Mastermind: Training Your Mind
Introduction:
It’s all in your head. But what if that’s a good thing? Have you ever thought about winning the war in your mind? Most of life’s battles are won or lost in the mind. Our thoughts have power when we give them power. To win the war in your mind, you need to be able to identify the strongholds that are holding you back, name the truth that will demolish that stronghold, and renew your mind so, with the power of Christ behind you, you can rewire your brain to become the person God designed you to be.
Bottom Line: We like to focus on external change while God is focused on internal change.
Something To Talk About:
Change your thinking, change your life. Our thoughts are a powerful force for shaping who we are and who we can become. Learn how you can use your thoughts to unleash the Mastermind inside you. Consider the need to:
- Be observant: There are things in our life that we would like to change. That change often begins with the mind. Change requires us to be watchful for possible strongholds that the devil can use. It has been said, “we are what we think” and in today’s uncertain world many people have troubled thoughts about the present and the future. Several times in Scriptures the word “fix” is used by God to give direction. That direction is to keep our focus fixed firmly on God and His will. To be fixed on God requires us to not only be observant, but to take action. We cannot sit back and wait for God to occupy our thoughts and actions. Hebrews 3:1 says, “And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and are partners with those called to heaven, think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s messenger and High Priest.” Fixing our mindset requires fixing our thoughts on Jesus. There’s no substitute for the message of Jesus. People don’t suddenly turn or fall away from Jesus. They stop being observant and begin making small compromises, which cause them to slowly erode their thoughts from being firmly fixed on Jesus.
- Be diligent: Proverbs 23:7 says “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” In other words, what you think is what you are. The thought life controls you. Your mind, more specifically, your thoughts, affect your perception and, therefore, your interpretation of reality. I have heard that the average person thinks around 70,000 thoughts a day. When Solomon says to guard your heart in Proverbs 4:23, he implies that we are living in a combat zone. When God gets ready to change someone, he does it by changing how they think. God changes the thought process. We are the sum total of the thoughts that come in and go out of us. To control those thoughts we need to be diligent and remain planted in God’s word as David talks about in Psalm 119:9-11. “How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word. I have tried hard to find you—don’t let me wander from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Since temptation usually comes unexpectedly, we must be prepared for it. Being diligent isn’t a rushed process; it’s a slow yielding of ourselves to the truths we read as we discover how to apply them. Ask God to reveal the truth about Himself to you so you can think about Him accurately. Every day, read the Bible, asking the Holy Spirit to speak to you through its words.
Discussion Questions
- What do you think most distracts you from keeping your thoughts focused on truth?
- What do you think it means to “have the mind of Christ”? Do you think it’s possible to think of things like God does?
- Why is reading the Bible important for a Christ-follower? Do you find reading the Bible to be easy or difficult? If difficult, what are some ways that could make it easier?
- Is it possible to know a lot about Jesus without following Jesus? What’s the difference between the two?
- What does it look like to “fix your thoughts on Jesus?” (Hebrews 3:1) In your daily life, what are some practical ways we can obey this command?
- Read John 15:7 and Romans 12:1 -2. How can you see allowing the Word of God to abide in you transforming your mind?
- What do you think of when you hear the word “observant”? What are some practical ways we can be more observant?
- What do you think of when you hear the word “diligent”? What are some practical ways we can be more diligent?
- What are some ways God can change us starting with our mind? How can we restore faith, hope and purity in Him?
- What part of this message resonated with you?
- What can we do this week to put this message into practice?
Take one thing home with you.
We need to train our mind to fix the mind on Christ Jesus. It is easy to try to love God with our heart and forget about the mind. When we do that we are missing the important truth that the heart cannot love what the mind does not know because the way we know God truly in our hearts is through the right use of our minds. Training our minds requires a knowledge of Scripture. This is not an easy process. Understanding God’s Word like most skills of any value, requires discipline and patience. In today’s day and age we tend to look for shortcuts. But we should look at Bible study differently. We should view our study of the Bible like a savings account, an investment with a long-term payoff.