WEBVTT 00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:04.559 This is the Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast, brought 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:07.719 to you by Living on the Edge. In this podcast, 00:00:07.980 --> 00:00:10.560 you'll hear Chip's teaching unedited and from 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:14.060 beginning to end. Now here's our guest teacher, 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:17.339 Kyle Eidelman, with a message titled, Mind Mold. 00:00:17.519 --> 00:00:21.679 I am overwhelmed and really excited to share 00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:25.300 with you that last weekend, across all of our 00:00:25.300 --> 00:00:36.020 campuses, we... baptized 839 people. 839. Now 00:00:36.020 --> 00:00:37.840 listen, you know this, but what we are clapping 00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:39.979 for and what we're celebrating is not a statistic, 00:00:40.140 --> 00:00:42.939 it's a story. It's not a number, it's a name. 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:46.600 We are celebrating one life at a time, encountering 00:00:46.600 --> 00:00:48.740 Jesus and discovering the difference that Jesus 00:00:48.740 --> 00:00:51.479 makes. That he forgives our sins, that he doesn't 00:00:51.479 --> 00:00:53.200 just forgive our sins, he forgives the guilt 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:55.299 of our sins. That you don't have to be weighed 00:00:55.299 --> 00:00:58.140 down by shame anymore. You don't have to be weighed 00:00:58.140 --> 00:01:01.600 down by guilt of the past. That he sets you free. 00:01:01.759 --> 00:01:04.719 And I told so many people in the water last Sunday, 00:01:04.840 --> 00:01:06.739 like there's things we're leaving in the water. 00:01:06.799 --> 00:01:09.079 We're not carrying it out with us. Like shame 00:01:09.079 --> 00:01:11.620 and guilt stay here. And so when we celebrate 00:01:11.620 --> 00:01:14.180 these numbers, we're celebrating that one person 00:01:14.180 --> 00:01:16.900 at a time is experiencing the difference that 00:01:16.900 --> 00:01:20.099 Jesus makes. And really, scripture is full of 00:01:20.099 --> 00:01:23.510 those kinds of stories. Luke 15. Parable that 00:01:23.510 --> 00:01:25.750 Jesus tells of the prodigal son. I've read that 00:01:25.750 --> 00:01:28.890 parable hundreds of times. And I've thought to 00:01:28.890 --> 00:01:31.829 myself many times, what's that prodigal son look 00:01:31.829 --> 00:01:34.689 like? What's he look like? The Bible says that 00:01:34.689 --> 00:01:37.349 he goes to his father, he takes his inheritance, 00:01:37.670 --> 00:01:39.629 that he spends all the money on wild living. 00:01:39.849 --> 00:01:42.489 And then language in scripture has it this way, 00:01:42.530 --> 00:01:46.290 that a day comes where the prodigal son says 00:01:46.290 --> 00:01:49.750 he came to his senses. Well, what's that look 00:01:49.750 --> 00:01:54.040 like? I saw it. Last Sunday morning, young man 00:01:54.040 --> 00:01:56.260 in his 20s comes into the water with his dad. 00:01:57.500 --> 00:02:00.579 He's emotionally a bit overwhelmed. You can tell 00:02:00.579 --> 00:02:02.540 there's a lot happening there. I ask him about 00:02:02.540 --> 00:02:05.319 his story. He tells me about this rock bottom 00:02:05.319 --> 00:02:07.439 moment in his life. And then he uses language 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:09.400 that he doesn't even know he's using when he 00:02:09.400 --> 00:02:14.919 says, but I came to my senses. Oh, that's what 00:02:14.919 --> 00:02:18.550 he looks like. And I see father and son weep 00:02:18.550 --> 00:02:21.129 and embrace in the baptistry. John chapter four, 00:02:21.250 --> 00:02:25.349 woman at the well. Been married five times, finds 00:02:25.349 --> 00:02:28.590 no satisfaction and joy. She meets Jesus. I've 00:02:28.590 --> 00:02:30.129 thought to myself, well, what's that woman look 00:02:30.129 --> 00:02:32.550 like? I met her on Sunday. She came down into 00:02:32.550 --> 00:02:35.189 the water, just went through her third divorce. 00:02:36.710 --> 00:02:39.389 I could sense the heaviness in her voice as she 00:02:39.389 --> 00:02:42.530 talked to me. Then she said with a smile, slight 00:02:42.530 --> 00:02:44.509 smile, she said, I'm just tired of being disappointed 00:02:44.509 --> 00:02:49.360 by men. I said, well, you're in the right place 00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:51.500 because there is one man that doesn't disappoint, 00:02:51.719 --> 00:02:54.699 and his name is Jesus. And in John 4, he says 00:02:54.699 --> 00:02:57.259 to the woman at the well, I'm the living water. 00:02:57.300 --> 00:02:59.680 I'm the one your soul has been thirsting for. 00:03:00.819 --> 00:03:06.159 And I met the John 4 woman last Sunday. Acts 00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:09.860 chapter 9, Saul on the road to Damascus. He's 00:03:09.860 --> 00:03:13.120 been persecuting Christians, trying to put an 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:19.009 end to the church. encounters Jesus. I've always 00:03:19.009 --> 00:03:20.370 thought, what's that moment look like? And then 00:03:20.370 --> 00:03:23.689 last Sunday, I met this man, 60 -ish years old, 00:03:23.810 --> 00:03:25.990 told me he'd been an atheist for the past 40 00:03:25.990 --> 00:03:28.849 plus years of his life, argued with Christians, 00:03:29.009 --> 00:03:32.430 did everything he could to make fun of the believers 00:03:32.430 --> 00:03:34.949 in his life. A friend of his invited him to week 00:03:34.949 --> 00:03:38.789 one of our At The Movie series, and he came skeptically, 00:03:38.849 --> 00:03:41.110 not really because he was interested in it, but 00:03:41.110 --> 00:03:42.810 because he wanted to be able to make fun of it. 00:03:43.879 --> 00:03:46.199 And then while he was here, he was just overwhelmed 00:03:46.199 --> 00:03:49.199 with this reality that he had spent the last 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:51.460 40 years of his life running from a God who loved 00:03:51.460 --> 00:03:55.319 him. And he was baptized. And I'm like, oh, that's 00:03:55.319 --> 00:03:57.680 what that looks like. That's what Acts 9 looks 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:01.460 like. Genesis 32, we meet a man named Jacob. 00:04:01.599 --> 00:04:05.460 And Jacob is known for wrestling with God. What's 00:04:05.460 --> 00:04:08.759 that look like? Well, the last baptism after 00:04:08.759 --> 00:04:11.340 our 9 a .m. service last weekend, a man comes 00:04:11.340 --> 00:04:14.340 into the water later than everybody else. Like, 00:04:14.340 --> 00:04:16.319 baptisms had kind of been over for four or five 00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:18.220 minutes. I knew that one more person was coming, 00:04:18.279 --> 00:04:20.860 so I'd said to the 1 ,500 or so people that were 00:04:20.860 --> 00:04:22.660 left in the sanctuary, hey, we got one more. 00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:25.079 And so people were hanging around, waiting for 00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:26.860 him. He comes into the water. I don't know him. 00:04:26.860 --> 00:04:29.870 I don't know his story. For whatever reason, 00:04:29.930 --> 00:04:32.089 I feel led to just put a microphone in front 00:04:32.089 --> 00:04:33.550 of him and let him share that with everybody 00:04:33.550 --> 00:04:35.129 who was left. I didn't know what he