WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:03.759 Welcome to the Journey Christian Church podcast. 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:08.640 This week's episode is the second entry in the Powerful Dots Sermon Series. 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:12.000 It's called Creating New Neural Pathways. 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:12.800 Amen. 00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:15.199 That is so, so powerful. 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:16.480 Thank you. 00:00:16.640 --> 00:00:17.600 Happy Mother's Day. 00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:19.280 Thank you to all the moms. 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:26.320 One of the things that a mother does is she helps us to think correctly. 00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:30.079 How many of you have ever gotten an attitude adjustment? 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:31.760 Okay. 00:00:32.320 --> 00:00:34.560 Maybe some still need an attitude adjustment. 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:36.399 I know I do once in a while. 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:43.119 But you know, our moms, they they help us to think what is true and what is right. 00:00:43.439 --> 00:00:53.119 And, you know, when we start that stinking thinking, a lot of times it's our moms who will correct us and say, you know, what you're thinking is not true, it's not accurate, it's not right. 00:00:53.759 --> 00:00:56.320 And they do that very, very well. 00:00:56.399 --> 00:01:02.560 And hopefully your mom spoke enough truth into you that that still echoes in your ears. 00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:05.120 And this is what God wants. 00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:12.239 This is what our Heavenly Father wants, to change our thinking, to help us to think his thoughts, godly thoughts. 00:01:12.959 --> 00:01:23.280 So, you know, we we rely pretty heavily on this day and age on modern psychology, modern psychiatry, and and it's important to look at track record. 00:01:23.439 --> 00:01:35.760 There's a lot that has been said and done and taught and practiced in psychiatry and psychology that frankly has been weird at uh at the uh best and harmful at the worst. 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:45.760 Um there have been practices we look back on, like like uh one that was common for millennia is trepanation, tree panning. 00:01:46.079 --> 00:01:58.000 The idea started, and they have um hieroglyphics, cave drawings of this practice being done back to the very beginning of civilization. 00:01:58.239 --> 00:02:10.000 The original idea of tree panning was if somebody was um you know had some mental issues, they would drill a hole in their skull to release demons. 00:02:10.319 --> 00:02:11.680 That's how that started. 00:02:11.840 --> 00:02:24.800 And tree panning is still being practiced in parts of Africa and South America, but it's not just the farthest corners of the earth that that uh have been plagued by some pretty sketchy um practices. 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:26.000 Um, Dr. 00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:29.680 Benjamin Rush is considered the father of American psychiatry. 00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:42.080 He taught that depression needed to be treated by what he called direct and drastic interference that involved assaulting the patient's mind and body to give them a factory reboot. 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:51.280 He prescribed poisons like arsenic to purge a person's system, and it will make you purge. 00:02:53.039 --> 00:03:02.240 He promoted spinning in a gyrating chair because he believed that a lot of psychiatric illnesses were the result of poor circulation. 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:06.479 And so if you're schizophrenic, just get real dizzy and everything will be fine. 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:20.000 The problem with psychology and psychiatry, and the reason that we have like this, I just don't know if I trust this, is because these are the fields of we used to think, but now we know. 00:03:21.120 --> 00:03:27.680 And in the future, how much of what we know now will fit in the category of we used to think, but now we know. 00:03:27.840 --> 00:03:36.800 And so we probably all have some reservations about whatever the modern psychological trends are, whatever is being taught today. 00:03:37.039 --> 00:03:49.199 And maybe as I'm preaching this sermon series, when I talk about reworking our minds and rewiring our brains, maybe there's some skepticism, but I want to remind you, I'm not talking about modern psychological trends. 00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:55.840 I'm talking to you about the truth of God's word, the eternal truth that came from God Himself. 00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:01.680 This is what God says about how to have health in our thinking. 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:03.759 The Bible talks about this a lot. 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:14.400 2 Timothy 1, verse 7 in the New King James Version says, For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind. 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:16.480 This is God's desire. 00:04:16.560 --> 00:04:26.560 In Isaiah 26, verse 3, it says, You, God, will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you. 