WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:08.400 Is it just me or has the past six weeks been an emotional roller coaster? 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:14.480 For some of us, it's been literally like hell on earth. 00:00:15.119 --> 00:00:26.399 And it's certainly interesting that there's something that has been uh that we've been subjected to that has power over us that we can't even see. 00:00:26.719 --> 00:00:28.239 We can't even see it. 00:00:28.719 --> 00:00:37.359 Um just six weeks ago in the life of Church at the Grove, we had a weekend that literally revival broke out. 00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:49.039 We had 300 plus students and adults that were gathered in social circle, and we saw God move in a way that we had not seen before. 00:00:49.359 --> 00:00:50.479 It was amazing. 00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:53.439 The number of kids that turned and put their faith in Jesus. 00:00:53.679 --> 00:01:03.520 The immediate Sunday following that, we had one of the most powerful worship services probably in the history of our church that's 13 and a half years old or almost 14 years old. 00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:14.719 And on that Sunday, we baptized 15 students, and then following that, we had many on a list, and we still have many on a list that have yet to be baptized. 00:01:14.879 --> 00:01:19.599 And then all in just a matter of just a few days, everything changed. 00:01:20.799 --> 00:01:40.079 Much of our country was subjected to restrictions where we couldn't gather other than what was called essential things like work or going to the grocery store or or or taking care of basic uh necessities or or or maybe just utilizing the technology that we have. 00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:58.959 And to be quite honest with you, for the month to have started with revival among our students and and and that real, evident, thick presence of God among us, um, it feels like the pendulum has swung all the way back at times to the to the other end. 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:00.640 Now, now let me let me say this. 00:02:00.799 --> 00:02:10.319 We have still seen God move in tremendous ways, but but but we have been subjected to an emotional roller coaster, so to speak. 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:20.960 And so so but many people in the midst of all of this uh pandemic we're dealing with, instead of celebrating what God has been doing, they're asking questions like this. 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:22.879 Where is God? 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:25.919 How am I going to get through this? 00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:28.800 How am I going to make it forward? 00:02:29.039 --> 00:02:30.400 What about my job? 00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:31.919 What about my finances? 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:34.879 What about my emotional state? 00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:37.120 What about my spiritual state? 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:38.800 Am I gonna get infected? 00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:40.879 What happens if I do get infected? 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:43.520 We're asking all of these types of questions. 00:02:43.840 --> 00:02:50.879 And do you see how quickly our emotions and our thoughts can take us down a path? 00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:56.479 And that path is not healthy, and that path is literally out of control. 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:11.680 We go from thinking back six weeks ago that God is awesome, God is real, God is it is close, He He loves me, He has saved me, He's given me courage, and He's given me confidence. 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:16.479 Wow, look at what God has done, and all of a sudden the pandemic hits. 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:24.159 Schools closed, we're left to constant influx of negative media. 00:03:24.719 --> 00:03:45.759 Everything we see is all about the pandemic, and before we know it, our our thoughts and our emotions lead us down a path where all we can think about is death and disease and the what-ifs if it happens to me or happens to somebody in my family. 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:51.520 And so our thoughts become consumed with this constant negative intake. 00:03:51.680 --> 00:03:55.919 And before you know it, we we disconnect from what God has done. 00:03:56.080 --> 00:03:59.680 We disconnect from the truth of who God is. 00:03:59.840 --> 00:04:05.599 We disconnect sometimes even from seeking God personally ourselves. 00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:09.280 We'll go days without spending time in the Word. 00:04:09.439 --> 00:04:12.159 We'll we'll we'll we'll feel alone. 