1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:05,080 We are one church. We love God, love people, love 2 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:07,000 His mission, and love His church. 3 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:09,560 Welcome to the One Church podcast. 4 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:19,520 Last week we saw that our minds are very powerful. 5 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,120 I wonder, have you ever let something out of your mouth that 6 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:26,240 was in your head and you never intended it to come out of your 7 00:00:26,240 --> 00:00:28,360 mouth? Our eldest son Samuel was very 8 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,880 well renowned for this. And at one time when I was 9 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:34,680 working in a school as a teacher, the children were 10 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:37,200 teenagers. And I was really trying hard to 11 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:39,720 be a witness to the head teacher of this school who was called 12 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:43,000 Andy, who respected me. But he held very different views 13 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:45,840 to me about God. He didn't actually believe in 14 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:48,120 God. And one day when the boys were 15 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:51,080 teenagers, Samuel answered the phone and it was Andy on the 16 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:54,360 other end of the phone and Sam answered it and he turned around 17 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:57,800 and he shouted to me. Mum, Andy, the atheist's on the 18 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:02,640 phone for you. I'm not quite sure what I said. 19 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:04,319 I think because I'm quite polite, I probably would have 20 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:06,800 said, oh, hello Andy, lovely to hear, you know, just ignored it. 21 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:09,880 But we've all experienced the thoughts in our minds that we 22 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:13,200 just cannot shift. The times when we lie awake at 23 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:15,440 night maybe, and a thought is going round and round in our 24 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:17,600 head. The times when the thought comes 25 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:20,560 out of nowhere, it seems illogical and it can paralyse 26 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:22,880 us. And I wonder as well, have you 27 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:25,600 ever changed your mind? You know, somebody once said to 28 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:29,440 me that you can tell a really good leader by how decisive they 29 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:31,800 are when they're choosing something on a menu in a 30 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:34,280 restaurant. And I have to say, if that's 31 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:37,000 true, I'm still definitely on a learning curve because I never 32 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:39,720 find it that easy to choose what I'm going to eat. 33 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:42,240 And sometimes when my food actually comes, I have a try 34 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:44,680 really hard not to look enviously at the plate of 35 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:47,600 somebody else who's ordered what I might have ordered and looks a 36 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:50,480 bit better than mine. But, you know, indecision is not 37 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:53,320 a good thing. But there is a sense where 38 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:55,680 changing our minds is very important. 39 00:01:56,880 --> 00:01:59,560 You know, from when we come to know Jesus, we begin to have our 40 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:03,440 minds changed. The new Foundations course, it's 41 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:07,560 a new course for new believers. It's going to keep on rolling. 42 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:09,919 So people can join us at any point. 43 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:11,360 And they just go through all the sessions. 44 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:14,000 And once they've done that, they go on to other things in the 45 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,000 life of one church. But we're expecting that God's 46 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:19,200 going to renew minds through this course. 47 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:22,480 People are going to be changed to have the mindset of their 48 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:25,200 creator just how he intended it to be. 49 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:27,560 And this is going to change everything over time. 50 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:31,840 So why is the mind so key? Well, just to recap, there are 51 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:36,040 two kingdoms in this world. We're in a spiritual battle and 52 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:39,480 when we join Jesus Kingdom, we have an opposing Kingdom which 53 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:43,280 is ruled by the enemy who Jesus called the Father of lies. 54 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:46,120 What does he want for us? Romans 12 says the mind 55 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:48,080 controlled by the flesh is death. 56 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:52,040 Our enemy wants to steal, to kill and destroy. 57 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:55,280 Jesus said that himself in John 10. 58 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:58,800 He wants to steal our peace. He wants to steal our joy, our 59 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:00,720 destiny in God. He wants to kill our hope. 60 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:02,080 He wants to kill our fruitfulness. 61 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:05,760 He wants to destroy our purpose in life and the ability to live 62 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:09,600 for Jesus to the full. And the mind is where the battle 63 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:13,160 is won or lost. So what does God want for us? 64 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:16,800 Well, the mind, it says in the second-half of that verse in 65 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:20,560 Romans, the mind controlled, governed by the Spirit is life 66 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:23,800 and peace. Wow, isn't that what we all 67 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:27,040 would love? A mind that is governed by life 68 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:30,120 and peace? And we learned last week that 69 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:33,400 our enemy, the devil, is at work to build spiritual strongholds 70 00:03:33,640 --> 00:03:36,120 in our minds. I think we might have a photo on 71 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:39,000 the screen of my favourite castle in Northumberland, which 72 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:42,120 is Bamborough Castle. When I was a child, I remember 73 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:45,360 taking my family every weekend. I did a project, we lived up in 74 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:48,840 Northumberland and I did a project on the castles of 75 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:50,600 Northumberland and there were a lot of them. 76 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:54,440 And I made my family go to a different castle every weekend 77 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:56,520 just to study it. I think they loved that. 78 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:58,800 They loved me but maybe didn't love that quite as much. 79 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:03,200 But you know, strongholds are like a sort of castle that is 80 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:07,280 built in our mind, if you like, out of lies and cemented 81 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:09,400 together. Every time we agree with a lie 82 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:12,400 that comes our way, it becomes stronger and stronger. 83 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:14,880 You might think of it as well, like thought tracks. 