Sep. 8, 2019 | Dr. Jack Graham | Your Mind Matters | Rom. 12:2, 1 Thess. 5:13 | Sunday Service

[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] to me you in this place [Music] to [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] to worship [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] in store for all of us today great things in store for you let's continue in worship this book [Music] [Music] [Music] see how [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] do Viji [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] well good morning prestonwood we're so excited to celebrate the baptism of this one here this is Jack wrench Jack are you coming today to be baptized because you trusted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior yes upon that public declaration of faith and obedience to Christ command i baptize you my brother in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit buried with Christ in Baptism raised to walk in newness of life never gets old seeing lives changed by the power of the gospel go ahead and be seated and on behalf of our pastor dr. Jack Graham and the entire team here at prestonwood we welcome you to our services and what a way to begin with powerful worship and then with baptism and I tell you never ever ever gets old seeing people go into the waters of baptism showing the world who they belong to what they believe and you know prestonwood we have the privilege every single week nearly to observe baptism because you're inviting friends you're telling people about how they can have a personal relationship with Jesus and we want to invite you tonight to a conference that begins at six o'clock it's called the Hoosier one conference we've been challenging our staff when challenging you as a church to have one person that you know that you work with that you go to school with that maybe lives in your neighborhood that doesn't have a personal relationship with Christ and you're praying and working and serving them in the name of Jesus hopefully to one day lead them into a relationship with Christ and so we have a conference tonight that is all about encouraging and inspiring us in this area of sharing our faith and reaching those far from Jesus we also tomorrow morning have a workshop if you will if you're interested and can get away we begin at 8:30 we'd love to have you here leading this Hoosier one conference is pastor Johnny hunt and he's here with us this morning he's the senior pastor at the First Baptist Church Woodstock for 33 years and now he serves with the North American Mission Board thank you pastor Johnny for being here and leading this initiative would you welcome pastor Johnny hunt to our services this morning he's great friend to our pastor former president of the Southern Baptist Convention and he has a heart to reach those far from Jesus and leading our country these days as it relates to especially our Southern Baptist Convention family and having a heart of evangelism and faith if you're a guest when you walked in you received a prestonwood today it looks a little something like this we've got a great service plan for you our pastors beginning a new series and so I hope you'll get ready for that if you're a guest fill out that guest registration form you can put in the offering plate when it's past a little bit later on in the services or you can take it to guest centrum we've got a gift that we want to put in your hand guess centralist right out in the front of our church the atrium as you leave and we just want to say thank you for being here we know there's a lot of great churches in this area and for you to choose to worship with us we say thank you for all of you online that are worshiping with us thank you so very much we hope that today's message today's worship would inspire you challenge you lift you up in this time I want us to pray and we'll continue our service father in Jesus name we bow before you right now we welcome your spirit into this place and Lord we pray that we would turn our heart our mind our affections towards you and then Lord you would be honored you'd be celebrated you'd be lifted on high your word promises that when Jesus you are exalted you will draw all men and to yourself and so we lift you up today Lord speak to our hearts through the preaching and teaching of your word may we leave here a changed people in Jesus name Amen as you stand as we continue to sing say hello to a couple people around you this morning just give him a nice bright smile let him know you're glad to see him [Music] as we were singing this morning I was reminded of Hebrews chapter 10 [Music] verse 19 talks about the fact that we've got confidence to come before the presence of God because of what Jesus has done for us his blood poured out on the cross for us and then in verse 23 it says this let us hold fast when we think about what Christ has done for us let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promised is faithful and I love that reminder for us this morning as we gather in God's presence we are serving and worshiping and singing to a God who has given us hope that will never be put to shame he's faithful this morning and so as we sing let's reflect on his faithfulness on his love towards us amen [Music] a banner once was found beautiful his cloud [Music] the C&L to wash now eyes [Music] [Music] the radius [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] - flies [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the ashes [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] his body [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so I stayed with arms high [Music] the word [Music] stay [Music] it'll make us your declaration of faith' exploring out state [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] amen we praise our God thank you for worshiping take a seat right now and as we stand in honor of the Lord our God we praise his name we proclaim his name let me add my welcome to all of you who are watching online wherever you are and all of you right here in the room the scripture says to give honor