Reset My Serenity

[00:00:01] Speaker A: Thanks for tuning in to the Met church podcast. Here at the Met, we are all about connecting people to God and one another. If you have any questions or want more information about what's happening here at the church, then head to our [email protected], dot. We would love to stay connected with you throughout the week through social media, so be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter now. Enjoy the message. [00:00:24] Speaker B: Well, good morning, everybody. I'm glad you are here as we're in this new series called Reset. It's great to see all of you on a holiday weekend. That's great. Look around. It's good to see everybody, right? I'm glad you guys are here. It's wonderful to have you, especially if you're a guest. Thank you for being with us. I hope the service will be a blessing to you. We've had a great week at the church this past week. Pastor Corey tells me that our CRC served over 1300 families this last week. Isn't that amazing? That is wonderful. And for the benefit of those of you that may not be aware, it is our largest home mission. In fact, about twenty cents of every dollar given to the church goes to support that ministry. So every time you contribute, a large part of what you're contributing is going to underwrite what is happening there. And 1300 families, when you do the math and you figure the average family between three and five people, you can understand and appreciate how many people were fed this week because of your generosity. So I can't thank you enough for all that you're doing to help us make that ministry happen. And so it's great to see you this morning. And I heard, I'm trying to see if he, yes, he is in the room. A few weeks ago, you remember one of our SWAT officers, a member of our church, was shot and injured and we prayed for Todd Tipton. And Todd is back. Todd, is that you over there, brother? There you are. Would you welcome Todd back? It's great to see him. Welcome back, Todd. And we certainly want to remember to pray for the officer's family in Dallas that was tragically taken from us last week. Remember to pray for them. These guys and gals do a very dangerous job to keep us safe. And we're so grateful to our law enforcement and our first responders for all that they do. And so welcome home, Todd. It's great to see you, brother. This weekend we're taking the next step in our reset series, first weekend out. I talked about reset your Sunday as we're getting back into school, and we're getting back into routines. We talked about the significance of honoring the Lord's day, and you obviously are doing that this morning. Many of you are watching online. You're doing that as well. And so we talked about making our worship a priority once more. And then the next weekend, we talked about resetting our schedule. We talked about how crazy busy life can be. And if we don't own our schedule and we don't get in charge of our schedule, our schedule will be in charge of us. And we talked about that weekend, how your life will be lived according to the priorities that you establish or according to the pressure that other people put on you. So live your life according to your priority. Be large and in charge of you. Then last weekend, Mary talked about the significance of resetting our serving, how we are here to serve and to love one another. None of us, the Bible says, live to ourselves alone. None of us die to ourselves alone. God made us. As relational beings, we are to connect, interact, relate to one another, and how serving is such an important part of what we do. And again, I thank all of you who are actively involved in serving. Many of you have served this morning. Many of you are serving somewhere. Many of you serve over at the CRC. And so we're so grateful for you sharing your time as well as your resources, because you will have more money in life than you have time. You can always make more money. You cannot make more time. So get in charge of your schedule. Well, this morning, I want to take another step in that direction. I want to talk about resetting my serenity. My serenity. I want to talk about a mindset reset and how every now and then we need to stop and consider how we think about things. It's not significant or as significant the things that we. That happen to us as much as it is how we respond to those things. And much of that response is predetermined by how we think about those things. And I submit to you this morning that any success you achieve in life, any success you achieve in life, will all go back to the thoughts that you think. The genesis of the success that you experience or the effectiveness that you have in life, the genesis of all of that is surrendering, surrounded around the thoughts that we think. In fact, I've shared this idea with you before, but the most powerful thing God gave you, the most powerful thing that we have, is our mind. There is nothing more powerful about you than your mind. Think about it. Your mind predetermines everything about you. What you choose to wear this morning is predetermined by your mind. Where you go is predetermined by your mind. You were here this morning. You're watching online this morning because you first thought about it. So your thoughts will lead you where you go when you leave here. You'll first think about that. What restaurant am I going to? Juniors. Well, they're closed today. But where are we going today? Are we going to hit babes or where are we going to go when we leave this place? Well, you'll determine that by the thoughts that you think. So it's so important that you think right. I'm told that our minds have over a million sensory receptors that help us discern touch and taste and hearing and how we feel about all of that thing is predetermined in our minds. And then I'm also told that our minds and our imagination has 