00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:28.079 And before you know it, our our we miss relationships, and we're in isolation, we're faced with depression, we're faced with anxiety, we're faced with grief, anger, bitterness. 00:04:28.639 --> 00:04:30.160 You get the picture, right? 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:45.680 Before we know it, in just a few weeks, our emotions and thoughts begin to shape our identity rather than the truth of what God says about us shaping our identity. 00:04:46.000 --> 00:05:02.240 And so we revert back maybe to destructive behaviors, maybe old habits, maybe old addictions have resurfaced in our life, and no longer do we feel like we're living this transformed life that God has provided for us. 00:05:02.480 --> 00:05:06.240 We are back to the old way of living. 00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:22.160 And so, as a matter of fact, our human default, the human default mechanism that we have is to snap back to that false identity where our security is found in other things besides God. 00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:31.759 Maybe it's money, or maybe it's pleasure, or maybe it's it's the job or the title that we have or some type of approval that we get from something else. 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:33.680 And here's what I want you to know. 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:40.000 We we there's no blame or shame when you feel that way. 00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:46.480 There's no blame or shame because our emotions and and our thought patterns spiral out of control. 00:05:46.720 --> 00:05:48.399 That's our human default. 00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:54.000 We tend to take our cues from the culture as our human default. 00:05:54.079 --> 00:06:02.720 We tend to look to the world and how the world leads us, and that's that negativity and how we spiral out of control. 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:09.759 But here, if you're a note taker and if you want to follow along, you can on our church app, um, um, I want you to write this down. 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:19.360 You are not necessarily to blame for how your emotions and thoughts spiral, but you do have to take responsibility for where you go from there. 00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:22.079 Let me let me share that again. 00:06:22.319 --> 00:06:28.240 You are not necessarily to blame for how your emotions and your thoughts spiral. 00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:35.199 But you do have to take responsibility for where you go from there. 00:06:35.680 --> 00:06:36.800 And here's the good news. 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:40.800 You don't have to stay stuck in these uh unhealthy thought spirals. 00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:59.360 We can take our cues rather than from culture, rather than from the world, rather than from the negative news, we can take our cues from scripture and from God and what the truth of scripture says about us and what and what Jesus has provided for us. 00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:01.759 We're a week removed from Easter, right? 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:07.199 Where we celebrate the death of Christ and the resurrection of Jesus. 00:07:07.519 --> 00:07:10.079 And so that's where we should take our cues from. 00:07:10.319 --> 00:07:13.600 We have victory even in the midst of this battle. 00:07:13.759 --> 00:07:15.839 Now, where's the battle take place? 00:07:16.240 --> 00:07:18.079 Here's what we're focused on this morning. 00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:20.240 The battle is in our minds. 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:24.319 That's what we're doing, is we start this new series called Renewed. 00:07:24.480 --> 00:07:26.639 The battle, it starts right here in our minds. 00:07:26.720 --> 00:07:34.959 Now, we're we're we're very in touch with our emotions and our culture, especially here in America or in the West. 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:45.120 And so we've got to come back to the minds and let the minds lead us, and our minds have to be focused on truth. 00:07:45.279 --> 00:07:48.639 And so here's the big idea for for this morning. 00:07:48.959 --> 00:07:52.720 Changed lives come from changed minds. 00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:56.000 Changed lives come from changed minds. 00:07:56.079 --> 00:07:59.600 Now, I had the privilege to have a conversation this past week. 00:07:59.680 --> 00:08:06.160 We've had a few families that have been directly impacted by COVID-19. 00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:18.000 And one of the sweet ladies in our church, her name is Ladonna Swinwood, I was able to have a conversation with her this past week about her physical journey through COVID-19. 