The Rewire Principle

Big Idea:

Meditating on God’s Word transforms our lives.

Intro:

Hi Everyone, welcome to Church Online!

If you’ve ever joined us for our in-person church services, you know we don’t have our own building. We’re a setup and breakdown church, meaning every week we rent the space we meet in. Every week, we get here 3 hours early to setup. Every week, we stay a couple hours after to breakdown. And every week, everything gets unloaded and reloaded into a trailer. It’s a pretty big project.

I’m so thankful we have a few people who love the Lord and are willing to serve Him, and our church, with their free-time by being part of our “Production team” (setup/breakdown).

One part of this process that’s intimidating is the sound setup, specifically running and plugging in all the wires. While we’re not a huge church with a huge worship team, yet we have invested a lot into our worship team’s sound equipment. I mention this because there’s a lot and it’s complex. It can be intimidating.

Now, I’ve never been officially trained, but I have been working with sound equipment for about 15 years. I’ve learned a lot. In some ways, I’ve become pretty proficient. But even still, the Production team and I will finish setup, turn the power on, and something isn’t working - like my mic.

Is the battery dead? No.

Did it break? No.

Why is there no sound?

Sometimes, everything is in place, but the reason why it’s not working is because the wires are sending the mic signal to the wrong place. It’s supposed to be plugged into channel 5, but it’s accidentally in channel 6. It needs to be REWIRED.

Last week, we started a new series on biblical thinking titled, “I Think I Can.” It’s a series that based on the book, “Winning the War in Your Mind,” by Craig Groeschel, pastor of Life.Church in Oklahoma. I’m mentioning this because much of what I will share is based on his work. I need to give credit where it is due.

And in this book, Pastor Craig gives us a biblical strategy for winning the war in our mind based on 4 Principles:

The Replacement Principle.

The Rewire Principle.

The Reframe Principle.

The Rejoice Principle.

Last week, I shared The Replacement Principle, which is the process of identifying the lies in our lives that have become strong thoughts (impacting the way we live) and replacing them with God’s Truth.

Today, I’m going to share The Rewire Principle, which builds upon The Replacement Principle. Because much our sound system, sometimes the problem with our thinking is the signal isn’t going to the right place.

Last week, I also shared Romans 12, which says...

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, God saved us. He forgave our sins and gave us a new life. This also began a process of learning to live in our new life , which requires changing the way we think. That’s because how we think affects how we live...

Proverbs 23:7 NKJV

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you.

Or, as Prov. 4 says...

Proverbs 4:23 NLT

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

How we think is extremely important. Believe the wrong things (or the lies of the enemy) and we live the wrong way. But think about God’s truth and experience the ABUNDANT LIFE. Therefore, as Christians, when God gives us a new life, it requires new thinking.

Consider something Paul told the Philippians...

Philippians 4:8–9 ESV

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. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

So, why’s Paul saying this? It sounds connected to what we’re discussing, but is it?

Exegesis:

Well, anytime we read the Bible, it helps to understand the purpose of why the author is writing. So, let me summarize the backstory to this letter...

Philippi was a church that Paul started. And the people became some of his closest friends. Even after he left, they continued to support Paul both spiritually and financially.

In fact, one reason Paul writes is to say thank you for the recent financial gift they had sent. But in receiving that gift, he also heard the church was struggling.

First off, they were worried about him because he was currently in a Roman prison.

Additionally, they were suffering persecution as Christians.

Furthermore, and probably due to their stressful sufferings, division was happening within the church. Their negative thoughts were producing negative results.

And so, Paul writes to correct his friends and help their faith grow.

Now, we can also gain better understanding by the context of the passage. - by reading the surrounding passages. And verses 4-7 say...

Philippians 4:4–7 ESV

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 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.

What we know is the church was facing hard times. The people began to fixate on the negative circumstances. This negatively impacted their lives. So, Paul starts by reminding them of God’s truth. If you will, he applies The Replacement Principle.

He encourages them to remember...

That the truth is, in Jesus, they always have reason to rejoice!

That the truth is, Jesus is close to them and ready to help.

That the truth is, they don’t have to worry about anything. They simply need to pray and receive God’s supernatural peace in exchange.

Okay… let’s be honest, how many of us - right now - are also facing difficult times, and if someone from church said this to us, we’d want to punch them in the face. “Oh, just think about the lovely when I’m worried about how I’m gonna pay my rent? Here’s what’s lovely… BAM!”

Because though we may agree with the truths stated, in the chaos, sometimes it feels irrelevant. It’s like we can’t help but fixate on the negative.

Well, there’s a reason for that. It’s a reason that I believe Paul - inspired by the Holy Spirit - wrote verses 8-9. But before I share that reason, I want to first study this passage because I think they’ll help us understand this week’s principle!

Paul starts with, think about “whatever is true.” One of the best ways we respond to life, especially in difficult times, is to meditate on God’s truth. And considering the Greek language (the original language this was written in), the fact that “true” is listed first in this list may tell us that Paul’s emphasizing it. Like, “In this life, you must prioritize thinking about what’s TRUE!” Isn’t that The Replacement Principle?

