1 Peter 1:13-16 ESV
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
On Sunday, I said that we can be saved, and still “sleepwalking.” What are the influences on your mind that tend to keep us sleeping?
Do you preach a default sermon to yourself? When you’re stressed, tired, or tempted, what do you usually preach to yourself without thinking it through?
Maybe it would be helpful to memorize a few verses to help you preach to yourself during some of those times:
Psalm 42:5–6 (NLT)
Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—
my Savior and 6 my God!
Proverbs 18:21 (NLT)
The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.
Who gets the microphone in your head? How can you tell when you’re listening to the enemy’s voice (accusing, condemning, hopeless) instead of God’s voice (convicting, leading, restoring?)
Revelation 12:10–11 (ESV)
And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony…
What does this passage say about the power of our testimony… Our spoken words?
What are the implications of this truth in our daily lives?
We all have some level of “stinking thinking,” don’t we? We get pretty negative pretty quickly. We think “I will never change,” or “I am alone,” or “God is ignoring me.” What makes these lies feel so believable?
No doubt where these lies come from… Jesus says that Satan is the “father of lies.” (John 8:45)
Some of these thoughts have become strongholds… When these thoughts become “normal,” when they become the thought pattern or habit in your mind… Like fear, bitterness, shame, lust, or constant negativity. Do you have one of these? Where did it start?
So, how do you replace the lies with truth?
2 Corinthians 10:3–5 (ESV)
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ…
Can you look at the above examples (or list your own) and point to a scripture that directly answers that lie? Say it out loud in a short sentence you could repeat this week.
When that toxic thought hits, what is your real next move? Argue with it, obey it, numb it, or invite Jesus into it? What could “take that thought captive” look like this week?
Maybe it is time for a little sermon preparation… What will you preach this week? Use your notes app on your device and write one 2-3 sentence sermon you will speak to your soul this week when you are tempted, afraid, negative, or doubtful.
Joshua 1:9 (ESV)
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”