to whom honor is due and we want to honor a man of God and his wife today and to offer our praise and thanksgiving to our Lord for this wonderful gift that God has given our church his name is pastor Neil Jeffrey would you welcome Neil and Sheila to this platform there and here come the children and the grandchildren coming up here Neil and Sheila look at this thirty okay there we go now be seated once again but Neil and Sheila came to prestonwood in 1984 with two children two daughters and James came along later there's James I'm gonna introduce the family in just a second yep he came three years later Neil began as student ministry leader pastor at Preston wood and if you want to know how long 35 years is when Neil was when he arrived here eight tracks and vinyls were still popular now I've just read that vinyls are back did you know that did you know last year more vinyls who even knows what a vinyl is all right LP so LPS are back sold more than CDs last year I don't know if the 8-track is ever coming back but you never know we should put our music on a vinyl I would be really really cool but no 35 years ago Neil began with us and through the years he has loved you and our church in this community and we have loved him back and Sheila and over time God gave the Jeffrey's and their children this beautiful family let's see 8 11 12 13 how many grandchildren 11 our time is count it was never good at math she says 11 that we know of all right so let me introduce Natalie at the end wave Natalie and she is married to Josh Patterson who serves on our staff all the kids of course children the children grew up here at Preston wood and we're in our children's ministry student ministry and we love Natalie and her husband Josh couldn't be here today because he's the executive pastor so shi'ite pastor at the village church the wonderful village church here in our community they have four children Lily Luke live in Lucy and then we have Melissa say hi Melissa there's Melissa and her husband Jonathan Melissa and Jonathan James for children Georgia Sadie Charlotte and Anna Leigh and then right here up front is James where'd you go James all right and James and his wife Krista hi Krista have three children James the fourth this is James the fourth changed the third James the second and his daddy who was that one of the founding leaders of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in America James Jeffries great man so that's four and more to come as you go another James I'm sure is on the way someday but he goes by Neal and this one is Jack you're gonna be a preacher Jack yeah I thought so all right and this beautiful love right here is Addie hey no there she is back there all right so there they are the Jefferies family and we are so grateful thankful for these years we love you here's the thing about Neal Geoffrey everything that we have asked Neal to do for these 35 years he says put me in he was a great quarterback all-american quarterback at Baylor University and played for the for the Chargers in the professional ranks but God called him to ministry and God blessed our church with Neal and Sheila and their family and so whatever God has called in to do and we have asked him to do he said put me in and so now he is associate pastor of pastoral and preaching ministry so he preaches he teaches how about 6:30 every Friday morning men don't we like that you're here Neal Jeffrey sent nearly every week now Jeffrey every week and and then preaching in this pulpit and then around the country and around the world from locker rooms classrooms colleges universities new york yankees you name it this man has delivered the gospel to shared christ and inspired and motivated us all amen and this is just the beginning 35 years is a great start more to come here's the thing that you know God gifts a man and God has gifted meal in so many ways and your talent and your gifts get you someplace but your character keeps you there and this is a man of character and faithfulness to God and we are grateful for your example Neil Jeffrey your marriage your parenting and your grandparenting and if you are like Devon me you're really tired from all this grandparents all right it's wonderful crazy so let's pray together and give thanks to God and then our ushers are going to receive the morning offering here's one big thing though before we take the offering we are announcing this morning that we are establishing with our prestonwood foundation and we have a foundation which is an investment for ministries here through our church you can give to that but we are establishing in honor of meals and Sheila's 35 years here their anniversary the Neal Geoffrey endowment scholarship and this will offer annual scholarships to students whether high school college university or seminary who have an inclination and an interest in ministry and if you are interested in joining many of us in supporting the Neal Jeffery endowment and therefore supporting students going forward perpetually it'll be a legacy gift with Neal's name on it you can go online I think we have the information on the screen it's in the worship guide you can call the Preston wood foundation and we will establish this great scholarship in the name of Neil Jeffrey to honor him and to honor the work that God has given here what do you think that's a great idea I do so you you can you can actually go today give online at prestonwood org give and click on the give online tab it'll be there you can write a check that's for people who are still listening to vinyls but mark on the memo you want to designate your gift to the endowment or you can call the foundation office for information so many of you could give a very generous gift to this some just want to be a part as best you can and I would encourage you please be advised that I support this a hundred thousand percent and more so god bless you Neil let's pray together we thank you now for the opportunity Lord to give and as we give thanks for Neil and Sheila and their families we pray O God that you would bless this church family thank you for the love that