was going 00:04:35.129 --> 00:04:36.750 to say. I was a little nervous about it once 00:04:36.750 --> 00:04:38.490 he started, thinking maybe that was a bad idea. 00:04:39.709 --> 00:04:42.050 But he says that he and his wife, after church 00:04:42.050 --> 00:04:44.370 last Sunday, got in the car. They started driving 00:04:44.370 --> 00:04:48.430 home, going down Shelbyville Road. And then he 00:04:48.430 --> 00:04:52.850 said he was wrestling with God. Makes a U -turn 00:04:52.850 --> 00:04:54.910 on Shelbyville Road, comes back, runs in here. 00:04:55.149 --> 00:04:57.930 Is it too late? It's not too late. He gets in 00:04:57.930 --> 00:05:00.750 the water. It shares a story. Just before I baptized 00:05:00.750 --> 00:05:03.589 him, I said, now, remind me of your name. And 00:05:03.589 --> 00:05:07.269 he said, my name is Jacob. And I'm like, yeah, 00:05:07.310 --> 00:05:12.750 it is. It's totally Jacob. And being able to 00:05:12.750 --> 00:05:15.230 see through Scripture these one -at -a -time 00:05:15.230 --> 00:05:17.790 stories and then being able to experience them 00:05:17.790 --> 00:05:20.470 together as a church and being able to recognize 00:05:20.470 --> 00:05:23.389 our own story of how God is at work. So we celebrate 00:05:23.389 --> 00:05:27.250 839 baptisms. God is moving. We celebrate that. 00:05:28.080 --> 00:05:31.040 really what we're celebrating is life change 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:33.319 that only happens through the grace of Jesus. 00:05:33.800 --> 00:05:36.420 And every life change story has one thing in 00:05:36.420 --> 00:05:40.660 common, and that is a change of thinking. A change 00:05:40.660 --> 00:05:44.040 of thinking. Take the prodigal son, Luke 15, 00:05:44.180 --> 00:05:46.459 says he came to his senses. What's that mean? 00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:49.519 It means that he was thinking about his life 00:05:49.519 --> 00:05:52.819 one way, and then there was an awakening, and 00:05:52.819 --> 00:05:54.240 he started thinking about things differently. 00:05:55.039 --> 00:05:58.259 John 4, the woman at the well meets Jesus. And 00:05:58.259 --> 00:06:00.560 what changes? Well, her thinking changes. For 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:02.500 a long time, she thought, this guy will satisfy 00:06:02.500 --> 00:06:05.180 me. This guy will satisfy me. This guy will satisfy 00:06:05.180 --> 00:06:08.279 me. And now she's thinking differently. And she's 00:06:08.279 --> 00:06:12.019 looking to Jesus to be the living water. Every 00:06:12.019 --> 00:06:16.339 transformed life involves a change in thinking. 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:18.480 And so this week, we're starting a series called 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:21.819 Every Thought Captive. It comes from 2 Corinthians 00:06:21.819 --> 00:06:25.920 10. where Paul challenges believers to address 00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:29.079 some strongholds in their lives. Some lies they've 00:06:29.079 --> 00:06:31.240 believed for a long time, maybe so long they 00:06:31.240 --> 00:06:33.139 don't even know where they came from. Things 00:06:33.139 --> 00:06:36.019 that were passed down to them generationally. 00:06:36.459 --> 00:06:38.500 There's strongholds that need to be torn down 00:06:38.500 --> 00:06:40.680 in your life and in my life. How do we do that? 00:06:40.720 --> 00:06:43.480 Paul says you do that by taking every thought 00:06:43.480 --> 00:06:46.779 captive. We're gonna learn to do that together 00:06:46.779 --> 00:06:49.879 to experience the transformation God wants to 00:06:49.879 --> 00:06:52.139 see take place in our life by taking our thoughts. 00:06:53.780 --> 00:06:56.379 I did a little research as I was getting ready 00:06:56.379 --> 00:07:01.180 for this sermon, looking online for someone who 00:07:01.180 --> 00:07:03.420 would be considered a gravity denier, somebody 00:07:03.420 --> 00:07:05.959 who doesn't believe in the law of gravity. I 00:07:05.959 --> 00:07:08.639 had this idea that I wanted to use as an illustration, 00:07:08.839 --> 00:07:11.060 but I needed to find a person who didn't believe 00:07:11.060 --> 00:07:12.519 in the law of gravity, and I couldn't find one. 00:07:13.160 --> 00:07:17.220 And so I thought what I might just do here is 00:07:17.220 --> 00:07:20.149 imagine it. So imagine there's this guy named 00:07:20.149 --> 00:07:22.689 Jack who doesn't believe in the law of gravity. 00:07:22.910 --> 00:07:25.329 He believes in the concept of gravity, but he 00:07:25.329 --> 00:07:28.050 thinks the law of gravity is a hoax perpetrated 00:07:28.050 --> 00:07:31.449 by the scientific community. He will argue his 00:07:31.449 --> 00:07:33.810 point. He'll say it's all about density and buoyancy. 00:07:34.769 --> 00:07:37.550 There's not some invisible force out there. And 00:07:37.550 --> 00:07:39.490 his friends, they've tried to convince him. They're 00:07:39.490 --> 00:07:43.129 like, Jack, you need to accept the law of gravity. 00:07:43.269 --> 00:07:47.509 Every step you take is evidence. That gravity 00:07:47.509 --> 00:07:51.149 is real. And other friends just kind of accept 00:07:51.149 --> 00:07:53.230 the fact that Jack's a little bit quirky. And 00:07:53.230 --> 00:07:55.709 so Jack finally decides, you know what? I'm gonna 00:07:55.709 --> 00:07:57.329 prove them all wrong. And he invites everybody 00:07:57.329 --> 00:07:59.730 over to his house to watch him jump off the top 00:07:59.730 --> 00:08:04.370 of his two -story house. This isn't real. Remember, 00:08:04.449 --> 00:08:06.709 we're just imagining this. So don't feel sorry 00:08:06.709 --> 00:08:12.589 for Jack. He doesn't exist. So Jack gets on top 00:08:12.589 --> 00:08:14.389 of his two -story house. Everybody's watching. 00:08:15.040 --> 00:08:17.600 down below. They don't want to watch because 00:08:17.600 --> 00:08:20.279 it's horrific, but you can't not watch. And so 00:08:20.279 --> 00:08:23.319 with lots of confidence, he steps off the roof 00:08:23.319 --> 00:08:24.939 of his house thinking that he's going to float, 00:08:24.980 --> 00:08:27.939 not fall, but he falls and he falls hard and 00:08:27.939 --> 00:08:30.399 he hits the grounds and he breaks a leg and he 00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:32.419 breaks the ribs and he's concussed and he's got 00:08:32.419 --> 00:08:37.360 to go to the hospital. Why? Because gravity doesn't 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:40.799 care what Jack thinks. Gravity doesn't care. 00:08:40.940 --> 00:08:45.080 Gravity does what gravity always does. Gravity 00:08:45.080 --> 00:08:49.059 acts the way gravity always acts. And Jack can 00:08:49.059 --> 00:08:50.860 refuse to believe in it, but it doesn't mean 00:08:50.860 --> 00:08:53.539 it's not true in Jack's life. Jack can say, I 00:08:53.539 --> 00:08:55.779 don't believe in the law of gravity, but the 00:08:55.779 --> 00:08:58.279 law of gravity still applies to Jack, whether 00:08:58.279 --> 00:09:00.620 he's aware of its existence, whether he believes 00:09:00.620 --> 00:09:03.340 in its existence or not. There's another law 00:09:03.340 --> 00:09:06.000 that's both recognized in science and recognized 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:09.419 in scripture that's called the law of cognition. 00:09:09.940 --> 00:09:12.809 The law of cognition basically says that Your 00:09:12.809 --> 00:09:16.129 life is shaped by your thoughts. To a degree 00:09:16.129 --> 00:09:18.309 that you probably don't fully realize, and I 00:09:18.309 --> 00:09:21.350 may not recognize, our lives are shaped by the 00:09:21.350 --> 00:09:23.330 way that we think. It's the law of cognition. 