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CONTROL YOUR MIND WITH PRAISE

A. Introduction: For many, if not most of us, our mind can be source of struggle because all of us deal with
anxious and even tormenting thoughts that we can’t shut off. We all experience thoughts that seem to come
out of nowhere and are inappropriate for a Christians. And we know what it’s like to be worn out mentally.
1. The Bible has much to say about our mind. God’s Word sets a seemingly impossible standard, from
telling us what we should and shouldn’t think about, to promising perfect peace to those whose mind is
fixed or set on God. Isa 26:3
a. Scripture tells us not to worry, to think only about good and pure things, and to put our mind on
Heaven not earth. Phil 4:7-8; Col 3:1-2
b. The question is: How can we fix our mind on God and our focus on Heaven and still live in the real
world? How can we keep from worrying when there are so many reasons to worry?
2. In our new series, we are attempting to answer these and other questions, as we consider what Christians
are supposed to do with our mind. We have more to say in tonight’s lesson.

B. Paul the apostle sent a letter (an epistle) to Christians living in the city of Rome. The letter was a summary
of the message that he preached everywhere he went. Among other things, Paul preached: Do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Rom 12:2, NKJV).
1. These people (and all Christians) have already undergone a tremendous transformation by becoming
followers of Jesus. They have received God’s eternal Spirit and life into their being, which has made
them literal sons and daughters of God through a second or new birth. John 1:12-13; John 3:3-5; etc.
a. Yet Paul told them (and all Christians) that they (we) must be transformed by renewing their (our)
mind so that they (we) won’t be conformed to this world.
b. This world (its people and its systems) is in rebellion against God and is contrary to God. And,
even though true Christians have surrendered to the Lord’s rulership, we have grown up in a world
that is contrary to God. And we all have been affected by it.
1. Our entire interior self (thought processes, personality, perspective, reasoning skills, moral
inclinations, and conscience) has been shaped and molded by what we’ve seen, heard, and
experienced in this world.
2. We all have attitudes, thought patterns, prejudices, beliefs, opinions, morals, values, that are
contrary to God, but we don’t know it. We think that our views and perspective are correct.
2. The result is that although we have come to genuine faith in God and given our hearts to Him, we don’t
think right. We don’t think like God thinks. God says: For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord (Isa 55:8, KJV).
a. This must change if we are going to fulfill our created purpose as God’s sons and daughters. We
were created with the capacity to receive God by His Spirit into our being and then reflect Him (His
goodness, love, holiness, mercy) to the world around us and bring honor and glory to Him.
b. Jesus said: You are the light of the world…Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that
everyone will praise your heavenly Father (Matt 5:14-16, NLT).
1. The way you live and act is based on the way you think. If your thoughts aren’t in agreement
with God’s thoughts you’ll reflect an inaccurate picture of your Father to the world around you.
2. Your mind must be renewed or renovated. Rom 12:2—Let God transform you inwardly by a
complete change of your mind (Good News Bible); Let God transform you into a new person
by changing the way you think (NLT); your whole mental attitude must be changed (Barclay).
c. Our mind is renewed or renovated by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. Our part in this
process is regular, repeated reading of the Scriptures (God’s Word), and meditating on it, going over
it in our mind and purposefully thinking about it. II Cor 3:18
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3. The way we live (our character and our behavior) is the result of our view of reality, our perspective, or
the way we see things. And, what you believe about reality is based on the information you have
received from this world throughout your life.
a. Not only has this information come from a world that is contrary to God, it has come to you through
your physical senses, primarily your eyes and ears (sight and hearing).
b. But your senses don’t have all the facts in any situation because there is more to reality that what
your senses can perceive or be aware of. There are unseen realities.
1. There are things that we cannot see because they are invisible, such as Almighty God and His
power and kingdom, as well as His holy angels. These unseen realities can and do impact and
effect change in this life. Col 1:16; I Tim 1:17; Heb 11:3; Mark 4:39; II Cor 4:18; etc.
2. There are also things we can’t see because they are yet to come in the life after this life, such as
Heaven, reunion with family and friends, the reversal of life’s loss, pain, and injustice, rewards
for faithful service to God, the new earth (this world restored to pre-sin conditions). Rom 8:18
c. Only God, who sees all and knows all, has all the facts in any situation. Almighty God reveals
these unseen realities (the way things really are) through His written Word, the Bible.
