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As we all know, life is full of 
experiences, it's full of 

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emotion. 
It's full of its ups and it's 

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Downs. 
It's full of it's good times and

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bad times. 
It's full of joy. 

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It's full of depression. 
And, you know, considering these

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things, whether a person is a 
Christian or not, we all face 

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the same types of things in 
life, we experience life and we 

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experience death and we 
experience everything in 

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between. 
But you know, as a Christian 

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though, Satan he is ever trying 
to throw everything he has in at

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us in order to keep rustom 
serving the Lord Almighty. 

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And one of the things that he 
tries to do in order to keep us 

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from being faithful to the Lord 
is try to look at life in the 

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wrong way. 
Way. 

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And he tries to get us to think 
that it's really not worth the 

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effort and the time being a 
child of God and he tries to 

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discourage Us in every possible 
way that he can. 

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And so at that in mind I'd like 
to talk about the importance of 

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having a positive that positive 
outlook and attitude on life and

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help us focus on why what we do,
why we do what we do, as we live

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for the Lord. 
Now in life, You basically have 

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two kinds of people, you have 
pessimists and you have 

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optimists. 
Now, Optimist sorrow where their

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people always trying to look at 
the good in every situation. 

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While on the handy got 
pessimists, who, you know, life 

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is just full of women's And if I
look at my own life, I consider 

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myself to be an optimist. 
Now, Melissa may tell you that 

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at times, I'm too optimistic 
that things just simply aren't 

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reality in some situations as 
far as what I see the outcome is

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going to be. 
But, you know, be that as it 

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may, there is no doubt that all 
people have different outlooks 

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on life and experiences on life.
There's a man named Clement 

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Stone. 
And he said this, he said there 

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was little difference in people,
but that little difference makes

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a big difference. 
The little difference is 

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attitude, the big difference is 
whether it's positive or 

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negative. 
And building upon that there's 

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enough man by the name of Norman
Vincent Peale, who once stated 

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that any fact facing us is not 
as important as our attitude 

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toward it for that determines or
our success or failure. 

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And how true that is. 
And that is what we're going to 

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see in our study this morning. 
And so as we begin, let's go all

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the way back to the Old 
Testament. 

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In fact, we'll all go, all the 
way back to need to Numbers 

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Chapter 13. 
And when we look at Numbers 

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Chapter 13, we find the story of
the 12 Spies of Israel. 

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Now, it was one day that God 
approach Moses and he says, to 

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Moses as we pick up in verse 
number two, here in this 

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chapter. 
He says send man to spy out the 

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land of Canaan, which I'm giving
to the children of Israel from 

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each tribe of their fathers you.
So send a man, everyone a leader

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among them and so after 
receiving these instructions by 

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God, Moses does, is, he's 
commanded to do. 

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And so he goes and he choose 12 
men to be spies for Israel. 

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And so as these men are gathered
there before Moses, Moses has 

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this audience to these men and 
he tells them to check out the 

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land of Canaan. 
He tells him to see what kind of

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a land. 
It's like to see if see what the

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people like are the people, 
strong are the people week. 

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See how many there are? 
They big anumber? 

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Are they small? 
See if the land itself is good? 

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Or if it's bad take account of 
what their cities are like, are 

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they weak like tents or are they
strong? 

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Do they have fortified structure
and also bring some fruit back. 

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So we can know how plentiful 
this land is. 

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And so the man do just this, 
they go over to the land of 

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Canaan and says spice. 
And we're told that they pick 

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all kinds of fruit in. 
The Bible says this, this, just 

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jumps off the page at me and 
then just remarkable. 

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Now, one of the things they did 
is they, they cut off a cluster 

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of grapes and that cluster of 
grapes to show how plentiful 

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this land was. 
They had, they had to have two 

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men, carry this cluster of 
grapes on the pole, and that's 

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just how plentiful this place 
was. 

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But anyway, anyway, they spend 
40 days there. 

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And so they make their way back 
to Moses and they have reports 

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about what the land of Canaan is
like, and what the people are, 

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what the people are, who dwell 
in it. 

