When Unwanted Thoughts Come Knocking (Pop to Ponder)

Introduction

Happy New Year!

Today is family Sunday, we have the kids joining with us for service.

I need the kids to help me out with something.

To start off the sermon today, we are going to do a 10 second mental exercise, that we will use to help illustrate something important for our topic today.

Have kids give me a silly sounding animal and lets see how creative you can get (something like a polk-a-dot tiger)

Challenge: Your goal for 10 seconds is to do one thing

When I say “Go” all you have to do is not think of a …………….

If its in your mind at all at any time, even for a fraction of a second, you have to raise your hand.

This might have felt like a fruitless exercise? But it illustrates something I think we all can relate to.

You didn’t walk into church today thinking of “________”. Some of you walked in with things weighing much heavier on your mind.

You know what it’s like to fight the battle of unwanted thoughts knocking at the door of your mind.

Thoughts could be:

A fear

Bad things are going to happen to you.

Anxiety from different situation in your life

A lie

God doesn’t love you

Your parents are just out to get you

You are alone, and always will be.

A temptation

You need to lie about who you are so people will like you.

You should look at that or do this.

You fill in the blank….there are many examples of unwanted thoughts that try to force their ways into our minds.

Much like how it can be so hard to not think of a ………….., it can be so hard at times to get rid of unwanted thoughts.

So what do we do with that?

That’s what I want to talk about: What to do When Unwanted Thoughts Come Knocking

So if there is anything you want to change, or take control over in this next year…..it’s taking control of your thoughts…..here’s why this is so important.

Our thoughts have a lot of power…Because our thoughts often shape how we feel and how we feel often shapes our actions.

Imagine your lying awake at night, and the worry or fear starts creeping in as those thoughts start hitting you again…..you’re failing your kids, you’re not where you’re supposed to be in life, your marriage will never be what it could be anymore, your life is insignificant, you’re not smart or liked by anyone in your school.

What if you were to ponder on that and start believing it? How could it begin to shape your days, your choices, or even your relationships.

In Matthew 5, Jesus raised the stakes of what takes place in our minds when he taught that sometimes even sin doesn’t start with what we do, it starts with what we dwell on.

Satan is a headhunter, your mind is his battlefield, your imagination is his trophy. (Wayne Cordeiro)

Satan doesn’t need your allegiance…..he can do enough damage just by capturing your imagination.

Proverbs 4:23 “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”

Guard the things you think about, your desires, your choices.

Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.

If our thoughts have that influence over our lives…..

If my thoughts can produce or feed fear, anxiety, lust, doubt, hatred, anger, pride, bitterness…..even lead me into sin….

Wouldn’t you think it would be important to take control of our thoughts?

Here’s the difficulty:

As our little exercise at the beginning proved…..controlling our thoughts can be extremely difficult, specifically when it comes to “not thinking of something”

I told you not to think of a ……………, so what did you think of?

When unwanted thoughts come, it can feel impossible to “just stop thinking of something”

But here is where a distinction is important.

You can’t control what comes knocking at the door of your mind, but you can control what you let in.

You can’t control that thought that just pops up……you can control what you choose what to

ponder on

begin to imagine

think at length about

entertain in your thoughts

One of my favorite examples of this in Scripture is in 1 Samuel 30 with none other than King David.

King David

David and his men - 1 Samual 30:1-6

Background of story:

This is David who fought Goliath.

Before he became King over Israel David was a leader over a small group of men, and he would often lead them into victorious battles.

On one such occasion, they left their homes to fight in a battle.

But when they came back home…they came home to something terrible.

A situation had unfolded back at their home while they were away, and in the midst of tragedy, David gives us an example of how to face discouragement, how we face those unwanted thoughts.

That’s where this story picks up.

1 Samuel 30:1–6 “Now when David and his men came to Ziklag (their home) on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way. 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. David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 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.”

*Be vivid* Davids family was taken captive, his men’s families were taken captive, their homes destroyed, their possessions plundered, and now David’s men were talking about stoning David because they were so distressed and needed someone to blame.

Everyone’s emotions are high and their thoughts are running wild!!!

Just imagine with me for a second…..put yourselves in the shoes of David.

What are some thoughts you would think in this moment? What thought would be first to come knocking at the door of your mind?

God has abandoned me.

How could God let this happen? Does He have no control?

I’m alone….my family is gone, my men want to stone me, what if God has left as well.

God promised I would be King, but that will never happen.

I’m just a failure

I’ve let my family down, and my men down….how could I ever lead a nation?

Lies, discouragements, and doubts……would have been deafening to David in that moment.

But the end of verse 6 says something we need to pay attention to: But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

His situation didn’t change, he changed what he gave his attention to.

Who does the Bible say strengthened David?

It says that David strengthened Himself in the Lord his God.

His source of strength was God almighty, but he had to turn his attention to that source of strength.

Other translations of the the Bible says, “He strengthened Himself with Trust in the Lord his God.”

David didn’t have control over what came knocking at the door of his mind, but he did have control over what he let in……and in this moment of desperation, discouragement, and distress….he chose.

Trust

God’s promises over the Devil’s lies

God’s strength over our weakness

God’s direction over our confusion.

This is a part of renewing the mind.

And then David did something very important…he sought after God

1 Samuel 30:7–9 “And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. And David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.” So David set out…

He turned his mind to trusting and seeking God.

We aren’t going to read the rest of the story this morning, but God does come through in a big way for David and his men.

But regardless of the outcome David’s models for us how to not to be led by emotions, wild thoughts, reactionary decision making, but rather turning our attention to God!

So let’s make this practical….how might you do that or what might that look like.

Filling Your Mind

David was a man of war…and no military person ever goes to war without a strategy.

