WHAT
ARE YOU THINKING?
Steve W. Reeves
INTRODUCTION:
A. Way
back in 1854 the standard textbook used in many American schools was
McGuffey’s Eclectic Reader. Permit me to
share an excerpt from that book
concerning the influence of the Bible upon
our thoughts.
“If you can induce a community to doubt the
genuineness and authenticity of the
Scriptures; to question the reality and
obligations of religion; to hesitate, un-deciding,
whether there be any such thing as virtue
or vice; whether there be an eternal state of
retribution beyond the grave; or whether
there be any such being as God; you have
broken down the barriers of moral virtue,
and hoisted the flood gates of immorality
and crime. I need not say that when a
people have once done this, they can no
longer exist as a tranquil and happy
people. Every bond that holds society
together
would be ruptured; fraud and treachery
would take the place of confidence between
man and man; the tribunals would be scenes
of bribery and injustice; avarice, perjury,
ambition, and revenge would walk through
the land, and render it more like the
dwelling of savage beasts than the tranquil
abode of civilized and Christianized men.”
B.
McGuffey’s words were prophetic. There is a direct correlation between the extent
with which our minds have been turned away
from God and the Bible and the
increase in violence, sexual perversion and
the breakdown of society.
1. Satan is doing his best to remove every
reference to and reminder of God from our
daily life. In its place he is putting
humanism (the belief that humans are the
supreme being), relativism (no absolute
truth), materialism, immorality,
pornography and every type of
wickedness.
2. A lot of Christians have become
road-kill on the information superhighway.
3. Satan has captured our minds. When he
has your mind he has you.
a. Proverbs 23:7 – “as he thinks in his
heart, so is he.”
b. Your heart is like that hard-drive on
your computer. It’s the totality of your will,
emotions and intellect. Your mind is
the processor that stores and retrieves
information.
4. In Romans 8:5-8 Paul wrote, “For those
who are according to the flesh set their
minds on the things of the flesh, but
those who are according to the Spirit, the
things of the Spirit. 6 For
the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the
Spirit is life and peace, 7 because
the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God;
for it does not subject itself to the
law of God, for it is not even able to
do so, 8 and
those who are in the flesh cannot please
God.”
5.
In Colossians 1:20-21, we read, “And through Him to reconcile all things
to
Himself, having made peace through the
blood of His cross; through Him, I say,
whether things on earth or things in
heaven. 21 And although you were formerly
alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds.”
6. It should not surprise us that Jesus
calls people to a life of repentance.
a. Matthew 4:17 – “From that time Jesus
began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
b. Luke 13:3 – “I tell you, no, but
unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
C. How
do we change our thoughts? One of the great messages of Psalm 119 is the
impact that Scripture can have on your
heart, your thoughts and your life.
1. This is the longest chapter in the
Bible.
2. It is not the middle chapter of the
Bible but it is close (Psalm 117or 118 have this
distinction depending on how some
chapters are grouped together – remember the
chapters were inserted by men and have
no spiritual significance).
3. Notice what the opening verses of this
chapter say about taking control of your
thoughts.
I. PURIFICATION
A. Taking control of your thought life
begins with the process of purification. Notice
verse 9 – “How can a young man keep his
way pure? By keeping it according to
Your word.”
1. We sometimes sing Isaac Watt’s
familiar hymn, “How shall the young secure
their hearts?” What an important
question!
2. The word, “way,” means a groove or
even a “rut.” It’s the way in which a person
is going to travel. Back in the
early days of automobiles before many roads were
paved a traveler on one country road
read a sign, “Choose your rut carefully. You
will be in it for the next ten
miles.”
B. The Psalmist was asking, “How can a
young man choose the right way and
cleanse his heart?
1. The answer is by turning to the word
of God.
2. In John 15:3, Jesus said, “You are
already clean because of the word which I
have spoken to you.”
a. The word “clean,” is the same as
“catharsis.” A form of the same word is found
in 1 John 1:7, “the blood of his
Son cleanses us.”
b. The word of God has a cleansing effect.
It points us toward the source of
cleansing – the blood of Christ.
C. All of us need cleansing.
1. Do you have a room in your house that
needs cleansing? A garage? A closet? A
drawer in your kitchen?
2. Our lives become cluttered with the
things of the world, with evil thoughts, with
impurity and worldliness. We need
the purification that comes from God’s word.
II. DETERMINATION
A. The Psalmist continued in verse 10, “With
all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me wander from Your
commandments.”
1. You have to make up your mind to
follow God. The Bible never says it is going to
be easy, convenient or cheap.
2. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German
theologian who lived during the first part of
the 20th century. He was
arrested and executed by the Nazi’s. One of his books
is, The Cost of Discipleship,
in which he says, “When Jesus calls a person He
calls them to die.” He was talking
about determination.