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And so here's the report, they 
say, we went to the land where 

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you sent us, it's really flows 
with milk and honey. 

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And this is It's Nevertheless, 
the people who dwell in the land

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are strong, the cities are 
fortified and very large. 

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Moreover, we saw the descendants
of anak there. 

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Now, after giving this report, 
One of the spies was named 

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Caleb. 
And Caleb was quite eager to 

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take advantage of God's promise 
that Israel could have that land

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of Canaan because he States in 
verse number 30. 

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Let us go up at once and take 
possession for. 

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We are well able to overcome it 
and so he's full of zeal. 

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He said, let's go do it. 
God gave it to us. 

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Let's go get it. 
But, you know, not all the spies

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were, as eager as Caleb was in 
fact, There Were Ten Spies of 

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all the twelve spies that went. 
There were 10 of them that had 

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quite differing outlooks about 
this latinum, Canaan and listen 

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to how they react to What Caleb 
says unto this multitude here. 

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It says, but the man who had 
gone up with him said, we are 

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not able to go up against the 
people. 

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Or they are stronger than we. 
And they gave the children of 

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Israel, a bad report of the land
which they had spied out saying 

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the land through which we have 
gone. 

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A spy's, is a land that devours 
its inhabitants and all the 

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people whom we saw in it are men
of great, step of great statue. 

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There we saw the Giants of the 
Senate. 

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Savannah came from the Giants 
and we were like grasshoppers in

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their sight and so we were in 
their sight now listening to 

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this explanation or this 
description. 

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Ian by these ten spies and after
hearing what Caleb had said 

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they're take a Caleb, you're 
nuts. 

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There is no way we could go over
into that lad. 

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Did you not notice how big those
guys were and how little we were

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in them? 
They would destroy us, there's 

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no way we could overtake that 
land. 

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And so because of that attitude,
that they had, even though God 

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had promised them this land, 
because of that negative 

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attitude, it create a snowball 
effect in the children of Israel

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became because began to become 
discouraged and developed an 

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agate negative attitude, just as
those ten spies had had and 

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listen to what they said, as we 
continue now, in chapter 14 

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because it says they're 
beginning of verse 1. 

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So, all would see the 
congregation lifted up their 

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Then cried and the people wept 
that night and all the children 

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of Israel complained against 
Moses and Aaron. 

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And the whole congregation said 
to them, if only, we had died in

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the land of Egypt, or if only we
had died in this Wilderness, why

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has the Lord brought us to this 
land to Fall by the sword that 

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our wives and children should 
become victims? 

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What did not be better for us to
return to Egypt? 

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So they said to one another, let
us select a leader and return to

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Egypt. 
This is remarkable to me. 

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Of what their attitude is, like 
all the sudden now, you remember

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how their life was back in 
Egypt, there were slaves there. 

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Nobody wants to be a Slave. 
Yet, when they're in their, in 

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their circumstance, here they 
would rather go back to Egyptian

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slavery. then to, you know, not 
going to land of Canaan and be 

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destroyed by these people And 
so, Joshua and Caleb being the 

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other two of these 12 Spies. 
They try to calm these people 

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down and tried to encourage 
them. 

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That be they be able to take the
land, but the children of Israel

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got, they got so mad that they 
want to Stone him to death. 

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They won't have. 
Any part of going into that 

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land? 
Well, do their disbelief of the 

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Lord, a cosme to perish in the 
wilderness as God would not 

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allow the generation to inherit 
the land of Canaan. 

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But he did. 
However, allow Caleb and Joshua 

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and their families to go to 
Canaan, but nobody else and that

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generation was allowed to go in.
Now, I so that ends our story 

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just for this illustration, this
morning, But from this story, we

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can learn three things about 
having a negative attitude and 

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what it can lead to you see when
we when negative attitudes are 

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allowed to develop, we number 
one, stop believing in God and 

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we stop believing in ourselves. 
You know, that is not to say 

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that we all together become 
agnostic, or we all of a sudden 

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became a become an atheist. 
Although that can happen. 

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But what I mean to say that is 
is that we begin to not believe 

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in what God has promised for his
children. 

