A Positive Outlook and Expectation

I appreciated the focus scripture for today, and the commentary that went with it ties in very well to what I'd like to talk about. The scripture talked about having a merry heart, and the commentary talked about having a positive focus. And the title for my message today is a positive outlook and expectation. And the question I would have for all of us as God's people is, throughout our daily life, as we live life today, is it with a positive outlook? Do we live life with a positive expectation as to the future, what the future holds and what it is that God has in store? To set the tone for the message, I want to begin by reading to you a few quotations from individuals who seem to find it productive to live life on the positive side. Here's a few quotes from them. From Dr. Idell Dreimer, he says, try to look on the bright side of things. He says, if the bright side is not immediately evident, keep looking, because looking is better, I'm sorry, keep looking, he says, because it is better to be busy than to be depressed. So keep looking for the bright side. From Author Unknown, he says, we cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails. Life circumstances that come at us, oftentimes, aren't things that we can control, and yet we have to deal with them. What we do have control over is ourselves and our actions. Can we direct the sails, adjust the sails to deal with what life sends our way? We can't direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails. This lady said, keep your face to the sunshine, and you cannot see a shadow. Keep your face to the sunshine, and you cannot see a shadow. That comes from Helen Keller. This young lady said, I don't think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains. It was Anne Frank from Anne Frank's diary. She says, I don't think of all the misery, but of all the beauty that still remains. William James says, quote, the greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes. A human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes. Again, from Author Unknown. Author Unknown has written a lot of things down through time. Author Unknown says, quote, things turn out best for the people who make the best out of the way things turn out.

Again, things turn out the best for the people who make the best out of the way things turn out.

Abraham Lincoln said, I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower wherever I thought a flower would grow. From Herm Albright, he says, quote, a positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make the effort well worth it.

You know, sometimes if somebody's positive all the time, there's generally two or three people around that perhaps get a little irritated at the positive mood. But he says, you know, it's well worth the effort. And finally, Zig Ziglar says, positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will. Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will. And so all these quotations I pulled because they come from people who seem to live life looking to the positive side of things, trying to, you know, keep a bright outlook and approach, even if their life circumstances weren't positive. Even if the things happening around them were traumatic and difficult and in a trial at the time, they tried to look on the positive side of things and again have positive expectations.

So, brethren, I would ask us, what is our outlook and expectation when we consider the life we're living? You know, consider our life circumstances where each and every one of us are today, you know, in our jobs, in our families, in our homes, but also consider within that context as well a calling from God.

What is our outlook? What is our expectation? I think, brethren, as Christians, and in fact, I don't just think I know, as Christians, our outlook must be positive. We've been called to maintain a positive outlook and expectation, and sometimes it can be difficult because the world we live in, if we look around, oftentimes is dark, is gloomy, if we consider the circumstances and much of this world, and yet, I think it's a warning for us as well to be careful not to get pulled down by the bleakness and the reality of life at times because life does offer joy.

God created us to live a physical life and to live it well, and there's opportunities in this world to live life well and enjoy life in a right and proper way that God would desire. But also, again, as I said, there's many things in this world that, if we focus on them, are negative, and they can tend to pull us away from looking at life on the positive side. If you turn on the news in the evening, you'll see stories of war, starvation, poverty, all kinds of disasters, all kinds of desperation that exists in much of the world, and you can see it happening, and in some ways, that seems like such a far place away from us right here.

And I would say, in this country, we have been blessed not to see a lot of those things right immediately on our doorstep, but if we do take an honest look at the United States as well, we see a lot of our problems are social and they're societal by nature. And again, if we focus on those things to the exclusion of the right and good things, then I do believe our focus can become negative.

You know, God called His people, and He said, come out of this world, you know, be separate. I will be your God, you will be my people. And so I would say He didn't call us to compare ourselves to the world. You know, sometimes we look around and we make our focus coming out of this evil age, and we say, you know, look at this world that's evil, this is going on, and we certainly don't want to be like that.

