The Heart Attitude

Good morning everyone…It is so good to see you all here this morning. Right now we have the opportunity to welcome out kids back to the back and meet their teachers for a time of worship and teaching that will help them understand the truths of Scripture in a way that makes sense to them. We also have the opportunity to welcome those of you that are joining us online as part of our extended spiritual family this morning. Every week we have the privilege to get together and worship together and grow in our relationship with the Lord. By doing this together we are able to encourage each other in our personal relationship with the Lord. When we meet together and grow together we are actually able to grow closer to the Lord becuase we are in fact...better together. That is just the facts. Listen, if you are joining us online and have been thinking about joining us in person, then let me encourage you to take that step to just show up next Sunday and join in on the amazing in person worship experience here. Everything we do is aimed at being pleasing to the Lord, both personally and as a church. If this sounds like something you are interested in learning more about then please reach out and I would love to take you out for a cup of coffee anytime.

That said let me tell you where we are going now…We just finished our first look at Genesis and seeing where it all started. We saw how God created man and woman each for specific purposes. We saw how man sinned and was in need of redemption and how God gave that redemption immediately. However, we also saw how compromising Gods truth for mans lie led to the worldwide destruction of everything, except one righteous man and his family. We saw how that man and his family were scattered over all of the known world due to the judgement of Babel....Finally we saw how Pentecost began the process of reconciling that judgement as members from all three lines were a part of the early church. We also saw that at the en there will be people from every tribe and every nation that will worship the Lord. That is something that is brought about by the birth and continuation of the church.

For the last few years we have had a series called, We are the church and Be the church. This series has always been around the concept of church membership and what church membership means and why it is important. In the past, we have discussed what it looks like to be a church member, is church membership Biblical, we have also looked at the functions and purposes of the church. Well this year I want us to look together at the heart of the church. We are going to start with the assumption that church membership is Biblical, and you are welcome to go back to We are the Church in 2019 to hear my thoughts on that. We are also going to start with the idea that we desire healthy church membership together as a family, you can look at the prior We are the Church to see what that looks like. However, in order to start this series this year…I do have a question.

Why do I do what I do? .....Because I want what I want.

Thats right. You will remember from a series back in 2019 called Rooted that we looked at James 4 and we looked at why we do the things that we do. We looked at that in regards to our own lives and our relationships and desires. If you go back you can find that series in our website, podcast, or on our Youtube channel if you would like to listen to that again. Here’s the thing though…that question about why we do what we do actually applies to our church family as well, doesn’t it? I mean, things like why do I give, why do I serve, why do I attend, why do I not attend…whatever the topic is can be led back to the same question…Why do I do what I do.

Thats why I decided it would be good to look at topic of church membership first with answering the question...

What is my heart attitude?

Over the course of the next few weeks we are going to be looking at the actions of a church member. We are going to be looking at the things that we should be doing as a functional church member. However, it is incredibly important to realize that we can do all day long, and if we are doing with the wrong attitude then we are simply falling into the trap of legalism and have to’s. When we do that, we get frustrated with what we are doing and ultimatly we burn out on church and sometimes we even burn out on Christianity. That is not the attitude of a healthy Christian though. You see, I actually had this conversation with someone not to terribly long ago. I have been asked before why I do what I do in church. I have had people accuse me of legalism and working to earn God’s love. However, that cannot possibly be further from the truth. If you want to know why I do the things I do, all you have to do is look at the 18 yr old Billy. You see, 18 yr old Billy was a guy that was searching so desperately for a connection to something bigger than myself and I didn’t even realize it. 18 yr Billy was an alcoholic, a pothead, deadbeat that had nothing good in his life. 18 yr old Billy was lost and looking for hope from somewhere not even realizing what that looked like. I can tell you when I turned to Christ, I literally said to him, “ God, I have dug myself a hole to deep to get out of. Can you help pick up up from this pit I am in. You know what…he did…That is why I do what I do. I do what i do out of thankfulness for what he has done for me, not obligation or some pretend list of things that I need to do. I think that sometimes we forget what drew us to Christ originally and we need to refocus on hearts on that thankfulness to the Lord instead of that never ending lists of what we have to accomplish, or thinking that someone owes you something…Does that all make sense?

