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Transcript

A Place To Stand- Minister Max Lucado · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Thank you.
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: Thank you.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: Campaign that's an important number because hold on a second
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: hold on a second that's an important number because we
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: pledged to give 16.6 million dollars so not only did
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: you meet the pledges you exceeded the pledges isn't that
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: great when's the last time you heard that thank you
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: lord now we're still very serious about getting debt free
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: again But we're grateful for our new facilities and this step,
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: this completion of this three-year pledge period, not only meeting
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: the goal but exceeding it, is a great step toward
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: being debt-free again. We're headed in that direction. Another number,
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: even more important, and that is the number 275. That's
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: how many souls were baptized into Christ over the last
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: two weeks on all of our campuses on Baptism Weekend.
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: Two hundred and seventy-five. That's a lot of people, isn't it?
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: That's bigger than most churches. And so we're so very
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: grateful for that harvest. These are wonderful days at Oak
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: Hills Church, days of answered prayer. And I'm so very
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: grateful that you are a part of them. Let's pray
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: and then we'll get to work on our new series.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: And so, Heavenly Father, we thank you. We could do
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: nothing without you. We need you now, Heavenly Father, to
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: forgive the sins of our speaker. Because there are too
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: many to count. Grant that we can see Jesus. Just Jesus.
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: Through Christ we pray. And all the church said. Pretend
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: that you visit me as I am working inside my greenhouse.
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  Speaker 1: I do not have a greenhouse. I do not have
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: a green thumb. But we're pretending. You come to see me.
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: I'm inside my greenhouse. And I tell you that this
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: greenhouse was a gift from my father and that it
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: was created as the ideal place in which to raise
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: flowers and fruit trees, which is exactly what I want.
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: I want to raise flowers and fruit trees. So I
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  Speaker 1: show you around my greenhouse. And then I say, I
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: need to get more seeds for my flowers and fruit trees.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: Would you like to go with me to get some seeds?
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  Speaker 1: You follow me outside of the greenhouse and boy are
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: you surprised when instead of going to a garden center
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  Speaker 1: to purchase seeds, I just go out in some pasture
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  Speaker 1: and I begin stripping weeds of their seeds. Grass burrs,
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  Speaker 1: dandelion seeds, all kinds of weed seeds. And I begin
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  Speaker 1: collecting those in a little pouch, and I take those,
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: and you follow me back inside the greenhouse, and I
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  Speaker 1: tell you, good, I've got enough seeds to plant. And
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: you look at me like I fell off of the truck.
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: You say, wait a second, you said you wanted flowers
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: and fruit trees. I said, exactly. Well, then why did
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: you go and get some weed seeds? Don't you think
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  Speaker 1: you should get some seeds that bear fruits? Don't you
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: think you should get some seeds that turn into flowers?
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  Speaker 1: And I say, well, yeah, but do you know how
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  Speaker 1: expensive those seeds are? You've got to pay for those.
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: I can get these seeds for free just right out
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: here in the pasture. And besides, you have to go
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: to the garden center to purchase those seeds. It's such
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: an inconvenience. Doesn't it make sense that I take seeds
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: that are free and convenient and plant those in my greenhouse?
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: And you turn and you walk out mumbling something about
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  Speaker 1: how Max is missing some brain cells. Because you understand
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: the simple principle when it comes to growing plants. And
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: that is you reap what you sow. We get that,
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  Speaker 1: don't we? We don't dare think that we can sow
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  Speaker 1: seeds from weeds and get anything except what? Weeds. So
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  Speaker 1: if we want to grow flowers, we need flower seeds.
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  Speaker 1: If we want to grow fruit trees, we need fruit
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  Speaker 1: tree seeds. We get that when it comes to the soil.
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  Speaker 1: But do we understand that when it comes to our thoughts?
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  Speaker 3: Yes.
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  Speaker 1: You have been given a greenhouse. And it sits right
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  Speaker 1: here between your two ears. Would you like to touch
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  Speaker 1: your greenhouse? It's right up here. How do you like it?
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  Speaker 1: It's very nice. Your father gave that to you. Your
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: father gave that to you. And I know every so
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: often you say, I'm losing my mind. But you're not.
