1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,120 We open our Bibles together to the Memory Verse and the text for today's message, Philippians 2 00:00:10,120 --> 00:00:12,520 4 verse 8. 3 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:18,840 We have already heard it sung to us, but listen as we read it from the New American Standard 4 00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:19,840 Version. 5 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:27,360 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is 6 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:34,120 pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if 7 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:41,880 anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. 8 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:47,400 Medical science has learned how to transplant a number of the organs of the body, but there 9 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:53,280 is one organ that cannot be transplanted because it's the one that controls all of the rest 10 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:54,280 of them. 11 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:56,880 Of course, that's the brain. 12 00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:01,880 The average weight of the human brain is three pounds, some of us a little more, some of 13 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:04,680 us a little less maybe. 14 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:11,760 The average human brain contains 12 billion cells. 15 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:22,200 Each cell is connected to 10,000 other brain cells, totaling in your brain 120 trillion 16 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:25,200 connections. 17 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:30,040 Now you don't have to wonder why you forget things every now and then, do you, with that 18 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:32,160 many connections? 19 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:36,120 And when you want to give somebody a piece of your mind, you've got some extra there, 20 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:38,120 don't you? 21 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:41,000 120 trillion connections. 22 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:47,080 Dr. Duane Gish, a scientist, has said that the human brain is the most complex arrangement 23 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:51,560 of matter in the universe. 24 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:58,860 Much of your brain is given to the functioning of your mind, the intellectual part of you. 25 00:01:58,860 --> 00:02:07,000 The mind houses your memory, your intuition, your conscience, your reasoning ability, your 26 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:10,960 sexuality, and much more. 27 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:17,920 Everything you experience with your senses, and we now are told that there are some 17 28 00:02:17,920 --> 00:02:25,240 senses that we have, everything recorded is recorded in your brain. 29 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:31,080 Most of that of course is in the subconscious mind, and it cannot be accessed simply by 30 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:34,520 your choosing to access it. 31 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:39,920 However it's interesting is that how one thought can trigger another thought which immediately 32 00:02:39,920 --> 00:02:50,720 accesses a file in your brain in the subconscious so that you recall an experience long forgotten. 33 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:53,600 It's interesting how smells can do that. 34 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:58,720 You smell something baking perhaps and immediately your mind goes back to the childhood when 35 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:05,280 grandma or mom were making that same dish or something like it. 36 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:13,360 The brain oversees the involuntary functions of your body such as the beating of your heart. 37 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:15,840 They happen automatically. 38 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:19,040 You don't have to think about those things. 39 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:24,760 But it also of course controls the voluntary functions, those functions that you and I 40 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:27,160 can control. 41 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:33,280 Of those that we can control there are perhaps four major areas. 42 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:45,200 What we see, what we hear, what we communicate, and how we think. 43 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:52,200 A great deal of our lives is determined by those voluntary functions I just named. 44 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:58,680 What we see, hear, say, and how we think. 45 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:01,560 We choose all of those. 46 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:11,920 And what we allow our minds to dwell on, the sights, the sounds, the thought patterns. 47 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:16,280 Those determine the kind of people that you and I become. 48 00:04:16,280 --> 00:04:25,360 It is no wonder that the mind is the battleground in our spiritual experience. 49 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:32,560 So we have an enemy who is determined to destroy us. 50 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:41,800 And if he can influence us in our thoughts, he knows that the victory will be his. 51 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:48,040 Our thinking ultimately determines our character. 52 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:57,640 Learning to control our thoughts and to fill our minds is essential to spiritual advance. 53 00:04:57,640 --> 00:04:59,840 How do we do that? 54 00:04:59,840 --> 00:05:04,320 How do we learn to control what fills our minds? 55 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:11,120 Well I believe that there are some defensive actions that we can take as well as some offensive 56 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:12,120 actions. 