Guarding My Attitude

Ephesians 4:22–24 NIV

22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

To be made NEW… in the attitude of your minds. That is the goal of this series... and I hope it has helped you do that very thing.

This verse makes it clear on how our new attitude is gained - it is gained by:

One - putting off your old self. Recognizing that in Christ, that old self is no more.

Two - Putting on the new self. Receiving the righteousness and holiness God desires to pour into you.

This is change by choice - specifically the choice to be more like Christ and less like the world. The Word Christian means Christ-like. It is what we are called to be.

So… a person may experience a conflict of sorts if their choices do not line up.

For instance, if a person calls themselves a Christian BUT he or she chooses to remain in their former way of life, then No real change will take place. In fact, the only thing that person is doing is lying to themselves.

However, if a person calls themselves a Christian AND he or she is being transformed by the power of God’s Spirit and Word, then they have embraced that new self which comes from Jesus.

Attitude comes down to choice… which way will we go in our thinking, in our emotions, and in our behaviors.

Will we CHOOSE to act like the rest of the world and operate in secular ways and reasoning OR will we operate as commanded by Jesus no matter what direction our culture would choose to go?

YOU WILL BE INFLUENCED BY SOMETHING OR SOMEONE… We are all… Who or what that is often plays a BIG ROLE in the attitude you will choose to display.

When we choose to make Jesus the primary influence in our lives… we need to take steps to protect that decision so that we do not slip back into our former way of life. And that’s what we are going to talk about tonight - Guarding our attitudes.

How many in here have something that is important to you? It might be something of great value… or it might be something that is special because of its history… it may have no money value but its sentimental value is off the charts.

When you have something like that… something you see as valuable… a person will often take extra steps to make sure that item is protected… that the item is secure. You protect it so no one can take it from you. You protect it so it doesn’t break or get lost.

Your attitude… how you view God, others, and yourself… is extremely valuable.

I’ve watched people, who had the same skills, abilities, talents, and potential, take completely different directions in life because of their attitude.

Both had what it would take to make it… but only one had the belief and the drive to rise up and to do what needed to be done.

Your attitude will often be the deciding factor… of whether or not you are going to make it… or break it. It has the power to open doors of opportunity and possibility… OR it has the power to close doors of opportunity and possibility.

So how far are you willing to go to protect this valuable part of who you are?

Luckily, you don’t have to go far because it’s not so much in what you do… but it’s more about who it is that you know. Knowing Christ is the key to protecting your attitude.

Philippians 4:4–9 NIV

4 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 every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

This passage gives us some great insight on how to protect our attitudes. We are going to break it down into three very practical things we can do to help us keep our attitudes from going south.

Number One: Praise Him in ALL Things

Right out of the box, Scripture tells us to rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS!

Does anyone know what it means to rejoice?

To rejoice means… to be glad. But it is NOT limited to just a feeling of being glad, to rejoice means to be so glad that others around you know that you are glad! It means to be so full of joy that you outwardly express that joy!

For instance, when Patrick Mahomes laid the smack down on old Tom Brady last Sunday beating them 41-31… I may have rejoiced a bit!

You guys know what I am talking about… we’ve all experienced it. When we get so excited or full of joy that it is visible to others… that is what rejoicing sounds like and looks like.

Rejoicing is not reserved or held back. It is a full expression of our joy found within!

This passage says, we are to rejoice in the Lord… sometimes. Is that what it said? NO… it said we are to rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS!

This is a tall order… because what it is telling us to do is to praise God no matter what might be going on in our lives.

This means when we are happy or sad, mad or glad, GOD STILL GETS THE PRAISE.

So… how does this action help to guard our attitude from going south?

Praising God no matter what helps to shift our focus from whatever is trying to pull us down… to the God who is here to lift us up.

Instead of dwelling on our circumstance, we focus on the One who can help us through our circumstance.

It’s one thing to have an attitude of praise when all is going well… but its another thing to praise God when things are not going as we had hoped.

Our former way of life might have chosen to do what?

Talk bad about the situation or others involved

Become consumed with the stress revolving around the situation

Become distracted in our emotions stirred up by the situation.

But our new reality in Christ tells us that even when things are bad… our God is still good. And when we focus on His goodness instead of the bad around us, suddenly things aren’t so bad.

Our minds and hearts shift as we rejoice in the Lord no matter what!

Number Two: Pray to God

Secondly, the passage we just looked at said we need to present our needs to God - through prayer.