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  Speaker 1: It's right there. And it is your greenhouse. And it is...
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  Speaker 1: perfectly suited for growing things. It has soil within it.
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  Speaker 1: And given the right conditions, it can grow really beautiful flowers.
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  Speaker 1: And it can bear some wonderful fruit. But if you
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  Speaker 1: sow the wrong kind of seeds in your greenhouse, guess
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  Speaker 1: what you're going to get? You can say it out loud. Weeds.
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  Speaker 4: Weeds.
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  Speaker 1: Weed seeds grow weeds. That ought to be a bumper sticker,
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  Speaker 1: shouldn't it? Weed seeds grow weeds. Why would we think
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  Speaker 1: that we could sow weedy thoughts and get anything except weeds?
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  Speaker 1: We see examples of this principle all the time. You know,
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  Speaker 1: some people whose joy just seems to be impenetrable. They
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  Speaker 1: have this Teflon capacity to face the challenges of life.
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  Speaker 1: And though they may be staggered or stumble a time
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  Speaker 1: or two, they really are able to pull themselves up
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  Speaker 1: and face life with gusto and hope and strength and faith.
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  Speaker 1: They're contagious in their happiness. How does a person like
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  Speaker 1: this become like that? I think it might have something
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  Speaker 1: to do with what they do all day long, the
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  Speaker 1: kind of seeds... they plant in their greenhouse. Did you agree?
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  Speaker 1: What about the person who always seems, no matter how
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  Speaker 1: blessed they are, excuse me, always seems to be facing
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  Speaker 1: and carrying burdens. They're always anxious, perpetually uneasy, grumpy and
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: cranky about life. No matter how blessed they are, could
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  Speaker 1: it be that they've been sowing some Weed seeds in
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  Speaker 1: the greenhouse that God gave them. This is a biblical principle.
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  Speaker 1: Galatians chapter 6 and verse 7 says, people harvest only
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  Speaker 1: what they plant. Can we read that verse out loud together?
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  Speaker 1: People harvest only what they plant. Would you like to
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  Speaker 1: be a person of courage tomorrow? Then deposit seeds of
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  Speaker 1: faith today. Would you like to be a person of
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  Speaker 1: bitterness tomorrow? Then deposit and plant seeds of unhappiness and
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  Speaker 1: resentment today. You will tomorrow be the person you're thinking
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  Speaker 1: about becoming today. You are today a consequence of the
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  Speaker 1: seeds you planted yesterday. So does it not make sense
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  Speaker 1: that we should carefully guard the greenhouse of the mind?
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  Speaker 1: I'm so sorry. I've been talking too much. Maybe you've
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  Speaker 1: heard the joke about the fellow who comes home one
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  Speaker 1: evening at 630 and his wife is really mired down
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: in an unhappy state of mind. She is cranky. She
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  Speaker 1: is really cranky. So he sets out to cheer her up,
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  Speaker 1: but he cannot. He cannot get her out of her
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  Speaker 1: sour disposition. So finally, after an hour of trying, he says,
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  Speaker 1: all right, let's start over. I'm going to walk out
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  Speaker 1: the door and I'm going to come back in. Let's
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  Speaker 1: just start over. See if we can do it better
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  Speaker 1: this time. So he walks out the door. He comes
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  Speaker 1: back in. First thing she says to him is 730
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  Speaker 1: and you're just now getting home. Could be that she
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  Speaker 1: has been depositing the wrong kind of seeds into the
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  Speaker 1: soil of her thought process. Now, let's make some application here.
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  Speaker 1: If indeed you have a greenhouse, the greenhouse of the mind,
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  Speaker 1: if indeed your thoughts are going to bear fruit and
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  Speaker 1: you truly are the consequence of what you think as
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  Speaker 1: a person thinketh, so is he, then does it not
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  Speaker 1: make sense that we would be very careful about the
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  Speaker 1: thoughts we sow in the soil of our mind? Does
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  Speaker 1: it not make sense? that we pay careful attention to
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  Speaker 1: what we could call thought management. Thought management. We talk
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  Speaker 1: about money management. We talk about personnel management. We talk
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  Speaker 1: about calendar and time management. I even read an article
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  Speaker 1: once on scalp management. What about thought management? Have you
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  Speaker 1: given much thought to managing your thoughts? God has. And
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  Speaker 1: he urges us to be careful about what we think.
