Mercy Church Colorado
Mercy Church Colorado
Conditions of the Mind. Part 2. | Sunday Series. Open Doors. Part 9.
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Join Pastor Chance as he talks about what a renewed mind looks like.
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When you have everything digital, everything connects to the speaker. So this iPad, these these little microphones, this phone, that camera, that iPad, all connected to one speaker. So good morning. Glad you guys are here. We are in our series open doors. We are in week nine. So if you've missed some and you want to go back, YouTube is probably the best place. It's just uh Mercy Church Colorado. Um Facebook has now changed their policy after 30 days. They delete it. So um we re-upload them to uh YouTube so you can go there. Also, for scriptures, you can go to the uh Bible app on your phone for today or or the other weeks and go to events, discovery events, and type in Mercy Church Colorado, and it'll pull up the scriptures we go over today. Because I'll be real honest with you. We go through scriptures fast. So um, if you're that fast in your Bible, man, praise the Lord, but good luck. Um, so we are we are in week nine of open doors, and what we're talking about is the things that we participate in, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, the things we're involved in, the things we listen to, the things we watch that open up doors to Satan's attacks on our lives. And sometimes we're not aware of what that exactly is or what that looks like, but we we are just working in that and we're trying to overcome that and teach you guys some methods and some scripture on how to stand uh against that. And so when you read through the New Testament, um you see Paul is always hitting us with the same challenge. It's it's think differently, he's always telling us to think differently. He says, Look, um, you've got to actively intentionally put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator. And so if you think about that word renewed, your body actually renews uh parts of itself all the time. Some of these are more disgusting than others, but um, we don't even know it, we don't even think about it. Um, I'm not a big skin guy, so yeah. Uh your skin completely changes itself every couple of weeks. I didn't know that. Um, I thought that was just snakes, apparently. Uh so new information the cells in your bones get a full refresh once a decade. Some of you have had more refreshes than the others. Um congratulations to you. I need I need one more. Um, and there are actual parts of our physical brain that regenerate, they grow new cells, praise the Lord, new connections, right? And so when it comes to our mind, um, the place where you process your life, where you make your decisions, where you decide what you believe, um, you don't get to just be on autopilot. Right? We have we have an actual active role in the process of developing. And so we're not just waiting for a spiritual cell replacement. We have to lean in and commit to intentional, intentional renovation. Um, and we have to be transformed from the inside out. Romans 12, 1 and 2 says, Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing, and perfect will. So here's the big idea. Take away the simple point. You become what you consistently think about.
SPEAKER_05Wow.
SPEAKER_02You become what you consistently think about. Um, when you choose to renew your mind, when you make the daily conscious uh choice to bring God and his presence into your everyday reality, what happens? You get to know him better. And the inevitable uh result of knowing him better is that you are transformed to be more like him. The Bible says very clearly we're created in his image. So we should reflect him, right? And so Brooke um started out last week talking about conditions of the unrenewed mind um that hold us back from renewing our minds. She started with one, a busy mind, two, a wandering mind. I'm not gonna lie, that's probably me. Um, I'm ADD, I can go real fast. Uh, and three, a confused mind. And today we're gonna start with four, a doubtful or unbelieving mind. But before we get into it, let's open on some prayer. Father God, I thank you for this time we have to spend on your word. I thank you for your word just in general, Father God, that you left it for us as a guide, as to grow us, but also, Lord, to know you closer, Father, and know you more. And so we thank you for this time. Pray that you would use me as a vessel to communicate your thoughts. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So, a doubtful or unbelieving mind is something that um holds us back from renewal, right? So most people would say doubt and unbelief kind of the same, um, but they're actually very different. Um, so the Vine's Dictionary is actually a biblical dictionary, and what it does is it takes words and it defines them in the translation that you're looking at. So the Vines Dictionary defines doubt as to stand in two ways. That implies uncertainty of which way to go. You're standing in two ways. You're standing at a fork in the road and you're going, I don't know. Right? Which means in the original language, for one of those words, unbelief is is more translated like refusing to obey. So doubt and unbelief are very, very different. Mercy, right? They're very, very different. When you look at how the enemy gets a foothold, those are two different traps. Doubt, it's the internal back and forth, the constant waving, uh wavering of, you know, should I, shouldn't I? Um, is this true? Is that true? Um, and it kind of paralyzes you, it helps you um get stuck right in the middle, spinning your wheels, never committing to one way or another. That's doubt. But unbelief, it's not just like this fuzzy feeling inside your head. Unbelief is an actual behavior, it's the line you intentionally step across. It's when you know what you're supposed to do or or what God clearly said to you, and you just refuse. That's too much, Lord. Not today, Lord. I'll get on that tomorrow, God. Right? And you just refuse. So doubt makes you hesitate. Unbelief is what makes you disobey. So we need to be able to decipher what trap um the devil is attacking us with, right? Doubt or unbelief. First Kings 18 21 says, Elijah went before the people and said, How long will you waver between two options? If the Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal is God, follow him. So let's talk about the enemy's game plan just a little bit. Um, what we need to understand is that when you said yes to Jesus, God deposited something in your heart, and that's called faith. Yeah, okay, and it's a default setting, it's what you were given by God Almighty. Romans 12, 3 says, in accordance with the faith, God has distributed to each of you.
SPEAKER_05Right?
