Title: Your Attitude shapes Your Resolve
Scripture: Psalm 90:1-17
Psalm 90:1 A prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. 2 Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 3 You turn men back to dust, saying, "Return to dust, O sons of men." 4 For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. 5 You sweep men away in the sleep of death; they are like the new grass of the morning-- 6 though in the morning it springs up new, by evening it is dry and withered. 7 We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation. 8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. 9 All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan. 10 The length of our days is seventy years-- or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. 11 Who knows the power of your anger? For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you. 12 Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 13 Relent, O LORD! How long will it be? Have compassion on your servants. 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. 15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble. 16 May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children. 17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us-- yes, establish the work of our hands.
We find in this Psalm a prayer of Moses, the man of God. The man that God appointed to lead the Israelites out of the captivity of Egypt. The man that God used to lead the Israelites as they were forced to wander in the desert for forty years until the wicked generation had passed away.
Moses was the man that talked directly to God, and Moses was the man that heard God talking to Him. When we read about Moses, we can see that he knew where his power, his wisdom and his guidance came from. Moses knew that the proper attitude toward God would shape one’s determination or resolve to follow God’s commands. He knew that it was all about attitude.
When we look at the prayer of Moses, Psalm 90, we see he wrote it in three logical divisions.
Verses 1-6 The Sovereignty of God
Verses 7-11 The Inadequacy of Man
Verses 12-17 The Supplications of Man
This is a very logical and natural progression.
>Man sees the power of God and realizes God’s sovereignty,
>while at the same time realizing his own inadequacies,
> which drives him to his knees before God.
The realization and subsequent acknowledgement of the sovereignty of God is what compels one to become a Christian. The power of God which radiates through us is the very one that died for us, Jesus Christ. The Bible says in Hebrews 1:3, that “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” So it stands to reason that we see this logical progression in Moses’ prayer. But, that is not what is calling us to these verses for the New Year. No, we see five other points that make themselves known for our application, and they are:
Seek the Lord for Wisdom
Seek the Lord for Compassion
Seek the Lord for Unfailing love
Seek the Glory of the Lord
Seek the Lord for Favor
Seek the Lord for Direction
Now, before we get started we need to keep in our minds the title of today’s message, “Your Attitude shapes Your Resolve.” In other words, if you are, or have been determining in your mind to change something or to do something different in this coming year, you’d better have the right attitude before you begin.
Seek the Lord for Wisdom
In verse 12, Moses calls upon the Lord in a very interesting way. He says:
12 Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Reading a book, or watching a TV program, or even going to a college class will offer lots of information, interpretation, and maybe even some application, but true wisdom comes from the Holy Spirit of God. True wisdom is born of the Spirit and revealed through a right relationship and contact with the Holy Spirit.
Small and inconsequential logical and right choices can be made all day long, or so some may say. They may even say that it doesn’t take wisdom to make those choices. That might be somewhat correct, and if it is partially correct, where does the wisdom fit in? In this, knowing and understanding the power and relationship behind those choices and the impact they have on my or other’s lives either directly or indirectly. Wisdom is not just information that is stored in your mind. It is the awareness and understanding of why… And, that cannot come from us, we must rely upon God for wisdom.
But, notice the wording of verse 12:
Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
We are able to discern that Moses is asking for at least two things in the beginning of that plea. He is asking for:
A right attitude, and,
An ordered mind
Moses knows that to have the right attitude will kindle the willingness and resolve to follow God’s will which will ultimately gain God’s victory.
Moses has been listening to the grumbling and whining voices of the Israelites for some time. And, he has probably seen how the display of God’s power could change the attitudes of God’s people. That’s why it is first and foremost in his plea. “Teach us to number our days aright.” He’s saying, God lead us in our walk with you, lead us in our works for you.… Moses is saying, God teach us the right attitude of worship of you.
And then what?
…that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
He uses this word to indicate a deep awareness, a deeper perception of not only what the people need to do, but why they need to do it.
If you come to church only because you know you need to, but not why you need to, then your worship is not complete. When we seek God’s wisdom we are not only asking for what we need to do, but a deeper understanding of why we need to do something.
Now, go back to the title of the message, “Your attitude shapes Your Resolve” and the point we are declaring, “Seek the Lord for Wisdom.”
What’s the connection? A casual prayer concerning a deep matter offered but once will seldom bring about the deeper understanding or wisdom of God. True wisdom only flows from the Spirit of God that resides in the surrendered heart of the believer. And, a surrendered heart only occurs when our attitude is right.
Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Essentially what Moses is saying is the same as what David said in Psalm 51:
“10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
Seek the Lord for Wisdom for your direction in this coming New Year.