In fact, the Bible tells us that instead of becoming anxious, we need to pray.

Consider this… becoming anxious or feeling anxious is a physical emotional response to situations we might be facing. AND… it is a response that sometimes we cannot control.

We know what it feels like and… unless we learn how to cope with this feeling, it can consume us rather quickly.

The feeling of anxiety may be something we can or cannot shut off… but when we begin to feel it rising up, the Bible tells us what we should do in order to protect our attitude. PRAY.

Prayer or simply talking to God is an ESSENTIAL part of our relationship with Him.

ALL believers should be people of prayer. We serve a God who hears and answers our prayers.

Sometimes the answer is yes… and sometimes the answer is no… but God ALWAYS answers. The cool thing is… the more we pray, the more we experience the power of prayer.

Prayer helps us to align our hearts with the heart of the Lord. Prayer helps us to take what we are feeling, it helps us to take whatever is causing us to feel anxious, and to give it to God.

We are going to face situations that are beyond our control and beyond our capabilities. But NOTHING is impossible for God!

Talking to someone regarding our circumstance… is not a foreign concept to us. When we are going through tough situations, we have a tendency to… talk about it with people we trust.

Maybe that person is a close friend or family member that you know will always have your back.

Maybe that person is a teacher or a parent.

Maybe those people are a youth group or a sports team or people who share similar interests like you.

Maybe it’s a diary, a journal, somewhere you can let your real feelings be expressed.

The point is… we share… we express our feelings and talk to someone. Scripture is simply saying, “Hey, in these moments when you feel like the world is crashing down upon you… make sure the FIRST person you talk to is… GOD.”

The great thing is… God is ALWAYS available to hear you. No matter where you are… He is there with you. You don’t have to worry about WiFi signal, cellular signal, phone numbers, etc. All you have to do is… start talking to Him!

Praying to God is an expression of trust and dependency in God. It means you trust that He will come through for you. He will guide you and help you through. He will do things for you that you cannot do for yourself. But you’ve gotta pray.

Number Three: Ponder About Such Things

Lastly, we guard our attitudes by thinking about the right things… instead of the wrong things.

Our passage laid out several things for us to think about or to ponder.

Whatever is TRUE - not the world’s truth but the Gospel truth. The Word of God is the ONLY truth that has the power to set a person free.

Whatever is NOBLE - having or showing fine personal qualities or high moral principles and ideals. Again, focusing on God’s way instead of the world’s way.

Whatever is RIGHT - This isn’t whatever is right according to a person’s perspective, this is whatever GOD says is right.

Whatever is PURE - WITHOUT SIN OR CORRUPTION.

Whatever is ADMIRABLE - deserving high esteem.

If anything it EXCELLENT or PRAISEWORTHY

These are the things we are supposed to think about!

But so often our minds are distracted with things that do not fall within this list. We become preoccupied with other things and the result is not good - we let the guard down regarding our attitude.

What we think about will often lead to what our life will be about in the moments ahead.

Such is why it is extremely important for our thoughts to be honorable to God… if we desire for our actions to be honorable to God.

The End Result

Now look again to what this passage says happens when we praise, pray and ponder on the right things.

Philippians 4:7 NIV

7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

God’s PEACE will guard your hearts and minds.

Why is it that our hearts and minds go south sometimes? Because they aren’t being guarded. Instead, we have allowed for them to be attacked by our circumstances and emotions.

Ever been… overwhelmed? We all have been. And when our thoughts and emotions are running wildly out of control… it doesn’t help us to feel any better.

Jesus wants to help yo not only how you feel… but with how you respond in these tough situations.

He doesn’t want you going back to your old ways… He wants you living in the new life He has given you. But that is… a choice.

The Bible is clear… if you want God’s peace guarding your heart and mind… guarding and protecting your attitude… then you need to commit to three things.

Praise Him no matter what.

Pray to Him.

Think about what honors Him.

Seems easy, right? When your emotions are telling you to do something else… it can be a little difficult. BUT… when you choose to press through, GREAT RESULTS are waiting for you.

Jesus never said life was going to be easy. In fact, He promised we would have trouble in this world. But then He said to take heart… for He has overcome this world.

He is ABLE to help you… if you are willing to choose His way over your old way. Will you make that choice today?

Response

Maybe you are going through a tough situation right now. The choice is yours. Will you Praise, pray, and ponder OR will you go back to your old ways?

You know what you will get in your old ways… God is inviting you to experience something new in Him tonight!