Terry Swanson: All right, I decided to give a lot of Scripture. And for time's sake, it's pretty much all on the paper. Though I want you to take your Bibles and turn to Matthew 16 and have that ready.

Matthew chapter 16. It's imperative that we conclude on time so that you can get to another session and other people will be able to come here. Matthew chapter 16.

There's over 200 verses in the Bible, well over 200 verses, that talk about thinking or thoughts, imaginations. There's a lot in the Bible. Sometimes just showing what people are thinking.

It's pretty interesting. And so on your paper here, the problem is described in some ways. Look already in Genesis 6, 5.

It says, And God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. You know, God doesn't tell us in Genesis 6 everything that was happening.

He said the thinking was way wrong. What do you think was happening? Must have been really bad then right must have been really bad

Because it begins with the thoughts Somebody once said that thoughts become words and words become actions Actions become who we are

It all begins in the thought frankly all of the other sessions that are dealing with various things like technology and In other other factors bitterness it all begins as a thought doesn't it? Something went wrong in our thinking once somebody tell me what is a thought?

What is the thought I don't know I've never had one I've I've been waiting for one and and when I have my first one I'll call you and let you know I'll text you and say here.

Here's what it is now. What's the thought? What is a thought?

Of what's going on in your brain Stephen says okay, that's a start. That's good a thought what is it? If you've ever had a class with me, you know that keeping your hand down is not safety

Actually putting your head down is not safety. I'll you'd be the first one called on So I have an idea what is a thought

How would you define it look we have so many in the day hundreds maybe maybe more and Yet we don't even we can't even explain what it is. Oh

You know this is terrible. We're all locked up. Are you thinking right now?

Are you thinking I haven't a thought? What is it? What are you doing?

Is it? That's what I'm asking you. What is it?

Yes. An unspoken, before we even speak, an idea. What's an idea?

It's a thought. What is it? Imagination.

Okay. Good. Yes.

Okay. Good, good, good, good. Good, good.

Somebody else. where they come from where do they come from yes are they you are your thoughts you can you ever say oh where'd that come from that's not me at all can you say that can't say that can you

Me who it is our thoughts The very seed that plants the tree. It's the very beginning and it's who we are

Notice here Psalm 10 verse 4 the wicked through the pride of his countenance will not seek after God God is not in all his thoughts in all You know sometimes we're satisfied if God is part of some of our thoughts like when I go to church.

I think a lot about God Yeah, what do you think about the rest of time? What did that just say?

That a wicked person is one who his life is that God is not a part of all of his thoughts I remember coaching soccer a number of years ago. This is kind of illustrated

I coached high school soccer in the state of Pennsylvania, and it was a really good team great big Christian school over 400 students and One year I was out there. I was teaching at guys and you know, these great big soccer players that we had in high school

I was saying guys you got to play for the glory of God. You just need to play for the glory of God And they went down on the field and they were playing and doing things and a mother of about three of our players

Some of our top players this mother, you know, she pulls up in a vehicle. She'd heard me say it and she said very sincerely She said

do you? And I was stunned. Whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all.

But here's the thought that, you know, God is part of my life sometimes. Like when I'm in Sunday school, I think about God. But if he's not part of all of your thoughts,

then guess what? Then we're probably going, why do I think this way? And I'm sick of thinking

about that. I got junk in my mind because God is not a part of all of your thoughts. Double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.

All right, Isaiah 55, 8, 9, for my thoughts, God said, are not your thoughts. That's a shame.

Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts?

How do we get God's thoughts? I'll tell you, we had God's thoughts. Wouldn't it clear up some things?

We didn't have all that junk. You say, well, I guess I'm just going to have that junk for the rest of my life because, you know,

I did this wrong, and I started on this, and I clicked on that, and I've seen this, and I've done this so many times,

and I'm just stuck. It doesn't have to be that way. You know, Jesus died on the cross

to deliver us from that. And when he said it is finished, he brought victory. And so we're going to talk about that.

Galatians 6.3, for if a man think himself to be something, when he has nothing, he deceives himself. Our thoughts have a tendency to deceive us.

Even that very thing right there. Well, I can't possibly do right. I can't possibly get victory in this area.

Well, perhaps you've tried the wrong thing. Notice now the solution. We've already dealt with a problem there.

Your next blank is the solution. I want you to look at Psalm 3311 here. We're just reading down through.

The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. Does God think?

Does God think? You sure? Why would he need to think?

I don't know. We're creating the image of God. Maybe we think because he does.

Does God think? that's what we're talking about here. Psalm 33, 11.

Psalm 40, verse 5. Right there, we're still on the front page. Under the solution.

Right here. Everybody stay with me now because we're going to have to move really fast.

Psalm 40, verse 5. Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done,

and thy thoughts which are to us worth. Psalm 92, verse 5. O Lord, how great are thy works

and thy thoughts are very deep. God thinks, Psalm 139, 17, how precious also are thy thoughts unto me.

Isaiah 14, 24, the Lord of hosts has sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass.

