Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Good morning, Christchurch. Happy Sunday.
[00:00:04] I am going to say a prayer for us this morning. Dear Father, I thank you so much that you are a God we can put our trust in. I'm so thankful that you are a God who is faithful and true. I pray that this morning, for myself, for every heart here and every heart online, you would capture our hearts, capture our minds and redirect them towards Christ.
[00:00:25] I pray, Father, that when our hearts and minds are set on you, you would stir up something of your nobility, your goodness, your courage, your hope and your faith in our lives. Help us. I pray. In Jesus name, Amen.
[00:00:40] I don't know if you guys are anything like me, but a lot of days I drive the exact same way, right? I take the same route to work, I take the same route to drop my kids off. I do the same route back and forth. Do you guys do this like you get in the habit of driving the same road over and over and over again?
[00:00:56] In fact, I do it so much that every once in a while my schedule will change and I'm supposed to go a different way, and I catch myself still going the same way. Have you done this before? I'm supposed to turn and I didn't turn, and I keep going straight and I'm like halfway to where I'm supposed to be before it even dawns on me, like, where are you going?
[00:01:17] This is not where you're supposed to be. Today I get so focused on doing things the way I've always done them that when there's any slight variation, I catch myself, myself not disrupting the norm, but doing what I've always done.
[00:01:33] Well, in life, we get into very similar habits. We are creatures of habit. We get used to doing things certain way. We go to work, we go home, we might go to school, we go to activities, we go to work out, we do the certain things and our routine starts to fall into certain habits.
[00:01:55] Now, sometimes our habits are great. We see the outcome of, like, we put the work in, the effort in. We have these healthy habits that call out something better in us.
[00:02:05] Sometimes, if we're being honest, our habits are not so great. We've gotten into these routines. We're not even doing anything bad. We're just not doing a whole lot of anything. And we've drifted away from being the healthy person, the goals that we set, that we wanted to do.
[00:02:24] So sometimes we have these routes that take us to where we want to be. Sometimes we have routes, they're just not taking us anywhere. Sometimes we have routes that take us so far from where we want to be, we've stopped paying attention to the path that we're following and who we said we want to be.
[00:02:46] And we all have the things that we turn to, right? Maybe you worked all day and you're tired and you just want to sit on the couch and relax.
[00:02:53] Maybe you have a show that you just wanna, like, not think about anything hard for a minute and binge watch your show. My youngest kid and I are watching Monk right now. It's so enjoyable. It's delightful. We watch it, we try to solve the mysteries. Or maybe it's your phone, right? Like, you have the thing you do on your phone and you're like, I'm just gonna check in on this one place. And next thing you know, like, two hours have passed. You're like, I was just gonna watch one YouTube video. What happened?
[00:03:20] One TikTok turned into two hours down the rabbit hole. And again, it might not be a good thing or a bad thing, but it's absolutely taken me on a path for where I am right now.
[00:03:33] See, all of these paths that we follow in our minds and our hearts and our thinkings and our choices, they determine who we are right now.
[00:03:43] And if we are honest with ourselves, we are a product. Who we are today is a reflection of every choice we've made leading up to today. I've made bad choices, and they are reflected in my life. I've made good choices, and they are reflected in my life. I've been a part of every regretful thing that I've ever done, Every moment that I said, what was I thinking? Turns out I was a part of that decision.
[00:04:12] And in every day and in every moment of our lives, we get to make choices that determine what kind of life am I going to live.
[00:04:22] Sometimes we actively make these choices, right? We set goals, we set priorities, we set values for ourselves.
[00:04:29] Sometimes we just passively live life. Day after day happens, the same routine happens, and we stop paying attention.
[00:04:38] And then sometimes we just make choices and we talked ourselves into them. We were really good at convincing ourselves why it was a good idea and it wasn't.
[00:04:48] And we live with kind of the repercussion or the consequence or the pain of that.
[00:04:53] And today I want to redirect us. What do I think about? What am I focusing on? Where is my heart, my mind, my choices?
[00:05:01] Because if I really, genuinely want to be the person that God created me to be, I. I can't just passively float through life.