57 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:15,520 I'd like to talk about them this morning. 58 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:22,600 The mind and I can control what we dwell on, first of all by taking some defensive actions. 59 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:28,240 Now when I say that, the assumption is that we are under attack and of course we are. 60 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:33,640 Let's back up a few pages in the New Testament to Ephesians chapter 6. 61 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:35,920 We are told here the nature of the warfare that we are in. 62 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:40,440 We are under attack as the children of God. 63 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:44,520 That's why we are told in verse 11, put on the full armor of God that you may be able 64 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:50,080 to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 65 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:55,960 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against the powers, 66 00:05:55,960 --> 00:06:03,120 against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness 67 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:05,240 in the heavenly realm. 68 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:12,080 Therefore, take up the full armor of God that you may be able to resist in the evil day 69 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:16,760 and having done everything to stand firm. 70 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:19,600 You and I are in a battle. 71 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:25,600 It is a battle that takes place in our minds. 72 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:31,000 It is pictured here as hand to hand combat. 73 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:40,240 We are told that we are to resist and to stand firm against the evil one in this warfare 74 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:44,120 that focuses on our minds. 75 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:51,080 He mentions in verse 16 the flaming missiles of the evil one. 76 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:58,280 The flaming missiles of the devil are thoughts that he puts into our minds. 77 00:06:58,280 --> 00:07:03,760 There was a time many years ago when as a young Christian I thought that I should never 78 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:05,520 speak my prayers out loud. 79 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:10,080 I should only think them because then the devil wouldn't know what I was praying. 80 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:14,680 And how foolish I was because the thoughts are where the devil works. 81 00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:16,680 That's his realm. 82 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:23,560 He knows the thoughts and that's where he shoots his flaming arrows or his flaming missiles. 83 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:29,400 The thoughts that he puts there, or any of our thoughts for that matter, become the door 84 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:32,040 to our soul. 85 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:37,840 What we think about opens the door to the innermost part of us, our intellect, our emotions 86 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:40,040 and our will. 87 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:44,880 Therefore we must stand guard at the door of our minds. 88 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:52,680 And when we sense a flaming missile or a temptation come, then we should immediately sound the 89 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:56,640 alarm system that we're under attack. 90 00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:01,560 And when we're under attack there are some defensive actions that we can take. 91 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:08,480 He suggests a couple of them here in our Ephesians 6 text, verses 16 and 17. 92 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:13,160 Just picking out a couple of them because the whole armor of God is for our defense. 93 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:18,240 Let me point out to the shield of faith mentioned in verse 16. 94 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:26,200 Taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the fiery missiles 95 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:27,200 of the evil one. 96 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:30,280 Not some of them, not a few of them, but all of them. 97 00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:36,640 In other words, the shield of faith is so effective that with it you and I, if we learn 98 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:44,880 to wield it well, can extinguish all of the flaming missiles that Satan sends into our 99 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:45,880 minds. 100 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:51,960 In verse 17 he says, and take the helmet of salvation. 101 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:55,720 Remember the helmet fits over the head where we think. 102 00:08:55,720 --> 00:09:02,680 He talks about the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. 103 00:09:02,680 --> 00:09:09,080 When we're under attack what we should immediately do as soon as we're aware of the fact we're 104 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:18,080 under attack is to raise up the shield of faith which means what we believe to be true 105 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:20,960 about God. 106 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:27,360 The truth that we believe in the Bible, that becomes our shield. 107 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:34,880 It will quench those fiery darts of the evil one. 108 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:40,680 Let's suppose that your mind is filled with fear and anxiety. 