Recently, I shared this meditation with the Men’s Breakfast & Bible Study group. I thought all our Jubilee family could benefit from reading it. Blessings, Pastor Leonard
In Proverbs 23:7 NKJV we read, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.”
What is a thought? Thoughts are mental pictures and ideas passing intentionally or unintentionally through our consciousness.
The Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:8 wrote, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable if there is any excellence if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Perhaps you are thinking, “If Pastor Leonard knew my circumstances he wouldn’t be so quick to encourage me to have positive thoughts.” Well, let’s consider where Paul was when he wrote to the Philippians to have positive thoughts about things that were true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and commendable. He was in a first-century prison. It was damp, dark, smelly, cold, and bug-infested. His counsel is not to focus on the negative. Rather, think about things that are edifying and uplifting.
Sammy Tippit wrote, “Whenever you allow something into your inner life through reading, listening or seeing, make sure that it passes the test of pleasing to God.”
We are responsible for what we spend our time thinking about.
Martin Luther said, “You cannot keep birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.” We can’t keep the devil from suggesting thoughts, but we can choose not to dwell or act on them.
If we are constantly focusing on our circumstances we will not have much peace. I was recently reading an article that said our thought patterns are very important to our mental, physical, and spiritual health.
Solomon wrote in Proverbs 17:22, “A joyful heart is a good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” How do you get a joyful heart? Well, it is certainly not by always thinking about negative circumstances. Paul in Philippians 4:9 wrote, “Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”
Paul was their example. He is the author of probably thirteen New Testament letters, and in those letters you find him talking about new bodies, the rapture, God’s grace, no condemnation, home with the Lord, forgiveness, and the list goes on and on. For the most part, the only thing that discouraged him was when there was sin in a church, or people he loved were in danger of being deceived by false teachers.
What do you think Paul spent his time thinking about as he sat in that cold cell?
· How he met Jesus on the Damascus Road when he didn’t believe in Him
· Being lowered in a basket
· His missionary journeys
· Disabled people healed at Lystra
· A demonic slave girl being delivered
· Singing with Silas while in prison
· His experience with the Philippian jailor
· The viper that bit him
I’m sure there were more things that he thought about. I believe he meditated on these experiences.
Paul in Romans 12:2 wrote, Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
How do we renew our minds?
· Meditating on verses of Scripture
· Reflecting on all the ways God has blessed us
· Reflecting on answers to prayer
As we focus on these things our hearts will rejoice and our minds will be renewed. George Sweeting at one time was president of Moody Bible Institute. He said, “God’s cure for evil thinking is to fill our minds with that which is good.”
Note: The power of the mind is awesome. The mind is the control tower of character, conduct, and conversation. We can think rightly or wrongly; profitably or unprofitably and the rest of our lives will be influenced by our thinking.
Satan doesn’t want us to think positively. He wants to impact our minds with negative thoughts. He wants us to think like the world does.
Paul in Romans 8:7-9 wrote, “For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. 9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)”
Note: We can’t think evil and live righteously or please God. It would have been great if when we were saved, the old nature had been eradicated, but it wasn’t. However, we do have a new mind – it is the mind of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 2:16, Paul wrote, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach Him? But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.”
Listen to what Paul wrote in Philippians 2:5-11.
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, He gave up His divine privileges;
He took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When He appeared in human form,
8 He humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor
and gave Him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
· Christ humbled Himself
· He died a criminal’s death on the cross – for us
· As a result, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor. Who knows how God would elevate us if we had the same mindset that Jesus had?
In 2 Chronicles 7:14, we read, “Then if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” What a promise!
So, we need to reprogram our minds; and we do that in the following ways.
· We need to recognize that as Christians we have, right now, the mind of Christ.
· We need to choose to think rightly. Paul in Colossians 3:1-2 wrote, Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. We choose what we spend our time thinking about.
Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 wrote, “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”
Note: So we are to keep asking, seeking, and knocking.
· We need to pass our thoughts through the Word of God to the will of God. In Hebrews 4:12 we read, For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. You can tell is you are thinking correctly by passing your thoughts through God’s Word.
· We need to refuse to think about certain things. We don’t have to think about the things that Satan throws at us. Maybe you are watching a movie or TV program and it has content that is not edifying. Turn it off. Watch some of the remodeling of homes on TV. Homestead Rescue is a great program. Maybe you are with people who use the “F” word or tell off-color jokes. Walk away. You don’t have to listen to that garbage. Men, we can think like Christ.
Charles Stanley said, “Every major spiritual battle is in the mind. (It is spiritual warfare.) Meditate on His Word and your mind will be in the heavenlies even though you are on the ground.”
Blessings,
Pastor Leonard