[00:05:10] I just can't. Life hap. Let life happen to me, and I'm just a bystander, and I'm not in control, and things happen.
[00:05:17] I want for each and every one of us to really genuinely look at our lives and say, I have a lot outside of my control. I'm aware of that. But here's who. I am in control of myself, and I want to be an active participant in who I am and in who God has created me to be. And I want the same for all of you. So we're going to look at some wisdom from our friend the Apostle Paul. And it's in Colossians, chapter three. He says this starting at verse one.
[00:05:48] He says, since then you have been raised with Christ.
[00:05:52] Set your heart on things above where Christ is seated, at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.
[00:06:03] So Paul writes this letter to his friends in Colossae, and he's telling them, and he's telling us today, like, we get to choose where we focus our hearts and our minds. And he says, when we choose, we get to actively choose, putting our hearts and our minds on Christ Jesus. He becomes the one that we start looking to, to guide us and direct us on the kind of life that. That we're living.
[00:06:30] He becomes the one that we say, I want to follow him.
[00:06:33] What does that look like?
[00:06:36] And if we genuinely want to be raised with Christ, he's in us, right? We said yes to following him. The old is gone. We're new creations in him.
[00:06:48] Then it starts with, do I really know Jesus Christ?
[00:06:53] Not just an idea I heard about him one time in Sunday school and not just something that somebody said in that really cool TikTok post, and not just something that maybe I've pieced together. Like, I went to church at one time, and then I went to church at another time. And I've kind of cobbled these ideas together. That happens. But do I really, genuinely know Jesus Christ?
[00:07:17] Because when I do, friends, it changes everything.
[00:07:21] My heart, my mind, they can get filled with a lot of things.
[00:07:26] Same for you, right? It doesn't take much for this up here to get real crazy real quick. It gets filled with a lot of junk and a lot of worry and a lot of stress and a lot of anxiety and fear and all those things that want to hold me captive.
[00:07:40] But when I know Jesus Christ, I have a new way to focus my mind.
[00:07:48] I have a new direction to focus my heart.
[00:07:51] And I get to think about who Christ is and what he's done.
[00:07:55] But when I don't know Christ, it's so much harder for me to get myself into where Christ is because I don't know a whole lot about Him.
[00:08:06] Can I just remind you this morning a little bit about who Christ is?
[00:08:12] Christ is the one who stepped into this world.
[00:08:18] The story that God was writing for all of humanity, the messy story of our broken world. Christ stepped in and he lived this perfect life that none of us could have ever lived.
[00:08:34] And he looked out and realized the only solution to my problems and your problems and My brokenness and your brokenness. And the problems of the entire world could only be solved in Him. And he willingly, lovingly, graciously gave his life on the cross.
[00:08:55] And he did it for you and for me.
[00:08:58] And he did it with the intent.
[00:09:02] Because you matter to God.
[00:09:04] Your life, your future, your hope, your concerns, your life. You're not incidental. You matter so much to God that Christ stepped into the world and said, I've got you.
[00:09:20] And now when we say we know Christ, when God looks at us, he sees Christ in us.
[00:09:28] And Christ didn't just come into the world and give his life. He didn't stay dead. He did what only God could do and defeated death itself.
[00:09:38] And now he sits on high, majestic, glorious and splendid.
[00:09:47] This is the Christ that at his name every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
[00:09:56] That's putting my mind on things that are above. When I think about Christ that way, there are problems I can't solve that overwhelm me. But I get to think about Christ who conquered death itself. And if that wasn't too hard for Jesus Christ, maybe my problems aren't so hard either.
[00:10:14] I get to think about victorious Christ, reigning in glory and splendor in heaven. And if he's there, maybe God does have a plan in all of time and in all of creation. If God isn't done yet, maybe we aren't done yet.
[00:10:31] So I ask you, do you know Christ?
[00:10:35] The thoughts that you think about Christ, do they remind you of his goodness, his love, his power, his absolute splendor and majesty?
[00:10:46] Because when I know Christ in that way, my faith in him becomes something more real. It's not just a list of things that I'm supposed to do and a list of things I'm not supposed to do. It's a relationship between me and my Father.
