Kingdom Tension Part 18

At Keys Vineyard Church, we are presenting a series called ‘Kingdom Tension,’ which we post here on Online Bible Institute.

Last week in our Kingdom Tension series, we discusses being more consistent in choosing the right tree—choosing God’s way instead of our own. This week, I want to focus on something that affects every aspect of our lives: attitude.

Philippians 4:4-8 (NIV)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.

Paul gives us some powerful direction in Philippians 4:4-8. He says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! … Do not be anxious about anything … And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Then he ends by telling us to focus our minds on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable.

You and I need to take ownership of our attitudes. That’s what Paul is pressing in on. The Message translation says it like this:

Philippians 4:8 (MSG)
8 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.

Here’s the truth: we don’t get to control most of what happens to us. None of us chose where we were born, who our parents are, or the circumstances of our lives. And even now, we can’t control what other people say, think, or do. If we’re honest, a lot of our frustration and anxiety comes from trying to control circumstances that were never ours to manage in the first place. That’s exhausting, isn’t it?

But here’s the good news—God didn’t leave us powerless. While we can’t control circumstances, He gave us the ability to choose how we respond to them. That’s the gift. Every single day, we get to decide what kind of attitude we’re going to bring into the room. We can choose to let stress and negativity dominate us, or we can choose joy. We can choose worry, or we can choose prayer. We can dwell on what’s wrong, or we can set our minds on what is noble, pure, and praiseworthy.

Think of it this way: your attitude is like the thermostat in your house. It doesn’t control the weather outside, but it does set the atmosphere inside. No matter what storms are raging around you, you get to choose the climate of your heart.

This weekend at Keys Vineyard Church, we will discuss all this and more, so be sure to join us in person or online.

Steve Lawes is a pastor at Keys Vineyard Church and also the founder of the Online Bible Institute Network.