10 billion sensory receptors. That ability to create all of that happens in the mind. That's why you could really, this morning, don't do it. But you could close your eyes and imagine that you were anywhere else but here. That's why I said, don't do that. I could say you're on a beach on Maui right now, and you'd go, dear God, I wish I was on a beach in Maui right now. Anything but listening to him. Right, but that's why a composer, before a composer writes a symphony, they first of all hear that in their mind. Before an artist begins to create anything, they first of all visualize that in their mind. So the mind has over 10 billion sensory receptors that operate in the area of our imagination. And they tell us that we function on so little of our mind's capacity. So because the mind is so powerful, it should not surprise anyone that it becomes the greatest point of attack for the enemy in your life. In fact, he will attack your thinking more than he attacks any other area in your life. I've told you before, the devil is not primarily after your kids. He isn't after your kids. He doesn't want them any more than you do some of the times. The devil is not after your job, he's not after your job, he's not after your car, he's not after your house. The devil's not after your money, he's after your mind. Because if he can get your mind, he'll get your kids. If he can get your mind, he'll get your job. If he can get your mind, he'll get your money. I mean, the thing that he's after, more than anything else about me and you? The point of attack is our mind. And so it's so important that we guard our thoughts and we guard our minds because that's the point of attack. I would tell you this, if you were to try to subdue an animal, then you would try to subdue the animal at the point of its strength. If a dog comes at you, a pit bull comes after you. What you're afraid of most about the pit bull is its bite, its teeth. And so if you're going to subdue the pit bull, and I'm not picking on pit bulls, I don't like them. I'm not picking on them, is you have to put a muzzle on them, you have to subdue them. Whether, if a bear attacks you, you have to be careful of its, of its claws, you have to be careful of its teeth. And if you're going to subdue the bear, you have to subdue it at the point of its, of its strength. And so the devil knows that about me and you. If he's going to subdue us, he has to subdue us at the point of our strength. And the strongest thing I have going for me, the strongest thing you have going for you is your mind, how you think. Think about this. We came into the world headfirst, right? And so you will go from one environment. You'll go from one level in life to the next level, to the next environment. Head first. It will begin with how you think about it. It will begin with your thoughts. So your thoughts are so important. The thoughts that we think determines the steps that we take. Now, the reason I say that is the Bible uses the idea of steps in psalm 37 as a metaphor to describe how we go through life. Psalm 37 five. The steps of a good person are ordered by the Lord. So think about steps as ascending a staircase, meaning every day I take a step, each day we take a step. And the Bible says the steps of a person are ordered by the Lord. In other words, God is designing our steps. Now, each step that we take, you have to understand we have a decision to make. Are we satisfied with the level that we're on? You can become a master at one level while being a student at the next. In other words, where you are at this level of life, you're mastering that very well. But if you continue to take steps in life, then soon you'll discover I'm a student, I'm learning how to live life at the next level. It happens in relationships, it happens in a promotion on the job with that promotion there becomes a lot more responsibility. You may be making more money, but now you have more headaches. You're responsible for more things. So where at one point I'm saying you were a master. You knew how to handle life at that level. Now you're a student, you're learning life at a different level. Think about it this way. What is now a ceiling to you? A ceiling to you. If you continue to take steps, will eventually be a floor to you. Eventually you'll be able to master that level of information. What would stump your fifth grader? When they get to 7th grade, they'll look back at the thing in fifth grade that nearly stumped them, and they'll realize how simple that was then, even though it was a difficult task at that level. So I'm just suggesting to you that you and I will end up on whatever level that we settle on. And my challenge to you and your thinking would be, never settle. Just continue to take those steps step by step by step. And the secret to that ascension and the secret to mastering life at the next level is centered around how we think. Let me ask you this morning. Have you ever thought about what you think about? Have you ever stopped long enough to consider the preponderance of your thoughts? Do they tend to go more negative? Do they tend to go more positive? Do they tend to be more optimistic? Are your thoughts centered around your faith? How are you thinking this morning? Because the Bible teaches this principle, proverbs 23 seven. As a person thinks in their heart, so will they be. The late, great Vance Havner used to say, you're not what you think you are, but what you think you are. So your thoughts determine everything about you. So think about what you think about. And that's important because in life, nothing just happens. People who are successful don't stumble and fumble their way into success. The Bible says that we're on it. Life is like an expedition. Paul put it that way. He said that I'm on a mission. It's like an expedition. I'm moving toward a goal. And anyone who's ever ascended to