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:41.600 God, our Father, wants to keep us in perfect peace, and he wants our minds to be steadfast, to be secure on a firm foundation and completely grounded as we trust in him. 00:04:42.399 --> 00:04:44.000 This is his desire. 00:04:45.040 --> 00:04:51.279 And if you want to know how to be of sound mind, read the Psalms. 00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:56.000 The Psalms, if you want to know how to pray, read the Psalms. 00:04:56.240 --> 00:05:00.000 It's prayer after prayer after prayer after prayer, and it's very, very real. 00:05:00.319 --> 00:05:06.720 People describing serious things that they are struggling with and great, great fears, great distress. 00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:16.560 But almost all the psalms start with a problem and end with them meditating on the goodness of God or meditating on something that he has done. 00:05:18.639 --> 00:05:34.160 And that is rewiring of the mind, helping us to think spiritual thoughts instead of fearful thoughts instead of sinful thoughts, instead of distressing thoughts. 00:05:35.680 --> 00:05:52.639 And so as we go through this sermon today, the second in the series, um, going through this book by Craig Richel, Winning the War of Your Mind, we're going to talk about how to create new neurological pathways in our minds. 00:05:54.000 --> 00:05:57.279 And it it sounds complicated, but we do it all the time. 00:05:57.920 --> 00:06:03.920 Anytime you learn to do something new, you're creating a new neurological pathway in our minds. 00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:06.879 But first we have to figure out what are our mental ruts. 00:06:08.079 --> 00:06:12.399 What are the ruts that you're currently stuck in mentally? 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:14.000 And identify those. 00:06:14.079 --> 00:06:15.040 Let's pray together. 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:17.759 Father, thank you for your word and your love. 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:22.160 And Father, thank you so much for caring about our minds. 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:25.759 That uh, Lord, you want to keep us in peace. 00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:34.079 You want to give us a steadfast mind, you want to give us a sound mind, you want to keep us all always in our good senses. 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:36.319 Thank you for caring about that. 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:45.600 I know that we have an enemy that wants the exact opposite, to keep us in turmoil, to keep us in distress, worry, and fear, confusion and sin. 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:50.800 Help us, Lord, to see what's happening, the spiritual warfare that's taking place. 00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:55.120 And help us, Lord, to put our hope and our trust in you. 00:06:55.360 --> 00:06:58.639 I praise you and pray this in Jesus' name, amen. 00:06:58.959 --> 00:07:00.079 Number one. 00:07:03.439 --> 00:07:08.160 Recognize your unhealthy thought patterns. 00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:23.120 You've got to figure out, each of us probably have four or five ruts, things that come through our mind, negative thoughts about ourselves, negative thoughts about the world, sinful thoughts that we've just we've traveled that path so many times that we have dug a trench. 00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:29.279 And so our minds just naturally go there to uh these negative, harmful thoughts. 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:34.639 First of all, we have to understand how uh the narrow pathways are created. 00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:42.879 Cedric, um, after I read this, either say amen or I disagree, but I'd prefer amen. 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:48.560 Cedric is our expert uh uh uh neurologist. 00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:51.600 He studies the brain and thoughts all the time. 00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:54.160 I did not run this past him beforehand. 00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:56.240 So we'll see how it goes. 00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:05.920 So Craig Rochelle writes there are bundles of nerves at the base of our brainstem known as the reticular activating system. 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:08.240 And I've heard you talk about this before. 00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:09.680 The RAS. 00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:19.680 The RAS sifts through millions of pieces of sensory data being sent to our brains and groups them according to relevance and similarity. 00:08:19.839 --> 00:08:22.480 Our brains are constantly looking for patterns. 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:29.040 And what they're really looking for is confirmation of what we already think and already believe. 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:38.399 If the information will keep us alive, prevent problems, avert danger, or bring pleasure, the RAS is activated. 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:49.679 If your brain system for filtering through, it is your brain system for filtering through all the data in your life and allowing you to focus on what's most pertinent and ignore the rest. 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:57.279 Our RASs also utilize our established beliefs to screen incoming information. 