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Now, when you look at Israel, 
Israel did not truly believe God

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and that he had promised the 
inheritance of Canaan, because 

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if they had believed it, they 
would have believed in 

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themselves to overtake the land 
and it didn't matter how big 

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those people were or how small 
they were or how big a number or

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how small number those Or they 
would have believed in God, and 

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believed in themselves that they
could overtake this land after 

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all God has given them this 
land. 

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But you know, when we allow the 
negative attitudes to overtake 

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us, we then begin to doubt of 
God is really taking care of us.

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We begin to doubt. 
If he is truly gives us peace or

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if he truly gives us joy or if 
he truly gives us hope in this 

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life, and not only that. 
But when with that begins to 

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develop on our minds and then 
leads us to stop believing in 

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ourselves and it causes us to 
stop trying. 

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And you know, as just was the 
case with the Israelites, if 

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that's going to be the case, we 
have already lost the battle. 

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With this type of attitude. 
But you know, a second thing we 

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can learn from the Israelites is
that if we allow negative 

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attitudes to develop, We then 
begin to discourage others 

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around us. 
You know, you look at the 

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example of those spies there in 
Israel. 

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It all began with just 10 men. 
And from that, Ted had the 10 

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spies had the same attitude of 
Caleb and Joshua. 

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Israel would have had a 
different Outlook, they would 

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have had a positive frame of 
mind and determination to get 

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what God had promised them. 
But due to the negative attitude

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of just 10 men, an entire nation
and entire nation was 

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discouraged, and they develop 
the same attitude. 

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Now, let's bring a little bit 
closer to home. 

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Imagine what they want and what 
they need congregation. 

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The negative influence that even
one person could have within a 

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congregation or even a family, 
or a relationship. 

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It could snowball. 
Unto other people so that other 

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people could become discouraged 
because of what a person thinks 

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about, maybe a work that a 
congregation is doing or 

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whatever the case may be. 
It can cause others to have a 

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gloomy outlook on the situation.
And so that leads us to the 

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third thing of what we can learn
from the story is that number 

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three if we allow negative 
attitudes to develop, we fail to

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reach goals that God has placed 
for us. 

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Now, the reason why is really 
tied into the first point 

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because we've already lost the 
battle before we even begin. 

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You see, we see the situation 
and we see that we don't see any

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possible benefit from it. 
Therefore, we don't even try. 

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And perhaps we may become so 
discouraged, that we have no 

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motivation to accomplish great 
works for the Lord, but negative

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attitudes. 
We must understand are nothing 

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but distractions that Satan 
throws in front of us to keep us

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from being zealous to keep us 
from being eager. 

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And to keep us from being 
diligent for the Lord. 

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And that generation of Israel 
was not allowed into that 

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Promised Land. 
And neither shall we? 

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If we allow Satan to overtake 
our lives with negative 

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attitudes, that prevent us from 
doing what the Lord Wills. but, 

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Seeing these three things here 
and see having seen what a 

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negative attitude can lead to, I
want to now, take a look at the 

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other side of the coin. 
Of what a positive attitude can 

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lead to and the great success 
that will could come from it. 

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We're going to look at another 
story from the Old Testament and

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that's what the story of 
Nehemiah. now, when the book 

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first opens for Nehemiah, We 
find that work gets to him that 

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the walls of Jerusalem had been 
broken down and it's Gates had 

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00:14:07,900 --> 00:14:11,900
been burned. 
Now, the news Falls quite 

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00:14:11,900 --> 00:14:15,900
heavily heavy on, nehemiah's, 
heart to the point that he, it 

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00:14:15,900 --> 00:14:20,400
really impacted his life, he 
wept about it, but then he 

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prayed about it too. 
And so it impacted his life so 

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00:14:25,100 --> 00:14:28,100
much that there was one day that
he was attending to the Kings 

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needs. 
And the King you know he noticed

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the Amaya and he noticed 
Nehemiah just wasn't quite 

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himself. 
Something was bothering 

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Nehemiah. 
He thought her perhaps Nehemiah 

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was sick and so he asked what's 
wrong Nehemiah. 

