Gotta Catch Em All

Introduction:

There is a kids card game where the theme is Gotta Catch Em all. I’m sure some of you if not all of you know about it and have possibly heard this them from the Pokemon Card Game. The theme song is Gotta catch them all. It’s a Role playing game with cards where you catch the Pokemon (creatures) and you train them to fight pokemon battles in tournaments to win against opponents. In July of 2016, and electronic on your phone version of this game came out called Pokemon Go where you could take your phone and walk all over your town, house in search of random pokemon that would pop up on your screen and you could catch Pokemon for your team in a digital sense on your phone. This was a mess. There were fatalities to this being a live action game people were so focused on the game they ignored cars and other life threatening problems. There is a death tracker for pokemon go on the internet and world wide the statistic for deaths from this game just from people not paying attention to their surroundings and the game in stead is said to be 256 deaths, 150,000 traffic accidents. That’s crazy. Even a report in California where two men in their early 20s fell off a cliff that was 50 to 90 feet down trying to play the game and were not paying attention and got suverly injured.

You might ask what does this have to do with the sermon tonight?

The title of this sermon is “ Gotta Catch em all” And the all is our thoughts. If we concentrated on catching our thoughts the way millions of people play this game we would be able to renew our minds. Keep ourselves from having to uproot bad theology, negative opinions, wrong judgments, sinful thoughts that lead to sinful actions, thoughts that beat us up, thoughts that form opinions of others, and i’m sure you can think of other things you might struggle with.

Romans 12:1–8 NKJV

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

I added more verses because i wanted to bring to your remembrance that we have already talked about being a member of the Body of Christ. Here in these verse before the Apostle Paul even ever mentions our roles in the body of Christ he encourages us to be renewed in our minds. Its it possible that this is important not only to us individually but also to the church as a whole that we can’t be like the world we have to constantly look at our thoughts and evaluate them based on if they line up with the kingdom of heaven or do they line up with the world

We are influenced by the world

The world is anything that does not line up with the word of God.

When the verse says do not be conformed to this world it is talking about anything outside of the kingdom of heaven. This world is not my home. My home is in heaven with God. I am an ambassador for the kingdom of heaven a representative of God’s order and righteousness on this earth. Anything that culture does contrary to the word of God I am not to be influenced by.

The bible says that lots of things that are widely accepted by the world are not okay that in fact they are sins and to be celebrated and exulted above God’s holiness. For example along the same lines are the definition of marriage has been changed in our culture and when that change occured it opened up lots of ways to redefine what God says a husband and wife are.

There is now common law marriage for if you live with someone you can get divorced and divide property you have to live together for 2 years in our state to claim common law marriage.

There is same sex marriage.

There is also a movement for polygamy to be able to marry more than one wife or husband. Somerville, Massachusetts broadened their law on domestic partnerships in July of 2020 being the first city to recognize more than one partner.

I mean it might be nice to have two husbands to have two incomes so i can stay home. Just kidding.

That is just an easy example of how the world looks diffrent than the kingdom of heaven. The worlds definition of marriage no longer lines up with what God’s word says about husband and wives and there are churches that have adapted to the culture in some of these areas instead of holding what the Lord God says marriage is supposed to look like. He created the first man and woman to be connected and show the very first example of what God meant for humanitly.

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Genesis 1:27 NKJV

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

God created both sexes to be a complete image of God. Thus them coming together in marriage is the ultimate example of the image of God.

The world literally says you do not have to be defined by these sexes. Male and female. You can be neither, you can be an animal as your species. you can anything you want to be not what the truth is and not what God created you to be. You have all heard the other day when i was upset being a woman preacher that if God had made me a man it would have been so much easier for me. I never once thought about changing and just calling myself a man because it was easier only because God created me as who he wanted me to be.

I could talk all night on examples of how the kingdom of heaven and the world are so much diffrent, and the older i get the more and more they are miles apart.

The world is growing farther and farther away from the will of God.

Don’t be conformed ( behave according to socially acceptable contenions or standards or be similar) to this world by be ye transformed by the renewing of our mind.

Our mind is a thinker. It invoulntarily controls all of our movements, our breathing and some of our body functions we don’t have to think about. Voulnatirly we with our mind will and emotions control our bodies and our actions and our mouths.

Have you ever thought about how you are breathing and then it takes a little bit for the invoulntary control to take back over where you are breathing and you don’t think about it any more. I really hate it when i do that cause it’s like one of those bad blonde jokes. The one where the head phones she is wearing is telling her to breath in and out. I am just like that if i do deep breaths and think about how i’m breathing for quite some time.

When i move my arm. I thought about moving my arm and then my brain sent a message to my arm to move it. The brain is constantly sending messages whether they are invoulinarty or voulintary. I think and think and think.

Everything we do begins with a thought.

Making a to do list begins with a thought.

Getting up in the morning and planning out our days. Knowing what task to preform next at our job.

Making plans begin with thoughts.

Not all thoughts are bad thoughts.

Thinking is how we move through life.

We don’t put anything into action we have not first thought about. We think about the clothes we wear we think about what we are going to eat for dinner. What we want to get done. What chore needs to be done and then we decided if we are going to do that chore or take a nap or move one task or another to the next day. We think, we have thoughts, we make decisions based on those thoughts and then we put them into action.