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:29.600 She's on the other side now, she's healthy, she's she's completely over it, but also about her journey emotionally and and and how she had to fight through the mental anguish. 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:34.080 And so I want you to listen and watch to a little bit of that conversation. 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:42.639 LaDonna, thank you first of all, for being willing to take some time and and uh and share your testimony and talk a little bit. 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:47.679 Uh we're doing this via a Zoom call, uh, so we're thankful for technology. 00:08:47.840 --> 00:09:00.399 But maybe just share a little bit about the journey of discovering that you um were diagnosed with COVID-19, what that meant for you physically, but also what it meant for you emotionally. 00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:01.039 Okay. 00:09:01.519 --> 00:09:03.279 Um, well, sorry. 00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:16.960 On around the middle of March, March 17th, I think it was, I started um with a dry cough, and um it just continued and got a little um harsher as the week, as the days went on. 00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:24.879 So by uh that was a Wednesday, and by Saturday, um I started developing fever, low-grade fever, along with the cough. 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:34.720 And then by Sunday I was having the fever, cough, body aches, and all the the whole nine yards and pretty much all the same, the COVID, you know, symptoms that they were seeing on the news. 00:09:34.799 --> 00:09:37.279 So by Monday, I decided I was gonna go get checked. 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:42.960 So I went to the urgent care, they tested me for flu and strep, and then of course uh coronavirus. 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:46.240 But it takes five to seven days to get the results back. 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:54.080 So they sent me home with um antibiotics and uh albuterol inhaler and medication for cough. 00:09:54.320 --> 00:10:00.000 And um, that was on a Monday, and by Wednesday or Thursday, I think it was, I wasn't getting any better. 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:02.000 It felt like I was getting worse actually. 00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:12.159 And um, I was coughing so much and it was so abrupt that you know my chest and back and everything were uh hurting a lot and just couldn't take a deep breath. 00:10:12.320 --> 00:10:24.480 So some severe breathing difficulty where I felt like I was having um, I don't have asthma, but it felt like I what I would think of an asthma attack would feel like. 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:26.320 And I had a couple of those. 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:30.879 My daughter was here and witnessed it, and it totally freaked her out, and me as well. 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:37.679 So she called the paramedic, called 911, and they came out to the house and you know, recommended that I go to the hospital, and so I did. 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:43.679 So um, and I had several of those attacks, about three or four of them in a couple while I was in the hospital. 00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:48.240 Um, and so while I was there, they did a bunch of testing, blood work. 00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:57.360 Um, at first they thought maybe I was having a pulmonary embolism because of some of the blood work that came back that was an elevated D dimer level or something like that. 00:10:57.600 --> 00:11:03.600 Anyway, then they did X-rays, just um, and then a EKG and a CAT scan. 00:11:03.759 --> 00:11:22.639 And he confirmed um based on the way my lungs looked, I didn't have pneumonia, but that I did have the coronavirus, and then uh sent me home a few hours later because my oxygen levels were good enough that he didn't feel like I needed to stay, um, you know, in case they needed a bed and some if somebody came in. 00:11:22.879 --> 00:11:25.039 So that was kind of scary, honestly. 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:35.279 That was really scary going that was terrifying actually as I was going through it because I didn't know if I was gonna get to the point where I wasn't gonna be able to get any breath in, you know. 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:40.080 So that was really scary and I was alone uh because you know they left my daughter at the door. 00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:47.360 So my kids are out in the parking lot for about seven hours, you know, waiting and trying to get updates and everything throughout the whole thing. 00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:49.279 So that was a little scary. 