As You Think, So Shall You Be

This message was delivered by Sheila Schuller Coleman from the pulpit of the Crystal Cathedral. It was aired during the Hour of Power program on Hong Kong's ATV World Channel on 29 January 2012.

We’re starting a new series today. It’s titled, “Be a New Attitude.” Because I’m a teacher, I know that we're more likely to remember this series title if it's put to music. So, I’ve asked the Worship Team to give us a theme song for this series of messages.

(WORSHIP TEAM SINGS: I’m feeling good from my head to my shoes. Know where I’m going and I know what to do. I tidied up my point of view. I got a new attitude. I’m feeling good from my head to my shoes. Know where I’m going and I know what to do. I tidied up my point of view. I got a new attitude. I got a new attitude. I got a new attitude. Oh, oh, oh, oh, I got a new attitude!)
Who needs a new attitude? Don’t you? Don’t I? We do and we need it every day. We need a new attitude because as you think, so shall you be. We know from cognitive psychology that thoughts lead to feelings, which lead to behavior. We know that if we think a positive thought, we’re going to have positive feelings. And we’re going to have positive behavior. And conversely, if you have a negative thought, that’s going to lead to negative feelings, which can lead to negative behavior.

That’s why I love the title of this message series. Most of us know the popular lyrics, “I’ve got a new attitude.” This series is entitled is “Be a New Attitude,” because whatever your attitude is, it is how you will be. It determines who you will be. It determines your life, your attitude. Each of the messages in this series is inspired by the beatitudes of Jesus Christ because His attitudes are positive. His attitudes will give us the thoughts that will give us the positive feelings that will lead to the positive, abundant life that He wants for you and He wants for me.
I’m going to give you a few examples of how this works. It’s a tale of two students. All of us teachers have had students like these two.

One student thinks these kinds of thoughts: “I’m stupid.” “I’m not going to succeed.” Those negative thoughts then lead the student to feel afraid, fear failure, feel inadequate, feel stupid. Those feelings led to thoughts like: “I don’t think I want to go to class today.” “Why bother doing my homework? I’m not going to succeed anyway.” “Why even spend any more money or time in school? I’ll just drop out.” We call that a self-fulfilling prophecy in education and psychology.

Then, there’s the tale of the other student. The other student thought this way: “I can do this.” “I can succeed.” Those positive thoughts led to this positive feeling: “I feel good about this.” “I feel wonderful.” Which led to the behavior: “I’m going to go to class.” “I’m not going to miss a single class.” “I’m not going to miss a single assignment.” “I’m going to make sure I’m there every time.” “Oh my goodness, I didn’t do as well on that test as I should have, but that’s okay because I can do this.” “I can be successful.” The student continues to feel it, continues to believe it. “I’ll just go get help.” “I’m not going to quit.”

Which of those two students do you think is going to have a more blessed life? Student number one or student number two? Student number two? Yes. It all begins with our thoughts. What we think. Don’t discount how important your thoughts are.

Then there’s the tale of two wives.

One wife looked in the mirror one morning and said, “I’m not as pretty as I used to be.” That thought led to these feelings: “I’m afraid my husband might find somebody younger and prettier.” “He might not want to spend time with me anymore.” Those feelings lead to this behavior: “I don’t think I’ll pick up the phone and call my husband today.” “I don’t think I’ll spend time with him today.” “I think I’ll just withdraw and isolate from my husband today.” And that behavior becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy of those negative thoughts.

The other wife gets up, looks in the mirror, and says, “Oh, I’m not looking as pretty as used to, but thankfully my husband loves me anyway.” That thought leads to feeling loved and feeling secure, which leads to the positive behavior of reaching out to her husband and doing something wonderful for Him. Maybe baking him a pie. Maybe surprising him at work and taking him out to lunch. Or writing him a note saying, “Honey, I love you. Thank you for loving me.”

Which of those two marriages do you think is likely to be a blessed marriage? And it begins with a thought, with how those people think. As you think, so shall you be.

Then there’s a tale of two brothers. Both boys were born in the same home and had a dad who died from alcoholism.

One brother woke up and thought, “My dad’s an alcoholic, and so I shall be an alcoholic.” That thought led to the feelings of resignation. He had resigned to a life like his father’s. He gave up on life and said, “Why even bother? I’m going to be an alcoholic, just like Dad.” This led to the behavior of becoming a hopeless alcoholic.

The other brother - same dad, same home - had a different thought. He thought, “My dad’s an alcoholic. I won’t be like my dad. I can choose to be my own man.” That was his thought, which led to his commitment to doing something different in his life.

