Silence Those Negative Thoughts
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Proverbs 4:23
Proverbs 4:23
welcome
recap so far…
we have talked about anxiety, depression, worry…all of this deals with our mental condition…which really stems from what?? our thoughts…= title
so…what do you say when you talk to your self?
not just like the normal stuff = dont forget the milk, remember to ask for no ice in your Childs drink at the restaurant (joke, if that sounded very specific i may or may not be talking from experience with that one…)
no im talking about the thoughts that are on repeat = the ones you keep saying to your self over and over again…
(Traffic—Idiots) (Morn—Too much do) (Night—Nothing done)
(Money—Always broke) (Mistake—Total idiot)
What do you say when you talk to yourself? (Why ask?)
What you say to yourself matters more than you can imagine.
lets look to scripture to back this up…
More than anything you guard,
protect your mind, for life flows from it.
another translations says it like this
23 Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.
preach on this…
psychologists would call this the law of cognition…
what is the law of cognition?
Law of Cognition—What you think impacts what you believe, which impacts how you feel, which impacts what you do.
Your life is always moving in the direction of your strongest thoughts.
pastor and author Paul Tripp = a well respected pastor says it really well
“No one is more influential in your life than you are, because no one talks to you more than you do.”
heard the saying “own worst critic”?
talk on this…
Some of you are talking yourself into a life that you hate.
today lets learn how to silcence those negative thoughts…(possible prayer)
How many of you would agree that, unfortunately, the world seems to be coming more and more negative? = bring up movies and shows today…
Chronic negativity, we could say, is becoming an epidemic that's poisoning people's mental health left and right…
its a massive problem And unfortunately, this isn't just a practical problem. At its root, in many ways, it's a spiritual problem.
And what I wanna do today is give you a couple of foundational thoughts that we'll come back to again and again.
I want you to recognize the incredible truth that your thoughts have incredible power.
good news is You have incredible power over your thoughts.
your thoughts have incredible power. but you have incredible power over your thoughts…
in fact paul tells us in the good word
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
Preach on this verse
so i have three goals for today they might seem ambitious and agressive but there are three goals i want to achieve here today with you.
The first thing I wanna do of the three things, number one, is I wanna show you why negativity is not only hurting you, but your family, your relationships, your marriage, your values, the direction in your life, your outlook, and on and on and on. I wanna show you why negativity is hurting you.
The second thing is I wanna do is try to help you identify a specific area of negativity in your own mindset.
And the third thing is by the power of God's Word, I wanna show you how with the help of God, through his Word empowered by his Spirit, we can change from that which is bringing death to life and peace.
so the first one here = understanding why negativity is killing us why is negativity so toxic?
We have what’s called—Negativity Bias
our brains tend to favor that which is negative
Neuroscience shows that
Negative events imprint on our brains more quickly and
linger longer than positive ones.
What spreads faster on SM? Positive/Negative? More clicks news app? (Bleeds/Leads)
let me prove it
say you have a presentation you have been preparing for like crazy your study for it designed the slides everything and the day comes you present your presentation and after people come up to you lets say 5 people compliment the presentation, you feel good you feel great and then one person comes and has a negative comment…= you will stew on that one negative one rather than the 5 good ones…truth right…
Chronic Negativity—Sends us into constant state—Fight—Flight.
Stress situation—God designed our brains release cortisol blood system it makes us More alert—More focused—Good—Until not.
Chronically Negative loop hole of negativity—Always feel like we are in danger.
Paul said it this way, "The mind governed by the flesh is death. But the mind governed by the spirit is life and peace."
What happens is when most of what you see online is negative, and most of what your friends say is negative, and most of what you say to yourself is negative, and most of what you hear about in the news is negative,
when you focus on the negative, what you're doing is you're creating negative neural pathways.
Focus on the Negative—Negative Neural Pathways.
Negativity becomes a habit.
