Glorious Way Church
Glorious Way Church equips believers for the work of the ministry and stands for God’s truth in our culture. We serve as a regional center, where people from all backgrounds find refreshing worship and true communion of the saints.
Glorious Way Church
Sound Mind (Part 2) | Selena Greiner
This message focuses on cultivating a sound mind as part of a believer’s inheritance through Christ. A sound mind is free from fear and anxiety, is disciplined and self-controlled, and stays focused on God’s truth rather than negative or carnal thoughts. Scripture is emphasized as the key to renewing the mind, guarding the heart, and maintaining peace. The teaching outlines how right thinking leads to right living, while wrong thinking opens the door to defeat. Practical tools like daily reflection, scripture-based journaling, and thought “checklists” help reinforce spiritual growth.
Let's pray, father. We just thank you, lord, for today. This is the day you've made. We'll rejoice and be glad in it. We thank you, father, for your word. We thank you for moments like this that we don't take lightly, that we don't take for granted Sweet moments in the presence of God. We don't take these moments for granted, and so we thank you that our hearts are open to your word, our ears are open to what you have to say to us tonight, father. I thank you as we look into your word the law of liberty. It sets us free. There's freedom whenever we do your word In Jesus' name. Amen, amen.
Speaker 1:So I believe last time I don't remember if it was the last time or the time before I taught on a sound mind, so I'm going to teach on that again. I can't get away from it. I think we could probably do you could teach on having a sound mind for months and still not go through every scripture in the Bible. And so God has a lot to say about what we think about and our thoughts. We all have a brain, we all have thoughts, and so we want to know what God says about our thoughts. I wrote down here in my notes wrong thinking in any area in life will hold you back from every arena in life. Let me say it again Wrong thinking in any arena in life will hold you back from every arena in life. And so and that's true Sometimes we may not think we have wrong thinking, but if you have wrong thinking or something's a little off in a certain area, it trickles over. Right, it trickles over, and so you can't like just section that off. And so part of our inheritance, part of what pastor's been preaching on, yes, healing is ours, but also having a sound mind is ours. Jesus died on the cross so you don't have to live tormented, so you don't have to have tormenting thoughts all the time. And so part of our inheritance is having a sound mind, not a wavering mind, not a mind that's back and forth, but a sound mind.
Speaker 1:And so I have a couple of points. My number one I'm just going to start out A sound mind is free from fear and anxiety. Sound mind is free from fear and anxiety. And, uh, second Timothy one seven and the new King James says for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. And so here Paul was writing to Timothy um, hey you, god hasn't given you a spirit of fear that doesn't come from God. But I'm glad the verse doesn't stop there. He's given you it's a power and of love and of a sound mind, and so he doesn't want us to live a life that's fearful, a life that's in torment, want us to live a life that's fearful, a life that's in torment.
Speaker 1:We shouldn't be even putting up with an ounce of fear. And sometimes it shows up, right. So if you just look at I remember teaching to the teens and I looked up all the phobias there is a phobia for anything and everything, right, arachnophobia. I don't know if there's one for lizards, a lizard phobia. Pastor talking about eating lizards this morning, I'm like no, thank you, I ain't gonna eat no lizard. Okay, maybe if I had to I might if there's some chocolate on it, but no, so there is like a phobia for everything and so, and that comes from the enemy, you know.
Speaker 1:And so you have to make sure that that there's no fear in our lives that, um, that even like growing up, if stuff happened, you know like there can be stuff there and if you don't deal with it, that trickles over into your adult life. And so fear is a spirit and we have complete authority over it. If you said yes to Jesus once upon a time, you have complete authority over fear. You do, you do. You don't have to have panic attacks, you don't have to have anxiety, you don't have to pop pills all the time to be cool and calm and collected right. You just need the word of God. And so a sound mind is free from fear and anxiety. That's number one. Number two is a sound mind is disciplined and self-controlled.
Speaker 1:And so same verse in 2 Timothy 1, 7, but in the Amplified it says it a little different, and I like it. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, of cowardice, or of craving and cringing and fawning fear, but he has given us a spirit of power and of love and of a calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. And so we have a responsibility towards our mind. And so we have a responsibility towards our mind right. And so we have a responsibility to hold it in soundness and make sure that when opposition shows up and it does, it will and it has that you answer it and that every wrong thought, every troubling thought that comes your way will need a response. Right, it's like oh well, I didn't say it.
