Lost In Thought | David Eiffert

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Here we go. Two Corinthians chapter 10 verse three. Two Corinthians chapter 10 and verse three says this, for though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does, the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought. To make it obedient. To Christ. And so we are launching a series this morning that I'm very excited about. It's called Lost in Thought, and we think it's a fitting thing to do in the month of October. I've got a couple things that you may not know about the month of October. I, it's not, that's not why we did the series, but we think it's kind of just interesting if you didn't know this the first week in October, which is what we're, I guess in or coming out of maybe is what, uh, the United States has called the National Mental Illness Awareness Week. That's what we're currently in. And then October 10th is World Mental Health Awareness Day. That's recognized all across the world. And so we just think it's interesting. Um, and what we're gonna do for the next four weeks is we're gonna talk about your thought life, your mental life, and how to win the battle. In your mind. And so, uh, I'm gonna do, uh, I'm gonna do this, that's kind of like a mental exercise as we get started. And it's this, I'm gonna say some words. Okay. And when I say the words, what I want you to do is I don't need you to respond, but I want you to notice when I say these words, what happens on the inside of you? Does it create tension? Does it create peace? Does it create anger? Does it create indifference? But just notice your in internal reaction. Okay? Notice what happens here. When I say here and here when I say these words, are you ready? Okay. Here we go. Ready? Word number one. Trump Biden, Israel Palestine vaccine mask, immigration, abortion. Transgender, Fox News, CNN. Now, I want you to notice something and it's this, is that I did not make an argument in any way. I didn't take a position. I didn't tell you what to think. I just said words, like single words, but I guarantee that some of you. When I said certain words, your heart rate went up. Some of you got angry, some of you got defensive, your blood pressure went up. Some of you have already decided you don't like me. Why it? The reason is this is because your brain has pathways. Yeah. And, and your brain has been trained by what you watch, what you listen to, who you follow on social media. And your brain is trained to have an automatic response when you hear words, and that's a single word. Now, I want you to imagine to multiply that by 50,000. In fact, that's what, uh, that's what psychologists think that we have between 50,000 and 70,000 thoughts per day. And listen to this, 70% research shows 70% of those 70,000 thoughts are negative, and so and so, if you've ever felt like you just can't shut your brain off, if you've ever felt like your mind is just going and going and going and go, I don't know if that, is that just me, right? 3:00 AM You're like wide awake. You're replaying a conversation. You're thinking about all the things you wished you had said. Or that you're mentally preparing to say you're worrying about something that hasn't happened yet. Or maybe like you're thinking about all the things you gotta do tomorrow. Or maybe you're, maybe you're doing this and I do this. I'll be honest, you're at a meeting at work and then someone's talking to you and then you realize that you hadn't listened to like a single word they said. It's like, are you, where? Where did you go? And it's like, I'm not, I'm not sure. I just went, I just went off somewhere because my mind was somewhere else. Or maybe like you're trying to do something with the family, but the mental chatter just won't stop, and it's like this constant noise of thought in your head, interrupting what you're trying to do. Raise your hand if that seems at least a little bit familiar to any of you. Some of the men are thinking like, no, not me. I never think I'm allergic. I don't believe in thinking. Listen to me, man. You're emotional too. Just in a different way. You still make poor choices that come from bad thinking, even if you're a manly man. Do you know why people smoke? You know why people drink too much? You know why people, uh, cuss people out in traffic, right? You don't, you know why you slam the door and punch the wall? Not'cause you're so tough. It's because there's something that's going on here. Right. You, you know why you're grumpy all the time. Come on. It's an, it's an emotion, right? It's emotion that comes from thinking. My point is this, if you, if you think you're so manly that your thought life doesn't matter, you're blind. Right. PE people and people who are paying the price for that. Blindness isn't just you, it's the people around you. That's right. Also, let me just say this, that saying, your thought life doesn't matter. Is saying that a huge amount of scripture doesn't matter because scripture has an