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  Speaker 1: The scripture gives us this promise when it comes to
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  Speaker 1: our thoughts that we will reap what we sow and
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  Speaker 1: we should be careful what we think because our thoughts
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  Speaker 1: run our lives. Be careful what you think because your
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  Speaker 1: thoughts run your life. That's the idea behind this sermon
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  Speaker 1: series that we begin today. We want to make sure
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  Speaker 1: that we have the right thoughts in our mind when
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  Speaker 1: it comes to life. The word for this is worldview,
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  Speaker 1: our understanding of the world. How do we process the
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  Speaker 1: world and filter the world? Do we have the right
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  Speaker 1: view of the world? Under that theme of worldview are
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  Speaker 1: these seven big ideas. God, we believe that there is
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  Speaker 1: one true God. And he is eternally existing in three persons.
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  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, that he was born of a Virgin Mary,
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  Speaker 1: that he led a sinless life and he died a
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  Speaker 1: sacrificial death. The Holy Spirit is equal with God, the
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  Speaker 1: Father and the Son, indwelling and empowering the believer. We
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  Speaker 1: believe in salvation, that it is a gift of God
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  Speaker 1: and that all have sinned, but that all can be saved.
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  Speaker 1: We believe in the church, and that is the unique
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  Speaker 1: body of Christ living on the earth. We believe in
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  Speaker 1: the Bible as the inspired word of God. We believe
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  Speaker 1: in the return of Christ, that Christ will one day
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  Speaker 1: return and judge all people. These statements are, in our thinking,
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  Speaker 1: the big idea. They're kind of like the fountainhead out
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  Speaker 1: of which our other thoughts flow. We need to get
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  Speaker 1: these thoughts right. We need to be careful what we
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  Speaker 1: think about God, about the Holy Spirit, about Jesus, about salvation,
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  Speaker 1: about the Father, about the return of Christ. These are
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  Speaker 1: core doctrines out of which our lives and our thought
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  Speaker 1: process flows. Get these right and life can be right.
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  Speaker 1: Get these wrong, not only will the church be confused,
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: but we'll be confused. For that reason, we want to
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  Speaker 1: go back and revisit this statement of faith. I've asked
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  Speaker 1: our campus ministers to do most of the teaching. One reason,
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  Speaker 1: I'm ready for a break. And number two, you're going
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  Speaker 1: to love our campus ministers. Whatever campus you visit, whether
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  Speaker 1: it be here at Crown Ridge or out at Fredericksburg
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  Speaker 1: or Journey, whatever campus you go to, we have gifted
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  Speaker 1: teachers who are chomping at the bit for the opportunity
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  Speaker 1: to teach. And if you attend here at Crown Ridge,
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  Speaker 1: you know what a blessed and wonderful teacher Travis Eads is.
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  Speaker 1: And he's going to carry most of the teaching load
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  Speaker 1: for Crown Ridge over the next few weeks as we
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  Speaker 1: explore these. But you're also going to be reminded how
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  Speaker 1: important these core doctrines are. If you're a new Christian,
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  Speaker 1: this is a perfect opportunity for you to make sure
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  Speaker 1: you've got the important doctrines. If you're a seasoned saint,
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  Speaker 1: it's good to go back and revisit these. If you're
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  Speaker 1: looking for a church home and you want to know
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: what do they teach at Oak Hills, you couldn't be
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  Speaker 1: a part of a better series. because we're going to
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  Speaker 1: answer that. We're going to look at these core doctrines.
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  Speaker 1: We believe these core doctrines are essential because they are
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  Speaker 1: to the mind what seeds are to the soil. They
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  Speaker 1: are to the mind what seeds are to the soil.
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  Speaker 1: And we want to think biblically, think in a healthy fashion.