But the point is, looking at the evil of the world and separating ourself from it isn't the standard we've been called to, the standard we've been called to is becoming like God, taking on His nature and His character. And if we do that and we submit ourselves to Him, then we will be different than the world around us. But again, I think we need to be careful that the focus of our calling in our minds isn't just to be different than this world and the, you know, focus on the evil of the world because God wants us to focus on the joy of our salvation through what He's extended to us.

And again, if that is our focus, we will have positive outlooks and positive expectations. You know, God is a positive being. He's a positive being. He set life in the motion and He created all that we see. And the fact that God has a plan for His creation is positive. I want to look at Jeremiah chapter 29 verse 11 as we consider the positive outlook and expectation that God has. Jeremiah chapter 29 verse 11. Here God says, For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

So God has set in motion a plan that will bring a future and a hope not only to us, but ultimately to all of mankind. And it's a positive. It's an encouraging. It's a expectation that He has set before us that we must always look to in a positive manner.

When we consider our life, the things that we walk through day by day, but we also consider them within the perspective of our calling and what God has in store. Indeed, brethren, our outlook and our focus and our expectations must be positive. Our calling, again, is not to be unlike this world.

Our calling is to be like God as we develop His mind and His character. And as we strive for the stature of the fullness of Jesus Christ, the more and more we look like them, the less and less will appear to be like the world. And yet, I think sometimes we do need to be careful because we can tell people the reason we do what we do is because of the world. And yet, the reason we do what we do is because of our calling and that blessing from God.

In Claus in chapter 2, Paul tells us to set your mind on the things above, not on the things of this earth. In other words, he tells us, don't pursue the things that are important in this world. We do need to work. We need to eat. We need a roof over our head. Those things are true. But Christ said, seek first the kingdom of God and those things would be added to you. So don't seek the things of the world as a primary focus of your life. Seek the things of God. Seek His kingdom. Seek to put on His nature and His righteousness. Again, those other things will be added to you. If our mindset is on the things of God and our outlook is on what He is doing, then our attitude and our focus will follow as well. I want to notice as well the perspective that Jesus Christ had because He was God in the flesh, came to this earth and brought a very important message. And the perspective that He brought with that message was hopeful, was positive, and it was to instill positive expectations in those who would hear it and respond. Mark 1.

Mark 1. We'll look at the illustration here of the early ministry of Jesus Christ.

Mark 1. And picking it up in verse 14. Mark 1. It says, Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. He said, Repent and believe in the gospel. So Jesus Christ came preaching the gospel message. What was the gospel message? Well, the gospel message, gospel means the good news. It was the good news of the kingdom of God. What it is that God had planned, what He had in store for all of mankind, and for those who would repent and respond, they could be a part of preparation for that kingdom today. So Jesus Christ's message was very positive. He didn't walk the earth and say, you know, you bunch of sick evil sinners, you better get over it or you're going to the lake of fire.

That wasn't the tone of His message. His message was, God's kingdom is coming, and you can have a part in it. You can be there, repent, and be saved.

Again, the gospel message was a very positive message to those who would hear and respond. It was a message that changed lives. It's a message that has changed our life for the good today.

As God's people, brethren, we've been given the pearl of great price.

We've been called by God to understand the truth of His word. He's given us opportunity to have a relationship with Him directly to receive His Holy Spirit, which allows His mind to be developed within us. We've been given opportunity to become sons in that kingdom forever. And so the knowledge of what God has in store and what He's offered to us ought to be encouraging. It ought to be positive, day by day in our focus, because that's what we're seeking first. To be a part of that kingdom, be a part of God's family as we take on His nature and His character. And knowledge ought to bring joy to our spirit. It ought to be reflected in our outlook and how it is that we deal with one another and this world, indeed, on a day by day basis.