SPEAKER_02And so the enemy, the devil, he can't take that away from you. Yeah, it's not his, he has no authority in that area. So what does he do? Um, he attacks your mind with doubt. Right? And how does doubt show up? It's it's not like this big theatrical thing, it's just a thought. It's a nice, gentle, subtle thought, right? That he plants in your mind. It's that little internal voice that whispers, uh, is that really true? Did God really say that? Was that God? Was that something else? Was that pizza? Right? Was that something else? Can can you really trust him with that though? Right? And so every single one of those thoughts is actually in direct opposition to the clear and trustworthy message from God. Amen. And this is why you have to know what the word of God says, because you can be easily thrown off. Yes, and so if you don't know the truth, you have no filter for the lie, the lies just keep coming. Yeah, there's nothing stopping it because you can't tell the difference, right? And so the whole plan is simple bait and switch, the deceiver lies to you to steal the very thing Jesus already purchased for you through his death and resurrection, right? And so he wants to convince you to surrender that victory that you've already been given. So here's the bottom line you can't recognize a fake if you don't know what the original looks like. That's right. Let's look at Matthew 14, 22 through 32. Um, I think this will help us. Uh, Brooke started it, but I think this will help us um kind of go down the road here. Immediately, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. It's a ghost, they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them, Take courage, it is I, don't be afraid. Lord, if it's you, Peter replied, Tell me to come to you on the water. Come, he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, cried out, Lord, save me. Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. You of little faith, he said, Why did you doubt? And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, Truly you are the Son of God. So Peter, bold Peter, crazy wild Peter, right? Uh he steps out, right? He's Lord, if that's you, man. I went in, right? And so he starts to get out there, and um, he does something that no one has ever done before. Um, I don't think anyone's ever done it since. Um, and uh, you know, he walks on the water and then he makes a mistake, he changed his focus. He looked at everything around. It's it's crazy because it's so simple. Jesus says, Come, and Peter's looking at him, and everything's working. The second he takes his eyes off of Jesus, it all crumbles, right? And so um, the moment you decide to follow Jesus, the thing is that we have to understand is you you normally get a new set of problems. Um right, and the biggest one the biggest one is the enemy knows exactly what to do to get you off track. I I like to say it like this um the second you decide to follow Jesus and do exactly what he's called you to do, that target on your back grows. Yeah, yeah, right, because you become a danger. If you if you don't have problems in your life, I'm not saying this is the only determining factor, but if you don't have problems in your life, you're not a problem to him. Right? I I'm at a stage in my life where I understand, hey, that's just an attack. Yeah, right? And I approach that with, no, not today, man. I got way too much to do.
SPEAKER_05Yes.
SPEAKER_02I ain't got time to be messing with you, right? And be dealing with all your little junk. So go find somebody else to bother. Yeah, right. And so it's just pure intimidation. He's trying to get you to panic and make a terrible knee-jerk decision. But we have to remember that the real battle, it's not out here, right? It's not out around you, it's literally in your mind. Yeah, right? Your mind is the battlefield.
SPEAKER_03Yep, that's right.
SPEAKER_02And so here's how we lose on the battlefield. We start making massive, life-altering decisions based on feelings and thoughts. Yep, yep. We look at the storm and go, I feel hopeless, so I must be hopeless. Right? We look at our bank account, and our thoughts tell us, mm, that goal, yeah, that's dead. Right? You just can't do it, right? You cannot let him attack you and your immediate emotional reaction be the driver of your life. Yeah, so many times we are led by our thoughts and our feelings, yeah, and we don't just take a second and pause and go, is that you, Lord? The whole waiting on the Lord is not sit and do nothing. The whole waiting on the Lord is so that you know it's Him, yeah, without a shadow of a doubt, so that when it's time to take a step, you take a step. Because his timing is not like our timing. So if we take a step without him leading, uh, I think it was Moses that said, I don't want to go into the promised land. I don't want to go into the promised land if you're not going with us. That's right.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, right?
SPEAKER_02We shouldn't take any step without God leading us. Yeah, right? We shouldn't take any step. And so um, that original God-given vision, that clarity, that purpose you had at the beginning, it's still there. It hasn't moved. It's just the storm that you're seeing is temporarily blocking it, right? And so, what do we do? Stop looking at the waves, look back at the vision. Yeah, don't let the noise of your circumstances steal the direction of your life. Yeah, doubt is a choice. That's right. It is a choice. Matthew 21, 18 through 22. Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, May you never bear fruit again. Immediately the tree withered. When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. How did the fig tree wither so quickly? They asked. Jesus replied, Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what has done was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, Go, throw yourself into the sea, and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. Faith is the gift of God. Amen. It is a gift of God. And since it's a gift, you've already received it, right? You already have it, you don't have to continually ask him for it. Now we do build our faith, we grow our faith, develop our faith, but we already have faith. There's a measure of faith that's been given to each one of us, as we read Romans 12, 3, right? We've been given that as a gift of God. So then it's then our responsibility to take that seed, right, and to grow that. Um, and so uh you get to choose your thoughts. And when the enemy launches the that that garbage that he puts at you in your mind, um, when that feeling of uncertainty shows up, you have a choice to make, right? Um, you look at it and you just say, No, thank you. You are a lie, and I'm not buying it. Yeah, you just keep moving, you keep believing because the power is not in working up the faith, right? The power is in choosing what you how you will respond.
SPEAKER_05Amen.
