From Ben Fronczek... An Attitude of Praise – Acts 16

An Attitude of Praise – Acts 16

Attitude of Praise  Acts 16

(Based on a sermon by: Mark Batterson)

This week I read about a fascinating research study done by Vicki Medvec, a professor at Northwestern University. She studied Olympic medalists and she discovered that Bronze medalists were happier than Silver medalists. Here’s why. She found that Silver medalists tended to focus on how close they came to winning the gold so they weren’t satisfied with silver. Bronze medalists tended to focus on how close they came to not winning a medal at all so they were just happy to be on the medal stand at all.  I think that study reveals a fascinating facet of human nature: Your focus determines your reality. How we feel isn’t necessarily determined by circumstances. If that was the case, the Silver Medalists would be happier than Bronze medalists because they had a better result. Even though how we feel isn’t necessarily determined by our circumstances, how we feel is determined by what we are more focused on.

Here’s another way of saying it: Your internal attitudes are more important than your external circumstances. Someone by the name of John Milton said it best: “The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make a Heaven out of Hell, and a Hell out of Heaven.” That’s so true isn’t it? All of us know people who can find something good to focus on even in the worst of circumstances. And all of us know someone who can find something bad to focus on even in the best of circumstances.

There is a universal principle I need to share with you here: We tend to see what we want to see.

Someone once said, ‘There are two basic types of people in the church: complainers and praisers. Complainers can always find something to complain about. And the praisers can always find something to praise and worship God about.’

All of us seem to make judgments about things all the time. Then we seem to look for evidence to support our judgments and many times ignore evidence to the contrary. For example, if you decide you don’t like someone you’ll notice everything that is wrong with that person. And you’ll probably ignore anything you could potentially like about them. The flipside is true as well. If you’re head-over-heels in love with someone you tend to only notice those things you love about them.

We see what we want to see. What does that have to do with praise and worship? A worshipper makes a decision beforehand to look for something to praise God about even in the direst of circumstances. That’s what we are going to see in our text today.   

Read  Acts 16:16-34 (Click on link to read) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2016:16-34&version=NIV1984

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas are in a prison cell in Philippi. Paul had cast a demon out of a fortune-teller. Her master doesn’t like it because she loses the ability to predict the future, which was  a source of income for him, so he has Paul and Silas arrested.

In the NLT version Acts 16:22 it says, “A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods.”  The text says: “They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape.  So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.”

I think as we read a story like this it’s hard to put ourselves in their shoes. I’ve had bad days before, but nothing like this. If I was Paul or Silas I would have been emotionally, physically and spiritually spent. I’d be drained to the last drop. I’d have nothing left to give. Their backs are bleeding from their beating. They are black and blue all over. If it was me I would not have been very happy rather I’d probably be ticked off.  And to top it off they land in the maximum security cell in stocks! It just doesn’t get much worse than that. And that’s why this next verse is so amazing to me. 

Acts 16:25 says, “Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.”

Today I want to show you that there is something we can do to help us get out a a spiritual or emotional slump:

#1. Zoom Out   Let me share something I’ve learned from personal experience. When I get into a spiritual or emotional slump, it’s usually because I’ve ‘zoomed in’ on a problem. I’m fixating on something that is wrong. I’m really focused on the wrong thing. Nine times out of ten, the solution is zooming out so I can get some perspective. Sometimes you’ve got to zoom out and look at the big picture. That’s what the following college student did in writing this letter to her mom and dad, She wrote:

Dear Mom and Dad,
I have so much to tell you. Because of the fire in my dorm set by the student riots here, I experienced temporary lung damage and had to go to the hospital. While I was there, I fell in love with an orderly, and we have moved in together. I dropped out of school when I found out I was pregnant, but he got fired because of his drinking problem, so we’re going to move to Alaska, where we might get married after the birth of our baby.

Your loving daughter

PS: None of this really happened, but I did flunk my chemistry class and I wanted you to keep it in perspective.