84 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:17,560 I know we saw a picture last week of the neural pathways in 85 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:21,000 our brain that every time our thoughts go down a certain 86 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,520 track, even science agrees with that, that track becomes 87 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:28,480 strengthened and reinforced, and it's easy for our thoughts to go 88 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:30,840 there. So for example, if I constantly 89 00:04:30,840 --> 00:04:34,960 think I am unimportant and my mind goes there every time I 90 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:38,520 face a hard situation or I have an opportunity to speak out. 91 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:41,880 And this used to be me in my life, I used to always think, 92 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:43,040 well, I'm unimportant. What? 93 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:44,520 What do? Why do people want to hear what 94 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:48,840 I've got to say? And every time we respond to 95 00:04:48,840 --> 00:04:51,760 that and we agree with that lie, it reinforces that pathway, if 96 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:54,400 you like, in our mind. And we shy away from 97 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:57,680 opportunity, we miss moments and the enemy loves that. 98 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:01,000 It immobilises us. And also the enemy can plant 99 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:05,320 unseen bombs in our minds. Recently a story popped up on 100 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:07,720 local BBC News where Leicestershire Police, it said, 101 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:12,040 explained a loud kaboom heard in Thorpe Rd, Melton Mowbray. 102 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:17,640 It was actually a controlled explosion of two unexploded 103 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:20,760 bombs. 2 incendiary devices that have been in this house 104 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:24,800 apparently since the Second World War, and they were found 105 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:28,040 quite unexpectedly, it says, by a member of the public while 106 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:30,720 sorting through belongings inherited from their stepfather 107 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:33,560 at his house. Not what they expected and it 108 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:35,360 was taken somewhere safe and exploded. 109 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:39,600 But like an unexploded bomb or a landmine under the surface, a 110 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:43,320 stronghold often lies buried underneath until something 111 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:47,640 triggers it and then causes it to surface and kaboom causes 112 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:49,880 havoc. Have you ever wondered where did 113 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:53,560 that thought come from? These strongholds are built over 114 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:56,880 years and they have their root in experiences, in our own life, 115 00:05:56,880 --> 00:05:58,640 in things from our own past, usually. 116 00:05:59,280 --> 00:06:01,960 So for example, let's say you struggle with people pleasing 117 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:06,880 and your sense of value, your sense of worth is always driven 118 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:11,120 by a constant need to perform well or to gain approval. 119 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:14,520 And when you make a mistake or you let somebody down, you find 120 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:17,800 it really hard to recover. And when you complement it, 121 00:06:17,840 --> 00:06:20,880 even, yes, you feel good for a moment, somebody says, oh, you 122 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:23,200 did so well. But then the feeling just fades 123 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:25,920 really quickly. The thought patterns you might 124 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:28,480 have that go with that might go like this. 125 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:32,000 Well, people would only love me or accept me if I do everything 126 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:34,560 right. And if I please them, I'll 127 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:36,320 always fail. I'll never be good enough. 128 00:06:36,840 --> 00:06:40,560 Or I must earn love. I must earn approval and the 129 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:43,400 root causes, the things that might cause that in our life 130 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:45,920 could be things like rejection, fear, pride. 131 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:50,400 They might in turn come out of life experiences such as maybe 132 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:54,120 emotionally absent parents or absent parents or high pressured 133 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:57,400 environment that we've grown up in at school or in at home. 134 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:01,000 Even being bullied or having siblings who've overachieved or 135 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,400 being rewarded for performance rather than for character. 136 00:07:05,280 --> 00:07:08,200 There's many, many as well other patterns, other strongholds that 137 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:12,280 conform as we learnt last week. So are we powerless? 138 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:16,240 Are we passive? No, as we learnt last week, we 139 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:20,680 have the victory in Jesus. And as we sung today, Jesus name 140 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:22,320 breaks every stronghold. Yeah. 141 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:25,520 And we can see our thinking and we can can see our behaviour 142 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:26,920 change. So this is a message of hope. 143 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:30,320 Today we have victory and we have weapons. 144 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:33,520 We live in the world. We do not wage war, says 2 145 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:35,680 Corinthians 10, as the world does. 146 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:38,400 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. 147 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:41,720 On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish 148 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:46,040 strongholds. We demolish arguments and every 149 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:49,120 pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, 150 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:53,280 and we take captive every thought and make it obedient to 151 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:54,600 Christ. Can you see this is quite an 152 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:58,200 offensive sort of as in when I say offensive, I mean as in an 153 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:01,600 attacking sort of verse. So we can choose to use 154 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:05,880 spiritual weapons, take every thought captive last week and 155 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:09,440 this continues today. We are learning that those three 156 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:12,680 major weapons, three major weapons are the word of God 157 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:17,680 praise because it focuses our attention on him, releases his 158 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:21,720 power and prayer. And as with every other aspect 159 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:24,480 of the Christian life, change comes to us both. 160 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:29,760 Suddenly we can have moments of encounter and then there's other 161 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:32,840 times in the Christian life where change is gradual and it's 162 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:35,840 just a gradual like hammer, hammer, hammer away at these 163 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:39,000 things and we see and we look back and we realise, yes, we 164 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,880 have changed. I remember a moment of encounter 165 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:45,760 for me being when I was a quite a young Christian and I was just 166 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:48,800 troubled and troubled by thoughts of inadequacy, you 167 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:51,240 know, what could I bring? You know, And I think a lot of 168 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:54,800 it came maybe from some of my past where I was encouraged not 169 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:59,080 to speak out, not to, you know, to be just polite to, to stay in 170 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:02,240 the background. And I just struggled with some 171 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:05,080 of these feelings and struggled to put myself forward for 172 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:08,280 things. And I remember actually in 173 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:11,480 prayer one day being in a prayer meeting before I started my day 174 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:17,240 as a teacher and just feeling a sudden, like just an anointing 175 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:19,360 almost to, to do something about this. 176 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:22,880 And I remember in prayer, literally pretending to pick up 177 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:24,480 a sweeping brush that wasn't really there. 