00:09:23.990 --> 00:09:27.129 Now before neuroscience and psychology had firmly 00:09:27.129 --> 00:09:29.850 established this law that's built into who we 00:09:29.850 --> 00:09:32.669 are, scripture had already taught us this truth. 00:09:32.769 --> 00:09:36.309 Proverbs chapter four, verse 23 says, be careful 00:09:36.309 --> 00:09:39.159 how you think, and here's why. Because there's 00:09:39.159 --> 00:09:42.200 this law that applies to you. Your life is shaped 00:09:42.200 --> 00:09:44.519 by your thoughts. And you don't have to agree 00:09:44.519 --> 00:09:46.539 with that for it to be true. You don't have to 00:09:46.539 --> 00:09:48.519 believe this to be true for it to have the power 00:09:48.519 --> 00:09:51.039 of truth over your life. The God who created 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:54.399 you says, this is how it works. There's this 00:09:54.399 --> 00:09:58.340 law that is built in to who you are, built into 00:09:58.340 --> 00:10:00.340 this world that says your life is shaped by your 00:10:00.340 --> 00:10:03.460 thoughts. And if that's true, the most important 00:10:03.460 --> 00:10:07.850 question that you can ask yourself is, What do 00:10:07.850 --> 00:10:12.450 I think about? What do I think about? Paul seems 00:10:12.450 --> 00:10:14.950 to understand just how significant this issue 00:10:14.950 --> 00:10:17.950 is in Romans 12 verse 2. When he writes to the 00:10:17.950 --> 00:10:20.610 church in Rome about transformation, and he says, 00:10:20.629 --> 00:10:23.409 do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed 00:10:23.409 --> 00:10:26.629 by the renewing of your mind. The Greek word 00:10:26.629 --> 00:10:30.370 here for conformed means to be molded by something 00:10:30.370 --> 00:10:35.690 external. Don't let your mind be molded by something 00:10:36.429 --> 00:10:40.009 out there. J .B. Phillips in his translation 00:10:40.009 --> 00:10:42.789 says, don't be squeezed into the mold of this 00:10:42.789 --> 00:10:46.570 world without even thinking about it. And what's 00:10:46.570 --> 00:10:49.289 interesting about this word conform is it's written 00:10:49.289 --> 00:10:52.370 for us in the present imperative tense, which 00:10:52.370 --> 00:10:55.009 means stop doing what you're already doing. Paul's 00:10:55.009 --> 00:10:56.750 not saying like, hey, there's going to come a 00:10:56.750 --> 00:10:58.470 day where you're going to have to decide if you're 00:10:58.470 --> 00:11:00.710 going to be conformed or not. He's saying you 00:11:00.710 --> 00:11:03.590 are being conformed. The world you live in is 00:11:03.590 --> 00:11:05.950 squeezing you and shaping you and molding you. 00:11:06.029 --> 00:11:10.009 Stop it. Stop it. It's happening right now. Stop 00:11:10.009 --> 00:11:12.789 doing what you're already doing. And modern neuroscience 00:11:12.789 --> 00:11:17.690 would underline what Paul is teaching here. Neuroplasticity 00:11:17.690 --> 00:11:20.529 shows that our brains are constantly, constantly 00:11:20.529 --> 00:11:24.070 being molded by what we experience and what we're 00:11:24.070 --> 00:11:33.799 exposed to. take part in every second of your 00:11:33.799 --> 00:11:37.539 screen time, it's molding. There's a pattern 00:11:37.539 --> 00:11:41.000 that we're being squeezed into. And so Paul warns 00:11:41.000 --> 00:11:44.080 us that your thinking and my thinking is being 00:11:44.080 --> 00:11:46.960 squeezed into this pattern of this world. Whether 00:11:46.960 --> 00:11:49.460 we know it or not, that's what's happening. The 00:11:49.460 --> 00:11:52.340 law of cognition is playing itself out through 00:11:52.340 --> 00:11:54.759 the thoughts that we think. And neuroscientists 00:11:54.759 --> 00:11:57.960 say that the average person has between 60 ,000 00:11:57.960 --> 00:12:02.490 and 80 ,000 thoughts a day. 60 ,000 and 80 ,000 00:12:02.490 --> 00:12:05.029 thoughts, that's a lot of thoughts. Most of us 00:12:05.029 --> 00:12:08.029 would say, that seems a bit much. I'm not aware 00:12:08.029 --> 00:12:12.649 of thinking 60 ,000 to 80 ,000 thoughts. But 00:12:12.649 --> 00:12:16.009 this is the point. 95 % of your thoughts and 00:12:16.009 --> 00:12:18.269 my thoughts are below the level of consciousness, 00:12:18.450 --> 00:12:20.909 meaning we're not even aware that we're thinking 00:12:20.909 --> 00:12:24.690 the thoughts we're thinking. 95 % of our 60 to 00:12:24.690 --> 00:12:28.070 80 ,000 thoughts are on repeat. They're just 00:12:28.070 --> 00:12:31.509 happening. We don't think about the thoughts 00:12:31.509 --> 00:12:34.629 we're thinking. This is why you can look back 00:12:34.629 --> 00:12:37.830 on your life and have these moments where you 00:12:37.830 --> 00:12:40.450 see something you said or did and you're like, 00:12:40.549 --> 00:12:45.090 what was I thinking? Why did I do that? I must 00:12:45.090 --> 00:12:47.789 have thought about it because I did it, but I 00:12:47.789 --> 00:12:49.929 don't remember thinking any thoughts about doing 00:12:49.929 --> 00:12:53.889 that. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present 00:12:53.889 --> 00:13:03.529 to you Exhibit A. This is me, circa 2002, with 00:13:03.529 --> 00:13:09.049 frosted tips. I see this picture. I know it's 00:13:09.049 --> 00:13:13.769 real. Like, I know that this happens. I don't 00:13:13.769 --> 00:13:16.830 remember ever thinking about this. Like, I don't 00:13:16.830 --> 00:13:19.350 remember having any kind of thought process that 00:13:19.350 --> 00:13:22.389 weighed the pros and cons of having frosted tips. 00:13:22.509 --> 00:13:26.570 But at some point, I clearly walked in to a salon 00:13:26.570 --> 00:13:31.000 and said, I'll have some frosted tips. At some 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:32.919 point, that decision was made. I don't remember 00:13:32.919 --> 00:13:35.779 thinking about that. I don't remember a moment 00:13:35.779 --> 00:13:41.240 where I stood in front of my mirror at home and 00:13:41.240 --> 00:13:44.279 thought, you know, what my wife would be really 00:13:44.279 --> 00:13:48.220 attracted to. I don't remember that process. 00:13:48.580 --> 00:13:51.759 I don't remember thinking, you know what the 00:13:51.759 --> 00:13:56.809 world needs. It's a pastor. That looks like he 00:13:56.809 --> 00:13:59.350 rated the clearance section a hot topic. That's 00:13:59.350 --> 00:14:02.350 what the world really needs. Like, I don't remember 00:14:02.350 --> 00:14:05.629 any of those thoughts, and yet clearly that happens, 00:14:05.710 --> 00:14:09.169 and all of us can have these moments where we've 00:14:09.169 --> 00:14:13.149 done something or been influenced in some way. 00:14:13.210 --> 00:14:15.250 Like, I don't know, what was conformed? You know, 00:14:15.269 --> 00:14:18.110 it was a boy band era. I look like a rejected 00:14:18.110 --> 00:14:22.009 Backstreet Boy. Like, I tried but didn't make 00:14:22.009 --> 00:14:23.549 the cut. Like, I don't know what was influencing 00:14:23.549 --> 00:14:25.740 my thinking. Because I wasn't thinking about 00:14:25.740 --> 00:14:27.899 it, but clearly there were some thoughts I was 00:14:27.899 --> 00:14:30.500 being conformed in such a way that resulted in 00:14:30.500 --> 00:14:33.220 me having frosted tips. So take your thoughts 00:14:33.220 --> 00:14:35.980 captive. I want us to spend a few minutes just 00:14:35.980 --> 00:14:38.860 unpacking this connection, this biblical truth 00:14:38.860 --> 00:14:43.100 of our life being shaped by our thoughts. First, 00:14:43.299 --> 00:14:45.480 let's recognize that our thoughts establish our 00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:47.059 emotions. Now that doesn't mean our thoughts 00:14:47.059 --> 00:14:49.139 are exclusively responsible for our feelings. 