Our Attitude Towards God

21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

This verse shows us exactly what our attitude towards God was - one of hostility and alienation.

Romans 8:7 KJV 1900

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Unsaved people hate God, why? Because God is light and their works are darkness.

An unsaved person no more loves God than a criminal loves the police. In fact they actively oppose the law and sinners actively oppose God.

Acts 5:39 KJV 1900

39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

Fighting against God, what a silly waist of time, but also the attitude we all had.

This is all i will say about a sinners attitude towards God, the Atheist says: I dont believe in God and I hate Him.

I want to spend most of message looking at attitudes believers have towards God, and i want to separate the mature attitude from the immature attitude.

The Immature Attitude.

Immature christians are simply christians who have not surrendered completely to God. So, they still have an agenda or will of their own that they want God to fit into.

What do I mean? I mean that they cannot honestly say: “Thy will be Done”. They want God’s will done.... but they want it done their way. They know that God is God, but they still want to be in charge.

They search scripture to support their ideas, not to change their hearts. They say Amen when the pastor affirms something they agree with, but are silent or even absent when the pastor says something that cuts to the heart.

To put it simply: Immature Christens have a hard time digesting Romans 9.

Romans 9:20–21 KJV 1900

20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

Their problem lies with God’s Sovereignty. The thought that God does what he pleases and does not ask your opinion or permission is a scary thought to the immature. A God who acts like God is not something they like or agree with.

Psalm 135:6 KJV 1900

6 Whatsoever the Lord pleased, That did he in heaven, and in earth, In the seas, and all deep places.

Psalm 115:3 KJV 1900

3 But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

They do like this, and so they get angry and upset with God when hHis will is contrary to theirs. When things dont turn out as planned, when life does not go how you hoped it would, you get upset with God for not doing what you wanted him to do.

“Who are you that argues against God?”

God should have listen to you, but in reality you should be listening to God.

Hod actually gets quite harsh in this issue.

Isaiah 40:12–17 KJV 1900

12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, And meted out heaven with the span, And comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, And weighed the mountains in scales, And the hills in a balance? 13 Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, Or being his counseller hath taught him? 14 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, And taught him in the path of judgment, And taught him knowledge, And shewed to him the way of understanding? 15 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, And are counted as the small dust of the balance: Behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. 16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. 17 All nations before him are as nothing; And they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.

Who directed the Holy Spirit? Who helped God create the heaves and earth? Who did God ask for advice? Who gave God commands? Who sat God down and taught Him right from wrong? Who explained to God the way life is?

The immature christian does these things all the time. I used to do them all the time. I would spend hours telling God why he do this and that. Why it would be best if he did this.. and why if he didn't, it would not be fair.

Let me say this: The faster you grow up out of immaturity the better, you will find that you will fight against God a whole lot less.

The Mature Attitude towards God

The mature christians attitude towards God can be summed up in the following verse:

Galatians 2:20 KJV 1900

20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

in other words: Total surrender.

Jesus Shows us what spiritual maturity looks like in the garden of Getsename

Luke 22:42 KJV 1900

42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

Spiritual maturity understand this simple truth:

Isaiah 55:8 KJV 1900

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

This may sound simple, but it requires a great amount of battle tested faith to actually accept them.

Why? Because sometimes God’s thoughts could not seem more absurd, sometimes God’s ways make absolutely no sense.

Let me remind you of God’s ways:

Joseph was hated by his brothers, thrown in a pit to die, sold as a slave, falsely accused of rape, went to prison, was forgotten, then was released - This was God’s plan. - poor Joseph.

God’s plan was to have a judge with incredible strength by a nazarite vow, have this man marry the enemy, have him loose that power, have his eyes gouged out, have him chained in the main auditorium, only to give him his strength back and have him pull the whole building down on them all, killing everyone inside.

God’s plan was for a good man names Hosea to marry a wife of whoredoms, so that she will be unfaithful to him and break his heart agains and again, just like Israel broke God’s Heart by serving others Gods, but Hosea had to forgive her and love her in spite of all the pain and agony she caused him, just like God continued to love Israel.

God’s plan was to have his only begotten son come to earth, live a perfect life only to have him betrayed, torchered to within an inch of life and finally die alone, naked surrounded by criminals.

Don’t tell me that its easy to say: Thy will be done!”.

When a child is born, blind, or deaf, or down Syndrome - the immature blames God, the Mature christian quietly continues to trust in God.

Exodus 4:11 KJV 1900

11 And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord?

When a natural disaster kills hundreds not thousands, the immature curses God, the mature cries, but remains faithful.

Amos 3:6 NLT

6 When the ram’s horn blows a warning, shouldn’t the people be alarmed? Does disaster come to a city unless the Lord has planned it?

The immature cannot, or rather, dont want to believe this. They want God to do things their way.