178 00:09:24,680 --> 00:09:27,840 But I remember like, just sweep it, literally doing the action 179 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:30,440 of sweeping out these things. No inadequate, you're going to 180 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:32,640 go. No Fear, you're going to go. 181 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:34,760 And I just really like went at these things. 182 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:37,720 And I remember that being a moment where my life changed. 183 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:41,160 And that doesn't sort everything because we're still on this 184 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:43,520 journey. But that was a sudden moment of 185 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:46,640 encounter and that's our youth leaders retreat. 186 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:49,120 David and I drove in terrible weather, I have to say, last 187 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:53,360 Sunday night up into Derbyshire to join our wonderful youth team 188 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:55,840 from one church on their their retreat. 189 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:59,320 They had last Sunday night to Monday and they were asking us 190 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:01,320 loads of questions as well as us talking to them. 191 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:03,600 And one question they asked us was how have you changed? 192 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:06,080 Is there anything you used to find hard that God has helped 193 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:08,560 you with? And I have to say, that whole 194 00:10:08,560 --> 00:10:11,920 thing for me is it all started in the mind. 195 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:14,160 It all starts in the mind that for me it was all about 196 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:19,360 confidence, releasing of my voice and a continual battle 197 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:21,280 just to believe. No, I've got an instructed 198 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:23,760 tongue to know the word that sustains the weary. 199 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:27,040 That's the word of God. I have an anointing to teach and 200 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:30,640 so on. So what about the continuing day 201 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:32,800 by day? What about the living with the 202 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:36,160 mindset That is right? How do we keep getting better, 203 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:38,320 if you like, at minding our own minds? 204 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:41,520 For the rest of this morning, we're just going to focus on one 205 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:45,440 passage mainly from Paul's letter to Philippians, verse 6 206 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:48,040 to 8, Philippians 4, verse 6 to 8. 207 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:51,160 I absolutely love this passage. I've read it so many times. 208 00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:55,520 It's changed my life so many times and continues to. 209 00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:58,080 And it's a passage I've used loads and loads of times when 210 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:00,360 talking to other people as well and praying for people. 211 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:03,360 So let's listen to it. Let these words sink in. 212 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:04,800 They'll be familiar to some of you. 213 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:07,400 Let them just sink in and speak to you again. 214 00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:15,080 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by 215 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:18,360 prayer and petition, with Thanksgiving present your 216 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:24,120 requests to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all 217 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:27,320 understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ 218 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:31,400 Jesus. Finally, whatever is true, 219 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:35,800 whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, 220 00:11:36,560 --> 00:11:40,160 whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is 221 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:42,920 excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. 222 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:45,760 Whatever you've learnt or received or heard from me or 223 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:50,160 seen in me, put into practise, and the peace of God will be 224 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:52,000 with you. Thank you God. 225 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:58,480 No anxiety, Thanksgiving, peace. A guarded mind, thinking in line 226 00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:01,440 with God's thoughts, a mind at rest, whatever's going on. 227 00:12:01,440 --> 00:12:06,120 Is this really possible? Well, this was written by Paul, 228 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:08,640 the great church leader back in the very early days of the 229 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:10,680 church. We might think, well that's OK 230 00:12:10,680 --> 00:12:13,040 for him. He had it all together. 231 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:14,960 He surely didn't battle in his mind. 232 00:12:14,960 --> 00:12:18,720 But I just, I was just thinking about his life and some of the 233 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:21,560 potential areas where Paul really would have battled in his 234 00:12:21,560 --> 00:12:25,360 mind, I'm sure, and carried damage and needed the peace that 235 00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:28,600 passes understanding. For example, we can read an act 236 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:31,400 how he was rejected, how he was misunderstood. 237 00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:34,480 He was treated with suspicion when he changed from being a 238 00:12:34,480 --> 00:12:39,280 Jewish leader to being a leader in the church to following 239 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:41,040 Jesus. At times he was persecuted. 240 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:43,920 He talks about being flogged, imprisoned, stoned, shipwrecked, 241 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:48,320 starving, cold, stripped naked, and more for the sake of Jesus. 242 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:51,080 It's very possible he also carried feelings of guilt 243 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:53,760 because he'd persecuted the church. 244 00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:56,680 He probably sent Christians to their death. 245 00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:00,920 He'd been responsible for many going to prison, and it said he 246 00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:04,400 actually actively dragged people out and took them to prison. 