[00:11:03] It's a relationship where I've got Christ and I know him and I'm thinking about Him. And his spirit is actively at work in me doing what only he can do.
[00:11:15] If that's not The Christ. You know, could I just encourage you today, spend some time getting to know him better.
[00:11:22] When you read the Gospels, you get to see who Christ is.
[00:11:27] You get to see what he says and what he did and how he treated people just like you and I. You get to hear his teaching and you get to hear his compassion.
[00:11:37] You get to see his love and his joy and his peace.
[00:11:42] You get to see his sacrifice, his forgiveness, his goodness. And you get to see what God has been doing for all of time in history.
[00:11:52] And when we know Christ in that way, we have a faith that is connected to a relationship in Him. And it shows up in the life that we live. It shows up in the choices that we make and the habits that we build and the values that we center our life on it. It shows up in the goals that we set for the people that we want to become. And this is Paul's advice. Like, if you really are thinking about Christ, if you really are saying, yes, I wanna follow Him, I wanna be his guy, I want to be his girl, then you get to actively choose what goes into your heart and what goes into your mind.
[00:12:33] So I wanna just do a check for us today. Cause those are big places. Our heart and our mind are a huge part of who we are. And where are they focused right now? Because if I'm not actively looking or asking or digging or thinking about it, my heart and my mind can with all kinds of things that don't lead me any closer to being who God created me to be.
[00:12:58] So let's start with your hearts. When I think about, like, my heart, what I really genuinely want and desire and care about, when. When I think about what matters the most to me in this world, right? Like what wakes you up at 3 o' clock in the morning? Because it just. It just matters so much to you what's filling your heart right now.
[00:13:20] And for a lot of us, it looks like different things, right? Like maybe you took on a new job and you're passionate and you're excited about that job.
[00:13:27] Maybe you're a parent and your kids are just filling that heart full to overflowing and you're just amazed at the wonder and the beauty of these beautiful children that God gave you.
[00:13:39] Or maybe you're in a season where your heart is full, but it's full with worry and fear and anxiety because it's just maybe not going the way that you thought that it was going to go.
[00:13:51] Maybe your heart is consumed with a relationship. You're just so in love and it's Wonderful.
[00:13:58] Or maybe your heart is consumed with a relationship that isn't working and you're trying everything you can to make it better, to make it work, to make them love you the way you, you want to be loved. See, we all have these things that are pulling us for attention in our heart to fill with.
[00:14:19] And our happiness, our joy rises and falls on these things that fill our hearts. And look, when relationships are going great, life is so good, it just couldn't be better.
[00:14:31] When relationships are not good, it just feels like, all right, Jesus, take me now.
[00:14:37] I got nothing left to give, right? It's exactly.
[00:14:40] And it wears you down and it hurts in a way that nothing else can hurt.
[00:14:46] And we start using these things to dictate our happiness. If my relationship is good, I'm good. If my kids are good, I'm good. Have you ever heard the expression, you're only as happiest as your unhappiest child?
[00:14:59] Well, when you have more than one child, they're unhappy and they bounce back and forth. And one gets happy and the other gets unhappy. And it's an unhappy winnable game. Or we think like at work, like, when my job is going good, man, I feel great. When the paychecks are right, I feel fantastic. But when work is stressful, it's hard to separate from that. And I don't feel as good when I'm getting along with the people around me. Life is great.
[00:15:27] When I feel insecure about what people think about me or say about me or how they treat me, I feel insecure about myself.
[00:15:37] And so when we use all of these things that we think will make us happy to determine the temperature of our heart, we lose control of our joy and happiness. Cause it's connected to everybody else. And I can't control what my spouse can do. Can you?
[00:15:57] I can't control what my kids are gonna do. I try.
[00:16:02] I've set really good boundaries in place. But human beings are human beings and they're going to do what they want to do.
[00:16:10] But if I've hitched my well being and happiness onto somebody else, then they are always in control of my happiness. And I feel like I just become a victim of life and I've stopped being an active participant.
[00:16:25] So it matters when we think about our heart. It, it matters when we think about, like, what is really central to my well being, my joy, my happiness.
[00:16:39] And Paul reminds us, what if we set our hearts on Christ?
