Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA Bethel Mennonite Church

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The reason people struggle to stop doing the bad things they say they want to stop is that their choosing capacity is not an independent part of them that lives in a separate room of their house and can just choose the right thing no matter what is going on in other rooms of their house.

What this means is that will alone cannot carry us to change because our will is dependent on what we think and feel and believe in the moment of choice. So before we can choose the right behavior, we have to first choose to think, feel, and believe the right things.

The transformed will is surrendered to Christ and chooses to discover the will of God. After we have discerned what the good will of God is, we can give God permission to work in us the willing and doing for His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13).

Every day, in every situation in which you face a decision, ask yourself what your options are. When it becomes clear to you which option would bring God pleasure and fulfill His will most fully, ask yourself if you are willing to choose that option. If you are not willing, ask yourself if you would be willing to give God permission to work in you the willing and doing of God’s good pleasure.

I John 2:6 – When we read the Gospels, we should ask ourselves if we have any resemblance to Jesus.

John 4 – Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman can challenge us in several ways.

1) First challenge: Do I engage with people the way Jesus did? Jesus did not avoid this potentially awkward conversation. He showed interest and concern and made the conversation meaningful.

2) Second challenge: Am I experiencing the living water that Jesus offered? Do I have something I would like others to experience? We can impede the flow of living water. Where we turn when we are feeling dry can be part of the problem.

3) Third challenge: Am I hungry to do the will of God? Jesus seemed to have lost His appetite in His excitement to do God’s work. We need to see the big picture like Jesus did.

Jesus is the light of the world. The opposite of darkness is light. You can hide in the darkest closet, light a candle, and the darkness is gone. Many people live in darkness because they are afraid of light. Light exposes sinful deeds. Things that we are trying to hide will eventually be made known. Light also shows us the way along a dark path so we do not stumble.

We are also lights of Jesus. We are able to shine because He lives in us. We should be like the city on a hill that cannot be hidden or like a lamp on a lampstand giving light to all who are in the house. Our light is revealed by the things we do and the things we say. God is glorified by the things we do. Our light points to the source of our light.

What is the significance of our light? It may bring people to feel guilty and change their behaviors or it may inspire others to want to follow Jesus. Our light is also revealed through our good works as we follow the instructions in the Sermon on the Mount. People are living in darkness today and they need to see our lights shining. Our light needs to be on display. To many people in the world, we are their only exposure to light. We should live like we are full of light. Do we look sad or joyful?

What are some obstacles to our lights shining? 1) We need to recognize that we have no light on our own; we are only reflecting Jesus. 2) Maybe we are not investing our time in prayer and Bible reading. The more time we spend in His Word the more we are able to hear His voice speaking to us. 3) The desire for approval from others. 4) Fear of which the antidote is love. 5) We think someone else’s light is shining brighter than ours.

We may feel like a little light but our light should shine bright enough that the people around us can see it. If we are the only gospel that our neighbors read, what are they seeing? Do we feel like our lights make a difference? There are people who are lost around us and we can be that light that points to Jesus.

In the first few verses of 1 Corinthians 5 we see that the Corinthians had a poor response to sin in the church. A man, who “has his father’s wife,” is being allowed to continue to participate in the life of the church (v. 1). Rather than mourning the sin of this man, the Corinthian believers are puffed up and arrogant (v. 2).

Paul provides instruction for handling the unrepentant sinner by delivering a man such as this to Satan for the “destruction of the flesh,” (v. 5). Here, “destruction of the flesh” could refer to destroying sinful nature and desires rather than a physical destruction of the body. There are two reasons given for this approach to unrepentant sin in the church. First, that this man’s spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord (v. 5). Perhaps his separation from the church may help him to recognize his separation from God. Secondly, the spiritual health of the church was at risk because they were tolerating sin (v. 6). In providing instruction, Paul clarifies his meaning in a previous letter which we do not have access to. He exhorts the Corinthians to be more concerned with their association with a brother living in sin than with ungodly people outside of the church (v. 9-12).

Although a difficult chapter of Scripture to study, there are some practical lessons for us. We know from this passage and others throughout the New Testament that God cares about the purity of His Church. Ephesians 5:3-7 reminds believers to not have fornication, uncleanness, or covetous named among them and to not have fellowship with unfruitful workers because the wrath of God will come to such people. Also in Ephesians, Paul tells the church that God desires to a “glorious church” without spot or wrinkle, holy and without blemish (v. 25-27).

In one sense, it is important to sacrifice the individual for the good of the whole. However, if that is all we get from a study of 1 Corinthians 5, we are only seeing one side of the issue. Because Paul was addressing a specific issue in the Corinthian church, he primarily emphasized one side in his letter. A balanced approach will seek to be both truthful and loving, to discipline and forgive. In a healthy, balanced church, the good of the group and the good of the individual are both important and necessary.

So, while we are called to deal with unrepentant sin in the church, we are also called to work toward the restoration of the one who sinned. Attitudes that help to maintain a path to repentance while correcting or disciplining include: Godly sorrow, patience (Matt. 18:15-17), and humility (2 Tim. 2:24-25, Gal. 6:1). May God help us to be a church that cares about personal holiness and cares enough about each other to do the unpleasant work of dealing with sin when one of us falls. May we also have the heart of Jesus and lovingly work for the repentance of one who falls that none may perish.

Steve began his sermon with the story of Robert Reid, who, though afflicted with cerebral palsy, graduated from Abilene Christian University and then, though severely handicapped, traveled to Portugal where he found someone to feed him, someone to wheel him to a park, and spoke to people for hours every day! He learned fluid Portuguese and, over the years, led many folks to the Lord! He chose an attitude of thankfulness instead of wallowing in despair, and the Lord blessed his efforts with over 70 converts over the years. He famously said, “I have everything I need for Joy!”

Our attitude is our way of thinking about life. An adjustment is making a change. We can’t choose many of the things in life that happen, but we can choose our attitudes about them!

We tend to think of an Attitude Adjustment as a negative thing, but it can actually be a positive thing if we are turning towards God! And also positive if we can choose a better attitude towards others!

Does God care about our attitudes? Yes! We tend to excuse our own attitudes sometimes because of pride and selfishness, but if we can take responsibility for them, with God’s help, we can improve!

In Numbers 12, Miriam and Aaron had a disrespectful attitude towards Moses. It was wrong! They needed to repent!

Jesus cares about our attitude. A true disciple has good attitudes towards his fellow disciples and will align with Jesus’ attitude. We need to put our attitudes on the altar and ask if they will bless others and build His kingdom.

Job humbly aligned himself into surrendering to God’s will. Noah, Zaccheus, fishermen James and John all made major changes in what they were doing. Paul, on the road to Damascus, had a major attitude adjustment!

Paul said later, “Let this mind be in you that was also in Jesus.” Change is the process of yielding to Christ, then the love of Christ compels me to help others! What happens in us affects what can happen through us!

We need to see and hear the people around us. Paying attention is rare in our world! What would happen if we took the time to hear others and would seek to understand before we demand to be understood?

A Christ-like attitude will speak positive words… and mean them!

Steve closed with three suggestions for positive attitude adjustment: fix your thoughts on good things; filter what comes into our minds; feed on what is good.

Our attitude is our choice! Let’s let Jesus sort through our attitudes and show us where adjustment is needed. Phil. 4:9: “…do these things and the God of Peace will be with you!”