The Positivity in the Bible

Many years ago there was a comic strip called "Peanuts." If you have gray hair, I'm sure you've read it. Frequently in this comic strip there was a character named Pigpen — a little boy who was always pictured as being dirty, always with a dark cloud over his head. He was the epitome of negativity; everywhere, at all times, everything was bad and wrong. And then in 2004, the comedic television show "Saturday Night Live" introduced a character named Debbie Downer. The actress who played Debbie Downer played someone with a habit of interjecting morbid or pessimistic comments into otherwise lighthearted conversations.

I presume all of us have encountered characters like Pigpen or Debbie Downer — when everything in life is going along fine, and then such a person, loaded with negativity, comes into the room, and all of a sudden the mood darkens into even morbid thoughts. We can all be affected by such negativity, and if we're not careful, we can bring that attitude into the church with us. This can especially creep in when we're receiving warnings about end-time prophecy.

Let's take a look at 2 Timothy 3:1–5. These are not exactly the most upbeat verses, and I want us to bear in mind that this was written nearly two thousand years ago, from the apostle Paul to his protégé Timothy. He wrote: "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!"

Well, that pretty well hits a nice long list of all the bad, wrong things — sinful behavior that has negative consequences. And the point here was that such behavior will intensify as the return of Jesus Christ to earth gets closer and closer at the end of the age. But as a practical matter, these same sins have plagued mankind for thousands of years, and every generation has experienced such behavior.

We can continue on to 2 Peter 3:3, which sort of emphasizes what we read in 2 Timothy 3. Second Peter 3:3: "Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts." That's not exactly praiseworthy commentary about people who are not doing what they should do.

And then, of course, if we turn to Matthew 24 — I'm not going to read it all, verses 3 through 14 — I'll read verse 3: "He" — meaning Jesus — "sat on the Mount of Olives, and the disciples came to Him privately, saying, 'Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?'" And then we go through and read these other verses, and it warns us about deception, wars and rumors of wars, nation against nation, famines, pestilence, earthquakes, and then a great tribulation will come, and being hated for His sake. Verse 14: "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."

And while all these warnings are critical, we must be careful not to get caught up in the distress that such warnings bring. Instead, we must search out God's word, the Scriptures, to discover the positivity that is in the Bible. So the title of today's message is "The Positivity in the Bible."

Now if we turn to Mark 1:14, we read of when Jesus begins His ministry in the Sea of Galilee area. Mark 1:14: "After John was put in prison" — this is Jesus' cousin — "Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God." Now, the word "gospel" actually means, literally, "good news."

If we flip over to Luke 4:43 — and this was a time when it's recorded that Jesus had healed Simon Peter's mother-in-law of a fever, and boom, it was gone, and she got up and served them — Luke 4:43: "And He" — meaning Jesus — "said to them, 'I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.'" So that wraps it up as far as the focus and purpose for which Jesus Christ was sent. He was sent to preach what? Bad news? Negativity? No — it says the good news, which is the gospel of the kingdom of God.

Now, staying in the book of Luke, let's turn to chapter 8 and verse 1: "Now it came to pass, afterward, that He" — meaning Jesus — "went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve" — meaning the twelve disciples — "were with Him." Here it's called not just good news, but glad tidings. That sounds pretty uplifting to me — because if we were surrounded by a world like the one we read about in 2 Timothy 3 and other verses, we'd want to hear some good news too. And that's the type of good news Jesus Christ was spreading.

Now, positivity is an attitude that can transform our lives, and that happens when we place our faith and trust in God. The Bible gives us repeated reminders to maintain a positive outlook and a positive relationship with God as we advance toward God's family and the kingdom of God. So we want to go through a few verses today to remind us of God's promises, His love and strength, and to inspire us to live with a positive and grateful heart. If our hearts lose gratitude, it doesn't take much — we can turn into a Debbie Downer or a Pigpen character.

Let's look at Philippians 4:8, where we can see where our focus should be. Philippians 4:8: "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 and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things." In other words, internally focus on the good. As believers, we should focus on the positive, the virtuous things, filling our minds with truth, justice, purity, and so forth.