we share for moments like these when we can celebrate a man like me a woman like Sheila and we pray O God that you would continue to give this man health and strength and vitality vitality as he helps people wipe their tears and comforts them and memorial services as he visits those hospitals as he preaches your word as he shows your love and care for so many people the Lord filling with your spirit and continue to anoint him use his wonderful and beautiful voice and words to always lift up the name of Jesus and we pray O God that this offering now not only for the endowment fund but our regular offering our tithes and offerings would please you with our obedience in Jesus name Amen [Music] oh come behold the words of God the nation's at his feet he breaks the bow and bends the spear and tells the Wars to cease o mighty one of Israel you are on our side we walk by faith in God who burns the chariots with a fire [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Oh Lord you know [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes-no whooshes roll you are the world the one who calls the wind and waves and makes my heart be still [Music] though the earth gives away the mountains are moving to the seats the nation's rage I know my God isn't [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] and so today begins the series we've been praying about asking you to pray with us as we've been preparing a mission or a message series called help facing life's challenges with confidence and hope to find healing you know God has given us a responsibility as a church to minister his love his grace with hurting people with broken people and I can tell you that as a pastor now veteran pastor of my ever-increasing longevity of years I have never seen so much brokenness in people's lives as we are seeing today so much hurt and heartbreak and heartache and emotional struggles and pain and so often churches have neglected the issue of mental health in people's lives we have neglected to help people who often need it the most the stigmas that are attached and all the rest but let me say to all of you today as we begin this series and welcome those online as well that all of us are broken every one of us so if you just walked in this room today and think that everybody here has it all together no we're all in a state of brokenness and growing and developing and healing along the way but if you are here and you are hurting today you have found the right place and I pray that you can always always find help in Jesus Christ among God's people I heard about a lady who drove into a floodplain or into a flood over in Arkansas just recently and she called 911 a state of panic she did not know how to swim the tide was rising she didn't know if she could survive or not she called 9-1-1 and the operator on the other end took her fears lightly even scolded her for driving into a dangerous place offered her no help said just calm down don't panic you'll be fine and yet that woman perished in that flood she died she drowned and the woman at the 911 operator is now under investigation because she failed to do the one job that she was given to do and that was to help people in great need when I heard that I thought how often do people call upon Christians and churches and so many people are calling 9-1-1 today there's an emergency there's a crisis there's pain they're struggling in their lives and as a result they call the church and so often receive no help and we ought to be indicted for that because God has called us to help hurting people broken people in fact Jesus and his first message at the synagogue in Nazareth he opened the scriptures to Isaiah the prophet and said the Lord has anointed me to preach he spoke of preaching to the poor he spoke of preaching to the blind and healing the blind and he also said to set the captive free to deliver people who were bound by the chains of their sin and their shape and the result in the consequences of broken lives we are born in a broken condition we have all fallen in sin we are born with this condition we are we are birthed with this bent our minds are fallen our lives are fallen before God and it is only until we are redeemed that we can begin to really heal and find hope again this is a good news alert you see on some of the news channels news alert so here's the good news alert Jesus died not only for your sins but for your shame for your pain for your hurt he has borne our griefs he has carried our sorrows we have all been wounded by sin had there been no sin there would have been no suffering had there been no suffering there would have been no heartache and heartbreak but Jesus went to the cross he laid down his life he died I say it again and again he not only died for us but he died as us he took our sin upon himself he who knew no sin became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God and so God reverses the curse and he begins healing the heart and the brain when Christ steps into our lives so that is where we begin but here's the thing maybe you're thinking well I'm a Christian I don't have any problems you know I believe the Bible and I'm going to heaven I know I'm going to heaven I shouldn't feel like this or I don't even have any problems well let me just say that's a problem because we all have problems and we all have pressures have you ever seen or experienced so much pressure so much tension in our culture just the brokenness of the culture and in people's lives being extra stin this expressed in the streets and the in the shootings and in the in the the the arguments and the agitation that we feel in our communities and in our world today there's just so much of this and the tension is something it's a pressure cooker when my mother when I was a little boy my mother used to cook with a pressure cooker and if you've ever seen one of these contraptions I don't even know if they still have them they went away with the vinyls but the vinyls are back maybe pressure cookers are coming back I don't know but I think you poured water in there put the beans or whatever in there I