Those thoughts led to two different, opposite lives. Nevertheless, each began with a thought. And you can choose. That’s the good news; you can choose who you will be. You can choose what kind of life you will have. You can choose it because you can choose to have positive thoughts with the help of God.

It says it right there in the Bible, in 2 Corinthians 10:5, “Take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.” That means that, when you have a negative thought, you train yourself to say, “Wait a minute, that’s a negative thought. Okay Lord, I’m going to take that thought and I’m going to make it obedient to You.” It also says in Philippians 4:8, “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there’s anything excellent, anything worthy of praise,” in other words, if it’s positive, “think about these things.”

I love science because it repeatedly affirms God’s Word. The science of cognitive psychology affirms what Jesus taught in the Beatitudes - that if you have these positive attitudes, you will be blessed. And “blessed” doesn’t necessarily mean “happiness,” because happiness depends on what happens to us. In the Beatitudes, “blessed” means “a state of wellbeing.” Jesus is talking about joy and a peace that is not dependent on whatever happens around you.

So what kind of wellbeing do you want? Do you want your life to be free of fear? Free of depression? Free of anxiety or worry? Then, let us learn the lessons of the Beatitudes.
Our new attitude number one is this: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

I love these beatitudes because they’re so counterintuitive. They’re so paradoxical. They’re so contradictory. They’re completely opposite of what you expect them to be. Poor in spirit? You’ll be blessed if you’re poor in spirit? And if you’re poor in spirit, you’ll have a kingdom of heaven? Those are polar opposites. Being poor in spirit is the key to having the kingdom of heaven in your life. So, do you want the kingdom of heaven in your life? Believe me, you do. The key to the kingdom is to be poor in spirit.

I love the story of a dad who was quite wealthy. Yet, he was concerned about his son’s future - how he would handle life when he had only known wealth and abundance. So, the dad took his son and the entire family out into the country to see how the poor people lived. When they came back, the dad said, “So, son, how was the trip?”

The son replied, “Very good, Dad.”

“Did you see how poor people live?”

“Yes, and this is what I learned. I see we have one dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our backyard, and they have a creek that goes on forever and ever, as far as the eye can see. In our backyard at night, we have lamps and they have a galaxy of stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard, but they have a whole horizon. Dad, thanks for taking me out to the country to show me how poor we are.”

That’s what poor in spirit is! Poor in spirit is recognizing how poor we are. And that’s a good thing because, as we realize that we are spiritually bankrupt, it’s only then that we reach up to God for help. “God, help me. God, rescue me. God, deliver me.” And that’s when we discover the kingdom of heaven. God doesn’t want us to miss the true treasure. It’s very easy for us to think that our happiness is based on our “if only’s.” If only my debt could be erased. If only I could find the love of my life. If only we could have a child. If only we could afford our dream home. If only I could find a job. All those “if only’s” tend to be about the here and now - they’re materialistic…they’re acquisitions. “If only I could be a success.”

Even self-actualization is here and now. It’s temporary and it’s counterfeit wealth. I want you to hear that. It’s counterfeit wealth. I don’t want you to come to the end of your life and find that all you’ve put in your bank is monopoly money. That you missed out on the true treasure of life that God wants you to have. A true treasure. “A treasure that moth and rust cannot destroy, that thieves cannot break in and steal. Lay up for yourself treasures in heaven.”

I’m not saying that it’s okay to just live poor and not try to get a job or have a home or any of that. No. But how important is that? It’s temporary.

Don’t miss out. That’s all I’m saying. Don’t miss out on the true treasure. The true treasure is found when you become poor in spirit. When you become poor in spirit, you give your life away. You stop living for you.

Some days, I confess, I get in the car of my life - I’m sitting behind the wheel and God’s sitting in the passenger seat, or sometimes in the backseat, or sometimes I forget to put Him in the car altogether. And I say, “Okay, God, here’s where we’re going today.”

And God will do that. He’ll let you drive. God will sit there in the passenger seat and think to Himself, “Okay, let’s see where she’s going to go. Let’s see how lost she’s going to get. Let’s see how many blessings she’s going to miss out on.” He’ll sit there patiently and wait until you wise up. Until you say…

“Oh, wait a minute, I’m lost. Now what do I do? God, You drive the car and I’ll sit in the passenger seat.”

That’s being poor in spirit. It’s that simple. That’s what Jesus is trying to say in this Beatitude. Being poor in spirit is saying, “Okay, God, I know I’m going to get lost. I know I’m going to mess this up. I know I’m going to miss out on the blessings unless You drive the car today. So I give You permission to drive the car, because then I’m going to understand and see and realize the blessed life You want me to live.”