incredible amount to say about our thoughts and our minds. The good news is this, God has given you the ability to improve. Did you know that? Not in your own strength. In his strength, but I, I just want you to know this, you can become a better person, right? You're like, Hey, can't teach a new, a Donald old dog. You're not a dog. You can grow, you can change. And some of, some of you, you're like, your emotion is like, it's all just built up, you know? Over, it's like, it, it's like just a clogged tube for like the last 45 years. You can grow. But you, you can learn and, and, and like, so my point is this. If your thought life is working against you, I just want you to know you don't have to live that way. And God has given us tools, very practical, real tools on how we can address the thought life, uh, that we all experience. But it's a battle. Yes. And it's a battle. You're gonna in fight. It's gonna, you're gonna fight it your entire life. Think about Paul's language. In the scriptures that we wrote, he talks about he, he's talking about your mental life. He says these, these phrases, wage war, wage war, have weapons demolish strongholds. Take captive every thought. This, this is, this is warfare language. He sounds like William Wallace from Braveheart. Right? He is like, he he, he's just saying, he's just saying you don't just say like, he's not saying like, just think happy and everything will be fine. No, he's saying there's a battle happening and you need the weapons. That's right. But the good news is you have them. It's not a battle with your neighbor. It's not a battle of politics. That's not even a battle with your spouse, right? Sorry honey. It's a, it's a battle in your mind and it's a, a part of the Christian faith and part of discipleship to Jesus that a lot of people are oblivious to. They think Christianity is like all nice and lovey-dovey. And don't get me wrong, there's lots of love and there's lots of grace in Christianity, but sometimes Christianity is about demolishing strongholds. Sometimes Christianity is about taking thoughts captive. Sometimes Christianity is about warfare. And so if you're taking notes this morning, specifically for this morning, we're gonna be talking about this for four weeks, but this morning my title, if you're taking notes, is this, you don't have to live this way. You don't have to live this way. So Heavenly Father, we're so grateful for you. We're grateful for your word. We're grateful for your church. We ask that in these moments together, that you would help us to, to open our hearts and open our minds, and that you would speak, and that you would help us to listen and to implement the things that you teach us. And it's in your sons. Let me pray. Everybody said amen. Amen. Okay. Well, today what I wanna do is I wanna give you three truths. On how, uh, that I, that I think are gonna change how you think about your thought life. Three truths that are gonna help you start winning the battle in your mind. So these are three things I want you to write down if you're taking notes. Number one is this, write this down. The battle in your mind is the most important battle of your life. Amen? Yes. The battle in your mind is the most important battle of your life. And you might be thinking like, I don't know, PD I got, I got lots of battles. I got bills to pay. I got a marriage to work on. I got kids to raise. I I got a boss that's driving me crazy and I, I get it. But, but let me tell you this, that none of those battles matter as much as the battle in your mind, because your mind is where every other battle is won and lost. And, and, and I've noticed this, I wonder if you've noticed this, that you don't have to go out of your way to try to find negative thinking, right? Like, like you don't have to find negative thoughts. They find you. It's like, it's like, uh, it's like mosquitoes, you know? Like you, you just, you're just trying to have a nice evening outside. You didn't invite the mosquitoes. You don't want the mosquitoes, right? But like, there they are. Here's what's annoying. My wife, I don't think she has gotten a mosquito bite in like 16 years. She don't spray. She hangs out just living her best life. Me, I'm, I'm a mosquito magnet. Wonder if anybody's like this. Like I go pick up a package from the porch, three mosquito bikes. Get something from the car, like two mosquito bites, and it's like I was fully clothed. I don't even know how they do it. There's, they're flying into my clothes. It's like, yeah, it is. Like, the mosquitoes are like, guys, he's here. Let's go. But mosquitoes, right. Think about mosquitoes. You know what mosquitoes do? They suck your blood. Yep. And they drain you and they leave you itchy and they leave you irritated. And that's how negative thoughts. They're the same type of thing. They drain you, they leave you irritated, and you didn't even invite them. And so you wake up in the morning and like before your feet hit the floor, negative thinking starts coming, hit all the