B. A lot of people lack determination.
1. In John 5:6 Jesus encountered a man
who had been paralyzed for 38 years. He
was near a pool called Bethesda
where occasionally the water would be stirred
by an angel and the first person to
get in the water would be healed. This man
had never made it to the water.
Perhaps he had given up trying. Jesus asked
him, “Do you want to get well?”
a. A lot of people want to give
“lip-service” to God.
b. When it comes to sacrifice,
hardship and dedication they fall away.
2. James said in James 1:8, that a
double minded man is “unstable in all his ways.”
3. In James 4:8, he wrote, “Draw near to
God and He will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and
purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
C. Jesus never said, “Love the Lord with
some of your heart, soul, mind or strength.”
He wants it all.
III. FORTIFICATION
A. Strengthen your defenses. In verse 11
the Psalmist wrote, “Your word I have
treasured in my heart, that I may not
sin against You.”
1. The greatest fortification you can
build against sin is to treasure the word of God
in your heart.
2. It is your wall of defense against
the tide of sin and immorality that threatens to
sweep you away from God.
B.
When Jesus was tempted by Satan (Matthew 4:1-11), what was His defense?
1. “It is written, ‘Man shall not live
on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds
out of the mouth of God.”
2. “You shall not put the Lord your God to
the test.”
3. “You shall worship the Lord your God,
and serve Him only.’”
C. One of my college professors, Dr. J.D.
Bales, used to say, “Your thoughts cannot
exist in a vacuum.”
1. If you want to keep immoral thoughts out
you must fill your heart
with good things. Paul wrote, “Finally,
brethren, whatever is true, whatever is
honorable, whatever is right, whatever
is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of
good repute, if there is any excellence
and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on
these things. 9 The
things you have learned and received and heard and seen in
me, practice these things, and the God
of peace will be with you” (Philippians
4:8-9).
2. Remember, “As he thinks in his heart,
so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).
D. A strategy for fortifying your faith.
1. Internalize
a. Read your Bible. A man in another
town used to ask me continually what type
of Bible he should have. He
would constantly bring a new Bible filled with
some study guide or commentary.
“What type of Bible should I get,” he asked.
I finally replied, “One that you
will read.”
b. Memorize scripture. “Oh, I can’t
do that!” I wonder how many of us would
change our tune if someone
offered us $1000 for every verse we memorized?
When you memorize scripture it plays over and
over again in your head like a
tune you cannot remove from your
mind.
c. The message of the Bible will do
you no good as long as it remains merely
words on a page. A sermon does
you no good as long as it is merely the
sound of words striking your ear
drums.
1.) You must apply it to your
life. It must be personalized.
2.) In verse 12 we read, “Blessed are
You, O Lord; teach me Your statutes.”
d. A church bulletin ran an
announcement of death of one of its most prominent
members, “Someone Else.” It said
that for years “Someone Else” had done a
substantial amount of the giving and
work. Now that they were gone it was
going to be up to each
individual to do more. We often approach Scripture with
the same view. “It is talking
about someone else.”
2. Verbalize
a. The Psalmist wasn’t content to
merely learn and internalize the message of
Scripture. He shared it with
others. In verse 13 he said, "With my lips I have
told of all the ordinances of
Your mouth.”
1.) Verbalizing a thought
cements it in your life.
2.) It is easier to memorize
when you utilize.
b. Paul had this thought in mind in
Colossians 3:16 when he wrote, “Let the word
of Christ richly dwell within
you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one
another with psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness
in your hearts to God.”
3. Realize
a. Do you realize why there is so
much immoral and unlawful behavior in the
world? It goes back to what
McGuffey said over 150 years ago. When you
separate people from the word of
God they cannot be satisfied.
b. In vs.14 we read, “I have
rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as
much as in all riches.”
1.) The violence in our society
is caused by selfishness and greed.
2.) The immorality and pornography is a
result of people who are missing
something and seeking to
fill a void in their lives.
3.) The reality is that none of these
things will satisfy. They merely leave you
longing for more and more.
c. “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look
full in His wonderful face. And the things
of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and
grace.”
4. Finalize the word of God in your
heart.
a. Verse15 says, “I will meditate on
Your precepts.”
b. Verse 29 says, “Even though
princes sit and talk against me,
Your servant meditates on Your
statutes.”
c. Verse 42 states, “And I shall
lift up my hands to Your commandments,
which I love; And I will
meditate on Your statutes.”
d. Verse 97 continues, “O how I love
Your law! It is my meditation all the day.
e. Verse 99 says, “I have more
insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies
are my meditation.”
f. Finally, notice verse 148, “My
eyes anticipate the night watches, That I may
meditate on Your word.”
CONCLUSION:
A. Is
your heart secure?
1. When you know a storm is coming do you
not make sure your property and
possessions are secure?
2. Are you prepared for the storms you will
encounter in life?
B.
Keep your life according to the word of God. If we may assist you in any way
please
allow us to do so.
