:20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.
SAMSON’S BAD ATTITUDES AFFECTED HIS PRAYER LIFE… JUST ONE MORE TIME. SAMSON’S BAD ATTITUDES COSY. HE COULD HAVE HAD MANY MORE VICTORIES… LET US GROW GOOD ATTITUDES…
Judges 16:28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
THERE IS AN OLD SONG: PUT OFF THE OLD COAT AND PUT ON THE NEW COAT… OFTEN WE NEED AN ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT…
Ephesians 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
OUR CHOICES ARE BUILDING PAIN OR JOY… GROWTH COMES FROM WITHIN AND BY ADJUSTING OUR ATTITUDES. YOUR HOUSE IS NO BETTER THAN THE MATERIAL YOU BUILD WITH… GROWTH CAN TAKE SEVERAL FORMS: WOOD, HAY, STUBBLE VS GOLD, SILVER PRECIOUS STONES. YOUR ATTITUDES WILL TEACH WHAT WILL REMAIN.
1 Corinthians 3:10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man build upon this
foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
THE APPOINTMENT HAS BEEN MADE… MY FRIEND, DEATH IS SURE. THEN THERE COMES A JUDGMENT DAY…
God is going to reveal the dark rooms in your heart. There is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you'll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won't get by with a thing. Guard your attitudes.
Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
GROWTH IS HINDERED… DO WE HAVE BAD ATTITUDES TOWARD THE PREACHERS AND GOD’S WORD? WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT GROWTH… THIS LESSON ON ATTITUDES BY SAYING MANY THINGS IN LIFE YOU HAVE NO CONTROL OVER… BUT YOUR ATTITUDES ARE COMPLETELY CONTROLED BY YOU! ELIJAH IS THE PREACHER… AHAB is the King of Israel. Ahab is talking to JEHOSHAPHAT: the King reveals a bad attitude. IF YOU DON’T LIKE GOD, YOU WILL NOT LIKE THE MAN OF GOD AND YOUR ATTITUDE WILL BE YOU DON’T LIKE THE PREACHER’S MESSAGE.
1 Kings 22:18 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?
CONCLUSION: Your attitudes, words and mindset are established by YOU! You choose what thoughts linger in your mind. It is up to you how your PERCEPTION and THINKING PATTERNS are. You decide to live: GOOD, BETTER, OR BEST… WHERE DO WE GET OUR ATTITUDES? GROWTH? THE RIGHT ATTITUDES CHANGE EVERYTHING… THE WRONG ATTITUDES TRAP A PERSON IN DOOM AND GLOOM.
ATTITUDE: the way you look at life, a settled way of thinking, the expression of how you feel, predisposition or tendency to respond positive or negative, mindset, A SETTLED WAY OF THINKING, mental state, mental position with regard to a fact or state. HAVE A HIGH EXPECTATION OF SELF. THEIR ARE PEOPLE WITH GOOD ATTITUDES. THEY LISTEN, CARE, ARE HUMBLE, CONFIDENT, PATIENT, kind, forgiving, and they smile
Bad attitudes can come from MOODINESS, the family tree, illness, disease, depression, stress, worry, fear, complaining, AGGRESSIVENESS, criticality, judgmental-ism, prejudice, resentful, rude, selfish, always defensive. Suspicious, short fused, no personal discipline, BLAME. Are characteristics of a bad attitude.
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers @aol.com… (YouTube: Wade Hughes) (Two part)
