|
August 5, 2007
Thinking for a Change
As I get into the 2 parts of our thinking, the
statement that is the theme:
The dominate vision of your mind, the thing you
think about them most, will be what influences
you the most.
So we need to guard our
thinking.
Make sure it’s correct….
There are 2 areas I want to challenge you with
this morning in regards to how we think.
First – Creativity
Laying down with my son and playing cars…..
where did our imagination go?
Where is our creativity?
Genesis 1:1,26
God is creative and has big dreams.
We are created in His image…. Our have
His likeness.
Somewhere in life we have exchanged our ability
to dream, see past what is there…. For a life of
mundaneness.
What happened to kids who could play
for hours with a pan?
Creativeness…… imagination…..
dreaming…..
Where are those who can see past what is
actually there?
I want to encourage you to dream big….. Joseph –
like working in the
mailroom and telling the CEO he is going to be
getting your coffee…..
Not settle for same old same old….. be
creative.
I believe we have settled for less in our
marriages, families and ministries because we
haven’t tried to be creative or dream big
enough.
We have settled for less because our
dreams/goals were so small.
Creativeness is a mental process of looking past
what is there.
Our enemy has really smart tactics:
A few weeks ago – bringing cursed things into
homes… that curse comes upon that home…
One way he works to keep control of the world is
to keep our dreams small.
If you’re a Christian and just plan on going to
church and not really doing anything…. I would
leave you alone too.
If you started having
dreams/ideas…. Might check you out.
Encourage you to shoot for
things you can reach….
That doesn’t
require faith.
Some Christians are off in “la la land” with
their dreams…. I wouldn’t mess with them either.
We have to be people who understand the times,
have a principled life ---- know how God works….
And desire long rooted deep impact.
As we do this there is going to come opposition:
Let’s see how David handled his opposition.
1 Samuel 17:28-30
28 When
David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with
the men, he burned with anger at him and asked,
"Why have you come down here? And with whom did
you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know
how conceited you are and how wicked your heart
is; you came down only to watch the battle."
29 "Now what have I done?" said David.
"Can't I even speak?" 30 He then turned
away to someone else and brought up the same
matter, and the men answered him as before.
--- there are DREAM CRUSHERS
Turned and talked to someone else.
We don’t have to justify our dreams/desires.
We don’t have to convince others of how noble
our desires are.
When you find a dream basher….. check your
dream….
Find someone else
to talk too.
In your homes, jobs, ministries train yourself
to not settle for less than creativity.
-
it’s in you.
Creativity is a process of thinking and
mediating on something…..
The second part of this message…. Turn to
Philippians 4
Again – the dominate vision of our minds will be
what influences us.
God like thinking is vital to living a Christian
life.
Philippians 4:8-9
Ephesians 2:3
All of us also lived among them at one time,
gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and
following its desires and thoughts.
--- we need to be careful what we
think about.
To guard our minds from thinking ways we
shouldn’t
A couple of mindsets to be watchful of:
1.
The wandering mind
1 Peter 1:13
Therefore, prepare your minds for action….
- our minds are to be
prepared at all times.
We must train
ourselves with the ability to concentrate.
2.
Wondering mind
Being unsure. Inability to make a decision.
--- there is power in a
decision.
3.
The negative mind.
o
the I can’t
o
God won’t
o
Poor me
Negative feelings come from negative thinking.
I can’t – lack of faith
God won’t – lack of knowledge
Poor me – lack of determination
There are 3 negative things about the way we
think.
Phil.4 tells us how to think like Jesus.
To have a Christ like
mindset.
We must be determined, focus and positive:
-
find the good in someone and meditate on it
-
find what’s right about a situation and meditate
on it.
-
see the good in your spouse…..
-
see the good in your home
-
look for the good in job….
Sure it’s hard sometimes, but when you give up
with the way you think it will spill over into
how we live our lives.
We are not walking in the Spirit if our thoughts
are opposed to the Word of God.
2 Corinthians 2:14
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in
triumphal
procession
in Christ….
God leads us forward in victorious
procession….
We are working on having the mind of Christ----
having a transformed mindset.
Romans 12:1-2
When we feel that squeeze from the world to
think in a certain way we need to use that as a
moment to exercise control…..
Your thinking can change your life:
Dream big/ be creative
Guard what you think about.
The thoughts that dominate your thinking will
influence and control your life.
|