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It was at that point that 
Nehemiah begin to explain the 

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situation down in Jerusalem how 
it lied and waste. 

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And so after hearing the story, 
The king says, well you need to 

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go and do something about it 
then and so what he does, the 

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king sent me a he sent a letter 
with Nehemiah, what the 

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commission to rebuild the walls 
of Jerusalem. 

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And so as Nehemiah, he made his 
way down and he finally made his

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way. 
He arrived at Jerusalem and when

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he right arrived at Jerusalem, 
he took an assessment of the 

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ruins within the city. 
He saw the walls, certainly they

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were in ruined. 
He saw the gates certainly they 

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had been burned just as he I'd 
heard and so after taking this 

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assessment, he goes to the 
officials and and this is what 

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he has to say to the officials. 
Now, as we look at chapter 2 and

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verse 17 and 18, then I said to 
them, you see the distress that 

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we are in how Jerusalem lies and
waste and its gates are burned 

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with fire come, let us build the
wall of Jerusalem that we may no

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longer be a reproach. 
And I told them of the hand of 

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my God, which had helped which 
had been good upon me and also 

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the king's words that he had 
spoken to me, so, they said, Let

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us rise up and build. 
Then they set their hands to 

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this. 
Good work. 

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You see me? 
And my has positive attitude, 

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had impacted the men, and a 
positive way to do a good work. 

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You see it states in chapter 4 
and 6 at the people had a mind. 

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The people had a mind to work. 
They were determined and they 

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were encouraged and zealous to 
perform this good work. 

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But as they built this wall, 
though there were some 

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opposition. 
There were some ridicule on the 

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way opposition came and the 
opposition belittled the Jews 

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00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:45,200
and they said, you know, you 
Jews. 

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Are you doing it? 
Just vanity. 

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Because as soon as you guys bit 
up, those walls were going to 

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come by and we're going to 
destroy them all together. 

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But you know this really just 
encourage them. 

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It motivated the Jews even more 
to finish the walls and we find 

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that it took them 52 days to 
complete that task. 

266
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And that just simply is amazing 
to me of the determination of 

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just just to complete this good 
work. 

268
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Now this is story is a great one
to keep in mind when we think 

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about how having a positive 
attitude and what it can lead 

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to, and From it, just like we 
learned from the, from from the 

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00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:30,400
story of the Israelites, with 
those 12 Spies. 

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We learned three things as well,
about having a positive 

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attitude. 
You see when positive attitudes 

274
00:17:37,700 --> 00:17:41,400
are maintained. 
We continue to believe in God 

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and our ability to serve him. 
Now Nehemiah did just this. 

276
00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:49,000
He believed in his God and 
believe the Lord was behind him 

277
00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:52,600
in this great work and this 
motivated him to accomplish this

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00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:54,600
great task of rebuilding the 
walls. 

279
00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:58,300
And he know when we ourselves 
begin to believe in God and 

280
00:17:58,300 --> 00:18:01,000
Trust his promises and 
understand that he is with us 

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00:18:01,100 --> 00:18:05,500
and he will never ever fail us. 
We then begin to feel uplifted. 

282
00:18:05,500 --> 00:18:09,400
We then begin to feel encouraged
and we've had the strength and 

283
00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:13,000
we have the motivation to 
accomplish great things and 

284
00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:15,700
there may be some I'm things 
that just might seem impossible 

285
00:18:15,700 --> 00:18:19,000
to some people, but as we all 
know With God, all things are 

286
00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:22,600
possible. 
We can do some great things. 

287
00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:25,900
But not only that, but when 
positive attitudes are 

288
00:18:25,900 --> 00:18:31,000
maintained, we encourage those 
around us and we overcome those 

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00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:35,000
who try to discourage us in our 
way, you know, from the vision, 

290
00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:40,000
he determined of one, man. 
Being Nehemiah an entire Army of

291
00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:41,800
men. 
Saw the good of accomplishing 

292
00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:44,500
this, task, it did not falter 
when opposition tried to 

293
00:18:44,500 --> 00:18:48,800
belittle and discourage them now
a little bit closer to home. 