00:08:57.519 --> 00:09:01.840 This is part of the reason we so often get what we expect. 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:07.360 Because if it's not what we expect, our brain filters it out. 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:23.039 If you keep thinking you're a victim who never had a steady job or a long-lasting relationship, you're training your brain to look for all the evidence that supports that belief and to filter out all the evidence that doesn't. 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:28.639 You condition your brain to reinforce what you already believe. 00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:38.480 Your brain is designed to look for patterns and create neurological pathways to help you keep thinking the things you keep thinking and to keep doing the things you keep doing. 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:40.559 Mental ruts. 00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:51.840 Your brain will help you stay in those well-worn pathways unless you create new neurological pathways. 00:09:52.080 --> 00:10:04.720 We all have negative thought patterns, you know, negative opinions about ourselves, negative things maybe that we think when we look in a mirror, unless we retrain our brains to think something differently. 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:09.279 Sometimes we have childish thoughts. 00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:12.879 When you think about how a child thinks, what do you think? 00:10:14.320 --> 00:10:17.200 One of the first words a child learns is mine. 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:26.639 And uh children also, you know, if something doesn't go their way, they throw a temper tantrum. 00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:31.039 And Paul says that our thinking has to change. 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:35.200 In 1 Corinthians chapter 14, verse 20, brothers, stop thinking like children. 00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:39.200 In regard to evil, be infants, but in your thinking be adults. 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:44.080 You've got to create new neurological pathways for adult thinking. 00:10:44.240 --> 00:10:47.919 And for us to function in our jobs, we all have had to do that. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:51.440 And maybe there's still some areas where we need to do that. 00:10:52.559 --> 00:10:56.240 Sometimes our thinking is selfish. 00:10:56.320 --> 00:11:05.679 We've created these selfish thought patterns as evidenced when anybody is serving us out in public, we treat them like servants. 00:11:08.080 --> 00:11:15.840 If that is how you treat public servants, then probably there's some selfishness that is in your thinking. 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:19.279 In Philippians 2.3, Paul says you need to rewire your brain. 00:11:19.440 --> 00:11:22.399 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. 00:11:22.559 --> 00:11:23.840 How do we rewire our brains? 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:28.720 The next part, but in humility, consider others better than yourselves. 00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:47.600 So if you go to lunch today on Mother's Day and there's a poor mom that is working on Mother's Day, and there are way more people in the restaurant than they usually have, and it is super, super stressful if you'll look at her and think, you know, there is no reason why she should be serving me. 00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:54.559 You know, I don't deserve this from her. 00:11:56.799 --> 00:12:03.360 And we start thinking of people as better than ourselves, we will be rewiring our thinking. 00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:07.279 Sometimes our our ruts are sinful ruts. 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:14.399 They're sinful thoughts that that started very small and they kind of grew into this trap, into this trench. 00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:20.720 Romans chapter 8, verse 5 says this is what the mind, the sinful mind, looks like. 00:12:20.879 --> 00:12:27.039 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires. 00:12:29.279 --> 00:12:39.759 And so over and over again in the scripture, the Bible tells us that we have to master our thoughts. 00:12:40.559 --> 00:12:43.360 We have to control what we think about. 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:51.600 But first we have to recognize where those negative uh and and harmful thought patterns are in our lives. 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:58.639 Probably each of us have four or five ruts that we've walked down over and over again. 00:12:58.799 --> 00:13:10.320 The way we see the world, the way we view ourselves, the way we view other people, um, the fears that we have, the worries that we have, and the temptations that we face. 00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:14.480 Probably all of us have a lot of different ruts. 00:13:15.039 --> 00:13:23.279 I remember one particular temptation that uh became a rut for me when I was in high school. 00:13:23.440 --> 00:13:24.399 I remember when it started. 00:13:24.559 --> 00:13:26.720 I remember the moment that it started. 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:36.960 I was a freshman and I was sitting in the bleachers watching a basketball game, and there were two guys behind me that they were just brutal. 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:37.840 They were bullies. 