TRUE and NOBLE HEADSPACE
Texts: Proverbs 4:23-27, Philippians 4:6-8, Hebrews 4:12, Ezekiel 36:26, Romans 12:1-2
10,000 Thoughts A Day
The average person has 10,000 separate thoughts each day.
That works out to be 3.5 million thoughts a year.
If you live to be 75, you will have over 26 million different thoughts.
TODAY WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HEADSPACE
Headspace is defined informally as - MIND-SET, FRAME OF
Beware of what you set your mind on because that you surely will become. —Ralph Waldo Emerson
Change your thoughts and you change the world. —Norman Vincent Peale
Thinking is the hardest work in the world, which is probably why so few people engage in it. —Henry Ford
Two thoughts cannot occupy the mind at the same time, so the choice is ours whether or not our thoughts will be constructive or destructive. —Betty Sachelli
23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil. —Proverbs 4:23-27 (KJV - King James Version)
Philippians 4:6-8 (KJV - King James Version)
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Hebrews 4:12 (KJV - King James Version)
12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Ezekiel 36:26 (KJV - King James Version)
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
What a wee little part of a person’s life are his acts and his words! His real life is led in his head, and is known to none but himself. All day long, the mill of his brain is grinding, and his thoughts, not those other things, are his history. — (Mark Twain - Reader’s Digest [1/93], p. 155)
The ideas and images in men’s minds are the invisible powers that constantly govern them —Jonathan Edwards
This is why it is so important for all of us to bring our thought life into submission to Jesus Christ by learning to think biblically about every aspect of life.
The heart, according to the Bible, is part of man’s spiritual makeup.
It is the place where emotions and desires begin; it is that which drives the will of man towards action.
The heart of man as described in the Bible is primarily a spiritual organ that drives man’s behavior.
Romans 12:1-2 (KJV - King James Version)
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Be Filled with the Holy Ghost! First and Foremost!
OUR THINKING IS THE THING!
NEGATIVE THINKING PATTERNS:
1. Self-Pity - We all fall into this trap sooner or later. Life is hard for all of us.
2. Blaming - This is the other extreme. Blaming is an attempt to find a scapegoat for your problems.
3. Unwillingness to Change - This more or less follows from the first two categories. Once you immerse yourself in self-pity and once you discover that you are a victim, the logical conclusion is that you can’t or won’t change.
4. Anger and Bitterness - Usually this is the logical outcome. Once you begin to pity yourself, you become a victim. But victims can’t be blamed, right? Therefore you refuse to face the possibility that you yourself are the source of your own problems. When others suggest otherwise, you get angry, defensive and bitter.
Your thoughts matter! Negative thinking leads to negative
Paul addressed the thought life first. - He identified qualities which should characterize Christians.
What Paul IS teaching: the Christian’s thought life should be focused on the great truths of scripture.
Even though Scripture is not specifically mentioned, it is assumed,
because it is the only source for knowing what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and of good repute.
1. THINK ON WHATEVER IS
“True,” in the ethical sense as used here, means “truthfulness, dependability.”
The word means, “true as to fact … it denotes the actuality of a thing” (G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament [Charles Scribner’s Sons], p. 20).
The “true” is that which corresponds to reality.
God Himself is the only final test for truth.
Paul’s exhortation is that we are to think and meditate on truth with regard to God, man, the church, the world, sin, redemption, relationships, etc.
TRUTH NEEDS TO BE OUR DEFAULT HEADSPACE!
2. THINK ON WHATEVER IS HONORABLE (NIV = “
The word means “that which inspires reverence or awe; dignified, worthy of respect.”
Paul suggests that “NOBLE” thinking has in view things that lift the mind rather than dragging it through the gutter.
HAVE A NOBLE HEADSPACE.
Thinking on the TRUE and NOBLE will help you be in a better headspace.
Sometimes you might have to sit down and make a list of what is TRUE and compare it to the Word of God to prove it…
Then when you make being NOBLE and HONORABLE your default setting…your thinking will reflect it.
Your Headspace Matters to
GOD, YOU, and EVERYONE AROUND YOU!