294
00:18:50,100 --> 00:18:52,800
This is we talked about the 
negative attitude of one person,

295
00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:56,600
perhaps within a relationship or
family or a congregation just 

296
00:18:56,600 --> 00:19:01,600
flip that around. 
Think of the positive impact of 

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00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:06,000
encouraging words from one 
person in a congregation think 

298
00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,000
of what the congregation could 
do? 

299
00:19:10,900 --> 00:19:13,100
A corrugation could be set on 
fire. 

300
00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:18,200
With positive outlooks and 
positive attitudes. 

301
00:19:22,700 --> 00:19:26,200
And they'll be able to overcome 
any obstacles that may face 

302
00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:29,100
them. 
Thirdly when a pause attitudes 

303
00:19:29,100 --> 00:19:33,000
are maintained people, 
ultimately reach goals that God 

304
00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:36,500
has placed before them. 
You know this is true with Emi 

305
00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:39,200
and the others in accomplishing,
the goal of rebuilding the walls

306
00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:42,900
of Jerusalem. 
Now with them when it first 

307
00:19:42,900 --> 00:19:45,900
started it might have seemed 
like a long and tedious and 

308
00:19:45,900 --> 00:19:51,100
difficult task but day by day 
they were able to do it. 

309
00:19:52,100 --> 00:19:55,900
It was step by step and you know
we may be faced with some 

310
00:19:55,900 --> 00:19:59,000
enduring trials or some 
persecutions in life. 

311
00:19:59,500 --> 00:20:02,600
But with a with a positive 
attitude, about the situation, 

312
00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:04,300
we're going to be able to 
overcome overcome it. 

313
00:20:04,308 --> 00:20:08,300
Even though it may seem 
impossible step by step, we're 

314
00:20:08,300 --> 00:20:12,500
going to be able to do it. 
Well, how is this possible? 

315
00:20:13,700 --> 00:20:17,700
How do we stay optimistic when 
we find ourselves perhaps so 

316
00:20:17,700 --> 00:20:21,200
overwhelmed or may be 
discouraged about something? 

317
00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:25,600
How do we maintain a positive 
attitude in life? 

318
00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:33,800
Well, the fact of the matter is 
we have the ability to control 

319
00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:36,000
our own attitudes and our own 
moods. 

320
00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:43,300
Nobody else has that power, but 
you yourself Now, we may not be 

321
00:20:43,300 --> 00:20:45,800
able to control or change the 
circumstances, but we can 

322
00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:49,200
control how we react to certain 
things. 

323
00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:55,300
For example, when things get 
hard for you, You can choose to 

324
00:20:55,300 --> 00:20:59,500
rejoice in those trials, and 
those persecutions. 

325
00:21:00,700 --> 00:21:03,800
You think how in the world? 
How do you do something like 

326
00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:07,000
that? 
Well for one thing, James wrote 

327
00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:11,400
this, James 1 verse 22 through 
for my brother, count, it all 

328
00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:14,600
joy. 
Count it all joy when you fall 

329
00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:18,900
into various trials, knowing 
that the testing of your faith. 

330
00:21:18,900 --> 00:21:21,600
Produces patience but let 
patience have. 

331
00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:25,000
It's perfect work that you may 
be perfect and complete, lacking

332
00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:28,400
nothing. 
And so, how are we supposed to 

333
00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:30,700
rejoice and persecutions our 
trials? 

334
00:21:31,300 --> 00:21:33,300
How do we prepare our minds to 
do this? 

335
00:21:33,900 --> 00:21:38,900
Well, the key as James tells us 
here in verse number 3, is that 

336
00:21:38,900 --> 00:21:42,300
it comes with us having the 
understanding that the testing 

337
00:21:42,300 --> 00:21:46,000
of our faith. 
Produces patience. 

338
00:21:47,900 --> 00:21:51,300
If you cannot grasp that, then 
you're going to have a difficult

339
00:21:51,300 --> 00:21:54,300
time with various trials that 
you face and you know, Paul 

340
00:21:54,300 --> 00:21:58,100
wrote about a similar thing over
in Romans chapter 5. 

