Tag Archives: Thoughts

March 14, 2016 · 7:36 am

How Easter Gives Hope

Peninsula Community  Church

How Easter Gives Hope

March 13, 2016

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

This morning I am excited about this new series. Over the next few weeks we will look at how we can overcome strongholds and mindsets that hold us back from being what we need to be in Christ. This series is a natural outflow of the prayer series we just completed. You see through the movie “War Room” we were challenged to pray. Through small groups we have been challenged to understand the grace of God and the power of forgiveness.

Two weeks ago, we looked at the Lord’s Prayer to gain a greater understanding of how to pray effectively. As you remember, one of the key parts of the Lord’s prayer is praying that God’s kingdom would come and that His will would be done in us and in our circumstances. By praying this pray we are literally asking that God’s Kingdom and His will would invade everything about us. We pray He would invade our minds, our jobs, our relationships, our health issues, and so forth. The fact we are verbalizing the desire we have for Him to rule our life.

That brings us to our study today. While we sincerely pray and desire for the kingdom of God to be established in us, the fact of the matter is there are many kingdoms vying for that position. As we have read in our text today, Paul reminds us that we walk in the flesh. We live in a world that has been subjected to the power of sin and the rebellion of mankind. Because of this, we walk in the flesh and we are subjected to the work of the flesh in our lives. But Paul is also clear that even though we walk in the flesh, as passionate followers of Christ we have a set of weapons that can destroy the schemes of the enemy and the the strongholds that have been established in us.

So what is a stronghold? If you look at the second part our passage for today, you will find that Paul defines the idea of a stronghold. He states We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete. So a stronghold is a mindset or thought process that controls our lives. It can be a sin we continue to confront, a shortcoming or failure we continue to experience, a past experience we can’t let go of, or a strong emotion such as fear, jealously, or anger that keeps surfacing. Without dealing with these strongholds they hang onto us and deter us from who we should be. They become a stumbling block and serve to defeat us rather than strengthening us.

As we look into this subject let me give a warning at this stage. We must never become so focused on spiritual strongholds or demonic activity that we fail to see that Christ is victorious in us. To do so gives credit to the enemy that he does not deserve. To do so allows us to justify our sin, our actions, and our negative thoughts. It is more effective to focus on His victory, His word, and His power in our life. That is the message of Easter and it is our message today.

With that said, let me dive into this subject. We must understand that while we have come into a relationship with Christ, we come into that relationship with baggage from our past. This baggage can include but is not limited to various mindsets, emotions that have not been healed, sins that have not been confessed, or a misconceived theology for living. As we live life we are also impacted and affected by the experiences we have and the people we encounter.

To fully understand this battle our discussion must not begin at the fall of mankind or focus on the post fall condition of man. We must begin our story earlier in the narrative. The fact is we must begin with the intent and desire of God in the creation. Therefore it is necessary to  begin with the creation and not the fall. That is why it is not a mistake that the Biblical story begins in Genesis 1:1. The first chapters of the Bible teach us that God created something beautiful and wonderful. After each day of creation, God proclaimed His work “good.”

But why start here? We do so because we need to be reminded that in creation we were fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). We were not only created out of the dirt of the earth, but we were created in the image of God. That should mean something to us. Because we are created in the image of God, we have value and we have a purpose. This also means that every life has value no matter who the person is. He made an amazing creation created in His image and filled with His breathe.

But as we know, by way of the historical perspective of the Bible, there was a problem. Because of the fall of mankind, what God created was contaminated by sin. If you will for a moment think about life in the Garden of Eden before the fall. Man walked with God and He had an acceptance with God and with each other. That was priceless. They walked in an innocence that was pure and perfect. In the Garden, man was called to have dominion over the earth and the animals of the earth. So, we find that in the Garden of Eden mankind had acceptance, he walked in innocence, and he had dominion over God’s creation.