Sin always begins with a thought.

Most of the time we have thought about it before we have done the offense or committed the sin.

I’m in love begins with a thought or maybe an infatuation that grows into a love.

We have evil thoughts and good thoughts and generous thoughts and selfish thoughts. Lazy thoughts and ambitious thoughts. We could literally label every thought we have in a category.

Renew our mind with the word of God

Philippians 4:8 NKJV

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Meditate think on these things.

The word of God is the key to renewing our mind.

RE think . Did you know that your brain is not stuck the way it is? The brain is an every changing organ that it can regrow neuro pathways. You can re learn, re grow diffrent areas of your brain. Of course men didn’t need scientists to tell them thins they have been watching women change their minds for ages. lol

So when this scripture says REnew your mind. God knew that we could renewing our mind. Changing our beliefs, changing our thoughts, and training us to think more like Jesus it was more than possible with God its how he made our brains. I hope to get into this in more detail in later sermons on Wed night and go into more depth here on this subject. Bisho turned me on to a lady named Dr. Caroline Leaf “Switch on your Brain” and i have been reading her books and working through some of her methods and she says exactly this that you can make the decision to change your mind literally. Can you imagine if we memorized more scripture and all the words of the Bible where in our mind constantly how much more would we not sin against him. Scientist have always said as much as i can remember in science class that we don’t even use the full compasity of our brains. It is thought that we only use 10 percent of our brains even thought they say our whole brain is active they still are unsure as to how much is actually used. I wonder if that’s because the other 90 percent works in heaven or perhaps we just aren’t doing the renew that it takes to use more of it like the word of God says.

Psalm 119:11 NKJV

Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

The more we know Gods word the more like him we will be the more we study, worship, pray the more our neuro pathways will be grown in the things of God and the more we can focus on our purposes for the kingdom of heaven.

2 Corinthians 10:3–6 NKJV

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

Pulling down Strong holds-A place that have been fortified so as to protect it against an attack.

There are some things in our sin and our thought process that are so engrained in our mind that there are security measures behind it. King David hid in strong holds trying to protect himself from being killed by Saul. In fact if you google this word in your bible the only place you find strong hold is in this verse in the new testament. That means when you have a strong hold it is a very big neuro pathway. Maybe a really bad habit.

Bitting your nails. I still do this when i get really stressed or bored but it was a huge habit to break and i still have to make the choice not to bite them. Sometimes i bite them when i break a nail and it starts the whole proccess. Even though i don’t bit them down to the skin any more. It still is there that neuro pathway habbit a small strong hold possibly that isn’t completley taken down.

Casting down arguments and every high thing that exaults itself against the knowldege of God.

this reminds me o f debate, you ever talk to a non christian or one of those jehovah witnesses that come to your door and try to tell you what you believe is untrue. I really believe this means not to argue over belief systems. If you can’t have a peaceful discussion you are in danger of being infuleced by the one you are debating. There are some people that i can’t debate with they have a way to just move the word where they want it and it takes me too long to try and figure out if they are using that scripture right or if they are just trying to justify their argument. I litereally have to tap out because i don’t want to get confused on what i know the truth to be which can happen you might walk away questinoing a very true biblical foundation you had that you didn’t need to. Cast it out.

Lots of beliefs, ideas and religions exault themselves against the knowlded of God’s holy scripture.

If it doesn’t line up with the word cast it out.

Have you noticed a lot of these verses say CAST it out.

I think there is a theme in the word.

When you cast a line to go fishing you throw that out.

Word study:

Casting in every language means to THROW

Casting your cares on him cause he cares for you is to throw your cares on Jesus

Jesus Cast out demons,

Bring it into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

Lock that thought up and then filter it through Jesus Christ.

The Obedience of following his teachings his words, his apostles, holy scriptures holy spirit. Filter that thought through your commitment to be obedient to Jesus and following him. WWJD if Jesus wouldn’t do it don’t do it. Check the word, Check the word,

Scripture interprets Scripture you will not find contradictions. I know people say that but it’s really not true if you read the word of God in context and seek counsel from someone who has given their life to study that word like Bishop or your pastor .

The Battle field is the mind.

The battle field is between our mind will and emotions that are being under the influence of our own will, the holy spirit and the influence of the enemy.

The Devil has no power only the power we give him.

He only can influence you through your thoughts. He can plant and idea like its yours.

Too many times we blame it on the Devil we say the devil made us do it. But the truth is the Devil doesn’t have to do much we do it for him. We let one small thought get planted and then it reaps a harvest in our heads and after the seed is planted we plant a whole garden like it was our idea until its time for a harvst and then we are in 911 prayer mode please God don’t let me suffer the consequence of my thoughts and the actions that came from those thoughts.

We have a responsibility to Catch em all.

Song of Solomon 2:15 NKJV

Catch us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes.

This is from the book of the bible that talks about married love. And it says catch the foxes.

Catch the thoughts before they spoil your vines. Catch the thoughts before they spoil your mind.

One thought can lead to a world of trouble and can grow into a garden of weeds that contaminates your life.