Is the joy which God's salvation brings being reflected in you? And I think of David, and I think of the Psalms, and at times when he sinned, and then he's in the depths of guilt over that sin, it leads him to repentance before God, and he says, please restore to me the joy of your salvation. The fact that we've been called out, we've been set apart, we're saved, we're being saved through the blood of Jesus Christ, through our response to God. Does that bring joy to us? I think sometimes we can tend to get more technical and less emotional with the Word of God than we ought to be. Sometimes maybe I'll give a sermon on the emotion of Scripture, the emotion of our relationship with God, but you have, you know, David saying, restore to me the joy. You have the Apostle Paul talking about repentance and how sorrow leads to repentance, then leads to joy. And so this whole process, we should be rejoicing in what God is doing in our life and what he has offered to us. And again, our focus and our outlook should be motivated by those things. I want to look at Numbers 23, Numbers 23, because God has made us many wonderful and encouraging, many blessings and promises that he's promised to pour out on us. And yet sometimes I think we can doubt the fulfillment of these things. Numbers 23, verse 19, and says, God is not a man that he should lie, nor the Son of Man that he should repent. He has said, and will he not do? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good?

God will always fulfill what it is he's promised. God doesn't forget. He doesn't have a lapse of memory. He doesn't have a lack of power to fulfill. God has the will and the power to bring about that which he has promised. He's made many wonderful and incredible promises in our life. We see these recorded in his Word. God has spoken it.

It'll come to pass, surely. Does that impact our focus and our outlook and our expectations on a daily day by day? Indeed, it should. Romans 4, going forward to the New Testament, Romans 4.

We'll look at an example of Abraham. Abraham was called a friend of God. He had a very unique and special relationship in the way in which he walked with God. Yet, Abraham had some trials and struggles in his life and things that could have gotten him down and depressed. He and his wife wanted children. They couldn't have children. Yet, God said, I'm going to make you the father of many nations. Romans 4, and beginning, breaking into context here, beginning verse 16, it says, Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. So, Abraham, who is the father of the physical lineage of Israel, and yet Abraham as well, because he was the father of the faithful, is considered the father of all those who would respond to God in faith as well. Now, verse 17 says, As it is written, I have made you a father of many nations. It says, In the presence of him whom he believed, that was God, who gives life to the dead, and calls those things which do not exist as though they did. You know, God knows what his purpose, what it is he has planned. He can see the fulfillment of those things. He brings them to pass. Also, things which do not exist as though they did. Verse 18, Who contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, so shall your descendants be. And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body already dead, since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb. You know, he didn't sit there and say, God, I think you've bitten off more than you can chew here. Do you realize what you've promised? I mean, I'm an old man. My wife is barren, and yet Abraham didn't look at the circumstances and say, this can't be. He looked to God who was faithful and promised, and he walked in faith. Verse 20, he says, he did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but he was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what he had promised, he was also able to perform, and therefore it was accounted to him for righteousness.

Abraham believed God, and his outlook was hopeful. His outlook was positive, and his expectations were positive, too. He knew God would fulfill that which he had promised.

Again, brethren, what is our outlook and expectation in light of our calling? Do we walk through life and the trials of life and get down and depressed and think, oh, woe is me. Life's just going to be this way? Or do we have positive outlooks and expectations that God will indeed fulfill in our life that which he has promised?

Scientific studies conducted regularly, obviously, and they've revealed a number of things. And what they found in terms of our mindset is that there's actually a measure of effect that maintaining a positive outlook has when it pertains to the well-being of an individual.

Studies have also shown what a negative mindset and a negative focus produces in the well-being and the health of a person as well. So, I don't necessarily want to really focus much time on the negative, but I do want to look at the positive because I think it should be encouraging for us. I want to quote to you from an article published on the Mayo Clinic's website.

The article is written by the Mayo Clinic staff. Again, you can find that on mayoclinic.org.

And the article says, quote, positive thinking helps with stress management and can even improve your health. It goes on then to list the number of benefits associated with positive thinking. It says, researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include increased lifespan, lower rates of depression, lower levels of distress, greater resistance to the common cold. You know, if you're positive and your outlook's positive, your immune system actually is benefited by that. Better psychological and physical well-being. It says better cardiovascular health and a reduced risk from cardiovascular disease. And better coping skills during hardships in times of stress.