00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:56.720 So but um got to go home that night and did not have any more of those ta attacks, thankfully. 00:11:56.879 --> 00:12:01.440 Um, but you know, by then I had a huge group of people praying for me. 00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:05.919 So I knew you know that you know God was protecting me, you know. 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:07.360 I knew that from the beginning. 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:09.919 But it as you're going through it, it's a little scary, you know. 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:10.559 Sure. 00:12:12.799 --> 00:12:17.919 But um after that, it took a it took a actually I had it for three weeks, you know. 00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:22.480 I did get the actual results back on that Sunday, um, and then it was confirmed also. 00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:33.679 Um and then um it took me almost three weeks to get completely over to have fever for 10 days and still have a little bit of cough, but I'm I'm no longer contagious, so started working. 00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:36.799 Praise the Lord, praise the Lord. 00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:46.159 Maybe describe a little bit about maybe more of the emotional and mental uh toil that it took upon you. 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:53.440 Well, of course, you still got some major fear, you know, because you don't know where it's gonna lead. 00:12:53.519 --> 00:12:56.879 Uh am I gonna turn heck take a turn for the worst? 00:12:57.039 --> 00:13:11.440 Because this coronavirus is really strange because one minute you feel like you're you're okay and you're feeling really good half the day, and then all of a sudden, bam, I mean you are like out of it, and it's it just takes a turn for the worst. 00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:13.840 And it was like that, like almost every day. 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:18.559 Um, and then I got to a period where it was really it was a lot of sleeping and everything going on. 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:47.759 So of course I had a lot of fear and anxiety and just worrying about all of that, um, and then of course the isolation and being alone and you know, because my family even had to be quarantined, they were for uh away from me, but even then Sarah was able to come in with a mask and gloves and everything to to bring me food, and um so it it was scary, it was and it was depressing, and um all the emotions, you know, it really was just I I mean I battled with why am I getting this? 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:50.960 You know, am I is God trying to get my attention? 00:13:51.039 --> 00:13:54.879 Uh is he bringing the plague on me, allowing that to happen to me for a reason? 00:13:55.039 --> 00:14:02.000 Am I do I have some sin areas in my life that I need to repent of and you know and turn away from? 00:14:02.240 --> 00:14:19.600 And you know, it was a lot of ref self-reflection during that time, you know, especially after I um had some time to think about it after the fact too, I started realizing that, you know, things that I feel like maybe God was showing me was that my focus had not really been on him like it should be. 00:14:19.759 --> 00:14:24.960 Um, I, you know, I've been a Christian for a long time, and you know how it is. 00:14:25.039 --> 00:14:57.279 I mean, we're still flesh, we're still human, and we can allow things, life, work, um, family, whatever it might be, to just take control of our life and let that be first, you know, instead of giving our day and our our our life to him each each day, you know, starting it out with him and asking him, you know, getting in the word, praying with him, praying and asking him, you know, what is my purpose today and what do you want to do with me today, Lord? 00:14:57.440 --> 00:15:10.399 I, you know, I found myself I wasn't doing that at all, you know, and it it really he kind of spoke to me and that and made me realize that maybe that was the whole reason that this was happening to me to slow me down. 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:20.080 Maybe it's the reason it's happened to the whole country or the whole, you know, everywhere that we have gotten so busy and crazy and putting other things first, you know. 00:15:20.159 --> 00:15:24.799 I mean, if anything good has come out of it to me, out of the coronavirus, has been that. 00:15:25.200 --> 00:15:28.720 Well, I mean, it it all comes to trusting God, you know. 00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:30.080 Do you really trust him? 00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:52.399 And if you do, um, you know, you you gotta take action on that, you know, and you've got to be in the word every day and you've got to be praying to God, even when you don't feel like it, because you there's if you're not giving it to God and allowing him to uh direct your day and what happens each day, then someone else has control of that. 00:15:52.559 --> 00:16:03.360 And it's you know, and then it you're opening yourself up for um for sin areas and for um you're vulnerable, you're much more vulnerable if you're not doing that. 00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:05.039 So that's extremely important. 