BELIEVE - Get Your Mind Right 1

Christian future secure Christians to be the most upbeat and positive of people.

So why do many of us to be so groovy and discouraged that I am 30.11 Jeremiah considers how implies a more cheerful outlook by examining one of the Bible's greatest optimists. The apostle is that it introduces today's message only get your mind right well thank you for joining us. We are in the midst of the series forward discovering God's presence and purpose in your tomorrow and today were right at the core of what it means to have the courage to go forward in a world that is not always positive. The message today is called believe.

Get your mind right and it's based upon the life of the apostle Paul. Let me tell you what I know about Paul. Of all the people you read about in the New Testament. Apart from Jesus Christ. He had the most reason to be negative and fearful and live a life of insecurity and of all the people in the New Testament the most positive person, you can find is the apostle Paul. He's the one who said I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. As we get into this message. I will tell you a little bit about why this is important to me personally and why it's important all of us. It is possible to be an optimist and be a Christian and that seems to supply some folks, but will learn about that again.

In just a few moments. Well let's get started with the first part of this lesson really get your mind right some meetings you will never forget what I was in New York a while ago.

The hotel manager pulled me aside and I love sports and offered me to a fellow just Clemson football coach Dabo Sweeney. I love this man and I have followed him from almost the beginning so my family and I sat with Dabo for an hour as he talked about his faith, his love for his football team's excitement about his players his zest for life.

The love that he had first team was so obvious he was animated he was speaking with his eyes and he was gesturing with his hands.

I don't think I've ever been around anyone more positive than Dabo. I remember thinking the wondering wins championships. He is a champion. He's a man who believes Dabo while his real name is William Christopher.

He was born to a mother who had battled debilitating polio when he was a baby brother trip tried to call him batboy and swimming was known as Dabo ever says one trip was 16 accident left him permanently injured, but the same time their father had business problems that started drinking heavily. Dabo's parents broke up Dabo live from pillar to post at the age of 16. Dabo had a life-changing experience with Jesus Christ and his newfound faith, bolstered his belief in the future and himself tried out for the University of Alabama football team as a walk on any got a scholarship and during his last college game on New Year's Day, 1993 the Crimson Tide won the national championship at the end of his college career.

Dabo reconciled with his father and eventually helped to lead them to Christ in 2003, Dabo joined the coaching staff at Clemson University and became head coach in 2008 at the time Clemson was known for losing games they should have one.

It happened so often people call the Clemson coach when he knew that belief was that the law in his university outside the program, so he posted a large sign in the training room, bearing one word and the word was belief the coaches belief was sincere and contagious. No matter the challenges or setbacks. He believed in his players more than they believe in themselves believe in them so much the confidence begin the search under his leadership the Tigers have won national championships in 2016 and 2018. Part of my admiration for Coates 20 comes from my own background. I grew up knowing a lot more about doubting that believing I was raised in the good church. My church was better known for what it was against what it was for at the time I didn't realize how that can affect your outlook. To be sure there's lots of things we should be against but that must be our primary focus.

It took a while for me to learn that, but praise God I did.

There's no way I'd be standing up in front of you doing what I'm doing today takes a positive attitude to move forward. As you read that you may be thinking all all Dr. Jeremias fallen into the positive thinking trap. No, I'm not know about that pitfall. We should guard against any self-help ideology that pushes God to the sidelines, magnifies human ability and doesn't tell the whole truth.

But there is a positive, hopeful, joyful optimism that is totally biblical and it comes from Christ alone. Someone to say this loudly and clearly you can be a Christian and an optimist at the same time, and you should be faith as a positive power to your life. Just listen. The Philippians 413, Paul wrote I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I don't know how you listen to that but that sounds pretty positive to me. The man who wrote those words was an optimist with the O to read his story in the book of acts and study his 13 letters there packed with optimism.

Dr. John Henry Jowett said of Paul. His eyes are narrowly illumined his cheery tone is never absent from his speech bland and springy movement of his life is never changed. The light never dies out of his sky. The apostle Paul is an optimist.

So for the next few minutes but sit at the feet of the great apostle and learn his powerful secrets for resilience and optimism and positive belief by stepping into his story at critical moments you can understand how he lived such a life how he was so positive how his accomplishment happened in his life even though he had many hardships. It's the only way to plunge forward into the future God has for you. You need to learn to be positive. If I were in a big auditorium. I would say can you get a witness and everybody would say amen. So number one you have to be positive in your convictions because optimism started with what he believed with his positive convictions, diurnal futility conviction is but it's a fixed belief a deeply held set of certainties that lodges at the center of your mind and heart. Paul's core convictions were the foundation of his incredible life and ministry. Here's the best part.