Next, think about “whatever is honorable and whatever is just.” Along with truth, we should think about things that are right, and done for the right reasons. The word “honorable” can include “worship.” And in this context, one healthy exercise for our thinking is to worship God. What you listen to in your car or on your run makes a big difference!

We should also think about “whatever is pure.” It’s interesting that when life gets hard, many of us entertain ourselves with impure content. The answer to a trashy day isn’t to fill your heart with more trash.

Next up is, “whatever is lovely.” We could rephrase it, “think about the things you love.” Obviously, there’s limits to what qualifies in Paul mind. He’s not giving permission to think about sinful things you love. At the same time, this isn’t limited to church things. If you love football… if you love your running group friends… if you love watch tiny house tours on YouTube… it can be good to think about those things.

And Paul finishes with, “whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” By now, we get the point: As Christians, we need to guard our heart by thinking about positive, God honoring, truth-based things. But… let me draw your attention to the final phrase, “think about these things.”

In the original language, the verb here - to think - is written in the present, middle/passive, imperative. What the heck does that mean?

The “present” tense communicates a continuous action. It’s something that is on-going.

An “imperative” is a command. It’s like your boss telling you what to do.

The “middle/passive” tells us two things. First, it can either be “middle” or “passive” voice. The middle voice is when an action is done with self-motivation. The passive voice is when an action is received or done to the subject. Both are applicable here.

When Paul writes, “think about these things,” he’s issuing a command (as a leader and friend) to continuous think about positive things… and we should make ourselves commit to this. At the same time, we should also receive God’s help with this.

Let’s add verse 9 to the conversation...

Philippians 4:9 ESV

What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

In other words, “What I’m instructing you to do, you already know I practice this for myself. You’ve seen how this how brought God’s supernatural peace into my life. Which is why I’m sitting in prison and still filled with the joy of the Lord!”

And look at the phrase “practice these things.” It’s also written in the present imperative. As we just discussed, Paul is issuing a command about something that needs to be done continuously!

So, why’s Paul making such a big deal about CONTINUOUSLY THINKING about these things? This brings us to our next Principle...

The first one was The Replacement Principle. But the Principle that builds upon that is...

The Rewire Principle:

Last week, I shared the Pastor Craig’s saying that, “Your life is always moving in the direction of your strongest thoughts.” And I told you I’d tell you why he believes this later. Well, it’s “later.” Here’s why Pastor Craig believes this: Neuroplasticity.

In his book, Pastor Craig shares that neuroscience (in this context, the study of the brain) has revealed that when we think about something, a physical pathway is formed in our brain- a way for the brain to access that thought/information again. And studies show the more we think about something, the deeper that groove gets. The more defined that neuro-pathway gets. The more the brain remembers, recognizes, reuses, and even reprograms towards it. Or put in simpler terms...

The more we think about something, the easier it is to think about.

Science tells us we have the ability to shape our thinking. Hence the name: neuro (again, in this context, brain) plasticity (shaping). We change our brain by changing the way we think.

Pastor Craig also shares a story about travel in Alaska. Apparently, there are two seasons in Alaska, Winter and July. And in July, the snow begins to melt and it the roads get super muddy. And in one place, there’s a sign that says, “Choose your rut wisely; you might be in it for a while.” Meaning, after multiple people continually driving on the muddy road, the ruts get deep. And in a really deep rut, you can’t get easily out.

And according to Neuroplasticity, that can happen in our brains too. When we constantly think about something, or we’ve believed something for a long time, a mental rut develops. And when those ruts have been developed by lies sourced from the kingdom of darkness, they consistently take us down a path of destruction.

That’s why it’s important we begin to identify those lies and replace them with God’s truth. That being said, how many of us have identified the lies, and read our Bibles to think about God’s truthful promises, and yet still found ourselves headed in the wrong direction. Somehow, we ended up back in the rut!

Like Paul, we say...

Romans 7:19 ESV

For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.

That’s because The Replacement Principle isn’t enough to renew our minds. We need The Rewire Principle too. We need to unplug the wire from the wrong channel and rewire it to the right channel. Only then will the mic work!

The Rewire Principle utilizes how our brains work. It understands the power of Neuroplasticity: That the more we think about something, the easier it is to think about. We can’t just think about God’s truth once and expect our thinking to be radically transformed. The mental strongholds of the devil’s lies are too strong. The ruts are too deep! Our life will continue to move in the direction of destruction unless we intentionally dig new TRUTH-TRENCHES.

Let me explain the difference. A rut is developed unintentionally. None of us set out to build our lives upon the lies of the devil and purposely drive towards hell. On the other hand, a trench is dug to deliver resources for an intended purpose. That’s what we need. That’s how we renew our mind. And that’s why I believe Paul’s wrote Philippians 4!

Paul knows that thinking about God’s truth, over and over again, shapes our brain for the glory of God. And that’s when our lives change.

