Sermon Central
-
Keep Your Mind On God Series
Contributed by Thomas Wilke on May 1, 2021 (message contributor)
Summary: Learning to think about God and what He says to think about.
With the right thoughts… You can live in Peace instead of Fear and Worry!
With the right thoughts… You can have Joy and not Depression and Despair!
With the right thoughts… You will make right choices and be an overcomer!
But… If you think the wrong thoughts… You will stay confused, depressed defeated, bitter and in bondage!
A life of Power and Victory… - Doesn’t depend on what happens TO you or what others DO TO you!
But… whether OR not - you “keep your thoughts on God”!
Having Godly thoughts… Will set your life free and move your life toward your destiny!
So… If you want confidence and stability in your life - Keep your thoughts on GOD!
Choose to think on the things God says to think on… That is the direction your life will go!
Let’s Watch this Video about a Prisoner… - to illustrate what happens if we don’t change our thinking…
VIDEO CLIP: “The Prisoner”
God has given us the freedom - What we put in our mind and where we put our mind!
The Freedom to choose our thoughts…
Some thoughts will keep you a Prisoner and… some thoughts will set you free!
The Word of God says… that our Mind… Our thoughts… and Our Thinking are constantly influenced by external forces (spiritual & natural)!
Matt Mark & Luke tell us…. that Satan tempted Jesus 3 times to think a certain way
The Gospel says… that Satan ENTERED the heart of Judas - to betray Jesus
JESUS told Peter in Matthew 16:23 (TPT) Get out of my way, you Satan! You are a hindrance to me, because your thoughts are only filled with man’s viewpoints and not with the ways of God.”
In 2 Corinthians 4:4 (NLT) Paul writes:
Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe.
They are unable to see (Comprehend or Understand) the glorious light of the Good News.
They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
What sets us free from the “prison of corruption” in this world & the “sin nature” inside us that tells us to do destructive things is Choosing…
- To believe that God’s Word is Truth and then…. Keep our Mind on what it says!
- Keeping our thoughts on God and on His Word… Will Change the decisions we make and the way we feel about things!
The Writers of Scripture…. tell us, “we should and can think Godly Thoughts”!
In Psalm 19:14 (GW) the Psalmist David writes,
"May the words from my mouth (what’s really in my heart and mind) and the thoughts from my heart (what I’m thinking about)… be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my defender.
David is praying… that what he says out of his mouth - and what he thinks about would be in alignment with God’s thinking and God’s desires
In Philippians 2:5 (NKJV) Paul says…
Let this MIND be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…
Let this thinking… these kind of thoughts… this mindset… This attitude
Q: Was Jesus stressed out? Depressed? Defeated? — Was He Confused?
Q: Was Jesus Impatient? Was He Vengeful, or Hateful towards people?
Q: Was Jesus Offended and plagued by Bitterness and Unforgiveness?
• If we want to receive what the Bible promises us… then we have to think like Jesus!
— It starts by having HIS Mindset…. HIS way of thinking…. HIS ATTITUDE!
Q: And how do we get that attitude… and how do we begin to think more like Him?
Paul tells us here in this Verse…. LET this MIND be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…
WE choose… what our thoughts will be…. What Our Mind will focus on!
Is it the fear and worry of something not going right? Jesus said, “think on this”! The birds of the air.
WE choose… what thoughts will be allowed to roll around in our mind!
Is it a hurt or a disappointment or a crisis?
WE choose… what we pay attention to… what our mind attends too!
Is it a sinful, destructive pleasure or an addiction to something ungodly?
Thoughts can just stay in our mind - - unless we CHOOSE to cast them out!
Paul says, “YOU CHOOSE this…” - YOU are the Guardian of the Galaxy of your Mind!
— You are the Protector of this Repository… this Collection of thoughts and ideas -
— There is either Gold in there… or is there Garbage in there!
— Your mind is either a Gold Mine or a Garbage Dump!
Jesus told us… what is GOLD and what is GARBAGE? HE SAID, “My Words are Spirit and they are Life”
So YOU must ask yourself…
Q: Are you choosing to let the culture and the deception of the world’s philosophy… determine what you think about and… and what direction your life will go?
