Attitude Opens Doors
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” PHILIPPIANS 2:5
Think - the door is always open, never closed. In the last two weeks you heard Pastor Wes say, as he started our end of summer sermon series, “Success is a life that pleases God. Freely making choices that please God.” And Pastor Wes said that, “The door is always open to make choices that are pleasing to God…The way forward is open to all possibilities. Our choices impact others and ourselves. We may not see the result of today’s choice until later.”
In the first week, Pastor Wes and Evan Gregory shared about how faith leads to a successful life of pleasing God. Evan said that, “I trust God has a plan for my life… Do what I have been taught. [because] I have a place with God.” Pastor Wes taught you, “Whether I am visibly delivered or not, my belief in the love of God does not change… Faith accepts what you can’t see and moves on… Your faith opens you up to show you what to do.” Pastor Wes challenged you with the question, “Are you aware of a decision you have made now because of your faith in Jesus Christ?”
Last week, Pastor Wes again reminded you that, “Success is a life that pleases God. Freely making choices that please God.” And that, “The door is always open to make choices that are pleasing to God…The way forward is open to all possibilities. Our choices impact others and ourselves. We may not see the result of today’s choice until later.” He taught you about private worship as a choice that one person makes which pleases God. He taught you about adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication known as the ACTS prayer. He also taught you about a quicker and more immediate version supplication, confession, adoration and thanksgiving known as the SCAT prayer.
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In this series, we think of Daniel’s life as a successful life. What we learn from the Book of Daniel is that the man, Daniel, was a man of faith and a man of personal worship through prayer. Daniel under the worst of circumstances made choices pleasing to God. An additional attribute of Daniel’s character that opened doors of faith was his attitude. Anne Graham Lotz writes, “Our attitude today can determine our greatness . . . or smallness . . . tomorrow.” (Lotz, Anne Graham. The Daniel Key (p. 53). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.)
We get a hint of Daniel’s attitude in the face of adversity in chapter 6 of the Book of Daniel. This is the chapter that holds the story of Daniel in the lions’ den.
Lotz writes that the attitude Daniel continually displayed was the attitude of thankfulness. She says, “The key to thankfulness is not to view God through the lens of our circumstances, but to view our circumstances through the lens of God’s love and sovereign purpose. (Lotz, Anne Graham. The Daniel Key (p. 53). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.) Chapter six starts with these words setting up the conflict between Daniel and the other rulers and governors of Mede and Persia. “It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, stationed throughout the whole kingdom, and over them three presidents, including Daniel; to these the satraps gave account, so that the king might suffer no loss.” You may know how the story progresses. It is a story of jealously and of deception.
The other officials were highly jealous of Daniel’s standing with Darius the emperor. They could not find any flaw in Daniel’s performance as an administrator or as a leader. So, they decided to go after his faith. Appealing to Darius’ ego, they decided to propose a law that forbad anyone to pray to anyone other than Darius for thirty days. They were able to get Darius to sign the law into immediate enforcement with a clause that prohibited the law from being revoked for any purpose or cause. Darius signed the law without understanding the unintended consequence for Daniel. Although Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he continued to go to his house, which had windows in its upper room open towards Jerusalem, and to get down on his knees three times a day to pray, “giving thanks to God.”
Those conspiring against Daniel, reported Daniel’s law breaking prayers to Darius. Who, though grieved by the fact that his most trusted advisor could not be saved from the enforcement of the law, order Daniel to be placed in the lions’ den. To Darius’ credit, Darius fasted and prayed for Daniel all night long. In the morning he runs to the den to know of Daniel’s fate. Daniel, by God’s grace, is alive! The story ends poorly for those who conspired against Daniel and deceived Darius. Darius sings a prayer of thankfulness to God:
For he is the living God,
enduring for ever.
His kingdom shall never be destroyed,
and his dominion has no end.
He delivers and rescues,
he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth;
for he has saved Daniel
from the power of the lions.’
I would like for you to test the level of your gratitude this morning. I have six questions for you from The Gratitude Questionnaire-Six Item Form (GQ-6) developed by University of Pennsylvania professors, Michael E. McCullough, Ph.D., Robert A. Emmons, Ph.D., Jo-Ann Tsang, Ph.D. Using a scale as a guide, think about a number indicating how much you agree with each statement. Here’s the scale:
1 = strongly disagree
2 = disagree
3 = slightly disagree
4 = neutral
5 = slightly agree
6 = agree
7 = strongly agree
Ready? I hope that these questions help you to get a handle on your level of thankfulness. Here are the six questions:
____1. I have so much in life to be thankful for.
____2. If I had to list everything that I felt grateful for, it would be a very long list.
____3. When I look at the world, I don’t see much to be grateful for.*
____4. I am grateful to a wide variety of people.
____5. As I get older I find myself more able to appreciate the people, events, and situations that have been part of my life history.
____6. Long amounts of time can go by before I feel grateful to something or someone.*
* Items 3 and 6 are reverse-scored.
[https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/resources/questionnaires-researchers/gratitude-questionnaire]
Do you have a sense how much gratitude you have in your spirit today? Do you have enough gratitude in your heart to tell God that you are thankful for your house, your cloths, your food, your retirement fund? Do you have enough gratitude in your heart to tell God that you are thankful for the people in your life whom you love? Who love you? Who don’t like you? Those whom you don’t love? Do you have enough gratitude in your heart to tell God that you are thankful for your circumstance? Your health? Your lack of health? The challenges with which you live? Like Daniel can you kneel down today and thank God for your persecutors, those who want to do you harm? Do you have enough gratitude in your life that someone around you will lift up their voice like Darius to give God praise and thanksgiving for you?
“If Daniel had given in to self-pity, anger, resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness, or a vengeful spirit with a “why me?” attitude toward God, I doubt we would ever have heard of him. Instead, three times a day, every day, Daniel chose to have an attitude of thanksgiving.
“What is your attitude? Especially when you’re in “captivity”—bound in some way that restricts what you can do or where you can go or who you can be or what you can have? When God has allowed you to be in some sort of exile—cut off from friends, family, that which is familiar; when He has denied you personal wealth, health, prosperity, happiness—what is your attitude?” (Lotz, Anne Graham. The Daniel Key (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.)
May you have today enough gratitude in your heart that you will not be consumed by lions in the den, that you like Daniel will walk away in the morning light.
Prayer
Eternal Fountainhead of All Blessings, I worship You as a good, good Father. When You allow bad things to happen to me—Your child, whom You love— I know you are able to bring good for Your glory. Your ways are not my ways. Your thoughts are higher than mine. The scope of Your love is measureless. I trust You. I lay my life down before You. Thank You for never being neglectful or whimsical, but always attentive and intentional. Thank You for showing me that I can be confident that all things—with absolutely no exceptions—will work together for my ultimate good and Your glory. When I’m tempted to complain, remind me that before You went to the Cross, You took the cup that represented Your death—Your blood that would be poured out—and You gave thanks! Help me to see Your glory in the darkness of pain, Your blessings in the disappointments of life. For the glory of Your great name, Amen. (Lotz, Anne Graham. The Daniel Key (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.)
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