things you wished you had done better, all the ways that you were wronged, all the things that you have to do. This is like you're driving to work. You're just minding your own business. Negativity starts hitting your head. Right. You're, you're trying to pray, boom, three negative thoughts that you didn't invite and remember, 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts per day with 70% being negative. And if you're not intentional, just like mosquitoes, they'll take over. That's right. Right. And so if you were to go back to second Corinthians chapter 10, I wanna read it one more time. It says this, for though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they, it's talking about the weapons that we have have divine power to demolish strongholds. We're gonna talk about that. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. Listen to this, and we take captive every thought. Yes. To make it obedient to Christ. Just look at his intensity. We wage war, we demolish strongholds, we demolish arguments. We take captive everything. This is not passive Christianity, right? These active war people warfare and, and for me, this is just my pastoral opinion. You don't have to think, you don't have to agree with me. This is what I think. I think most people are way too casual about their mind. That's right. The, the vast is just, you just let any old thought come and set up camp. You just accept it. That's just how I am. I, I hear that in my office. I counsel with people. Uh, that's just how, that's just how I am. Paul says, Paul says, you've got to fight. You've gotta fight you. Like you, you, you, you've gotta fight the chatter. That's taking you out of your purpose and out of God's plan. Uh, growing up I played little league. Any little league players in here? Wow. Barely. Okay. Okay. Yeah, it's'cause it's men and men don't raise their hand. It's cool, they're too tough. But you know, when you go up to bat, when you're in little league, you know what the other team does? They call it chatter, right? So it's like, why? Why are they doing, they're trying to mess you up. They're trying to get in your head, right? And they're trying to distract you from what you're trying to do. That's exactly what's happening in your thought life. It's chatter, it's noise. It's the voices that are trying to get into your head and you can't let them. And here's why I believe that this battle is the most important battle, is that your mind determines your life. That's right. Now listen to me. Even for the Christian right, you think about the Israelites numbers, chapter 13, God had been good to them. He, he had parted the Red Sea, uh, bread falling from the sky. There was a, there was water from a rock that followed them around out a rock, followed them and provided drinking water. And no, and it says this, that no one was sick. Or feeble, not a single person among them. No one was sick, no one was feeble. But then when it was time for them to enter the promised land, they were too scared. My 10 spots said, man, people are too big. We can't do it. We're like, grasshoppers. It's like, it is like we can't, and and, and listen to this. Because of that, because of that thinking, an entire generation died in the wilderness because of fear. Right. That's not what God had for them, but that's what they chose and they made think I didn't choose that. Yeah, they did. They chose that right here. And the Psalmist looking back at this moment, he says this Psalm chapter 78 verse 41. Yes. Again and again, they tempted God and they limited the holy one of Israel. Yeah, they limit. Do you know, you understand that they limited God, not because God wasn't powerful enough, but because their thinking was broken. And so you can have, you can have all the promises of God on your life and still be full of fear. And your negative thinking can limit what God can do in your life. Right? Right, right. And so if you're thinking like thoughts don't matter. They matter. They matter because, because your thoughts produce your future. And, and so you'll never outgrow your need to think, right? That's point number one. The battle in your mind is the most important battle of your life. Here's good, some good news. Point number two, you are the thinker of your thoughts. You are the thinker of your thought, and that might sound obvious, but I promise you most people don't believe this. Most people think their thoughts happen to them. They just, they just ero like they're victims of their own mind. Listen mate, you are not a victim. You're like, you are the one doing the thinking, right? You are the thinker of your thoughts. I remember years ago, I think my daughter was probably, I don't know, three years old, something like that. I was sitting on the sofa and she was walking to the bathroom and she said, oh look, a buddy. And if you don't know, at our house when Grace was younger, um, she used to call bugs buddies because whenever I would have to kill a bug or I would relocate a bug, I would