But, as we know, that all changed on the day Adam and Eve sinned. All of life was pushed out of kilter. From that day forward what was once so easy for mankind had now become a battle. What God had given man and the essence of creation has been defamed and destroyed. With that said let me make sure that we know that while the situation has changed we are still valuable in the sight of God. We are still a creation of God. That is why the process of redemption is to restore mankind to His original purpose. Redemption provides us with acceptance. We are given  forgiveness which is restored innocence. And dominion over all of creation has been restored.

As we consider this in relationship to the theme of strongholds, we begin to realize that humankind’s attributes before the fall become glaring needs after the fall. First of all in the Garden mankind walked in acceptance. But after the fall acceptance by God and subsequently by others was replaced by rejection. The result was a need to belong and because of sin it became more difficult to feel accepted. The problem is exasperated when we are rejected over and over again. The result is that we begin to feel rejected as a person and we begin to think that rejection is a way of life for us. Because of the feeling of rejection we strive more and more to be accepted and loved. In our effort to be more accepted and loved we succumb to peer pressure to be liked and loved. If we are not careful we will do whatever it takes to be accepted by our peers, our coworkers and our family. We end up in a vicious cycle of wanting acceptance but we experience rejection. The result is that we allow a stronghold of rejection to establish a false kingdom in our heart. When this happens we filter our decisions and the actions of others through the filter of rejection. Because we feel rejected, we lose the will to try.

Secondly, because of the fall of mankind innocence was replaced by guilt and shame. The result is that too many people have a poor sense of self-worth therefore they strive to find their worth and value in people and things rather than in Christ. The advertisement world plays on the need for self worth. If you buy this car, shop at this store, wear this brand of clothes you will have worth and you will be accepted by your peers. Striving for a sense of worth can cause a stronghold to be established as we will do anything to feel worthy, even if it is a false worth. You see we strive for self-worth by doing things we believe will fill that void in our life. We work harder and do more and yet we feel more shame and guilt. To make things worse we begin to filter the activity of our through shame and guilt which inevitable brings more shame and guilt.

The third aspect here is that dominion was replaced by weakness and helplessness therefore we have a need for strength and self-control. People attempt to meet this need by disciplining themselves or by trying to control others. Trying to control others is in reality a symptom of insecurity and a lack of self worth. In essence, we try to satisfy the need for dominion by trying to control others. Control is a stronghold that is sin’s answer for lost dominion. On the other hand while we try to control others we also try to control ourselves. We do so through strict and extreme efforts to discipline one’s self and one’s actions. We try to manage sin rather than dealing with sin. The result is that we are led to a spirit of legalism, perfectionism, and self-destruction. Additionally, when we try to control ourselves and control others we are never satisfied so we try and control more. Thus the stronghold only gets stronger.

As we bring this to a close today, I read this week that as believers we are not trying to become saints we are saints who are becoming like Christ. That is so true. That is why we do everything we can to bring every thought into captivity to the glory of God. We filter everything not through the hurt or stronghold but through the filter of God’s word, His redemption, and His power. In our HVAC systems we have filters that take out contaminates and dust out of the air. If that filter becomes clogged it will not allow the air flow through the filter and then there are problems. The same goes for our mind as well. We need a new filtering system. That is what we will be talking about over the next few weeks.

For an audio of this message go to http://pccministry.org/media.php?pageID=14

Copyright © 2016 All Rights Reserved Robert W. Odom

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March 23, 2014 · 7:09 pm

Watcha Thinking Part 2

Peninsula Community Church

March 23, 2014

Body, Soul and Spirit – Whatcha Thinking? Part 2

Philippians 4:8 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. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Let’s continue to look at this passage together this morning. Last week, we focused on Paul’s admonition to think on those things which are true. We think on truth by focusing on a constant, unmovable point of reference. The problem with not having a fixed point of reference in our lives is that we can begin to believe that truth is relative and can be whatever we want it to be. Modern thinking says that you have your truth and I have my truth. By extension then, my truth is correct and your truth is correct as well.

For this reason, we are in the midst of a great debate about the relevancy and the truth of God’s word and His teachings to give us guidance. Unfortunately, rather than taking God’s word as a fixed point of reference that is constant and unchangeable, we have a society that believes that God’s words and teachings are archaic and no longer necessary. This is foolishness. When we do not have a fixed point of reference, we will walk blindly and aimlessly through life. When we lose the moorings of a fixed point of reference, we lose the ability to judge truth accurately.