109 00:09:40,680 --> 00:09:46,120 Whatever the situation may be, you're just overcome with thoughts of worry and anxiety 110 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:51,800 about the future of what may happen or what if. 111 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:56,840 What kind of shield can you put up to protect you against those kinds of flaming missiles? 112 00:09:56,840 --> 00:10:01,800 Well, one suggestion would be 1 Peter 5, 7. 113 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:09,160 Casting all your care, all of your anxieties upon him for he, what? 114 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:11,800 He cares for you. 115 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:13,840 What do I believe about God? 116 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:18,720 Excuse me, that should protect me from anxiety. 117 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:24,800 I believe that he cares for me and that whatever issues there are that I'm facing that are 118 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:27,640 uncertain and fearful. 119 00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:33,720 But he's in the midst of those and because he cares for me, I don't have to be afraid. 120 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:35,960 I believe that God cares for me. 121 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:41,740 That becomes a shield of faith and though there are tempting thoughts that come to me 122 00:10:41,740 --> 00:10:49,720 like arrows flaming with anxiety, when they hit that truth, he cares for me. 123 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:52,200 They're extinguished. 124 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:58,840 The shield of faith, the sword of the spirit. 125 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:03,920 What about thoughts of doubt? 126 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:09,440 We wonder if God really is coming through on this one. 127 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:14,880 We have prayed and prayed and prayed and it seems as though the answer is not coming, 128 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:18,880 at least the answer we were looking for. 129 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:25,680 And so we begin to doubt, begins to eat away at our joy and we wonder whether God really 130 00:11:25,680 --> 00:11:28,440 has blown it this time. 131 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:31,040 What kind of a shield can you lift to that? 132 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:41,080 Well, one might be 1 Thessalonians 5.24, faithful is he that calls you who also will do it. 133 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:45,120 Faithful is he that has called you who also will do it. 134 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:51,640 And so when the doubts come flying into your minds, Satan draws back the bow and that flaming 135 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:54,360 arrow comes in to question God. 136 00:11:54,360 --> 00:11:57,200 Faithful is he that calls you. 137 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:01,600 Faithful means that God doesn't fail, friend. 138 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:05,520 And it puts out the flaming arrow. 139 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:09,620 What about thoughts of lust? 140 00:12:09,620 --> 00:12:15,560 What about proud thoughts or selfishness? 141 00:12:15,560 --> 00:12:21,880 To each of those there are shields of faith that you and I can lift. 142 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:29,160 What we believe about God, what the truth is that the Bible teaches us, when we lift 143 00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:35,560 that shield the thought is extinguished, it's defensive and it works. 144 00:12:35,560 --> 00:12:40,600 The neat thing about it is that when we plug in the word of God, it acts as the sword of 145 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:44,560 the spirit too, which disarms the devil. 146 00:12:44,560 --> 00:12:51,360 And so not only is that negative thought extinguished, but a positive thought is put in its place 147 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:56,840 and that's a very important principle. 148 00:12:56,840 --> 00:13:00,920 Use the shield of faith and the sword of the spirit, that's our first action. 149 00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:05,880 Let me suggest a second action that's defensive in nature. 150 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:09,560 We're under attack, how do we defend ourselves? 151 00:13:09,560 --> 00:13:15,720 Let me suggest secondly cry out to God for deliverance, prayer. 152 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:23,000 Ephesians 6, 18, with all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the spirit. 153 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:29,460 That becomes our resource, our energy, of which we're able to stand against the enemy as he 154 00:13:29,460 --> 00:13:32,560 puts pressure on us. 155 00:13:32,560 --> 00:13:36,640 Every one of us is under some kind of pressure this morning. 156 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:43,120 Which of us is not in some kind of a battle, a battle that is focused on the mind, on the 157 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:48,920 way that we think, upon the thoughts that are there. 158 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:54,760 Prayer is our cry to God for deliverance. 159 00:13:54,760 --> 00:14:05,680 With a couple of Psalms, turn back to Psalm 34, David feels pressure. 160 00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:17,520 He is in the land of the Philistines, his enemies actually. 161 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:24,840 He has fled there out of fear of Saul and they have discovered who he is. 162 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:27,320 And he's afraid that he's going to be killed. 163 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:32,840 That's what's going on in his mind, anxiety and fear, fear of death. 164 00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:42,080 He says in verse 4 of Psalm 34, I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from 165 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:45,840 all my fears. 166 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:50,480 His thoughts that were filled with anxiety, they looked at him and were radiant and their 167 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:54,320 faces shall never be ashamed. 