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:43.759 If you crossed them, I could tell you stories of what they did to people that that crossed them. 00:13:43.919 --> 00:13:48.639 And so it's one of those things you just you just wanted to either fly to the radar or stay on their good side. 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:58.240 And they're sitting right behind me, and they start making fun of this guy on the basketball court, and I was just quiet, and then they asked me, What do you think? 00:13:58.879 --> 00:14:10.480 And I don't know if I wanted to impress them or if I was afraid or what, but I joined in with them, and I immediately felt like this is wrong, I shouldn't do this. 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:17.039 But on the other hand, there was a little bit of rush because I was getting approval from these guys that were feared. 00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:38.320 And a little bit more of that rush, and that started a couple years in high school where I just didn't care what people thought or what people felt. 00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:46.320 And I had to fix that, I had to create new neurological pathways. 00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:49.279 And so you think about your sinful thoughts. 00:14:49.440 --> 00:14:56.559 Can you pinpoint when that started and how awkward it felt when that first began? 00:14:59.039 --> 00:15:01.679 And then after a while it didn't feel awkward anymore. 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:10.879 And then it became something very, very natural and something almost that you just could not get away from, you couldn't stop. 00:15:12.399 --> 00:15:14.320 But that's the lie of Satan. 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:20.320 We always have a way of escape, we always have a way out. 00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:30.399 The Lord can always change us, and this is number two rewire your brain, creating new thought patterns. 00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:34.559 We can all rewire our minds. 00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:43.519 So, this a couple weeks ago, Elizabeth received the dreaded message that her credit card had been hacked. 00:15:44.080 --> 00:15:46.960 And I was like, you know, are we gonna get that back? 00:15:47.039 --> 00:15:49.279 And you know, what kind of hassle is this gonna be? 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:50.320 And and everything. 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:53.200 Thankfully, it all worked out, everything was okay. 00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:58.879 But I say that to say to you that Satan has hacked your brain. 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:06.799 And he has wired it improperly to think things that we shouldn't be thinking. 00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:21.120 Psychology Today, a secular magazine, did a study of the brain in which they found that people have on average 500 intrusive thoughts a day. 00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:38.879 And these are thoughts that we don't want to think, things that we're afraid of, something bad somebody did to us, and all of a sudden it brings back those feelings, fears that we have, sinful thoughts that we have, negative thoughts that we have, 500 intrusive thoughts a day. 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:49.600 And they said those thoughts last an average of 14 seconds, which means for two hours every day we're thinking about something we don't want to be thinking about. 00:16:51.200 --> 00:17:01.679 And I was talking to somebody after the service, and she said, you know, sometimes that, you know, I'll have these thoughts in my mind and think, man, what a horrible person I am for that thought to go through my head. 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:07.359 And she realizes now that that doesn't come from her. 00:17:07.839 --> 00:17:09.920 Those thoughts don't come from you. 00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:18.720 We have an enemy waging war with our minds, and he is constantly lobbing thought missiles at us. 00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:26.640 And secular scientists have actually concluded that he does it 500 times a day to every single one of us. 00:17:27.119 --> 00:17:28.880 Intrusive thoughts. 00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:37.200 The Bible tells us, though, that there is hope to rewire our minds. 00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:41.839 Romans chapter 8, verses 5 and 6. 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:42.880 This is so powerful. 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:49.599 It says those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires. 00:17:50.079 --> 00:17:55.680 But those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 00:17:56.319 --> 00:17:59.920 The mind of the sinful man is death. 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:05.279 But the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:08.079 I want life and peace. 00:18:09.599 --> 00:18:12.079 I want my mind controlled by life and peace. 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:12.880 How about you? 00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:17.039 This is available to us. 00:18:17.200 --> 00:18:18.400 How do we do it? 00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:24.960 We use scripture to combat our unhealthy thought patterns. 