But, God’s word and God himself has been and will continue to be that fixed point of reference. not just for believers but unbelievers as well; even though the nonbeliever may not realize it. The amazing thing is that these truths are so constant that when nonbelievers live by the principles of God’s word in regard to their business dealings and how they treat others; they will be blessed. Now, unfortunately, they may not make it to heaven or enjoy the blessing of God’s gift of eternal life, because they have now received Christ as their savior, but they are still blessed because they follow godly principles.

As we move forward in this study, rather than spend time on each of the remaining items in the list Paul gives us, I think we must learn and understand the principles of Paul’s admonition in Philippians 4:8. As we review this list and the admonishment to think on these things, we find a new mindset and discipline about the way we should be thinking. We have said it before that whatever you focus your attention on, you will begin to follow and begin to trust those things. The same applies to our thinking. What we focus on begins to stamp a neurological response on our hearts that results in familiar paths being taken. We in essence begin to live out a conditioned response of action and thought.

It is for this reason that Jesus made the proclamation that “out of the heart the mouth speaks.” When we feed our intellect, we feeds our hearts, and what we feed our minds and our hearts effects our will and our emotions. If we allow evil and corrupt thoughts to invade our thinking, there will be negative outcomes. Our heart will be malformed and will speak from the position of distortion, lies, and false doctrine.

As we move forward, we must consider where do we go from here? In other words, when confronted with unhealthy and nonBiblical thoughts, what do we do? How do we respond? Please note that the following is in no set order but are things to be considered so that we understand the focus of our attention.

The first step for us to take is to ask if the thoughts we are entertaining pass the Philippians 4:8 test. Is this thought based on truth? What does the word of God say about this situation or problem? How does the word confirm or contradict the truth of what is being said? Once acknowledged, we must align ourselves to God’s truth. So what are you thinking? Does what you think pass the Philippians test? Is it true? Is it honorable? Is it just? Is it pure? Is it lovely? Is it commendable? Does what I am thinking exhibit excellence? Is it worthy of praise?

To understand the truth, we must be in the word every day. John Piper made the following observation. “We’re completely wrong-headed whenever we lapse into thinking that private devotions somehow wins merit points with God. Devotions aren’t for impressing God or anybody else. They are for daily pointing us in the right direction and fueling the engine of our trust in God.” The goal through the Word is to have that point of reference that directs our steps. We cannot know truth unless we know The Truth.

The second step is to determine if the thoughts we are having are based on imaginations, false truths, and/or lies. One of the difficulties we face is in the area of imaginations and perceived truth. Imaginations are hard to deal with because they tend to be emotionally charged. One of the ways to do deal with imaginations and perceived truth is to refuse to continue to rehearse what someone has said or done to you. For example, if you believe that you have been ignored by someone and you continue to dwell on that, you can begin to build up an imagination and construct a story that is not based in truth. Some times these lies are so powerful that we would rather believe the lie that binds us than believing the truth that frees us. 

We must also remember that the mode of operation for the enemy of our souls is to speak lies, distortions, and false hood. How do you know the enemy is lying. Listen to see if he is speaking. Listen to what John 8:44-47 has to say about this matter. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

A third step is to stop and think about where the unhealthy or nonBiblical thought is coming from. When this happens, pause for a moment and consider where the particular thought or idea is coming from. Is it true? Am I acting this way because I am tired, or wounded. Am I misunderstanding what is being said or done? Do I have all of the information required to process and understand the truth. Remember the enemy of souls loves to use well timed suggestions to entrap us into a false way of thinking. He loves to take advantage of well timed opportunities to whisper into our ear or to have others whisper into ears. He is so effective at distraction and distortion. He loves to join with our unhealthy thoughts and build on the negative. He is able to speak false truths and negatives in such a way that we begin to believe them and accept them at face value. You see the enemy of our souls will never be concerned about the kind of damage you will do for the kingdom of God, if he can get you to buy into the lies of incompetence, weakness, and inadequacy. 