168 00:14:54,320 --> 00:15:01,800 This poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. 169 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:08,720 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and rescues them. 170 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:15,220 You understand when you cry out to the Lord, God responds to that. 171 00:15:15,220 --> 00:15:21,680 He sends an angel to deliver you from that spiritual warfare. 172 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:27,480 The angel of the Lord camps round about you and he delivers you from the pressure and 173 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:33,240 the presence of that enemy who is shooting those fiery arrows into your mind. 174 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:45,680 And over to Psalm 91. 175 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:51,260 Again the psalmist is afraid. 176 00:15:51,260 --> 00:15:54,280 Verse 5 mentions that. 177 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:57,280 Destruction is at hand. 178 00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:06,640 Psalm 91 verse 11, For he will give his angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all 179 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:07,640 your ways. 180 00:16:07,640 --> 00:16:13,880 They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone. 181 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:16,280 You will tread upon the lion and cobra. 182 00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:21,400 The young lion and the serpent you will trample down, because he has loved me. 183 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:23,840 Therefore I will deliver him. 184 00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:28,320 I will set him securely on high, because he has known my name. 185 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:31,400 He will call upon me, and I will answer him. 186 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:33,040 I will be with him in trouble. 187 00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:35,360 I will rescue him and honor him. 188 00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:39,400 Those are the words of the Lord. 189 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:42,480 You and I are under attack mentally. 190 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:48,800 When thoughts are flying through our minds that are negative and ungodly and destructive, 191 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:55,760 you and I can cry to the Lord, and the Lord hears us, and the Lord answers. 192 00:16:55,760 --> 00:17:03,480 And the Lord sends his angels to guard us and to protect us against the enemy. 193 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:11,040 You and I can guard our minds by taking these defensive actions when we're under attack. 194 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:16,640 Do not allow your mind to be infiltrated by the enemy. 195 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:20,240 That's the basic rule of thumb. 196 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:24,980 That's the principle that we're to follow, but the fact is that Satan does infiltrate 197 00:17:24,980 --> 00:17:30,000 our minds, and when he does, we need to take corrective actions. 198 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:31,640 I wish I had time to develop that. 199 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:35,000 I don't this morning, but let me just drop a couple of things into your thoughts about 200 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:36,280 it. 201 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:41,320 When Satan has infiltrated our minds, and when our thoughts have progressed down the 202 00:17:41,320 --> 00:17:55,600 path toward negativism, toward sin, toward fear, toward doubt, when Satan has already 203 00:17:55,600 --> 00:18:03,120 breached the wall and he's involved in our thinking process, what do we need to do to 204 00:18:03,120 --> 00:18:04,120 correct it? 205 00:18:04,120 --> 00:18:07,920 First of all, we need to reprogram our thoughts. 206 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:10,600 We need to isolate what we're thinking. 207 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:17,880 We need to step back and look at ourselves for just a moment and analyze our thoughts. 208 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:25,320 The apostle says in Philippians 4.8, think on these things. 209 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:31,440 Most of us just have to stop with that first word, first of all, think, because too often 210 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:36,480 we don't take the initiative in our thoughts. 211 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:42,720 We simply allow to come into our minds whatever we receive, and that is so dangerous. 212 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:47,160 Think on these things. 213 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:50,160 Reprogram your thoughts. 214 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:55,160 See what you're thinking that's wrong and correct it. 215 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:59,480 Say to yourself, that is a lie. 216 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:08,560 Instead of thinking that, I am now going to think this and put truth into your mind, and 217 00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:11,920 then keep telling yourself the truth. 218 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:12,920 Talk with yourself. 219 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:18,600 Tell yourself what is true as opposed to what you have been thinking, what Satan has put 220 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:21,080 there. 221 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:24,600 Let me say this too, to all of us in the battle. 222 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:31,920 Do not be discouraged by the frequency of temptation. 