Sometimes you need to zoom out and look at the big picture. You fail a chemistry exam and it feels like the end of the world. But it’s not. A piece of machinery breaks down on your farm and it seems like such a big deal, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not. Somebody wrecks your car, or you loose a tooth, or you can’t get the job you want… and it seems like the end of the world, but in all reality, it’s not.  We just need to stand back and zoom out! 

So what can help us ‘zoom out?’  Let me give you a two words answer: worship and praise.

In doing so we take our eyes off of our external circumstances and focusing on God. We stop focusing on what’s wrong with us or with our circumstances. We start focus on what’s right with God and we start seeing the bigger picture.

Paul and Silas could have zoomed in and complained about their circumstances. 

 ‘God, we cast out a demon and this is what we get? We’re on a missionary journey and we get beaten and thrown in jail? Instead of “watching our back” our backs are bleeding from a beating!‘   They could have complained till the cows came home. But they made a choice to worship God in spite of their external circumstances.

Here’s what worship and praising God does. It restores our spiritual equilibrium. It helps you regain your perspective. It enables you to find something right to praise God about even when everything seems to be going wrong.  This kind of Worship and praise is zooming out and refocusing on the big picture. Rather than bringing out the problem, we can focus on the fact that two thousand years ago, Jesus was beat for us and died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. It’s refocusing on the fact that God loves me when I least expect it and least deserve it. It’s refocusing on the fact that God is going to get me where God wants me to go. It’s refocusing on the fact that I have eternity with God to look forward to in a place where there is no trouble, mourning, sorrow or pain.

Worship like this helps us refocus on the fundamentals of our faith. And here is what happens:   God restores the joy of our salvation. We regain our spiritual equilibrium.  Paul and Silas were in a bad place and their bodies probably hurt real bad, but despite that, they almost seem happy. Happy because they were focused on the Lord and worshipped Him even in this dungeon.

Is it that easy? Absolutely not! Nothing is more difficult than praising God when everything seems to be going wrong. It seems like we like to focus on our troubles, or even brag about them. But one of the purest forms of worship is praising God even when you don’t feel like it because it shows God that your worship isn’t based on your circumstances, rather our Worship and praise is based on His character and your trust in Him.

Another problem is, many of us are so out of tune with God. We hardly even think about Him all week long. So when trouble hits, He is the last one we think about. Putting on an attitude of worship and praise will manipulate our circumstances and redirects our thought process into something positive. Look at what it did for Paul and Silas.

Victor Frankl was a Holocaust survivor who wrote about his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp. He wrote that every thing was taken away from the prisoners. They were stripped of their clothing, their pictures, and their personal belongings. They even took away their names and gave them numbers. Frankl was number 119,104.

He said, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”

I’m absolutely convinced that the most important choice you make every day is choosing your attitude. Your internal attitudes are more important than your external circumstances. The outcome of your life and state of being will be strongly determined by your outlook on life. If you have a critical or complaining spirit you’ll complain till the day you die. Your life will get worse and worse because you’ll accumulate more and more negative experiences. But if you have a praiseful and worshipful spirit,  life will get better and better. Why? Because you accumulate positive memories. At the end of the day, one way or the other, your focus will determine your reality! Paul and Silas were in prison. Their bodies were chained. But you can’t chain the human spirit.  That’s what Victor Frankl discovered in the concentration camp. That’s what Paul and Silas modeled two thousand years ago. Their bodies were chained and in stocks, but their spirits soared. I would have loved to hear to hear their prayers and songs that night.  I can’t help but believe that they sang with a conviction which caused their fellow prisoners to listen as they praised God with their voices! And that choice to worship set off a chain reaction which led to conversions.

Albert Einstein said, “You can’t solve a problem on the level it was created.” I think problems created on a human plane there were solved on the supernatural plane. That’s what happens when we praise and worship God. It changes the spiritual atmosphere. It charges the spiritual atmosphere.