say, sorry, buddy. I still, I still do. I'm sorry buddy. You gotta go to the park. Uh, so she thought, so she said like, oh, look, a buddy. And like some my spidey sense went off, like I knew something had invaded my house. And so I went over there and I picked her up and I'm like, where is it? Where, where is it? And uh, she like, and she points down and what she points down to is a giant black widow. And I'm like, oh, honey, just, just close your eyes and pray. Because,'cause I sent that black widow to its maker, it's like, I usually move bugs, but like a black widow in the house, they have crossed a line that kind of bug cannot live in my house. And so, so, uh, you know, I did. And then so that I immediately, I, I call the, I call the exterminator. I'm like, we need you here now. Right. And so I pay. So they come and they spray the garage. They sprayed the outside of the house. They sprayed the inside of the house and it costs money. It was an expense, but I choose what comes into my house. I choose what comes into my house. Uh, a little while ago there was a, a guy who was selling solar right door to door. He rang the doorbell. I was dumb enough to answer. I dunno why. I was in a, I was in a benevolent mood. As soon as I opened it, I was like, but he's talking to me about solar, you know, and how much I'd save and, you know, electricity's gonna be going up and all this stuff. And I'm like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then, and he said, he said, can I come in just for a couple minutes and I'll just show you? And I was like, no, I'm fine. I'm, we're fine here. There's a storm door, like between us, it's still locked. I'm like, I'm cool. I, I like the distance. I get to choose what comes into my house. I get to choose. Right. Some of y'all ain't never been to my house. That's not an accident. I choose what comes into my house and, and, and, and in the same way you choose the thoughts that take resident in your mind, you get to choose. Right. You, you, the no one can take this from you. And so I want you to say this with me. I am the thinker of my thoughts. Say that I am the thinker of my thoughts. Say it again. I am the thinker of my thoughts, not my circumstances, not other people. Oh, we can stop. N not other people, not my spouse, not my boss, not my past, not even the devil. I am the thinker of my thoughts. Look at this. Proverbs chapter 23, verse seven says this, for as a man thinks in his heart, so is he as he thinks. So is he, as he thinks so is he. He thinks the man thinks the woman thinks you are the thinker of your thoughts and what your thinking determines who you are and what your thinking determines where your life goes. And most people tolerate intruders in their mind that rob them of their peace, destroy their faith, steal their hope, and they think they don't have any control. But you do. Right, and so and so what you have to do is you have to learn to think about, listen to me, think about what you're thinking about. Yeah, that's right. I think, I believe it's Stephen Covey, he says, he says that mankind is the only creature capable of thinking about what we think about, but you can think about what you think about, but it takes some time. It takes awareness, right? So a lot of people are like, oh, I don't know. I'm just having a bad day. It's like, how come? It's like, I don't know. It's like you don't, even, you, you don't even understand your own mind. And so you have to think about what you're thinking about. Listen to this. Romans chapter 12, verse two. Paul would say this, do not conform to the pattern of this world. I love Pastor Shirley. I just used the reference and she says, amen.'cause she knows what verse I'm about to read. She's like, oh yeah, she so good. Romans chapter 12 verse two, quote it, Shirley. Just kidding. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Notice the difference. Not conform, but be transformed. Not conform, but be transformed. And so this here, this is possibility that this is choice. God is saying you have a choice in this. He's telling you to not be conformed, but be transformed. He's telling you that he's not saying what he's, he's talking to you. This is what you need to do. A couple definitions for you is this conform. It says, do not. Do not conform. Conform means this to be shaped from the outside. To be shaped from the outside. It means, it means you are at the mercy of everything around you, right? So you have a good day, good mood, bad day, bad mood. Boss is cool. You are cool, right? Bosses mean you are a mess. Someone cuts you off in traffic. Your whole day is ruined, right? But, but you're shaped from the outside. That's what to, to conform is you're shaped from outside forces and so you're living at the mercy of your circumstances conform to be shaped from the outside. Transform on the other hand, means this to be shaped from the inside out, to be shaped from the inside out. It's a Greek word metamorphosis. It's. Where we get the, the, the miracle that happens