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  Speaker 1: As the apostle Paul said, don't let the world squeeze
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  Speaker 1: you into its mold, but let God remake you so
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  Speaker 1: that your whole attitude of mind is changed. How many
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  Speaker 1: of you know that you don't have to think what
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  Speaker 1: you're thinking? Okay, I'll say it this way. How many
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  Speaker 1: of you know that just because you have a thought,
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  Speaker 1: you don't have to think it? How many of you
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: know that just because an idea comes into your mind,
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  Speaker 1: you don't have to buy into that idea? Now, does
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  Speaker 1: it not make sense if your mind is the greenhouse,
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  Speaker 1: If thoughts are seeds, that we would be very careful
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  Speaker 1: what we think about. God wants your greenhouse to be
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  Speaker 1: fertile and fruitful. He wants you to think like Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, this is God's goal for you and for me.
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  Speaker 1: He wants us to think and act like Christ Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: When you read about Jesus in the gospel stories, that's
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  Speaker 1: more than just a picture of him back then. It
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  Speaker 1: is God's dream for you today. In fact, the scripture
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  Speaker 1: says we actually have the mind of Christ. Who would
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  Speaker 1: have thought? You see, when you gave your heart to Christ,
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  Speaker 1: he gave you more than just forgiveness. He placed within
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  Speaker 1: you the kernel, the essence of the mind of Christ.
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  Speaker 1: This means that as he has his way with you,
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  Speaker 1: you will worry less. You will trust more. You'll have
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  Speaker 1: the joy level of Jesus, the peace level of Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: You'll see people the way Jesus sees people. You'll see
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  Speaker 1: the world the way Christ sees the world. Does that
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  Speaker 1: appeal to you? Does that appeal to you? This is
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  Speaker 1: God's goal for you and for me, that we have
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  Speaker 1: the mind, not of Max or Joe or Mary, but
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  Speaker 1: we have the mind of Christ, that he changes the
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  Speaker 1: way we think until we get to the point where
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  Speaker 1: we think, oh, I don't think the way I used
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  Speaker 1: to think. I don't think the way I used to think.
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  Speaker 1: I don't have the anxiety I used to have, the
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  Speaker 1: guilt I used to have. The bitterness I used to have,
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  Speaker 1: he changed the way I think. Now, how does this happen? Well,
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  Speaker 1: in addition to understanding these big ideas that we are
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  Speaker 1: going to study, we must also be willing to submit
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  Speaker 1: our thoughts to the authority of Christ. We must acknowledge
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  Speaker 1: that he has authority over what we think. Just moments
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  Speaker 1: before he ascended into heaven, he said, all authority in
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: heaven and on earth has been given to me. So
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  Speaker 1: he has authority. He has authority about what Max deposits
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  Speaker 1: in the bank. He has authority about the relationships that
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  Speaker 1: you have. He has authority over everything in life, including
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  Speaker 1: what you think. Who would have ever thought that God
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  Speaker 1: has authority over your thoughts? Do you think God knows
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  Speaker 1: what we should think about more than we, better than
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  Speaker 1: we know what we should think about? Would you agree
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  Speaker 1: with that? So he says, let me tell you how
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  Speaker 1: to think. Let me work on the way you think,
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  Speaker 1: what you think about. And all of our thoughts can
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  Speaker 1: be subject to the authority of Jesus Christ. He will
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  Speaker 1: help us think in the right way. He has authority
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  Speaker 1: over our thoughts. It falls to us to simply do
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  Speaker 1: what the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 10
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  Speaker 1: in verse 5. And that is fight God. To capture
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  Speaker 1: every thought until it acknowledges the authority of Christ. So
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  Speaker 1: a thought comes into your mind and you fight it.
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  Speaker 1: You fight it. Now I love that word fight. It
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  Speaker 1: really struck me as I was reviewing this message yesterday.