I don’t think Paul could have planned this miraculous jailbreak. To make a long story short, there is an earthquake. The prisoners are set free, but they don’t leave! The jailer who is about to kill himself gets saved and his entire family is baptized in the middle of the night. You can’t script that kind of thing.. But when you worship God like this in the worst of Circumstances you never know what is going to happen. Worship and this kind of praise sets the stage for God’s intervention. This kind of praise and Worship causes spiritual earthquakes that can change the topography of your life and others. It may not change your circumstances. But it will change your life.

Napoleon Hill said, “Every negative event contains within it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”  Praise and Worship is a way we stay positive in negative circumstances. And it’s not a placebo! A Band-Aid, it’s reality!  No matter how bad things get, as a follower of Christ, I stil have eternity in heaven to look forward to! My pain may be real, but so is heaven.

The good news is that this reality is temporary. That reality will last forever!  The key is focusing on the right reality!

What I hope you learn from this Lesson: 

1. That people like Paul and Silas who sing in prison are men who cannot be imprisoned. It was impossible to imprison Paul and Silas’ heart. Their bodies may be in jail – but they weren’t.

Later Paul would write saying, “To keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  2 Corinthians 12:7-10

2. We can learn that men who worship and sing at midnight like this are men who see beyond their circumstances. They realize that they are citizens of a land that has no night, no pain, no trouble. The Lord is their light and they’ll always be free even in chains.

3. We can also learn that men who sing and worship when they go through difficult trials can make a huge impact on others.  No one seems to like people who whine complain all the time. Rather they are drawn to people with a happy positive attitude, like a moth to light on a dark night.

From Jim McGuiggan... The Birth & Passing of A Church

The Birth & Passing of A Church

I was about to say the little church in Philippi vanished without trace but that would be a tragic mistake. Like so many other little assemblies of Christ they burned brightly and shaped the world for his Father before they "moved away". Along with countless others they bore their witness to God's redeeming and reconciling work in and through Jesus Christ. They rehearsed this work of God in their baptism, Supper, prayers praise, lifestyle and shared Story and then went their way. But before they left they confirmed the truth of a gospel they had heard before a callous and watching world.

Acts 16 tells us how it all began. A dream that left Paul restless and determined, a Sabbath prayer-meeting by a river, a woman whose heart God opened and who with her whole family was baptized into Christ, a jail sentence, an earthquake, a jailer and his family baptized into the Christ in the night and a church meeting with all the brothers and sisters at Lydia's house before parting. The drama of it all.

And how would some see all that? They'd explain it all in terms of psychology and religion. Paul saw it with different eyes. He saw it as God beginning his good work in them (Philippians 1:6). The jailer and his family are gone, Lydia and her family are gone but they carried a torch that breaks out in other fires all over the world in every generation.

Those who have sceptical eyes will read Acts 16 in one way because (so I judge) they haven't seen the bigger picture. Some of us will see the birth and passing of the little Philippian church as failure and tragedy and may feel disappointed but maybe there's a bigger picture.

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Mark Copeland... Walking In Truth And Holiness (Ephesians 4:17-32)

                     "THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS"

                 Walking In Truth And Holiness (4:17-32)

INTRODUCTION

1. In the previous lesson, we saw where Paul began to describe our
   "duty" to "walk worthy of the calling with which you were called"
   - Ep 4:1

2. In doing so, he first called us to "walk together in unity" by 
   admonishing us to...
   a. Display the "attitudes" crucial for maintaining unity - Ep 4:2-3
   b. Understand the "basis" of the unity we have in Christ - Ep 4:4-6
   c. Utilize the "gifts" given by Christ to His church that serves to 
      keep the body of Christ together and growing - Ep 4:7-16

3. In the last half of chapter four (Ep 4:17-32), Paul continues to 
   describe the sort of "walk" that is worthy of our calling, especially
   as "a holy temple in the Lord" (cf. Ep 2:21-22)
   a. Whereas the first half emphasized "Walking Together In Unity"
   b. This section emphasizes "Walking In Truth And Holiness"

[We begin, then, in verse 17 with...]