Uncontrolled thoughts form and shape our hearts and out of the heart actions are generated. Too often we are being tormented by events and issues that we continue to rehearse in our minds. Many times these thoughts are things that cannot be changed or resolved because the other person has become disengaged or disinterested in effecting change. But this is where we must remember that I am not responsible for the other person’s responses or actions. I am, however, fully responsible for my actions and responses to the stimuli in my life. 

A number of years ago I spoke to someone that had received a letter from their husband. In the letter, he wrote some devastating, cruel, and mean things. He wounded his wife deeply, and then at the end of the letter he stated that he was already seeing someone else and that he was filing for divorce. The letter was not only caused her pain, but it attacked her character. It went to the core of who she was. In the letter, he threatened to malign her character by spreading false rumors and gossip about her. In our discussion, she stated that she continually read the letter and each time she read the letter she became more angry, and she became more fearful. As we discussed this, it was obvious that a continual reading of the letter was causing her great pain. To resolve this, I recommended to her that she could do one of two things. One, she could continue to read the letter and allow the wound of her heart to be opened again or she could destroy the letter, never to read it again. If needed to keep the letter because of the pending divorce, I suggested that she take the letter, place it in an envelop, scotch tape it closed, and never open it again. 

Why would I say this to her? She was allowing that letter to continue to feed her insecurities, fears, and was breeding a false understanding about who she was and what she had done. You see the letter was filled with lies, and inaccuracies about her life. Each time she read the letter she was opening herself up to believe the lies and the inaccuracies. She was being affected by these thoughts so that her emotions and her heart were negatively impacted. 

So what are you thinking about? Is what you thinking about based in truth? Is it honorable? Is it lovely? If not, it is time to change. No more excuses. No more false reasoning? Just stop it.

 For an audio of this message go to http://pccministry.org/media.php?pageID=14

 

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March 16, 2014 · 2:47 pm

Body, Soul and Spirit – Whatcha Thinking?

Peninsula Community Church

March 16, 2014

Philippians 4:8 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. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

A number of years ago I took a course on counseling where the teacher focused a portion of her teaching on what she described as stinking thinking. What she was communicated was that we can so easily allow our thinking to be manipulated and distorted by faulty thinking, lies and distortions. Our thinking can become distorted through the outside voices of our lives. These are the words spoken to us by a spouse, a friend, a parent, a boss, and others. This also includes the words we speak to ourselves. These are the inward voices of condemnation and distortion about who we are, what we are becoming, and about the circumstance of our lives.

Faulty thinking are those lies and distortions that we have allowed to enter our mind and eventually into our heart. Once a thought has entered the heart, the heart directed to action by that thought. 

The truth is, when we do not bring faulty thinking into captivity, we risk that thinking becoming a part of who we are. We risk having faulty thinking dictate our response to life. We risk having faulty thinking create a stronghold in us that refuses to allow the truth of God to settle within us. It fights against or it neutralizes the truth of God because of the power we give it.

What exactly is stinking thinking? Stinking thinking is a result of a truth being rooted in a false reality and/or deception. It is truth that has been distorted so that we are walking in deception and in blindness to the reality of God’s word and the way things could be and should be. Stinking thinking places more value on perception and distortion than on truth. Now let me say this to you. I understand that this thinking, at times, is all we know. It is all we understand. This is true because of the experiences we have had. This is true because of what we have been taught. This is true because of how our families trained us or what they modeled as truth. Sometimes, as a result of this we have been deceived to believe that there is no hope and that there is little or no way out of the bondage we find ourselves. While this is the way things are, it does not mean we have to stay in this place.

Let’s do an evaluation. And be honest. Are you a pessimist or an optimist. Is your glass half full or is it half empty. The problem too often is that even an optimist can be a pessimist at heart. They present a good front but when they are alone they beat themselves up and distort the truth about who they are. When you encounter a difficult issue what kind of thoughts do you have? When someone mistreats you, what kind of thoughts do you have? Do you live positively or negatively? Have you ever known someone who always considered the negative side of things or the worse case scenario on anything and everything. When confronted with a negative, do you throw your hands up in despair and believe there is no hope and all is lost. It is my belief, and I believe that scripture bears this out, that one of the tools that the enemy of our souls will use in the last days is despair and hopelessness. When we walk in despair and hopelessness, we will be distracted and miss the good that God is doing in us and through us which leads us into deeper confusion.