SPEAKER_02That's the power. Um, and that choice is always yours. So we said doubt and unbelief. Unbelief leads to disobedience.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02So Jesus already told the guys the plan, the disciples, he had given them an instruction manual, he taught them by walking with them and showing them exactly what to do and how to do it, right? And in the moment, when it came to execute their unbelief, their doubt was basically a refusal to follow Jesus' uh directions. Mercy. It's like coach saying, Hey, go in, here's the play we're gonna run. Cool. Hey, so we're gonna run this other play. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, we just he just said, Yeah, I know, but this play sounds better, right? Because we we know, right? And so um, they didn't do what they knew to do, and so they weren't successful, they were unsuccessful. And here's the point we have to lean in on this. Unbelief, just like doubt, is a direct practical barrier, it's a vision killer. Yeah, it stops you dead in your tracks from accomplishing the very things God has clearly called and anointed you to do in this life. It's operational failure. But it's not just in what you do, it's how you feel. Yeah, when you let that doubt creep in, it shatters the peace that Jesus says he's given to us, right? He offers rest for your soul, but you can't rest when you're constantly second-guessing him, right? What he wants you to do. The difference between accomplishing your mission and living in anxiety is often just one choice, and that is belief. I know it sounds simple. I'm not trying to downplay anxiety, but the reality is sometimes we give it more credit than it that actually is due.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah, right?
SPEAKER_02We feed it a little bit more than is necessary, right? And if we would just go back to the word that God told us and focus on that, right, we would be successful. So, one of the conditions, again, number four, of an unrenewed mind is doubtful or unbelieving mind. Number five is an anxious or a worried mind. Anxiety is not just an annoying habit, although it is, um, and worry is not just your personality. That's just the way I am, chance. No, it's not. Um, and so we need to recognize them for what they actually are targeted attacks on your life. Yes, amen. Targeted attacks. The um Ephesians 6, 10 through 18, the full armor of God, uh says that they are our fiery darts shot at you by the enemy, right? They're targeted attacks. So the enemy knows that what you focus on determines your future. Your focus will determine your future. So, what's the simplest, most effective way to derail you from a God-given purpose? Fill your mind with noise, right? Anxiety and worry are designed specifically to consume your mental space and distract you from actually serving the Lord and doing what you know you should be doing. But it goes deeper than just distraction. Uh, faith is actually uh worry is actually like a faith press, right? It presses that faith out. It's designed to take the good, authentic faith you have, that faith that gives you the courage, right, and the confidence, and press it down so far that it just can't rise up any longer. That's the goal of worry, right? And so if you keep your faith grounded so that you never experience the victory that's available to you, he wins. That's the stronghold, yeah, right. And he keeps you there in that place. You'll never be good enough. You don't really deserve to be loved. You're not worth good relationships, those aren't for you, those are for other people, right? And he'll keep you there as long as you allow him to. And so the unbelievable, ridiculous reality is some have been doing this for so long, they've developed an actual addiction to anxiety. Yeah, and we become so accustomed to the cycle of worry that if we don't have a problem of our own to fix, no big deal. Not a not a big deal. I don't have a problem, guess what? I'll go shopping for someone else's. Yeah, right? And we'll borrow their drama, take on their fear just to keep that feeling going. And you might say, Oh, that's silly. Oh, I've seen it. Yeah, yeah. Right? And that has to stop. Worry is also a choice, it's a refusal to operate with the winning faith that God has already given you. Yeah, and so you have a purpose and you have the power to choose what occupies your mind. You get to choose that. That's your choice. Don't let the enemy steal your focus, steal your victory, and definitely don't let him steal your peace. Galatians 5 22. But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace. Peace is a fruit of the spirit. Well, if it's a fruit of the spirit, what does that mean? Well, if you're saved, if you receive Christ as your Lord and Savior, you also receive the Holy Spirit. He dwells within you, right? And if you are a Pentecostal believer like us, you believe that you can be filled with the Holy Spirit and baptized with the Holy Spirit. So then what do you have? The fruits of the Spirit already within you, don't you? Right? You don't have to say, Oh Lord, give me give me patience. He'll send you a lot of really hard people. Oh, y'all have experienced that. Okay, so so fruit is the result of abiding. I want to walk through this. Galatians 5, but the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace. So peace is a fruit of the spirit. Fruit is the result of abiding in Jesus. John 15, 4 says, Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. So abiding relates to entering the rest of God. Or it can be said, abiding is the mechanism for entering rest. Um, the word abide is actually translated and in some um other translations in New King James and I believe uh amplified it actually instead of abide, it says remain, remain in me, or stay, or to live in. And we've all heard the promise, Matthew 11, 28, come to me, all you who are weary and uh burdened, and I will give you rest. But what does that rest actually look like? Most of us think rest is stopping work, slowing down, or maybe even taking a vacation. While you might get a little bit of rest, I come back more tired, but while you might get a little rest, right? The rest of God is deeper than a day off.
SPEAKER_03Amen.
SPEAKER_02It's an internal spiritual state.
SPEAKER_03Thank you, Jesus.
SPEAKER_02Hebrews 4 9 10. There remains then a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For anyone who enters God rest, also rest from their works, just as God did from his. Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. It's not about physical rest, it's about stopping the thing that exhausts us. It's normally us trying to make everything right by ourselves. Right? And here's here's one thing I really, really, really want you guys to get today. Peace is not a reward you earn, it's a decision you make. Yeah, peace is not a reward you earn, it's a decision you make. And so a lot of us walk around believing that peace is something that's gonna finally show. Show up when all of our circumstances are perfect. When life is perfect, I'll just have so much peace in my life. Right? And do you know any of those people? Have you met anyone like that? Because I haven't, right? And so we're waiting for the phone to ring, right? With good news or the bank account to magically have an extra thousand dollars. Um, right? But the moment we say, I'll be peaceful when what we're actually doing is giving control to our inner life, to our outer world, right? We're taking that inner control and giving it to the outer world, and that's a losing strategy. The truth is, if you're in Christ, peace is already present in you. Yes, it's a fruit of the spirit. Amen. It already exists within you, right? It's a resource, a capacity that the Holy Spirit has already deposited in you, right? It's not absent, it's just being overruled. It's being overrun. Your fleshly mind, that voice that's driven by instinct or fear or worry, it's relentless. Yeah, it doesn't stop. That's why I don't like silence. Brooke loves complete no noise. And I'm there going, right? And I'm just like, oh Lord, can we turn on anything? I don't even care what it is. Like, just turn on fan. Do something, man. My brain is gonna blow at any second, right? And she's just oh Jesus.