The article goes on to say that it's actually uncertain why people who, you know, have the positive thinking experience these health benefits. But it says, one theory is that having a positive outlook enables you to better cope with stressful situations which reduces the harmful health effects of stress on the body. It's also thought that the positive and optimistic people tend to live healthier lifestyles. It says they tend to get more physical activity. They follow a healthier diet. They don't smoke and they don't drink alcohol in excess. So the concept of positive outlook impacting your body for good is not only scientific and provable, but it's also biblical.

It's also biblical. Let's look at Proverbs chapter 17.

Proverbs 17 verse 22.

It's one verse here. Proverbs chapter 17 and verse 22, it says, It says, A merry heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones. And so a merry, a happy, a positive outlook actually does good, it says, like a medicine.

You think of somebody that's down in the dumps, depressed, can't get off the couch, really doesn't do that good for their well-being and their mental focus. In the good news, Bible it says this on Proverbs 17, 22, it puts it this way, it says, quote, Being cheerful gives you healthy, sorry, being cheerful keeps you healthy. It says, But a slow death comes to being gloomy all the time. So if you have a cheerful and a positive focus, it's good for your health. It keeps you on a right and a positive track, and your outlook is positive. It says, But a slow death comes by being gloomy all the time. Other studies have found that when people face health crisis, maintaining positive emotions, again, can boost immune system and it can counter depression. Positive emotions also provide health benefits like lower blood pressure, better weight control, and healthier blood sugar levels. So again, clearly a positive focus and a positive expectation in our lives. There's a lot to help our well-being and not just our mental outlook. Now, Proverbs 23, 7 also references the concept of, as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. You know, as a man thinks, so is he. So what's interesting about that is that our attitude and approach to life can actually create what's called a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you're in your mind negative, and you think, you know, life's just lousy and miserable, and it's never going to get better, there's nothing that I can do to make life better, what they found is actually you're going to walk through life making decisions that's going to reinforce that mental perspective. Again, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's brought to pass by your own attitude and actions based on, in this case, what would be a negative mindset. But on the other side of the coin, it's true as well that circumstances can factor into a positive mindset and then a positive outcome, if that's your focus as well. What kind of people are we, brethren, when things go wrong in our life?

Are we sort of the, woe is me? Why did God let this happen to me? Are we the kind of people that think, I am a victim? These things always happen to me. Or are we the kind of people who kind of pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps? Who say, this is a tough time, but there are solutions. There are options. God is with me, and God will help see me through. If you're someone who's determined to have a positive outlook and you maintain positive expectations, then you're going to take positive steps towards remedy the situation. So if you're in a negative situation or a negative circumstance or a trial for a period of time and your mind is locked into the fact, you'll never get out of it. You're generally not going to do the things to pull yourself out of it.

But if you're positive and you think, you know, God is with me, He will help me, I can do this, you're generally going to start to take steps that will lead to a positive outcome and deliverance as well. That doesn't mean that negative things will never happen to us. Life's full of negative things that can happen to us, but it's a matter of how we respond. You know, how do we take those things? How do we respond? What is the action that springs forth out of those things in our life? Will you be the master of your actions and expectations leading to good or will you be the victim? Victim that just says, what was me? Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 8 verse 18, he said, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time aren't worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. So there are sufferings, there are trials, things we walk through in this day and age and oftentimes things which are most severe, but our expectation of what God has in store should be what is the overwhelming focus in our life. Don't become overwhelmed by the trial to the point you lose the vision and the positive expectation of what God has in store. I assume we've probably all heard of what's called the placebo effect. Anybody not hear of the placebo effect? Okay, I'll explain the placebo effect. The placebo effect is essentially the ability of physical body to be affected by the mental focus and the outlook. I want to quote to you another article. This one comes from medicinenet.com and it's titled, The Medical Definition of the Placebo Effect. Again, it's published by medicinenet.com.

And it says this about the placebo effect. It says also called the placebo response, a remarkable phenomenon which is in placebo. You know, they take what is considered to be a fake treatment. If they're doing a drug study or a medical study in that way, maybe it's a pill for blood pressure and they'll give it to a number of people across the board. Some get the actual medication. Some get what's called the placebo, which could be saline solution, sugar water, something like that, which is not intended to have the medical benefit. And they monitor the two groups.