News you consume —Shows watch—Music enjoy SM you spend hours—People you spend most time around
All this negativity creates an inner script that directs your life.
Your thoughts have incredible power—Have incredible power.
so our first goal was understanding why negativity is so toxic now I wanna now try to help you identify where you are most prone to negativity.
talk about studying for this and finding these four groups we can probably slot into…
Can’t defeat what you don’t define = so try and define yours…
Cynicism—a general distrust for people and their motives.
It's you can't trust people. They're gonna take advantage of you. Everyone is out for themselves.
All those people are this way. No matter what you do, they're looking out for their interests. Nobody's really generous.
Nobody's really benevolent. You can't really trust people.
Negative Filtering—Seeing what’s wrong. Overlooking what’s good/right. Assuming worst possible conclusion
Absolute Thinking—Polarize—All/nothing, black/white Let down—All bad. Mistake—Dumb. Disagree—write off.
If a man hurts you, all men are bad. If a woman lies to you, all women are liars.
If a Republican does something, all Republicans are that, all Democrats are this, or whatever.
If you make a mistake, it's like, oh, I'm just dumb. If you disagree with someone about an issue, you write the whole person off.
Blaming—Believing you’re always a victim. You don’t have any control. Life happens to you. Can’t do anything.
Can people shift?—New surgical procedure Exact same procedure—Diff frame—70% Success—30% Failure.
Can you change?—Yes—Doesn’t happen accidentally—Naturally.
How? David shows us what to do—Hit by avalanche of negativity.
lets build context
1 Sam 30—David & troops came home from battle Discovered enemy—Burned homes—Taken wives & children.
david thought this cant get Worse—David’s men blamed him—Plotted to kill him.
now lets look at 1 Sam 30.3-4
And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep.
heres the truth maybe some of us are there now your in such a state of darkness you just want to weep…
preach
read verse 6
And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
What did David say? Don’t know—Not told. Know what he said many other times—Talked to himself
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
preach
Anointed me as King—Chosen—Set apart Delivered me—Lion—Bear—Faith to fight Giant! Protected me from Saul’s spears
later in the chapter David says something
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
does this sound familiar?? maybe your thinking of it from here
But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
what about this one…
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
david said this a lot…
Didn’t make it up! God said first—Describing himself to Moses—Exodus 34:6“The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,”
David had not only meditated on that verse—Memorized it! Things got bad—Didn’t have to go looking for verse!
preach
speak on greatest tool or advice i can give
Greatest tool—Start acting like a COW!
Mouthful grass → Chews. Swallows. Throws up. Chew. Swallows. Why?—Every bit of nutrition.
super cool and probably really gross…
Ruminate—Meditate on God’s Word!
i have a good word for you today that hopefuly can begin to make your glad that you can meditate on
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
bring up Romans 8:5–6“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”
preach
Your thoughts have incredible power. And you have incredible power over your thoughts.
give you some words to meditate on
Cynicism (Bible paraphrased)
With God’s help, I will get rid of all bitterness and skepticism.
I choose to believe the best about others
and be kind, compassionate, and loving.
I will love and forgive others as Jesus has loved and forgiven me.
Negative Filtering
God, by your power, I take every thought captive
and make it obedient to the truth of Christ.
Because you are good, I choose to think on what’s good,right, true, helpful, and worthy of praise.
As I trust in you, your peace will guard my heart, soul and mind.
Absolute Thinking
As Jesus loved and accepted me, I will love and accept others.
Rather than always being right, I’m called to always be loving.
Rather than just making a point, I choose to make a difference.
In humility, I choose to love others above myself.
Blaming
God has given me a life and mind of my own.
By His grace, I will own my choices
and choose God’s best for me.
I believe I have been given everything I need
to accomplish everything God wants me to do today.
In Christ, I will overcome.
Your thoughts have incredible power. You have incredible power over your thoughts.
preach
HOLY SPIRIT TAKE OVER….