SPEAKER_04Right?
SPEAKER_02And so I I don't know. Music on, something on, and it might not even be good. And Britt's like, oh my gosh, are we actually watching this? What is it? What are we watching? Who's watching it? What who turned that on? What is that? Right? It's I just need that because sometimes my mind can get so loud and so relentless, right? That then I start to hear that thought again and again and again and again and again and again, and then it becomes what? Reality. Yeah, it becomes reality. So it constantly presents you with these scenarios designed to generate anxiety.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, right?
SPEAKER_02It's an open door for what the enemy wants to use to distract you, but you have the power to overrule that voice. Right? You can't stop the thoughts from popping up, but you can absolutely choose what your mind's going to dwell on, what you're going to continue to listen to, right? Peace is the result of choosing to think about things that promote peace. So Webster defines the word worry as to feel uneasy or troubled, to cause, to feel anxious, distressed, or troubled. It's a source of nagging concern. I've also heard it defined as to torment oneself with disturbing thoughts. Yeah. Right? Worry definitely never makes anything better. I don't know why we think it does, but it never makes it any better, right? Um, and when we have had a battle with worry for even like a few hours, sometimes if you feel like somebody's been strangling you and shaking you all around and you're just exhausted and defeated.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Right? Matthew 6 25. Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life. Well, that's pretty easy. Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the year. They do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying at a single hour to your life? Actually, worry is gonna probably take that single hour away from you. Um, worry ends up being overwhelming anxiety, which ends up being stress. Stress is the number one killer of men over 55 years old.
SPEAKER_05Amen.
SPEAKER_02In case you were wondering. Right? Why do you worry about clothes see how the flowers of the field grow? They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of those. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you? You of little faith? So do not worry, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear? For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need them, but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. I have an appointment, um, an important appointment on Monday, something very important going on, and Friday or and yesterday, it was it was starting to just be a thought. Oh my gosh, what am I gonna do about that? Man, I really need a solution. That didn't work out, so I need another one. And I'm trying to figure it out, and literally I'm writing this sermon, and I'm saying these words, and I'm like, yeah, oh yeah, that's tomorrow. I'll do I'll deal with that tomorrow. That sounds like a much better plan, Lord. Right? And there's nothing in life that we're to worry about, not any aspect of it. Is what he says, God has provided for us such a great life that we have everything that we could need. Amen. Everything that we could need. Now, what does that mean? Well, I don't have my new Mercedes chance. You might not need a new Mercedes.
SPEAKER_03Thank you, Jesus.
SPEAKER_02To repair that Mercedes is stupid, it costs a lot of money. So then, do you also have the money to maintain that Mercedes? No, but you can get a nice Kia. I wouldn't, but you could. So I've said it before. I've never seen a stressed-out bird. I've never walked outside and just seen some bird pacing back and forth. What are we gonna do? Where are the worms at? How's this gonna work out, right? It just happens. God just provides for them. Yeah, and if we were created to be higher and we were given dominion over all the creatures, then why wouldn't he also provide for us? Right? He makes the point that worry is useless, so why be anxious? Yes, if he takes care of a flower, then of course he'll take care of you. And 31, it's just how the devil gets us. Verse 31 here, where he says, you know, what are we going to eat? What are we going to drink? What are we going to wear? How am I going to make it? What are we going to do? Right? And we just uh just don't have the answer. I don't have the answer. I don't have the answer. Let go of control. You don't need to have the answer. Oh, mercy.
SPEAKER_03Come on now.
SPEAKER_02That's the benefit of following a God that created the heavens, the earth, and put you in it. Amen. You don't need to have the answers. Yeah, that's hard for me. That's I like to fix stuff. Yes, I like to work stuff out. So when you come up to me, man, we've really been struggling with this. Oh, I could fix that for you. I could probably fix that for you. That sounds easy. I would that'd be fine. I could fix that problem. Yes. And that's I love that. And God has just been teaching me for four years. That's not your job. That's mine. Quit trying to take it from me.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_02Right? And we and we take these things on, and the devil holds that they play in our head so loud that it eventually comes out of our mouth. Why? Matthew 12, 34, for the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. Or another translation, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks, right? In other words, your words show what your faith is in. Your words show what your faith is in. And then verse 34 today needs all of our attention, so why worry about tomorrow? There's enough trouble trying to get through today. So why stress about tomorrow? Do you need a plan? Yes. If you're going on vacation in a month, you might want to make some plans. You might want to have some details. Where are you going to sleep? Right? How much money do we need? Right? But what he's saying, don't be overwhelmed and get defeated by what's going to happen tomorrow. If it becomes to the points, that that's what I felt God tell me yesterday. Hey, hey, hey, you're at that point. You gonna let me deal with it or are you gonna take it? From today till Monday. You want it? Because I'll let you have it.
SPEAKER_03Yep.
SPEAKER_02And I went, oh no, Lord. The migraine is already defeating my right eyeball. Right? Like, I can't take it anymore. Yeah. Well then let me have it, man. Yeah. Stop thinking about it. Stop talking about it. Stop worrying about it. Move on. Be done with it. And so what most of us try to do is we argue back. We try to reason with our fear. We engage in this long, drawn-out debate with doubt in our head. Right? And what happens? We just get exhausted. And ultimately, we just get distracted from what we're called to do. And the best way, the absolute best way to shut the devil up is to stop that noise, is to simply speak the word of God out loud. Amen.