With that all in mind we are going to look at that passage in Philippians. It is a passage that we have looked at before a few years ago, but it bears repeating in order to be able to fully refocus on the Lord as we start looking at this series this week. Go ahead and turn with me to

Philippians 2:1–8 (ESV)

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

So in order to get a picture of how this applies to our church attendance and church membership, lets take a look at this passage and understand the basic teaching of this passage. In this section of Scripture Paul is talking to a church in Philippi. This is a church of people that were mostly Greek converts to Christianity, or actually converts to “The Way” which is what the early church was called. This is also a place that had initially had Paul and his companion Silas beaten and thrown into prison. However, Paul loved this church and was concerned about their Spiritual health and the health of the church there. That is why he wrote this letter. He wrote to them to remind them that their focus should be on God and that they should be unified as believers. So with that in mind, I think that we can see from this above passage a couple of things. First we see that the church should be unified. This happens by having the same mind. Next we see that we should be humble. This is how you do nothing from selfish ambition. Lastly we see that we are able to do these things by mimicking Christ, or having the same mind os Christ. So, in short, the church should be humble, unified, mimicking Christ. Is that fair to say based on this passage? I mean we can look at more passage that will enforce this idea, but I think we can agree with that as a whole. Now, if that is true, and if your heart motives actually matter, then you need to determine what your heart motives are. We need to determine why do you what you do…when it comes to church. When it comes that I believe I can ask

Four questions to determine my heart attitude

You see, when we looked at James every week I gave you questions such as, What do I want right now? Am I willing to sin to get what I want? Am I willing to sin if I don’t get it. There were these questions that would help us get to the point of where our focus truly was. Now that we are talking about church membership and being a part of a church, there are some questions that I would like to ask you to ask yourself as we move through this study in order to ensure you have the right heart attitude, and therefore ensure that you have the right focus on God and not self.

Question #1: Am I a unifying church member?

Again, we are beginning with the presumption that church membership is a Biblical model and we can discuss that together if you would like at another time. However, if we are to remain a healthy church, then we need to ask if I am being unifying or divisive. Listen I have spoken about the sinfulness and divisive effects of gossip previously. However, being unifying requires more than simply not being divisive. It requires an active choice to be unified with your brother and sister here at LRBC.

Paul frequently talked about unity within the church. We read about this in

Ephesians 4:1–3 (ESV)

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Its easy to read a passage and agree, but the reality is that in order to protect the unity of a church, there are four things required. Unity requires humility, meaning we think of others as better than ourselves. Unity requires gentleness, meaning we control our tempers. Unity requires patience, meaning we put up with alot, even if we are frustrated or confused at another. Finally, Unity requires acceptance of one another in love, meaning we accept each other without condoning sinfulness. You se its actually not all that hard, but it does require a specific decision that we must each make. Are you willing to be a unifying presence at church?

Question #2: Am I a sacrificial church member?

OK, now this is getting a little personal I think. I mean, who am I to think that I should be telling you to live a sacrificial life. Well, thats actually one of the attitudes that we see in Jesus in the passage we looked at in Philippians, remember. Though he was in the form of God…taking the form of servant. If you ask me, that is pretty much the definition of sacrificial, isn’t it. When we are willing to sacrifice for others, we are the most like Christ that we can ever be. Think of those words in Philippians. We are to have the attitude of Christ…the sacrificial attitude that drove him to the cross for you and I. This is why we do what we do. This is why we serve each other the way we do. This is why we give to each other when there is a need. This is why we sacrifice, becuase we watched Jesus in the ultimate act of sacrifice. Sacrifice means putting others needs ahead of your own. Are you willing to sacrifice your happiness for your fellow church member?

Question #3: Am I a prayerful church member?