dunno often I would hear my mother scream a blood-curdling scream coming from the kitchen in our little house I would run in there after hearing an explosion and the beans would be all over the ceiling that pressure cooker just exploded and maybe you feel like your life is about to explode so much pressure so what happens when we come to faith in Jesus Christ is that we still have problems and we still have pain from our past and otherwise but we are redeemed and having been redeemed we are then restored and we start recovering and this is a life long experience as we continue to grow in our Christ's likeness and gain the mind of Christ as we go so the scripture says in Romans chapter 12 and verse 2 don't be conformed to this world don't allow the world to suck you squeeze you into its mold don't be conformed but be transformed by the renewing of your mind the renewal of your mind because the mind matters and that's the title of this message your mind matters what does the scripture say in the book of Proverbs as one thinks in his heart so is II as a man a woman thinks so are we we think and therefore we are and our thinking produces our behavior our actions and the consequences of our actions our decisions but it begins with the mind it's in the way we think and as you think as a Christian you need to begin to think God's thoughts instead of the world's thoughts and to begin to think according to God's Word James Allen who was a philosopher of sorts and a writer in the 20th 20th century said this a man is literally what he thinks his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts good thoughts bear good fruit bad thoughts bad fruit let a man radically alter his thoughts what's this and he will be astonished at the rapid transformation it will affect in the material conditions of his life in other words your thoughts when they are transformed in a positive way radically alter the way you live your life and the consequences of the way you live your life it can affect your health your well-being your family your business everything all in the way you think it affects the material conditions of your life watch this men imagine that thought can be kept secrets but it cannot it rapidly crystallizes into habit and solidifies into circumstances the old saying is so a thought reaping action a deed so a deed reap a habit so a habit reach and reap a destiny so it all begins in the mind as the mango as the mind goes the man follows now in second Thessalonians chapter 5 in verse 13 another important passage in our series foundational to everything we're going to be saying because we're going to be dealing with all the subjects we're going to be dealing with anxiety and fear that's next week and we're going to be dealing with loneliness and we're going to be dealing with addiction we're going to be dealing with anger and bitterness we will deal with shame and guilts we will deal with depression and it's attendance like disappointment and discouragement all these topics that are not just of interest but we know we face these kinds of battles every day in our lives and the battle is between our ears the battleground is the mind that's why the scripture says we are to take every thought captive in obedience to Christ to control them now how are we gonna do that well in second Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 23 we're told that the God of peace and he is God our peace he is God our helper and we have the Holy Spirit who is our counselor our helper our guide who calls us and strengthens us and corrects us and changes us but may the God of peace himself sanctify you now that word sanctify it means to make holy to be separate you see the word sanctified do you think of the word sanctification of course is the big word but do you think of sanctuary a special place that is set aside so sanctification is that process and we are being more and more made into the image of Christ made like Christ so God Himself is sanctifying us not just partially but the goal is to completely make us like Christ and one day we will be like him as we stand before him but watch this and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ note those three words spirit and soul and body we are body soul and spirit when God made each one of us he clearly gave us physical life we have bodies and with the bodies of course we have brains it's an amazing computer unlike anything that man could ever make the mind is is the creation of God so the brain the body we have physical life and with the soul he says we are body we are soul we have psychological life you say where do you get that well the word soul is sookay we get the word psychiatry psychology psychic from that word it means the soul and the soul represents the inner person the inner you the mind the emotions the intellect the will so you are born with a body you are born with a soul and the soul is the inner life they enter you the part of you that thinks the part of you that contemplates the part of you that can learn and grow in all the rest that's that's big picture your soul if I were to ask you right now to point to yourself in fact let's just do a little experiment take your pointer finger all right and I want you to point to yourself right now let me see it I'm surveying Survey all right survey says when you are pointing to yourself you're typically pointing right here now they're a few brainiacs you pointing to your brain I know but most of us pointed right here because it's the core it's the B as a man thinks in his heart what so is he so the heart word using the Bible thousands of times of course is it's the it's the inner you it's the it's the soul of you it's the center of you not just that best that organ pumping blood that keeps you alive physically but the soul which is the conscience the motions the will all that is wrapped up in that word is you and then the spirit now there's a difference between the soul and the spirit and the difference is is very small in some ways in fact the writer of Hebrews tells us that it takes the sword of the Spirit to divide the soul in the spirit