223 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:35,840 Perhaps you feel that you've just been overcome and overcome and overcome in your thought 224 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:36,840 life. 225 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:44,240 Listen, when you begin to battle against patterns, especially long ingrained patterns, it takes 226 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:46,000 time. 227 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:52,400 It takes time for those patterns to be replaced by new and healthy and godly ones. 228 00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:58,440 So don't be discouraged by temptation and don't be discouraged when you fall. 229 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:05,400 Acknowledge your failure, your sin, and then come right back strongly against the enemy, 230 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:11,440 telling yourself the truth, programming your thoughts according to what God would have 231 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:14,440 you think. 232 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:24,480 But let me talk about the offensive actions, because these are perhaps even more important 233 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:25,480 than what we've talked about. 234 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:31,280 Because you see, there are some things that we can do to avoid the battle. 235 00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:34,320 That's better than being in it. 236 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:41,000 What can we do to diminish the battle, at least, if not avoid it? 237 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:47,760 Well, it's often said that a good offense is the best defense, and that's right. 238 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:51,760 What are the preventative actions that we can take? 239 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:54,200 The offensive actions. 240 00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:57,720 So that we're not on the defenses, but we're taking the initiative. 241 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:09,000 Number one, establish a screen to sift your thoughts. 242 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:16,840 When you do that, you will begin accepting through that screen only the acceptable thoughts. 243 00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:27,080 I'd like us to go back and look at Philippians 4.8 more closely. 244 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:34,760 What we have in Philippians 4.8 is really a system of filters. 245 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:39,320 The apostle says, think on these things. 246 00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:46,600 The idea is let these things filter out the thoughts that you want to keep for your mind. 247 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:51,440 Let the others go on. 248 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:54,280 Whatever is true, he says. 249 00:21:54,280 --> 00:22:02,880 Why is it we are so prone to jump on the lie and to believe that? 250 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:05,560 That's the humanist in us, I guess. 251 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:08,920 He says, sift out what is true and keep that. 252 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:12,160 Let the lies go on through. 253 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:23,560 He says, whatever is honorable, that is, whatever is respectable, whatever is dignified, whatever 254 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:28,160 is right, not what is wrong, let the wrong go on through. 255 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:37,520 Let the dishonorable go on through, but hang on to that which is right and pure. 256 00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:41,160 Let the defiling thoughts pass on through. 257 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:43,360 Don't hang on to them. 258 00:22:43,360 --> 00:22:44,760 Don't focus on them. 259 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:52,120 Hang on to the pure, the lovely, the ugly, do away with. 260 00:22:52,120 --> 00:22:58,320 But that which is acceptable and graciously attractive, hang on to those things. 261 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:07,440 That which is of good repute or good report, which is fair speaking as the literal translation. 262 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:15,440 So often we tend to remember the negative reports, the bad reports, the unhappy things 263 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:16,680 that we hear about. 264 00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:21,160 He says, don't keep those in your mind. 265 00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:22,160 Don't waste garbage. 266 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:23,160 Let it go. 267 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:27,720 Hang on to the good reports and that which is excellent. 268 00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:32,280 The word here is the most comprehensive of all the Greek words for that which is morally 269 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:37,200 excellent or is of a high moral quality. 270 00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:38,880 He says, hang on to those things. 271 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:44,200 What are you programming into your mind? 272 00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:50,400 He says, hang on to that which is praiseworthy, not that which is self-condemned by the very 273 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:54,040 nature of it, but that which is worth praise. 274 00:23:54,040 --> 00:24:00,400 That which if you display to others, they will be uplifted by it. 275 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:01,680 Be praised for that. 276 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:02,680 Hang on to those things. 277 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:08,200 You go down the list of these eight filters and you will find that every one of them is 278 00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:10,860 positive. 279 00:24:10,860 --> 00:24:17,140 They are healthy both mentally and spiritually. 