341
00:21:58,900 --> 00:22:02,100
Paul wrote this in verses 3 
through 4, it says not only that

342
00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:05,900
but we also glory in 
tribulations knowing that 

343
00:22:05,900 --> 00:22:10,600
tribulation produces 
perseverance and perseverance 

344
00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:17,000
character and character hope. 
Is he Paul adds that as we 

345
00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:21,100
maintain a positive attitude and
trials are character develops 

346
00:22:21,100 --> 00:22:25,100
into a better person, a stronger
person, we become stronger, our 

347
00:22:25,100 --> 00:22:28,400
hope is strengthened, we have a 
greater peace of mind, but one 

348
00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:31,900
other thing that helps us in 
this as Paul later writes in 

349
00:22:31,900 --> 00:22:34,900
chapter 12 and 12 of The Book of
Romans is that we must be 

350
00:22:34,900 --> 00:22:39,000
steadfast in prayer. 
You know, prayers in these seats

351
00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:42,200
are in essential key to 
maintaining a positive attitude.

352
00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:47,600
You know, the more you pray The 
more you begin to focus upon God

353
00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:50,900
and the more you begin to focus 
upon God, the more you become to

354
00:22:50,900 --> 00:22:55,000
rely upon God and the more you 
become to rely upon God upon 

355
00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:57,500
God, the more you're 
strengthened by him. 

356
00:22:58,500 --> 00:23:03,200
It starts with prayer. 
It's an essential key. 

357
00:23:04,300 --> 00:23:06,500
It's sometimes what we may do, 
sometimes. 

358
00:23:06,500 --> 00:23:11,700
What I may do is it's like 
prayers just the last option and

359
00:23:11,700 --> 00:23:15,100
that shouldn't be the case. 
It's an essential key. 

360
00:23:15,700 --> 00:23:19,500
You know, we may not have the 
character of job who had Praise 

361
00:23:19,500 --> 00:23:21,700
and Worship the Lord after 
losing practically all. 

362
00:23:21,700 --> 00:23:25,900
He had including his children. 
But you know, we could all start

363
00:23:25,900 --> 00:23:29,300
somewhere. 
You know, these are things that 

364
00:23:29,300 --> 00:23:33,100
you're just not burnt born with.
They take time to develop but as

365
00:23:33,100 --> 00:23:36,800
we continue to develop them, our
Outlook and our attitude of 

366
00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:40,300
life, and the Lord will shine 
brightly to those, even around 

367
00:23:40,300 --> 00:23:44,000
us. 
You know, another thing that we 

368
00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:47,800
can do to maintain a positive 
attitude is to block out 

369
00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:52,800
negativity. 
And one way to do this, is to 

370
00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:56,100
avoid negative. 
Self-talk, and you could do this

371
00:23:56,100 --> 00:23:58,200
by. 
And I mean, when I talk about 

372
00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:01,500
negative self-talk, it's 
attitudes like, well, I just 

373
00:24:01,500 --> 00:24:05,500
can't do this, or this is just 
too hard for me to be able to do

374
00:24:06,500 --> 00:24:08,900
Because with this type of 
attitude, you're not even giving

375
00:24:08,900 --> 00:24:11,300
yourself a chance and just like 
those people of Israel that 

376
00:24:11,300 --> 00:24:13,400
we've talked about already. 
You've already lost the battle 

377
00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:18,300
because you won't even begin it.
Avoid negative self-talk. 

378
00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:23,100
But another, you could also 
block out negativity by avoiding

379
00:24:23,100 --> 00:24:26,300
negative people. 
Now, we've seen these types of 

380
00:24:26,300 --> 00:24:30,300
people before these types of 
people seem to have nothing good

381
00:24:30,300 --> 00:24:32,000
to say about anybody or 
anything. 

382
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:35,900
They simply may have a sour 
outlook on life altogether and, 

383
00:24:35,900 --> 00:24:39,700
you know, if we're around such 
individuals, it might not be 

384
00:24:39,700 --> 00:24:42,100
long until that kind of attitude
May rub off. 