1. A renewed mind sees things the way they really are according to God. A renewed mind thinks
in line with, in agreement with unseen realities, which then affects our character and behavior.
2. A renewed mind doesn’t deny what it sees and feels about what it sees. A renewed mind
recognizes that there is always more to reality than what we see and feel in the moment.
C. It takes time and effort to renew your mind and effect permanent change in your view of reality (your
perspective). Last week we began to talk about how you get control of your mind in the moment, while your
perspective (or view of reality) is being changed. For the rest of the lesson that’s what we’ll deal with.
1. To get control, you must first understand that your physical senses work automatically, and they
constantly communicate information from the seen realm to your mind.
a. As your mind receives this information, thoughts and emotions are automatically generated, Your
mind begins to process the information, draw conclusions, and make decisions about what you
should do. You also begin to talk you yourself about what you see and how you feel.
b. This process not only happens automatically, it takes place without all the facts about the situation,
and in the context of already established beliefs, prejudices, and habits of response.
c. You can’t stop this automatic process by an act of your will. But you can interrupt it and get control
of your mind by choosing where you focus your attention.
2. Jesus gave us great insight into how to get control when He urged His followers not to worry about
where the necessities of life (food, clothing) will come from. Matt 6:25-34
a. Jesus told His listeners that when you see things that cause you to worry, change your focus to
unseen realities. He told them to look at and consider the birds and flowers. Look and consider
mean more than physical sight. Both words have the idea of noting carefully.
b. Jesus pointed out that the birds eat and the flowers are dressed because of an unseen reality—God
the Father cares for them. His point was: You matter to Him more than birds and flowers.
Therefore, you can trust that your Father will take care of you.
1. The Greek word translated worry (in Matt 6:25) comes from a word that has the idea of
distraction. Jesus was telling them, don’t let what you see and hear distract you from unseen
realities. Change your focus to the way things really are—God cares for His creation and He
will take care of you.
2. Then Jesus said: So don’t worry and don’t keep saying, what shall we eat, what shall we drink,
or what shall we wear…your Father knows you need them all (Matt 6:31-32, J. B. Phillips).
A. You change your focus and get control of the worry (the distracting thoughts) by the way
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you talk to yourself about what you see and feel.
B. Remind yourself of unseen realities, or the way things really are according to God, and
speak them out. Your mind can’t think one thing and your mouth say something different.
3. We get more insight into what this looks like from a letter that Paul wrote to Jewish Christians who were
experiencing serious pressures to abandon their faith in Jesus—including ridicule, beatings, and property
loss (Heb 10:32-35). Paul wrote his letter to encourage them to stay faithful to Jesus.
a. Paul told them: Let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us (NLT), looking
away [from all that will distract] to Jesus (Amp), looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith…Consider Him, who endured such hostility form sinners against Himself, lest you become
weary and discouraged in your minds (Heb 12:1-3, NKJV).
1. Note that Paul was concerned that the pressures these people were facing would cause them to
become weary and discouraged in their minds.
2. Note that Paul told them to look away from something (what they could see and feel) to
something—the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the source and the perfecter of our faith, our trust and
confidence in God.
b. When Paul wrote these words he had just listed numerous people from Israel’s history who did
exploits and endured hard times by looking at (focusing on, considering) what they could not see
(unseen realities). Let’s look at several examples.
4. Paul reminded his readers of Joseph, the great-grandson of Abraham. Joseph’s brothers, motivated by
jealousy, sold Joseph into slavery and told their father that he had been killed by wild animals (Gen
37-50). We could do a series on what happened to Joseph, but consider these points for our topic.
a. Joseph was taken by slave traders to Egypt. He endured many hardships, but God was with him,
and he eventually became second in command in Egypt, in charge of a food distribution program
that fed thousands during a time of great famine. It ultimately reunited him with his family.
b. God made two promises to Joseph before his troubles began. God promised Joseph greatness and
He pledged to give Joseph a homeland in Canaan, present-day Israeal (Gen 37:5-8; Gen 35:9-12).
The first promise was fulfilled in Joseph’s life time, but not the second. Joseph ever went home.