[00:16:45] See, if you think about how your heart was formed, God made you on purpose. He, he, he made you With a plan, with an intention, with. With you in mind. You aren't an accident. You aren't just a circumstantial moment of how things happen. You were created on purpose for this life and for this moment.
[00:17:07] And what if inside all of our hearts is a true longing and desire that only God can fill?
[00:17:16] What if within each of us there's this God shaped hole that we've been trying to fill with everything else. We've been trying to fill it with relationships, we've been trying to fill it with family. We've been trying to fill it with status. And these are all good things, not bad things. But we've been trying to fill our heart with all of these things.
[00:17:35] And it was the spot only God was supposed to be.
[00:17:39] See, we can spend our whole life searching for something to make us feel good.
[00:17:45] We live in a world, it's not hard to find something that will make me feel good, that will make me feel better, that will make me lose the discomfort I feel when life doesn't feel like it should.
[00:17:58] And many of us have spent a lot of money and time and energy trying to use those things to fill our heart, to make us feel better.
[00:18:09] But the longing doesn't go away and the good feeling wears off. And what was once enough is no longer enough. And one more is always too many, but it's never enough, all at the same time. And we just keep reaching for new things, trying to fill that longing in our heart.
[00:18:28] And Paul reminds us, you can waste your life there, you can spend your whole life trying to do that, but the only thing that is going to satisfy the desires of your heart is Jesus Christ.
[00:18:42] And when we set our heart on things that are above, what we're saying is, I'm going to start putting Christ in first in my life.
[00:18:50] I'm gonna start looking to Christ first for who I am, for. For how I live, for what I do. It means friends, I don't know about you, but junk and clutter acquire around me.
[00:19:04] I'm not actively seeking junk. Like I'm not actively seeking piles of stuff. But all of a sudden I look around, I've got piles of books piled up and I've got piles of clothes. Does this happen? Or you have like the drawer you put things in until later, and then all of a sudden you can't open the drawer anymore. Or maybe it's a closet. Like I'll just put that in the closet and I'll worry about it later. Okay?
[00:19:25] We do the same thing in our hearts. It's filled with junk and clutter.
[00:19:31] And we need to clean out that junk so we have space for Christ to fill our hearts with Him.
[00:19:41] And the better we get out at saying, okay, this is junk. It doesn't belong here. I don't need this. It doesn't tell me who I am. It doesn't dictate my joy, my happiness, my well being, my identity. We start clearing out the clutter, what we find is Christ comes in and fills all the spaces of our hearts.
[00:20:02] And when Christ is filling my heart, when I'm focused on who he is and who he created me to be, he, it turns out the better I am at loving God, the better I am at loving everybody else, it turns out the better that I am. When God is first in my life and I'm trying to just follow him and let him be at work at me when that comes first, life flows differently.
[00:20:29] It's not mysteriously perfect, it's not mysteriously easy. The problems don't go away. But now I have a resource that, that I didn't have before. And I'm not trying to solve the problems on my own. I'm saying, God, how do we get this done? Because I know that you can.
[00:20:46] I'm saying, God didn't put me in this life, in this space, and in this moment to fail. He gave me all that I need, all the grace I need right now to do the very work he's created me to do.
[00:20:58] He created us for this moment and he gave us all that we need to thrive and succeed in it. And. And when my heart is on God first, I see options. I see possibility. I see hope instead of discouragement, fear, pain and worry.
[00:21:22] When my heart is set on Christ, I'm reminded just how much love the Father has for us, that we get to be called children of God.
[00:21:34] I'm reminded I'm not alone.
[00:21:36] There's so many things that we face and we're like, how has nobody else had to go through this before? And we feel alone. But God is with us. God is for us. And when my heart is set on Him, I see life different.
[00:21:52] I see my life different. I see my choices differently. When Christ is filling my heart, I'm not supposed to so focused on what's lacking, but I'm focused on what he can do to fill me up.
[00:22:06] When my heart is set on Christ and I'm focused on Him, I'm not just so focused on what others say or who others think that I am. I'm focused on who does Christ say I am, who Has Christ made me to be?
[00:22:24] So we start with, do I really know Christ?
