What's
on your mind?
What do you say when someone says you “A penny for
your thoughts?” Do you say what your thinking?
Or
what if they ask for your opinion? Do you actually state what your
thinking?
Before
we delve to far into our thoughts, we should define what it means to
think.
The
dictionary defines the word THINK as follows:
- to make judgements
- to have an opinion
- to understand
- to create a plan
- to consider seriously before making a decision
- to invent or imagine
In regards to these, you and I, ...we feel safe knowing
we are the only ones to know what goes on in our own minds. We, more
often then not, think about things that we shouldn't...such as
judgemental thoughts, jealous thoughts, angry thoughts, boastful,
prideful, hateful, lustful....the list can go on.
Since
no one sees our thoughts, I think we feel pretty safe.
But
there is two points in that prove that mentality of safety, is wrong.
- The First point is that we are not safe because what we tend to think, we eventually end up acting upon.
Let me put it
this way: what we think, becomes our attitude; and our attitude
becomes our actions.
When I was
3-5, I use to listen to a particular song; at the moment I don't
remember what the title of the song is, but the lyrics went like
this:
Becareful
little eyes what you see,
Oh,
becareful little eyes what you see.
For your
Father, up above, is looking down in love,
So,
becareful little eyes what you see.
The songs goes
on about
Becareful
little ears what you hear
Becareful
little feet where you go
Becareful
little hands what you do
Becareful
little mouth what you say
and the last
verse goes,
Becareful
little mind what you think.
- The second point that proves our justification of our thoughts is not safe, is that their IS someone who does know our inner thoughts....Our Heavenly Father.
Hebrews 4:13
says
"Nothing in
all creation is hidden from God.
Everything is
naked and exposed before His eyes,
and He is the
One to whom we are accountable."
Doesn't matter where we are, what we are doing, saying
or thinking; He knows.
And
our Father has told us to think carefully.
In
Haggi 1:5 and 1:7 (NIV) says
"This
is what the Lord Almighty says: Give careful thought to your
ways...”
The
Apostle Paul continues this by writting in 1 Corinthians 15:34
"Think
carefully about what is right, and stop sinning....."
So
what should we think about instead?
Excellent
question!
Let's
read Philippians 4:8
"And
now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing.
Fix
your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure,
and lovely, and admirable.
Think about
things that are excellent and worthy of praise."
And
in Hebrews 10:24, we read
"Let us think
of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works."
What Defines you?
Part 2
If you remember, we spoke about LOVE.
Love, or the lack of love, is the motivation behind any situation. It's an emotion. It's an action. It's a choice. God is love. He encompasses all the definitions of love.
But there is another four letter word in our language that is the opposite of love.
It can be put to any circumstance.
It can be the motivation behind an action.
It can determine a situation's outcome.
Like love, this word is an emotion; it's easy to feel.
It can be an action
It's a choice.
It can define who we are.
Any guesses on what this word might be?
This work is FEAR.
There are two main types of fear. Both types of fear are God made.
The first type is The Fear Of God.
God says, 'Do not fear'; but he also says 'Fear Me'.
The fear of God is the healthy fear. The easiest definition of this type of fear is: Respect.
The fear of God is not the fear we are discussing today.
We are discussing the second type of fear, Personal Fear....
Fear of the unknown.
Fear of rejection.
Fear of failure.
"I'll let so many people down if I fail. So I won't try....."
"He might not love me if I share my thought..."
"I might get fired if I share my belief...."
"If I go, something might happen...."
To some of us those seem like silly excuses; except to the person who thinks them. But let's reflect back over you own past week. Did you NOT do something because you were afraid of what the outcome MIGHT be?
There are two words that can be linked to fear.
IF and MIGHT.
They are the unknowns. Fear is unknown; it's the part we can't see, we can't control.
If you fear anything, let's read Proverbs 29:25
"Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting in the Lord means safety."
Turn to Psalms 118:6
"The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?"
2 Timothy 1:7 says
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline."
As a teen, I feared Silence. I was always listening to music. Always talking. Always making as much noise as possible. But God says '....be still....'. Because we shouldn't take any verse out of context, let's examine the full verse.