the word of God that divided the soul in the spirit so it's a fine line there and we often catch our diseases otherwise emotional physical and otherwise from the soul and from the spirit but the spirit is the part of you that is made for God it's the spiritual life it's it's the part of you that will live forever your spirit now if you are not a believer and follower of Jesus then your spirit according to the Bible is not alive it is day when you are regenerated that means born again when you come alive in Christ we sang about it a moment ago when we are risen in Christ Christ lives in us that's why we talk about a relationship with Jesus Christ some of you have the idea that you are a Christian you consider yourself a Christian but you don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ you don't know him inwardly and eternally your spirit is not alive but when you receive Christ you receive his love his life and you come alive that's what it means to be saved and saved forever all right so let's review you have a body you have a soul you have a spirit you have physical life of the body you have psychological life emotional intellectual with the soul and you have spiritual life with the spirit so think of it this way if all is right with the body you are healthy if all is right with the soul you are happy and everyone wants to be happy if you don't want to be happy that's the problem and some people have given up hope on ever finding real happiness unfortunately but God made us that we would experience happiness in life did you know over 2,500 times in the Bible words like happiness and joy and blessedness and favor and merriment and gladness such words are used again and again and again why because Jesus said I've come that you might have life and have it more abundantly overflowing God wants you to be happy and you can be happy and you can be healthy so if your physical body is is is right then you are healthy if your psychological life is is right if all as well then you are happy if your spiritual life is well you are not because of what you have done that because what Christ has done in its duly in your life so physical life so life spiritual life emotional psychological spiritual if you are healthy if you are happy if you are holy it means that you are whole you're whole and that's what God has promised each one of us that we can find wholeness and completeness in him and all these problems and pressures toxic emotions negative things that happen to us and happen in us and so much of what happens to us is not what happens around us but what happens between our ears the way that we think the scripture says let this mind be in you which was in Jesus Christ that's Philippians 2:5 the mind of Christ there it represents his sacrifice his surrender to leave heaven and come to earth to give his life for us his humility he laid aside his dignity but never his deity but he became a man he accepted our humanity that is the great emptying of God and the scripture says let that mind this mind which was in Jesus Christ be in you in other words because of Christ and Christ alive and you start thinking and acting as a result like Jesus the way you think is to think here's a here's a thought to think like a Christian and if you think like Christ you will be thinking like a Christian and the the negativity and and the the hate the horrors the paying the struggles these can be defeated in your life when you begin to think the thoughts of God if you want to elevate your thinking begin contemplating the greatness and the goodness of God receive the mind of Christ his presence is in us same word is used in Colossians 3 set your minds there it is again your minds on the things that are above not on things that are of Earth and on the earth he goes on to say for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God and when Christ who is your life appears then you also will appear with him in glory so the way we think is no longer about the world and what's in the world but now our affection our attention our ambitions our attitudes are not on things below but on things above it becomes a habitual way of thinking that we're just not all about here and now here and now is good here and now is important there are many good things here and now God has you here for now but while we are here and now we also think above and beyond get it we keep our eyes fixed and focused and fastened on Christ the mind of Christ the mentality of Christ this idea of mine has to do with mentality it has to do with mindset all about the way we think transformed thoughts in Christ by the power of Christ in us and so set your affections on things above and not on things of Earth one of the problems that we have that creates so many diseases disasters discouragement in our lives is because we're we're so focused on self and we listen to the lies of Satan all around us but why I pray is going to happen in my life in your life in these days that we share together that you can exchange Satan's lies for God's truth that you will exchange your anxiety and your stress and your fears for God's peace that you will exchange your sin and your shame shattered life for his forgiveness and grace and mercy that you will exchange your loneliness and alienation and isolation for his presence and his comfort in your life that you will exchange your grief we're gonna deal one week with just the whole subject of grief that you will exchange your grief your sadness and depression for his love and his hope in your life that's what this is all about that we would have the mind of Christ how do we have the mind of Christ our listen up four ways today and if you'll write these down it will be helpful to you number one if you want to have the mind of Christ the mentality of Christ and win the battle for your mind then number one to decide to possess the mind of Christ decide to possess the mind of Christ make a decision make a determination in your life that you will seek those things which are above that you will begin to listen to God and hear his voice it's easy to think like the world because