Listen this is actually by far the most important attitude to have. Paul speaks of prayer and the importance of continually praying. Look at

Colossians 1:9 (ESV)

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

We live in a spiritual world where we are under constant assault. I was talking about this earlier this week with someone, the fact that men are under assault in our culture. Why is that, becuase if men can be taken down or silenced, then there will be no hope for families. We have seen in play out in cultures all over the world. However, we also see that when men come to church, families come to church. The opposite is also true, when men are removed, families leave the church. What would make the enemy happiest? To take down as many people as possible on his way down. I actually heard a great example of this earlier this week. This is just to put into perspective the spiritual reality that we live in.

When you were in highs school or maybe jr high and you were hanging out by the pool swimming. There was always that one guy (I might have been that guys sometimes), anyway, there was always that one guy that would run up and tackle you or someone else into the pool and laughter, or frankly sometimes anger would ensue. However, if you saw him coming you would start to get ready becuase you figure if your going in, you’re gonna take him with you. Now that is all in fun, however, for Satan it is not in fun. He knows he has lost, and so now he wants to take as many people as possible in with him. The only way to defeat that is through prayer. Think about our Elders qualifications in

1 Timothy 3:7 (ESV)

Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

You see, what this says…this says that he must be thought of well outside the church, so that he does not fall into a snare of the devil. That is actually an incredibly important phrase because it shows us that this is not an accident, but that there is a spiritual battle waging all around us. Are you praying for your church and your church family and your church leadership regularly, or do you just wait until Sunday morning...

Question #4: Am I a joyful church member?

Hey you know, its pretty hard to be sacrificial and feel unified when you are just grumpy, or when you are around other people that are just grumpy, isn’t it. Well maybe that is why Paul instructed the church at Philippi to be a joyful church. Check this out

Philippians 4:4–7 (ESV)

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

This does not say rejoice in the Lord when things are good or when things are going your way does it? No, it says rejoice in the Lord always. We also see that in order to be joyful we need to be gentle and gracious, and here is the great bonus and a reminder of question #3…We should have an attitude of thanksgiving in our prayer as well as in our walk. You see, that is pretty big. That means that when you are asking for God to work in whatever situation you are asking him to work in, you are doing so with a thankful heart.

Let me explain the difference here for you. A joyful church member is always grateful. Grateful to God for their salvation. Grateful to the church leadership for Spiritual guidance. Grateful to the church family for caring. However, a grumpy church member is always complaining and frustrated. Always complaining about how the grass got mowed, or which ministries are being focused on. Always complaining about the way the coffee is made, or the type of music that we sing. The grumpy church member is grateful for their salvation, but you sure wouldn’t know it from talking to them. Are you a joyful church member even when it is hard?

Now what do we do with all of this information? What can we do to move into being a person that is a prayerful church member or a joyful church member? How can I move into the concept of being unifying when for so long I have kind of sat on the fringes? Listen, I know that I have shared this before, but I will share the short version again. When Beth moved to Puerto Rico to woo me, i was a total jerk…I mean it ya’ll I was such a jerk. Well, one day I decided that I wanted to change our relationship, and I decided I might want to date Beth. Well, what did I do…I acted. I acted stupidly, but I acted. I threw a box of chocolates at her…literally threw them at her. Here is the point of the story though…there was a decision that I made to change my behavior.

So, this morning as we start this years series on the church I am asking that we each asses our attitudes. Ask the above questions and determine if there are any changes in behavior you need to make. It’s time for a decision to be made for some of you. It’s time for a decision to be reaffirmed for others. Author Thom Rainer says this,

It’s time for a decision. Not becuase we are legalistically obligated. Not becuase we equate activities to commitment. But becuase a great attitude towards your church, the bride of Christ, will result in great actions for her. —Thom Rainer (I Will)

This morning as we close I want to ask you a question, I want to ask you to consider the attitude of your heart and listen to what the Lord has for you, though this fellowship of believers at Leaf River Baptist Church. Consider your commitment to those you see as your church family sitting around you this morning. Finally, when asked if you will consider your heart attitude, be prepared to respond with...

I will… (and then)...Be the Church!

Let’s pray