SPEAKER_05Amen.
SPEAKER_02That is the best way to shut him up. Why? Because the devil is not impressed or afraid of your intelligence. And he doesn't fear your good intentions. He doesn't care how good you are. But he does fear the authority of Jesus Christ. Amen. And the authority of his word. And he does have to submit to it. That is actually a legal benefit that we have. That's right. His word forces the devil to submit. Right? And so we can literally use that against him. Jesus gave us the perfect model. The devil tempted Jesus for 40 days. And he brought, what did he do? He brought the word out. Well, you say you're the Son of God, so yada, yada, yada, yada. And how did Jesus respond? Right? He didn't go, well, actually, let me tell you what my interpretation of that scripture means. No, he just said, Hey, it is written. Yeah. In other words, he declared the clear word of God, the truth of God's word, and it shut him up automatically. What did the devil do? Okay, that one didn't. Let me try another one. That one also didn't work. Let's go one more.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Right? And he just couldn't win. Why? Because a response and the authority of scripture. Right? A response and the authority of God's word. And so if you want to move from internal chaos to peace, you have to stop debating your worries and start declaring the facts God has already given you. So number six, a judgmental, critical, suspicious mind, right? It is also something that keeps us from renewing our minds. So we all know people who drain the energy right out of a room. If you don't, um, and if you're not careful, you could become that person. Uh, judgment, criticism, and suspicion destroys relationships. Amen. Amen. These things bring an incredible amount of torment, not just to the people around you, but also to your own life. Yeah. You become a walking, talking critic. Yeah. Nobody wants to be around the person who has an opinion to offer about every single thing that you talk about, right? If you've always got something to say about someone else's job, their parenting, their theology, um, their decisions, you're signaling one thing. You don't actually care about the relationship. You only care about being right. Yeah. And we have completely misplaced our priorities. We're so concerned with telling people what we think that we've forgotten the primary job of a good human being, especially a good Jesus Christ follower, is to listen, to learn, and to build good relationships. People all the time, oh, you keep saying we have to disciple chance, and that's oh, it's really hard. These people don't really believe in God. If you were the image of Christ, come on. That's all it would take. Yeah, that's all it would take. Yeah, it says that our lifestyle is to be worship. When your lifestyle is only to worship the king of kings, they will be drawn to him.
SPEAKER_05Amen.
SPEAKER_02They shouldn't be drawn to you, but because of that relationship, because of that love that you've shared, because of that door that you've opened to them to be able to share with you, and you've listened, not judged and not critiqued, right? And not torn down or beat up, right? Because of that, they're more open to hear about what you have to say about God and his word.
SPEAKER_05Amen. Right?
SPEAKER_02And so we need to decide what's more important in our life, winning the argument or keeping the relationship. If your default mode is to judge, critique, and question, you're closing the door to influence and you are poisoning your own relationship relationships around you. But if you want a full, rich life, you have to trade that immediate satisfaction of being critical for long-term gain of being a genuine friend. God is the only one who has the right to condemn or to sin it's He's the creator, He's the one who knows all the facts, the only one with perfect insight into every circumstance, every motive, every consequence. So when we judge, we're trying to trespass God's territory. We're assuming a right that is actually only for the Almighty.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And so our job is not to deliver verdicts, our job is to reflect the mercy and grace that was delivered to us. Right? And and and I'll just a little caveat, I didn't write it in here, but just a little thing. Those people are what's keeping other people out of the church. That's right. Yeah, yeah. Okay, good. Uh, Romans 12, 3. For by the grace given me, I say to every one of you, do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the faith God faith God has distributed to each of you. Judgment and criticism can be because of a deeper problem, which is typically pride. Pride can open up a lot of doors to the enemy. It's the puffing up of ourselves, it's the look at me attitude. And what that does is it takes the glory off of God and puts the glory onto you. You need the credit. I need the good job, chance. Right? There's there's I've been leading worship in churches for 27 years, and I can tell you maybe a handful of times, I've been like, man, great job. Most of the time, it's just like, all right, see you next week. It was it was good, it was bad. It was really bad. Really, really bad. We didn't even talk about it, like how bad was it? Right? But I I know that when I show up ready to enter into God's presence and go to the throne room, and the perfection and the excellence, and how great the voices are, how great the instruments were, is is is literally of no effect to what God wants to do in the room. Amen. Amen. And so we take the glory so many times and we put it on ourselves, and that's the devil's game.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_02That's how he got to where he is. Galatians 6, verse 1. Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly, gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path, and be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. In case you're wondering, that's the that's I see a lot of faces when I look at it, man, that's brutal. Um, that's an actual translation, it's the new living translation, it's not chance Christ translation. Um, although I'd probably say that. Um, but the radical truth that we forget is you belong to God. Amen. And it's not just a religious statement that we like to throw out there, it's a foundational ownership statement because it changes everything about how we look at each other. That's right. Because you belong to him, you are not responsible to me. And because I belong to him, I am not responsible to you. I'm only responsible to God the Father. Yeah, he's the one that I answer to, he's my authority, he's my Lord. Matthew 7, verse 1, do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged. And with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite. First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. So if the devil can't get can get you to focus on everyone else's problems, it's easy to get you off your own. And then you get too busy to focus on what God has for you to do, and you forget that you need to make some adjustments in your life, that you need to make some crush corrections, that you need to grow a little bit in some areas, right? That you need to develop a little bit because you're so focused on fixing everybody else. Well, let me tell you about Jody. Boy, Jody, she goes to church, but Jody, oh my gosh, during the week, Jody, Jody. Not your job.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Not irresponsive. Now, Jody comes up to you and says, I'm really struggling with this. Well, sister, so so was I last year. Let me tell you what I did. Let me show you the scriptures that I stood on to get past that. Let me help you, let me pray with you, let me encourage you, let me lift you up, and let me call you on Thursdays. How's three o'clock? I'm just gonna check on you. How's the week going? That day, I'm sorry to hear that. Let's pray. Let's put God on it, right? Have you been saying the scriptures? Well, don't forget to say the scriptures, girl. There's a different way to do that, right? You're to be used of God to point people to Jesus. Our entire vision, mission, statement is helping people find and follow Jesus Christ. Amen. That's the following, right? So number seven, another um thing that keeps us from renewing our mind would be a passive mind. Hosea 4, 6, my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Passivity is not just not doing something, it's the complete opposite of activity. You have to understand that standing still is actually still a choice. Right? And that choice has a guaranteed outcome. If you're aiming for growth, progress, or change in any area of your life, your marriage, your job, your parenting, whatever it is, your faith, your career, and you choose passivity, you're choosing to move in the exact opposite direction of what God has for you. And we need to recognize that not making decision is making decision, and that decision is going to cost you. First Peter 5.8. Be alert. Well, that addresses that pretty simple.