00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:50.879 There are a lot of factors that could be at play. 00:14:51.940 --> 00:14:56.899 But more than we recognize, Our thoughts establish 00:14:56.899 --> 00:14:59.059 our emotions. We tend to talk about our emotions 00:14:59.059 --> 00:15:01.799 as feelings that we don't have any control over. 00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:05.480 I can't help the way I feel. Or we look at circumstances, 00:15:05.799 --> 00:15:08.320 situations. We look at people and we say, well, 00:15:08.360 --> 00:15:11.379 if this circumstance changed, if this person 00:15:11.379 --> 00:15:14.659 didn't do what they did, then I'd feel differently 00:15:14.659 --> 00:15:18.779 than I do right now. But what we find is that 00:15:18.779 --> 00:15:21.039 there's this intricate relationship between how 00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:24.070 we think about things happening. and the feelings 00:15:24.070 --> 00:15:27.029 we have about those things. God created our brains 00:15:27.029 --> 00:15:30.289 with a limbic system, specifically the amygdala, 00:15:30.409 --> 00:15:33.009 which helps us process our emotional responses. 00:15:33.169 --> 00:15:36.389 Our thoughts are connected to our feelings more 00:15:36.389 --> 00:15:38.990 than we realize. Our neurotransmitter system 00:15:38.990 --> 00:15:41.389 connects thoughts and emotions, so what we think 00:15:41.389 --> 00:15:44.409 about can trigger the release of neurotransmitters 00:15:44.409 --> 00:15:47.070 like serotonin and dopamine that influence our 00:15:47.070 --> 00:15:49.769 emotional state. So here's how you might play 00:15:49.769 --> 00:15:53.740 this out. Let's say that you have, been feeling 00:15:53.740 --> 00:15:57.299 pretty discontent lately. Spending more time 00:15:57.299 --> 00:16:01.639 thinking about your life and what you don't have 00:16:01.639 --> 00:16:04.320 or maybe you're behind on some things compared 00:16:04.320 --> 00:16:07.039 to other people and you're comparing yourself 00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:08.879 to others and your thoughts have just been very 00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:13.419 focused on that. But then you read 1 Thessalonians 00:16:13.419 --> 00:16:16.340 5 .18 which says, give thanks in all circumstances. 00:16:17.899 --> 00:16:20.879 And you think, okay, well, Paul says, give thanks 00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:22.779 in all circumstances. I should think about things 00:16:22.779 --> 00:16:25.320 that I'm grateful for. I'm gonna do that. And 00:16:25.320 --> 00:16:28.080 I'm gonna just start taking my mornings. This 00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:30.960 is God's will for me. And so I'm gonna give thanks. 00:16:30.980 --> 00:16:33.220 I'm gonna spend my mornings just expressing gratitude 00:16:33.220 --> 00:16:34.960 to God for some things in my life. Now, when 00:16:34.960 --> 00:16:38.100 that happens, there is a neurotransmitter effect. 00:16:38.179 --> 00:16:40.580 That practice of being intentionally grateful 00:16:40.580 --> 00:16:43.700 increases serotonin levels, which is associated 00:16:43.700 --> 00:16:45.899 with mood regulation. Then you go throughout 00:16:45.899 --> 00:16:47.980 your day and you're not just reacting to everything 00:16:47.980 --> 00:16:50.690 that's happening around you, but instead. You've 00:16:50.690 --> 00:16:53.049 created a different neural pathway that responds 00:16:53.049 --> 00:16:55.610 with gratitude and thanksgiving when things don't 00:16:55.610 --> 00:16:57.809 go exactly how you thought they would. You're 00:16:57.809 --> 00:17:01.450 starting to recognize and see things to be thankful 00:17:01.450 --> 00:17:03.990 for, and it changes your emotions. It changes 00:17:03.990 --> 00:17:07.509 your feelings. So our thoughts establish our 00:17:07.509 --> 00:17:09.470 emotions. Secondly, our thoughts direct our decisions. 00:17:11.130 --> 00:17:13.250 It turns out that just like our emotions, our 00:17:13.250 --> 00:17:16.210 decisions are largely determined by what happens 00:17:16.210 --> 00:17:19.069 in our prefrontal cortex, which is... sometimes 00:17:19.069 --> 00:17:21.410 called the executive center, because it's where 00:17:21.410 --> 00:17:25.049 decisions get made. Our thoughts, being molded 00:17:25.049 --> 00:17:27.009 by the patterns of this world, are constantly 00:17:27.009 --> 00:17:29.910 assigning, subconsciously, assigning benefits 00:17:29.910 --> 00:17:33.329 and consequences to different actions. And whether 00:17:33.329 --> 00:17:36.670 or not you value the immediate pleasure and satisfaction, 00:17:36.750 --> 00:17:39.309 or whether you're consciously thinking about 00:17:39.309 --> 00:17:42.190 something that will come in the future because 00:17:42.190 --> 00:17:44.490 of a decision you make, but we all have these 00:17:44.490 --> 00:17:47.619 neural pathways that... Much more so than we 00:17:47.619 --> 00:17:51.059 realize are making certain decisions for us or 00:17:51.059 --> 00:17:54.500 taking us in the direction that we're going. 00:17:54.859 --> 00:17:57.019 Think of it this way. Think of a neural pathway 00:17:57.019 --> 00:18:02.160 as if you get in a car and you drive to a destination 00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:04.819 that you've never been to before, you're paying 00:18:04.819 --> 00:18:08.380 close attention. watching your GPS and you're 00:18:08.380 --> 00:18:10.539 aware of the road you need to turn on and you're 00:18:10.539 --> 00:18:12.640 paying attention to road signs. But if you've 00:18:12.640 --> 00:18:15.819 taken that path dozens of times, eventually you 00:18:15.819 --> 00:18:17.319 don't really even think about it. Like when you 00:18:17.319 --> 00:18:19.119 drive to work, you just drive to work. You're 00:18:19.119 --> 00:18:21.599 not paying attention to anything because you 00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:24.299 have created this pathway from doing it so many 00:18:24.299 --> 00:18:27.279 times. And the way God has designed our brains 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:31.099 is to have these neural pathways so that so many 00:18:31.099 --> 00:18:34.759 of the decisions we make come from The way we've 00:18:34.759 --> 00:18:37.019 been thinking over an extended period of time. 00:18:37.720 --> 00:18:40.099 This is why you can decide you're gonna have 00:18:40.099 --> 00:18:42.339 a calm, rational discussion with your spouse 00:18:42.339 --> 00:18:46.160 around finances, but during the conversation, 00:18:46.299 --> 00:18:48.960 your emotions take over, you start raising your 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:51.119 voice, you're getting sensitive and defensive. 00:18:51.640 --> 00:18:54.960 Why? Because you've got this neural pathway about 00:18:54.960 --> 00:18:57.880 talking to your spouse about finances, and even 00:18:57.880 --> 00:19:00.599 though you didn't mean for it to happen, you're... 