1. Shortly before Joseph died, he made his family promise to take his bones with them when they
returned to Canaan. Note Paul’s comment: It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to
die, confidently spoke of God’s bringing the people of Israel out of Egypt. He was so sure of it
that he commanded them to take his bones with them when they left (Heb 11:22, NLT).
2. Not only was Joseph convinced that God would get Israel back home, he knew that when his
body is raised from the dead he will once again stand in his homeland. Job 19:25-26
A. Joseph lived according to unseen realities—God with Him in the present moment, as well
as a future restoration and recompense in the life to come. This gave him peace of mind
B. The Greek word Paul used for Joseph speaking about these things means to exercise
memory or recollect. Joseph kept his focus by calling to memory God’s promises.
5. Moses was another man who ordered his life according to unseen realities. Moses was born while
Joseph’s descendants were enslaved in Egypt (Ex 1-4). Through a series of events Moses ended up
being raised in Pharaoh’s house as a prince of Egypt, but left that life to rejoin his suffering people,
a. Paul gives us insight into Moses’ mental state after he returned to his people: Heb 11:27—It was
by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt. He was not afraid of the king. Moses kept right on
going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible (NLT).
b. Physical eyes can’t see invisible things. Seeing, in Paul’s statement, has the idea of perceiving with
the mind, directing thought to the object. Moses kept his focus, his attention, on the unseen God
through His Word, through His promises to His people, and that helped Moses endure.
1. Moses wrote several of the psalms, including Ps 94. Note one verse that gives us insight into
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Moses’ mind: In the multitude of my (anxious) thoughts within me, your comforts cheer and
delight my soul (v19, Amp). The word comfort has the idea of alleviating grief or anxiety.
2. Comfort comes from God’s Word because it not only shows us the way things really are (gives
us access to the unseen realm), He reveals Himself to us through His Word. Rom 15:4
6. Paul also referred to David who faced great hardships. David’s interior thoughts were well know to the
Jewish people because of his psalms. David wrote Psalm 63 while hiding from King Saul in the Judean
wilderness, a dry and weary (or thirsty) land. I Sam 22; I Sam 23; I Sam 24
a. Ps 63:1, 5-6—My flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water…My
mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in
the watches of night (ESV).
1. While David was taking the night watch (looking out for wild animals and as well as Saul and
his men), instead of focusing on his circumstances, David chose to look away from these
distractions to God with him and for him.
2. To remember means to recall, think about, and mention. To meditate means to murmur, to
speak in pleasure or anger, and by implication, to ponder.
b. In these “on the run” psalms David frequently refers to himself as being in the shadow of God’s
protective wings. David wrote: For you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I
will sing for joy (Ps 63:7, ESV); Be merciful to me, O God…For in you my soul takes refuge; in the
shadow of your wings I will take refuge till the storms of destruction pass by (Ps 57:1,ESV).
1. In Psalm 63 David was living in a desert wilderness. In the wilderness, everywhere he looked,
all he could see was a bleak and dangerous landscape. In Psalm 57 David was hiding in a cave.
Everywhere David looked, all he could see was cave walls.
2. Yet David chose to focus on unseen realities. And in both cases he set his will toward God and
opened his mouth: My heart is fixed, O God; my heart is steadfast and confident! I will sing
and make melody. Awake, my glory [my inner self]…I will praise and give thanks to You (Ps
57:7-9, Amp).
A. Praising God out of your mouth puts the focus back on Him, stops your mind from racing
and keeps your mouth from continually talking about “what am I going to do”.
B. Praise is actually the voice of faith. When you praise Almighty God whom you cannot see
for help that you do not yet see, you are expressing trust and confidence in Him and the fact
that He is with you and for you and will get you through whatever you are facing.
D. Conclusion: It takes time to change your perspective and renew your mind to the point where you live with
the confidence that everything you see is temporary and subject to change by God’s power and that He will
get you through until He gets you out.
1. Until you get to that point, you can gain control over your thoughts by praising God in the moment. To
praise God means to acknowledge Him or speak out who He is and what He has done, is doing, and will
2. When you praise God you put your focus on Him. You look away from all the distractions to the way
things really are—God with you and for you, God who will get you through whatever you are facing
until He gets you out. Much more next week!