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  Speaker 1: That the mind is truly a battlefield where the fight
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  Speaker 1: is fought. The mind is the battlefield where the fight
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  Speaker 1: is fought. If you want to be a person of
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  Speaker 1: peace tomorrow, then fight this good fight today. And when
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  Speaker 1: a thought surfaces, you fight. You fight to make it
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  Speaker 1: submit to the authority of Christ. Let me show you
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  Speaker 1: how this works. Let's say you have a thought. come
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  Speaker 1: into your mind wanting to be thought. You have a
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  Speaker 1: seed coming up to the greenhouse of your mind, wanted
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  Speaker 1: to be planted in the soil, and this is a
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  Speaker 1: thought regarding your existence. A real common thought in our
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  Speaker 1: society today is, is that all of life is comprised
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  Speaker 1: of what happens between the day you're born and the
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  Speaker 1: day you die. Nothing else. It's called secularism. Secularism is
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  Speaker 1: the removal of God from the conversation. There is no
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  Speaker 1: reason that you're on this earth. There's nothing that's going
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  Speaker 1: to happen after this earth. All of life is what
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  Speaker 1: you see between the birth and the hearse. That's it.
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  Speaker 1: There's nothing more. That's a certain pattern of thought that exists.
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  Speaker 1: Do you see that? Most of the people who make
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  Speaker 1: the movies you watch come out of that thought process.
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  Speaker 1: Many of the books that are written these days just
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: come out of that thought process. That basically it's a negative, sour,
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  Speaker 1: secular mindset. Consequently... This thought process comes into our mind
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  Speaker 1: like dandelion seeds or grass birth seeds. It springs weeds,
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  Speaker 1: weedy thoughts of like, well, there's no reason to live.
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  Speaker 1: There's no purpose for life. The only goal of life
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  Speaker 1: is to have fun. So I guess I'll have all
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  Speaker 1: the fun I can get. So you see how these
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  Speaker 1: thoughts begin to take root and they bear these seeds
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  Speaker 1: in the way we live. So Maybe this thought comes
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  Speaker 1: your way through a conversation. Maybe it comes through a book.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe it comes through a philosophy class you're attending at
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  Speaker 1: a university. This thought comes up to the greenhouse. But
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: since you were listening that day when Lakato talked about
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: thought management, you say to yourself, wait a second. Have
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  Speaker 1: I not been told to fight to take every thought
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  Speaker 1: and make it subject or submit to the authority of Jesus? Okay.
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  Speaker 4: Okay.
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  Speaker 1: Well, just because he said it, no matter how important
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  Speaker 1: he looks, I'm going to take this thought and I'm
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  Speaker 1: going to make it stand the test, the litmus test
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  Speaker 1: of Scripture. I'm going to make it submit to the
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  Speaker 1: authority of Christ. And so you get your handcuffs and
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  Speaker 1: your leg irons and you take this thought captive. And
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  Speaker 1: before this thought can go into the greenhouse, you march
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  Speaker 1: it down the sidewalk to the courthouse. Because Jesus is
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  Speaker 1: the ultimate judge over all. And you take this thought
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  Speaker 1: and you march it right into the courtroom. And you
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  Speaker 1: have this thought stand there in front of Jesus. And
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  Speaker 1: you say, King Jesus, you're Lord over my thoughts. You
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  Speaker 1: have authority over what I think. Do you want me
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  Speaker 1: to let this seed into my greenhouse? Am I making sense?
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  Speaker 1: Do you want me to let this thought into my
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: thought process? Remember, just because you have a thought, that
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: doesn't mean you have to think it. So you take
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  Speaker 1: this thought and you submit it to the authority of Christ.
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: And you say, Jesus, what do you say about this
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  Speaker 1: secularism idea? Well, we know what he says. He's going
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  Speaker 1: to tell you, get that thought out of there. He
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: may do so by virtue of the final installment of
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: this very series, because we're going to talk about the
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  Speaker 1: return of Christ. And the return of Christ carries with
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  Speaker 1: it the promise that the best life is the next life.
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: So it changes everything. He might even remind us of
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: the key verse that we're going to look at when
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: we look at the return of Christ. The Lord himself
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: will come down from heaven with a loud command, with
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  Speaker 1: the voice of an archangel, with the trumpet call of God.
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  Speaker 1: And those who have died believing in Christ will rise first.
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  Speaker 1: After that, we who are still alive will be gathered
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  Speaker 1: up with him in the clouds to meet the Lord
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: in the air. And we will be with the Lord forever.
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: So encourage one another with these words. So you say, well, okay, thought,
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: you don't stand this test. Because the Bible says that
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: there's much more to life than what happens between the
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: birth and the hearse. In fact, the best part of
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: life is what's coming next. And so you give that
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: thought a big kick in the rear. Tell him to leave.