You can embrace them for yourself. Here are two examples of how to do just that. As you move forward toward everything God has in store for you in the next phase of your life.

Number one. Be positive about God's love for you the most basic conviction in life is rooted in understanding the nature of God sake without a good, powerful, loving, creative, eternal God, there's no reason to be optimistic, consider Paul's words in Romans chapter 8 verses 38 and 39 for I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Consider the reasons for optimism packed into this passage. Not only is God real, but he loves us and not only does he love us but nothing we might ever experience can ever separate us from that love the 10 things that Paul lists in these verses, I just read could each one of them be a potential barrier between God and you. But Paul says with absolute assurance that none of them can ever separate you from God's love powerful words in Romans eight about God's love are reinforced by a blessing. Paul offered toward the end of the same book became a favorite verse. For many people I know, especially for those who are going through difficult times in their lives. Here's that promise now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I'd like to suggest that you pray those words aloud every day every noon every morning. Every evening until you know them by heart, that prayer can adjust your mindset in any given season of life. People in your core convictions strengthen your belief, which is what Wendy Lou Lee discovered the me tell you about her. Wendy was the delightful child actor who played Grace Ingalls on the television series, Little House on the Prairie. She's grown up now and her life was taken some difficult twists including a terrible health crisis but she has a deep faith in God and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ when Fox News interviewed her and asked how her health crisis impacted her. She said I just kept going back to that verse in Romans 1513 and after surgery.

I was so joyful and so I peace more than really made sense and I think that's because I put my trust in God, in his book the wisdom of tenderness, Brennan Manning tells the story of Edward Ferrell, a man who decided to travel from his hometown of Detroit to visit Ireland where he would celebrate his uncles 80th birthday early in the morning of his uncles birthday. They went for a walk along the shores of Lake Killarney as the sun rose his uncle turn, stared straight into the breaking light and for 20 minutes they stood there in silence, and then his elderly uncle began to skip along the shoreline at that age, with a radiant smile on his face. After Edward caught up with him uncle same as he said, you look so happy you want to tell me why yes lab. The old man said, tears washing down his face.

You see, the father is fond of me.

My father's sword very fond of me that moment uncle seamless experience how much he was loved by his father in heaven. An overwhelming sense of joy flooded his heart and he began to dance along the shoreline never had a moment like that. Have you ever awaken and said he really does love me, do you know what it means to overflow with hope and optimism. Paul did and you can to hope and optimism can become your everyday attitude.

So be positive about God's love for you and then secondly positive about God's plan for you. The apostle Paul constantly referred to the future. He put the past behind it, a strained forward toward what was ahead, and even when he was near death. Paul was excited about the future. Think of it while waiting on death row for his martyrdom.

He was eager for tomorrow. The last known letter, Paul wrote, was to his friend Timothy.

It was written from a prison in Rome where he awaited certain death. Listen to what he said in the final chapter of his final book for I am already being poured out as a drink offering in the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will give to me on that day, not to me only, but also to all who have loved his appearing. Paul C had an incredible perspective on living and dying. Some years before he kind of express that to the Philippians in these words he said for to me, living means living for Christ and dying is even better. But if I live I could do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don't know which is better.

I'm torn between the two desires. I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me but for your sakes.

It is better that I continue to live. Perhaps Paul's remarkable perspective, flowed from the time he was caught up to heaven and glimpsed the glories that were waiting for him up there.

We have a blessing. Paul didn't have. We have the book of Revelation, which was written after Paul's death in the final two chapters of that book describe the heavenly home were we going to spend eternity. It's in great detail in Revelation 21 and 22 and the more we study these chapters, the more excited we become about tomorrow. There is an ageless this to optimists that keeps tomorrow fresh I would tell you about one man.

Most of you know about his name is Dick Van Dyke's 94 but he doesn't know it. In his book, keep moving. He recalled filming a Disney movie he was performing advancing when he suddenly felt the back of his leg snap like a rubber band's injury grew worse and he saw a doctor who took a bunch of x-rays after studying them intensely. The doctor looked at van Dyck and he said you are covered with arthritis from head to foot. I'm surprised you could dance. I've never seen so much arthritis in one single person. What about a married person sufficient hike.

Always the comedian married or single, you're literally suffused with arthritis. The doctor said about the pain in my leg.

It's the arthritis the doctor answered chiding him and telling him it was no joking matter. Doctor predicted van Dyck would be using a walker if not a wheelchair within five years.

Dick was scared so badly he did something rash stood up in the examining room and he started tapping his toes and shuffling around, and then dancing as if proving to myself I can still order my body to do a soft shoe.