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:03.859 response to them, the way you talk, the way you 00:19:03.859 --> 00:19:06.819 act starts going down that pathway that's been 00:19:06.819 --> 00:19:09.460 established. So this is one of the reasons why 00:19:09.460 --> 00:19:12.259 we get in trouble by putting too much emphasis 00:19:12.259 --> 00:19:14.980 on behavior modification over thought transformation. 00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:18.640 We think the key to bringing about change is 00:19:18.640 --> 00:19:20.940 I'm just going to do things differently. I'm 00:19:20.940 --> 00:19:23.900 going to behave my way out of this. But typically 00:19:23.900 --> 00:19:26.039 that doesn't last very long. It's not sustainable. 00:19:26.180 --> 00:19:28.079 That true transformation, according to Romans 00:19:28.079 --> 00:19:32.769 12, comes when we change the way we think. Renewing 00:19:32.769 --> 00:19:35.809 of our minds brings transformation. Thirdly, 00:19:35.809 --> 00:19:39.349 our thoughts regulate our relationships. There's 00:19:39.349 --> 00:19:42.289 a term for how our minds interpret what other 00:19:42.289 --> 00:19:45.849 people say and do. It's called cognitive interpretation. 00:19:46.910 --> 00:19:50.410 That if you come and you say something to me, 00:19:50.529 --> 00:19:54.890 no matter what you meant by what you said, no 00:19:54.890 --> 00:19:58.710 matter what tone you think you had, How I think 00:19:58.710 --> 00:20:00.470 about what you said is going to determine our 00:20:00.470 --> 00:20:04.549 relationship. My cognitive interpretation of 00:20:04.549 --> 00:20:07.230 that comment is going to determine the direction 00:20:07.230 --> 00:20:12.029 our relationship goes. And we all have this constantly 00:20:12.029 --> 00:20:15.250 happening in our minds where our cognitive interpretation 00:20:15.250 --> 00:20:19.049 might be constantly negative, in which case we're 00:20:19.049 --> 00:20:20.869 going to react in a way that's defensive or sensitive 00:20:20.869 --> 00:20:23.650 or antagonistic, or we might pull away and withdraw. 00:20:24.269 --> 00:20:27.349 But our thoughts are constantly filtering. what 00:20:27.349 --> 00:20:30.269 other people say and do. A few years ago, I was 00:20:30.269 --> 00:20:32.769 having some challenges with some relationships 00:20:32.769 --> 00:20:36.869 in my life, and I was talking to a friend about 00:20:36.869 --> 00:20:39.130 it, and he just really challenged my thinking, 00:20:39.269 --> 00:20:42.750 specifically, and he explained to me that this 00:20:42.750 --> 00:20:46.970 concept of filling in the gaps. And he basically 00:20:46.970 --> 00:20:50.369 said, look, any interaction you have with someone, 00:20:50.589 --> 00:20:54.130 your mind is gonna fill in some gaps. Things 00:20:54.130 --> 00:20:55.910 that you don't really know, but your thoughts 00:20:55.910 --> 00:20:59.190 will interpret what they say and do, and how 00:20:59.190 --> 00:21:00.650 your thoughts interpret that, it's filling in 00:21:00.650 --> 00:21:02.690 the gap. So let's say somebody says something, 00:21:02.789 --> 00:21:04.950 you're offended by it, but let's say there's 00:21:04.950 --> 00:21:07.710 a context gap. Like you don't know what led up 00:21:07.710 --> 00:21:09.269 to that, you don't know what they might have 00:21:09.269 --> 00:21:10.769 heard, you don't know what's happened during 00:21:10.769 --> 00:21:15.109 their day, you don't know a lot. And so how you 00:21:15.109 --> 00:21:17.430 fill in that context gap is going to determine 00:21:17.430 --> 00:21:20.539 how that relationship goes. Or maybe there's 00:21:20.539 --> 00:21:23.099 an information gap. Like what you're hearing 00:21:23.099 --> 00:21:28.079 is missing some important pieces. And how you 00:21:28.079 --> 00:21:30.259 fill in that information gap is gonna have a 00:21:30.259 --> 00:21:34.200 lot to do with the direction of that relationship. 00:21:34.400 --> 00:21:37.160 So our thoughts are constantly filling in gaps. 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:40.619 Do we presume the worst or do we assume the best? 00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:43.059 Do we give a cynical explanation or a generous 00:21:43.059 --> 00:21:45.839 explanation? If I pull in the driveway and I 00:21:45.839 --> 00:21:49.240 see my wife has ordered Something else off Amazon 00:21:49.240 --> 00:21:52.079 that's been delivered to the house. I see a box. 00:21:53.500 --> 00:21:56.819 My thoughts fill in the gap. I can think to myself, 00:21:57.000 --> 00:22:00.140 what could possibly be in that box that we need? 00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:02.319 There have already been a few deliveries this 00:22:02.319 --> 00:22:04.960 week. Doesn't she care about how we're spending 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:07.160 money? I could think those thoughts. I don't 00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:08.960 know what's in the box, but my mind could fill 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:12.059 in the gaps. Or I can think something different. 00:22:12.099 --> 00:22:14.650 I can say, well, you know... I never have to 00:22:14.650 --> 00:22:16.049 wonder if we're gonna have what we need around 00:22:16.049 --> 00:22:18.849 the house. My wife is much more intentional and 00:22:18.849 --> 00:22:20.890 thoughtful than me when it comes to spending 00:22:20.890 --> 00:22:23.670 money. She takes care of so many things that 00:22:23.670 --> 00:22:25.509 I probably don't even recognize and I certainly 00:22:25.509 --> 00:22:29.390 don't always appreciate. And depending on where 00:22:29.390 --> 00:22:31.569 my thoughts go, depending on how I interpret 00:22:31.569 --> 00:22:34.849 that moment, depending on how I fill that gap 00:22:34.849 --> 00:22:37.589 will determine, will regulate my relationship. 00:22:37.750 --> 00:22:39.509 It'll determine the course of our connection 00:22:39.509 --> 00:22:41.960 for the rest of the evening. So let me just give 00:22:41.960 --> 00:22:44.039 you some questions to think about as you process 00:22:44.039 --> 00:22:45.940 this connection between your thoughts and your 00:22:45.940 --> 00:22:49.380 relationships. When I make assumptions about 00:22:49.380 --> 00:22:51.940 someone's intentions, do I assume the best or 00:22:51.940 --> 00:22:53.779 the worst? Just pay attention to that as you 00:22:53.779 --> 00:22:56.279 think about your thoughts this week. Do you assume 00:22:56.279 --> 00:22:58.079 the best or do you assume the worst? Secondly, 00:22:58.140 --> 00:23:00.000 when I think about my past with this person, 00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:04.259 what do I remember? What do I remember? When 00:23:04.259 --> 00:23:07.700 I look back on our relationship, does my mind 00:23:07.700 --> 00:23:11.369 think about the things that went wrong or the 00:23:11.369 --> 00:23:13.329 way they made mistakes or different failures 00:23:13.329 --> 00:23:16.970 or negative things? Or do I look back and think 00:23:16.970 --> 00:23:19.170 about things that are positive and affirming 00:23:19.170 --> 00:23:22.809 and praiseworthy? Question number three, what 00:23:22.809 --> 00:23:24.829 narrative do I tell myself about this person 00:23:24.829 --> 00:23:27.130 when I have to fill in the gaps? What's the story 00:23:27.130 --> 00:23:30.869 that I tend to tell about this person when I'm 00:23:30.869 --> 00:23:34.250 not sure exactly the context of something? How 00:23:34.250 --> 00:23:37.809 do I fill in the gaps with that story? Number 00:23:37.809 --> 00:23:40.809 four, Our thoughts determine our spiritual growth. 