Attitude part 4
Your attitude determines your altitude. I've been saying it. Tonight I want to really kind of try to dig into it. And here's my key memory verse for tonight: "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:2). You don't have to believe everything you think. You can literally mind control yourself. By setting your affection. Look at what that phrase "set your affection" means: It is number 5424 in Strong's Greek Concordance. It means, "to exercise the mind, that is, entertain or have a sentiment or opinion; by implication to be (mentally) disposed." And, listen, I'm not talking about when you can't control your mind. Chemical imbalances or things like that. I'm talking about being disposed toward God. Focusing on God. Focusing on LOVE. Setting your affection on things above. And there is literally nothing higher than love. Your attitude determines your altitude. If you want to be above all things--and we ARE above all things. Already. Right now--then we need to see it that way. Because seeing is believing. Look at Hebrews 2:8 and the first part of 9, "Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus..." All things are under our feet. Because all things are under HIS feet. We are seated at the right hand of the Father. The power seat. We can't get any higher. We don't need to get any higher. We're right where we belong. Right where we need to be. The problem is that we don't see it that way. Because we're focused on things on the earth. Because we get so caught up with what's going on around us that we forget what's inside us. WHO is inside us. The LOVE that is inside us! It's the same idea as when Moses made a serpent on a pole. Those who were too concerned about the snakes around their ankles perished, when all they had to do was lift their eyes to see the snake on the pole. Which is a type and shadow of Jesus on the cross. We don't see that everything is already under our feet. We're always struggling, and trying, and failing to overcome. Because we think we still need to overcome. Because we don't understand what it means that Jesus has already overcome. He finished the work, and now we get to enjoy the fruit of His labor. Our attitude should never be, "If I can just overcome this, this, and this." Because we're coming into it from a defeated attitude. AT BEST the conclusion is up for grabs at that point. Our attitude should always be, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." He overcame the world. That's what makes me an overcome. Not the ability TO overcome, but the truth that I have ALREADY overcome! We don't even have to worry about all that stuff on the earth. We walk by faith, not by sight. It doesn't matter what it looks like, because all things are working together for good. It's all part of God's master plan. Our attitude determines our altitude. We can be as high as we wanna be. Or as low as we choose to be. Focus on love, and you'll be right where you need to be!