Is your thought life healthy? Your thoughts have the incredible power to shape your life. As a man thinks within himself, so he is. Today we will begin rebuilding your mind. Your mind is greatest ally or your worst enemy. And if you want to get your life back, you must find a way to control your thought life. The great news is that you can control of what you think.
SEEK the things that are above 1
Believers should seek the things that are of higher worth.
“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” Matthew 6:33.
We must be heavenly minded, or we will be of no earthly good!
Seek means to go out searching for spiritual realities.
Colossians 3:1 must be our top priority.
In order to get your mind set properly, you must set God centered priorities.
SET your mind on things above 2
Verse 1 relates to the values and priorities.
Verse 2 is talking about focusing your thoughts on those goals and values.
You are not your thoughts; you are a thinker of your thoughts.
Don’t believe everything you think!
You should regularly redirect your thoughts to spiritual realities.
The more you think about Jesus, the more joy you will experience.
Your thoughts should be occupied with eternal things.
You are responsible for your thoughts once you think them.
Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. -2 Cor 10:5
Whatever is right, think about such things. – Philippians 4:8
DO NOT set your mind on earthly things 2-4
The earth is the physical world, as opposed to the spiritual world.
The earth is made up of everything that surrounds you.
All these things will pass away. 2 Peter 3:11
Do not set your life on earthly things because you are DEAD to this life.
Set Your Mind on Heavenly Things because Christ is your LIFE
You are what you think. Your thoughts determine the direction and quality of your life. Change your thoughts and you change your life. Keep your thoughts on things that are above because your thought becomes your WORDS. Keep your words focused on heavenly things because your words become your BEHAVIOR. Keep your behavior pleasing to Jesus because your behavior becomes your HABITS. Keep your habits God honoring because your habits become your VALUES. Keep your values biblical because your values are your DESTINY”
MESSAGE
Is your thought life healthy? Your thoughts have the incredible power to shape your life. Proverbs 23:7 As a man thinks within himself, so he is.
In the past five weeks we have looked at toxic philosophies and thought patterns that destroy lives. If you have allowed your brain to be controlled by secularism, legalism, mysticism or asceticism, your life is in danger. You need to end those conversations, and replace them with truth. Today we will begin rebuilding your mind.
The problem is that the mind is not a safe place. The mind is a battle ground. Every mind has a choice between a healthy attitude and a destructive thought life that can be critical, paranoid and suspicious. This inner critic can take over our thinking and lead to our ruination.
Your mind is greatest ally or your worst enemy.
ALL that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is most often the direct result of his own thoughts.
THE body is the servant of the mind. It obeys the operations of the mind. At the bidding of improper thoughts the body sinks rapidly into depression, disease and decay; at the command of glad and beautiful thoughts it becomes clothed with joy and hope.
Dr. Caroline Leaf in her book Switch On Your Brain, says this; “As we think, we change the physical nature of our brain.”[i] When you think, you build thoughts, and these become physical substances…” [ii] and as we consciously direct our thinking, we can wire toxic patterns of thinking or replace them with healthy thoughts.
Your body believes everything you believe even if what you believe is not the truth! When your body is responding to these untrue thoughts many parts of your body respond in an ‘unhealthy’ way. These areas include your organs, muscles, nervous system, glands, digestive system and your mind. Every single thought creates a chemical reaction, good or bad, so let’s have a lot of great thoughts![iii]
Such is the power of the though life, and if you want to get your life back, you must find a way to control your thought life. The great news is that you can control of what you think. No one can take that from you unless you give it away.
But you must also remember, that it’s not just about thinking positive thoughts; even positive thoughts can be off the mark… it is about choosing the right thoughts, the true thoughts, and the highest thoughts. And that is what we are going to teach you today.
Three points: SEEK, SET, and DON’T SET
SEEK the things that are above 1
If you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 3:1
Notice the word if. It is a conditional word. In this particular passage, Greek Scholars tell me that the word is called a “First Class Conditional” statement. That means that it is a statement of fact rather than a stipulation. It could be translated this way, “SINCE you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above.”
No matter how you translate it, it means that Believers should seek the things that are of higher worth. We should set our goals to seek the things that are higher than the heavens. Our sights should be set on Jesus, who is seated at the right hand of the father.
Jesus put it this way, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33. This is telling us to be heavenly minded, or we will be of no earthly good!
Now what does it mean to seek? ζητέω zeteo “to seek in order to find.” It means to go out searching for spiritual realities.
If I were to ask you what your top 5 goals are in life, what would they be? 1. Would it be to have a happy family? 2. Would it be to improve your physical health? 3. Would it be to get a dream job or career? 4. Would it be Financial Stability? 5. Would it be to take that dream vacation or spend more time in recreation?