247 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:09,160 He also wrote about how he was glad to be single, but was he 248 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:13,520 lonely at times? He describes himself as the 249 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:16,560 chief of sinners. So I think he it comes over that 250 00:13:16,560 --> 00:13:19,560 sometimes he might have been tortured by, for example, some 251 00:13:19,560 --> 00:13:23,720 of those things in his past. He fell out with people, Peter 252 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:26,640 Barnabas, at least for seasons. And he talks in his letters of 253 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:29,600 carrying the pain and the responsibility of all the 254 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:32,680 churches that he'd planted. And then he talks about 255 00:13:32,680 --> 00:13:34,840 individual people. He says things in like in one of 256 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:37,160 his letters he says, Demas, he deserted me. 257 00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:41,360 Surely with all this in his life, his mind really was a 258 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:43,440 battlefield. But here he gives us this 259 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:46,160 amazing picture of what our minds are supposed to be like 260 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:50,280 and how they're intended to be. Now we're in Christ, so it is 261 00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:54,360 possible. So how do we go on taking ground 262 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:57,240 in our heads? There's some of us in this room 263 00:13:57,240 --> 00:14:01,200 and we've not been a believer very long, or maybe we're not 264 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:04,120 even yet there. And we've had all these years of 265 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:07,760 thinking that has taken us down the world's way, if you like, 266 00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:10,840 down the tracks. Just we've thought and believed 267 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:14,720 whatever has come into our mind, it's going to take time to 268 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:17,560 change that. Some of us still have that one 269 00:14:17,560 --> 00:14:21,960 area of weakness or maybe 2. And I believe the Lord's going 270 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:25,360 to bring breakthrough even today as we apply this at the end for 271 00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:27,720 you. Some of us are really desperate 272 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:31,720 in the room for change in our mind, and this feels really 273 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:34,360 urgent. Some of us have slipped into old 274 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:36,920 ways. We've had more victory in the 275 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:39,080 past in our mind than we have right now. 276 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:41,280 And we want to regain that ground. 277 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:46,960 And today is just a further call to action, to being deliberate 278 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:50,000 and to training for victory. Because, you know, the opposite 279 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:53,360 of grace in the Christian journey is not not to do 280 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:55,960 anything. The opposite of grace is to be 281 00:14:55,960 --> 00:14:58,920 striving and trying to run God's approval through what we do. 282 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:01,520 But that's not what we're talking about here. 283 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:04,520 We're talking about action. And this, this needs action. 284 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:06,800 You know, this makes the enemy tremble. 285 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:10,000 Just even this sort of talking because he loves it. 286 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:12,280 If we believe lies, it hampers us. 287 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:14,680 It holds us up. It stops us being effective as 288 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:16,520 we might be. And he loves nothing more than 289 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:20,840 that. I was reading about Ariana 290 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:23,920 Walker, who's the leader of Mercy Ministry. 291 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:26,480 She had this dream just to give a very short retelling. 292 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:30,040 She's sitting at a table in a restaurant with some people who 293 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:33,600 she knows are joy, peace, wisdom, all the good things of 294 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:37,960 the Christian life. And she sees these shadowy 295 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:41,840 figures in the corner who are, you know, she says to God, but 296 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:43,880 in a dream, well, who are these? And he says, well, these are 297 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:48,200 your enemies because this restaurant, like your mind is 298 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:51,840 open to the public. And then they they start moving 299 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:54,600 nearer and near to the table. And in the end, the one that's 300 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:58,360 called fear stands behind the chair at her table where faith 301 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:02,240 is sitting. And God says to her, well, you 302 00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:06,600 know, you can choose to invite fear to your table, but actually 303 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:09,960 the choice is yours, you know, because there's only a certain 304 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:12,880 number of places at your table, but you choose who's going to 305 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:16,040 sit there. And when she opened her eyes and 306 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:18,800 to wake woke up, she realised that God was saying to her that 307 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:23,160 the battle that you are fighting is going to be won or lost in 308 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:25,800 your mind. Not to be passive in this area, 309 00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:29,280 but to take action. So take action Don't believe 310 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:31,040 first of all, everything you think. 311 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:33,960 Do not be anxious, says Paul, about anything. 312 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:37,160 But in everything, pray with Thanksgiving, present your 313 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:40,640 request to God and the peace of God that transcends all 314 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:42,360 understanding. It is not logical. 315 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:46,080 It is not something from the world, but it will guard your 316 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:47,720 heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. 317 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:50,600 Learn to be aware what is in your mind, for a start, what 318 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:53,240 state it's in. You know, we naturally can feel 319 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:55,800 that anything that comes into our mind is going to be true 320 00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:57,840 because it's just come from us, we think. 321 00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:01,600 But that's not the case, you know, I mean, I think if we 322 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:03,840 think about it logically, we would know this isn't true 323 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:07,079 because we've all probably seen, for example, those reality TV 324 00:17:07,079 --> 00:17:12,200 shows where the proud mum pushes out their son or their daughter 325 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:15,560 and they say, oh, she's so talented, so gifted. 326 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:19,960 What an amazing voice. Oh, and the person themselves, 327 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:21,760 you know, the young lady, they've been trained by their 328 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:23,839 parents to think they can do absolutely anything. 329 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:26,400 I can do anything if I just believe in myself. 