Relationships: Restoring Your Mind

Let’s Be Honest: Restore Your Mind

Intro to Series: Over the next several weeks we’re going to get honest about RELATIONSHIPS and the opportunities we have for growth.

Story: Young Gun Retreat

Every year I attend this retreat with some other young leaders around the country. It’s one of my favorite things to attend and I look forward to it every year…

I got a text “Are you going this year?”

And I thought… “Am I invited? Did I say something dumb. Did I disqualify myself? Then I start to rehearse conversations I had… Then I start to remember that I really stunk at pickleball and maybe I’m just a loser… Then I think maybe I’m just not meant to go… then the final thought that always settles in is “I’m not good enough.”

AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT DOES THIS?!

Passage: Philippians 4:4-9 NLT

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Pray:

Title: Restore Your Mind

Big Idea:

Healthy relationships begin in the mind. A mind that is not restored will leave a trail of broken relationships.

“I thought it was all about communication? Or my attitude? Or how I handle myself around others?” These are all a part of the story, but before you spoke, you had a thought. Before you acted out, you had a thought. Before you disrespected that person, you had a thought.

Main Points:

1. The Problem: The State Of Mental Health

   1. There are 3 common patterns in our negative thinking.

      1. Self-Doubt and Inadequacy:
         1. Thought Pattern: "I'm not good enough," "I can't do this," or "I'm a failure."
         2. Research: A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that self-doubt can significantly impair performance and lead to avoidance behaviors. Additionally, the concept of "imposter syndrome," where individuals doubt their accomplishments and fear being exposed as a fraud, is prevalent in various populations, including students and professionals.
      2. Catastrophizing:
         1. Thought Pattern: "This is a disaster," "Everything will go wrong," or "This is the worst thing that could happen."
         2. Research: Psychologists have found that catastrophizing is associated with increased anxiety and depression symptoms, as well as a heightened perception of pain in chronic pain patients.
      3. Overgeneralization:
         1. Thought Pattern: "This always happens to me," "I'll never get it right," or "Everyone thinks I'm incompetent."
         2. Research: Overgeneralization is another cognitive distortion where individuals apply a negative experience to all similar situations. A 1983 study by Carver and Ganellen in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology found that overgeneralization is linked to depressive symptoms and can contribute to the persistence of depression by influencing how individuals interpret future events.
      4. So how do we handle these thoughts? Where do we put them? What do we do when we find ourselves consumed in negative thinking?

2. The Solution: How To Restore Your Mind

   1. 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

      1. Don’t worry, instead pray - Put your mind to work in prayer
      2. Tell God what you need - Be honest about the details with God
      3. Thank Him for all He has done - Demonstrate gratitude
      4. THEN… (Everybody say then…) You will experience God’s peace
      5. Then… His peace will guard your heart
      6. Then… His peace will guard your mind

      7. There’s an order to this thing! There’s a process.

         2. When you catch a thought of worry, you need to quickly catch a thought of the faithfulness of God!

      8. Story: Woman bleeding for 12 years…

      9. “So Jesus and his disciples got up and went with him. 20 Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind him. She touched the fringe of his robe, 21 for she thought, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” 22 Jesus turned around, and when he saw her he said, “Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was healed at that moment.” - Matthew 9:19-22 NLT
      10. Jesus says it was her faith that made her well. Here’s how I’d apply that: one thought of faith in Him can change your life!
          1. One thought of the promises of God
          2. One thought of the provision of God
          3. One thought of the protection of God
          4. One thought of the power of God
          5. One thought in the presence of God!
          6. Questions: What in your world feels broken? What in your mind feels off? What are some blockers in your mind that are keeping you from living a full and abundant life?
          7. I want to give you a few passages to speak over your negative thoughts.
          8. “I’m Afraid”
      11. You may not be a fearful person, but fear can creep in and come on strong.
      12. Questions: What’s something that has made you afraid? Maybe something that you lose sleep over?
      13. A spirit of fear is not from God. The enemy loves to use fear. It’s his strategy to take you out!
      14. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” - 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
      15. God wants to restore your mind. Give you peace, rest, and sound judgement. He doesn’t want you to live in fear.
      16. Has fear ever benefited you in your life?
          6. “I’m depressed”

      17. Depression definition: “feelings of severe despondency and dejection.”

          1. Self doubt can creep in and feed depression. Depression is not always a choice, but you can choose what you do with self doubt.
          2. Self awareness can lead us to a place of dependence on God, self doubt can lead to self destruction.

          3. Feeling of not enough, I don’t belong here, I am a failure. 2. “for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” - Nehemiah 8:10 NLT

          4. Nehemiah said this to people who were weeping after they heard God’s Law read. The word strength means “a place or means of safety, protection, refuge, or stronghold.”

          5. When we’re in the depths of depression, guilt, shame, and insecurity is a natural byproduct.

          6. Jesus offers forgiveness, not shame. He offers grace, not guilt. He fills with peace, not pain. 3. “Restore to me the joy of your salvation” - Psalm 51:12 NLT

          7. Being restored in God’s grace is His work, not ours.

          8. We receive, He restores

             7. “I’m Anxious”
                1. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.
                2. God gave us a process for anxiety. And it starts in a simple place, don’t worry, pray. Prayer is never the only answer to anxiety, but it is often the greatest promise we can claim from Scripture. Doctors, counselors, and medication are good gifts from God, not a lack of faith. And as we pray he offers a peace that is beyond anything we can possibly comprehend.
                3. Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength” - Corrie ten Boom
                4. Illust: Check Engine Light

          9. Question: What’s your check engine light?

3. The Invitation: Suit Up For Battle

   1. Illust: stories of things going well, then tragedy strikes

      1. “Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face” - Mike Tyson

      2. Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond.

         2. HOW TO WIN THE WAR IN YOUR MIND

      3. “Our life is always moving in the direction of our strongest thoughts. What we think shapes who we are. Most of life’s battles are won or lost in the mind.” - Ps. Craig Groeschel

      4. Arm Yourself With Truth
         1. Equip yourself with the Word of God.
         2. “You may not duck every blow, but with the helmet of Salvation, you can stay in the fight.”
         3. “17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God. 18 Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.” - Ephesians 6:17-18

         4. Meditate on truth

            1. Rest
            2. R - Read God’s Word
            3. E - Engage In Worship
            4. S - Seek The Kingdom

            5. T - Talk To God 3. Secure Your Perimeter
               1. Patrol your thoughts so that you may be able to discern God's will. 2. “You can’t always prevent the thought from coming, but you can protect it from staying.” 3. “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” - Romans 12:2 4. Take Every Thought Captive
               1. “5 and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.” - 2 Corinthians 10:5 5. Go To God
               1. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 6. Fix Your Focus
               1. “8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” - Philippians 4:8 7. Set Healthy Rhythms
               1. Freedom Week

            6. Sunday - Sanctify Sunday

            7. Monday - Meditation Mondays
            8. Tuesday - Talk to God Tuesday
            9. Wednesday - Worship Wednesday
            10. Thursday - Thank God Thursday
            11. Friday - Family & Friends Friday
            12. Saturday - Serve Saturday
                3. “We trust him to produce what I am actively choosing to pursue.” David Landrith

Closing:

“For I am about to do something new.

See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?

I will make a pathway through the wilderness.

I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” - Isaiah 43:19 NLT. God said this first to Israel in exile. What it shows us about Him is that He is a God who makes a way.

Communion: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.