280 00:24:17,140 --> 00:24:23,000 To disregard these filters and to think on the negative opposites, that is the untrue, 281 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:28,040 the dishonorable, the wrong, the impure, and so on. 282 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:34,120 To think on those things is unhealthy both mentally and spiritually. 283 00:24:34,120 --> 00:24:45,240 There are many people who have mental problems today because they have programmed into their 284 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:51,080 minds the opposite of what is in verse 8 of Philippians 4. 285 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:57,600 By the way, if you take the opposite of every one of those things in verse 8, what you really 286 00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:05,480 have is a description of our entertainment industry today. 287 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:16,440 You talk about television, you talk about movies, you talk about most comedians. 288 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:23,600 These are the kinds of things that they talk about, just the opposite of Philippians 4.8. 289 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:27,980 You look at the art world today. 290 00:25:27,980 --> 00:25:32,880 You find that the subject of a lot of modern art is just the opposite of Philippians 4.8. 291 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:37,480 There are wonderful exceptions to that. 292 00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:39,800 I'm speaking generally. 293 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:40,800 Isn't that true? 294 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:45,160 So what do we allow our minds to think about? 295 00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:53,120 Well, we turn on the television and we just accept whatever comes over. 296 00:25:53,120 --> 00:26:00,440 And when we do that, without a screen up there, we are programming our minds toward the negative 297 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:11,120 and toward the destructive, not only for our minds but for our spirits. 298 00:26:11,120 --> 00:26:18,040 I am tempted to meddle, and I think I will. 299 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:26,120 I am just disgusted with the cable TV channels in our area. 300 00:26:26,120 --> 00:26:32,640 I am disgusted with the kind of pornography that they are now putting into our homes. 301 00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:36,640 You say, well, you don't have to watch it. 302 00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:37,640 That's true. 303 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:41,920 If you've got the right kind of receiver, you can't even get it into your home. 304 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:43,760 But you know what concerns me? 305 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:49,880 I don't get it into my home, but my neighbor does. 306 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:54,480 And so he's been programmed with the kind of stuff that's coming over cable TV in our 307 00:26:54,480 --> 00:27:07,800 community, the kind of stuff on some channels that is degrading to women, degrading to children. 308 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:13,480 And we should not be surprised when the crime rate in our area begins to go up in violent 309 00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:21,720 crimes against women and against children because we are allowing it into our homes, 310 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:24,800 particularly through cable television. 311 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:30,960 But some people used to have to go downtown and pay for it in a booth. 312 00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:35,080 They can now get it in their own living rooms. 313 00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:42,360 It is so accessible and so private that there is no longer any qualm. 314 00:27:42,360 --> 00:27:43,360 They think there's no shame. 315 00:27:43,360 --> 00:27:45,440 They're not going to get caught watching it there. 316 00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:49,520 The problem is, I mean, there are those who say, well, they're adults. 317 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:51,640 Let them do what they want to do, and I'll do what I want to do. 318 00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:58,200 That's fine, except that it degrades the whole community. 319 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:02,520 It endangers the women and children of our whole community. 320 00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:09,520 The quality of life in our whole community is brought lower. 321 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:14,440 If you've not yet called your cable company, if you get cable to complain about what they 322 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:20,360 have on their offerings, I hope you will do it this week. 323 00:28:20,360 --> 00:28:25,280 In fact, I would like to see a movement get started, at least with North Central Cable 324 00:28:25,280 --> 00:28:30,640 Company, a movement get started among some of God's people that will put pressure on 325 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:40,480 them to reduce, if not entirely remove, the kind of offerings they have. 326 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:43,880 I haven't yet found somebody willing to do that. 327 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:49,460 If there's somebody here willing who wants to get into that battle, drop me a note and 328 00:28:49,460 --> 00:28:50,460 let me know. 329 00:28:50,460 --> 00:29:00,280 Well, having got that off my chest, my point is very simple. 330 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:09,640 We need to establish a screen to assist our thoughts because we are constantly bombarded 331 00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:14,840 in the society we live in with the negative and with the impure and with the lies and 332 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:17,120 with the evil reports. 333 00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:22,080 If we don't have that screen up there, that's the way we're going to go too because our 334 00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:27,800 thinking determines what we become. 