the top of a mountain, anyone that's ever reached the peak of Everest, when interviewed, would not say, I don't know how I got here. I was taking a hike one day, and before I knew it, I'm on the top of Everest. Isn't that amazing? They will tell you that they were disciplined. They were determined, they were dedicated. They made it a mission, a goal in life to make that ascent. And once they've reached that level, it's because they put a lot of effort into it. And I'm saying the same is true about an effective relationship. I'm telling you, if you're going to make a relationship work, it's going to take work. There's no perfect people. There's no perfect relationships. I tell young couples all the time, marriage is the end of your trouble. It is. It's the front end. You're just getting going, man. You're just getting started. It's not love that will keep you in a relationship. Now, it's important. Love will attract you to that relationship, but love will be stronger. Love will be less strong at moments. You're going to love that person at times, and then you won't love them that much at other times. The late Billy Graham, the great evangelist, his wife Ruth was amazing. The power behind the man really was ruthenous. And someone interviewed her one time and said, did you ever think about divorcing Billy? That ever crossed your mind? She said, divorce? No. Murder? Yes. And I think anybody's been married a long time could appreciate that. But my point is, it takes a lot of work. It's not love that will keep you together. Regardless of what captain and Tenille is saying about it's not going to happen. It's not love that will keep you together. It is your commitment to each other. Absolutely. Be committed to one another. Cindy and I, before she went to heaven, we were together. We were married for 42 years. We got together and we were 17 years old. And so for 42, and I used to joke about, if Cindy ever leaves me, I'm going with her. And I'm just saying, man, the secret to a relationship, making it work, is commitment. Just say, by the grace of God, we are going to stay together. But to make a good relationship work, it takes work. To be a good parent takes good work. To be a good grandparent, take. To be a business person takes good work. I mean, you're tracking with me, we know that anything that's worth having in life is going to require a great deal of work. Nothing just happens. And the first step to having a good relationship, to having a great family, being a great business person, doing well in your career, is guys, you've got to make up your mind. You have to get settled in your thinking of how it's going to be and how you are going to respond when it doesn't happen the way you thought it should be. So real, lasting change begins in the mind. Listen to colossians three, verse two. Set your mind. You hear the phrasing set your mind. Now, we call them mindsets for a reason, because you get set in your thinking, and it's hard sometimes to change a mindset. There are people in life who are very subjective. Subjective meaning that their mind is made up regardless of the facts. Facts confuse them. Do you have anybody you know, like that? They're just set in their mind. There's no moving them. They're just. It doesn't matter what you show them that refutes what they think. They will not change their mind. They're resolute in their mind. Their him, their famous him. I shall not be moved. And that is their him. I will. You will not move me. Subjective. And then you have people who are objective. Objective. Objective just means I have a certain way of thinking about this. I could be wrong. I might be wrong. In fact, if you'll show me the facts, I'll change my thinking on this. You see, we're all ignorant. We're just ignorant on different subjects. And sometimes we have to be brought new facts, we have to be shown new light so that we can get a new perspective. Because we're constantly remember steps, we're constantly learning, we're constantly growing. So don't become subjective in your thinking. Stay objective. Stay, as we would say, open minded. There's a reason we use that expression, open minded. And Paul said, there's some things that you have to do to set your mind in that way. You can change your look, but until you change your outlook, nothing in your life will really change. Look at our text this morning. And in it is really the key to bringing about a change in my thinking. Romans, chapter twelve, verse two. Do not conform to the pattern of the world. Now, it's an interesting phrase. It means, don't be pressed into the mold of something. The pattern of the world. The thinking of the world. Now, the thinking of the world. We could summarize it. If I put it in contemporary terms, I would call it secularism. All secularism is. Is a way of thinking that doesn't include God. That's it. It's just a way of thinking that doesn't include God. It's people who don't pray about anything, don't consider God in anything. If they believe in God, they see him more as being above everything and beyond everything, that he's not in control of anything or actively involved in anything. And so there are people who will fall into that category, and they will be pressed into the mold of that way of thinking. So we said, don't let that happen to you. But be note now, transform. Transform. It's interesting. The word metamorphosis comes from the idea of transformation. And metamorphosis is the way we get the butterfly. Remember, the caterpillar goes into the cocoon. And emerges from that experience as the beautiful butterfly. Well, what's happened is there's been a metamorphosis. Or there means to be. The word literally, when you break it apart means to be transformed by light. A metamorphosis is to be transformed. Light is information. When you get new light, you can change. When you learn something new, you can