Welcome to the For the Gospel podcast, where we provide sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Kosti Hinn, and I want to kick off a new series called Reset that's going to help you set yourself up for summer renewal, rest, and genuine peace. Of course, we know peace comes from knowing Christ and believing the gospel, and also taking the practical steps that he gives us in his word for having a renewed mind. And if you ask me, most people need to have a plan for renewal as early as possible when summer break is starting. Because if you don't, you end up like most of us do, looking back, having basically run a rat race of trips and activities and plans and broken plans, and work is still work for a lot of us, and then projects, and before you know it, it's August and September, and you kind of need a vacation after the supposed vacation. I want to tell you this: the key to a strong reset is a strong mind. The key to your summer being all that you desire it to be, and I'm with you in that, is a renewed mind. And your mind is constantly being discipled. Every scroll, every headline, every podcast, every reel, every conversation, every temptation, every fear, every conviction, every single thing you are obsessing over or imprinting on and thinking about and trying to navigate, all of it is shaping the way that you think. And eventually the way you think becomes the way you live. And that's what scripture makes so clear. Some Christians are exhausted, they're anxious, they're very angry, they're distracted. Some are very worldly and they're just being pulled in by the passions and cares of this world. Others are fearful. Maybe you feel spiritually stagnant and you think, you know, what is that, Costi? Well, it's simple. What are you filling your mind with? If you've been filling your mind with garbage for years, well, as one mentor used to tell me, garbage in, garbage out. It's not that you don't love Jesus. You just have an overcrowded and polluted mind. And you can't live a godly life. You can't experience a reset and renewal and genuine rest if you have an ungoverned mind. That's why scripture repeatedly emphasizes the mind. And it does so in several ways. Consider these. You have Romans 12, 2, be transformed by the renewing of your mind, it says. Maybe that's a passage you've memorized before. What about Colossians 3.2? What does Paul say? Set your mind on things that are above. You think about the spiritual warfare passage in 2 Corinthians 10 5. Paul says, take every thought captive. We're just locked in right here on the mind. In Philippians 4.8, a passage that I want to talk to you a little bit about in this episode. It'll tell you whatever is true, whatever is lovely, noble. It goes through this list and then it says, dwell on these things. It's all about what you fill your mind with. And I want to give you some fundamental realities here, and then we'll land the plane with some practical ways to reset your mind. The first practical reality I want to walk you through is your mind is either being conformed or transformed. Your mind is either being conformed or transformed. I'm going to turn in my Bible to Romans chapter 12. If you're watching on YouTube, this will be on the screen as well as all the main points. If you're listening, you're on a road trip, you're at the gym, you're cleaning, you're on the fly, whatever it is. I got you as always. I'll read this to you. Romans 12. Two simple verses in verses 1 and 2. Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And then this big line: do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. The way we view this is that there are only two options. You're either being conformed to the world or transformed by God. You're never neutral. And that word, conformed, in the original language here, is referring to being pressed in like a mold. And we know this is true, not just because the word is defined that way, but think about it experientially. The world has a mold, it's constantly pressing in on us. Do not be molded and shaped by the world. What does the world press us to be? Selfish? You get tempted or pressed in on to think about yourself constantly, to chase comfort. What about follow your feelings? A lot of people just follow your heart, go with how you feel. We are pressed in on with the mold of worshiping success. How about normalizing impurity and the way the world just chases gratification in so many ways that God would call impure? Why do you think so many people end up living anxious and distracted lives? If you marinate in those juices long enough, like a piece of meat, you're going to start taking on the flavor of the world without even realizing it. But transformation happens through renewal. The Greek word that Paul uses there for transformed is where we get our English word metamorphosis. That's a deep internal change. God changes people from the inside out with the truth. And so I want you to ask yourself some questions right now. What is shaping my thinking the most? Social media, news, fear, conversations I don't need to be having with people who are saying things that are stirring me up. Entertainment, temptation, lust, greed, maybe your friend group, or scripture. And some of those can be good things. What you fuel your mind with, you could consume good Christian media. You could have good friends that speak that which is godly and edifying. You could be consuming scripture. Or there's a lot of other options that will pollute your mind. The way I've often said this is whatever dominates your mind will eventually direct your life. Whatever dominates your mind is gonna eventually direct your life. So first, your mind is either being conformed to the world or transformed by God. Number two, your mind is shaped by what you feed it. I already started alluding to this a little bit. Garbage in, garbage out. Well, godliness in, you're gonna get godliness out. And Philippians chapter 4, verses 8 and 9 is really practical here. I'm gonna turn over to that passage in my Bible. If you're again watching, you can hit pause, turn over there, just join me uh really quick. Philippians 4, verses 8 and 9. Paul, finally, brethren, whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence, anything worthy of praise, dwell, key word, dwell on these things. Then