We started this series last week called Small things, Big Difference. This series, like I said last week was to try an emulate and understand how small things in our lives, small changes, small activities, habits and practices can make a big, a very huge difference in our lives. In fact, I said, “IT’S OFTEN THE SMALL THINGS THAT NO ONE SEES THAT RESULT IN THE BIG THINGS THAT EVERYONE WANTS.”
So we started in this journey to figuring out what are these small things. The first of those small things was a WORD. We said one small WORD can make a world of a difference. In fact, the evangelist John said that WORD was with God and was God in the beginning and that’s how all things came to be. That’s a powerful thought. So I want to turn around now and say that if there is a WORD that makes a difference, it’s because the WORD starts to turn your thoughts. A small thing that makes a huge difference between you and other people is and will be your thoughts.
I want you to write this down: Life will always move in the direction of your strongest thoughts. Here’s how the writer of the Proverbs says it, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” Look at that in Proverbs 23:7. Think you can’t—probably won’t. Think you can—probably will. Dwell problems—overwhelm you. Look for opportunities—likely see some. Feel like victim—become one. Believe you can overcome—can. How you think about things will affect how you do things and how you go about things. We’re going to do a little exercise to help demonstrate it. I call it the “Thought Audit”! You see, this is what happens around tax time.
This is how this works. I want you to grade yourself on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being super worried and 10 being super peaceful, on whether you are worried person or a peaceful person and share that with your neighbor. Worried about children, money, health, job, future, cat gone—home. Secure in God’s promises, Do what you can—trust, Full of peace.
Negative—Critical of people, Find fault, Discontented. Kids, different. See positive—Believe best people, Life if good. Optimistic future.
Mind consumed w/this life. Material possessions. Liked by people. Eternal difference, Give, Reach people
Okay. Let’s bring it back here. I think if you’re a type A person you scored something between 15 and below. If you’re a type B person, then you scored something like 16 and 30. See, if you’re a type A person then you would be as close to 3 as possible and if you were a real type B, you’d be something very close to a 30. But, why is it that we’re spending so much time talking about our thoughts? They are private, after all. Let me take that a little further.
The way you think will bleed out into the way you act. And if you’ve ever acted irrational, selfish, or stupid—yes, I said it, it’s because you thought it first and then couldn’t control your thoughts. If you ever did anything that you regret in hindsight, it’s because your strongest thoughts just came to life. You can apply that to every situation and every circumstance. You do things that you regret doing, or rationalize yourself into not regretting because your strongest thoughts move your life. Today, I want you to know that if your thoughts are worried, negative and worldly, then your life will be worrisome, negative and worldly poor.
So how do we change the way we think? Let’s go to Romans 12. 1And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 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.
We don’t have to think about the decisions we make and second guess the actions we take. We can allow God to transform the way we think. When God transforms the way we think, it transforms who we are and what we do. When God transforms our thoughts, and our actions as a result of our thoughts changing, then what we will be doing will be good, pleasing and perfect.
Let me tell you this is where Christians fails! All of us say we believe in God. All of us say that we want God to do awesome things in our lives, but we don’t want God to change the way we think about things or see people or react to things. I’m going to share something with all of you: sometimes, I have destructive thoughts while sitting on the Cross Bronx Expressway. I need God to transform my thoughts and change the person I am by the way I think because I’m thinking in my head, somebody needs to get hit by a car for causing this traffic! I know, it’s wrong, but now you know. I need God to transform my thoughts about the person causing all that traffic. Likewise, I know when some of us find our friends succeeding in life, we’re jealous out of our minds, we’re so mad and so secretively feeling inadequate and insecure that we’re wishing bad things on them—and they’re our friends! What a wasted thought. How horrible is it when they do something nice for you and you attack them for their hard work? Goodness, that’s destructive, all because our thoughts were not transformed.
Don’t you want to be good, pleasing and perfect? Is that too one dimensional? Is that too easy? Of course it is because if it were hard, everybody would think they should do it. When God transforms our thoughts, we will learn what God’s will is for us because we will be living our lives as a living sacrifice. We would understand why things happen in our lives as they happen in our lives—things that we had no idea about.
The first thing we have to do to change the way we think is by: CAPTURING DESTRUCTIVE THOUGHTS.
3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. – 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 That means the phrases “I can’t”, “I won’t”, “I’m not good enough”, “Can’t change”, “Never be happy”, “Can’t make a diff after what did” are no longer thoughts we have in our heads. We are exactly who God says we are—beloved children of God whom overcomes all things for those who trust in Him.
The second thing we have to do is FIX YOUR THOUGHTS ON SPIRITUAL THINGS.
8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise… 9 Then the God of peace will be with you. – Philippians 4:8-9 I had a conversation with somebody and told that person, you’re an evangelist, it’s not what you do, it’s who you are. I am created to reach people far from God. That’s what you were created to do. That’s what we fix our thoughts on—there is a God who loved us more than anything so that He sent His only son to save us. It’s our job to share that love with everyone. That’s where our thoughts should be fixed. It may not sound so spiritual, but it is exactly the spiritual you’re looking for. That’s because you’ll start to see God operate everywhere, and He’s calling you toward it.
I want to go to our memory verse for this week. It comes from Psalm 104. I want this memory verse to resonate in your minds this week because I want this to be your thought: May all my thoughts be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. Psalm 104:34 let’s say it together. One more time. Let’s pray.
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