00:23:41.950 --> 00:23:43.750 Colossians chapter three, verse two, set your 00:23:43.750 --> 00:23:46.809 mind on things above. Think about things that 00:23:46.809 --> 00:23:50.710 are eternal, not on earthly things. When we think 00:23:50.710 --> 00:23:55.289 eternal thoughts, it doesn't just shape our emotions 00:23:55.289 --> 00:23:57.690 and our decisions and our relationships, it shapes 00:23:57.690 --> 00:24:00.549 our soul. Like if I'll think about intentionally 00:24:00.549 --> 00:24:03.329 God's goodness and his promises and his character, 00:24:03.569 --> 00:24:07.279 my faith will grow. If I meditate on scripture, 00:24:07.460 --> 00:24:11.440 as Psalm chapter one talks about, David says 00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:14.720 in Psalm chapter one that we are to meditate 00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:18.019 on God and on his word. That word meditate, it's 00:24:18.019 --> 00:24:20.420 this idea of thinking about something so focused 00:24:20.420 --> 00:24:22.099 that it looks like we're talking to ourselves. 00:24:22.819 --> 00:24:28.220 If I'm doing that, it starts to bear fruit. If 00:24:28.220 --> 00:24:32.279 I am watering my thoughts with God's word, then 00:24:32.279 --> 00:24:35.619 it shapes my soul. But if I'm watering my thoughts 00:24:35.579 --> 00:24:39.059 thoughts with anxiety, then anxious things grow. 00:24:39.160 --> 00:24:42.279 If I'm watering thoughts of discontentment, then 00:24:42.279 --> 00:24:46.380 discontentment flourishes. So our thoughts, we'll 00:24:46.380 --> 00:24:47.799 talk more about this next week, determine our 00:24:47.799 --> 00:24:49.920 spiritual growth. Let's jump back into Romans 00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:52.680 12, look at verse two again. Don't be conformed 00:24:52.680 --> 00:24:55.440 to the patterns of this world, but... Be transformed 00:24:55.440 --> 00:24:57.519 by the renewing of your mind. This word transformed 00:24:57.519 --> 00:24:59.920 is the Greek word metamorphou. It's where we 00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:02.799 get our word metamorphosis, butterfly, caterpillar 00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:04.759 into a butterfly. Something crawling around in 00:25:04.759 --> 00:25:07.079 the mud is something soaring beautifully through 00:25:07.079 --> 00:25:09.680 the sky. Like this is the transformation that 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:13.119 takes place when we take our thoughts captive. 00:25:13.700 --> 00:25:18.339 What's interesting about this verb. be transformed 00:25:18.339 --> 00:25:20.900 is it's in the passive imperative voice, which 00:25:20.900 --> 00:25:23.720 is kind of weird because it's passive imperative. 00:25:23.900 --> 00:25:27.500 The reason that's unusual is it's passive, meaning 00:25:27.500 --> 00:25:30.480 that it's something that's done to us. We don't 00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:33.799 transform ourselves. God transforms us. But it's 00:25:33.799 --> 00:25:35.839 also imperative, like you have to do this. And 00:25:35.839 --> 00:25:39.279 it's just kind of weird to say you have to do 00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:42.720 something that you can't do. But this is the 00:25:42.720 --> 00:25:44.819 partnership that we have with the Holy Spirit, 00:25:44.900 --> 00:25:48.430 that we align our thoughts with God and with 00:25:48.430 --> 00:25:51.650 his word. And when we do, we experience his transforming 00:25:51.650 --> 00:25:54.849 work. It's also one of the reasons I love the 00:25:54.849 --> 00:25:58.450 language here is it takes this whole series and 00:25:58.450 --> 00:26:01.309 this whole conversation away from our self -help 00:26:01.309 --> 00:26:06.109 manifestation, self -improvement mold. And instead 00:26:06.109 --> 00:26:09.630 it says, hey, we're transformed supernaturally. 00:26:09.710 --> 00:26:12.720 That's God's power that transforms us. And so 00:26:12.720 --> 00:26:14.119 we're going to begin this journey over the next 00:26:14.119 --> 00:26:17.259 six weeks of taking our thoughts captive, experiencing 00:26:17.259 --> 00:26:20.559 transformation that can come only from God. And 00:26:20.559 --> 00:26:23.039 the way I want to challenge you as we start this 00:26:23.039 --> 00:26:26.400 series is to break the pattern of distraction. 00:26:27.240 --> 00:26:29.960 If there's one mold of this world that I think 00:26:29.960 --> 00:26:32.039 keeps us from experiencing the transformation 00:26:32.039 --> 00:26:35.680 God wants in our lives, it's our constant distraction. 00:26:36.019 --> 00:26:39.640 We are constantly distracted, more so than ever. 00:26:40.039 --> 00:26:43.400 It would be fun. Maybe not fun. It'd probably 00:26:43.400 --> 00:26:46.460 be discouraging to me to just pay attention or 00:26:46.460 --> 00:26:48.759 know exactly what some of you are being distracted 00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:52.160 by right now. Like right now. Like right now, 00:26:52.180 --> 00:26:53.799 some of you are really distracted by something. 00:26:55.859 --> 00:26:57.619 I don't know what it is. Maybe you're hungry. 00:26:58.119 --> 00:27:00.460 Maybe you're watching your clock and you think, 00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:04.140 is he about done? Maybe it's the white tennis 00:27:04.140 --> 00:27:06.339 shoes. And you're like, you never trust a man 00:27:06.339 --> 00:27:07.960 with tennis shoes that white. You can't trust 00:27:07.960 --> 00:27:09.819 somebody. Like, I don't know what it is. I just 00:27:09.819 --> 00:27:13.299 know that our minds are constantly distracted. 00:27:13.579 --> 00:27:17.519 Like, we have so much vying for our attention. 00:27:17.779 --> 00:27:21.119 There's 6 ,000 movies and TV shows on Netflix. 00:27:21.400 --> 00:27:24.059 That's one of 200 streaming services available. 00:27:24.920 --> 00:27:27.480 There's five million video games waiting to be 00:27:27.480 --> 00:27:29.480 conquered. There's nine million apps you can 00:27:29.480 --> 00:27:32.059 download. The average person spends like six 00:27:32.059 --> 00:27:34.779 hours and 58 minutes on the screens every day. 00:27:35.460 --> 00:27:37.579 Some of you are like, there's no way. Check your 00:27:37.579 --> 00:27:39.559 screen time. And then take into consideration 00:27:39.559 --> 00:27:41.460 when you're tripling up, when you're watching 00:27:41.460 --> 00:27:43.880 TV, shopping on an iPad, and checking your text 00:27:43.880 --> 00:27:45.880 messages at the same time. You think it's 10 00:27:45.880 --> 00:27:48.579 minutes. That's 30 minutes of time on the screen. 00:27:49.059 --> 00:27:52.869 It's constant, constant distraction. And so for 00:27:52.869 --> 00:27:55.809 us to experience this transformation in our lives, 00:27:55.849 --> 00:27:58.670 we've got to have more space, more margin to 00:27:58.670 --> 00:28:01.410 think about our thoughts. We have to have more 00:28:01.410 --> 00:28:04.950 space to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying 00:28:04.950 --> 00:28:09.150 to us. And God often speaks in whispers. And 00:28:09.150 --> 00:28:13.910 we have so much that distracts us. It's Luke 00:28:13.910 --> 00:28:16.730 chapter 10 when Mary and Martha have Jesus visit 00:28:16.730 --> 00:28:19.190 their home. And the Bible says Martha was distracted 00:28:19.190 --> 00:28:22.720 by many good things. She's serving, it's hospitality. 00:28:22.940 --> 00:28:26.940 She's preparing food for Jesus. And Jesus says, 00:28:27.059 --> 00:28:30.180 Martha, you're worried and upset about many things. 