I. THE ADMONITION (17-24)

   A. NO LONGER WALK LIKE THE REST OF THE GENTILES... (17-19)
      1. They walk "in the futility of their mind" - How so?
         a. It starts with the "hardening of their heart" 
         b. Which leads to "ignorance that is in them"
         c. Because of such ignorance they are "alienated from the life
            of God"
         d. And that results "having their understanding darkened"
         -- Notice where Jesus describes this same process - cf. Mt 13:
            14-15
      2. Their walk is "past feeling" - as indicated by the fact they...
         a. "have given themselves over to licentiousness" (i.e., 
            unbridled lust, excess)
         b. "work all uncleanness with greediness"
         -- Desensitized, they seek after ever-increasing forms moral 
            depravity - cf. Ro 1:18-32
      
   B. INSTEAD, WALK IN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND TRUE HOLINESS... (20-24)
      1. This is how you learned Christ
         a. As you heard Him and were taught by Him (through His 
            apostles, of course - cf. Mt 28:19-20)
         b. In Whom is the truth - cf. Jn 8:31-31; 14:6
      2. For you were taught to "put off" the "old man"
         a. That is, your "former conduct", how you behaved before you 
            were saved - cf. Col 3:5-9
         b. Putting off the old man is needed because it is never 
            content, but "grows corrupt according to the deceitful 
            lusts" (like addictive drugs, you always need more)
      3. And to "be renewed in the spirit of your mind"
         a. Which is the key to true "transformation" - cf. Ro 12:1-2
         b. You "renew" your mind only as you "set your mind on things 
            above" - cf. Col 3:1-2
      4. And to "put on the new man"
         a. A new man "which was created according to God" - cf. Col 3:10
         b. A new man, "in righteousness and true holiness" - cf. Col 3:12-17

[In giving the admonition "No longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles",
Paul has made it clear that it involves both a "putting off" and a 
"putting on".  I.e., our "Walking In Truth And Holiness" is not just a
bunch of "Thou Shalt Not's", there are also some "Thou Shalt's".

To illustrate further the difference between the "old man" (how the rest
of the Gentiles walk) and the "new man" (how Christians are to walk), we
find Paul making...]

II. THE APPLICATION (25-32)

   A. CASE IN POINT:  LYING... (25)
      1. The "old man" thinks nothing of lying
      2. The "new man" puts away lying, and in its place speaks truth 
         with his neighbor (especially to those who members of the same 
         body)

   B. CASE IN POINT:  ANGER... (26-27)
      1. The "old man" gets angry and lets it linger, or get out of 
         control
      2. The "new man" may get angry, but does not...
         a. Let it linger ("do not let the sun go down on your wrath"
         b. Allow it to prompt sinful behavior ("nor give place to the
            devil")

   C. CASE IN POINT:  STEALING... (28)
      1. The "old man" is willing to steal
      2. The "new man" not only stops stealing, but works so he can help
         others in need!

   D. CASE IN POINT:  CORRUPT COMMUNICATION... (29)
      1. The "old man" doesn't worry or care what comes out of his mouth
      2. The "new man" not only avoids "corrupt communication", but
         seeks to speak that which is uplifting to those who hear

   E. SUMMARY... (30-32)
      1. Why be concerned about putting off the "old man" and putting on
         the "new man"?
         a. When Christians act like the "old man", it grieves the Holy 
            Spirit
         b. By the Holy Spirit we were sealed for the day of redemption 
            - cf. Ep 1:13-14
      2. Therefore, we ought to put away those things befitting the "old
         man" (bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking, malice)
      3. And in it's place we need to put on those things befitting the
         "new man" (being kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another 
         just as God forgives us in Christ)

CONCLUSION

1. What a contrast there would be if all those in the church truly 
   carried out the admonition to "Walk In Truth And Holiness"!
   a. The church would stand out like "a city that is set on a hill"! 
      - cf. Mt 5:14-16
   b. And the world, though it now has "their understanding darkened", 
      might be more likely to come to see the truth that is in Jesus
   c. But what hope is there if the church is more like the world than 
      the "holy temple" it is to be?