People have been talking about a lot the legacy of my father these days. And I continue to ask you to keep praying for him during these difficult days. Many people talk about Dad’s legacy in terms of buildings, in terms of property. They talk about his legacy in terms of his writings. And all of that is true. No daughter could be more proud of her father than I am of mine. And Dad’s legacy is very, very important to me.

I’ve also had people say to me, “Sheila, you at Crystal Cathedral must have done something really wrong over there to have ended up in chapter 11. You all must have really, really messed up.”
I’ve responded, “Yes, we are human. We’ve made some mistakes. Yes, we have. But it doesn’t matter whether we preserve this campus and these buildings or not because this is not the legacy. This is not the treasure that Dad built up on earth. Dad built a treasure, a legacy that no moth, no rust can destroy. It is an eternal, everlasting legacy because it’s not a piece of glass or steel. There are millions of souls that are or will be in heaven for all eternity because of the legacy of Dr. Robert H. Schuller.

I’d like to ask my husband to come up now at this time, because I could tell you his story, but I can’t tell it like he can. And his is one story of millions about the lives that are changed and saved through this ministry. His story exemplifies what “blessed are the poor in spirit” means because it was when Jim became poor in spirit that he discovered the kingdom of heaven. My husband, Jim Coleman. Please welcome him.

JC: Well, I was born and raised in Riverside California. I had a perfectly normal life there. However, in my middle school and high school years, I suffered from a low self-esteem. I didn’t know it at the time, didn’t know what it was named, but one evening in my late teens, some friends and I went over to another friend’s house, and I just wanted to be accepted. I wanted to be considered cool, like most people do at that age. We drank a whole lot of beer that night, more than we should have. Then the next morning, when we were all sitting around recounting - really manly - all the things we had done the night before, the leader of the pack there said, “Coleman, you were really cool last night.” Well, that went right in my brain. I heard that really clear. My antennae went up. So, guess what I wanted to do the next night, and the next night, and the next night? We just kept drinking like crazy for about six or seven years.

One morning, about six years after that, I woke up in my apartment; I had managed to get back to my apartment alive and safe, somehow, again. We partied constantly. Everybody would say, “Oh, those boys are young. That’s what all young guys do.” But I looked at the ceiling that morning, and I wasn’t sure where the line was between party drinking and alcoholism, and whether I was becoming an alcoholic or whether I was already an alcoholic. All I knew was that I wanted to keep doing it. So, I quickly dismissed that concern and went on with my life.

During this time, I had ended up here at this church, working professionally as your graphic designer. When I was hired by Dr. Schuller, he took a lot of flak when some members called him and said, "You have no business hiring this crazy party guy. What are you doing?”

Dr. Schuller said, “Well, if Jim Coleman’s a party guy, then our church is the perfect place for him because our church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.” That’s what he told these people. And all of you folks who are members of this church then, I thank you for your prayers because you all told me you were praying for me even though I didn’t think I needed it at the time.
Around that time, all my friends and I got on a charter bus to Las Vegas, stopping at the liquor store right here on the corner across from the church before we left. We loaded up on booze and went to Las Vegas for the weekend. We partied all weekend, drinking very heavy. Returning home, I went in the little restroom in the back of the bus, and as I was finishing up, washing my hands, I looked in this little, crummy, dirty, stainless steel mirror. I took off my glasses, splashed water on my face, and I looked at myself. I had hair down to my shoulders, and my eyes were all bloodshot from drinking all this cheap wine. It was ten o’clock in the morning, and I was three sheets to the wind already. Nevertheless, these words came out of my mouth: “Jesus, will You help me? I can’t do this alone anymore.” I couldn’t believe what I said. I actually spoke Jesus’ name out loud. I hadn’t used it as an expletive in a sentence. First time I’d ever spoken to Jesus Christ and named Him by name. I walked out of that little restroom, and I knew my life was never going to be the same again. So, that’s my testimony.

SSC: This is the synthesis of this beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God.” That prayer that Jim prayed was a poor-in-spirit prayer. And as a result, he inherited the kingdom of heaven. And his life has never been the same. We have four wonderful sons. God is so real in his life. And so I would like for Jim to say that prayer, pray it one more time, the same prayer he prayed that day on the bus. And all of us, today, we can become poor in spirit. We can inherit the kingdom of heaven as we pray this prayer along with Jim. Will you lead us, Jim?

JC: Sure. Jesus, will You help me?

SSC/congregation: Jesus, will You help me?

JC: I can’t do this alone…

SSC/congregation: I can’t do this alone…

JC: ...anymore.

SSC/congregation: …anymore.

JC: Amen.

SSC/congregation: Amen.