Change Your Attitude - January 11th, 2015 sermon

By Pastor Greg

Rothlisburger

Sam I Am

In the Burger Wars there are players and then there are winners.  The Fast-food chains have their burgers.  But in reality they are just the players.  Oh, I know the Wendy’s triple is pretty awesome, but in Charlotte, North Carolina there is a place called Big Daddy’s which serves a burger called the Sam I Am.  Half pound burger.  One egg.  Slice of ham.  On a roll.  An amazing tasting sandwich.  I had two (not at one time, though).  Not to be outdone, a place called Peppi’s out in Pittsburg has a sub called the Roethlisburger.  1 pound of hamburger.  1 pound of spicy sausage.  3 scrambled eggs.  6 slices of cheese.  Grilled onions.  I ate one of these in one setting.  Paid for it the rest of the day.  I saw, but never attempted the Old 96er at Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub in Clearfield, PA.  A six pound cheeseburger.  Yes, six pounds.  I saw, but did not give in.  You have no idea wha

Ye Ol' 96er

t this monster looks like.

This is our society.  We strive for the biggest, the fastest, the priciest, the fanciest, the strongest, and the most powerful.  And we exalt these characteristics in others.  We assume the strongest and most powerful will inherit the earth.  Bigger just has to be better, right?  More is better than less.   Faster is better than slow.  Strong is better than weak. But according to Jesus those statements simply are not true.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:3-16).

Are these not some of the strangest words spoken?  The gentle will inherit the earth?  In what reality is that statement true?  We have always been told that it is the aggressive, the forceful, and the powerful who will rise to the top (think Donald Trump).  But here Jesus says that is not entirely true.  He looks at that crowd of people and says “The people of this world might look favorably upon the powerful, the forceful, and the aggressive, and your religious leaders might teach you this as well.  But in God’s Kingdom those attitudes are not valued as much as you might think” (my paraphrase).  Those who are blessed have an entirely different attitude.  They have an entirely different outlook on life.

Look at the attitudes mentioned here.  The person who is blessed in God’s Kingdom is the one who continues to depend on God and not themselves (“Poor in Spirit”).  Those who admit their weaknesses and imperfections will be comforted (“mourn”).  The gentle person has the biggest influence in this earth, not the strongest and the most powerful.  Those who desire righteousness will find it.  The merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemaker, and the persecuted are lifted up as those who are blessed.   Jesus demolishes the idea that bigger and stronger and faster and fancier and flashier has the greatest influence in this world.

 But Jesus doesn’t stop there.  Look what He says in the next section.  “You are the salt.  You are the light” (verses 13 and 14).  To whom was He speaking?  He was speaking about those who are meek and humble and serve and who are persecuted because of their faith in Jesus.  Truthfully, this is even more shocking.  It is not the bold, the outspoken, the opinionated, the powerful, or the influential who cause the people of this world to glorify the Father (verse 16).  Those who have the greatest impact in this world (those whose light shines in this dark world), are the meek, the humble, those who serve others, those who give rather than take, those whose gentle words calm a troubled soul.  It is not the King of the Hill whom God blesses.  Rather, those who are blessed are the ones who refuse to play the game in the first place.

So, how does all of this affect our walk with God?  It means that you and I need to change our attitude on what will change this world.  Too often it seems that Christians see this world as something to be conquered.  As if we have to wrestle the world into submission.  But the aggressive, demanding, insensitive form of Christianity will never convict the world of its sin.  This kind of Christianity only causes the world to fight back.  However, according to Jesus the way to be a light in this world follows the path of meekness (not weakness, mind you).  Which means instead of the Church hiring lawyers to battle for Christian values in the courtroom, it looks for ways to serve and care for the people of this world – even those who are enemies of the Church.  Instead of working to discover who is a sinner and who is a saint, perhaps the Church should be spending time learning how to love those who are difficult to love.

As Jesus begins this whole lesson on the Kingdom of Heaven, He addresses the most important factor right up front.  To walk closely with God in His Kingdom, a person needs to approach this world with the right attitudes.  So if we desire to walk closely with God we must choose meekness over assertiveness; humility over selfishness; gentleness over aggression.  These are the attitudes the person of the world will notice.  This how a Christian becomes the salt of the earth; a light in the world; a city on a hill.  King Solomon wisely acknowledged this when he wrote, “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city” (Proverbs 16:32).   These words are absolutely true.  The greatest thing we can conquer in this life is our attitudes.