330 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:29,480 You know, that's not a, not a true mantra, don't you? 331 00:17:30,360 --> 00:17:32,560 And when they open their mouth, it's very obvious that they do 332 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:34,720 not have talent. This is not a place where 333 00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:37,480 Britain has talent. This is, this is not talented, 334 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:40,640 you know, just because you think something or believe something 335 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:44,840 doesn't mean that it's true. Scripture does speak of minds 336 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:47,320 that are the opposite of a mind of life and peace. 337 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:50,440 Just to give you a few examples. Scripture talks and you can 338 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:52,560 maybe do some study yourself and look some of these up. 339 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:56,360 The confused mind, you know, confusion is never from God. 340 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:00,240 A closed mind, an evil restless mind. 341 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:03,240 Ecclesiastes says the day of their labour is filled with pain 342 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:05,560 and grief and even at night their minds cannot rest. 343 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:08,200 It's all meaningless. Yippee. 344 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:11,800 Troubled mind. A depraved mind in one Timothy. 345 00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:14,080 A sinful mind. A dull mind. 346 00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:16,280 A blinded mind. A corrupt mind. 347 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:21,360 The world puts suggestions in our minds that are false and 348 00:18:21,360 --> 00:18:23,560 we're bombarded with these false ideas all the time. 349 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:28,760 And social media does not help. It just sort of polarises 350 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:31,240 opinion and so on. And that's why even these 351 00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:34,400 conversation nights that have been advertised on our family 352 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:37,360 news are really important because what we want is for us 353 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:42,320 as one church to be people who look at big issues, even the big 354 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:44,960 issues in the world today. We if we look at social media, 355 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:47,160 it'll tell us what we want to think because it'll keep on 356 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:49,800 reinforcing you keep getting sent through the algorithm, 357 00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:52,560 you'll be sent back things that you really want to read. 358 00:18:53,760 --> 00:18:56,080 So why don't we look at it through a biblical lens? 359 00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:57,800 And that's what we want to do on these nights. 360 00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:00,560 So I'd really encourage you to get signed up for those to log 361 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:03,720 your questions and even to bring young people, because young 362 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:06,440 people need to know how to talk to their friends about some of 363 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:10,040 these things in a a really biblical and balanced sort of a 364 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:13,160 way. But in every area the enemy 365 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:17,280 wants to plant lies in our mind. We're living in a fallen world. 366 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:19,800 So how on earth can we choose, as Paul says here, not to be 367 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:23,000 anxious? For example, the verse here ends 368 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:26,360 with saying that if we do what this verse says, the peace of 369 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:31,120 God will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. 370 00:19:31,120 --> 00:19:34,240 So it is possible, but don't believe everything that you 371 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:36,680 think. Learn to be discerning. 372 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:38,760 And secondly, guard your mind from rubbish. 373 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:42,440 Finally, brothers, whatever's true, noble, right, pure, 374 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:45,840 lovely, admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, 375 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:49,080 think about such things. In a few weeks I'll be going 376 00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:51,640 back to visit our mission partners in Kenya. 377 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:54,200 Really looking forward to seeing them again because I haven't 378 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:57,880 been there for two years. On one trip, quite a few years 379 00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:02,000 ago, I went to visit Dandora Dump in Nairobi, which is where 380 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:05,760 Pastor Samuel Moonai, who's the the leader of the church out in 381 00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:09,440 Kenya that we link with as a church where he grew up in the 382 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:13,040 slums there. It's an open mountain basically 383 00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:15,200 of all the city's waste. You can go there. 384 00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:18,680 I remember going there, we just come on Kenya Airways and go in 385 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:21,400 there and you could literally see them tipping out all the 386 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:24,320 stuff that had come off the aeroplanes, all the champagne 387 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:27,040 bottles. All the, the tissues, all the, 388 00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:29,520 all the stuff that had been used And you'd see the there were 389 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:33,120 kids and well, people of all ages actually, who live on this 390 00:20:33,120 --> 00:20:38,440 dump sorting through all the rubbish and huge vultures sat on 391 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:40,520 the skyline. And the thing I most remember 392 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:44,000 was the smell, the stench. It was literally horrible. 393 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:47,200 It made you want to be sick. And rubbish, you know as well, 394 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:50,560 can pile up in our minds and it stinks. 395 00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:54,400 Where does rubbish come from? Well, it comes from negative 396 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:57,600 thoughts, destructive thoughts, anxious thoughts, impure 397 00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:00,760 thoughts. In the early days of the 398 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:04,080 computer there was a saying, garbage in, garbage out. 399 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:08,680 If you put bad data into a computer, you'll get bad 400 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:12,720 results. Proverbs 1514 says a wise person 401 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:16,040 is hungry for knowledge while the fool feeds on trash. 402 00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:20,000 Wow, are we going to be fools and feed on rubbish? 403 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:23,560 We need to watch our ears, watch our eyes. 404 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:28,040 These are the gates of our mind. Is there anything I wonder 405 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:29,400 today? I'm not going to be specific, 406 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:32,320 but anything that you need to stop, anything you need to 407 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:36,600 cancel, anything you need to throw away, anything you need to 408 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:41,920 remove from your devices, it may be obviously wrong, in which 409 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:45,080 case get rid of it. Or it may just not be helping 410 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:47,200 you. And you know that for, for now, 411 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:50,480 for a while, I'm just going to stop this in my life. 412 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:55,400 And in a positive sense as well. There are two ways in this 413 00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:59,160 passage that will help us to guard our minds from garbage. 