The Created Mind

Review

Turn to Psalm 139:13-17.

Last week we were reminded that all of us have the same battle within us - a battle for the mind. We learned that the way we think is critical because it will affect how we live. We learned that our culture sets us at a disadvantage. We do not live in a thinking culture. We are not taught how to think, we are simply told what to think. We learned that God desires to change us from the inside out to be like Jesus, but, very practically, we must intentionally change how we think. We must think biblically.

Message

Has anyone ever said to you, "A penny for your thoughts?" There are times in life when it would be interesting to be a mind-reader. God, however, never has to wonder what's on your mind; He already knows. - What’s On Your Mind, Dr. John Goetsch, page 3

The Bible gives us many examples of this in Scripture:

Next slide here:

Genesis 6:5 KJV 1900

And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

In the days of Noah, God looked down at the earth and saw man’s wicked behavior, but He saw deeper than that. He saw that every nuance of every thought in every person was thoroughly evil.

Next slide here:

1 Chronicles 28:9 (KJV 1900)

And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts:

How can God see our thoughts? Think of the character of God.

He is infinite. We cannot fully comprehend Him.

He is all-knowing. He knows everything that there is to know.

But let’s go even more basic than that:

He is the Creator. Realizing this brings us to the first basic truth that we must believe about our minds:

Next slide here:

Our minds are designed creations - Psalm 139:13-17.

Read Psalm 139:13-17.

God is the architect and creator of all things, including our minds.

John 1:3 KJV 1900

All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Now, you may know that your mind is a designed creation of God, but let’s carry that belief to its logical conclusion. Here’s what I mean:

Read this slowly:

Application: If our minds exist as the result of a random evolutionary process, then you can think however you want. Your mind can be an open playground where you can think whatever you want. Your mind can be like a sandbox where you have the freedom to think whatever thoughts you wish - good, bad, and ugly. That is true if we slowly evolved out of some green, bubbling soup billions of year ago.

But if your mind is a designed creation of God, then you are accountable to Him for how you use it. You are accountable for how you think.

When I served as a counselor at Servant’s Heart Camp, I remember vividly a conversation that I had with a junior camper one time. He believed that homosexual behavior was sin, but that thoughts and fantasies of that nature in his mind were perfectly fine. He didn’t see a problem with it as long as it remained in his mind.

Jesus said that if a man looked on a woman and lusted after her, he has commited adultery already in his heart.

2 Corinthians 10:5 KJV 1900

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Like I said last week, we don’t often think much about how we think, but we need to. Your mind is designed by God and He cares so much about how you think that He tells us in Scripture what to think on.

Our minds are designed creations, secondly…

Next slide here:

Our minds are under a divine control - Isaiah 55:8-9.

When I say that our minds are under a divine control, I don’t mean that we are like string puppets where God is manipulating our minds. No, we have the ability to make choices. What I mean is that our minds are subjected to a divine boundary. We are finite in our knowledge and understanding. Our minds have this innate boundary that God has placed us under.

Turn to and read Isaiah 55:8-9.

God is infinite in His thoughts and ways! We are made in the image of God. We are made far higher than the animals, but we still have a boundary that limits us.

Having finite minds is actually a great blessing. Imagine having a sin nature and being infinite in understanding. It would be a very destructive combination. Sometimes, however, people are tempted to resent the fact that they cannot fully understand God.

“I can’t understand God so I won’t believe in Him.”

“I can’t understand why a good God would allow something bad in my life, so I won’t believe in Him.”

Application: Christian, “Don’t let what you can’t understand weaken your faith.” - What’s On Your Mind, Dr. John Goetsch, page 11

How do you respond to the fact that you can’t fully understand God? Does that become an excuse to push God away? Or does it cause you to embrace Him more? Your mind cannot fully understand God - that’s a good thing. Embrace that reality about your Heavenly Father and choose to trust Him because He is infinite.

The first basic truth we must believe about our minds is that our minds are designed creations. The second is that our minds are under a divine control. The third is that…

Next slide here:

Our minds can make deliberate choices - Genesis 39:7-10.

Turn to and read Genesis 39:7-10.

As our minds receive, process, and store information, “God has given us the ability to make choices about that information.”

Joseph made a clear to choice to say, “no” to Mrs. Potiphar.

The ability to make deliberate choices is different than pre-wired instinct. It’s one way in which we are distinct from the animal world.

Most birds build nests. Why? Is it because one day they emerged from the primordial soup and decided to start building nests in trees? No, that’s the instinct that God has hardwired into them.

There’s a chipmunk that I occasionally see from my office window. I’ll see him run up and down the sidewalk collecting food that he tucks into his cheeks until they are bulging. He’s not doing that because he had a lightbulb moment one day and decided to start carrying his food around in his oversized cheeks. No, that’s his instinct.

Application: You, my friend, are different. You have the ability to make deliberate choices in what you think and do. You can choose what to think about. I fear, though, that most of the time we are not at all deliberate or intentional about what thoughts we allow to stay in our minds.

You see, temptation is when a bad thought pops into your mind. Sin happens when you decide to entertain that thought.

“Pastor Tim, have you ever tried to stop thinking about something?”

Yes, I have, and that’s not how the mind works. You can’t get rid of thoughts, but you can replace them. That is the key to resisting temptation. When you are tempted with a thought that doesn’t please God, immediately replace it with a thought that does! That’s intentional thinking!

Mrs. Potiphar continually tempted Joseph, but he did not sin because his response was a continual “no.”

“Solomon of old understood well the power of choices and advised his son, ‘…if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.’ (Proverbs 1:10)” - What’s On Your Mind, Dr. John Goetsch, page 11

Application: All of us can choose what to think on. Sometimes, health needs and medications may influence our minds, but we must realize that God has designed our minds with the ability to make deliberate choices. We need to exercise that ability and choose to think in a manner that pleases God.

May each of us be like the psalmist in Psalm 19:14 when he prayed, “Let the words of my mouth, And the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”