BECOMING A BETTER ME
Part 2 – Let’s Get Positive
Philippians 2:14-15
March 14, 2021
Dr. Mark S. Hartman, Lead Pastor
INTRODUCTION
Our words have the power to destroy and the power to build up.
Proverbs 18:21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Matthew 12:36 But I tell you that men (every person) will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.
Philippians 2:14-15 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe. (NIV)
1. GET IN CONTROL OF YOUR THINKING.
A. Proverbs 4:23 Be careful how you think. Your life is shaped by your thoughts. (GNT)
B. What we allow our minds to dwell on actually begins to control and change us either for the good or for our harm.
C. Ephesians 4:22-23 …throw off your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception. 23 Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes.
D. Romans 12:2 Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
E. Matthew 12:34-35 …For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. 35 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. (NLT)
F. Change what you think about and you will change what you say. Change what you say, and you will change your life and the lives of others around you.
2. DON’T PICK OTHERS APART.
Philippians 2:14-15 Do everything without complaining or arguing…
Step One – Admit that our complaining and arguing is a sin.
Step Two – Develop an attitude of gratitude.
I Thessalonians 5:18 Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
The greatest antidote for complaining is appreciation.
Step Three – Look for God’s hand in your circumstances.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 This small and temporary trouble we suffer will bring us a tremendous and eternal glory, much greater than the trouble. 18 So, we fix our attention, not on the things that are seen, but on the things that are unseen. What is seen lasts only for a time, but what cannot be seen lasts forever.
Step Four – Choose to use your tongue to encourage others, not put them down.
Job 16:4-5 …I could spout off my criticisms against you and shake my head at you. 5 But that’s not what I would do. I would speak in a way that helps you. I would try to take away your grief.
3. WHEN WE CHOOSE NOT TO COMPLAIN AND ARGUE, WHAT ADVANTAGES WILL COME? (Philippians 2:14-15)
A. When we choose not to complain and fight, we are showing that our Christianity is for real.
B. When we choose not to complain and fight, we will be light in a dark world.