335 00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:39,400 The second offensive thing that you and I can do is to avoid places, people, and circumstances 336 00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:45,120 that trigger temptation. 337 00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:52,240 Those places that badly affect us in our thoughts. 338 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:56,720 At least twice, Paul told Timothy, flee. 339 00:29:56,720 --> 00:30:02,920 There are some things that you and I are absolutely to stay away from. 340 00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:09,080 Flee these things, O godly man, he says to Timothy. 341 00:30:09,080 --> 00:30:13,880 He says, flee, youthful us. 342 00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:22,600 There are some places that no Christian ought ever to be. 343 00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:28,040 There are some places that some of us cannot go because if we go there, we are playing 344 00:30:28,040 --> 00:30:32,480 with temptation. 345 00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:37,000 And yet I've said to myself, and maybe you have too, well I think just this once and 346 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:42,160 the reason I'm going to go there is to test myself and show myself that these thoughts 347 00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:47,700 won't ensue. 348 00:30:47,700 --> 00:30:52,840 We deceive ourselves so easily, don't we? 349 00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:54,640 Don't play with it. 350 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:57,480 Don't seek to test yourself. 351 00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:02,080 There'd be enough tests without you testing yourself. 352 00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:07,320 There are some people that we can't run around with. 353 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:16,000 Paul said to the Corinthians, and when he said it he was quoting a Greek poet, Menander. 354 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:24,960 He said bad morals, excuse me, bad company corrupts good morals. 355 00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:30,280 There are some people that you and I simply cannot be around without being corrupted. 356 00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:31,680 We ought not to be around them. 357 00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:38,320 We have to stay away from them. 358 00:31:38,320 --> 00:31:43,360 Sad to say there are some Christians, or professing Christians at least, that some of us can't 359 00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:46,760 even be around. 360 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:57,840 Because to be around them is to be dragged into gossip or into criticism and bad reports. 361 00:31:57,840 --> 00:32:08,440 I think of one person who had a Bible study and who was known for gossip and evil reports 362 00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:14,480 and in the Bible study had occasions to intersperse those kinds of thoughts and the result was 363 00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:19,040 everybody in the Bible study dropped out of that church. 364 00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:21,080 Why? 365 00:32:21,080 --> 00:32:23,960 Because bad company corrupts good morals. 366 00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:37,040 Notice it doesn't say there that good morals correct bad company because that rarely, rarely 367 00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:39,480 ever happens. 368 00:32:39,480 --> 00:32:42,640 The natural process is the other way around. 369 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:47,400 A little love and leaveneth the whole lump. 370 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:55,320 And so we need to avoid places, people, and circumstances that trigger temptation in our 371 00:32:55,320 --> 00:32:57,320 thought life. 372 00:32:57,320 --> 00:33:07,880 And then a third offensive action that we can take and most important, meditate on the 373 00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:12,240 Lord, on his word and his works. 374 00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:19,000 The psalmist said, I will meditate on thy precepts and regard thy ways. 375 00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:28,160 He said, even though princes sit and talk against me, thy servant meditates on thy statutes. 376 00:33:28,160 --> 00:33:33,940 When somebody's talking against you, what do you tend to think about? 377 00:33:33,940 --> 00:33:42,040 That person, what they're saying and why they're doing that and how we can defend ourselves. 378 00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:49,360 The psalmist said, though they sit and talk against me, thy servant meditates on thy statutes. 379 00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:51,720 He doesn't meditate on revenge. 380 00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:56,000 He doesn't meditate on the negative, but the word of God. 381 00:33:56,000 --> 00:34:00,040 Thy testimonies also are my delight, my counselors. 382 00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:06,960 There ought to be a conversation going on inside of us with the word of God. 383 00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:13,880 Oh, how I love thy law, he says, it is my meditation all the day. 384 00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:19,960 Thy commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever mine. 385 00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:27,600 I have more insight than all my teachers, for thy testimonies are my meditation. 386 00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:33,160 We're going to talk more about this in a few weeks, but meditate on the Lord, his work 387 00:34:33,160 --> 00:34:34,160 and his works. 388 00:34:34,160 --> 00:34:41,040 The word of God will cause us to think right, so that then we are less susceptible to the 389 00:34:41,040 --> 00:34:46,120 attacks to the lies of the enemy. 390 00:34:46,120 --> 00:34:49,600 Meditating on the word of God renews our minds. 391 00:34:49,600 --> 00:34:52,360 Romans 12, one and two. 392 00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:57,200 The renewing of our minds, that's an offensive thing. 