unknownYeah. Right?
SPEAKER_02Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for something to devour. Second Timothy 1.6. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God which is in you.
SPEAKER_04Yes.
SPEAKER_02These sound like action statements. Right? Not sit statements. The enemy's strategy is simple. He doesn't need to defeat you in this big, dramatic, spectacular way. His strategy is quiet, it's subtle. He just needs you to stop doing it.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_02He needs you to be inactive. And if you think about it, the Christian life is a war, right? And the enemy knows he doesn't have to win every single little battle. I just got to keep trying. I got to keep throwing things at him. I got to keep keep pushing, keep going. Eventually I'm going to get in, right? And as long as you are using your will, that God given ability to choose for yourself and act to resist the devil, he cannot win the war.
SPEAKER_05Amen.
SPEAKER_02He can scheme, he can distract, he can lie, but he cannot break the wall. Right? He cannot breach the wall. That resistance keeps him at bay. So passivity is actually just an open invitation to the enemy. Stepping down from the wall, opening the gate, and saying, Whatever happens, happens. Right? And um, you are actually choosing to surrender at that point. You're handing the keys of your life over to the one who wants to destroy it. And a passive person thinks I'm not doing anything wrong because I'm not doing anything, right? But that's the actual problem. Faith requires action. If you're not doing anything, I'm not saying we do to earn.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Because Devon is so great, he gets to go to heaven, that's not how it works. Because Devon works so hard, God's gonna let him in. That's not what the Bible says. It's only by belief and faith in him. Right? And so our doing is not to earn our way in, but our doing is to prove our faith. Romans 12, 2. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve God's will, his good, pleasing, and perfect will. I love the new living translation. It is not accurate, so please don't read that on a regular basis. However, the words are poignant. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Right action follows right thinking. Right action follows right thinking. Most of us have an out-of-control behavior or bad attitude or a bad habit, and we think, oh, if I could just force myself to stop doing this thing, if I just try it harder, right? Then everything would be okay. And we treat the symptom, but we never treat the disease that's raging within us. Yeah, you can't change your behavior until you change your thought life. Amen. You can't. It's impossible. You you just can't. Ephesians 4 22. Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God, truly righteous and holy. Bo, if you would grab that jacket. So it starts, it says, put on. So Bo, if you wouldn't mind, put on that jacket for me. And then would you, after you put it on, would you take that off and place it on that chair? Just how would you do that? Um nice, very look at that. Your manners, nice. That's very good. But it says throw off. Oh, bo put that jacket on. Throw it off. Thank you. Thank you. Different actions. Different actions. Intent. I'm done with. Right? Oh, I'm sweaty. Jackie Go. Right. Different actions. That's the guy we need to be. Amen. We need to be intentional. We need to be strong. Yes. We need to be fearless. Why? Because God has deposited within each and every single one of us a measure of faith. Amen. And what do we do? We grow that faith. Well, how do we do that, chance? By sitting in this church?
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02How do we do that? By reading your Bible. How do we do that? By praying to the Lord every single day. By putting Him as the priority in my life. Amen. Right? I'm not saying I'm perfect, I figured out, but I can tell you I've grown a lot. Right? So there was like 15 years where I did not want to be the pastor of a church. I I'm I'll just leave worship, man. They might get mad at me sometimes. It might not like it. It might not go well. That's okay. I'm just gonna hang out over here in this little section. God's like, hey, I have something else for you to do. Now, Lord, I'm busy. I like this spot. Right? I don't have the responsibility of everything. And in the last four years of my life, I've grown so much in the Word of God what He's taught me and shown me literally, I I probably 10 years ago would have spiraled into complete stress freak out over this past weekend and would have worked myself up into such a frenzy, I'd have just been laying on the couch doing nothing. Right? Even though, oh, I'm a pastor in a church and I do this and I do all these things. But my mind, my thought life wasn't in control. Also, I wasn't spending as much time with the God, so his his voice was was like kind of down there a little bit. It took me a while to hear it. Whereas now it's like, hey, a little loud, bring it down a little bit. That's I heard you very clearly, Lord. I got it, man. Jeez, right? Why? Because we spend time in his word. The Bible says that you build your faith by hearing and hearing of the word of God. Now I know what it's saying is to hear God's word, his truth, but I like the fact that it says hearing twice because hearing and hearing and hearing and hearing the word. If all I hear is all the negativity in the life, that's my thought. Yeah. And I respond to that, and I always have the same outcome. Why? Because I'm not following God's plan for my life. Yeah. Well, how do you know what God's plan for your life is? It's the same as everyone else's. Love the Lord your God with all your heart. Amen. And love your neighbor as yourself. Amen. That's his will for your life.