change. It moves you off of one level to the next. So you're either going to be conformed, depressed, in the mold of a way of thinking that doesn't include God. Or because of light, you're going to be transformed by note. Now, what? He says you'll be transformed by the renewing of your mind. By how you think about things, how you're open minded concerning things. And then he said, when this happens, you can then test and approve what the will of God is. His good, perfect and pleasing will for your life. So in that verse, there's a very great secret that you find in the power of a renewed mind, a changed mind, a transformed mind. So let me give you three thoughts to think about. As we think about this idea of a reset in our mindset. Number one, understand there is a battle of a conflicted mind. There is a battle of a conflicted mind. You and I were born into this world, alienated from God. We were born with a sin nature. We were born apart from God. And so because of that, our old nature still resides within us. Even when you know Jesus as your savior, you still have an old nature. Now, some people will use the word sanctification. And use it in a way that they say it means sinless perfection. It's the idea that once you are saved, baptized, you then are sanctified. And they interpret that word to mean sinlessly perfect, meaning that a child of God no longer sins. There's nothing farther from the truth than that. Because you and I still have a sin nature. We still have a propensity, a proclivity toward our old nature. We still have that. In fact, there's an incredible expression that Paul uses that nails it really good. Romans, chapter seven, verse 23. He said, there's another power within me. And listen to this. That is at war with my mind. Paul said, man, I've got this spirit filled life. I've got the holy spirit within me. But there's also also another power within me. And those two things are at war with one another. There is my old nature, my old way of thinking. You might call it your default settings, that's at war with your new nature, with the person that you want to be, with the person that you aspire to be. And it's a battle. I told you, to have a good relationship. It's going to take work to be a good parent, it's going to take work to be successful in your career, it's going to take work. And I'm telling you, just to overcome the way you think it's going to take work. It is a battle. That is a great word to put it is a battle. The battle is for the control of the mind. And some people have lost the battle. Some people have not engaged in the warfare. I told you this before, you can have a saved soul and a lost mine. Absolutely. Can you see everything about me when I became a Christian and everything about you when you became a Christian has the power and the potential to change. But not everything will change because of the sin nature that is within me. What I do know is my soul as your soul, is secure, but our life, not necessarily secure. I save my life every day. My soul God has saved my life is saved by the decisions I make, by the thoughts that I think. That's why a person who knows Jesus still has the potential to do some incredibly crazy things, to do some incredibly sinful things. Because the idea of sanctification in scripture never means sinless perfection. There is a rule in biblical interpretation called the law of the first mentioned. The law of the first mentioned. The idea is when you find a word in the Bible and you're not sure how to define it, look back and discover the first place it was mentioned in the scriptures. Look and see how that word was used in that context. And the way the word was defined in that context will consistently be a good help for you in defining it throughout the scripture. Well, the first time the word sanctified is used in the Bible is in the book of Genesis, and it's used before sin ever entered the picture. It's in Genesis, chapter two. And the word was referring to the 7th day where the Bible says, and the Lord sanctified the 7th day and said, on the 7th day, you are to rest. Now, sin had nothing to do with the day. What was he talking about? He said, sanctified means I'm setting this day apart and making this day different from all the other days of the week. So, all right, let's use that definition for sanctification. Sanctification means to be set apart, to be made different than the others. So when you, as a Christ follower, are sanctified, it means God has made you different. It means you're swimming upstream. It means you have something within you greater than the pressure around you. It means the presence of the Holy Spirit allows you to live a different life. You can overcome the things that will drag most people down. Because you're not relying on the power of yourself. You're relying on the power of his spirit. So sanctification means to be set apart, to be made different. So it doesn't have anything to do with sin. So get away from this idea that somehow I can live above the level of sin and I don't have to battle my flesh anymore. That's just not true. You and I are going to battle our flesh. We're going to battle this downward pull of our life. We're going to be tempted all the time. And by the way, all being tempted means is that you're alive. There's no sin in being tempted. You know, there was a sect of the Pharisees called. They called them, facetiously, the bruised and bleeding ones. And the reason the sect of the Pharisees were called the bruised and bleeding ones. Is because they were so pious that anytime they saw a pretty woman walking down the street, they would turn their heads from her. And they'd walk into things. They'd hit. I'm telling you now, they'd hit their head on stuff. And so they had these little bumps and marks on their face. So they facetiously called. There's the bruised and bleeding ones. They were so