Before we move forward with this let me say that there is more to this than just adjusting our thinking. Changing our thinking must lead to a change of action. This requires us to get the truth established in our minds so that we act out the truth of God’s word. We must surround ourselves with the disciplines of right thinking, prayer, and study of the word. Our actions must be motivated to change and align themselves with God’s will or else we will miss the mark. 

The apostle Paul is clear about where the focus of our thinking should be. Paul sets forth the parameters and the template through which we can begin to take every thought captive to the glory of God. Paul’s admonition is to think on the right things. Paul instructs us on how to change our thinking. We are to think or meditate on:  what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise. 

The first item on Paul’s list is to think on what is true. The root word for true means “constant.” It means to be found unwavering. It also means to be upright. Having this word first is not a mistake because the truth effects everything else. At least two realities are revealed. First, there must be a solid, nonnegotiable point of truth in our life. Our current society has made a tragic mistake in that they believe that truth has become relative to one’s own processes and what one thinks truth is. But, we must have a mooring for truth, or else we can believe anything and everything. We have people, yes even Christians who believe anything because they have had someone share it or say it and they take it face value. There is no filter for truth in their life.

Jack Graham in his book “Unseen” had this to say about this. He stated “The reason we need to focus on truth is that “for every action you take, your brain creates a neurological pathway that paves the way for familiarity, so that the next time you take that action, your mind already knows what to do.”

We also must resist the pragmatism of our culture, which determines truth by whatever works. If something works, which means, it brings you happiness (at least at the moment) or it accomplishes what you want, then it must be true. But God’s Word doesn’t always line up with what works. In fact, it’s clear that sin often brings pleasure for a season; if it didn’t we wouldn’t be so enticed by it.

It also means that we are not to be naive about life. He does not say to be positive thinkers, but we are to be truthful thinkers. We do not reject reality but rather we focus honestly and factually on the issues we face. Sometimes we need to ask ourselves a question. The thing that I am entertaining, is it true? Is that the way my spouse, my friend, my boss would act? Did they really mean that? Sometimes we continue to feed ourselves falsehoods and lies. We begin to entertain imaginations about others but we must meditate on what is truthful. 

If we want to be a better person and have a better sense of life then begin with truth as a gateway to right thinking. This means we must eradicate the lies that are presented to us. Lies about ourselves. Lies about God. Lies about those with whom we are relationship with. Lies about our goals and reason for living. You see as fallen creatures we are subjected to Satan’s lies and deception. We are prone to self deception. Remember that the devil, sleuth foot, satan, whatever you call him is the master at distortion. He can take even precious spiritual traits and ideals and distort them so that we believe a half truth.

Listen to what John 8:44-47 has to say about this matter. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

How do we know the truth? We read the word of God because contained within these words are the ways of life. How to live. How to act. How to freely live. For that reason, we must pour  ourselves into God’s Word and allow God’s Word to be poured into us. We should know the Word so well that we automatically run everything we encounter through the grid of God’s Word. However, if you go with the flow, you will be carried far from God’s absolute standard of moral truth as revealed in His Word.

Recently, someone shared a story about a letter they had received that devastated them. It had wounded them deeply because of the words written within the context of the letter. After we talked, I made a suggestion to them. If you do not need to keep the letter throw it away because every time you read it, it will cause a negative reaction. If you feel you do need to keep the letter, put it in an envelop, seal the envelop, scotch tape it closed and never read the letter again unless you have to. In this way, the truth of God’s love and purpose cannot be distorted in your life. 

As I close, let me ask you what things do you need to throw away? What things do you need to seal away so they do not impact your heart or mind again? What kind of unhealthy thinking do you have. Let us pray.

 

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