So if our mind is a battlefield…..

Do you have a strategy for your thought life? The war for your mind?

There was a social psychologist in the 1980’s that did studies on mental processes and he discovered something crucial.

To sum it up without using all of the psychological jargon, this is essentially what he found.

When you attempt to simply suppress negative thoughts (just get rid of them), it actually makes those thoughts more frequent and intense.

Earlier when we were doing the exercise, the more you tried to get rid of the thought, the more it persisted.

My experience with an intrusive thought as an early teenager.

Left me feeling shameful, fearful, hypocritical, out of control.

The solution this social psychologist found is simple: we have to replace or redirect our thoughts.

What psychology “discovered” Scripture has been saying all along:

Philippians 4:6–8 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

New age spirituality tells us we need to empty our mind…suppress our thoughts, the Bible tells us to fill our minds with:

The things of God

The promises of God

Good things

This is far from a self-help, just “think positive” message.

As a Christian, when you do this…you aren’t just filling your mind with good thoughts, you are exercising your faith and trust in God.

Just like how the Scripture said that David strengthened himself with trust in His God.

It is an exercise of faith

But more than that…..we have a helper.

1 Corinthians 2:16 ““For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”

We have access to His way of thinking, because we have the Holy Spirit living in us.

The Holy Spirit is not just empowering us to live right, but also to think right.

But what if that thought keeps knocking? What if it keeps popping into my head, even as I fill my mind with Godly thoughts.

You keep doing it….even when it feels like it isn’t working….why?

You eventually become what you give your mind to. PAUSE

As you replace unwanted thoughts with God’s truth. You cut new neural pathways that eventually take root in the neurobiology of your body itself.

It becomes a part of you.

Application

So let me end with a simple thought check you can use anytime an unwanted thought comes knocking.

Before I we get into this, I want to be very clear about a couple of things

Firstly, this is not a one-size fits all circumstances kind of thing.

It is not a replacement for counseling or therapy if it’s needed.

It is not a replacement for accountability or confession.

This is just one tool of many tools we can use in taking control of our thought lives.

Secondly, this is not meant to minimize our losses or to be a suppressor of our emotions

In the passage we read, it says that David and his men wept until they were exhausted with weeping, and then he sought God

We need to mourn our losses, we can’t suppress our emotions or pretend hardship didn’t happen.

This exercise can be helpful specifically in combatting the lies of the enemy when he tries to take advantage of your weakness during times of loss and intense emotion

But it is in no way meant to minimize our losses or emotions

Alright, so let’s jump into this

Thought Check

I got this exercise from another Pastor…..he said to ask yourself three questions (write them down):

What’s the thought?

What’s the lie beneath the thought?

What’s the truth of Scripture?

Example:

What’s the thought?

Write down that intrusive thought.

I messed up….I’m a bad kid….I do the wrong things a lot.

Now it might be true that you messed up or did a bad thing…but often times there is a lie that will try to attach itself to that.

What’s the lie beneath the thought?

It might be different for different people

I’m messy, so God can’t love me. I’m defined by my mistakes. I’ll always be messed up.

What’s the truth?

Write out a Scripture that counters the lie, and then turn your mind to the truth

Romans 8:38–39 “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

One more example just to solidify:

Thought - Afraid to get involved or join a team or church

Lie - You don’t have anything to offer…..others could do it much better than you. You don’t have the time.

Truth - 1 Corinthians 12 talks about the importance of every member of the body of Christ.

This is an exercise we can do in faith all throughout the day

What has been your unwanted thought this week?

What is it that consumes your mind, where you need to strengthen yourself by trusting God?

Every time that unwanted thought comes into your mind, don’t fight it head on just change the channel.

Direct your attention to the truth of Scripture and go about your day.

If the thought comes back three seconds later, turn to the same scripture, again and again.

Those thoughts that knock at the door don’t define you and they don’t have to lead you, it’s what you do with it.

So keep at it....be disciplined....you are not helpless.....you are not a hopeless victim.....you are son and daughter of God......and the Holy Spirit helps us renew our minds and continually gives us the mind of Christ!

Salvation

Let’s stand together.

If you’re here today—or listening online—and you’ve never placed your faith in Jesus, I want to invite you into something far greater than just the renewal of the mind.

Because Jesus doesn’t just offer us a new mind…..he offers us a new life.

In fact, the renewal of the mind really starts when we are given new life.

Jesus said it like this when talking with a religious leader named Nicodemus….he said you must be born again.

We are born once physically, but we also need a spiritual birth.

Because no matter how much we try to change ourselves, change our thinking, change our actions….none of that will get us any closer to God or to heaven.

There is only one way to God, and that’s through Jesus and being born again.

So how can we be born again?

Being born again is as simple as ABC.

Admit - Sinner in need of a savior

I don’t just need a new way to think. I need a new life that can only come from a divine intervention.

Believe - Jesus died and rose again for you sins.

Confess - Jesus as Lord of your life.

If you have never been born again, I want to invite you to pray this prayer with me. Let’s all pray this together so no-one has to pray alone.

Salvation Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus I believe you're the son of God. I believe that on the cross you took my sin, my shame, and my guilt, and you died for it. You faced hell for me so I wouldn't have to go. You rose from the dead to give me a place in heaven, a purpose on earth, and a relationship with your father. Today Lord Jesus I turn from my sin to be born again. God is my father, Jesus is my savior, the Holy Spirit is my helper, and heaven is my home. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, we would love to know about it, and to connect with you and provide some next steps for you.

Connect Table

As we get ready to go into our closing worship song….if battle of the mind has been especially strong in your life, and your would like prayer, I want to invite you to come to the front at the altar.

A pastor or Elder will pray with you.