00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:33.919 And then I had a chance to speak with a a lady um that's a friend of mine, and she's you know, she lost her husband a couple right after David died, and um we had the chance to talk to and we talked about putting on the the full armor of God each day, you know, and really just you know praying, you know, reading that and praying about that and putting that on every day, you know, to for protection, you know, but just getting in the word and uh praying and just doing what you know you're supposed to be doing. 00:16:34.159 --> 00:16:39.440 Um we have two options uh for eternity, one is heaven and one is hell. 00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:43.200 And if you're not going to heaven, the other one is what your option is. 00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:52.960 So if you haven't made that peace with God and you have not uh made that decision to trust in Christ, um I I highly recommend you do so. 00:16:53.440 --> 00:17:04.559 Because it was um I didn't know what whether I was gonna make it through, you know, the coronavirus because you don't know um at that point, but anyway, you gotta live every day like that, you know. 00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:05.200 Sure. 00:17:05.759 --> 00:17:07.519 You know, we did. 00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:13.200 Well, thank you for sharing, thank you, ladonna, for sharing your part of your story. 00:17:13.359 --> 00:17:28.799 And um, I know that that your children, Josh, Sarah, and Caleb are so proud of you, and and and many of you don't know this, but um Ladonna's husband, David, is in heaven, and I want you to know, Ladonna, that he would be so proud of you. 00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:30.160 He is proud of you. 00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:32.559 And so thank you for sharing that. 00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:35.119 And here's why this is such an important thing. 00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:42.559 The apostle Paul knew and and he understood the war that takes place in the area of our minds and our thoughts. 00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:52.400 You know, Paul was shipwrecked, he was he was put into prison, he was, he, he suffered, he was beaten, and and he was arrested and constantly going through trials. 00:17:52.559 --> 00:18:06.240 And so he knew about the battle that would take place in our minds and our thoughts, and how our circumstances and how our imaginations could undermine our faith and our hope that should come in Christ. 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:08.000 It's a common pattern, right? 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:30.319 Our emotions lead us to our thoughts, those thoughts were are are dictating our decisions, and then our decisions determine our behaviors, and then our behaviors shape our relationships, all of which take us back to this unhealthy spiral where our thoughts are constantly being dictated by what's happening around us. 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:34.559 And so here's two things I want you to see that they're so important. 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:37.279 These are in your notes if you're a note taker. 00:18:37.519 --> 00:18:43.119 We are in a battle, and our souls are at stake, and the battle begins in the mind. 00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:48.079 We are in a battle, our souls are at stake, and the battle begins in the mind. 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:53.359 And here's this: we've got to be willing to fight, we've got to be willing to take a stand. 00:18:53.519 --> 00:18:56.000 We've got to be willing to take captive our thoughts. 00:18:56.079 --> 00:19:02.319 And this is what the apostle Paul said in his second letter to the corn church at Corinth in chapter 10, verses 4 and 5. 00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:05.759 He says, For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh. 00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:10.240 It's not this virus, it's it's not in our physical bodies. 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:15.839 But he says, But have divine power to destroy strongholds. 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:21.920 He said, For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have power to destroy strongholds. 