00:18:25.279 --> 00:18:35.039 You have to identify what are the unhealthy thought patterns that I have, and then you've got to find scriptures, multiple scriptures, to combat those unhealthy thought patterns. 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:36.640 Let me give you some examples. 00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:43.039 Let's say you're worried about finances, that finances is a big fear of yours, you're going to run out. 00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:46.799 Several scriptures that tell us that as Christians, we are covered. 00:18:46.880 --> 00:18:58.319 In 2 Corinthians 9, verse 8, it says, And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:06.480 Philippians 4.19 says, And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:09.519 And Philippians 4.12 says, I know what it is to be in need. 00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:11.039 I know what it is to have plenty. 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:19.680 I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:28.400 And so, you know what that is saying is uh, you know, you you have a big windfall, that doesn't need to change anything about who you are in your life and your peace of mind. 00:19:28.559 --> 00:19:30.240 Let's say you lose everything. 00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:39.039 That doesn't need to change anything about who you are, your life, and your peace of mind, because none of that matters if you are tied in with the Lord. 00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:41.519 Let's say that joy is your problem. 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:46.240 You just don't feel like you have the joy of the Lord that you need to have. 00:19:46.480 --> 00:19:50.079 Philippians 4.4 says, rejoice in the Lord always. 00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:52.400 I will say it again, rejoice. 00:19:52.640 --> 00:19:56.559 Now it doesn't say feel joy, it says be joyful. 00:19:56.720 --> 00:19:59.440 It says, act joyful, rejoice. 00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:06.880 It's interesting the way our minds work, that our thinking often follows our actions. 00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:16.640 I remember I was probably in junior high, and and I was at church, we were working on some Christmas program or something, and and I was pouting. 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:22.720 And my mom was there, she was one of the leaders, and she looked at me and said, Dusty, get happy. 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:29.440 And I thought, okay, how does how does one go about, you know, getting happy? 00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:30.880 How do you do that? 00:20:31.119 --> 00:20:35.839 And uh I thought, well, if I don't do something, I'm gonna get in big trouble at home. 00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:42.559 And so I started acting happy, and lo and behold, after acting happy for a few minutes, I started to feel happy. 00:20:43.200 --> 00:20:45.279 The same is true of joy. 00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:49.200 We are not commanded to feel joy, we are commanded to rejoice. 00:20:49.839 --> 00:20:51.759 Rejoice in the Lord always. 00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:54.160 I will say it again, rejoice. 00:20:56.400 --> 00:21:02.799 And if you live this way, you're gonna accidentally start feeling it too. 00:21:04.160 --> 00:21:07.519 Our feelings follow our actions. 00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:14.160 Psalm 118, verse 4 says, Let those who fear the Lord say his love endures forever. 00:21:14.319 --> 00:21:18.960 Be reminded of his constant love for us, rejoice in that love. 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:25.440 Maybe your mind is is clouded by fear. 00:21:25.599 --> 00:21:27.519 Maybe fear has a hold of you. 00:21:27.680 --> 00:21:29.920 Romans 8 31 is a great passage for that. 00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:31.839 What then shall we say in response to this? 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:35.599 If God is for us, who can be against us? 00:21:35.839 --> 00:21:40.480 If God is for us, what do we have to fear? 00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:45.119 If God's in our corner, if he's backing us, what do we have to fear? 00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:52.400 Psalm chapter 46, verses 1 and 2 says, God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. 00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:54.240 How present is he? 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:58.640 Ever present, always present. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:02.480 Ever present help in trouble, therefore we will not fear. 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:17.839 Though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the sea, and a bunch of aliens come out from the bottom of the sea, it doesn't matter because God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:28.000 And so we identify the ruts in our minds that we have created. 00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:35.279 We find scriptures to combat those ruts, but it's not just reading those scriptures. 00:22:35.359 --> 00:22:37.359 That's not what changes our thinking. 00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:38.799 This is number three. 00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:46.079 Ruminate on truth from God that combats your unhealthy thought patterns. 