414 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:03,000 So that's a -1 not to think about certain things, not to 415 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:04,640 have those things come into our minds. 416 00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:07,400 But what about the positive? Well, there's two things here it 417 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:10,280 talks about. 1 is conversational prayer and the other is 418 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:14,320 concentrated focusing. Don't worry about anything but 419 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:18,080 pray about everything. Conversational prayer. 420 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:20,480 This is like a running conversation, which means we're 421 00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:22,480 not on our knees because you can't be on your knees when 422 00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:25,400 you're in the bus or when you're walking through the park or when 423 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:29,360 you're driving. But we can at all those times be 424 00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:33,520 talking to God, having a running conversation, developing A2 425 00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:36,240 track mind where we're doing something, even talking to 426 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:37,600 someone. But as well, in the back of our 427 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:40,120 mind, we are focusing on God as well. 428 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:43,880 And secondly, Paul says we guard our minds as we fix our 429 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:45,720 thoughts. He says think about these 430 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:47,080 things. So how do we do that? 431 00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:50,040 Well, concentrated, focusing on good things. 432 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:54,160 Don't merely resist the thought. You know, the more we resist 433 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:56,600 something, often the more our attention's drawn to it. 434 00:22:56,600 --> 00:23:00,200 Have you noticed that what you merely resist persists? 435 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:04,840 Now, is anyone feeling hungry? OK, so have a little look at 436 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:08,400 that photo. And now try not to think about 437 00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:11,560 Sunday lunch. Try and resist thinking about 438 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:14,160 Sunday lunch. Try not to think of those lovely 439 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:17,800 roast potatoes and the gravy. And if you're a vegetarian, you 440 00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:21,360 know, the corn, whatever it is, or sausage or whatever it is 441 00:23:21,360 --> 00:23:23,880 you're having instead. But try not to think about it. 442 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:26,280 You know, the more you try not to think about something, the 443 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:27,880 more you often will think about it. 444 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:31,160 And the Bible actually here tells us to focus away from 445 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:33,480 what's bothering us instead of running it round and round in 446 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:36,920 our heads. You know, F1 drivers, Anyone 447 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:41,200 here like F1 Formula One, they're told don't focus on what 448 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:43,120 you want to avoid. So when you're going round a 449 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:45,800 corner, for example, if you're going at speed particularly, you 450 00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:48,320 don't want to look at the corner, otherwise you're just 451 00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:51,320 going to drive in there. My mum once when she was 452 00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:54,880 learning to drive, drove around a roundabout and said, oh, look 453 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:56,880 at those lovely flowers in the middle of the roundabout. 454 00:23:56,920 --> 00:23:59,040 Before we knew where we were, my sister and I were in the back. 455 00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:00,520 We were in the middle of that roundabout. 456 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:03,680 Because the more when we focus on something, we veer towards 457 00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:07,280 it. So the Bible says, instead focus 458 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:13,320 on what is good, what is true, honourable, just pure, lovely, 459 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:16,120 commendable, excellent. If there's anything worthy of 460 00:24:16,120 --> 00:24:18,600 praise, think about those things. 461 00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:21,760 So think about how we can do that in our lives. 462 00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:25,240 Focus on the good stuff. And I was thinking, who is the 463 00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:28,560 embodiment of all those things is Jesus. 464 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:33,240 The more we fix our eyes on Jesus, the more we will not be 465 00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:35,280 thinking about these other things. 466 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:38,000 My eyes are fixed on you. I read this this morning 467 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:41,560 actually in my Bible reading. My eyes are fixed on you. 468 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:45,080 Keep me safe from the traps set for me, the snares laid for me. 469 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:48,720 Let the wicked fall into their own Nets while I pass by in 470 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:52,600 safety. Let me remind you again of our 471 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:56,920 main weapons, the Word of God. Praise and prayer. 472 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:00,680 Remember about the targeted use of the Word of God. 473 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:03,440 We talked about it last week. Let's do the work. 474 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:08,040 Identify the lies that affect you and replace them with the 475 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:10,840 truth. Even as practical as using a 476 00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:14,920 word search on the Bible app on your phone or your iPad or 477 00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:17,360 whatever. I'm finding a verse that is 478 00:25:17,360 --> 00:25:20,240 related to the opposite of what the lie is that you're thinking 479 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:22,480 about. If I give you give you a few 480 00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:25,720 examples, OK, but that you have to do the work on this 481 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:28,920 yourselves though. For example, the false belief 482 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:32,920 I'm alone anybody think that nobody really cares how I feel 483 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:38,240 or what I do not true. The truth is 1 Peter 57 cast all 484 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:43,480 your anxiety on him for he cares for you and the declaration you 485 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:45,840 could use from that is God is always with me. 486 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:48,280 He cares. He sees how I feel, he comforts 487 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:50,640 me. So you write your own you can 488 00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:54,360 write your own counter action of a lie that is in your mind. 489 00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:57,440 For example, if there's a lie in your head, I'm not worth much. 490 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:01,640 I don't deserve anything good. Ephesians one says all praise to 491 00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:04,240 God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who's blessed us 492 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:07,840 with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ. 493 00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:11,680 I've been blessed, you can say, with every spiritual blessing in 494 00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:13,960 Christ. I'm a child of God and I'm an 495 00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:16,400 heir of his Kingdom. That's going to make you feel a 496 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:21,400 whole load better than thinking the early lie, the lie here. 497 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:22,880 Who here thinks they're really good looking? 