we hear the world's viewpoint the world's values again and again and again I'm saying what you need to do on a personal level if you want to heal if you want your mind to Rick from the past and the baggage and the brokenness that you bring even into a relationship with God if you want to heal and find hope then make a decision to possess the mind of Christ Isaiah 26:3 says you will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you for his soul trust in you that's a decision that you need to make in your life that you will stay your mind and steady your focus and when your boat is rocking and maybe sinking when you are going under that you will be steadied in the storm anchored in the storm by the very presence of God this takes conscious effort and concentration it does you know what our problem is so often just mindless thinking not thinking or thinking the wrong thoughts but so often just not thinking about it do you seek God do you seek God's Word do you ask for God's wisdom how do you expect to heal from your hurts and your pain if you never make a determination to decide to focus to fasten your mind upon Christ because if you will do that then it could happen the transformation can happen very quickly but typically over time remember this is a process our minds begin to change and we begin to think differently than we used to think and we stop putting all that jive in our heads the negativity the stuff that that disrupts and destroys us into thisis and we start putting the right things in our hearts in our in our heads we take make a conscious effort so that brings me to the second thing which is to discipline yourself to practice the mind of Christ decide to possess the mind of Christ we talked a lot about that and now discipline yourself to practice the mind of Christ you can train your brain did you know that just like you can train and develop and shape and reshape your body you can train your brain to be healthy and whole to think rightly but again one of the problems we have is this mindless mentality undisciplined thinking and so much white noise in our heads so much racket and if we don't have enough of racket around us we put our earphones on for more racket or earbuds when are we ever quiet when are we ever still enough to hear our thing self think much less hear God speak and so that's why it is vital to your spiritual emotional and physical health I might add to find rest for your soul jesus said coming to me all you that labor and are heavy-laden I'll give you rest rest for your soul in that you take time out to quiet in your soul before God and to listen to him because that's when you hear the still small voice in the midst of the racket and all the distractions we begin disciplining our minds and the way that we do this primarily is reading the word receiving the word it's not just reading the word but receiving the word it's listening to the word as you're listening now you ought to be constantly filling your mind with preaching and teaching and we have so many tools and so much technology today even that we can use to keep filling our our minds and building our brain speed literally there's a there's an app that I could recommend to you that I personally use quite often is called you version we're gonna put it on the screen so you may want to write it down get this app but there are literally hundreds of Bible reading plans and devotional thoughts and they're solid they're good you can you can just always be you can hey you can listen to PowerPoint Oh on the radio or there are all kinds of what you can constantly get your mind now I understand you have a job and I understand you have responsibilities and I understand their stuff but you must take time to think and to develop your spiritual life and your brain and your psyche your emotions and to get them under the control of the Holy Spirit with God's Word Peter we had a problem Simon Peter who had a problem with his brain his mind his emotions they were constantly up and down this way and that but once he got under the control of the Holy Spirit and the power of Christ in his life he later wrote in 1st Peter chapter 1 gird up the loins of your mind what what in the world gird up the loins of your mind what is that talking about well the ESV translated and explains that maybe a little better it says therefore preparing your minds for actions and being sober minded set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ so it's a word picture really a man with a long road and he needs to run he needs to engage he needs to get somewhere quickly and so what does he do running his robe I don't know how you women walk in those dresses or running those dresses sometimes but she you know what he does he would he would take the loose ends of his robe and cinch them you know like hit your belt if you will where his legs would be free to run and engage so gird up you'll get your girdle on gird up and engage and run he's talking about the way you think prepare your mind that your mind would be sober and solid what does the Bible say Paul said to Timothy God has not given us a spirit of fear but love power and a sound mind that means a disciplined mind you need to start disciplining your mind in God's Word and instead of running to the latest medication try meditation now there's medication that helps I take some medicine and there are medicines for the body there are medicines for the mind and that's another discussion for that for another day but I'm just telling you better than edification especially self medication with drugs and alcohol and the like or unhealthy unholy habits and the like or our damage relationship etc instead of those kinds of medications trying to help yourself to feel better to feel happy try meditation which means to probe the scriptures it means to ponder the scriptures think clearly about what the scripture is saying it means to personalize the Word of God to your own life it means to pray the Word of God in and through your life and practice the Word of God that's meditation Transcendental Meditation they say what you're to do in