And it says, so they take this placebo, a fake treatment, and they said some of those who take that can sometimes improve the patient's condition simply because the person has the expectation that it will be helpful. It says expectation, too, plays a potent role in the placebo's effect. The more a person believes that they are going to benefit from a treatment, the more likely it is that they will experience a benefit. And so they receive something that actually doesn't have a medical purpose for improving them, but if they've been told what this product is supposed to do, a certain percentage of those people will actually experience that benefit because of their mental outlook and perception and their expectation that such will be the case. It says, to separate this power of positive thinking and some other variables for my drug's true medical benefits, companies seek governmental approval of a new treatment, often use placebo-controlled drug studies. It says, if patients on a new drug fare significantly better than those who take the placebo, the study helps support the conclusion that the medicine is effective. So you give both the placebo and the actual medication to a study group, and they don't know which they have, and if the ones that actually got the real medicine improved at a greater level than those who got the placebo, then you know the medicine itself does have an effect. But if they just gave everybody the medicine, the problem is you have the placebo effect mixed in there, and they can't truly measure what the improvement level is. The article goes on to say, the power of positive thinking is not a new subject. The Talmud, the ancient compendium of rabbinical thought, states that where there is hope, there is life, and hope is positive expectation by another name. The scientific study of the placebo effect is usually dated to the pioneering paper established in 1955, titled The Powerful Placebo by the anesthesiologist Harry Henry Beecher. Beecher concluded that across his 26 studies, an average of 32 percent of patients responded to placebo. So you give them something that is not a real drug, but tell them it will help them, and nearly one-third of the patients responded according to what they perceived that placebo should have done for them. Again, it's the power of the mind's effect on the body. So this has been shown that placebos have a measurable physiological effect. They tend to speed up pulse rate, increase blood pressure, and improve reaction speeds, for example, when participants are told they've taken a stimulant. Placebos also have the opposite physiological effects when participants are told they have taken a sleep producing drug. So one-third of people who get a placebo and are told this is a sedative, get drowsy. A third of them who are given a placebo and told this is a stimulant, get hyper.

It's part of the mental perception in how the mind can have a positive or a negative impact on the body. This is the placebo effect is part of the human potential to react positively to a healer, as they say. A patient's distress may be relieved by something for which there is no medical basis. A familiar example is a band-aid put on a child. It can make the child feel better by soothing effect, though there is no medical reason it should make the child feel better.

The article ends by saying people who receive a placebo may also experience negative effects. They're like side effects with a medication and may include, for example, nausea, diarrhea, and constipation. A negative placebo effect has been called the nocebo effect.

So again, the concept of the mind and a positive outlook doing good for the body like a medicine is not only scientific and provable, but it's also biblical. It has a great impact on our life, as we maintain a positive outlook and expectation in this calling that God has extended to us.

Brethren, do you consider yourself to be an optimist or a pessimist?

You know, the most successful people in business and in history often have been targeted as those who were optimists. They stood out as being optimistic and having a perception of a positive expectation. They often acknowledge that the positive attitude was the reason for their success and what it is that they did. This is a quote from Jack Canfield. He was an American author born in the 1940s, and he said, quote, successful people maintain a positive focus in life no matter what's going on around them. They stay focused on their past successes rather than their past failures and on the next action steps they need to take to get them closer to the fulfillment of their goal rather than focusing on other distractions that life presents to them.

So, what are you holding on to from the past? Is it your successes and your right and proper decisions that have led to good things, or is it your failures? And we do need to learn from our failures, brethren, but our failures should be gotten over, and we should move on.

Again, this gentleman says that people who are successful and have that positive focus, they focus on the successes of their past, and also they're looking to what is the next step they have to take to fulfill what it is that is their vision. We have a vision. It's the kingdom of God. Now, we came from a past that was full of failures before we came under the blood of Jesus Christ and had our sins forgiven, but that sacrifice and that blood and the forgiveness that comes as a result from God cleanses our conscience, right? From dead works to serve the living God. So, why would we hold on to things from the past that we've repented of, that God has let go, let us let go of those failures, let us dwell on the successes, and let us look at where we are going, which is the kingdom of God. Winston Churchill once said, I am an optimist. It doesn't seem too much use being anything else. I would agree. As a Christian called of God, it doesn't seem to be much use to be anything else. Are you an optimist, or are you a pessimist?