And as I have purposed, so shall it stand. By the way, that presents really what's going to happen in our own life.

Our thoughts become words. Our words become actions. Our actions are who we are.

That's our character. But it began with our thoughts. Notice here, Jeremiah 29, 11,

For I know the thoughts, God said, that I think toward you. God thinks. Zechariah 8, 14 and 15,

For thus saith the Lord of hosts, as I thought to punish you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, So saith the Lord of hosts, and I repented not.

So again, have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem? Philippians 2.6, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, he thought.

Let's turn the page and go to point number one. Okay, we've given you some scripture on thinking. We're thinking about thinking.

That's brilliant. Okay, now we're going to get to some solution here in the time that we have. And I know that's what you came down here for.

Number one, to get honest. To get honest. We just heard a little bit about honesty and how important it is.

Listen, young people, if you are burdened about your thought life, and frankly, every human being is in the same boat. Okay, let's just get that right away.

You're not unique, and you think, oh, I'm worse than everybody, and okay. No, no, no. Every human being has a sin nature, has a problem with their thoughts.

Sin starts in our thought processes, and everybody is a sinner. So we're all in the same boat. The first thing, but I'm going to say this right now.

If you're not willing to get honest with God about your thoughts, you will not have a solution to this. You could just go right now up to another session and say, okay.

If you're not willing to get honest. A, to get honest about the needs in my thought life. Notice Proverbs 23, 7, and the first half of that verse says,

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. Nobody made you think the way that you think. Nothing that you looked at has put that junk in your mind.

I'm going to get to that. You say, what? Really?

Let me say it again. Nothing that you have looked at, nothing that you have seen or that somebody else has said to you, say, well, I think the way I do it because of the people I hang around with.

I'm telling you, that's the wrong way of thinking right there. That's not honesty. It's not consistent biblically.

You just said something that the Bible says the opposite. it and and God said your thoughts are not my thoughts so you got to start thinking right and we're gonna use the scripture to do that for as he thinketh in his heart so is he your thoughts

are you that's who you are a W toeser put it this way what we think about when we are free to think about what we will that is what we are or what we will soon become I'll say it again what we think about when we are free to think about what we will he said that is what we are

or what we soon will become mark chapter 7 in verses 21 through 23 now you got to get this for from within out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts where are they coming from you say well I read this book or I saw this okay well you're

probably involved in what somebody else is thinking but what are you thinking for example you picked up a book or you started to watch something or you looked at something that was obviously out of somebody else's heart so they posted it

online or they wrote a book about it or they took a picture of it or whatever there it is now the question is what are you thinking because if you're thinking I'm not going to be involved in that then you're gonna get rid of that thing

you're right now you're gonna shut it down you're not gonna look at it but invariably I find young people for example we just heard about it they click on it I wonder what that is you already knew what that was you know you had a

clue and you clicked why well that verse tells us because of what's in your heart don't blame it on somebody else the computer didn't do that your iPhone didn't do that you did that notice there's a big long list of what the Lord

Jesus in Matt Mark 7 says comes out of the heart adulteries thefts covetousness wickedness deceit lasciviousness an evil eye blasphemy pride foolishness all these evil things come from within and defile the man or the young lady notice

the very first one on the list evil thoughts that's it now I'm trusting you came down here because you were burdened about it I don't know maybe the classrooms were full but I trust you came down here and said God I need

something here then you got to get honest it's not blaming just we just heard this is perfect blame shifting we'll get nothing accomplished all right B to get honest first of all about the needs in my thought life to get honest about my thoughts being known it would be very important for us to

get honest about this, Job 42.2, I know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withheld from thee. Do you know why we think, you know, listen, don't we think that our thoughts are

private? Don't we think that way? Like nobody can know.

We could be thinking about the worst thing in the world, and, you know, and a preacher walks up to us right then and says, hey, how you doing? what you thinking about oh I was just going over some verses and stuff and

thinking through some theology on soteriology and hermitology and yeah because they're so private we think yeah we think they're private they're not private Psalm 139 – David said thou know what's my down sitting in my uprising

thou understandest my thought afar off. Just as we're thinking, God is.

He knows it. Matthew 9, 4 is one verse out of the New Testament.

I could have picked a whole bunch of them that says something like this. And Jesus,

knowing their thoughts, said. And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, he knew their thoughts.

He knew their thoughts. He knew them. They were thinking and he

could hear it. Don't explain it to me.

I don't know. this is what he did he knew their thoughts he knows yours you can't hide him it's not private we got to get honest God you you know what I'm thinking that

thought I just had you knew that we got to get honest about that number two Roman numeral 2 to get help to get honest to get help a in prayer Psalm 139 we go back there it says search me Oh God I know my heart try me and know my thoughts

you know David there is asking God to get involved he's pleading in prayer God God I've got a problem in my thoughts it led to the problem with Bathsheba and God I want you To come down here and deliver me.