385
00:24:42,100 --> 00:24:44,300
My May rub off on us if we're 
not careful. 

386
00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:47,600
I mean, after all Paul did Right
in his first epistle to the 

387
00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:50,500
Corinthians. 
He said that evil company 

388
00:24:50,500 --> 00:24:55,100
corrupts good habits and 
certainly that is the case in a 

389
00:24:55,108 --> 00:24:59,500
whole spectrum of things but 
especially in this situation. 

390
00:25:00,500 --> 00:25:03,300
But another way that you could 
block out, negativity is by 

391
00:25:03,300 --> 00:25:05,500
surrounding yourself with 
positive people. 

392
00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,100
Be around people who are going 
to encourage you to take on a 

393
00:25:09,100 --> 00:25:13,700
task, or to keep pressing on for
the prize that Waits before us, 

394
00:25:14,100 --> 00:25:17,800
surround yourself with those who
will Your spirit and not 

395
00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:21,200
discourage, it be around people 
who are willing to lip lend, a 

396
00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:23,500
helping hand. 
If you're feeling overwhelmed in

397
00:25:23,500 --> 00:25:30,000
a trial or a task in your life, 
It is very important that we 

398
00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:33,500
fill our minds and companionship
with the right thoughts. 

399
00:25:34,100 --> 00:25:38,600
And with the right people And if
we do so our laps are going to 

400
00:25:38,600 --> 00:25:42,000
be so much easier. 
There's going to be less 

401
00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:47,000
obstacles and less opposition 
that we face in life. 

402
00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:50,600
The one last thing that we must 
do in order to maintain a 

403
00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:56,100
positive attitude is to live in 
the present and leave the past 

404
00:25:56,100 --> 00:26:01,100
behind us. 
You know, we all have regrets in

405
00:26:01,100 --> 00:26:06,100
life. 
And we just need to accept our 

406
00:26:06,100 --> 00:26:08,900
mistakes and we just need to 
move on. 

407
00:26:11,900 --> 00:26:14,700
And the yet, there are just some
people that just can't seem to 

408
00:26:14,700 --> 00:26:17,600
forgive themselves and let 
things go. 

409
00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:22,500
And you know if anyone could 
have lamented over his past, I 

410
00:26:22,500 --> 00:26:24,100
would guess it would have been 
Paul. 

411
00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:29,600
You know Paul he did so much 
harm and damage to the church 

412
00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:33,600
back when he be before he became
a disciple of the Lord. 

413
00:26:34,500 --> 00:26:39,200
You know, he He persecuted men 
and women some even to the point

414
00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:41,600
of death because of their belief
in the Messiah. 

415
00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:46,600
But God be praised. 
The he change his life around, 

416
00:26:47,300 --> 00:26:50,900
he became the Apostle Paul. 
And one thing that helped him in

417
00:26:50,900 --> 00:26:53,500
life was to not dwell on the 
things that he had once done. 

418
00:26:53,500 --> 00:26:56,800
But to press forward to the goal
and he writes about this in the 

419
00:26:56,800 --> 00:26:59,400
book of Philippians in 
Philippians chapter 3 here 

420
00:26:59,900 --> 00:27:03,900
verses 12 through 14. 
It says not that I have already 

421
00:27:03,900 --> 00:27:08,800
attained or am already perfected
but I press on the diet that I 

422
00:27:08,808 --> 00:27:12,200
may lay a lay hold of that, for 
which Christ Jesus has also 

423
00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:16,600
laid, hold of me brother. 
Aaron, I do not count myself to 

424
00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:21,700
have apprehended but one thing I
do forgetting those things which

425
00:27:21,700 --> 00:27:25,100
are behind and reaching forward 
to those things, which are 

426
00:27:25,100 --> 00:27:27,700
ahead. 
I press toward the goal for the 

427
00:27:27,700 --> 00:27:31,800
prize of the upward call of God 
in Christ Jesus. 

428
00:27:33,500 --> 00:27:35,100
What? 
Wonderful words from Paul. 

429
00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:40,900
And certainly words that we all 
can learn can learn from that. 