Is your mindset that of an overcomer, or is it that of a victim?

Optimists don't spend much time dwelling on negative thoughts because they're not productive. Instead, they identify the negative thoughts and they replace them with positive thoughts.

Negative thoughts will come into our mind, but we can't live there. We have to deal with them and move on. Optimists accept what cannot be changed. This is reality. They can't change it. Don't stay parked here just moping over it. Get on with life. Do something that is reality and that you can have an effect on. Optimists clearly envision success in their mind's eye.

They can see the end result of their efforts. Again, for us, seek first the kingdom of God. Do we have that vision clearly in mind? Can we see the end result of our efforts? If we can, that will motivate us along the way in a right and a positive and in a proper way. It will help us to maintain the positive expectations that God would have us to maintain. When the Bible is full of individuals who went through a number of circumstances that I would think would be depressing and would beat the average person down. Yet they were optimistic and they were encouraged in the fact that they were able, for example, to suffer loss and service to God or to the gospel. It was their positive approach and outlook and their positive expectation that kept them going. The Apostle Paul was one such individual. Let's go to 2 Corinthians 11. I want to just take a moment and look at some of what the Apostle Paul endured as a result of standing up for God in his life. 2 Corinthians 11 and beginning in verse 24.

Let me get there. 2 Corinthians 11 and 24. Paul says, from the Jews, 5 times I received 40 stripes minus 1. You ever done the math on that? 195 stripes.

That's no small event. Spread it out across your life. That would be quite significant.

5 times I received 40 stripes minus 1. 3 times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. 3 times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I have been in the deep. Just think of any one of these circumstances if it happened to your typical American and they were on the news telling their story. What medication would they be requesting to deal with their trauma? This was Paul's life.

Night and a day I've been in the deep and journeys often in perils of water and perils of robbers and perils of my own countrymen and perils of the Gentiles and perils in the city, perils in the wilderness and perils in the sea and perils among false brethren and weariness and toil and sleeplessness often and hunger and thirst and fast things often and cold and nakedness and besides the other things which come upon me daily says my deep concern for all the churches. So, what was Paul's response? It wasn't pass the Prozac, please. Paul's response, as we would look at his life, was positive. He knew what God had called him to do. He knew what that vision of the kingdom of God looked like and his life was dedicated to doing those things. What he suffered, he suffered for God, but he did so willingly, but he never lost the positive focus and expectation. Acts 16, we can see an example of Paul actually in the midst of a trauma in the mindset that he maintained. Acts 16, verse 16, says, Now it happened as he went to prayer that a certain slave girl possessed of the spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. And the girl followed Paul and us and cried out, saying, These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation. Now the demon was correct in what it was proclaiming. These were servants of the Most High God, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God, proclaiming the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But, you know, this demon wasn't doing them any favors. This wasn't an announcement. Hey, you need to come listen to these guys. This was ridicule and intagination, and Paul got tired of it. Verse 18, it says, This she did for many days, but Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her, and he came out that very hour. But when her masters saw that the hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace and to the authorities, and they brought them to the magistrates and said, These men being Jews exceedingly trouble our city. And they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe. Then the multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. So Paul and Silas now under punishment for the response.

This is no small matter. Verse 23, When they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. And having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

So you have Paul and Silas. They're out doing the work of God, preaching the gospel, doing what God had given them to do. And you would think, Well, you know, God will protect us. We're doing the Lord's work. What harm could befall us? But the fact is, God still did allow at times them to go through trial and struggle and various traumas in this way. But their focus remained secure.

So now you have them. They're arrested. They're beaten severely. Their feet are put in shackles. They're thrown into prison. What's their response? Verse 23, But at midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. So a very positive reaction, right, to a desperate situation. Paul and Silas prayed, and they sang hymns to God.

They weren't depressed. They weren't negative. They didn't give up hope. I'm sure they were quite uncomfortable. They had just been beaten, sitting in the damp, cold, dark prison. Their feet chained.