Speaker 1:No, I'm talking about thoughts, not that I'm talking about words. Yet I'm talking about your thoughts that you are thinking right now, the ones that you thought today and the ones that you will think later on and for the rest of your life. Every thought requires an answer, and there will be troubling thoughts that come your way and you can't just shove them down. You have to answer them with the word of God, and so every wrong thought, every troubling thought, will call for an answer, and so we have to stand our ground when opposition shows up. We have to stand our ground when opposition shows up, and so we have to be disciplined. So a sound mind is disciplined and self-controlled, and disciplined in thought patterns and I can go on about that, but I won't. But just what we're thinking about, what we allow ourselves to think about. We have to make sure that we go back to the word of God.
Speaker 1:Number three a sound mind focuses on God's truth, and so I'm just going to list a couple of scriptures. There are many scriptures you can meditate on, and we have to make sure that, just like I said this morning, the offering. You know the culture around us, the world around us that can come upon us and sometimes we don't even realize it. Where did that thought come from? Why am I doing that? Why am I thinking that way? Why am I thinking they're thinking they're thinking about me? They ain't even thinking about me. Why am I worried about what they're thinking about? That's not even walking in love, right? If you're worried about what somebody else is thinking about you, like every thought, you have to make sure that you answer like where is that coming from? And so a sound mind focuses on God's truth and refocuses and keeps on refocusing on God's truth, goes back to the word, goes back to the word, back to the word right. And so renewing the mind with scripture strengthens your inner man.
Speaker 1:Not just a self-help book, not just willpower. I can do it. No, willpower won't get you there. Because many people they got lots of willpower but they're not living the life that God created them to live and fulfilling the plan of God for their life. They think they have willpower with anxiety, drugs, alcohol. Oh, but I got willpower. No, it's not about willpower. It's about the word of God in your mouth and what you're going to do with the word of God coming out of your mouth and, when those thoughts come, what you're going to do with those thoughts.
Speaker 1:And so sound mind focuses on God's truth. And so a couple of scriptures Isaiah 26, focuses on God's truth. And so a couple of scriptures Isaiah 26, 3,. You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. Our mind can stay on Jesus. It sure can. It sure can. The word says that it can. So I take that word for me. Says that it can, so I take that word for me. And you will keep him in perfect peace whose mind has stayed on you.
Speaker 1:Proverbs 3, 5, and 6 says trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths. And so a sound mind doesn't rely on its limited view carnal this is how it is but on God's wisdom. It's trust in God's wisdom, right, because your view, your carnal view, it's limited by what you can see and what you can feel in your five senses. See what you can feel in your five senses. And so a sound mind doesn't rely on that, doesn't rely on. Hey, the doctor's report is this Okay, but the word of God is this Right.
Speaker 1:And so, first Corinthians 2, 16 says for has known who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him. But we have the mind of Christ, I have the mind of Christ. We flip that scripture, we toss it right. It's like a. We have the mind of Christ. No, you, you really do, you really do and say that over your mind. Ephesians 4, 23 and 24.
Speaker 1:And then NIV says to be made new in the attitude of our minds and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. That's so good to be made minute in the attitude of your minds. And so our sound mind, a sound mind, involves continual transformation by the Spirit. Right, letting go of just old patterns and embracing God's holiness. Like what am I focused on? Like what am I focused on Right? Am I focused on God's truth? Am I being made new in the attitude of my mind? Because your mind can have an attitude, sure, can. It can look ugly, right, you look cute on the outside, but your mind can go to pot, like I'm just saying right, we're going to be real, it's true, it's true. And so here the good news is hey, we've been made new in the attitude of our mind. It's possible, we put on that new self. It's possible, we put on that new self, that new creature. We're a new creature in Christ.
Speaker 1:Old things are passed away. We don't go back to the graveyard and dig up those bones, we leave them there. We don't go back to our old self, our old way of thinking, our old patterns, our old bad habits. We don't go back to that, we leave that at the graveyard. Right, It'd be kind of like if you're in the natural, like if you saw somebody digging up a grave, but literally that's what we're doing when we go back to being like our old self. I thought you said you were a new person. That's the old man. The old man tries to come up, sometimes right, and his way of thinking, her way of thinking jealousy, bitterness, envy, rage, shoulda, woulda, couldas. That's the old way, and so. But there's a new way of thinking to be made, new in the attitude of our minds, and so we put on that new self. We're created to be like God, in true righteousness, and so you have to see yourself that way and trust God's promises.