transcendental eastern style mysticism and and meditation is to empty your mind like that doesn't work because you know what happens if you empty your mind bad stuff can get in there we're never told to empty our minds we're told to fill our minds with God's Word you need to nourish your soul your psyche with God's Word the Bible says a merry heart does good like a medicine and there's joy and there's Jesus in his word so discipline make sure you are devoting and disciplining your mind discipline yourself to have the mind of Christ Isaiah 3050 in quietness and Trust shall be your strength Psalm 46:10 be still and know that I am God this is all disciplined gather up the loose ends of your thinking and run with Jesus this means discipline your thought life next and by the way this is what produces wisdom God's Word produces wisdom what is wisdom it's clear thinking but wisdom is really if I would define it if seeing things from God's perspective seeing things from God's perspective that's Winston and the only way you can have wisdom is to pray and ask for God's wisdom and to seek God's wisdom in his word and by doing his will thirdly dedicate your mind to pursue Christ dedicate your mind to pursue Christ like your body your brain belongs to God when the scripture says we read Romans 12:2 earlier when the scripture says present your bodies as a living sacrifice holy acceptable unto God your reasonable sir then don't be conformed but be transformed by the renewing of your mind when it says give your body to God which would you say that your body includes your brain of course it does so if it includes your brain your mind your sould includes the way you think I often hear people who dedicate their lives to God their bodies to God their service to God their commitments to God we hear that we're going to give an invitation in just a few moments and invite you to come forward and openly give your life to Christ but when's the last time you heard anybody say I give my mind I dedicate my mind the way I think to God that would be a good prayer for all of us to pray today and every day I give you my thoughts I give you my words because out of the heart out of the mind the mouth speaks and if what's in your brain what's in your heart is polluted what's going to come out of your mouth is going to be polluted and so on but if your soul is being sanctified your spirit is growing in Christ as you dedicate your mind this is what I did as a young boy as a teenager I came before God and said Lord I give you my all we sang in a moment ago here I stand I stand I give my all to you so your all means the way you think your mind love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your mind with all your soul and with all your strength dedicate your mind to pursue Christ sanctify my mind oh god my thoughts Oh God let my mind Jesus be filled with beautiful thoughts of you Philippians 4:8 we'll get to that of the message next week actually but in talking about peace indescribable undeniable peace that passes understanding in our lives what does the scripture say it says focus your thoughts in your mind on things that are lovely on things that are good on things that are praiseworthy on things that are virtuous on things that are positive focus your mind train your brain to settle your soul in Christ and then when you're attacked by anxiety or you're facing fear or you're dealing with depression or you're trying to overcome an addiction in your life or you are overwhelmed with grief then you will have an inner strength and your thoughts will steady you instead of destroying you this is more than a good idea to me when I was 20 years of age my father was brutally murdered and I can tell you you say well pastor you know all these tragedies is so depressing and so disturbing so much how can I think good thoughts and positive thoughts and helpful thoughts and praiseworthy thoughts and positive thought how's that possible you even know what you're talking about yeah I actually do I've had some tragedy and that was a big one and I could tell you in the darkness and the depths of that disappointment discouragement depression death even as a young Christian I was steadied by the presence and the power of Jesus in my life have I had times of depression and anxiety and discouragement along the way absolutely but every time every time because through the years I've tried not just to make one grandiose decision when I was a teenager but through the years my my prayer has been to claim God's promises to live in God's truth to obey them and to accept them and so when the tragedy comes you're not mastered by your emotions you're mastered by Christ you're controlled by the master who made you when a crisis occurs we're grateful for those who give comfort and aid our church is big on that I appreciate Franklin Graham and Samaritan's Purse and other organizations like that that run to the crisis and give comfort and aid to people in the midst of a storm in the midst of a crisis all good and needed and helpful but I am more thankful for the presence and the peace of God that comes when we have crisis and trouble and tribulations in our lives this peace keeps us from falling apart did you hear me it is God's peace that will keep you from falling apart and if you do fall apart and sometimes we do it was his pea it will be his peace and his presence that will restore you to life this is a troubled world and Jesus said don't be surprised about that because in this world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer because I have overcome the world my peace I give to you not as the world gives my peace do not let your hearts be troubled

Channel: Prestonwood Baptist Church

Views: 1,795

Rating: 4.8333335 out of 5

Keywords: YouTube, Prestonwood, Baptist, Church, Non-Profit, Ministry, Ministries, Jack Graham, Jack, Graham, PowerPoint, PPT, PowerPoint with Jack Graham, Dallas, Texas, Jesus, Christ, Bible, 2019, PBC, USA, America, Media, TV, Show, Offers, Daystar, TBN

Id: pdGAhjnLF-s

Length: 80min 50sec (4850 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 09 2019