430
00:27:40,900 --> 00:27:44,900
We cannot let the things of our 
past, become a ball and chain in

431
00:27:44,900 --> 00:27:47,700
our lives because all it's going
to do it. 

432
00:27:47,700 --> 00:27:51,600
Just discourage us through life.
We just can't let go of it. 

433
00:27:52,700 --> 00:27:55,600
We should turn that Focus rather
to that which lies ahead and 

434
00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:58,900
make every effort to reach the 
goal and you know, this type of 

435
00:27:58,900 --> 00:28:01,200
attitude in life. 
It really helped Paul through 

436
00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:04,400
the rest of his life as he. 
And one thing that I like to 

437
00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:08,200
read is what he wrote to Timothy
in his last epistle to him. 

438
00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:14,000
It says their second Timothy 
4018 and the Lord will deliver 

439
00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:17,200
me from every evil work and 
preserve me for his Heavenly 

440
00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:20,800
Kingdom to him be glory forever 
and ever. 

441
00:28:21,300 --> 00:28:26,000
Amen. 
He was sure. this because of the

442
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:32,100
Outlook that he had on his life,
As we conclude this morning. 

443
00:28:34,100 --> 00:28:38,400
when you think about your life 
as a Christian, we have every 

444
00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:40,800
reason to have a positive 
attitude in our spiritual 

445
00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:44,700
growth. 
I mean, we know that God is ever

446
00:28:44,700 --> 00:28:49,600
ready to help us grow. 
He has provided us his word and 

447
00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:52,000
he has also provided us the 
privilege of prayer. 

448
00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:55,800
A prayer to help us on our way. 
He's also even create the church

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to divide to provide an 
environment that even promotes 

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growth. 
And so when we Face trials, and 

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when we Face persecutions, we 
will know that our labor is not 

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in vain yet. 
If we do fall, God is still 

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loves us and he forgives us and 
he's there to pick us back up. 

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I'll leave you with the words. 
Of William James. 

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He said this he said the 
greatest discovery of my 

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00:29:24,900 --> 00:29:29,400
generation is that man can alter
his life simply by altering his 

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00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:35,400
attitude of mind. 
And so the choice is yours. 

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00:29:36,700 --> 00:29:38,400
What kind of Life do you want to
live today? 

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00:29:40,700 --> 00:29:45,200
Do you want to live a life of 
positivity that pleases God and 

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will get you to heaven or 
rather? 

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00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:49,700
Do you want to live a life that 
does not believe in God? 

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00:29:49,700 --> 00:29:53,300
Even though enough to put a 
positive attitude of Faith and 

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00:29:53,300 --> 00:29:57,100
Hope and joy in your life? 
Really. 

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00:29:57,100 --> 00:29:59,700
You have the choice. 
No one else has that power to 

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make that choice for you. 
The choice is in your hands, but

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if you Choose Wisely God's going
to be there. 

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00:30:08,100 --> 00:30:11,100
He's going to be there for you 
and through it all. 

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00:30:13,500 --> 00:30:18,700
And so it is very important that
we maintain a positive attitude 

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00:30:18,700 --> 00:30:24,500
in our life at all times. 
And let us never be bogged down 

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00:30:24,500 --> 00:30:26,800
by the things of life. 
But ever be pressing toward the 

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00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:31,900
goal as Paul said, We thank you 
for listening to our podcast, 

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00:30:31,900 --> 00:30:35,900
put on by the Church of Christ 
at 22:15 plans. 

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00:30:35,900 --> 00:30:39,400
Road in Bakersfield, if you 
would like any additional 

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00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:42,700
information or you would like to
receive a free Bible 

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00:30:42,700 --> 00:30:48,200
correspondence, course by mail. 
Please email us at info at True 

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00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:50,600
Church of Christ 
Bakersfield.com. 

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00:30:51,300 --> 00:30:56,500
Our service times are on Sundays
at 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. and 

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00:30:56,500 --> 00:31:00,900
Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. 
Please make plans to join us. 

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00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:03,700
We would love for you to be our 
honored guest.