[00:22:27] And then the next question I want us to ask ourselves today is, what have you been trying to fill your heart with?
[00:22:33] What have you been reaching for to make yourself feel good, to make yourself feel better, to make you feel like you matter and you're important?
[00:22:44] Could I encourage you today?
[00:22:46] Maybe look to Christ instead?
[00:22:49] Let him determine who you are and who you could become.
[00:22:54] What is your heart being filled with?
[00:22:57] Because maybe, maybe when we fill it with God first, we will get better at doing all of the things he's called us to do.
[00:23:08] And then here's the second place that Paul directs us. He says, set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.
[00:23:17] Our minds are really good at wandering.
[00:23:20] I'll go back to my driving analogy.
[00:23:22] Not do I only just get wrapped up in where I'm going that I stop paying attention? Sometimes I don't even know how I got there. Have you done this before? I'm so lost in my own head. I was like, I literally remember zero parts of that drive.
[00:23:38] Sure. That is not a safe thing to do. Promise I'm a safe driver, guys. If you see me on the road, I won't cause an accident, but my mind gets distracted easily. Or I'll listen to a podcast. And I'm really excited to listen to a podcast in 15 minutes in, I'm like, I don't know what they said.
[00:23:54] Completely started thinking about something else. Not even intentionally. My mind just drifted. And what happens is where our mind drifts, what preoccupies our mind dictates the direction of our life, what we spend our time thinking about. It shows up in the life that we live and the choices that we make and the directions that we take.
[00:24:18] And here's the truth. Whether we're picking it or not, we're all thinking about something.
[00:24:23] And when you're not thinking about something, your mind will give you something to think about. It just pops right in, which means we have to think about what we think about.
[00:24:36] It means I just can't let my mind have control over my whole life and who I am and think about whatever it wants to think about. Because like I said, sometimes it gets crazy up in there, and I don't like it, and I don't want to be in that headspace. You like, my head goes to all these places, and I'm like, who are you? Why are you even thinking about that? That is not helpful. And we have to start taking control of our mind and our thoughts instead of Just letting whatever wants to happen up there see. I can't look at everything. I can't focus about everything. I can't think about everything.
[00:25:13] But I can give myself choices about what I want to think about and what I don't.
[00:25:19] I can give myself options to say this matters. When I focus here, and I will absolutely not focus here, I have a say in what I want to put into my mind and what I don't want to go in there.
[00:25:34] I don't have to look at everything. I don't have to see everything. I can make very clear choices about what goes into my mind to affect what shows up in my thoughts.
[00:25:47] We love the pastor Craig Groeschel from Life Church, and he wrote this really good book called Winning the War in your mind. If you're ever looking for a good read to help direct some of your thoughts and how it works, this is a good pick. He says our lives are always moving in the direction of our strongest thoughts. What we think shapes who we are.
[00:26:07] The life we have is a reflection of what we think.
[00:26:11] What we think will determine who we become tomorrow. And he says the battle for your life is always won or lost in your mind.
[00:26:21] See, here's what makes this tricky.
[00:26:23] It is for everybody else an invisible battle.
[00:26:26] They can't see what you're fighting in your head.
[00:26:30] They can't see the amount of energy you expended just to have a healthy thought today.
[00:26:35] They can't see the fight you're fighting not to let those things take control and dictate what you think about. But the beauty of our minds is God gave us these incredible minds and they have the capacity to think and learn and grow. And when you study how brains work, it's fascinating.
[00:26:55] I don't have to think the way I've always thought. My brain wants to go where it's always gone. It gonna follow the easiest path. But when I focus on it, I can create new paths. I can hit off new lovely ways of thinking about things that tell my mind to go a different place.
[00:27:16] But if I don't pay attention, none of that happens. It just goes where it's always gone. And I love because Craig Groeschel gives us a little bit of a tool to help us do this. So instead of just saying like, that's great and then not thinking about it, I'm gonna give you an option. So if you're writing some stuff down, I want you to write this down. The first thing he says is you have to do a thought audit. And so what happens is we all have these thoughts that go through our head, things we think like, I just can't change. Have you ever been there before? Like nothing's ever gonna change. I've tried everything.