when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly meta to be transformed. It's, it's being renewed on the inside regardless of what's happening on the outside. Right? Uh, I, I play video games occasionally. I, not a lot, you know, I don't know. An hour a day. Let's train. Okay. Yeah. An hour a day. Not a lot. I'm not like a gamer, but I like to play video games on my little laptop. Um, and I've noticed this now though, with games like when you open a game, it does this, it does this, um, at the bottom of the loading screen, trigger warning, this game contains this and this and this and that. Trigger warning, trigger warning, like we live in a triggered culture. And that that's not, that's not a political term, that's a psychological term. Uh, what is a trigger? A trigger is a response caused by a particular action, process, or situation. In other words, to be triggered is living at the mercy of others. Someone does something and you react. Someone says something, you are offended. Something happens in the news. You are outraged. You're living triggered where your internal life is dictated by your external life. Wow. Right? And, and what you're doing is you're giving your authority to someone else, right? That, that you have authority, you are the thinker of your thoughts, but you give that away by being triggered by outside forces, by conforming to the world. But listen to me, you don't have to be a victim, right? You, you don't have to be a victim of other people's moods and other people's actions. You don't have to be a victim of whatever triggers you next. Why? Because you are the thinker of your thoughts. And listen, if the murder of Charlie Kirk and the whole war that's going on right now between like free speech and censorship and all of that, one of the things that those things can teach us is this, that the systems of the world don't want you to be able to think for yourself. That's right. That's the one thing they don't want, right? They, they want to tell you what to think. And they will kill somebody who is teaching you to think something that you, that they don't want you to think, right? But no matter what the world does, they do not have the power to control what you think. Come on, they can. They can imprison you, they can beat you. They can torture you. They cannot control what you think. You can think for yourself. That's right. Young people, you hear me? You can think for yourself. You can, right? You don't, you don't need someone to tell you what, like you can choose what you think about things, right? And you can choose if you're gonna, if you're gonna spend your mind all meditating on the stuff they want you to meditate on, or you can choose to use your mind in a better way. You are the thinker of your thoughts and your thoughts are either helping you or hurting you. Yes. And you might think, oh, that's just like practical advice. It's also spiritual advice. Look at this, mark chapter four, uh, mark, excuse me, six verse five and six. Shirley, you know what that says? Probably. I'm sure she does. Okay. It says this, he Jesus could not do any miracles there except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. He context is this, Jesus here is in his hometown. And it says this, Jesus could do no miracles. There not, would not, not, chose not to, not, was mad. So he, he could not, Jesus could not do miracles there. Why? Because of their lack of faith. Because of the way that they've chosen, because of negative thinking, right? Think about that, that Jesus, the son of God who walked on water, who raised the dead, could not do miracles because of people's thinking. Negative thinking can limit God. Isn't that incredible? Yes. Right? Like I thought God does whatever he want, but like you zoom out far enough, look in a practical sense in your life, you can limit God by the way that you choose to think. And we're gonna talk about, uh, this more next week, just so you know. Uh, we're just kinda like laying some groundwork this week, but next week we're gonna talk about this. But whatever you think about repeatedly, it becomes easier for you to think about. That's right. Whatever you, it's just like, it's like exercise, you know what I mean? The first time you do a squat or a deadlift or a bench, right? It's super hard. The more you do it, the easier it gets. Your mind is the same way, right? The, the, the more you think about, think in a certain way, it becomes easier. Scientists call it neural pathways where it's like, it's, it's amazing that now they can like scan your brain and, and so I'm not talking just like something that happens in like your thought life. Actual biology that your brain, there's, there's physical grooves in your brain that they can see on these machines, physical grooves that are created based on what you think about the most often, and so and so. If you think negative thoughts all the time, well, your brain gets really good at being negative. That's some of y'all's problem, right? Is that it's