Psalms 46:10
"Be still and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world."
If we are busy. If we constantly talk or bombard our ears with noise, how can we hear God? How can we sit and read his word, if we're busy?
"Be still and know that I am God..."
Just like Love, Fear is a choice. Lot's of times, fear will hold us back. Won't allow us to speak up. To help others. For moving on emotionally or spiritually. Fear can cause us to feel as if we are in the darkest valley; when we are only in it's shadow. (Proverbs 23:4)
No don't take me the wrong way. There are times when we need to act fearfully. We need to use caution. Fear CAN be our motivation to our common sense. Let's read Proverbs 3:21-26
"My child, don't lose sight of common sense and discernment. Hang on to them,
for they will refresh your soul. They are like jewels on a necklace. They keep you safe on your way and your feet will not stumble. You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly. You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, for the Lord is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap."
Alright, let's put some common sense and discernment to this....I am a women; so....I don't walk, alone, at night, because it's dangerous. That is common sense.
God gave us a brain and He expects us to use it...for HIS glory.
If we give into fear...fear of what others my think....fear because we don't know what will happen...fear of rejection... How can we show God's love?
Fear, itself, is not a sin. Remember it's God made. It's our reaction to the fear that can cause us to sin, because NO action can be just as sinful as the wrong reaction.
My question to you is:
What defines you? Is love your action? Or is fear your reaction?
Proverbs 37:5
"Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you."
What Defines
you?
Part 1
We
have one word in our language that has a wide range in it's
definition.
This
word encompasses God.
It
extends to the good and to the bad.
It
can be put into any circumstance.
It
can be the motivation behind an action or your reaction.
It
can determine a situation's outcome.
It
is an emotion.
It
is an action
It
is a choice.
It
can define who we are.
Any
guesses on what this word might be? (wait for a response)
This
word, my friends, is LOVE.
To
define Love, let's look at the Bible
We'll
start at the beginning, where love originated. God. God created
love; and because God created love, He is Love.
1
John 4:7 & 8
“Dear
friends, let us continue to love one another, for loves comes from
God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone
who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” NLT
Since
He is love, He feels love, and He puts that emotion into us when He
created us; as we are created in His image.
Because
of His love for us, He put His love into action. He sent Jesus.
1
John 4:9 & 10
“God
showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the
world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real
love--not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as
a sacrifice to take away our sins.” NLT
If
we love Him, we will obey Him.
John 14:15
“If you love me,
obey My commandments.”
What is His commandments?
Romans 13:8-10.
“Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one
another. If you love your neighbour, you will fulfill the
requirements of God's law. For the commandments say, 'you must not
commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must
not covet.' These – and other such commandments-- are summed up in
this one commandment: 'Love your neighbour as yourself'. Love does
no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God's law.”
1
John 3:23
“And this is His command: we must believe in the
name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He
commands us.”
There's the emotion, and the action. We need to
love one another.
Let's
back up
1 John 3:18.
“Dear children, let's not merely
say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.”
Here is God asking us to do the same as He does. Not just feel the
emotion of love for each other; not just say we love each other, but
to put that love emotion into action.
What
does love in action look like?
Doing
good to others. (Luke 6:27-36)
Burning
coals of love. (Romans 12:20-21)
Sacrificial
love. (1 John 3:16)
Giving
to the needy. (1 John 3:17)
Don't
murder. (1 John 3:15)
Forgiveness
(Matthew 6:12, 14)
Our
actions and our reactions(1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
So
we are to love and show love to others by our lives, by our actions
and our reactions. We can choose to do any of these; but if we love
God, like we say we do, we will choose to love and obey Him (John
14:23 & 24)
Love, or the lack of love, is the motivation behind any situation.
It's
an emotion.
It's
an action, or a reaction.
It's
a choice
God
is love. He encompasses all the definitions of love, and He commands
us....expects us..... to love like He does. All encompassing.
Extra verses:
Ephesians
5:1 & 2
1
John 4:16 & 17
(a
question to leave with your congregation:
Is Love your Action? OR Does Love define you?)