SPEAKER_04Yes.
SPEAKER_02That's his will. Well, how do I do that? I grow as close to him and I get as intimate with him as I possibly can. So that I am such a deep and clear reflection of him that when I go out into the world and I love my neighbor as myself, they go, mmm, that's not normal.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. What do you want? Well, I'm glad you asked. Would you like some? Because I've got some to give. Right? It will draw people. We don't have to memorize the whole Bible. We don't have to be the pastor in a church. Actually, my job is a little different than yours.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And your job is actually bigger than mine. If you haven't figured out how that works, we're all called a disciple, right? We're all called to make disciples. So what do we come here for? To train. So I get to be the one that trains. I have to still go disciple. And I do that daily. However, you have way bigger impact than I do. You see way more people through your week than I do. You have bigger influence. You have your own family. You have your own school. You have your own job. Right? You have your own car where you're driving down the road and not flipping everybody off. Right? You get to see a lot of people that I will never see. So what is your impact? What is your influence? It starts with your thought life. Right? And so the moment you decide to own your thoughts to become a good gatekeeper of your mind, that is when the entire trajectory of your life begins to change. So we've covered a lot of ground today, and all comes back to one simple, unavoidable truth. You become what you consistently think about. You become what you consistently think about. The problem is not out there, it's right here.
SPEAKER_05Mercy.
SPEAKER_02Right? The unrenewed mind is what lets the enemy in. It's that busy mind that doesn't pause, it's that wavering mind that doesn't focus, it's that anxious mind that steals your peace, and that passive mind that surrenders your will. And behind all of those problems is the same flawed assumption that you are not in control of your own internal mind. But you are, you have been given free will, which is the power to make decisions. Amen. That is a gift of God. So here's the challenge I want to leave you with. Your future depends on the thoughts you choose today. What thoughts will you dwell on tomorrow? Right? What thoughts will you dwell on? So we all have a purpose, we all have the power to choose what occupies our mind. Don't let the enemy steal your focus, which then steals your victory, and definitely don't let them steal your peace. Right action follows right thinking. Amen. Yeah? Good. David, come and pray for us.
SPEAKER_03Man, I'm not gonna try to bring preach that message because I couldn't do it if I wanted to. Here's my question for you, though, today. Okay um if you're struggling, let me let me let me do this first. If you're struggling with a well, man, we sure talk an awful lot about choice in this church. Yeah, we do. And the reason we do that is because the fruit of the spirit is self-control, you wouldn't need it if you didn't have some choices to make it life. I'm gonna tell you this now. This is this is the one thing, right? Like everything we talked about just now, you are a fruit with a mind. Your job as a fruit is not to produce yourself, your job is to abide in the vine. See, the vine dresser takes care of the garden, takes care of the vine, makes sure it's watered and nurtured. The branch feeds all of that to the fruit. Thank you, Lord. The fruit just hangs out. Have you ever seen an apple? That's it. That's all you do. You hang out. But if you hang out and abide in the vine, then your patience is pretty. Thank you, Lord. Your faith is phenomenal. Amen. Your self-control is awesome. And by that I mean it's it's it's people look at them like, wow, it's attractive, is what I'm telling you. Yes, your fruit is attractive. When we get a hold of the concepts that the word of God is teaching us through our pastors, praise God for this series. When we get a hold of that, we abide in this vine. I'm sorry to tell you, it's not all about you, it's not all about me. God wants to get us this message, teach us to abide in the vine. Because somebody wants to take a bite of that fruit because it's so pretty, and then they're gonna be affected, and then they're gonna come into this house, and then they're gonna be trained, and then they're gonna go out because the word of God is that He is bringing Greeley and Northern Colorado out of the wilderness, out of the desert, and into the promised land, but he can't do that until there's an army built up, yes, ready to invade, ready to invade, yes, ready to tear down the walls, Jericho. Yes, yes, take your place this week. Abide in the vine. Be pretty. Thank you, Lord. Let people see how phenomenal you are with what God is doing in your life. If you have prayer, if if you need prayer, if you have need, whatever it might be, that I can. Yes, you get it. What you got? Oh, sorry, no, no, no, sorry. Oh, okay. I was like, I thought he had some, because that brother right there. I mean, I do have a verse that I wanted to read, but you can keep it. Oh, okay, okay. This brother right here, I'm just gonna tell you, man, Spirit of God is whoo! Okay, here we go. But if whatever it is, right? If we have a need, God's already answered it. The answer, it's already there. God is his answer is yes and amen, right? Yes and amen. So, whatever it is that we have need, if it's a miracle, God has been dealing with me about miracles, about healings, about faith and believing again in his word. The prayer team will be up here to agree with you for whatever that is. Because when God works in you and people see that, I'm gonna stop right there. But the prayer team is up here for whatever it is. If you if this is all foreign to you and you don't understand, what are they talking about? Talking about Jesus and coming to Jesus and being saved, and being saved is a weird concept and you don't get it, man, come up here and have a talk, have a conversation because God wants to bring you into the family because it's about relationship, not religion. So, whatever it is, if you want to come to know Jesus Christ today, if you want to come into a deeper relationship, whatever it is, the prayer team will be up here to agree with you guys in prayer for whatever it might be. I'm gonna pray to dismiss. We'll have a few announcements. Here we go. Father, we worship you, give you glory, we give you thanks because your word is powerful. Your word, Lord, is sharper than any two-edged sword. So we thank you today, Lord, that you are cutting out the roots in us through your word that don't need to be there. We thank you, Lord, today that your word is also oh, thank you, Jesus. A light to our path, a lamp to our feet, you are guiding and directing us. We're not in doubt, standing on the corner, not knowing which way to go. Thank you, Lord, for clarity today. Thank you, Lord, because we are abiding in you to become who you've called us to be in every moment of every day, to declare your peace, your glory, your faithfulness, the self-control you've given us so that we can go out and reach our communities, our neighbors, our neighborhoods, our families for you. Because it's your desire to grow your family. Yes, we want to be a part of that. Thank you, Lord, to for your continued power and grace within us as we flow throughout this week. We love you, Jesus, in your name. Amen.