Seek the Lord for Compassion
(v.13) Have compassion on your servants.
Here Moses is asking for mercy and grace be given to the Israelites. Again, when we look at that logical progression:
God’s sovereignty
Man’s inadequacy
Man’s need for God…Man goes to his knees
We should and must ask for God’s mercy and grace. Our minds daily wander across things that the world believes we should see and think about. But, that’s not God’s intention. His intention is that our minds and bodies be holy and pure. Yet, they are not because of what is in the world, and how we are so easily distracted. And because of that we need to daily go to Him, seeking compassion and we need to:
Seek the Lord for Unfailing love
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Beginning with the Lord ensure a good rest of the day. Beginning life with the Lord ensures a good rest of your life. Notice how he says this, “Satisfy us in the morning.” He is asking for the right attitude which will carry Him through the day. He is asking for the right attitude which will carry Him through all of His days. Moses knew that his attitude shaped his resolve. But, we don’t stop there for many people will think about a humdrum, boring life of not be able to do this or that. No…, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Not only are we receiving mercy, compassion, love and wisdom from God, but we are enabled, through that, to enjoy it, for real!
Seek the Glory of the Lord
(v. 16) May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children.
Your deeds, Your splendor, or, rather, Your glory. Again we go back to our logical progression:
>The sovereignty and power of God
>The inadequacies of man
>Man is driven to his knees
>God is given the glory.
Only by having this right attitude will our determination be aimed in the right direction, God! And, when it is given, it will be revealed. His glory will be revealed! Remember what was said earlier? From Hebrews 1:3?
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word
His Son will be revealed to us and in us! He will shine through us! Isn’t that great news? But, remember, this is comes from attitude. Is your attitude adjusted or inclined toward Him?
Seek the Lord for Favor
Then, once the direction of our worship is properly aimed, once our attitude is inclined toward the Lord, we are able to call upon the Lord for His favor. Or, rather, we are asking that He hear our supplications. We are asking Him to ‘incline’ His ear to us, to give us His attention. In Psalm 17:6, King David did the very same thing:
I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer.
We couldn’t do it before because we must first acknowledge the Father in Heaven and His sovereignty. We couldn’t do it before because we must then acknowledge His compassion. We couldn’t do it before because we must next ascribe all glory to HIM. Then, and only then, can we seek the Lord on our own behalf.
Seek the Lord for Direction
Which now brings us to our supplication, or our resolution, the change that may need to be made. We are now able to actually know in our hearts through the leading of the Spirit what needs to be done and why it needs to be done. We are approaching God on His terms, and not ours. We are acknowledging that without Him we are nothing, and we are yielding to His direction, His will for our lives.
It’s important to realize the progression. This same progression can be found in Matthew 6:9-
“9 …Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
You see it’s very important to know what to do, but is equally important to know why you need to do something.
Moses teaches us that our attitude or heart, needs to be focused on God. He teaches us that there can be no hidden agenda with God, for God truly knows our hearts and its true intent. Therefore, we must follow the sequence, or progression that is laid out for us or we will fail.
It stands to reason that if we are only asking and never listening, then we’ll never hear his direction for our lives anyway.
It stands to reason that if we are only asking and never surrendering, then we’ll never do his directions for our lives anyway.
It stands to reason that if we are not seeking His face and His favor, then we’ll never know what we need for our lives anyway.
These are the steps that Moses has given us. And, again:
Moses was the man that talked directly to God, and Moses was the man that heard God talking to Him. Without the realization of the sovereignty and power of God, we will be unable to recognize our own inadequacies, our own weaknesses, and our own needs. And if we are unable to recognize these, we will see no need for change, and there will be no splendor, or glory revealed, there will be no favor given, and there will be no direction provided.
Attitude shapes resolve! Where would Noah have been if he would have taken an extended vacation from building the ark? Where would Abraham have been if he had stayed in Haran? Where would Samuel have been, if he had simply turned over and went back to sleep when the Lord called out to him.
Every story, every life in the Bible deals with attitude, man’s attitude before God. The great men and women of the Bible allowed God to shape their attitude, which, in turn, shaped their resolve.
Summary
In Philippians 4:4-6, the apostle Paul says:
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Paul follows the advice of Moses, and in other places in his letters he even tells us he follows the guidance of Moses. In these verses he tells us “by prayer and petiton, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
No New Year’s resolution made outside the will of God will ever succeed. But, no New year’s resolution made according to God’s will but without the proper attitude will ever succeed.
Remember Your Attitude Shapes Your Resolve (your resolution). Now you are ready to construct a New Year’s resolution.