Speaker 1:And number four a sound mind produces peace. Philippians 4, 6 through 7, and 8 and 9, do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds. In Christ Jesus. That's power packed right there, right. And so a sound mind is peaceful. It's protected by God's presence. A sound mind you have to protect it. You have to protect your sound mind, right.
Speaker 1:And sometimes people come at you with negative like hold on, hold on. I don't want to hear that right now. I don't want to hear it. Or about to go into me, I don't want to hear it Like. You have to set those boundaries. Do you know what boundaries are? Teach that to the teenagers and teach that to the kids. But as adults, we need boundaries. If you don't have them, that's not a good life. You have to have boundaries.
Speaker 1:You can't just allow anybody to say anything and talk, however, to you as they spill out their whatever. I remember in high school I had to move tables because they were just talking a muck and I'm like and I was like my ears aren't trash cans, I'm moving by, see ya, and I moved. Never did I go back and sit with them. So I'm just saying you have to protect your mind, you have to guard your heart and you have to protect your mind. You can't just allow anybody to say anything to you, because if have you ever allowed anybody? They said something and then you just go out like, and then it it's like you're heavy, you have this weight, and it's like man, I'm just no, I'm going to cast that care, like so you can stop that.
Speaker 1:The Bible says to guard. You are the keeper of your heart, not your husband, not your wife, not your kids, not your family, not your boss. You are the keeper of your heart and so you have to make sure that you protect your peace, and so a sound mind produces peace, but it also protects it, and so it's peaceful and protected by God's presence, free from anxiety and rooted in trust. I trust you, god. I trust you, even though I may have squirrely thoughts today. I trust your word. Right, a lot of faith people like. Sometimes you meet people you know word of faith and we don't. I don't want to say you know, I'm not worried about anything. Oh yeah, but really they're dealing with all kinds of stuff and they don't want to say it Like that's just religious, like let's, let's be real, and so a sound mind produces peace. And so if you go on and then like, I call this right here, here the checklist Philippians 4, 8, and 9. So this is the checklist.
Speaker 1:So finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, is that thought true? Check or not check? How do I know it's true? Oh, so-and-so said so, how do you know? How do you trust in so-and-so Like they got your back. So is it true? What sort of things are true? What are things are noble? Is that thought noble? What are things are just? Is that thought just? Whatever things are pure, is that thought pure? Whatever things are lovely, is that thought lovely? Whatever things of a good report, is that thought a good report? If there's any virtue, and if there is any praiseworthy, that's a big one, like, is that thought praiseworthy? Can I praise God about that thought that I'm just thinking about? Maybe it's a bad thought about myself. Can I praise God for that? Am I dissing God? For he fearfully and wonderfully made me and now I'm going to have that bad thought about myself. That's not a God thought, right? And so you got this.
Speaker 1:Here's your checklist, right here. It's written out plain and simple true, noble, just pure, lovely, good, report, virtue, praiseworthy. Those are the things you meditate on, not what the culture is telling you to meditate on. Those right here. That's your checklist. Those are the things you meditate on. And then it goes on to say, in verse nine the things that you have learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. The God of peace will be with you. When you meditate, when you go through the checklist, you're like hey, that thought's coming. Is it true? Is it holy? Is it pure? If it's not, we chunk it, we replace it with the word of God.
Speaker 1:Number five a sound mind is transformed continuously, and so it requires a daily commitment to growing spiritually. It just does. Romans 12, 2 says do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good and pleasing and perfect will. And so, just like I said, we can't conform to the patterns and the customs of this world, but we need to be transformed. And how do we do that? We renew our mind daily in the word of God. We renew our mind and a lot of times we're busy, you know not that you have to have your Bible in front of you, but hey, get that.
Speaker 1:Get something you're you're meditating on, you're you're believing god. For get that scripture and and meditate on it, roll it around. Roll it around because when those thoughts come and they do, bombarding thoughts, torment you'll have the word of God. You won't go back to your old pattern of whatever that may be Alcohol, other sins, other bad habits, whatever. You'll have a sound mind because all you need is Jesus and you will have daily renewed your mind in the word of God. And so the next I wrote this out to feed on the word but never act on it, never make it part of your daily life, will keep you in an unrenewed state, in an unrenewed mind.