Then let's turn to Romans 12:12, where we read: "Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer." What stands out for us is "patient in tribulation." Anybody here never have any tribulation? Nothing ever went wrong? I suspect that we've all been through some kind of tribulation. It says, "Be patient in tribulation." Part of being patient in tribulation is having hope. Hope of what? Hope for a better tomorrow — a positive outcome, to join the kingdom of God and the family of God. And then it says, "continuing steadfastly in prayer."

So we have those three things. How do we maintain that close relationship with God? Steadfastly in prayer. And that will help us maintain the joy and the hope. Now, what happens if you have a best friend, but you don't talk for a day, a week, a month, a year, a decade? What happens to the relationship? It fades. So we are reminded to stay close to God by being steadfast in prayer, and that will help us keep a positive and resilient attitude.

Let's turn to Psalm 118:24: "This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." There are some days we don't think that, do we? Some days we think, "Oh man, look what I'm facing today." But every day is a new opportunity. When we get up and go about our daily business, we're encouraged by this verse to recognize the day as a gift from God — one we can choose to approach however we wish. We can choose to rejoice and be glad, regardless of the circumstances, because we're looking for the positive part.

Now, for many years my high school students would often ask me, in a rather upbeat way, "How are you doing today, Mr. Martens?" And my standard response was, "Every day is a good day, and some days are even better." And they would look shocked. "What? Every day's a good day?" Like it had never occurred to them. I didn't exactly expect to quote the Bible to them, but that was the secular version I could come up with. So if we approach every day as a chance to improve on the day before, that's a mindset of positivity.

Let's turn to Proverbs 17:22. Some people are so upbeat and uplifting that whenever they walk into the room, the room seems to brighten up in anticipation. Proverbs 17:22: "A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones." Some people just have that merry heart with them, a joyful heart, and it has a kind of healing feeling to it. This verse highlights the healing power of a joyful heart, and contrasts it with the detrimental effects of a broken spirit.

I know there are comedians who play on this. I've seen a few routines where they go, "Woe is me, everything is bad, everything is wrong" — and then they flip the script, and everybody roars with laughter, because they can all relate to life being hard. Humor is sudden condescension to the unexpected; they don't always expect a joyful outcome. But if we look into it and bring about, on a daily basis, a merry heart — it's good, as the verse says in Proverbs 17:22, like medicine.

Let's turn to 1 Thessalonians 5:16: "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." Now, when it says "rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks" — does that mean we spend sixty minutes an hour, twenty-four hours a day praying? Or is it really about regular prayer, and never closing it off? And "rejoice always" — finding reasons to rejoice.

And when it says "in everything give thanks" — well, there are some people, and you've probably run across them, who aren't thankful for anything. Are those not the most unhappy people we've ever seen? But if we give thanks for the little things that people automatically take for granted — whether things, activities, or relationships — being grateful for the little things will help us stay positive. And it says "rejoice always," which gives us a reason to rejoice. Our lives are uplifted simply by being grateful for what we have, instead of bemoaning what we don't have.

Let's jump to Psalm 16:11: "You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." If we stay close to God, and we're in God's presence, our opportunities to be joyful are much more apparent in our lives. And when it says "pleasures forevermore," you might say eternal pleasures. What do we have to look forward to? Sharing in the family of God, so we can be uplifted. It is a delight to share God's Sabbath day with other believers, and we can use our fellowship with each other to lift each other up, to experience joy, and to look forward to God's promises.

We can turn to Isaiah 41:10 — God's presence can help dispel fear. Isaiah 41:10: "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." This verse assures us that God's presence can support us, eliminate fear, and encourage a positive and confident outlook, because we know who's on our side. As long as we are on God's side, He will be by our side.

Now, when I was a kid, our family didn't have television. But once in a while we visited grandpa and grandma, and they had a television, which was pretty exciting. There were westerns, and the main characters, the good guys, would from time to time be in a terrible predicament, being attacked by the bad guys. And then suddenly the music on the TV would change — upbeat music, instead of the dire, horrible predicament. You'd hear that upbeat music, and you would see the U.S. Cavalry coming over the hill to rescue the good guys from the attack. Well, we've got a God who is a rescuer — but we have to do our part to be worthy of the rescue.

Then let's flip to Nehemiah 8:10, where we read: "Then he said to them, 'Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.'" That's quite something — the joy of the LORD is our strength. The verse highlights that the joy found in our relationship with God will encourage us, and will help us celebrate and share that with others. And share what? Fellowship. We like to break bread together, share our concerns, share our joys — we even share our sorrows, because we can lift each other up. Now, by reason of birth, we happen to live in the most productive and plenteous nation ever in world history. So let's enjoy what we have, rather than what we don't have. And the most important thing we have is the knowledge of God and His plan for our lives.

Then let's turn to Philippians 4, on our search for positivity in the Bible. Philippians 4:4, a short verse: "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!" This sounds repetitious — we read about this before, about rejoicing, bringing joy, outwardly expressing joy in our lives — and it's repeated: "Again I will say, rejoice!" The verse calls for us to continually rejoice, emphasizing the importance of maintaining that upbeat, positive, joyful spirit. And if we're rejoicing for our many blessings, our hearts and attitudes will be uplifted, and we can then be part of the reason to help inspire other people.

In Psalm 37:4: "Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." I kind of like the sound of that — the desires of your heart. But it also says, "Delight yourself in the LORD." So the verse encourages us to find joy and delight, promising that the desires of our hearts will be filled, and that will foster positivity and hope. Of course, the desires of our heart must be in accordance with God's laws, and be actually beneficial to us. If the desire of our heart is to eat Twinkies until we burst, it might not be the best thing for us. So when we say this, the desires of our heart should be beneficial for us.

In John 16:33: "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." "Be of good cheer" — that's one thing, to just have somebody say, "Be of good cheer." But we are assured here in Scripture that we will in fact face troubles in the world, and this is not news to any of us. But there will come a time when we will have peace, and that comes in the coming kingdom of God. We won't have continuous conflict. We will be able to luxuriate in the joy of peacefulness, instead of the tribulation of sorrows.

So when we read "that in Me you may have peace" — how wonderful it would be to have peace. Think of how calm and relaxing it is when you don't have the anxieties: "Oh, did I forget to lock my car, or my house? Oh, did I forget this?" Those anxieties will be resolved, because people will be at peace in the kingdom of God.

We can continue with this theme in Colossians 3:15: "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful." So it says, "Let God's peace rule in our hearts" — meaning the peace has to come from within if we want to have a peaceful life. And believing that God is a deliverer of peace, we must cultivate gratitude and promote a positive and harmonious life with others. If we have peace within ourselves, in our own heart, we can provide a peaceful example for others. And as the verse says, thankfulness is a critical component of peace.

Now we can jump over to Joshua 1:9. I want to give us a little context, because Joshua was giving instructions to his men before they went into the Promised Land. They had just been wandering for forty years in the wilderness, because their predecessors said it was just too scary — giants in the land, we're just grasshoppers, can't do it. And now that generation has passed away. So what does Joshua say in Joshua 1:9? "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

I suppose these young people who were now going in to conquer the Promised Land had likely heard stories from their parents and grandparents about how scary it was. But Joshua was saying that the strength and courage come from God's presence — and God is with us. So we should take the same instructions for our lives: to be strong and courageous, even in difficult times, remembering that God's presence can eliminate fear and dismay. And let's look back at those instructions to Joshua, because the Promised Land was simply a symbol of being prepared to enter the God family in the kingdom of God.

Then we can look at Romans 15:13: "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Here it's telling us how valuable hope is. You want to know how miserable life can be? It's when you have no hope. You don't see a future. You can't see beyond the hand in front of your face, as it were.

I wrote in my notes when I was preparing this: You ever pour a cup or a glass full of a beverage, and you got a little bit too much in it and it overflowed? Well, you know the cup or glass is full now, right? But what if you poured from the pitcher and nothing came out? Not a lot of hope for a good beverage that day. But we have the abundance of hope available to us through the words of the Bible — that God can fill us with joy and peace, that we might have that hope. But there's a condition: it says, "by the power of the Holy Spirit." How do you renew that? On a daily basis, by staying close to God.

We can turn to 2 Corinthians 4:16–18 — all of this supporting our theme of positivity in the Bible. Second Corinthians 4, starting in verse 16: "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

So where's our focus? On the things that are temporary, or on the things that are eternal? We're encouraged by this passage in 2 Corinthians 4 to focus on the eternal glory that we have great hope for, which will outweigh our temporary afflictions. And we can do this by renewing our relationship with God each day.

In 1 Peter 5:7, on our journey to find positivity in the Bible, we again read: "Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." This verse invites us to cast our anxieties on God, knowing He cares for us, and fosters a positive, worry-free attitude. Now, this is very difficult for many people. They're flooded by troubles, and it can be so difficult that they lose their understanding or realization that endurance is critical to joining the family in the kingdom of God. And it's not that God begrudgingly allows us into His family — He wants us in His family. Therefore God takes an interest in each and every one of us. So when we read the verse, "Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you," it's kind of nice to know somebody's in your corner, that you have somebody to rely on.

In Zephaniah 3:17 — I don't commonly quote Zephaniah — but Zephaniah 3:17: "The LORD your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Ever rejoice by singing? Maybe you're driving down the road in the car, and you're feeling good, and you start humming a song you remember that's uplifting; or you pop on the radio and you're bopping along to the music. This is what it's like when we read, "He will rejoice over you with gladness." So it's fun to rejoice, and we're encouraged to respond with positivity and trust in God's love. There are those of us who rejoice when our children do well — we celebrate with them, we're happy for them. God the Father is the same way with us. He rejoices when we do well.

Now let's turn to Proverbs 3:5–6, on our journey for positivity in the Bible: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." Sometimes we get our priorities mixed up. First we trust in ourselves; then, well, that doesn't work out, so we look to our backup plan. And then it occurs to us that we'd better seek guidance from God. How different life would be if we trusted God first to guide our lives. That verse advises us to trust wholeheartedly in the Lord, to acknowledge Him in all our ways. And then He will do what? Direct our paths. Better than GPS, better than a map book — and more sure.

Then we can turn to Hebrews 12:2, where we read: "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Notice the word "endured." Jesus endured the cross because He knew His future. And by enduring, He inspired us to follow that example — to remain positive even though we face challenges. None of us are facing the challenge of having our bodies nailed up to a cross, our side being stabbed with a spear, being fed vinegar, and all the misery that goes with it. But He endured that, despising the shame, because He knew the hope that was within Him, and He knew what was coming in the future.

The last example I have is in Ephesians 3:20, where we read: "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." Wow — exceedingly, abundantly? That's a lot, to be able to do that. But you see, God exceeds our expectations. The verse reminds us that God is capable of doing far more than we ask, far more than we imagine, and it encourages a positive and hopeful perspective on life.

So these verses collectively emphasize the importance of maintaining a positive attitude through faith, trust in God, and reliance on His promises. They inspire believers to focus on the good, to remain joyful, and to draw strength from God's presence and love. We can focus on the troubles of this age — as we started out and read earlier, we can be the gloom-and-doom prophets of fear and anxiety — or, in the alternative, we can be well aware of biblical end-time prophecies, and still embrace the positivity in the Bible.

In Acts 2:17, our last verse: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams." In other words, it isn't all dark side. There will come a time, here in these last days, when God will pour out His Spirit, available then to everyone. They've got to do their part.

And while at times our lives may have significant challenges, and while the world around us may be populated with Pigpen characters and Debbie Downers, we can look to the great hope that was preached by Jesus the Christ — the good news of the coming of the kingdom of God. So let us all embrace the positivity of the Bible.