00:28:30.240 --> 00:28:33.579 You're distracted by many things. But few things 00:28:33.579 --> 00:28:36.220 are needed. Indeed, only one. And Mary has chosen 00:28:36.220 --> 00:28:40.019 what is better. And so my prayer for us as a 00:28:40.019 --> 00:28:41.940 church is that we would break this pattern of 00:28:41.940 --> 00:28:43.960 distraction so we could connect more deeply with 00:28:43.960 --> 00:28:46.200 Jesus. We could experience this transformation 00:28:46.200 --> 00:28:49.259 that we read about in Romans 12. I want to take 00:28:49.259 --> 00:28:51.680 just three minutes and I want to show you a parable 00:28:51.680 --> 00:28:53.299 that I wrote. And the reason I want to show you 00:28:53.299 --> 00:28:56.140 this parable is that when I'm up here just preaching 00:28:56.140 --> 00:28:58.940 or teaching, if you're like me, when I'm sitting 00:28:58.940 --> 00:29:03.420 and listening to someone, I'm in a lane of, I'm 00:29:03.420 --> 00:29:06.400 in the information lane where I'm trying to consume 00:29:06.400 --> 00:29:10.579 some content, not necessarily a thoughtful processing. 00:29:11.240 --> 00:29:13.559 I think one of the reasons Jesus told parables 00:29:13.559 --> 00:29:16.680 is that the stories invited a different kind 00:29:16.680 --> 00:29:18.960 of thinking than just receiving information. 00:29:19.599 --> 00:29:22.160 So I want to show you this parable and then I 00:29:22.160 --> 00:29:23.819 have a challenge for you before we're dismissed. 00:29:25.480 --> 00:29:28.539 There was once a loving father who took his young 00:29:28.539 --> 00:29:31.180 daughter to a spectacular circus. Unlike other 00:29:31.180 --> 00:29:33.019 fathers, he didn't have to save for the tickets. 00:29:33.059 --> 00:29:35.660 He actually owned the circus. In fact, he had 00:29:35.660 --> 00:29:38.160 created everything inside of it. Over the years, 00:29:38.180 --> 00:29:40.240 it had become much different than he had originally 00:29:40.240 --> 00:29:42.759 designed, but he was sure she would have a wonderful 00:29:42.759 --> 00:29:44.779 time and couldn't wait to share the experience 00:29:44.779 --> 00:29:47.890 with her. As they approached the massive tent 00:29:47.890 --> 00:29:51.150 together, neon lights flashed in hypnotic patterns. 00:29:51.430 --> 00:29:54.130 Music pulsed from a dozen different directions. 00:29:54.569 --> 00:29:57.630 Screens of all sizes displayed an endless stream 00:29:57.630 --> 00:30:00.710 of attractions. Don't miss this. Limited time 00:30:00.710 --> 00:30:03.769 only. Once in a lifetime experience, they promised. 00:30:04.470 --> 00:30:07.589 Stay close to me, the father said gently as he 00:30:07.589 --> 00:30:10.349 held tightly to her hand. But his daughter's 00:30:10.349 --> 00:30:12.569 eyes were already darting everywhere, consumed 00:30:12.569 --> 00:30:15.650 by the dazzling displays. Can I go look at that, 00:30:15.769 --> 00:30:17.829 she asked, pointing to the social media spectacular 00:30:17.829 --> 00:30:20.529 where performers were taking selfies with the 00:30:20.529 --> 00:30:22.990 visitors. Before waiting for an answer, she was 00:30:22.990 --> 00:30:25.269 already drifting toward it. The father watched 00:30:25.269 --> 00:30:27.869 as his daughter raced from attraction to attraction, 00:30:28.109 --> 00:30:30.609 barely noticing he was no longer beside her. 00:30:30.809 --> 00:30:33.589 She dove into the streaming circus where countless 00:30:33.589 --> 00:30:36.609 shows played simultaneously on countless screens. 00:30:36.910 --> 00:30:40.349 She got onto the infinite scroll carousel, and 00:30:40.349 --> 00:30:43.750 she was spun round and round. Her phone buzzed 00:30:43.750 --> 00:30:46.130 constantly with alerts about new acts starting 00:30:46.130 --> 00:30:48.710 somewhere in the park. Each notification pulled 00:30:48.710 --> 00:30:50.910 her in a new direction, always promising something. 00:30:51.119 --> 00:30:52.980 better something more exciting from the last 00:30:52.980 --> 00:30:56.799 in the FOMO fun house mirrors showed her all 00:30:56.799 --> 00:30:59.940 the other shows that she was missing she joined 00:30:59.940 --> 00:31:01.960 the frantic crowds at the instant gratification 00:31:01.960 --> 00:31:04.779 games competing desperately for likes and views 00:31:04.779 --> 00:31:08.559 the father remained present watching waiting 00:31:08.559 --> 00:31:11.119 sometimes she'd catch a glimpse of him in the 00:31:11.119 --> 00:31:12.980 distance still standing where she'd left him 00:31:12.980 --> 00:31:15.599 but there was always another attraction calling 00:31:15.599 --> 00:31:18.500 her name another notification demanding her attention 00:31:19.369 --> 00:31:21.650 But as time passed, a strange emptiness began 00:31:21.650 --> 00:31:24.569 to grow inside her. Despite experiencing everything 00:31:24.569 --> 00:31:27.069 the circus had to offer, nothing seemed to satisfy. 00:31:27.609 --> 00:31:30.549 The likes and the views felt hollow. The endless 00:31:30.549 --> 00:31:33.289 streams of content left her feeling somehow less 00:31:33.289 --> 00:31:36.230 content. The constant rush for the next experience 00:31:36.230 --> 00:31:40.650 left her feeling exhausted and alone. One quiet 00:31:40.650 --> 00:31:43.470 moment between the flash and noise of attractions, 00:31:43.809 --> 00:31:47.490 she heard a small voice inside her asking, remember 00:31:47.490 --> 00:31:50.049 when you used to just sit with your father in 00:31:50.049 --> 00:31:53.309 the backyard? She stopped moving for the first 00:31:53.309 --> 00:31:55.809 time in what felt like forever. Looking around 00:31:55.809 --> 00:31:58.190 at the frantic crowd, she suddenly realized what 00:31:58.190 --> 00:32:00.789 she'd been missing all along. She turned and 00:32:00.789 --> 00:32:03.089 walked back through the circus, past all the 00:32:03.089 --> 00:32:05.630 flashing lights and screaming at screens until 00:32:05.630 --> 00:32:08.269 she found him. Her father was sitting on a simple 00:32:08.269 --> 00:32:11.500 bench. It seemed out of place amongst all the 00:32:11.500 --> 00:32:14.279 chaos of the circus. Most people rushed past 00:32:14.279 --> 00:32:16.619 it, too busy with their phones to notice, but 00:32:16.619 --> 00:32:19.519 he was there, just as he'd always been, waiting 00:32:19.519 --> 00:32:23.380 patiently with a gentle smile. I'm sorry, she 00:32:23.380 --> 00:32:25.559 whispered, sitting beside him. I got so caught 00:32:25.559 --> 00:32:28.000 up in everything else, I just, I just forgot. 00:32:28.660 --> 00:32:31.279 He gently put his arm around her, pulling her 00:32:31.279 --> 00:32:34.019 close to his side. For the first time since entering 00:32:34.019 --> 00:32:37.799 the circus, she felt truly at peace. Around them, 00:32:37.799 --> 00:32:40.359 the frenzy continued. Lights flashing, music 00:32:40.359 --> 00:32:43.400 blaring, crowds rushing from one show to the 00:32:43.400 --> 00:32:48.240 next. But she had found something better. Later, 00:32:48.279 --> 00:32:50.539 as they walked together under the stars, she 00:32:50.539 --> 00:32:53.660 asked her father why he had let her get so lost 00:32:53.660 --> 00:32:57.559 in all the distractions. Sometimes, he explained, 00:32:57.859 --> 00:33:00.079 you have to lose yourself in everything else 00:33:00.079 --> 00:33:12.279 before you can find what truly matters. That's 00:33:12.279 --> 00:33:14.900 where some of you are right now. I think that 00:33:14.900 --> 00:33:17.480 was the prodigal son story. I think that's the 00:33:17.480 --> 00:33:19.839 woman at the well story. I think that's the Acts 00:33:19.839 --> 00:33:23.839 9 story. It's losing yourself in something that 00:33:23.839 --> 00:33:26.339 might be good, it might be bad, but it's not 00:33:26.339 --> 00:33:30.599 what's best. And before long, you look up and 00:33:30.599 --> 00:33:34.420 you have scrolled away weeks, months, years of 00:33:34.420 --> 00:33:37.420 your life. But just know that your heavenly father 00:33:37.420 --> 00:33:42.579 is waiting for you. And so we want to just, over 00:33:42.579 --> 00:33:45.259 these next six weeks, make space for that. I'm 00:33:45.259 --> 00:33:47.000 going to give you some challenges, and I'd like 00:33:47.000 --> 00:33:50.720 to encourage you to pick two of these for the 00:33:50.720 --> 00:33:53.759 next six weeks. Don't think of this as punishment. 