00:22:46.799 --> 00:22:51.200 Ruminate is a cousin of meditate. 00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:55.599 It's repeating over and over and over again. 00:22:55.839 --> 00:22:57.680 Cedric, I didn't hear an amen earlier. 00:22:57.759 --> 00:22:58.400 How am I doing? 00:22:58.559 --> 00:22:59.279 Is it okay? 00:22:59.519 --> 00:23:00.079 Amen. 00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:00.640 All right. 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:01.279 Good. 00:23:01.680 --> 00:23:02.960 Want to check here. 00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:07.599 A rebuttal on our Facebook page later on. 00:23:09.519 --> 00:23:11.359 Actually, no. 00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:16.880 Ruminate on truth from God's word. 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:21.279 Meditating is creating new brain ruts. 00:23:21.920 --> 00:23:25.680 The word meditate is used 16 times in the Psalms. 00:23:25.920 --> 00:23:29.839 And the psalmists talk about the kinds of things that we are to meditate on. 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:37.039 Meditate on God's love, meditate on his deeds, on his decrees, on his wonderful works. 00:23:37.519 --> 00:23:42.720 And the word meditate from that, we also get the idea of chewing the cud. 00:23:44.079 --> 00:23:49.680 Any of you ever learned about how cows eat? 00:23:50.480 --> 00:23:56.559 So they'll eat the grass and they'll chew on it and chew on it and chew on it and swallow it. 00:23:56.720 --> 00:24:06.640 And then after a while, they'll regurgitate it back in their mouths and chew on it and chew on it some more, getting every possible nutrient out of it that they could get, and then they'll swallow it. 00:24:06.880 --> 00:24:12.720 And then they'll bring it back up again and chew and chew and chew and swallow. 00:24:13.519 --> 00:24:18.240 It's not enough just to read scriptures that combat our mental ruts. 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:20.880 We have to chew the cud. 00:24:21.200 --> 00:24:22.799 We have to meditate on it. 00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:25.599 We have to study it and then bring it back up. 00:24:25.839 --> 00:24:27.839 You know, find the scriptures. 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:31.200 There should be, you should have some key meditating passages. 00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:34.480 These are the meditating passages that I focus on. 00:24:34.559 --> 00:24:38.960 These are the things that help me with my unhealthy thoughts. 00:24:39.279 --> 00:24:41.519 Dissect the words of those scriptures. 00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:44.079 Discuss those scriptures with your friends. 00:24:44.400 --> 00:24:49.359 Imagine what those scriptures meant to the people back then and what they mean today. 00:24:49.680 --> 00:24:50.640 Research it. 00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:54.400 We have so many resources available to every single one of us online. 00:24:54.640 --> 00:25:01.200 You can find hundreds of commentaries on every single verse of scripture free, available to you online. 00:25:01.359 --> 00:25:07.039 You can see what people a thousand years wrote about this particular verse of scripture. 00:25:07.200 --> 00:25:16.720 And see, read everything that you possibly can about it, trying to get every nutrient of meaning out of that passage that you possibly can. 00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:23.359 And as you do this over and over again, you are creating a new neural pathway. 00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:38.319 You're marching down this path again and again of the truth of that scripture you're meditating on until it becomes a wiring in your brain, a part of your constant thinking. 00:25:39.680 --> 00:25:43.119 And in the Psalms, we actually see people doing just this. 00:25:45.599 --> 00:25:47.839 Psalm 77 is fascinating. 00:25:47.920 --> 00:25:54.640 It begins with Asap, Asaph absolutely desperate. 00:25:57.359 --> 00:26:00.720 In Psalm 77, verse 1, he says, I cried out to God for help. 00:26:00.799 --> 00:26:02.240 I cried out to God to hear me. 00:26:02.400 --> 00:26:04.960 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord. 00:26:05.039 --> 00:26:10.880 At night I stretched out untiring hands, and my soul refused to be comforted. 00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:16.240 It's like I'm praying, I'm praying, I'm praying, and I'm praying, and I don't feel any better. 00:26:16.480 --> 00:26:18.640 Pray all night long and I feel worse in the morning. 00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:21.039 My soul refused to be uncomforted. 00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:25.839 I remembered you, O God, and I groaned, I mused, and my spirit grew faint. 00:26:26.240 --> 00:26:29.119 You kept my eyes from closing, I couldn't sleep. 00:26:29.359 --> 00:26:31.119 I was too troubled to speak. 00:26:31.200 --> 00:26:33.279 I couldn't even tell anybody what I was going through. 00:26:33.359 --> 00:26:35.039 I couldn't even put it into words. 00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:37.920 I thought about the former days, the years of long ago. 00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:44.000 I remembered my songs in the night, my heart mused, and my spirit inquired, will the Lord reject forever? 00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:46.160 Will he never show his favor again? 00:26:46.319 --> 00:26:49.359 Has his unfailing love vanished forever? 