just so easy for you to be negative because you have so much practice. Right. If you think fearful thoughts all the time, it gets really easy for you to get into fear, right? That you have, you have, you have actually wired your brain to think like that. The good news is this, is that you can think positive thoughts, faith filled thoughts, the thoughts of God, and your brain gets really good at that too. You can retrain your brain, but you have to be intentional. That's right. That's why you, you cannot just be someone that is just like, I just think the way that, I think it's just that Irish blood in me. Oh, that's how I was raised. It's like that's how I was raised is not an excuse for anything. Come on, come on. Right, right. Look, I'm a parent. I am an imperfect parent. I have parents. They're great parents. They're not perfect. There's no perfect parents. Right? But once you grow, like you have to decide that you. That you have the ability to change. God can help you and retrain how you see things and how you process things. What does that mean practical? It means that you have the authority over your thought life. You don't have to be a victim. You get to decide why I'm saying it. Over and over and over on purpose, you are the thinker of your thoughts, not your circumstances, not other people, not your past you. And if you don't like where your thoughts are taking you, you can change direction. Amen. But it requires that you are intentional. Number one, the battle in your mind is the most important battle of your life. Number two, you are the thinker of your thoughts. Number three, and I'm done. You can't have a positive life with a negative mind. You cannot have a positive life with a negative mind. Some of you're thinking, well, David, I'm, I'm just, I'm just a realist. I'm just a realist. I just, I'm just being honest about like, no, you're not, you're being negative. Come on now. There's a difference, right? A realist sees the good and the bad. A negative person only sees the bad and calls it being real you. You cannot have a positive life with a negative mind, even if you're a Christian. And lemme be honest, counseling gives us, I know there's some pastors that don't do counseling, and that's okay For me, it's so valuable. I, I think it's, I, I'm hoping it's helpful to people. You know, I give'em advice, they ignore it, they meet again. You know, I hope it helps them in some way. I heard a pastor talking to me, he's like, go ignore someone else's advice. But, but I meet with people because I, I hope it's helpful for them, but also it's helpful for me because I understand what's going on in people's worlds, right? And there, there's a lot of Christians that I counsel with that are saved. Born again on their way to heaven who are like living like hell. Not because of sin, but because their mind is a mess. They're saved, but they're anxious all the time, but they're saved, but they have no peace. They're saved, but they have no joy. You can't have a positive life with a negative mind. Even if you're a Christian, your salvation does not automatically fix your thought life. That's good, right? Your salvation gives you the tools to fix your thought life, but you gotta use'em. And I hope, and I hope that you can see, uh, how, how different it is based on who you are, right? So like, like think about this. There's maybe two people and they go through the exact same thing, right? Maybe their boss comes and they get some feedback from their boss and they respond two completely different ways. Right. One thinks, oh my, my boss doesn't like me. My boss is out to get me. The other one thinks my boss loves me. My boss wants me to get better. It's the same conversation, same words, same boss. Two completely different responses. How they're operating through two different mental filters, same facts, different filter. You have a negative filter, you have a negative life. No matter how good your circumstances, I'm sure y'all probably know, uh, Henry Ford, uh, he has this very famous quote. This is probably what the only thing that a lot of people know about Henry Ford is this quote right here. But he says, whether you believe you can or you believe you can't, you're right. Whether you believe you can or you believe you can't, you're right. Think about that. If, if you believe you can, you're right. You'll find a way. If you believe you can't, you're right. You'll find an excuse. And so it's not just about like thinking better thought so that we can be happier people, like your entire life is at stake. And lemme say this to, to some I, I believe, I believe, I believe you can change your thought life and you can impact not just your destiny but your legacy gracious, right? Because you can, you can pass down things to your children and your children's children. And so you taking responsibility for, for, for honoring God in this amazing mind that he's given you doesn't just impact you. It impacts your children. It impacts your marriage, it impacts your spouse. It, your