But again, they weren't losing heart. They were singing. They were crying out to God, God, the one who could deliver. I think an important principle, brethren, for us to remember here, again, is we can't always control the circumstances that we face in life, but we can control how we will respond. The quote I read at the beginning, we can't direct the wind, but we can adjust our sails. Paul and Silas adjusted their sails. They prayed to God. They sang praises to Him. What do you suppose they sang? I kind of thought about that.

What do you think they sang? Nobody knows the trouble I've seen. Nobody knows my sorrow.

What would we sing? In my mind, I thought, you know, if I was in a situation like this, for some reason, glorious things of thee are spoken. That's what comes to mind. You need something with a little pep to it. But Paul and Silas maintained a positive focus, positive expectation. They knew they served God. He would deliver them.

Verse 26, suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. Immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed. The keeper of the prison, awakening from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing that the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, Do yourself no harm, for we are all here. And then he called for a light and ran in and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas, and he brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Here, their example in the positive intervention by God brought this man now to repentance. Verse 31, so they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household. And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and all who were in his house. And he took them that same hour of the night and washed their stripes, and immediately he and his family were baptized. Now when he brought them to his house, he set food before them, and he rejoiced having believed in God with all his household. So again, this was a very positive outcome to what looked like a desperate situation.

Paul and Silas maintained a positive expectation that God would deliver. They were doing his work. They were fulfilling what it was God had given them to do. They didn't become discouraged.

Now if we go forward to 2 Timothy, chapter 4, we can fast forward to the end of the Apostle Paul's life. 2 Timothy 4, this is the final chapter of the final book the Apostle Paul wrote, and he wrote it from prison knowing his head was marked, that his time for death was approaching. 2 Timothy 4, verse 6, notice the mindset. He says, For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, the time of my departure is at hand. Paul says, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Finally there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous judge will give me on that day, not to me only, but also to all who have loved his appearing.

So the biblical record that we have of the Apostle Paul shows a man who lived his life in full service to God, and in the end, despite his imprisonment, despite his impending death, he says, you know what? I've run this race to the full, and now I look for the glory that I'll be realizing at the kingdom of God. I look forward to the crown. I look forward to finishing this race in a very positive and uplifting way. Again, he's looking towards the goal that's laid up from him, that crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous judge will give me on that day, and all else, all other people as well who would love his appearing. I think, brethren, the example of the Apostle Paul is an incredible example to us of despite the challenges in the obstacles, maintaining a positive outlook and expectation. Paul mentions in Philippians 1, verse 6, that we should be confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. So again, I come back to the point that God is faithful to finish what he has begun. No matter what circumstance we're in, right at this point, right now in life, don't let it overwhelm you with negativity. Look to hope to what it is that God is doing. He's in charge. He will fulfill what he's promised. I want to wrap up by giving you four points, four ways in which we can bring about a positive mental outlook and expectation, because it does take work. It does take effort. It takes God's Spirit working with us. But four points of things we should be focused on to maintain a positive outlook and expectation, and I'll keep these brief. Point number one, maintain a close relationship with God and his Word. Maintain a close relationship with God and his Word. As I've already mentioned, God, through his Word, provides us a clear purpose for life. Remember why God created you. Remember your purpose to be sons and daughters in the Kingdom of God, part of his family for all eternity. Focus on the blessing of our calling today and what it is that we can do each and every day to prepare ourselves and positive expectations for that result. Make prayer and Bible study, fasting, meditation, a part of your regular routine. Communicate with God every day. Express your feelings to him, your concerns. Praise him through prayer and see what he has to say in return through his Word. Meditate on these Words. Hide them in your heart. Live by them.

Psalm 94 verse 19. I'll just turn there very quickly for you. It's an example of King David.

Psalm 94.19. David was a person who struggled with a lot of trauma in his life. People sought to kill him. He was on the run from his Kingdom at times. His family was a mess.

David had many struggles in his life. Yet Psalm 94.19, he says, In the multitude of my anxieties within me, your comforts delight my soul.