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: Thank you very much. And you change the way you're thinking.
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: Is this making sense? Because just because you have a thought,
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: you don't have to think it. Thinking. Okay, another example.
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: The first thought was a bully. The next one is
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: a groupie. He comes not telling you how small and
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: insignificant you are. He comes telling you how great and
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: wonderful you are. He tells you that you're the most
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: beautiful thing. You're the smartest thing. You're the greatest thing.
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: You're the most important thing. That your spouse is so
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: blessed to be married to you. Your kids are so
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: blessed to have you in the home. Your work, my goodness,
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: the good-looking level rises just when you walk in the office.
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: You're such a... The whole world revolves around you. Everything
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: is all about you. That's the thought. It's called arrogance. Self-centeredness.
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: And so that thought comes and knocks at the door
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: of the greenhouse and says, I want to come in.
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: I want you to plant me in the soil and
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: I want you to let me grow. Of course, we
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: know that will sprout into the weeds of pride. And
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: so you think, wait a second, this doesn't sound right.
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: I do recall I'm supposed to take every thought and
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: submit it to the authority of Christ Jesus. And so
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: the authority of Christ comes through the scripture, right? Comes
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: through the word. And so we take this thought, we
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: march it down the sidewalk, we make it stand before
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: the judgment seat of Christ, and we say, Christ, do
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: you have anything to say about pride? Oh my goodness gracious,
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: does he ever. He knows how devastating pride can be.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe he takes us to Romans chapter 12 and verse 2.
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  Speaker 1: Do not think of yourselves more highly than you ought.
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: But just think of yourself with sober judgment and according
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: with the measure of faith. That God has distributed to
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: each of you. Oh okay. I got it. I got it. Okay.
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: I humble myself before the almighty God. I trust you Lord.
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: And you take that arrogant self-centeredness. And you do your
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: family a favor. And tell it to leave. Because you
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: know you'll be a better person. Because God knows better
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: about what you need to think. Than you know what
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: you need to think. Making any sense. So do you
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: think you practice this thought management. Is it something you'd
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: like to do more? Is it something you'd like to
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: do better? Are you excited about the thought that you
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: can be a better person today because of the thoughts you,
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: I mean tomorrow because of the thoughts you permit today?
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: Isn't that an exciting thought? I've got to use one
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: more example. Because when it comes to thought management, the
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: one area that may sow more seeds of devastation than
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: any other area is an area of sexual attraction. Sexual attraction.
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: Thoughts come and we don't quite know what to do
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: with them. Example. The thought comes to you in the
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: form of a beautiful lady. She's dressed in a slinky,
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: revealing red dress. The thought comes to you in the
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: form of a beautiful, handsome hunk of a guy. He's
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: the best thing you've ever seen. And a little conversation
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: takes place, a little chit-chat, a little exchange of niceties.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: Eye contact is made. You can smell the cologne, smell
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: the perfume. You can just begin to envision the whole event.
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: Thoughts come into your mind. Does God have anything to
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: say about sexual attraction? Does he have anything to say
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: about these thoughts that come our way? Well, I think
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: he does. And because you have decided to take every
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: thought captive, yes, even those kind of thoughts, and make
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: them submit to the authority of Jesus Christ, you say,
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: you know, Lord, I think you know more about what's
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: healthy for my sexuality than Hollywood does. I really think that.
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: I think you have a better track record of managing
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: mankind than the guys in the locker room do. So
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: I'm going to say, Lord, what you say is what
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: I will do here. Do you have anything to say, Lord,
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: about managing sexual attraction? Well, the Bible is amazingly practical
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: on this topic. You might recall even a passage from
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and then 1 Corinthians chapter 7.
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: We must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: commitment and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever. It's
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: a good thing to have sexual relations, certainly, but only
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: within a certain context. It's good for a man to
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: have a wife and a woman to have a husband.