Speaker 1:The renewed mind acts on the word of God. Let me say that again. So you keep coming to church, we keep hearing the word, sunday after Sunday, after Sunday after Sunday, and you never act upon the word of God, you will stay in an unrenewed state of mind and you will never have victory. So you have to come into church doesn't give you a renewed mind. So we have to. We can't just feed on the word. Come to church but never act upon the word. Daily commitment Are you sold out to replacing those bombarding thoughts with the word of God? You have to be to live the life that God has called you to and I pray you want to live that life. You have to do this daily.
Speaker 1:Second Corinthians, 10, three and five says, though, we walk in the flesh. We do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God, for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing some thoughts. It says every thought. Call them all out, every thought into captivity, into the obedience of Christ. And so pulling down strongholds pastors talked about this before they're wrong imaginations, thoughts, their wrong imaginations, thoughts, reasonings contrary to the word of God, right, wrong way of thinking. A lot of times we read this and we think of spiritual warfare. And there is spiritual warfare and you get this. You get this like image or I do with demons and angels. No, it's your mind Right. Yeah, there is a spiritual warfare, but there's also one going right here and so pulling down strongholds.
Speaker 1:And so their imaginations, thoughts, reasonings contrary to the word of God, wrong way of thinking, their strongholds, and they must be dealt with, they must be dealt with be dealt with, they must be dealt with. And so pastor mentioned it this morning that the devil thrives on ignorance, not knowing the word but then also ignoring it. We heard it, but we're just going to. That's too difficult to do, I can't do that. Yeah, you can, yes, you can. The greater one lives on the inside of you. You can choose to do that. And so we can't ignore what God has done for us through Jesus and the blood. The blood calls out, the blood cries out, and so ignorance produces wrong thinking and wrong believing, which opens the door to the devil.
Speaker 1:And so right thinking is thinking in line with the word of God, and it will keep the door closed to the enemy. Right, because an action, where did an action come from? It started with a thought. Why did you do that? Because of the way who you think. You are right, it's your thought. It started with a thought, and so if you can knock it right there, it won't lead you to do that. It starts with a thought. But the word of God is the remedy for wrong thinking. That's good news. We have the remedy. It's Jesus, it's the word of God, and so we have to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and so we have to cast it down. So if a thought comes, when a thought comes, don't just let it loose in your life, don't let it do whatever. Enemy cannot operate through right thinking right. If you're in line with the word of God, he can't get you.
Speaker 1:2 Corinthians 10.6 says and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. Let me read that again 2 Corinthians 10.6, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. And that stood out to me. Being ready to punish disobedience. How do you punish disobedience? How did your parents punish you? Go to bed, shut your mouth. I'm going to give you the chancla. If you're Mexican, don't be talking to me like that. I heard you Right. And so you punish disobedience.
Speaker 1:So how do you punish a thought that wants to run wild? You punish it by reminding it of the truth that comes from the word of God. Don't let that thought go unpunished. But most people, a lot of people do? I'm jealous. I'm just going to keep on my jealousy. I'm bitter. I'm just going to keep on. I'm angry. I'm not going to deal with that. No, punish that thought. Ready to punish all disobedient thoughts. How dare you, devil, mess with me, right? How dare you mess with the daughter of the most high God? How dare you mess with the son of the most high God? God, you have a wonderful plan for my life. I'm not going to allow that thought to bombard me and keep me under, keep me second class. And so you have to punish.
Speaker 1:Here it says it ready to punish all disobedience. Do you punish those thoughts? You need to, and so God loves us. You need to, and so God loves us. He cares about us. He doesn't want us to have tormenting thoughts. He doesn't want us to have crazy, wacky thoughts. He wants us to have a sound mind Again, because it flows into every arena of life. If you don't think you can, if you don't think you're good enough, you won't be bold, you won't be courageous, you won't stand up for the truth, right? And so it trickles in every area of your life because it's part of your foundation. But many people, they just think what they want to think because they just think it's okay. But the word of God tells us how to think and gives us a checklist on what to think about, and so we want to make sure that we always go back to the checklist, that we're always mindful, and just the word of God, first Jesus, first, before that thought Jesus, does it please you? Jesus, does it please you Jesus?