2. Brethren, are we "grieving the Holy Spirit of God"?
   a. While the increasing worldliness in our society naturally concerns
      us...
   b. Let's be careful not to react with attitudes that are more in
      keeping with the "old man"
   c. But having been "sealed for the day of redemption", let's be sure
      to react in "righteousness and true holiness"

In our next lesson, we will see that "walking worthy of our calling"
also involves "Walking In Love, Light, And Wisdom"...

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

From Gary.... Not just for dogs...

Saving Mick

This picture reminded me of something that happened last night.  In presenting the Lord's Supper, I made reference to the inscription on the table ("Do this in remembrance of me") and mentioned how God showed his mercy towards us in the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross.  As I was speaking, I remembered that there was one Psalm that kept repeating "His Mercy (or loving kindness) endures forever".  Then my mind went blank, I simply could not remember the number.  Well, needless to say, I had a rather large piece of humble pie last night!!!  Everyone knew what I was trying to say, but only one person remembered the exact Psalm (the preacher in-training).  So, when I saw this video about the mercy shown to a dog with a severe problem, the following PASSAGES came to mind....

Psalm 136

 1 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good;
for his loving kindness endures forever.  2 Give thanks to the God of gods;
for his loving kindness endures forever.
  3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords;
for his loving kindness endures forever:
  4 To him who alone does great wonders;
for his loving kindness endures forever:
  5 To him who by understanding made the heavens;
for his loving kindness endures forever:
  6 To him who spread out the earth above the waters;
for his loving kindness endures forever:
  7 To him who made the great lights;
for his loving kindness endures forever:
  8 The sun to rule by day;
for his loving kindness endures forever;
  9 The moon and stars to rule by night;
for his loving kindness endures forever:
  10 To him who struck down the Egyptian firstborn;
for his loving kindness endures forever;
  11 And brought out Israel from among them;
for his loving kindness endures forever;
  12 With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm;
for his loving kindness endures forever:
  13 To him who divided the Red Sea apart;
for his loving kindness endures forever;
  14 And made Israel to pass through its midst;
for his loving kindness endures forever;
  15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea;
for his loving kindness endures forever:
  16 To him who led his people through the wilderness;
for his loving kindness endures forever:
  17 To him who struck great kings;
for his loving kindness endures forever;
  18 And killed mighty kings;
for his loving kindness endures forever:
  19 Sihon king of the Amorites;
for his loving kindness endures forever;
  20 Og king of Bashan;
for his loving kindness endures forever;
  21 And gave their land as an inheritance;
for his loving kindness endures forever;
  22 Even a heritage to Israel his servant;
for his loving kindness endures forever:
  23 Who remembered us in our low estate;
for his loving kindness endures forever;
  24 And has delivered us from our adversaries;
for his loving kindness endures forever:
  25 Who gives food to every creature;
for his loving kindness endures forever.
  26 Oh give thanks to the God of heaven;
for his loving kindness endures forever.

 

Note: Some translations use Mercy or Love instead of loving kindness

Luke, Chapter 10

 25  Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 

  26  He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” 

  27  He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

  28  He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.” 

  29  But he, desiring to justify himself, asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” 

  30  Jesus answered, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead.   31  By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side.   32  In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side.   33 But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion,   34  came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.   35  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, and gave them to the host, and said to him, ‘Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.’   36  Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?” 

  37  He said, “He who showed mercy on him.” 

Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

God has a history of showing mercy (loving-kindness). Jesus followed his father's example and taught others to do the same.  This concept of doing good is not restricted to just religious people, but is expected of everyone.  In the Lucan parable, Jesus puts the Lawyer to shame, because if even a lowly Samaritan (who the Jews hated) could do good, then what about someone who held the exalted position of a doctor of the law?  Since God has practised it throughout history (Psalm 136) and Jesus both taught (Luke) and did it as well (remember the cross), then those who follow him should do the same.  It is one thing to have compassion on a helpless dog and something far greater to do good to others who are - shall we say - less than socially acceptable.  Think about that little concept; I am.  Then go to a mirror and ask yourself- am I more like the Lawyer or the Samaritan?  The answer may surprise you...