SPEAKER_01Uh, right before announcements, I just really started thinking up. I feel like the Lord put on my heart when he was talking about throwing off the new cloak or throwing off the old cloak and not being inactive. There's a story about a man named Bartimaeus. He was a blind beggar, and it says, Now they came to Jericho, as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great multitude. Blind Bartimaeus sat by the road begging, and when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. Then many warned him warned him to be quiet, but he cried out all the more, Son of David, have mercy on me. So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, Be of good cheer, rise, and he is calling you. And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. So Jesus answered and said to him, What do you want me to do for you? The blind man said, Rabbi, that I may receive my sight. Then Jesus said, Go your way, your faith has made you well. The first time I read this, I was so confused, and I was like, What why does it matter that he threw his cloak off? I mean, like good for him. Like he, you know, he got a little naked. That's weird. But back then, you if you were a beggar, your clothes, your rags were a sign that you were a beggar. That's how you were identified to be a beggar. So as soon as Jesus called out to him, he had so much faith that he was like, I'm not a beggar anymore. I'm a child of God and I'm going to my Savior. So he took off his cloak and said, I don't identify that anymore. I'm not my past, I'm not my chains, I'm not my problems. I'm a child of God. So I'm stepping away from that life. And also, my favorite part is he says, Go your way. Your faith has made you well. What would have happened if he never called out to Jesus and never got up and threw that old cloak off? Yeah, he wouldn't have gotten healed. So, in the same way in our life, that if we want to get healed, if we want to pursue God, you have to seek and he will answer. You have to knock and he will answer. If you aren't active in that, you're not gonna get an answer and your and your passiveness. And the same way, like David was talking about, that way the beggar, at first, everybody was laughing at him and telling him to be quiet. As soon as Jesus stopped and was like, Come to me, what do you need? Everybody was like, Rejoice, the Lord's calling you. Yeah, it's the same way for us. When the Lord calls us, we need to be a light to others. We don't need to identify with the world. It says in Romans 12:2, be not conformed to the patterns of this world, but transformed by the renewing of your mind. When people see you throughout work, when people see you in the streets, it should it shouldn't be like, oh, you know, he's just another guy or that's just David. It should be, man, that's David. He is the most painfully obvious Christian I've ever seen in my life. Like, I can tell that dude is with Jesus. He loves the Lord. It should just be so obvious. And like like Chance was saying, that they're not going to be drawn to you. The world may hate you because of it, but they will be drawn to him. So just be that light and throw off that quilt that you have been wearing your whole life. Amen. Amen.
SPEAKER_00Okay, announcements. If we are so glad you're here today. If you are new with us, we have a gift for you at the back. Also, if you look um on the seat backs, there is a QR code. And um, if you scan it with your phone, um, it will take you to fill out some information. We'd love to get to know you guys. So um, if you would scan the QR code on the back of the seats, I think it's like every other seat um seat back behind you. Um, we would love to get to know you. Um next gen tonight at 6 p.m. Um it is if you have a teenager from the ages of um 13 to 18, um, and then or if you have a next gen, which is a young adult, and that's from 18 to 24, um, we would love to have you. Um it's at six o'clock tonight, um, please join us, um, or please invite somebody. Also, um, if you're interested, if Mercy Church is your home and um you are interested in becoming a part, um, we need help. We are starting to grow, and there's only a few of us that are doing things. So if you would like to find out more about who we are and what we do, um, or also if you would like to uh volunteer to help, um if you would come tonight, um, it'll be tonight at 6:30 um here at the church as well. So we would love um to see you. So please, please join us. Um, also um Wednesday nights, we have small groups. So we have a men's group, we have a women's group, and we also have Adventure Camp for the Kids. It's a great time. Women, we are reading um The Confident Woman by Joyce Minor. Um, and we are learning how to be strong women of God, and men are learning to be mainly men of God um with their men's Bible study. Um, so please join us. Um, also, we have a couple things coming up. Um, this Tuesday, if you know someone that's in need this holiday season, I know the holidays are already coming up on us, it's a little crazy. Um, if you or someone you know is in need this holiday season, we partner with um an organization called Serve Six Eight. And Serve Six Eight helps um people in need on Thanksgiving and Christmas. So if they need help for with Thanksgiving meal or if they need help with Christmas, um you don't need need anything. Um, they could just come and sign up. And so the sign-up is this Tuesday night um and it's at six o'clock from six to eight. So please join us or invite somebody. If you know somebody that's in need, invite them. They come here, they sign up, um, and then um people will be able to bless them this holiday season. So um with food and then with Christmas, um, if um they have kids. Um so and then we have the fall party. I've had to move it. Um so it's going to be November 1st at 6 p.m. So not this Saturday, but the next Saturday. Um, and it'll be at our house. So please join us. And it's a good, it's a good time, it's a good event to invite people to to help people to get to know us. Um, so I mean there'll be food, drinks, um, dessert. Um, and then the kids are welcome, always welcome. Um, so we love you guys. Um, chance and I'll be in the back, and we'd love to meet you. Um, and we hope that you have a wonderful week.