00:26:49.519 --> 00:26:52.160 Has his promise failed for all time? 00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:54.240 Has God forgotten to be merciful? 00:26:54.400 --> 00:26:57.039 Has he in anger withheld his compassion? 00:26:57.200 --> 00:27:05.519 In other words, God, have you turned on me and rejected me and left me alone to deal with this all by myself? 00:27:05.759 --> 00:27:07.839 Are you even there to help me? 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:17.119 Do you even have compassion for me, love for me, or has your anger just completely overwhelmed all your other emotions towards me and your people? 00:27:20.240 --> 00:27:26.079 And then Asaph forced himself to do something in verse 11. 00:27:27.839 --> 00:27:31.119 I will remember your deeds, the deeds of the Lord. 00:27:31.279 --> 00:27:34.319 Yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. 00:27:34.640 --> 00:27:39.680 I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. 00:27:40.880 --> 00:27:43.200 And he chooses the parting of the Red Sea. 00:27:43.359 --> 00:27:46.400 Now he lived hundreds of years after the Red Sea was parted. 00:27:49.039 --> 00:27:58.559 And he chooses to just focus his mind on imagining what the parting of the Red Sea really looked like. 00:27:58.799 --> 00:28:03.599 What was happening in the invisible realm as the Red Sea was parted. 00:28:03.839 --> 00:28:09.519 And he gives one of the most fascinating descriptions of the parting of the Red Sea. 00:28:09.920 --> 00:28:12.799 You know, it more detail than you can find in Exodus. 00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:15.279 I love this. 00:28:15.440 --> 00:28:23.359 In Psalm 77, verse 16, he writes, The water saw you, O God, the water saw you and writhed. 00:28:23.680 --> 00:28:26.640 The very depths were convulsed. 00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:32.640 In other words, it's like, you know, the water saying, God's coming, get out of the way. 00:28:35.039 --> 00:28:37.359 The clouds poured down water. 00:28:37.599 --> 00:28:41.680 Have you ever thought about the parting of the Red Sea involving torrential rains? 00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:44.960 The skies resounded with thunder. 00:28:45.119 --> 00:28:47.440 Your arrows flashed back and forth. 00:28:47.599 --> 00:28:50.480 Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind. 00:28:50.960 --> 00:29:00.400 You ever thought about these high-speed winds ripping through as the Dead Sea, the Red Sea was parted. 00:29:00.880 --> 00:29:02.480 Lightning, thunder. 00:29:03.599 --> 00:29:13.119 Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world, the earth trembled and quaked, earthquakes at the parting of the Red Sea. 00:29:13.839 --> 00:29:21.200 Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen. 00:29:21.680 --> 00:29:34.720 Parting of the Red Sea, he's saying, is not God on high, just saying waters be parted, but God Himself is actually walking through the Red Sea, and the water is getting out of the way. 00:29:35.920 --> 00:29:41.519 You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. 00:29:46.799 --> 00:29:51.839 That's what it looks like to meditate on one miracle. 00:29:53.599 --> 00:29:58.000 It's interesting, the miracle he chose didn't really have anything to do with his fears. 00:29:59.200 --> 00:30:01.359 It didn't have anything to do with his problem. 00:30:02.880 --> 00:30:08.400 He just decided I'm just gonna think about God for a while. 00:30:09.839 --> 00:30:20.799 And I'm gonna remember what he has done, what he's capable of, and the love that caused him to do these mighty acts. 00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:23.920 And it's powerful. 00:30:24.160 --> 00:30:25.039 It is powerful. 00:30:25.200 --> 00:30:32.799 When we learn to meditate on the word of God, we create new neural pathways. 00:30:34.079 --> 00:30:59.599 And if you're having trouble, like you know, you've got these ruts in your mind and you can't think of any scriptures that that you can meditate on that will directly confront those ruts, see me, see one of the elders, see one of the staff, you know, see a Christian that that's hair is a little bit white, you know, and and they can probably tell you, here, here is uh the scripture you need to be focusing on. 00:31:00.240 --> 00:31:11.359 Don't don't feel like you've got to do this by yourself, but you need some passages that you meditate on, that you chew on regularly to set your mind right. 00:31:13.759 --> 00:31:15.039 You can do this. 00:31:16.079 --> 00:31:18.480 You have evidence that you can do this. 00:31:19.279 --> 00:31:27.599 You learn to read, you learn to write, you created a new neural pathway, you learn to ride a bike, you learn to drive a car. 00:31:28.319 --> 00:31:46.400 You learned to do the job that you're doing right now, even though when you first got hired there, it all felt weird and strange, and you're like, I don't think I'm ever gonna learn this, I don't think I'm ever gonna pick this up, and all of a sudden you do it without even thinking, you know, after time, and somebody else gets hired on and they start, you know, saying, I don't think I can do this. 00:31:46.480 --> 00:31:47.039 You're like, why? 00:31:47.119 --> 00:31:48.160 It's easy. 00:31:48.960 --> 00:31:57.759 It's easy for you because you created a new neural pathway that you walk down again and again and again and again. 00:31:57.839 --> 00:31:59.440 We do it all the time. 00:32:00.720 --> 00:32:02.319 We can do this. 00:32:02.960 --> 00:32:04.640 Let me give you hope. 00:32:05.039 --> 00:32:07.599 This really is not even that difficult. 00:32:08.559 --> 00:32:10.240 We just have to know how. 00:32:11.920 --> 00:32:13.359 Pray with me, please.