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: Sexual drives are strong, but marriage is strong enough to
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: contain them. And like a good father, your heavenly father says,
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: now be careful with those thoughts. And so now that
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: you know God's opinion of sexual attraction and those kind
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: of thoughts, you think, okay, now, who is this person
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: I'm thinking about? If this person is not your spouse,
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: you banish those thoughts. Say, I'm sorry, you're not welcome
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: here because you're going to sow seeds that bear weeds.
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: If that person is your spouse, hubba hubba, hubba. Let's
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: go out for a candlelight dinner. Because God speaks to
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: us even about these kind of thoughts. Oh dear child
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: of God, would you please receive the word of the
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: Lord today? Would you let him change the way you think?
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: You have within you the mind of Christ. And it's
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: his aim that you and I think and act just
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: like Jesus. And you're going to be so much happier
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: the more and more you think like Christ. So as
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: we bring this to a close, I want to ask you,
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: what is that one particular thought pattern that disrupts your life?
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: All of us have one. I really think we do.
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: I have one or two. You have one or two.
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: And that's just this thought. They look like weather patterns.
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: They come and they hover over us. And we just
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: get in these negative thought cycles. Or these immoral thought cycles.
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: Or greedy thought cycles. Or arrogant thought cycles. What's yours?
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: You don't have to say it out loud. But I
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: would encourage you to tell it to Christ. Sometime, even
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: before you put your head on your pillow tonight. Get
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: off in the corner and say, Lord, I'd like to
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: enter into a new chapter. A chapter in which I'm
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: not the anxious person that I've always been. Or the
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: irritable person that I've always been. Or the angry person
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: that I've always been. What is that one part of
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: your life where you could really use the help of
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: the Almighty God? You know what? He wants to help you.
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: So you're agreeing with Him. He wants you to have
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: the mind of Christ?
• 31:20
  Speaker 4: Okay.
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, I can't wait. I can't wait for
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: you to experience the blessings that are going to come
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: your way. And as we move into this series, looking
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: at these big ideas, may they too inform the way
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: you think. Please be prayerful for Travis as he brings
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: us this word each week. And may the Lord's blessings
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: be upon all of us as we receive it. Amen.
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: Thank you, Lord. Thank you for your goodness and kindness.
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: Thank you for your mercy. Thank you that you have
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: not given up.
• 33:06
  Speaker 4: Everything I used to live for Faded slowly out of
• 33:11
  Speaker 4: sight Now my days just circle around you Like I'm
• 33:16
  Speaker 4: lost without a light All.
• 33:20
  Speaker 5: The noise just turns to silence When your memory comes
• 33:25
  Speaker 5: through And the world I once was chasing Now feels
• 33:30
  Speaker 5: small And shaped like you.
• 33:35
  Speaker 2: My whole world is only you Every thought keeps breaking
• 33:40
  Speaker 2: through You're so close inside my mind But so far
• 33:47
  Speaker 2: in real life I can.
• 33:49
  Speaker 4: Feel you everywhere In the things we never shared All
• 33:56
  Speaker 4: this love I'm going.
• 33:58
  Speaker 2: Through Never reaches you.
• 34:06
  Speaker 5: Every image feels so real now like you're standing next
• 34:11
  Speaker 5: to me. But the truth is in the silence you
• 34:16
  Speaker 5: were never meant to see.
• 34:20
  Speaker 2: My whole world is only you.
• 34:25
  Speaker 5: Every thought keeps breaking through.
• 34:29
  Speaker 2: You're so close inside my mind But so far in
• 34:34
  Speaker 2: real life I can feel you everywhere In the things
• 34:39
  Speaker 2: we never shared All this love I'm going through Never
• 34:46
  Speaker 2: reaches you If you felt it for a moment Would
• 34:53
  Speaker 2: it change the way you.
• 34:54
  Speaker 4: Stay Or would I still be the shadow that just
• 35:01
  Speaker 4: fades away?
• 35:03
  Speaker 3: My whole world is only you But your world's a
• 35:20
  Speaker 3: different view.
• 35:22
  Speaker 2: I'm just someone passing by In your open sky Still
• 35:29
  Speaker 2: I hold on to what's true Every heartbeat calls for
• 35:34
  Speaker 2: you All this love I always knew Will never reach.
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: You Ooh
• 35:43
  Speaker 3: Ooh