[00:27:48] Or we have thoughts like, nobody loves me, they don't care, they don't understand.
[00:27:54] Or we have thoughts like, I'm not good at this, I've tried, I'm not good at that. I'm not good at relationships. People in my family, they always struggle with weight. So I'm going to struggle with weight. I can't get close to God. It doesn't really work like that for me. We have these ideas that pop up into our head.
[00:28:14] And Groeschel reminds us, if you think you can't do something, you probably won't because if you think you can't, you're not even going to try. But on the other hand, if you think you can, odds are you will.
[00:28:28] So depending on where your mind goes, whether it's self doubt or worrying or responding badly, have you ever just had a bad day and you can't stop thinking about it and it just goes through your head? Or you wish you would have said something different, or you wish you would have handled something different and your mind just can't stop chewing on it and thinking about it over and over and then you have the new conversation in your head, like, okay, if I had a second chance, here's what I would have said and you guys is brilliant. If I had to do that again, I would have said this and I would have said this and it would have made all the difference and we can't get out of our head. So he says the first thing you have to do is take inventory of your thoughts. Just spend a day paying attention to the thoughts that pop up in your head. Maybe you have your notes app on your phone and you just write down everything. Nobody has to see this but you.
[00:29:19] You don't have to give anybody full access to the things going on up in there, but you do have to pay attention. Maybe you take a piece of paper or a notebook with you and you just write down every thought that pops up into your head.
[00:29:31] And you have to be honest, right? This isn't a report card that needs to be graded and nobody's going to look at it and evaluate it, but write down the thoughts that come into your head.
[00:29:41] And then when you've done this for a day, two days, you pick what looks good for you. He has here are some questions to think through. Your thoughts.
[00:29:52] Are my thoughts tearing me down?
[00:29:55] Do you Know nobody is meaner to you than you are to yourself.
[00:29:59] We wouldn't let anybody talk to the people we love the way that we talk to ourselves. And most of the time we don't even pay attention.
[00:30:08] I catch myself and I'm like just brutal to myself and I'm like, I wouldn't actually say that out loud to anyone, any other human being, I would never. But in my own mind I've given myself permission just to say whatever mean thing crops up into my head. Like you are so stupid. What were you thinking? Right? I would never say that to anybody else. And so I have to evaluate, are my thoughts tearing me down?
[00:30:34] He says, ask yourself, do you think worried thoughts?
[00:30:37] How much of your thoughts are just worry, worry, worry, worry, worry, worry.
[00:30:42] Cause you know, I can't do anything about it, but I can worry.
[00:30:44] And when I worry I feel like I am actively doing something. Cause I can't not do anything, heaven forbid.
[00:30:52] He says, does my self talk cause me to shrink back in fear?
[00:30:57] How many times have you thought something sounds great and then you think about it and you're like, oh no, don't do that.
[00:31:03] And you start getting afraid of the thing you thought you wanted to do. But your thoughts have just made you feel. What could happen? What might they think? What might they say? You could embarrass yourself and fear creeps in.
[00:31:16] He says, are your thoughts negative, toxic or self deprecating?
[00:31:22] Here's another good question.
[00:31:24] He says, are my unhealthy thoughts keeping me from the life God wants for me?
[00:31:29] See, I can't ever really take control of my thoughts if I don't think about my thoughts, if I don't capture them. And then ask myself some hard questions.
[00:31:38] Does my thought life reflect my faith in God?
[00:31:42] When these things start creeping through my head, do I have any little red flag saying stop it. That is not what God created you for. He did not give you a spirit of fear, but of self control and power in him.
[00:31:57] Do my thoughts reflect I have a hope in Jesus Christ?
[00:32:03] See, when we do a thought audit, we get to start thinking about our thoughts, where we go, what we let in and what's happening there. He says, you cannot defeat what you can't define. You have to identify the lie that's become a stronghold for you. You have to realize the negative impact that it's had on you and that it's had on others.
[00:32:24] See, here's the truth. Our minds are beautiful, brilliant things, but they're also the enemy. If we don't get control of Those thoughts.
[00:32:33] And I want to hold every thought captive to who I am in Christ Jesus. Don't you?