00:33:54.460 --> 00:33:57.220 Think of this as partnership with the Holy Spirit 00:33:57.220 --> 00:34:00.819 in your transformation. So one way to break this 00:34:00.819 --> 00:34:02.579 pattern of distraction would be a social media 00:34:02.579 --> 00:34:05.599 Sabbath. You delete apps, even if it's just for 00:34:05.599 --> 00:34:09.219 one week. And you replace that with time in scripture, 00:34:09.400 --> 00:34:12.619 time in prayer. And a second option would be 00:34:12.619 --> 00:34:15.940 news detox where you limit your news to 15 minutes 00:34:15.940 --> 00:34:19.400 a day. You spend extra time meditating on God's 00:34:19.400 --> 00:34:22.619 word. 15 minutes a day, that includes like pundits 00:34:22.619 --> 00:34:24.340 talking about what's happening in the world or 00:34:24.340 --> 00:34:27.539 podcasts that are focused on current cultural 00:34:27.539 --> 00:34:32.099 dynamics. Third is an entertainment fast where 00:34:32.099 --> 00:34:35.320 you trade your streaming time for maybe some, 00:34:36.079 --> 00:34:40.219 reading or some worship time or conversation 00:34:40.219 --> 00:34:44.199 with others. Another option would be phone -free 00:34:44.199 --> 00:34:46.940 mornings, where the first hour of each day belongs 00:34:46.940 --> 00:34:50.920 to God, not your device. Each day, you stay the 00:34:50.920 --> 00:34:54.639 first hour that belongs to God. The next option 00:34:54.639 --> 00:34:58.300 is phone -free bedrooms. I'll tell you why I'm 00:34:58.300 --> 00:35:02.539 smiling. Phone -free bedrooms. Each day, you're 00:35:02.539 --> 00:35:04.139 going to say for the next six weeks, you're not 00:35:04.139 --> 00:35:05.599 going to have a screen with you in your bedroom. 00:35:05.980 --> 00:35:08.619 would be the one. And then lastly is notification 00:35:08.619 --> 00:35:10.559 silence where you're just gonna turn off all 00:35:10.559 --> 00:35:13.199 your notifications that are non -essential. If 00:35:13.199 --> 00:35:14.619 you need help figuring out non -essential, ask 00:35:14.619 --> 00:35:16.340 some people in your life and they can help you 00:35:16.340 --> 00:35:20.900 recognize what's non -essential. The reason I'm 00:35:20.900 --> 00:35:24.420 smiling is because my wife hadn't heard my sermon 00:35:24.420 --> 00:35:26.820 until last hour and then I got a text from her 00:35:26.820 --> 00:35:29.099 and she's like, so which two are you choosing? 00:35:29.679 --> 00:35:34.050 And... So I was processing that while I was going 00:35:34.050 --> 00:35:36.670 through the list with you, knowing that when 00:35:36.670 --> 00:35:40.090 I get home that I'm going to make sure to give 00:35:40.090 --> 00:35:42.829 her my two options as well. But can I just encourage 00:35:42.829 --> 00:35:45.969 you to break the pattern of this world? And you 00:35:45.969 --> 00:35:48.170 can choose something different if you want, but 00:35:48.170 --> 00:35:51.469 just intentionally pay attention to the mold 00:35:51.469 --> 00:35:54.210 and let's do some things to break free from it. 00:35:54.639 --> 00:35:56.400 These next six weeks. So we can take our thoughts 00:35:56.400 --> 00:35:58.820 captive. We can find freedom. We can experience 00:35:58.820 --> 00:36:01.699 the transformation. That God promises us in Romans 00:36:01.699 --> 00:36:06.420 12. Let me pray. God thank you that you are a 00:36:06.420 --> 00:36:08.920 loving father. Who even in the busyness of this 00:36:08.920 --> 00:36:11.199 world. And in our constant distracted state. 00:36:12.360 --> 00:36:17.579 You don't leave. And you wait for us patiently. 00:36:17.860 --> 00:36:21.159 And so I pray God that you would allow us. The 00:36:21.159 --> 00:36:24.760 humility and the courage to recognize. how some 00:36:24.760 --> 00:36:27.780 of our thinking is just really distracted these 00:36:27.780 --> 00:36:34.130 days and that you would give us just the... to 00:36:34.130 --> 00:36:36.650 follow through on this, to break free from some 00:36:36.650 --> 00:36:38.489 of the patterns of this world, to not just say, 00:36:38.550 --> 00:36:40.650 we're just gonna do what we've always been doing. 00:36:40.730 --> 00:36:42.349 We're not gonna just follow on the path that 00:36:42.349 --> 00:36:44.070 everybody else seems to be on, but we're gonna 00:36:44.070 --> 00:36:46.409 do some things different. So would you help us 00:36:46.409 --> 00:36:48.610 do that as a church community these next six 00:36:48.610 --> 00:36:51.289 weeks, that we would learn to take every thought 00:36:51.289 --> 00:36:55.449 captive and submit them to you and find the life 00:36:55.449 --> 00:36:58.389 that you really have in mind for us. It's in 00:36:58.389 --> 00:37:03.480 Jesus' name we pray, amen. This is Living on 00:37:03.480 --> 00:37:06.539 the Edge with Chip Ingram. Friend, for over 30 00:37:06.539 --> 00:37:08.719 years, Living on the Edge has been committed 00:37:08.719 --> 00:37:11.460 to one mission, helping believers understand 00:37:11.460 --> 00:37:14.880 what it truly means to follow Jesus. Not religious 00:37:14.880 --> 00:37:17.780 activity, not trying harder, but relational, 00:37:18.019 --> 00:37:21.539 practical, measurable Christianity that transforms 00:37:21.539 --> 00:37:25.699 every area of life. Messages like today's exist 00:37:25.699 --> 00:37:28.000 because partners believe this mission matters. 00:37:28.260 --> 00:37:31.139 When you give to Living on the Edge, you're helping 00:37:31.139 --> 00:37:34.199 Christians discover God's power, peace, purpose, 00:37:34.480 --> 00:37:37.559 presence, and perspective. You're investing in 00:37:37.559 --> 00:37:40.039 clear biblical teaching that moves people from 00:37:40.039 --> 00:37:43.780 confusion to clarity, from exhaustion to experiencing 00:37:43.780 --> 00:37:46.900 God's best. Would you join this mission today? 00:37:47.380 --> 00:37:51.500 Give online at livingontheedge .org or call us 00:37:51.500 --> 00:37:56.739 at 888 - 333 -6003. You can also mail your gift 00:37:56.739 --> 00:38:00.860 to Living on the Edge, P .O. Box 3007, Atlanta, 00:38:01.079 --> 00:38:05.500 Georgia, 30024. Want more content throughout 00:38:05.500 --> 00:38:08.800 the week? Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and 00:38:08.800 --> 00:38:12.320 YouTube. Just search for Living on the Edge on 00:38:12.320 --> 00:38:15.420 Facebook and Instagram. And then for all of our 00:38:15.420 --> 00:38:18.039 video content, subscribe to Chip Ingram's YouTube 00:38:18.039 --> 00:38:21.090 channel when you're there. Well, that wraps up 00:38:21.090 --> 00:38:23.730 today's episode. Don't miss the next Bible teaching 00:38:23.730 --> 00:38:26.650 message coming up here on the Chip Ingram Sermon 00:38:26.650 --> 00:38:33.010 Podcast. Today's program is produced and sponsored 00:38:33.010 --> 00:38:34.550 by Living on the Edge.