498 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:26,760 Well, the Bible says you are, so you might have this lie. 499 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:30,680 Well, I'm not good looking. I'm not very attractive, you 500 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:34,320 know, once my mum, and God bless her, she's lovely and she's a 501 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:36,200 lovely mum and she always cheers me on. 502 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:39,080 But when we were teenagers, she said something that really 503 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:41,880 impacted me at the time because we were looking into a shop 504 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:43,960 window and there was our reflection was looking back at 505 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:47,120 us and she literally said, oh, we've never been a very good 506 00:26:47,120 --> 00:26:50,960 looking family. And that sort of stuck in my 507 00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:52,160 mind. You know how sometimes just a 508 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:53,560 little thing can stick in your mind. 509 00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:56,440 And I grew up with this feeling, oh, I'm not attractive. 510 00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:58,960 I'm not good looking. But you know, the Bible doesn't 511 00:26:58,960 --> 00:26:59,520 say that. What? 512 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:01,000 Whoever we are, it says this to us. 513 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:04,400 You created my innermost being. You knit me together in my 514 00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:05,800 mother's womb. I praise you because I'm 515 00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:10,240 fearfully and wonderfully made. We can say instead God made me 516 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:12,640 in his image. He's made me wonderfully and I 517 00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:14,560 look good. Just turn to your neighbour and 518 00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:18,000 say, I look good, I look good. See how easy you find that to 519 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,760 say? We might say, well, all I've 520 00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:23,520 done, I don't think God can possibly forgive me. 521 00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:27,640 The Bible doesn't say that. The Bible says in one John one, 522 00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:30,360 if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just and we'll 523 00:27:30,360 --> 00:27:33,680 forgive all our sins and purifiers from all 524 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:37,040 unrighteousness. We can say instead Jesus paid 525 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:39,320 the price. When I confess, God promises to 526 00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:44,000 forgive me and make me clean. I'll just do one, one or two 527 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:46,520 more because I think this is helpful to you, just to see how 528 00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:48,240 you can do some of this work yourselves. 529 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:52,000 I'll only be happy if I succeed. Does anybody think that? 530 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:56,040 Don't be afraid, says Jesus. You are more valuable to God 531 00:27:56,320 --> 00:27:59,600 than a whole flock of sparrows. In fact, the Bible says you are 532 00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:03,600 his treasured possession. You can say instead, my value 533 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:07,080 and worth don't come from temporary worldly success or 534 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:10,160 achievement, but from being a child of the King, loved and 535 00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:15,240 treasured by him. Anybody here say I'll always be 536 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:20,000 sad, I'll always be depressed? Well, the Lord anointed Jesus to 537 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:23,480 bind up the broken hearted, to free the captives, comfort all 538 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:26,480 who mourn, to give a crown of beauty instead of ashes, oil of 539 00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:29,320 joy instead of mourning, a garment of praise for a spirit 540 00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:32,200 of heaviness. We can say in Jesus, I have real 541 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:34,680 hope. He can heal my pain, He can lift 542 00:28:34,680 --> 00:28:37,880 my burdens, He can give me joy and so on. 543 00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:43,880 If you say I'm afraid, he says actually 366 times, fear not. 544 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:46,440 You know that there's there's one for every day of the year 545 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:49,440 and the leap year. God has not given me a spirit of 546 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:53,280 fear, we can say, but love, power and a sound mind. 547 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:56,520 So I am not afraid. Let's be people of the word do 548 00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:59,520 the work. What about praise? 549 00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:02,160 Praise breaks the chains, opens doors. 550 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:03,720 Look at Paul and Silas in prison. 551 00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:07,720 They praised God at midnight, the darkest time, and the doors 552 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:11,440 flew open, it says, and their chains were released. 553 00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:14,520 We've got some friends in another city and they had a 554 00:29:14,520 --> 00:29:19,120 terrible thing happened to them where something started going on 555 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:22,080 in their next door in the house next door to them that was 556 00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:25,120 really impacting their life. It was just a a situation you 557 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:28,400 can't possibly comprehend. And this got really got on top 558 00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:30,320 of them. They lead a church and it was 559 00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:33,760 beginning to impact their lives. And they decided one Sunday 560 00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:35,720 night they felt, no, this is enough is enough. 561 00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:37,320 We're going to put on this particular song. 562 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:40,440 We're going to praise God. And they praised and praised 563 00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:44,480 together in their own place. And you know, by 9:00 the 564 00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:48,240 following morning, the situation next door had been resolved. 565 00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:51,280 In fact, there had been a complete turn around. 566 00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:55,840 Praise puts our attention on God. 567 00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:00,160 Praise brings his power and prayer. 568 00:30:00,760 --> 00:30:03,160 Notice Paul says here to pray about everything. 569 00:30:03,720 --> 00:30:06,520 You know, if we were to pray as much as we worry, we'd have a 570 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:10,120 lot less to worry about. You know, sometimes I find it 571 00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:12,240 easy, easy. I like to go and shout 572 00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:14,840 somewhere. I don't know if you can, if you 573 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:17,480 can identify with this, but sometimes that just brings a 574 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:20,040 breakthrough to go somewhere, preferably where you're not 575 00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:22,920 going to freak somebody else out, but you might want to wind 576 00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:25,000 the window up in the car and do it in the car. 577 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:28,080 Or just go and find a hill somewhere and walk up and just 578 00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:31,120 have a good old shout. You know, Jesus, you are the 579 00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:32,560 world. I trust you. 580 00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:36,600 And sometimes just that can break something, can break 581 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:39,360 something in prayer and the peace of God, it says here, 582 00:30:39,360 --> 00:30:42,160 which surpasses all understanding, will guard your 583 00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:46,240 heart and your mind in Christ Jesus and the God of peace. 