[00:32:39] I want my future to reflect who God says I am. Not just what some crazy weird thing that popped up in my head is. And so we have to take control. Not just what I'm filling my heart with, but where am I letting my mind go?
[00:32:56] What am I thinking about? What's going on in there? I have 500,000 billion things outside of my control, but I am in control of my mind. And I do not have to be held captive by negativity, toxicity or bad thoughts because that's not who God created me to be. We have a gracious, generous God who is good, who loves us and created us for this life and this time. And when I'm thinking about him, my life becomes possibility, not worry.
[00:33:27] When I'm thinking about what God has already done and what God might next might do next, I think about the future with joy, not fear.
[00:33:35] I think when I read scriptures and I read about the lives of these incredible people that God has done a good work with, I say, why couldn't he do that again?
[00:33:44] Why couldn't he do that today in this time and in this generation?
[00:33:48] Why couldn't he change this heart or this life or fix this problem?
[00:33:54] I can always work on my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus.
[00:34:00] See, this matters because we think that what happens is how we feel determines what we do. And then what we do determines who we are, right? So when I think about this, I'll act in ways that reflect those thoughts. And then what I do starts to dictate who I am. But unfortunately, this is the opposite of how it's supposed to be. Because I don't know about you, have you ever thought yourself into doing the thing that you didn't want to do? Like, I know I'm supposed to exercise. I know it's going to feel good, but I've never, like, felt my way into exercising.
[00:34:36] I have felt my way right out of it with 5,000 reasons why I don't need to right now.
[00:34:42] But I've never just felt my way into acting in the way, but I have acted my way into feeling better. Have you? I have shown up and done the thing I didn't want to do, and I have felt better because of it.
[00:34:55] So what happens is, instead of how I feel, dictating what I do and what I do, dictating who I am, you and I start with, this is who I am first. And we claim our identity in Jesus Christ.
[00:35:08] You are a son. You are a daughter of a holy God.
[00:35:13] And if God has claimed you as his own and his spirit is at work in you, that's your identity. And then you act in ways that reflect your identity in Jesus Christ. If Christ says, this is who I am, then I'm going to try to be that person. I might not get it right every time. Thank you Jesus for grace. But I'm going to keep trying.
[00:35:36] And I'm gonna work to be honest and I'm gonna work to have peace and joy and goodness and self control show up in my life. Because if God says I'm his first, then I'm gonna act like it. And you know what happens when I act like it? It changes how I feel every single time.
[00:35:54] So here's my challenge for you. Spend some time this week. What have you been trying to fill your heart with? Do an audit on your thoughts. Stop letting just anything roam free up there. Think about what you think about. Ask yourself some hard questions.
[00:36:12] Think about who Christ is. Because you might just find that when you spend time with Jesus Christ, that longing of your heart that nothing else could fill Christ will show up and satisfy the desires of your heart.
[00:36:28] You might just find the contentment that you can't find in anything else. You find in the time spent with Jesus Christ.
[00:36:38] You might just find the thing that nothing else could satisfy. God right now is waiting to satisfy in you.
[00:36:47] And you might just have a picture for the future that you could never have any other way. Church, your family needs you to have a healthy heart and a healthy mind.
[00:36:56] Our church needs men and women who say, I am who I am because of the grace of God and I will live that life. Well, our world has a lot of problems that need to be solved. But you know what? When my eyes are focused on Jesus Christ, I have the hope and I have the wisdom. I need to think about those problems differently. And our world needs men and women just like you who say it is hard. But you know what?
[00:37:22] God is good and he solves problems that are too hard for anybody else. Let's be the church that takes control of our hearts and our minds and puts God first so we get better at doing everything else together.
[00:37:35] Father, I pray that you would help us. I recognize that in these areas of our life, we do not always get it right. But I know that you are a God who is good and you aren't done yet. So I pray for myself, I pray for all of my friends here today that our minds and our hearts would be set on things that are above, not lost here on earthly things. I pray that the goodness and the glory of Christ would radiate in our minds and our hearts and in our thoughts and we would start living into the identity of who you say we are. Loved children of God. Help us. I pray. In Jesus name, amen.