Speaker 1:Romans 8, 6, and 7 says to be carnally minded is death. But to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You can't have it any more clearer than that. I can't say it any other way. Right? So there's a difference there. To be carnally minded is death. I can just think it, I didn't say it. No. To be carnally minded is death. I can just think it, I didn't say it. No. To be carnally minded is death. They don't know it, I'm thinking it. No, god knows it. The word of God says carnal thoughts lead you in the road to death, and that's what the enemy wants. But to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Isn't that good. And so we have to make sure that we're not carnally minded.
Speaker 1:What the mind meditates on, the heart will believe, right. So what the mind is meditating on, the heart will believe. You can't disconnect the two. What the mind meditates on, the heart will believe, and that's who you will become. And so if your mind is on the word of God, your heart will be good and goodness will flow out of it, and purity and nobility, integrity, doing the right thing when nobody's watching, doing the right thing when nobody's watching Right, because your mind is stayed on the word of God. So you can't disconnect your mind and your heart. You just can't. You can try, but you can't. And so we have to make sure we have our thinking right.
Speaker 1:And I didn't give them the scripture, but I'll just read it really quick. Philippians 2, 5 says let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Isn't that so good? Let this mind be in you. I can think like Jesus, can I can think like Jesus. That's what the word says. Let this mind be in you. I thank you, lord. Let this mind be in you. I thank you, lord, that this mind is in me so I can think like Jesus thinks what would Jesus do? What would Jesus think Right? And so I have a couple.
Speaker 1:Usually I do this with the teens and I jottedotted down a seven day personal plan to cultivate a sound mind. A lot of time with the teenagers. I can teach for 15 minutes or so, but then I give them this is what to do, this is how you do it, because a lot of times we just hear the word and we hear it year after year. We hear it and we hear it, and we hear it. And it's good to have like a plan, right, Like what am I going to do? And I heard the word Now, what am I going to do? This sounds so simple, but I just, a lot of times people don't do it, we just go about our busy lives and we don't do it. And so and some of this wording is like journaling, because I do journal and I do write down things and Bible read and I like, I like color, so I get my markers out sometimes and doodle, but anyways, day one replace fear. So these are just a couple of things.
Speaker 1:Day one replace fear with faith. Second Timothy once, and these are just scriptures that I mentioned Second Timothy. So this is just an example. You can take a scripture and you can reflect, pray and then practice. Right, this is just simple. This is 101 simple, right, but it's in the doing of the word. It's in the doing of the word and having a schedule. And hey, those thoughts may come, but what am I going to do? I now, I'm armed with scriptures, and so, day one, replace fear with faith.
Speaker 1:God has not given spirit of fear, but power, love and the sound mind. So you reflect, so, like, where have fear or anxiety ruled in my thoughts lately, you know? And then pray. God replaced that and I just put a simple. You can pray a long prayer, but it's just good to take a moment daily, you know, take a Bible reading time, but then also just kind of reflect on what you read and just write down and, hey, god, where have I missed it? Where has anxiety creeped in? Where has fear? Caring what people think? They didn't even create me, I don't care what they think, right.
Speaker 1:And so you just want to make sure you're at the right place at the right time with the right people, not at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people, right. And so ask God, and so then, practice, write down top three words I put top three words I know it's like just stuff that you're dealing with and pray over them, surrender it to God. I may not have all the answers, god, but you know what I serve a God who does and so it's good to practice, write it down, go over it, thank God for what he's done in your life, and so no day to focus your mind on God. Isaiah 26 3, evil. You will keep him. Perfect peace, whose mind is steadfast, because they trust in you.
Speaker 1:And so reflect what usually occupies your mind. Is it drawing you closer to God or away? Right, and your free time, where does my mind go? Right? A lot of times I'll ask Jay. Jay will be in the room with me and I know his mind is not here. I'll be like what do you think about, jay? Where are you at your body's here, but where are you at? Get your mind over here so seriously, like where, what? What are we thinking about? What occupies our mind? Is it drawing you closer to God or is it just stuff? Is it just filling your brain with? I get it, we live busy lives, but um, you just.
Speaker 1:It's very good, it's important to reflect and think about what you're thinking about and ask for a steadfast focus, mine remaining fixed on God. I thank you, lord, that my mind is steadfast. It remains in you, on you. I thank you, lord, that I do not have fearful thoughts. I thank you, lord, that I do not have fearful thoughts, I do not have anxious thoughts, I do not have depressed thoughts. I do not have past thoughts. I do not have those thoughts. I thank you, lord, that I'm fearfully and wonderfully made and so practice. And so, like, I put set a three minute timer, sit quietly In my notes, I put DYC so they taught on, like just setting timers on your phone and and a reminder of giving, thanking God, praising him, right, just having a moment to. I trust you, lord.