Now, did Paul know about Neuroplasticity? Probably not… but the Holy Spirit did. He’s God. He created the brain and how it works. And He inspired Paul to write this.

Gospel:

Let me begin to land the plane with this...

Just like The Replacement Principle isn’t enough, unfortunately, neither is The Rewire Principle.

In his book, Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking, author Jon Acuff also talks about Neuroplasticity. Except, he adds an interesting dynamic. He mentions that our brains can be real jerks. Like that annoying friend who always has something negative to say, our brains can be the same way. He writes...

Have you ever had to work hard to remind yourself of something dumb you said a long time ago? Did you need a to-do list to overthink an embarrassing situation from the eighth grade, even though you’re now in your thirties? Did you need a note on your calendar to make sure you’d spend the whole weekend thinking about why your boss called a meeting with you on Monday morning?

Why? Because our brains are jerks that gravitate towards the negative. Jon goes on to say...

Those are called broken soundtracks, negative stories you tell yourself about yourself and your world. They play automatically without any invitation or effort from you. Fear does not take work. Doubt does not take work. Insecurity does not take work.

That’s because our brains are naturally jerks. The greater spiritual reality being, our brains naturally embrace lies, put them on repeat, and likes to keep believing them! To use biblical terminology, our flesh prefers to drive on the pathways of lies.

I’ll say it this way too, “Even if you become a legit Jedi-Master on both The Replacement & Rewire Principles, you’ll still end up in a rut. That’s because, what Jon calls broken soundtracks is another way to say we’re all broken by sin. By nature, we’re slaves to sin. And in our own strength, we aren’t strong enough to defeat it. Therefore, we need a Savior! We need God’s help! We need that passive voicing!

That’s why positive thinking, self-esteem affirmations, or meditating on kittens don’t bring real peace. Only God’s Promise brings peace that surpasses all understanding. Only God’s Word is a “light unto our path and a lamp unto our feet.” Only God’s truth can set us free!

We need the Holy Spirit’s power, not strong will-power. Paul told the Galatians, “How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?”

We need a Savior! We need Jesus! Walking every day right beside us! And the good new is - the gospel is - He’s ready and willing to do that! So, that even when I get stuck in a muddy rut, ONCE AGAIN...

Psalm 40:2 NLT

He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.

If you need Jesus to save you today, cry out to Him. He promises, “I will never turn away anyone who comes to Me.” (John 6:37 GWT)

Response:

As we close, let me suggest a couple ways to begin practicing the Rewire Principle:

Change your playlist. One way to shape your mind so that God’s truths become your strongest thoughts is to utilize the power of music. I know I’ve shared this before, but music has this special ability to impact our heart (or change the way we think), which will then impact our lives. What songs are you listening to? Are they filled with lies sourced from the kingdom of darkness? Or God’s truths?

Practice automation. This is leadership expert, Michael Hyatt, fancy way of saying “build a new habit.” My current YouVersion Streak 765 days. I share that not to brag, but to say with a little intentional discipline, we can develop habits that dig TRUTH-TRENCHES. When I started building this habit, I had two simple tasks: When I wake up, start the coffee maker. Then, make sure the first app I open on my phone is the YouVersion Bible App. I’d click on it and watch the “Story of the day.” That’s it. And now, over two years later, I don’t even think about it anymore. I automatically start my day thinking about God’s truth.

Finally, commit to church on Sunday. And yes, Church Online counts! And one reason I’m telling you this is because this year, at TRC, we’re focusing on Jesus - beyond the normal expectation of any bible-teaching church. Therefore, if you commit to joining us on Sunday, we’re committed to pointing you to Jesus! Additionally, you’ll have the promise of God’s Word that says, “where two or three are gathered in My name, there I [Jesus] am with them.” And that’s what we really NEED! We don’t need new thinking programs. We NEED the power and presence of Jesus. Only He can transform our thinking! When we have Jesus, He promises to led us down paths towards His peace (not destruction)...

Psalm 23:1–3 ESV

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

With Jesus, the promise of eternal and abundant life becomes our reality!

Let’s pray...

Father, we thank you for today. You are so good. And you and your Kingdom are worthy of our constant thoughts. We recognize that all too often, our minds are in places they shouldn’t be. Places the enemy deceptively lead us to. Places that destroy our lives. At the same time, we’ve willingly walked these paths. Forgive us.

But we thank you for the way you’ve created our brains. And we thank you that we have the power to destroy the strongholds the enemy’s lies have built in our minds, as we take those lies captive, and intentionally think about Your true and better promises. And we recognize that all of the things Paul encourages us to think about can be found in You, Jesus. That when we fix our eyes upon Jesus, everything is made right. Help us to do that today. In Jesus name, amen.

Thanks for joining us for Church Online. If this was your first time joining us, fill out a Connect Card. We’d love to say hi and send you a gift. Also, if you have prayer requests, would like to know more about TRC, or you decided to follow Jesus today - we want to hear from you. And there’s an easy way to do that on our website (riverchurchct.com), or follow the links in the comments below, or you can text TRCConnect to 94000. Merry Christmas!