Attitude Check (Phillipians 4:4-9)
Written by Pastor Fausel   
 Grace, Mercy and Peace to you …

Last Sunday… we began a walk with Jesus that we will continue today and for the next four Sundays.   Along with our messages here in worship, our adult Bible Study time will also be dedicated to looking at a different aspect of walking in peace with one another.

Today, here in worship, we’ll be talking about how we can begin to develop a culture that reflects a Jesus-like-way of living in Peace, especially with those of the household of faith.   While in Bible Class this morning, we’ll look at how to avoid some pitfalls that potentially could lead us into conflict with others.

And so, for our mediation on the word of God today … we want to consider this passage from Philippians, Chapter 4 … and apply it to our hearts as we think about walking with Jesus and Living in peace. 
4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
 8Finally, brothers, 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. 9Whatever 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 is the word of the Lord.
Now, that’s a God-painted picture of the path we’re on… the path of peace.  St. Paul here, by God’s inspiration, is speaking to us about the attitudes of our hearts as we walk with Jesus and one another… even … at those times when we find ourselves in conflict. 
There are five attitudes this passage touches on that we want to listen to.  The first one we heard is:  “Rejoice in the Lord always!”    Paul says it not once, but twice, for emphasis.  Why?   We talked about this a couple of weeks back … of us being able, in Christ, to rejoice and give thanks in all circumstances.
Why can we do that?  Because of two things … First thing …God loves you so much that He gave His only Son to die for You, that you might be forgiven.  That’s the Gospel.  And no matter what happens in this life… the devil, the world, or the weaknesses of our own flesh cannot take that away.  God loves You and has already forgiven You… so that you can have that peace that passes all understanding.
And the second thing … that in Love, God has promised that He is working ALL things, all circumstances, even the very conflict we find ourselves in, to our eternal good.  Bad things are not outside God’s control.  In fact, they give us an opportunity to witness to our faith by how we handle them.
We noted that when Paul and Silas we jailed for proclaiming the Gospel … they sang.   They rejoiced in the Lord, always.
Is that easy?   No, it goes totally opposite of our human nature.  But by the power of the Spirit, we can … and many have.  We pray that we might be counted among them.
Now, the second point from our reading.   Paul urges us… “Let your gentleness be evident to all.”    Gentleness … what an attitude to have, especially if the conflict we’re in is a bit intense! 
Gentleness.  Perhaps one of the hardest things to do is to disengage ourselves personally from the conflicts we face.  In other words, not every conflict we’re involved in is an attack on us personally.
A disagreement the arises over the choice of color for the carpeting or a disagreement over the fact that we agree with the stance with a paticular political party is not really an attack on our character, our person … but how often do we take it that way?
By keeping that in mind, it’s easier to make a gentle reply to someone who disagrees with us.  And a gentle reply is more Godly and will go much further than a reply in kind. 
In further developing this Godly attitude of gentleness … Paul urges us to replace any anxiety we might be having with what?  With Prayer.
Think about this:  you ever tell anyone to just stop being anxious about something?   You ever tell yourself to just stop worrying about something?   It’s hard, because even as you might … anxious, worrisome thoughts just continue to creep back in.
And God knows that.  He put us together. He fashioned us in His image.  The answer to that problem is to replace any negative, anxious thoughts with positive thoughts … namely, as Paul encourages us … with prayer, petition and thanksgiving.
Remember the lesson of the Israelites in the desert?  When there was no water on the horizon … what would they do?  Get anxious. 
But what was the message of Moses?  The Lord God with a mighty hand had rescued them from the slavery of the Egyptians and had brought them out to Himself.  
Had He let them down in the past? … even when the Egyptians threatened to mow them down with their horses and chariots?… No.  God had been faithful and He was worthy of their trust … no matter how anxious the situation.  He would not let them die of thirst!  
Today, right now, we call on the exact same God who took care of them.   Recall all the times God has faithfully rescued YOU in the past … and in prayer and petition, give thanks … even when the current outcome looks dubious at best.   Remember …God is in control.
Now… let’s review … Let’s do an attitude check:   First Rejoice… God Loves you and He is in control… Second, be gentle… be like Jesus in how you relate to others..  And third … cast out any anxious thoughts.  When worry sneaks in, reply with prayer, again affirming that God is present and in control.