00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:33.039 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ. 00:19:33.519 --> 00:19:35.680 He said, So here's the challenge. 00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:38.559 You need to take captive your thoughts. 00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:40.720 You need to take captive your thoughts. 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:56.880 You fight for what you believe and what you know is true, and don't give in to the emotions that are dictated to us by the cues that come from the world and from the news and from what's happening around us. 00:19:57.279 --> 00:20:09.119 A well-known Puritan, uh famous Puritan theologian, John Owen, he said it this way: He said, Um, we are to be killing sin or sin will be killing us. 00:20:09.359 --> 00:20:11.279 And so we've got to be willing to fight. 00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:31.759 One of my mentors, uh, way back when I was in youth ministry, um, and and and he was teaching uh students, especially young men, when it came to their thought life and dealing with lust and and impure thoughts, he said he said this you can't control whether or not a bird flies over your head. 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:39.440 But you can control whether or not that bird lands and builds a nest in your hair. 00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:53.920 And he said, so sometimes you can't control the initial thought, but you fight, and you don't allow that thought to nest in your mind and in your heart and lead you down this path of spiral. 00:20:54.079 --> 00:21:08.240 Because the enemy wants you to go down this path where you begin emotionally embracing these feelings of helplessness, feelings of being overwhelmed, feelings that lead you to shut down and to detach. 00:21:09.599 --> 00:21:22.640 Feelings that are incapable of overcoming and making you think that you can't live for Christ, you can't make a difference for Christ, and you can't advance the kingdom, and you can't advance the gospel. 00:21:23.119 --> 00:21:24.079 So, what do we do? 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:25.839 What's the answer to this? 00:21:26.559 --> 00:21:35.680 Paul says says in in the book of Romans, he addresses this very issue in chapter 12 and verses 1 and 2 is what we're gonna read. 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:38.880 But before we get to that, let's let's look back at the context. 00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:54.559 He he spends most of the first part of the letter to the church at Rome laying a theological foundation for who Christ is, what he's done, and how he's provided salvation for us. 00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:59.279 He says in Romans 3 23, he says, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:07.920 Romans 6.23 He says, For the wages of sin are death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:11.279 And then you go fast forward to Romans chapter 8. 00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:14.559 He says, There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:20.240 And he says, Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ through Christ Jesus our Lord. 00:22:20.319 --> 00:22:27.039 And he says this, he says, whoever calls upon the name in chapter 10, whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 00:22:27.519 --> 00:22:38.799 He says, if you will believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and confess with your mouth that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:45.599 And so he talks about the practical aspects of how theologically God provides for our salvation. 00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:51.119 And then he gets to chapter 12 and he gets real practical about this battle that takes place in our minds. 00:22:51.279 --> 00:22:52.960 Listen to what the apostle Paul says. 00:22:53.200 --> 00:23:00.000 He says, He says, I appeal to you therefore, he's talking about this foundation that he's laid. 00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:11.119 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 00:23:11.279 --> 00:23:12.480 Listen to verse 2. 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:14.559 He says, Do not be conformed to this world. 00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:20.240 Do not be conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. 00:23:20.559 --> 00:23:26.640 That by testing you may discern what is the will of God and what is good and acceptable and perfect. 00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:32.400 He said, Do not be conformed, which is this idea of being molded into the way of the world. 00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:49.680 And what he's talking about there is that he's talking about the philosophies and the ideologies and the ways of thinking that go contrary to the things of God, those things that will lead you emotionally down a path where you find yourself scrambling for hope. 00:23:50.079 --> 00:23:52.079 And he says, but be transformed. 