he says, the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Now I want to note one thing contextually. This is right after he says, basically, be anxious for nothing. Verse 6 In everything by prayer and supplication, thanksgiving. Then let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all comprehension will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. It's beautiful. Right before giving the list of what to dwell on, he says, Don't be anxious. So what is the antidote for anxiety? What you dwell on in your mind. The Greek word for dwell means to continually think about, to calculate, to meditate on. We need to be good, godly meditators. And here's the issue: many of us want peace, but we fill our minds with chaos. You and I can't binge on impurity and outrage and foolishness and negativity all day and then expect spiritual renewal or spiritual strength. Your inputs matter. And so what you repeatedly consume will become the disposition of your spirit. This is what Paul calls the inner man, the inner you. That's why some of you are living in constant fear or constant lust, or you wrestle with a lot of comparison. You have constant anxiety. Maybe it's materialism for some of you. We all have these things that seem to kind of latch on to our hearts, and we have to be careful we're not fueling those things by what we're feeding our mind. People's minds get overloaded with junk. And so we need to ask ourselves honest questions. What's dominating my thoughts when I'm alone? Am I brooding on the wrong things? You know, brooding, just stewing in it. Second, what do I run to when I'm stressed out? Am I doom scrolling, eating comfort food, watching bad movies, listening to ungodly music? Third, what content is shaping me the most every week? Is it my entertainment? Is it music? Is it social media? And then what are those forms of entertainment, music, and social media? Is it godly or is it ungodly? Also, what habits are quietly discipling me? Have I been given to foul language? Am I leaning into outbursts of anger? Do I have a vengeful heart? What about fear? What about worry? What about hatred? What about greed? What about immorality? There are very important questions we should all be asking. How are you fueling your mind? In a very real way, you and I become what we behold, what you meditate on. And so if your mind is sick and tired, brother, sister, look no further than the way you're currently feeding it. Number three, resetting your mind requires intentional action. Some of what I've covered, maybe you feel convicted or you feel challenged, or you feel a little protective and you go, oh yeah, those things are real, Costi. I got to watch out for that this summer. Absolutely. So let's get practical. What do you got to do? You got to be intentional. Mind renewal is never going to be accidental. You got to actively participate. And we understand this biblically. It is a joy for us to engage in obedience, in joy, a joy for us to engage in the Word of God. And all of that's possible because as Christians, we're filled with the Holy Spirit. So we're not striving and trying with strength we don't have. No, we have the Holy Spirit in us. We're transformed by our thinking, the renewal of the mind. And we begin to fill up our mind with the right things and we pursue transformed thinking through the power of the Spirit. What does that look like? Reset practical step number one. Start your day with God's truth before worldly noise. I want to phrase it that way on purpose. Maybe work is good. Of course it is. Maybe uh recreation is good. Of course it is. Maybe there's value in you checking the market, uh, going into your emails, checking the to-do lists. Of course. All those things are normal and part of the day-to-day for many people. However, it's still gonna lead to worldly noise. You're gonna be hearing things, seeing things. You've already started down the path of execution of your list. I want to challenge you. Start your day with God's truth before that. Do not let your phone preach to you before scripture does. Social media, it's gonna be there. And even if you're looking for something in particular that seems really noble and godly, something else will find you. The algorithm is against you in many ways. The stock market, it's sitting there. It'll be there when you get up. There when you're done your quiet time, there after prayer. Emails, they're gonna still be there. Make them wait. Work, texts, whatever, all of it. It's just waiting to consume your mind. It can wait. The way that we would say this is before you hear the bad news, load up on the good news. A lot of people, you feel exhausted because before you've even prayed, your mind has been hijacked by the world. So open your Bible first. Even 10 to 15 minutes focused on prayer and devotions, reading a psalm, writing out some things that you're depending on God for. It'll change the trajectory of your day. So this summer, when you have a little more flexibility or a little more focus on fun and recreation and vacation, yes and amen to all of that. My family and I are joining you in it. Don't forget, we're not taking a vacation from the truth. We're not taking a vacation from the day-to-day routine that renews our mind. Read slowly, underline the truth, pray through a passage, meditate, and get your mind anchored before the world starts pulling at it. You think about Psalm chapter one, how blessed is the man who does what? What does he do in that passage? He meditates on God's law day and night. Be a meditator this summer. Practical reset strategy number two. Cut off mind polluters. Some of you are really into productivity, and that's a good thing. Productivity hacks are awesome. I like them. One of the best productivity hacks is just some good old-fashioned subtraction, hacking things literally out. There are things that are poisoning your mind right now. They gotta go. Let me list several for you. You need to go after whatever applies to you on this list. I jotted down accounts that you follow, shows that you watch, music you consume, constant doom scrolling, ungodly conversations, people who stir up sin or lead you to it, comparison online, be careful. Looking at people's highlight reels all summer and thinking, oh, my life is terrible. Or man, I wish