Anytime I wanted. The doctor looked at him in shock. I was 1967 was 40 years old and he writes I have never stopped dancing since. Nor do I plan to hit the stop button anytime soon as a card-carrying the glass is half full optimist, I'm going to declare that old age doesn't have to be a dreary weather report and 99.9% of the stories I've heard, it is better than the alternative, if only because you get to see what happens next.

How can you not be curious as a follower of Christ on ready to die and willing to live, but in either case, I can't wait to see what God's going to do next. I am positive about my conviction. If you want to have the mental attitude to be able to dream and to believe you need to get your mind right when you get your mind right you will have positive convictions say something else, along with positive convictions you need to develop positive conversations.

Let's talk about talking if you're positive in your court convictions. Then he will literally become more positive in the way you talk.

In recent years I've been working out with Todd Durkin at his gym fitness quest number 10 it's near my home in San Diego and it's one of America's best Jim Todd is more than a trainer is a dedicated Christian who speaks motivational into large numbers of people's upcoming book is entitled get your mind right. I'm not surprised by that title because whenever anyone walks into Todd's Jim greeted with a shout picture mind right I needed getting out of bed heading to the gym. No easy task. Everyday but an uplifting greeting in a positive shout really does improve your spirits.

What does it mean to be positive in your conversation number one. Speak positively to yourself. Sometimes we have no one to encourage us at the break of day so we have to speak to ourselves with the say something like some hundred and 18 verse 24. This is the day the Lord has made I will rejoice and be glad in it.

Try saying that over and over throughout the day. This is the day the Lord has made I will rejoice and be glad in it outside of praying your most important words are the words that you say to yourself, these words are silent but there are significant pop psychologists call this positive self talk, but I'm going to skip the trends and go straight to the Scripture my thesis. Remember, involves Paul's example to us. So did Paul ever talk to himself.

He said he strolled to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. He said, for in my interbeing.

I delight in God's love and his law.

He said I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he's able to keep what I've committed to him against that day, and as was observed and learned. He also said I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I recall preaching a sermon years ago on how to handle negative thoughts still remember my outline is what you do with negative thoughts, don't curse them. Don't nurse them. Don't rehearse them but disperse them. That's still pretty good formula. Push out your negative thoughts avoid anxiety, fear and pessimism by filling up your mind with God.

Scripture, especially his promises and then preach those promises to yourself. Psalm 42.

The psalmist said to himself while Castello my soul and while you disquieted within me. Hope in God.

For I shall yet praise him the help of my comments in my gut was David doing his preaching to himself. He was saying to himself what's wrong with you David while you cast down while you disquieted. What's wrong with you and then he said, hoping God gave himself a little sermon.

We don't know the author of Psalm 42 but were pretty sure it was King David, because he knew how to preach to himself whenever he needed to do it as a younger man with a lot of debilitating experiences while he was waiting to be the king and he had a lot of things happen to him.

One time he ran into a disastrous problem in a little village called Segway's family and the families of his men, his soldiers had been kidnapped and even his own men were turning on him he was their leader and they were talking about stoning him to death. So David, do preach to himself.

The Bible says in first Samuel 30 verse six that David watch this strengthen himself in the Lord wanted him to strengthen himself because there was nobody around to help strengthen them even have any menstruation in his buddies all turned against him.

The enemies route to killing but David knew something that we all need to know when everyone else forsakes you. God never will. And you can strengthen yourself in the Lord and in that strength.

David rose up to tackle his problems and had a positive spirit came from his belief in God and God's care for his life were constantly processing thoughts, wrote Dr. Norman right, depending how active your mind is you may produce more than 45,000 thoughts a day. It might be compared to a flock of birds flying in out of your mind to complicate our minds more.

Dr. Wright wrote not all these are conscious thoughts. Sometimes they go passes so fast. We barely notice them, but listen to what he says next. Every time you have a thought triggers an electrochemical reaction in your body. Each thought sets off a biological process about 400 billion of them at once because of that thought, chemicals, search through your body, producing electromagnetic waves have been set off emotions which effect how we behave.

Science simply confirms what Scripture has been saying all along. We are shaped and much of our lives by our thoughts. So my friend the coach and fitness quest who tells me get your mind right every time I go up there. He's on the something listening as a man thinks in his heart so is he. That's what the Scripture says once again tomorrow and will finish up the message believe on Wednesday and Thursday when you talk about investing and then on Friday finish. So we have some powerful lessons left this week and will finish all of this up in the month of October. It's all the lessons from the book forward and by the way these lessons are also on television during this month and also our magazine Turning Points features articles and information about the series.

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