entire life is impacted by how you think, your relationships, your future, your peace, your joy, your purpose. All of it flows from your thought life. And so if you want better relationships. Start with better thoughts. That's right. Like, like if you want more peace, start with better thoughts. If you wanna fulfill God's purpose in your life, start with better thoughts. You can't have a positive life with a negative mind. And listen, I'm not, I'm not saying to ignore problems. I'm not saying to pretend everything is fine when it's not. But I'm saying you can go at problems with a spirit of faith instead of a spirit of fear. Right, right. Like you can face challenges with confidence in God instead of worry. That's right. So no one's saying ignore problems, but, but the posture in which you approach problems has everything to do with how you choose to think. And the next three weeks, I just to let you know, I'm gonna be super practical. I'm gonna show you how to do this, but right now I just want you to get one thing and it says you can't have a positive life. With a negative mind. Even if you're a Christian, even if you go to church every week, even if you read the Bible and pray, if your mind is negative, your life will be negative. And the good news is this, you don't have to live like that. Like you don't have to live with racing thoughts and constant anxiety that the mercy of your circumstances, like with mental chaos, there's a better way. There's a better way. And we're gonna walk through it together. And so this week I've got an assignment for you. It's a simple one. And it's this, it's simple, but it's powerful. I want you to practice what I'm gonna call thought awareness. And some of the men are like, oh, here we go. Self-help. Right? Like, just simmer down. Listen to me. Right? Just notice, just pay attention, right? What? What shaped my mood today? Maybe. Oh, well, oh yeah, I did have that. Oh yeah. I was kind of thinking about that and blah, blah, blah, blah. Oh man, I had a great day. Why? Wow. I was just really in the moment. I was really, I was thinking, I was thinking about how good, great, and faithful God is, and I had an amazing day. Right. Just, just notice what shaped your mood in the day. What had power over me today. Right. Am, am, am I living conformed. Or am I living transformed? Am I shaped from the outside? Oh, you're having a tough day. Why? Because of something that happened on the other side of the world, right? Are you shaped from the outside or are you renewed from the inside? Are you living that these forces shape you or are you being transformed here? And that transformation affects your life because you can't change what you won't acknowledge. Right. So just notice, just notice, and I want you to, I want you to say this to yourself. That's a big number. 32 times a day, there's, you're awake for probably 16 hours a day. So it's like every 30 minutes, I want you to say it out loud. I cannot have a positive life with a negative mind. Wake up, say it. I cannot have a positive life with a negative mind. You get in your car. I cannot have a positive life with a negative mind at lunch before bed. Like just say. And, and just let it sink in. You cannot have a positive life with a negative mind and I, because we all want a positive life, but we can't have it with a negative mind. And next week we're gonna talk about really practically how to tear down strongholds. What's a stronghold? A stronghold is a well defended lie. In your heart, in your life that you have built up brick by brick, by brick. And I'm gonna show you four R's. They're gonna be step-by-step process for how you can demolish strongholds in your mind. And so I'd love for you to commit to be here for the entire series. I think it's really, really help you. But I wanna just make a little proclamation over you today and then we're gonna pray. This is what I'm declaring over you. You don't have to live with a negative mind. You don't have to live at the mercy of racing thoughts. You don't have to live bound by fear and anxiety. You don't have to live triggered by every little thing. You are the thinker of your thoughts, and with God's help, you can win this battle. The battle is real, but winnable, right? And you have the authority, but you have to use it. Now, I wanna declare this over you in Jesus' name. This is gonna be a season where God teaches you how to win the battle in your mind. Here's my closing statement. The battle of life is one and lost in your mind. The battle in your mind is the most important battle of your life. This isn't just one battle among many. It's the battle that determines all the others. Two, you are the thinker of your thoughts. You're not a victim of your circumstances. You have authority over what takes residence in your mind. Three. You can't have a positive life with a negative mind, even as a Christian, negative thinking will produce a negative life. The good news, God has given you the tools to win the battle of your mind.