393 00:34:57,200 --> 00:35:05,160 We take the initiative, and by that renewing process, then we avoid some battles and others 394 00:35:05,160 --> 00:35:09,240 are diminished. 395 00:35:09,240 --> 00:35:15,840 These are qualities that should characterize our thoughts, aren't they? 396 00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:21,040 When you and I allow our minds to be filled with lies, we become gullible. 397 00:35:21,040 --> 00:35:29,480 When we allow our minds to be filled with the unclean, we will become impure. 398 00:35:29,480 --> 00:35:34,480 When we allow our minds to be filled with evil reports, we will become gossips. 399 00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:42,820 When we allow our minds to be filled with anger, we will become vengeful. 400 00:35:42,820 --> 00:35:48,000 When we allow our minds to be filled with hatred, we will become murderous. 401 00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:55,720 When we allow our minds to be filled with covetousness, we will become miserly. 402 00:35:55,720 --> 00:36:01,320 When we allow our minds to be filled with self-centeredness, we will become complaining 403 00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:02,320 and ungrateful. 404 00:36:02,320 --> 00:36:09,000 You see, what we think determines what we become. 405 00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:12,320 Our thinking determines our character. 406 00:36:12,320 --> 00:36:14,200 What's the old computer statement? 407 00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:15,200 G-I-G-O? 408 00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:17,960 Garbage in what? 409 00:36:17,960 --> 00:36:19,520 Garbage in what? 410 00:36:19,520 --> 00:36:26,440 What we think determines what we become and how we live. 411 00:36:26,440 --> 00:36:32,320 When we allow our minds to be filled with truth, we become discerning. 412 00:36:32,320 --> 00:36:37,800 When we allow our minds to be filled with that which is pure, we become loving, not 413 00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:40,140 lusting. 414 00:36:40,140 --> 00:36:46,520 When we allow our minds to be filled with good reports, then we become encouraging. 415 00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:52,120 When we allow our minds to be filled with wisdom, we become understanding. 416 00:36:52,120 --> 00:36:57,540 When we allow our minds to be filled with generosity, we become joyful. 417 00:36:57,540 --> 00:37:03,040 When we allow our minds to be filled with humility, we become grateful. 418 00:37:03,040 --> 00:37:08,920 When we allow our minds to be filled with faith, we become trusting. 419 00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:13,800 When we allow our minds to be filled with hope, we become confident. 420 00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:21,820 When we allow our minds to be filled with love, we are fulfilled. 421 00:37:21,820 --> 00:37:30,920 And so it is important for each of us to look within, to determine what am I thinking about? 422 00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:35,440 What fills my mind? 423 00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:40,480 I would challenge you to stand back and look at your mind this morning as though you were 424 00:37:40,480 --> 00:37:43,000 a third party. 425 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:49,960 Just step outside of yourself and look at your thought patterns. 426 00:37:49,960 --> 00:37:59,080 See that portrait of yourself as exposed in your mind. 427 00:37:59,080 --> 00:38:02,680 What do you see? 428 00:38:02,680 --> 00:38:05,880 What are you thinking about? 429 00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:08,800 What is your character? 430 00:38:08,800 --> 00:38:12,240 What are you becoming? 431 00:38:12,240 --> 00:38:18,280 Of course, where in any of that displeases God, it's also going to be destructive to 432 00:38:18,280 --> 00:38:25,880 us, to our well-being, to our spiritual and mental health. 433 00:38:25,880 --> 00:38:33,120 You see, when it displeases God, the reason it displeases God is because it hurts us, 434 00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:37,080 because God loves us. 435 00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:40,040 What we need to do is to determine to take action. 436 00:38:40,040 --> 00:38:48,680 Whatever action is necessary, defensive or offensive, to lock the doors to the bad and 437 00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:53,280 to open the doors to the good. 438 00:38:53,280 --> 00:39:01,120 My challenge to you, as it is to myself on this Lord's Day, present your mind, your 439 00:39:01,120 --> 00:39:06,720 conscious, your subconscious, your imagination. 440 00:39:06,720 --> 00:39:10,200 Take that to God. 441 00:39:10,200 --> 00:39:11,200 Surrender it to Him. 442 00:39:11,200 --> 00:39:16,320 Begin a new thought pattern from this point on today. 443 00:39:16,320 --> 00:39:25,720 A thought pattern that says, Jesus Christ is Lord, and to Him I yield up my mind, and 444 00:39:25,720 --> 00:39:33,240 by His grace I will lock the doors to the bad, to the negative, to the destructive, 445 00:39:33,240 --> 00:39:34,240 to the sinful. 446 00:39:34,240 --> 00:39:40,800 I will lock the doors to those things, and I open the door of my mind to that which is 447 00:39:40,800 --> 00:39:48,000 positive, and that which is healthy, and that which comes from God, and that which will 448 00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:56,280 edify others, that which will pass the test. 449 00:39:56,280 --> 00:40:03,960 Let's pray. 450 00:40:03,960 --> 00:40:11,560 With our heads bowed and as our minds ponder what we've heard, I wonder right where you're 451 00:40:11,560 --> 00:40:20,640 seated if you would say, Lord Jesus, wherein there are thought patterns in my mind that 452 00:40:20,640 --> 00:40:31,440 I've allowed that displease you and destroy me. 453 00:40:31,440 --> 00:40:42,040 Would you ask the Lord to show you how to apply the truth we've talked about this morning? 454 00:40:42,040 --> 00:40:52,680 My fellow Christians, think on these things, and the peace of God that passes all understanding 455 00:40:52,680 --> 00:41:02,320 shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 456 00:41:02,320 --> 00:41:12,360 Father speak with a voice that we cannot deny, and apply to our lives with a force that we 457 00:41:12,360 --> 00:41:23,160 cannot resist, and renew us in our thinking in Jesus' name. 458 00:41:23,160 --> 00:41:43,360 Amen.