pious to see a pretty woman. And they thought that to see her would mean that temptation would lead them into lust. Which would lead them into some bad decision. They'd turn and walk from her and just bump into the wall or into a pole or whatever. Most of the guys I know, if they see a pretty woman, they're not turning away, bumping into stuff. You know what I'm saying? But the point is, there's no temptation. There's no sin. Rather, in temptation, it's not the bait that gets you in trouble. It's the bite. It's what you do with that. So I'm just suggesting you that it's a battle. You're gonna have to fight that battle in your mind. So there is this battle of a conflicted mind. So here's what Paul said. When you are entertaining things that you shouldn't entertain in your mind. He said, in two corinthians, ten, five, bring every wayward thought into captivity. Now, let me use an old west illustration for you. It means the minute you have a jailbreak, the minute one of these thoughts get out of your mind, you get the posse together, and you round that thought up, you run that puppy down, you capture it, and you bring it back into bondage. Now, you may not be able to kill it, it may always still be there, but you don't let it roam free in your head. You just don't let it happen. Because most decisions that we make in life, we first of all rehearse in our headland. So catch it there. Cancel the dress rehearsal. When you find yourself rehearsing something that could be damaging to you or your family or your career, shut it down right there. Bring that thought into captivity. It's a battle, and you're gonna have to fight the battle every day, or you're going to lose the war. In fact, listen to Ephesians 617. Remember that famous narrative that talks about putting on the armor of God? You remember one of the things he said, take the helmet of salvation. The helmet of salvation. Protect your head. The enemy is going to attack the head. The first piece of the equipment that he talks about is cover your head. Make sure your head is covered. Make sure your thoughts are covered. Have you ever seen somebody make a bad decision? Or maybe one of your kids do something, and as a parent, the first thing you say is, what were you thinking? Right? I mean, that's what you want to know, because, you know, the little booger just did what they did because they thought about it. Or maybe they didn't think about it, did it? But anyway, the point is, it came out of their. It came out of their little mind. So we often use that expression, what were you thinking? And here's something, ladies, this is free. But here's something that's interesting. Men are gifted with the ability to completely turn off our mind. We can. Now, I haven't read scientific studies on it, but I think I could. I think most people would support this. Have you ever looked at your husband and you just wonder? He has a distant look in his eye, ladies. Or maybe your significant other. And you've said this. You've asked him this question, honey, what are you thinking? And you remember what he said? Nothing. Nothing. And how did you react to that? Made you mad, didn't it? Cindy Jean would ask me that. Honey, what are you thinking? I say, nothing. No, you're not. You're thinking about, honey, I'm thinking about nothing. Listen, let me help you ladies. When he tells you he is thinking about nothing, believe him, there ain't nothing going on. Right? Then you could put an ee k e k g. You could put whatever that thing is. It measures brain waves, and then it's going to be flatlined. It's a gift. It's a gift. You know why I know it's a gift? Because you ladies can't do that at all. Not even close. I was married to one of you. I know how it works. We be winding down at night. Soon, he's just bing, bing, bing. She's thinking about stuff and all this, making lists, and I'm over there chilling. Honey, I'm going to bed. How can you go to bed? We have so much to do. Honey, I'm tired. We got to make a list. Make a list? For the love of God, we don't make a list. Right. So it is a blessing when you can actually have a point in your life when you don't think about anything. And men, we have that ability. That's pretty cool, huh? Just to sit out there, stare at nothing and think nothing. So, women, I'm just trying to help you understand him, help you understand how you misunderstand him. So when he tells you that believing ain't nothing going on, it ain't personal, he's blanked out. Right? You can't do that. I'm sorry. And I get it, and that's why you get a lot of stuff done. But the point is, we don't have that ability. So you have the battle of a conflicted mind. Now I gotta hurt number two. You have the benefit of a changed mind, man. If you can just get into this routine of being willing to change your mind, there is an incredible benefit to this. Remember the story of the prodigal in Luke 15, how he made a series of bad decisions that landed him in a pig pen broke. I mean, just in bad condition. And the pivotal point of his life was when he had an epiphany. At the lowest point in his life, where the Bible says this about himself. He came to himself. He finally stopped to think about his life. And when he thought about his life, he said, I'm going to go back and I'm going to make things right. I'm going to get my life under control. I'm going to make some change. You know what repentance is anyway? The word in the Greek is metanoia. It means to change. It means to turn. There were theologians that actually had a big argument and debate about does salvation is a repentance constituted by turning from sin to the savior or turning to the savior from sin? I don't know why I'm pointing to sin over here. It has nothing to do with y'all. I'm just sin to the savior. Now we're even, right? It's two heads of the same coin. I know some people who came to Jesus because they were sick