Now with those three attitudes at work … it’s time to check and see what color glasses we are wearing.   This is sometimes called getting the log out of our own eye.  How are we looking at the one who is in conflict with us?
When someone is in conflict with us… our human nature sees what?  We tend to exaggerate that person’s faults and failings and totally ignore any virtues or good points.  We tend to want to see the worst about the person.  Why?  One reason is it makes us look more pure by contrast.
We think we are seeing ourselves and the other person with clearly but in reality, we’re looking at the other person through very dark colored lenses.  It’s just human nature.
How do we overcome that?  God tells us through St. Paul again from our reading:   whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable or praiseworthy … think about such things.
But our human nature objects:  there is nothing noble, right or lovely about how that other person is treating me!
Our problem is echoed from Proverbs 11:27:  “He who seeks good finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it.”
If you look for something bad in another person, you will usually be able to find it … On the other hand, if you look for what is good, you are likely to find that, too.
Okay.  That’s the principle … but what’s in it for us.   Two things:
First … when we recall and think about the good in another person, we’ll often realize how much we have to lose if our differences are not resolved.   When people get their eyes fixed on a point of disagreement and lose sight of the good that’s part of their relationship … marriages, friendships, even business relationships have been destroyed.
Second … putting our attention on the good in the person in conflict with us can lead to what’s been called the “golden result.”   If you hold a negative view of others … it will show, and they will reply in kind.
However, if you focus on their good points, and even acknowledge those qualities … the other person may also reply in a similar fashion.
What happens is:   the issues of the conflict begin to stand alone, uncolored or untainted by whatever evil personality traits we might imagine the other person is bringing to the table.   You might call it a personal attitude check. 
Imagined issues won’t cloud the view … and you’ll get a more accurate picture of what needs to be addressed … and from that, more workable solutions may come to the fore.
Finally, St. Paul tells us to take all this … put it into practice, and the God of Peace will be with you.   Knowledge isn’t much good if it’s not put to use.
When it is, the God of peace promises He will be with us.
And so again … to sum up.   First Rejoice in the Lord … even when you’re in conflict.  He is in control..
Second … be gentle, be like Jesus in how you relate to others.. 
Third … cast out any anxious thoughts.  When worry sneaks in, reply with prayer …again affirming that God is present and in control.
Fourth … look for the good in others.  The relationship you have had with them is well worth saving. 
And fifth… don’t just hear … but do, by the power of God’s spirit.   And You will know his peace. 
Now, you don’t need a handout for this… it’s all in your Bible in Philippians 4:4-9.  Just go home and underline each sentence … and what we’ve talked about will be yours for ready reference.
And so now, as we close today, let me take you back to last Sunday.  We looked at the Slippery slope diagram and talked about 12 different ways we can react to disagreements and conflicts in our lives.   Some of those ways fake peace … others break peace.  While others work toward reconciliation.
There was one in all those 12 that was unique.  Remember?  It was the one that made the conflict go away forever.  It was called “Overlooking the Offense.”
We said that there are times when the things at stake won’t allow this … but a lot of the slights and minor offenses that we incur every day can often be dealt with what we’ve talked about this morning.
When we let our Lord get our heart attuned to his.   When we rejoice in being His.  When we take a gentle attitude toward others, when we get rid of the anxiety on our hearts, and when we get rid of those colored glasses that paint other people is such bad lights.
Now overlooking an offense is NOT denial.  Overlooking is, by the power of God’s Spirit, putting the offense totally behind us.  We don’t think about it, we don’t talk to others about it.  We never bring it up.
Why would we choose that path?  We said at the outset  … that peacemaking, conflict resolution and adopting a culture of reconciliation are all really about being good stewards of our relationships.
And when a relationship is at stake because of an offense, we need to count the cost.  What will be the cost to us, and others, of having an unresolved conflict with this person?  Can we overlook it?  If not, is there a way we can come to peace quickly.
More about that in the weeks to come.   
Today, though, what we have from Scripture today … letting God’s Spirit take over where our Human nature would otherwise lead us down destructive paths … is good advice … something, I pray, with His help, we can all put into practice.   In Him.   Amen. 
 
 

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