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:55.680 That word in the Greek is where we get the word metamorphosis. 00:23:56.240 --> 00:23:59.039 It's this kind of science type of word. 00:23:59.119 --> 00:24:04.319 It's the idea of a caterpillar changing into a butterfly. 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:07.200 Be transformed by what? 00:24:07.599 --> 00:24:09.920 By the renewal of your mind. 00:24:11.839 --> 00:24:13.839 By the renewal of your mind. 00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:18.000 Changed lives come from changed minds. 00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:20.640 So where does that leave us? 00:24:21.039 --> 00:24:26.079 Here's three specific action steps I want to leave you with. 00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:32.079 And the first one is this is we renew our mind with the truth of Scripture. 00:24:32.400 --> 00:24:46.079 So you can't afford to ignore your time with God and your time in the Word of God in a day and a season like that we're in right now. 00:24:46.720 --> 00:25:03.359 Our very thought life, emotions, our sense of hope, our sense of reality is dependent upon us investing our thoughts and our minds and spending time in the word of God. 00:25:03.920 --> 00:25:06.480 Bring the fight into the light. 00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:12.480 Psalm 119-103 says, Your word is a lamp into my path, a light to my feet. 00:25:12.960 --> 00:25:14.799 Bring the fight into the life. 00:25:15.279 --> 00:25:17.200 And so spend time in Scripture. 00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:20.720 The second action step is this don't fight alone. 00:25:20.960 --> 00:25:22.000 Don't fight alone. 00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:25.759 You bring people into your circle of relationships. 00:25:25.839 --> 00:25:27.279 You say, Russ, I can't do that. 00:25:27.599 --> 00:25:29.440 We're forced to be isolated. 00:25:29.519 --> 00:25:31.359 We're forced to be in our homes. 00:25:31.519 --> 00:25:33.599 No, listen, you can stay in community. 00:25:34.079 --> 00:25:35.200 You figure out how to do it. 00:25:35.599 --> 00:25:42.559 There's such a thing as phone calls, there's computers, there's FaceTime, there's ways you can connect with people and get the support. 00:25:42.799 --> 00:25:44.880 Don't stay alone in the dark. 00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:52.480 Because when you are alone in the dark, the devil will tell you whatever the heck he wants to tell you. 00:25:56.400 --> 00:26:00.079 You can't do life alone, is one of our core values. 00:26:01.200 --> 00:26:08.880 And listen, listen, we're surrounded, the writer of Hebrews, we're surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses that are part of this. 00:26:09.119 --> 00:26:17.279 And I love this because remember, the Bible doesn't put a spin on the flaws and the weaknesses of the heroes in Scripture. 00:26:17.440 --> 00:26:18.640 Moses was a murderer. 00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:20.720 Hosea's wife was a prostitute. 00:26:20.880 --> 00:26:22.079 Peter rebuked God. 00:26:22.240 --> 00:26:23.119 Noah got drunk. 00:26:23.279 --> 00:26:24.319 Jonah was a racist. 00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:25.519 Jacob was a liar. 00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:27.599 John Mark deserted Paul. 00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:28.880 Elijah burned out. 00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:32.160 Jeremiah was depressed and suicidal. 00:26:32.400 --> 00:26:33.519 Thomas doubted. 00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:35.519 Moses had a temper. 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:37.440 Timothy had ulcers. 00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:45.759 And so all of these people found their strength in their relationship with God, not in their own abilities. 00:26:45.920 --> 00:26:49.599 Left to their own abilities, they failed. 00:26:50.079 --> 00:26:54.720 And then finally, put your trust in a rescuer. 00:26:54.960 --> 00:26:57.680 And that rescuer's name is Jesus. 00:26:58.559 --> 00:27:02.079 Put your trust in who our Savior is. 00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:04.240 He fought for us. 00:27:05.119 --> 00:27:06.799 He won the victory for us. 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:08.880 We sang about it this morning. 00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:13.359 He comes and lives inside of us. 00:27:13.920 --> 00:27:18.720 And we have to take captive our thoughts and depend on him. 00:27:19.200 --> 00:27:23.759 And listen, changed lives come from changed minds. 