The Broken Road Act 9
Down the Broken Road
Acts 9; 2 Corinthians 11:24-28; Phil 1:1-11
Intro:
Paul is our example of how Jesus meets us on our roads. No matter what kind of road we find yourselves facing. The road that I am talking about is “the road called Life” it is those pathways that we must travel. Some times, they are joyful and other times they are full of trouble.
Every Christian is to move down their roads on matter how many troubles you face. Christians are to flow down our roads, just like a river flows down a mountain moving over rocks, dirt, tree and anything that gets in it way.
John 7:38
We are finding too many Christians that have become “Ponds”. By that I many they are no longer growing in their Christianity. They have “Stop growing” in their walk with God. Why have many stopped growing, they have faced a bad road and it has based them. They are stopped by the hurtles on their roads. It is at this point that we become ponds and our attitude starts showing. We will not move on until we let God give us a new view of the road we are facing.
It is on those roads that we find our growth. Once we stop letting those growing times into our life we grow cold in our Spiritual life.
Our test to see where we are, on our road, is to take a look at our
“Attitude”.
Meaning of: manner, disposition, feelings, position, with regard to a person or thing; tendency or orientation, of the mind: cheerful;
“It is a matter of attitude that stems from one’s confidence in god. That he is at work that he is in full control that he is in the mist of whatever has happened, is happening, or will happen.”
Life can be the pits or you can make some lemonade out of you pits.
Study the life of Paul
Paul points us in the way to make lemonade out of our “pits” bad roads.
We find him in jail chained to a guard for 24 hours a day.
he is looking out the cell window and he is not looking at the bars but he is looking a hope that is only found in Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:24-28
Example:
“The man in the Hospital bed” out of the book “laugh again”
Point to be made- the road you are on can be the hardest place you have ever been and yet God can give you a great attitude that you have every had. Can you see this happening in your life?
Lets look at the example that Paul gave us during his hard road experiences.
I. How to have the right attitude
1. We have many different mind-sets towards many different things.
When we face people, cars, churches, schools, jobs, family, friends we find that each of these roads can bring different mind-sets
Example;
The Swiss watch company and the l.c.d. watch
Examples:
We get around some people and we cant hear what they are saying. Why? Their attitude is so big we cant hear them.
A. set your mind on Christ
We must start with in inward action we must made deposit into our minds with things that are going to produce positive attitudes.
“Positive attitudes will open the gates and let your inner enthusiasm spill out. A negative attitude , on the other hand ,will keep the gates closed.” ( book 21y.a.showing)
If we go around looking for what is wrong with this or that we will be viewed, has Negative by most people. If we go looking for what is positive we will be viewed by most people as positive people.
“Remember it only takes one rotten apple to spoil the whole barrel”.
What we put into our minds will be what comes out. Therefore, if we put hurt and mad sad things in to our mind what will we get out. The same thing we put in.
Example:
Check the words coming out of your mouth. They will show us what we are putting into our minds.
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: To choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's way.
B. we must let the Word of God fill our minds
Romans 12:1-2
If we are going to face our roads like Paul, we must fill our minds with the Word?
Psalms 119:11
The Word will let us see the real meaning of the road we are facing.
C. The Attitude of Jesus
a. he was God and did not look at his road as a problem. Can you imagine that road?
The road to the cross was not a road that we would what to face. The trouble on that road would be more then we could bear.
If anyone could have let his or her attitude show, it should have been Jesus. His focus was not on the road, but on the outcome the forgiveness of sin for the world.
Con:
The wind of fate
One ship drives east and another drives west with the self same winds that blow. Tis the set of the sail and not the gales which tells us the way to go. Like the winds of the sea are the way of fate,as we voyage along through life: tis the set of the sail that decides its goal,and not the calm or the strife set your sails towards God and have life