and tired of their life. They're just miserable. They had addictions and they had all this stuff going on and they're kind of like Solomon. They tried everything and they were unhappy. And so finally, in their misery, they turned to Christ. So they came to him from sin. I've had other people who. The thought of heaven, the love of God, the joy that he offers, it drew them in. And they came to Jesus. They turned to the savior from their sin. It was the attraction to the savior and not the repulsion of sin. So it's two sides of the same coin. Some people respond to light, some people respond to heat, and God will use whatever he can to try to motivate us to turn to him. So the idea here is, man, when you turn. And this prodigal, he said, mandy, I'm going to change my life. I'm going back to my father. I'm going to get this right, I'm going to repent. And the father welcomed him and received him and forgave him. We know the story, but I'm saying it all goes back to an epiphany in a pig pen. He changed his mind and it benefited everything about his life when he changed the way he was thinking. Here's the last thought. And then you see the blessings, the blessings controlled mind. I would tell you this morning, don't waste a brand new week with an old way of thinking. Begin the process this morning of getting in control of your mind. I gave you that Colossians three two a moment ago, where he said, set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth. Elevate your thinking. Think the best things. Paul would say in Philippians four. He said, if there's anything virtuous, if there's anything worthy, if there's anything good, think on these things. You can control how you think. When you find yourself thinking the negative and thinking destructive thoughts, force yourself to think good thoughts. And one of the best way to think the good thoughts is to inundate your mind with God's word. That's why the psalmist said, your word. Have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against God. Get some scriptures in your head. Recite them to yourself. When you feel lonely, recite that. Lord, you've said, I'll never leave you or forsake you. When you're going through a hard time, remember what Jesus said, don't let your heart be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also in me. So when you're overwhelmed by the remember, find a verse, commit it to your memory. Recite it often, and you'll begin to see how it can impact and begin to change the way you think. A great verse is in Ephesians, chapter four, verse 22. Paul said, put off. Put off. There's something you're in control of. Put off your former conduct, the old way of thinking, which is corrupt according to your deceitful lust. And then he said, but be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Change the way you think. I'll go back to our text where he said, don't be conformed. Don't be conformed to the thinking of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Listen, the most powerful thing you have, the most powerful thing you have this morning is your mind. That's where the battle takes place. And it gets worse at night. Have you noticed when you're going to sleep at night, you try to, you know, you try to think better thoughts and try to relax. And all of a sudden, man, it just seems like everything hits you at night. It's always worse at night. That's why the psalmist said, weeping will endure for a night, but joy will come in the morning. What happens in the morning? When the sun comes up, you get a new perspective. What seemed dark to you at one point in life, now there's light on that. Remember, metamorphosis is to be transformed, to be changed by light. And sometimes in the darkest of night, when you open God's word and let his light shine into your heart, it begins the process. You could begin to take those steps and what you struggled with. At one level, you now are able to master at the next level. And God is bringing you to a place where you are transforming your mind. And in the transforming of your mind, it changes your family, it changes your career, it changes everything about you. Remember, you go from one environment into the next. Head first. Let's change our mind. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you, Father. That your word is oftentimes just profound, man, we just have to stop and study and think about what it said, even comprehend it. Sometimes we just can't even comprehend it. It's so profound. Your word is practical. We walk away understanding. I can do this. I see how this could work for me. I can begin to put these changes. I'm going to start this week. And your word is powerful, you said it's sharper than a two edged sword. It has the ability to discern the. The thoughts, the mind and the intent of the heart. So, Father, help us this morning to comprehend how you want to transform our lives through renewing of our minds. Help us to partner with you. Help us to think about what we think about. And help us to realize that the preponderance of our thoughts will determine the people that we become. As we think in our hearts, so will we be. So, lord, I pray you'll give us victory. Help us to do a reset in the area of serenity. Father, use us today to make a difference. And father, I finally pray for my friends this morning or some watching online who may never have trusted you as savior. I pray this might be that moment when they simply say, Lord Jesus, with everything I know about me, I now trust all I know about you. Come into my heart. Forgive my sin. I receive you today as my savior. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. [00:35:29] Speaker A: Thank you so much for tuning in today. If you have any questions or prayer requests, please contact us by visiting metchurch.com so that we can follow up with you this week. We look forward to seeing you next week.