Speaker 1:Day three renew your thinking. Romans 12, two. Yeah, oh, yeah, you can take a picture with. Yeah, you can take a picture with. Yeah, you can take a picture with. That's sometimes the Yep, you can do that.
Speaker 1:Are there thought patterns or lies you've accepted as truth? And so sometimes we just get into these patterns and then we just accept them as truth. Well, that's what I've been told my whole life. That's what I think love is, when nobody really taught me true love and the value of worth, self-worth Through the blood of Jesus, through the blood of Jesus. And so we have to make sure that we identify that and replace it with Bible truth, right, and so like I'm fearfully and wonderfully made, and so invite the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, help me renew these thoughts in my mind that are bombarding me. They're not from you, they're from the pit of hell, and that's where they're going to stay.
Speaker 1:Day four guard your thoughts. Proverbs four. Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. And so what thoughts are you allowing that are harmful? Ask God to help you be vigilant about what enters your heart and enters your mind. And so I put practice. Take a 24-hour break from one thing that feeds negative thoughts social media, music, certain bad TV, like just bad news after bad news or whatever. Like. Take a break from that and just go outside, take a walk and reflect on God's goodness right.
Speaker 1:Day five think on what is true, philippians 4.8. So reflect. Are your thoughts life-giving or are they draining? Right Are your thoughts? And sometimes we don't think about that, like, we go through the day and then we just feel drained and and um, we just have to. And again, I'm not saying that you live with your head stuck in the sand and you ignore everything and you're just like. Praise Jesus, you know I'm not saying that life happens and things get icky, but go to the word right, cause you can do all things through Christ, who strengthens you. Paul went through some, some stuff. He was in jail.
Speaker 1:Yet that letter is the. If you read that, it has joy, like 16 times in it, the word I mean it is the happiest letter. Rejoice in the Lord, always and again I say rejoice. And so think on what is true. And so list five good things. So we shift our foot. Are your thoughts life-giving or draining? And then pray, ask God to shift your focus to the things that are uplifting and pure. I'm going to shift my focus. I'm not going to dwell on the past and dwell on this over here and dwell on what they are saying, and dwell on that report and dwell on this, that and the other, but I'm going to dwell on God's goodness. I'm going to dwell on pure thoughts, I'm going to dwell on uplifting thoughts, I'm going to dwell on his word. And so write a list of five good things about today.
Speaker 1:Blessings, answered prayer, beauty around you, year of milestones. Write it down, focus on that. How God's been so good to us, day six walk in peace, philippians four. So good to us, day six. Walk in peace, philippians four. Are you holding reflect? Are you holding onto anxiety instead of giving it to God? Lay your burdens before God and receive his peace. I put sometimes we just got to breathe Like we go through life and like, huh, that was exhausting, right. And so, lord, hey, I give that to you. You know this situation, you know all the things that need to be done, but I give that to you. I know there are deadlines. I give that to you. I lay that at the feet of Jesus. And so, day seven embrace the mind of Christ. We have the mind of Christ.
Speaker 1:So reflect on what would it look like to think and act like Jesus in your situation today. It's good to think about that. Would he have your thoughts? Would he act like you do, bro, that's right. Would he think like you do about yourself, that record player you have in your brain, right, real talk? Would he? Would he act like you? I don't know.
Speaker 1:Ask him so, invite him to shape your thinking, reactions and attitudes. You can be like. You know what, jesus? I've been kind of funky today, right, I've been in a mood I wasn't very nice. Reshape that, let's have a redo, because something's bothering me, right, because hurt people hurt people.
Speaker 1:And so Jesus always was moved with compassion. He was always moved with compassion. He loved people. He went where nobody else did. He loved the other side of the party too, right, he just loved people. People was his thing and is his thing. It's all about people. And so invite him to shape your thinking.
Speaker 1:Thank you, lord, for shaping my thinking into how you created me. You fearfully and wonderfully made me. I thank you that I do have your mind and my reaction is the one that you would. How you would react, and my reaction is the one that you would. How you would react, because I want to be more like you. I want to be a conduit of your love, not of hate. Not if I told you so, not if I'm right and you're wrong. That's not love. I don't feel the love in that. Okay, you're right and I'm wrong. So what? What would Jesus do? How would he act? What would he say?