00:27:23.920 --> 00:27:27.200 And we see Jesus' example of this. 00:27:28.880 --> 00:27:33.279 We just celebrated the cross and the and and the empty tomb this past week. 00:27:33.359 --> 00:27:45.359 And before Jesus went to the cross, he spent time in the Garden of Gethsemane and He spent time with his heavenly father in Matthew 26, verse 38. 00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:46.319 Listen to this. 00:27:55.519 --> 00:27:59.519 And he says, even to death, remain here and watch with me. 00:27:59.759 --> 00:28:07.039 And going a little farther, he fell on his face and he prayed, saying, My father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. 00:28:07.119 --> 00:28:08.640 Nevertheless, listen to this. 00:28:12.400 --> 00:28:14.480 And so he came back to the disciples. 00:28:35.119 --> 00:28:42.880 And so you know how Jesus responded to the potential spiral of emotions and thoughts? 00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:45.200 He made a choice. 00:28:45.920 --> 00:28:47.359 He made a choice. 00:28:47.519 --> 00:28:55.279 And I want to encourage you that by the power of the Holy Spirit in you, you can make a choice. 00:28:56.480 --> 00:29:00.000 Don't let your thoughts and your emotions spiral. 00:29:00.160 --> 00:29:02.880 You take captive your thoughts and you fight. 00:29:02.960 --> 00:29:06.400 And the rest of this series, we're going to look at these choices. 00:29:06.559 --> 00:29:10.000 Next week it's going to be I choose to be still with God. 00:29:10.240 --> 00:29:13.599 Then it's going to be I choose to surrender my fears to God. 00:29:13.839 --> 00:29:16.240 Then it's I choose to be grateful. 00:29:16.400 --> 00:29:21.519 And then finally we'll conclude with I choose to seek the good of others. 00:29:22.319 --> 00:29:24.000 So Jesus made a choice. 00:29:24.240 --> 00:29:29.119 See, through changed minds come changed lives. 00:29:29.680 --> 00:29:32.240 So you have the power to make a choice. 00:29:32.640 --> 00:29:53.119 Maybe your first choice, if you never have taken the first step to put your faith in Christ and what he has provided in his life and his death and his resurrection, maybe that's your first choice that you make this morning as you repent and you turn toward Jesus. 00:29:53.279 --> 00:29:59.039 We say that salvation is as simple as ABC here at Church at the Grove. 00:29:59.200 --> 00:30:10.559 You admit that you're a sinner, you admit that you need a rescuer, and then you believe and you trust and you repent, put your faith in Jesus, and you confess Him as Lord of your life. 00:30:10.640 --> 00:30:13.039 And if that's you this morning, here's what I want to do. 00:30:13.119 --> 00:30:24.240 I want to lead you in a prayer right now to put your faith in Christ, maybe for the first time, where you say, Dear God, I admit that I fall short of your standard. 00:30:24.319 --> 00:30:28.160 I admit that I am a sinner in need of salvation. 00:30:28.480 --> 00:30:40.400 And I come to believe and to trust in what you have provided in the life and the death and the resurrection of Jesus, and that He has provided for my salvation. 00:30:40.720 --> 00:30:44.000 I turn and repent and I believe. 00:30:44.240 --> 00:30:57.759 And I confess Him is my Lord and Savior, and I am going to make the choice to follow Him, not to be perfect, but to follow Him and to trust in the grace and the mercy that He provides. 00:30:58.000 --> 00:31:08.480 Now, if you prayed that prayer for the very first time today, right now, whether you're watching at 9 15, 11, or 5 p.m. 00:31:08.720 --> 00:31:12.480 or at some other date in the future, here's what I want you to do. 00:31:12.640 --> 00:31:15.599 I want you to text, start to follow. 00:31:15.839 --> 00:31:23.279 All one word, no spaces, start to follow to 9700. 00:31:23.599 --> 00:31:24.640 Let me say it again. 00:31:24.799 --> 00:31:32.799 I want you to text, start to follow to the number 9700. 00:31:33.279 --> 00:31:35.599 It should be there on your screen. 00:31:35.839 --> 00:31:37.519 We want to celebrate with you. 00:31:37.759 --> 00:31:39.440 We want to follow up with you. 00:31:39.599 --> 00:31:51.599 We want to encourage you and help you grow in how to take captive your thoughts and for you to walk in the victory during this season and the seasons that lie ahead here at Church at the Grove. 00:31:51.759 --> 00:31:54.240 Let me pray for all of you that are believers. 00:31:54.400 --> 00:32:00.480 Father, would you bless our church family and bless those that are watching with us right now? 00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:02.640 I pray that you would give them victory. 00:32:02.720 --> 00:32:04.640 Father, they would take captive their thoughts. 00:32:05.200 --> 00:32:15.680 They would not take their cues emotionally or mentally from the culture, but Father, they would take their cues from your word and from your direction and your example. 00:32:15.759 --> 00:32:20.799 And Lord, they would walk by the Spirit day by day by day. 00:32:20.960 --> 00:32:24.799 Father, thank you for the victory that we have in Jesus Christ. 00:32:24.960 --> 00:32:25.759 God bless you. 00:32:25.920 --> 00:32:28.799 Thank you for being with us this Sunday.