Those are some good goals. And some of you have actually set out to get those things. You spend time with the family, you work out, you work hard, and play harder.
But if you didn’t put Colossians 3:1 as your top priority, you’re missing the point of this statement. Seek First the kingdom. Set, as your highest priority, seeking the things that are above!
We are talking about your Priorities. Are spiritual things your number one goal, or have you accidently, incidentally or purposely placed some other value higher than spiritual things? You will seek to gain the things that you treasure the most. If you draw inaccurate conclusions about who you are and what you’re capable of doing, you’ll limit your potential.
In order to get your mind set properly, you must set God centered priorities. The number one way to get your life back and to get rid of the delusions of stinking thinking is to regularly, purposely and passionately seek the things that are above.
SET your mind on things above 2
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 2
While verse 1 relates to the values and priorities we should seek to have a happy mind, verse 2 is talking about setting up the mind for success by focusing our thoughts on those goals and values. Verse 1 choose your values; Verse 2 think about your values.
The human mind processes anywhere between 50,000 to upwards of 70,000 thoughts in any given day. You probably spend very little time reflecting on the way you think. After all, who thinks about thinking?
That’s what verse 2 is about. It is about ordering the thoughts in your mind so that you think most about the most important things to think about.
You are not your thoughts; you are a thinker of your thoughts. You hear them, you acknowledge them and then you process them. You can believe them or you can let them go. Don’t believe everything you think! If the thought crosses your mind that you are a unicorn, would you believe it? (I hope the answer is no!) I also hope that if you think that you are an alien or a woman or George Washington, I hope you reject all those thoughts as false. So why do you believe it when you have a thought that you’re ugly or stupid or crazy or unlovable?
More to the point, you should be regularly redirecting your thoughts to spiritual realities. The more successfully you think about Jesus, and things that are above, the more joy you will experience.
The word set φρονέω phroneo to direct one’s mind to a thing, to have understanding, be wise, to feel, to think wisely. Your thoughts should be occupied with eternal things.
In today’s world The Media has wormed its way into Your Mind: No matter where you go, thoughts are being implanted. Your cell phone, computer, billboards, the floor tiles in the grocery store, banners at a ballgame, taglines on a t-shirt–we take in media impressions minute by minute. And let’s not forget that our enemy the Devil does is best to whisper his lies into your mind.
You may not be responsible for the thoughts that enter your mind, but you are responsible for what happens to them once they get there.
2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us to demolish arguments and every pretentious thought that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. –
Philippians 4:8 Whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. –
Choose your values, and choose your thoughts. However…
DO NOT set your mind on earthly things
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 2
What does this mean? γῆ ge the earth is the physical world, as opposed to the things above, which is the spiritual world. The earth is made up of wealth, honor, pleasure, houses, lands – everything you see and everything that surrounds you.
2 Peter 3:11 tells us, Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved and pass away, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness.
If your life only consists of earthly things, then your spiritual vitality is lacking. Listen to what Jesus said about seeking first the kingdom in Matthew 6:31-33
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
I guess it all depends on what you think real life is all about. If you think real life is all about fast cars, big money, power, position, recreation, entertainment or any other pleasure this life can give, then your mind will be taken up seeking those things and worrying about this life. But if you think that Jesus is real life, that the Holy Spirit brings vitality, and that heaven is your real home, you’ll spend more and more time focusing on those things.
I want to leave you with two thoughts. If you are a believer this is a truth you should embrace, or your mind is in trouble:
#1 Do not set your life on earthly things because you are DEAD to this life.
3:3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
You may not be able to see it now, but one day it will be reality.
#2 Set Your Mind on Heavenly Things because Christ is your LIFE
3:3 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
You are what you think. The mind is a dangerous place. Your thoughts determine the direction and quality of your life. Change your thoughts and you change your life.
Keep your thoughts on things that are above because your thought becomes YOUR WORDS. Keep your words focused on heavenly things because your words become YOUR BEHAVIOR. Keep your behavior pleasing to Jesus because your behavior becomes YOUR HABITS. Keep your habits God honoring because your habits become YOUR VALUES. Keep your values biblical because your values are your YOUR DESTINY”
“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. You may not be responsible for the thoughts that enter your mind, but you are responsible for what happens to them once they get there.
Whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. –
[i] https://medium.com/baysidechurch/7-verses-about-the-power-of-your-thoughts-8a50b8e1910f
[ii] https://medium.com/baysidechurch/7-verses-about-the-power-of-your-thoughts-8a50b8e1910f
[iii] https://www.hellobrain.com.au/blog/the-truth-about-thoughts
Leave a Reply