Speaker 1:And so we practice, we imitate Christ, you know, today, by offering grace to somebody, by having compassion, by speaking life to somebody, by serving somebody. Sometimes we, to get out of our situation, we look to others, we serve, we help, we give, and a lot of y'all do that, y'all serve, y'all give, y'all love, and so that's how we embrace the mind of Christ. That is our practice. So I just I know it's a simple little thing, my journaling brain does that, but it's good to to.
Speaker 1:When we hear the word, when we meditate on the word, to do the word, to practice the word. Practice the word, that's when. That's where the good life is, the good God life, when you practice the word, when you're confronted with the situation, right, when you're tempted to blast it on Facebook oh, I so can, right, like, I so want to do it, but you don't, right, because I'm practicing the word. Oh, and I so want to say something, but I'm going to keep my mouth shut because it's the word of God, because I'm practicing the word of God, right, oh, oh, I just want to give them a piece of my mind. No, you don't. We practice the word of God and don't give them a piece of our mind unless that piece is godly and good and full of joy and tranquility and pure and lovely and praiseworthy. Give them that peace right, don't give them the one that you've been in turmoil with, and so I know this can be like a somber message, but I just want to encourage you.
Speaker 1:What we think about and our thoughts, thoughts, it all goes with the year of milestones, because you can, god is doing a work and maybe he's already done a work, but you don't see it because your thought life is in the gutter. He's already done something but you're like he ain't done nothing. No, he has, and he is doing a work in you. But we have to make sure to have our mind renewed with the word of God and don't allow those bombarding thoughts and just bad thoughts come across our mind and not do anything about it. Right, so you call it out, right, you go to that scripture, you call that thought out and you make it obey the word of God.
Speaker 1:You don't just leave it there, because you know what, when you leave it there, it'll circle back around, and you don't want it to circle back around in 2026, 2027, 2028, and you're dealing with the same stuff. You deal with it once and for all. You get it under the blood of Jesus and you move forward into what God has for you, because God has some good things for you. God has some wonderful things for your life, a bright future, wonderful plans for your life, for your job, for your family, for your relationships. But a lot of times we stop short because we're in our filth and we're in our things that we're thinking about and doing. No, god wants you to let go of all of that and pick up his thoughts. So then your heart can be transformed, your mind is transformed and your heart's changed. It's moldable, it's teachable, it's like clay. It's not a hard heart, right, and so we just have to allow God to do that.
Speaker 1:Let's pray. I'm done, father. We just thank you, lord, for your word. We thank you. It's a lamp into our feet, a light into our path. We thank you that you loved us so much. You sent Jesus to die on the cross for us so we wouldn't have to go through torment, so we wouldn't have to just mess with bad thoughts and unpure thoughts and thoughts that are way low.
Speaker 1:I thank you, father, that you've made us the head. You've made us an overcomer. We are victorious. We thank you that you gave us the blood of Jesus. We thank you that you gave us the blood of Jesus. We have an advocate.
Speaker 1:You didn't leave us helpless. You didn't leave us as orphans to try to figure life out on our own, father, but you gave us an advocate. You gave us the Holy Spirit. He's our comforter, he's our guide, he's our intercessor, and so we thank you for everybody here today, father, tonight, you see every situation, you see every disappointment, you see what's going on in their lives, father, and we just thank you, lord, that they're going to cast their care on you because you care for them. They have a sound and a disciplined mind, for you didn't give us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Speaker 1:And we take that sound mind. We don't just leave it there on the table. We have a sound mind, full of self-control and discipline, and so we thank you, father, that we walk victoriously, that we don't leave anything on the table. We win, father. We win on every attack of the enemy. The enemy tries, but his best is not enough, and so I thank you that we are overcomers. We are winners, father. We will not be defeated.
Speaker 1:And so we thank you, for we are overcomers, we are winners, father, we will not be defeated, and so we thank you for your word, father. We thank you that we have peace, father, the peace that passes all understanding, that guards our heart and our mind, lord, and so we don't take your word for granted, we don't take it lightly, lord. We thank you that we're changed from glory to glory. Every day gets sweeter and every day gets better. Amen, in Jesus name, amen, amen. Well, I love you guys. I pray that that blessed you. I love the word. I love teaching about the sound mind. Again, you could teach about having a sound mind, but I just think, in these end times, we have to make sure that our thoughts are lined up with the word of God. Amen.