I need you on this. I can't do it myself. I've tried

You've got to get honest in prayer You got to get help also in the Bible Hebrews 4:12 and 13 Interesting passage here for the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword

piercing even the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and Intents of the heart The Word of God

Have you ever asked the Lord to use his word in this area God use your word to reveal what's wrong in my thinking? Maybe not just the junk that I think about but the conflict that I have with my parents or other people my siblings are part of a wrong thought process.

God, would you use your word to reveal to me because you said your word is a discerner of my thoughts. Should I be treating my siblings this way?

Get a verse on it. Should I be treating my parents this way? Get a verse.

And let the word of God show you where your thinking is wrong. In prayer and in the Bible. Roman numeral three.

Then we need to take action. Don't sit around wait for God to strike you with lightning here to purify everything that went wrong Here's what we need to do a

We need to take action by removing any source of corruption now. This is a huge deal This is huge and let me just give you a quick illustration

Let's suppose that you had an app on your phone and you know that through that app you have seen things it's the I don't know the the iStore, the music store.

It's whatever on your phone. It's where you check your sports scores. It's, you know, it's by itself.

It doesn't seem so bad, whatever that app is. But you know that there's every so often a glimpse of something that you see. You know what I'm talking about, don't you?

Do you know? It's there. What do you think God wants you to do?

Listen, what do you think Jesus would have done? What do you think the pure one? Maybe that maybe that football is just too important to you

Maybe the way you where you get your tunes. That's just so I'm gonna weather all those little jacket Pictures there they got us thumbnail pictures, and I'll scroll through them really fast

I'm telling you if you don't get the junk out of there. You cannot expect to have a pure thought life Because you're still connected to stuff that's bringing the junk in that allows you to think it out.

I wonder, you ever gone to a refrigerator here at home? Maybe your mom's not here. You go and you smell something in there, like something that went south a long time ago.

Man, whoa! What's in there? I hope we're not having liver for supper.

I mean, that's what it smells like. It's nasty. Okay, you know that there's something corrupted in there, don't you?

What do you do ignore it? What happens if you ignore it? You know that smells not going away until you get in there pull everything out find what is it what spilled in there?

What got caught in there? What's what's nasty and get that out of there? If you're not willing to dump the junk

Even though that app might be otherwise, uh, you know mostly a good thing You know satan loves to attach to seemingly wholesome stuff,

and he loves to attach something that's wicked. And then we just marginalize it and get away. Okay, I'll be all right.

And he's feeding your mind with junk, stuff that's in there, and you're choosing to hang on to it. You're watching the news, you're checking the news out,

and there's junk in there. It's not that important. What's important is that you have a pure mind.

Isaiah 55 7 let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord Matthew 5 29 says and if thy right hand offend thee pluck it out that's how serious God is about it if thy right eye offend thee pluck it out and cast it from thee

for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish and that not that whole body should be cast into hell. That judgment would come upon

you, punishment somehow. Maybe not hell itself, but God's chastening on you.

He says it's a serious matter. Alright, point B. Take action

not only by removing any source of corruption, but by placing the entirety of your life in God's hands.

Entirety. Proverbs 16.3 says, commit thy works unto

the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established. Interesting. You've

trying to establish your thoughts without committing your works to the Lord. What does that look like? The word commit here means to roll a big stone.

It's really an odd thing. The word commit means to roll a big stone over. It means to place the weight onto.

Casting all your care upon him. Come unto me, all you that labor in heavy light, and I will give you rest. It's time to put the entirety of your life, not just your Sundays,

Wednesday night prayer meeting, it's time to put the entirety of your life in God's hands. All of it, including your thinking process and your apps and where you surf the internet. All of it.

Say, God, it's all yours. I am yours. Commit thy works unto the Lord.

Colossians 3, if you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand again of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

Notice point C here. B, by consistently denying ourselves of those wrong thoughts. 2 Corinthians 10, 5 and 6, casting down imaginations.

That means that now that you've cleaned up your apps, you've decided I'm not going any longer to that news source. That football thing is gone.

I'm not watching that on TV. I'm getting rid of this stuff, and I've cleaned that up. Then when thoughts come, you cast them down.

Verse 5 there, 2 Corinthians chapter 10. You cast them down and you say, that's not who I am. And you deny yourself those thoughts.

You deny them. You cast them down. It's an action.

You take that step. You sit there and enjoy it. And you'll have it.

And it'll become you. You make a decision. You get your store cleaned up.

You get your phone cleaned up. You get all that cleaned up. And then you say God I want a clean mind

And if a thought comes you cast it down. That's what the Bible says Verse 23 of Matthew 16, I'll let you go but he turned and said unto Peter get thee behind me Satan

Thou art an offense unto me for thou savor us that word right there is about thinking Peter your thoughts are in the wrong place

Your affections frankly, it's the same word that's found above in Colossians 3 verse 2 Set your affection. That's the same word

for net Oh Savorous, what are you savoring you say God there's that thought I'm not savoring that anymore you cast it down Out loud if you have to I'm serious about that.

I'm not going there anymore That's what you do But if you've still got a source that's feeding you junk, that won't work.

Participant: It's just an ongoing process then.