In the multitude of my anxieties within me, your comforts delight my soul.

What anxiety is within you, brother? What anxiety is within me? We all face anxieties in life, but do God's comforts delight our soul and encourage us and lift us up in a right and positive way?

Maintain that close relationship with God in this word. Second point is feed your mind positive input.

If you want a positive outlook, then feed your mind positive input. If we dwell on the negative, our outlook will be negative. If we dwell on a positive, our outlook will tend to be positive. Feed your mind positive things. Watch good movies. A little entertainment now and then is a good thing, but use it correctly. Watch the right things. Things that are happy and uplifting, encouraging, maybe movies with positive outcomes. Read a good book.

It's no more worthwhile book to read than the Bible. But again, read a good book. Listen to good music. There's things that we can do that just insert a positive mood into our life in a right and proper way. Entertainment kept within its balance is good and is worthwhile. Pick up a hobby. Again, do those things that bring a positive reinforcement to your life. Philippians chapter 4.

Philippians 4 verse 6.

These are the things we should be focusing on each and every day for a positive outlook. Philippians 4 verse 6. It says, Be anxious for nothing, but by everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving. Let your request be made known to God. This is actually going back to the first point of maintaining that relationship. It says, In the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. There is a peace that comes from God as it says that surpasses all understanding. It doesn't make sense to the human mind and to those that would look at you and look at your situation and say, Why are you at peace? But the peace of God that surpasses all understanding is not dependent on the conditions on the ground. It is a gift from God that comes as a result of our relationship with Him.

Look for that and rely on it. Verse 8. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue, if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things. Fill your mind with them.

Immerse yourself in them. Withdraw from the negative. Focus on the positive, and your outlook will be positive as well. The third point is surround yourself with positive people.

Surround yourself with positive people. Keep company with those who maintain a positive focus for themselves. If you're feeling down and negative and in the dumps, going and hanging out with other people who are down and negative and in the dumps isn't going to generally help you all that much. You need to build relationships with positive people who can help to lift you up along the way as well. I'll just quote Proverbs 27, 17, which says, as iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. Does your countenance need sharpen? Well, find the person or the people who have the ability and the outlook to help you in that way. Fourth and final point for maintaining a positive outlook is take proper care of your health. Take proper care of your health because just as our mental focus can affect our physical well-being, our physical well-being can also affect our mental focus. So do the things that you need to do to get regular sleep, regular exercise, eat correctly, do those things that nurture the body and feed the mind. Exercise, to me, is one of the most positive things we can do. Rashid Ungaloo said, take a walk outside. Take a walk outside. He says, it will serve you far more than pacing around in your mind. Do you ever pace around in your mind? It's not a very big place. Back and forth, back and forth. I found that for me, going out, running, hitting the treadmill, doing something physical, blows off steam, kind of helps to leave the sleep, leave the stress and the anxiety, kicks in the endorphins, and gives the person a more positive outlook and expectation. So again, take proper care of your health.

Brethren, God's called us into a personal relationship with Him. He's laid out before us many wonderful promises. He's promised us, if we are faithful to endure, that we'll be members of His family forever. God has the will and the power to bring that to pass. Hopefully, the knowledge of that truth is an encouragement to us each and every day as we walk through this life, as we face the struggles and the challenges. There will be challenges that we face, but this Christian life we've been called to live is a very positive thing. We must embrace it. We must make it who and what we are. The alternative of not living this life is walking according now to the penalty of sin leading unto death.

But God, by His love and mercy, has delivered us from that. We've been delivered now to grace leading unto life. If we've submitted to this relationship, brethren, our life has taken a very positive turn for the good, and our mindset should reflect that. So as we live this day-to-day life, let's maintain a positive outlook, a positive expectation because of those things.

Looking to God is the one who has ultimate control of what He is accomplishing in our life. But again, we are willing participants, and our mental focus has a lot to do with our physical response. Our physical response has a lot to do with our mental focus, and all of it ultimately has a lot to do with how we respond to spiritual calling from God. So, brethren, maintain a positive outlook and expectation. It will serve you well in this life as well as in the age to come.