584 00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:49,720 He himself will be with you. Isn't that wonderful? 585 00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:54,760 I felt it was important for us each to do some work with God in 586 00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:57,520 our own hearts and then to determine that we're going to 587 00:30:57,520 --> 00:31:00,320 keep on doing this works. Remember, it's both sudden and 588 00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:03,360 it's gradual. So keep on doing this work as we 589 00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:07,000 go through our week, as we go through the days ahead in our 590 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:11,120 own heart with God. So take heart everybody. 591 00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:15,440 Take heart because your mind is not what it was and it's in the 592 00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:17,640 process of becoming the mind of Christ. 593 00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:21,360 If you know Jesus, then you're becoming someone who has a life 594 00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:24,160 and a mind full of joy and peace. 595 00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:29,080 We're in a war, yes, but we have complete victory in Jesus, the 596 00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:31,800 enemies at work to take our thoughts down these well worn 597 00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:35,000 paths. And you know, the more we agree, 598 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:37,400 the stronger that will be. But the less we agree and the 599 00:31:37,400 --> 00:31:41,120 more we can track those lies with the truth, the more those 600 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:43,960 strongholds will be broken down, the more those pathways will be 601 00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:46,760 made new. And we have his powerful 602 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:50,760 weapons, the word of God, praise and prayer. 603 00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:55,120 And you know, we can truly live without anxiety and know that 604 00:31:55,120 --> 00:32:00,960 peace that passes understanding. Thank you Jesus. 605 00:32:02,880 --> 00:32:06,560 So if it helps you, why not close your eyes and just focus 606 00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:10,160 on listening to Jesus And you know, if you're in this room and 607 00:32:10,160 --> 00:32:14,840 you don't even yet know him, just use this moment to reach 608 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:17,960 out for him in your own heart and to say, Jesus, here I am. 609 00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:27,280 Show yourself to me. He's here and he loves you. 610 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:33,600 We're just going to invite the Holy Spirit to speak to us, to 611 00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:38,720 reveal any lie that we might have been believing, any place 612 00:32:38,720 --> 00:32:41,280 where we might have allowed agreement or stronghold to be 613 00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:43,680 built, or where we find it hard to change. 614 00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:50,040 So just pray with me. I'm going to pray a prayer. 615 00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:52,680 You pray in your own heart. Just agree with my prayer. 616 00:32:54,920 --> 00:33:00,680 Holy Spirit, I invite you now to come and speak to my heart and 617 00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:08,080 my show me where I've believed the lies of the enemy or where I 618 00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:12,200 need to change. Bring something specific to my 619 00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:18,280 mind right now. Thank you Lord. 620 00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:24,800 Now whatever has come into your mind, just bring it before God, 621 00:33:25,480 --> 00:33:32,360 remembering that He loves you. If it's a lie you've been 622 00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:35,840 believing, just tell him, I'm sorry, Lord, for believing this. 623 00:33:35,840 --> 00:33:48,890 I'm sorry. And now I'm going to just say a 624 00:33:48,890 --> 00:33:51,810 little prayer, just choosing to nail this lie to the cross and 625 00:33:51,810 --> 00:33:55,410 break agreement with it. So you might want to say this 626 00:33:55,410 --> 00:33:57,290 out loud after me under your breath. 627 00:33:58,170 --> 00:34:00,570 I choose to nail this lie to the cross. 628 00:34:03,090 --> 00:34:09,880 I break agreement with this lie. I now take this thought captive 629 00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:13,880 and I break agreement with the enemy. 630 00:34:16,120 --> 00:34:23,120 Set me free to think your thoughts, Jesus, and I pull down 631 00:34:23,120 --> 00:34:28,080 any stronghold in my thinking in Jesus name. 632 00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:34,639 Now this is a process. Somebody once said you can't 633 00:34:34,639 --> 00:34:37,280 stop birds flying over your head, but you can stop them 634 00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:40,199 nesting in your hair. Remember, you don't have to 635 00:34:40,199 --> 00:34:41,840 entertain every thought that you have. 636 00:34:42,920 --> 00:34:45,320 So when that lie pops up again in your mind, because it 637 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:49,719 probably will, remember that you are free and focus on what's 638 00:34:49,719 --> 00:34:53,880 good and true and noble and on the truth and on Jesus himself, 639 00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:58,280 and let other thoughts fly off. This is no longer who you are. 640 00:34:58,720 --> 00:35:02,680 If the sun sets you free, says Jesus, you will be free indeed. 641 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:07,680 So let's just thank him, Say thank you Lord, that I can have 642 00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:15,440 a mind governed by the Spirit, which is life and peace, life 643 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:21,160 and peace in Jesus name. Just to finish, I was going to 644 00:35:21,160 --> 00:35:24,120 put some personal truth declarations to get the hearts 645 00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:26,160 racing. So we've got some declarations 646 00:35:26,160 --> 00:35:30,520 on the screen from God's word. We're just going to speak them 647 00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:33,920 out together because these are positive words that you can use 648 00:35:33,920 --> 00:35:36,760 that are not just words. This is the very word of God. 649 00:35:37,240 --> 00:35:40,440 This is words straight from His mouth that can come out of your 650 00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:42,160 mouth. So think what power that has. 651 00:35:42,240 --> 00:35:43,840 So let's just speak this out together. 652 00:35:44,400 --> 00:35:48,400 I am a child of God. I am free from condemnation. 653 00:35:48,680 --> 00:35:52,800 I have the mind of Christ. I am completing Christ. 654 00:35:53,040 --> 00:35:57,440 I am forgiven all my sins. I am confident and fearless. 655 00:35:57,640 --> 00:36:01,080 I am secure. I am loved unconditionally. 656 00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:05,360 I am gifted. God is my refuge and strength, a 657 00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:10,080 present help in trouble. His grace is sufficient for me. 658 00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:14,280 His strength is made perfect. In my weakness I am fearfully 659 00:36:14,280 --> 00:36:17,320 and wonderfully made. Marvellous are your works. 660 00:36:17,600 --> 00:36:20,680 I am being made new in the attitude of my mind. 661 00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:24,320 The mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 662 00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:27,080 Jesus said peace. I leave with you. 663 00:36:27,440 --> 00:36:31,000 My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the 664 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:33,640 world gives. Do not let your hearts be 665 00:36:33,640 --> 00:36:37,680 troubled, and do not be afraid. I will not let my heart be 666 00:36:37,680 --> 00:36:40,600 troubled. I will not be afraid and I 667 00:36:40,600 --> 00:36:42,840 receive your peace. Amen. 668 00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:47,080 Amen. The Lord bless you and keep you. 669 00:36:47,240 --> 00:36:50,920 The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. 670 00:36:51,320 --> 00:36:54,800 The Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace.