C H A P T E R 1 6 THE BE-ATTITUDES OF SERVITUDE And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. (Matthew 5:1-12) 207
INTO THE DEPTHS Your Attitude Reveals Your Consciousness PRINCIPLE #1 If your attitude reflects a God-consciousness, you can soar like an eagle. Your attitude reveals your consciousness and determines your success as a servant. Your attitude also shapes your aptitude and your altitude. Your attitude can take you as high as you want to go. If your attitude reflects a God-consciousness, you can soar like an eagle. There is no limit to how high we can go and what we can achieve on this prophetic journey. The Bible says, As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. (Proverbs 23:7) Whatever you think, you will eventually become, because thoughts are things. Your thoughts will eventually manifest in your experience. If you think righteousness, then you will walk in the power of Jesus righteousness. If you think success, you will walk in the power of success. If you think poverty, then you will walk in poverty and lack. If you think wealth and prosperity, you will walk in prosperity. You determine how far you can go in life. Only you can make that decision. You decide how high you want to reach. No one can determine that for you. It is a matter of choice. You choose your altitude as well as your aptitude. Therefore, do not allow sin to interrupt the process of becoming. Sin affects your ability to see clearly because you only focus on the negative. Sin results in negative thinking, which in turn results in negative experiences. Do not allow sin to flood your life with negativity and interrupt your process of becoming who God has ordained you to be. Negative thoughts breed negativity. The scripture says, Whatsoever seed a man sows, that shall he also reap. (Galatians 6:7) Sow a thought and you will reap an act; sow an act and you will reap a habit; sow a habit and you will reap 208
The Be-Attitudes of Servitude a corrector; and if you sow a corrector, you will reap a certain destiny. Seeds are very important. You must sow your seed into good ground so that you can reap a good harvest in your life. The God Principle PRINCIPLE #2 Be God in thought, as well as action. I am god in principle. Therefore, I can be like God in my thoughts and in my actions. The Bible declares that we are one with God. John 1 says, In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. Just as the Bible declares that God and His Word are one, we are one with God. Just as God spoke the heavens and the earth into existence by the power of His Word, we have that same power to speak forth and create those things that be not into our lives. The sky is the limit to what we can have. The sky is the limit to what we can create. You just have to invoke the God principle in your life. Genesis through Revelation plainly describes the thoughts and actions of God. We see God moving through each book of the Bible. When you are one with God, you are one with His attitude. The attitude of God is revealed in the beatitudes. You have to make a connection with the attitude of God - the be-attitudes of servitude. The beatitudes describe what our attitude should be in order to operate according to the God principle. The beatitudes reflect dimensions of heavenly thinking. For example, Blessed are the poor in spirit Poor in spirit means humble. If you are humble, you will be blessed. When you bless something, you create an atmosphere of success and prosperity for it to thrive. When you curse something, you create an atmosphere for it to die. When Jesus cursed the fig tree, He proclaimed that the fig tree 209
INTO THE DEPTHS would never produce again. The next morning, the disciples walked by the fig tree and saw that it had dried up. A humble attitude will take you into the prime minister s house; it will take you into the governor s chamber; it will take you into the presence of the Most High God. God wants you to be submissive, obedient and dependent upon the Him. The word be stands by itself. Whatever you add to be will become if you think on it and believe. For example, I will be successful. If I continue to decree and declare that I will be successful, then I will become successful. Be a superstar. Be a model. Be whatever God wants you to be. The more you repeat this affirmation, the more apt you are to start thinking and acting accordingly. That is the God principle. You become the thought and the attitude that you behold. Whatever you want to be, you need to take on the attitude of it. If you want to be successful, you need to take on an attitude of success. Dress for success, so that when people see you all they see is the attitude of success. Attitude will take you to the altitude. Complete happiness is determined by your attitude. The Attitude of Sacrifice PRINCIPLE #3 What you give away, you actually keep. In life, you have to learn to sacrifice. The Bible says we must let our sacrifices go up to God. We must have an attitude of sacrifice. Many people consider sacrifice as a setback. But sacrifice is something that we need to practice. Sacrifice is the act of giving away, and according to the law of return, whatever you give away, you will receive in return. So, even though you may sacrifice something, you will eventually get it back in the end. For example, if you sac- 210
The Be-Attitudes of Servitude rifice your time, God will bless you with more time in return. Just when you think that you have run out of time, God will change time for you. He will allow the hours to extend for you. He will allow the minutes to extend for you because of your sacrifice. What you give away, you actually keep. When you sacrifice your time, God replenishes your life with success and abundance. Romans 12:1-2 says, Beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a what, a living sacrifice. God is looking for living sacrifices. If you sacrifice your service and your time to God, God will in turn bless you bountifully with more service. What you do unto others, God will allow others to do unto you. The Bible says that we cannot be conformed to this world, but we must be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Your mind must be renewed. In order to understand the principle of the attitude of sacrifice, our mind must be renewed. You must take on the mind of Christ, the consciousness of Christ, the very nature of Christ, and you do that through the principles of God s word. The Bible is God s word. God s word declares who we are in Him and who He is in us. You are God s representative on earth. In principle, we are God s people. Inside each and every one of us lies the Spirit of God. You are spirit in a body, living and moving. You are God s servant on earth, and you must serve according to his be-attitudes. Philippians 2:17 says, Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. If you sacrifice, you will experience the joy that has been promised to you by the Father. The Attitude of Excellence PRINCIPLE #4 Be the attitude of excellence. 211
INTO THE DEPTHS Action, attitude and character can be compared to a tree. A tree is made up of three components: the root, the trunk and the leaves/fruits. The root of the tree represents man s attitude; the trunk represents man s character; and the leaves/fruit represent the results of man s actions. God is a God of excellence, and He is looking for an excellent spirit and a spirit of excellence. Everything you do should be done in the spirit of excellence. Imitate God. Let God be seen in everything you do, even the simplest and smallest things. The Bible says that God takes the simple things of this world to confound the wise. (1 Corinthians 1:27) We should exhibit excellence in everything that we do, because you represent God. We must serve God with a spirit of excellence and dignity. Our level of excellence is directly related to our character, our loyalty and our level of submission to God. Loyalty is very important for success in life. Your level of loyalty will determine your place of authority. Loyalty sometimes gives you the ability to see things you otherwise may not have been able to see and know things you would not have otherwise known. Loyalty is something that we all need to establish in our lives. We must be true to ourselves. Our loyalty depends on our attitude towards service. A leader cannot expect others to be loyal to him/her if they have never experienced servanthood. God calls servants and servants become leaders. A right relationship with the right action brings out the right attitude. If you have the right attitude, you will develop the right character. Therefore, we must submit to God and to His Word. Submission is a place of authority. Before you can reach any position in leadership, you must be capable of serving, and you must be willing to submit leadership. The universal principle of submission is found in Exodus 20:3, Thou shall have no other 212
The Be-Attitudes of Servitude Gods before me. Romans 13:1 says, Let every soul be subject unto the high authorities. Ephesians 5:21 says, Submit you yourselves therefore one to another in the fear of God. Colossians 3:22 says, Servants obey in all things your master. The Bible is the living word of God. The word is alive. We must obey the Word of the Lord. The Word says to be doers of the word and not hearers only. (James 1:22) You are commissioned not only to hear the word, but you must put the word into action. There are three universal principles of submission. The first principle of submission is giving. Proverbs 3:9 says to honor the Lord thy God with your substance and the fruit of your increase. The second principle of submission is prayer. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says we must pray without ceasing. The third principle of submission is worship. Psalms 95:6 says that we must worship the Lord. In order to achieve an attitude of excellence, we must first submit to these universal principles. The Attitude of Courage PRINCIPLE #5 Be the attitude of courage. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy ways prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage. (Joshua 1:8-9) The Bible commissions us to be strong and of good courage. (Joshua 1:6) Learn to encourage yourself. One way to encourage yourself is to speak to yourself. You may be going through a hard 213
INTO THE DEPTHS time. You may have lost a loved one. You may be dealing with a problem of which you cannot see your way clear. But in those situations you have to learn to encourage yourself. Every setback is a setup with a comeback. Be encouraged in the midst of your situation because it is only a setup for you to make an even stronger comeback. You come back more encouraged and more powerful. You come back like a spiritual giant. But you must have a courageous attitude. John 14:1-4 says, Let not your heart be troubled. Ye believe in Me, believe in God, also believe in Me. He says in my Father s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. God has a place prepared for us in the here and now. We are in Him. God has us in his bosom. The Attitude of Forgiveness PRINCIPLE #6 Be the attitude of tenacity and forgiveness. Forgiveness is a key to success. You must have a strong desire to forgive. Do not hold grudges and harbor ill feelings, because those feelings will manifest as sickness and disease in your body. Learn to forgive and move on. Meditation on the Word of God will correct your attitude. Your meditation is your medication. When you meditate on the Word of God, it is like fulfilling a prescription. Meditation is medication for your mind. It allows your mind to relax. You do not have to take tranquilizers to relax. Meditation is enough to medicate your mind and your attitude. The scripture says we must rejoice always in the Lord. (Philippians 4:4) We can rejoice in the Lord when we meditate on the Word, because we know we will come out fresher, stronger, and with new power, vitality and revelation of who God is in our lives. 214
The Be-Attitudes of Servitude Attitude Adjustment PRINCIPLE #7 Visualization allows you to memorize, analyze, personalize and harmonize. Fear and insecurity will tarnish your attitude. Therefore, you must be willing to change your attitude. Fear depresses, suppresses and strangles you. Fear will transform a positive, creative, mental attitude into an unproductive and negative attitude. The only way to deal with fear is to speak to it. When you speak to your fear you take authority over your life. You have the mind of Christ in you. Fear is only an illusion. When you tell fear to go, you allow faith to step in, and fear takes a back seat. If you socialize with negative, fearful people, then eventually you will become a negative, fearful person. If you socialize with positive people, then eventually you will become a positive person. Do not invite failure into your life. A selfish attitude invites failure. Let your environment be one of success. Your hope and your joy are in Christ Jesus. All you have to do is go within and resurrect the Christ inside of you. Do not allow failure into your environment. Do not make selfish moves. God is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. If He is the beginning and the end, He has to be the in-between also. So whatever position you are in, know that God is. A winner must develop memory skills because manifestation comes through meditation and visualization. Visualization allows you to memorize, analyze, personalize and harmonize. We meditate to become as God in this earth. Your attitude reveals your consciousness. Our being always precedes doing. Therefore, we must be conscious of our attitude because we are always becoming. You are becoming right now. Your attitude determines your 215
INTO THE DEPTHS success as a servant. God calls his servants to become leaders. A poor attitude results in failure. A good attitude invites prosperity and promotion into our lives. Promotion does not come from man. Our promotion comes from God. Your attitude is not left up to chance, but it is a matter of choice. God made us free, moral agents, and we have the power to choose. We have the ability to make our own choices. Choose to the attitude of creativity and ingenuity. AFFIRMATION I Am that I Am. Because He is, so I am in this world. I am more than a conqueror. I am success. I am everything that God created me to be. 216