I had that. Or what about her? What about him? Don't be going down that rabbit trail. It's gonna steal your joy. Apps that steal your time. Maybe a lot of what I've already listed. You go, that's one app for me. Dump it, get rid of it for the summer. What about news feeds that fuel fear? Stop watching or listening to news that is all meant to just stir you up and keep you coming back for more. Jesus said, if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. He means deal radically with anything that's leading to sin or causing you to sin. You can't reset your mind if you're constantly feeding your flesh. Okay, practical reset strategy number three, load up on gospel truth. A lot of us forget we need the gospel every day. It is the grace of God that renews our hearts and reminds us we're children of God. You might have that inner voice that just chirps at you with sentiments like you're a failure, God's annoyed with you, so and so is better than you. Whatever the arrows are that the enemy sends your way, get back to the gospel this summer, renew your mind. And all of a sudden, the quote unquote inner voice in your mind, you know, the way you think, it'll start to be taken over by the word of God. When it's saturated with the word of God, when it's saturated by the world, you hear worldly things, you think worldly things. And so let all your striving only be by the grace of God and the strength that God supplies, and apply yourself to his word. Remember how Jesus fought back against temptation from the devil? He did it with Scripture. And so we do the same. And that's going to include going back to the gospel day in and day out. Practical reset strategy number four. Give yourself to strong doctrine. Give yourself to strong doctrine. One of the reasons people feel mentally scattered or they're short on answers when life happens is because their doctrinal depth is like a kiddie pool. I'm not trying to belittle anyone here. I just want to shoot you straight. When everything is designed to be fast and quick, instant gratification, we've lost this appetite for a good book, deep doctrine, longer sermons, rigorous study. Summer used to be a time when you'd knock out a couple of books and you'd wrestle with some doctrine, and your life would get stronger. You'd come back better than ever spiritually, ready to take on the next season of life. And so I want to challenge you, wrestle with some doctrine this summer. Study the sovereignty of God, trials and sickness, the doctrine of Scripture, how we got the Bible, the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, God's will, or something you've wanted answers to for a long time. We got a lot of longer resources here for the gospel. By the way, that's really the goal of our short clips and short videos online. They're like a funnel. They lead you to deeper, longer, stronger study of scripture, articles and blogs and sermons, not just sound bites. If you're looking for good books, I've got a book called Walking in God's Will. There's other books that we can recommend for you. There's a host of resources. You just take full advantage of them and make them a part of your summer reset. Your mind will be stronger than ever when your vacations are over. Practical reset strategy number five. Surround yourself with godly voices. Your thinking is going to drift towards the people you listen to the most. Your pastor. If I'm not your pastor, I am a friend and a brother. I'm here to encourage you. I'm your Monday jolt. But your pastor, he should have a very prominent voice in your life. Your spiritual influences who are discipling you, they should have a very strong voice in your life. And if your influences are worldly or cynical or sensual or angry or foolish or deceitful, that's going to slowly absorb into your mind. But wise voices, they strengthen your mind. So listen to faithful preaching. Dig into solid theology. Spend time talking with wise and older believers who have scripture-rich conversations with you. Listen to music that fuels worship. Take advantage of all that's been made available to you in this technological age. You can always reach for truth. You just need to choose to. Philippians 9 finishes with Paul saying, The things which you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Practice these things and the peace of God. Rather, the God of peace is even more important. Not just the peace you get from God, but the God who's the one who gives you peace. The God of peace will be with you. Here's the deal. God will use healthy, godly examples to shape healthy, godly thinking. Paul says, the things you've learned and received and heard, who are you learning from, receiving from, and hearing from? You want the God of peace to be with you? You want his word and the truth to renew you? Get around godly examples this summer. Now, one thing that I'll do to help you with that is not only this series, but the summer sermon series we do every year for five weeks. And after this current series we're in, as July kicks off, there'll be five weeks. I'll give you a sermon every single week. It won't be one of mine. It'll be sermons from faithful voices that have impacted my life and certainly have impacted a lot of yours. And you'll have kind of these must listen to sermons. We call it our summer sermon series, and it's going to sharpen you on road trips at home, wherever the summer takes you. A healthy reset begins when you reset your mind. That's the foundation. Next episode, we're going to talk about how to reset your schedule because time is a resource you can't get back once you spend it. Thanks as always for listening. Thanks for watching. Thank you to those of you, our partners and friends, for giving to For the Gospel. We're 100% donor supported and reaching millions of people every month around the world because of faithful friends like you. And above all else, thank you for praying. We know that the power source behind For the Gospel's effectiveness as a ministry is partners like you and ultimately God working through all of that and the power of prayer. So thank you. We praise God for your faithfulness. To learn more about For the Gospel or to partner with us, you can go to forthegospel.org. I'll be back next Monday with another episode. Keep on living for the gospel.