What does the Bible Say About Thought-Life?

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For welcome back to words of life and welcome back to Cheryl. Thank you. Thank you. I miss you guys.

You had a busy summer all my goodness, which included taking your last child to college yes MC nesting press yes it is a beautiful thing. I'm just kidding.

I miss them with all my heart and in the transition.

He's a good kid for him. Thank you Cheryl. As you know are launching a new seven-week series today with our friend Maj. Mike Harris. He joined us on the show a while back for a series on finance, but this time he's going to be discussing our thought life as Christians may seem a bit abstract at first, but our thoughts are so powerful.

We will see throughout Scripture that so much of our behavior and identity begins with our thoughts from how we personally develop our own theologies to what we say about ourselves and to ourselves it really is very powerful thing to be conscious of the reason I love Mike doing this series is I know him. We we are friends we infect week for a very short time. As young men we lived in the same house we experienced life.

He, you know, he may talk a little different than you and I because he calls England home, but he's really using second Corinthians 10 five when he talks about taking every thought captive and that's a difficult thing.

I mean in my brain all throughout the day. There's constant fighting of thoughts going on.

You know what to say what not to say all those things but I really do appreciate the way he approaches the series now a lot of our battles are in our mind and so to take every thought captive under the Lordship of Jesus Christ is what that verse particularly says is so important to the way we live our lives and how we think about everything and Sally.

I appreciate that as well were not children anymore. When we were kids we thought like kids we talk like kids know were adults were supposed to actually use all of our life experience to control those thoughts and live a life that's clean and thought, word and deed. You read that somewhere before we know you can enjoy this series Mike is such a gifted speaker and were honored to have him join us if you miss any episodes from the series. You can learn more about the show and subscribe@salvationarmysoundcast.org hello my name is Maj. Mike Harris.

I am will equal the divisional secretary for business in Texas that's my delight to be doing a seven part series of the we cooling off twice over these seven part costs will be looking at the importance of full life. What we can ask you to do is to shut your fools and your internal philosophers in the CS Lewis's the Screwtape letters that we see a series of letters written by Screwtape, which is likely a senior demon to what would his nephew. One of the things that the Screwtape rights in one of these letters. Is this your mind is been accustomed ever since he was a boy to have a dozen incompatible philosophies Don Singh about together inside of his head so very curious and very interesting statement. CS Lewis places in this letter and I think in many ways it sums up many of the issues that we are dealing with.

When we tried to find absolute truths is way trying to process the will that we living in as Christians may waste this particular comment questions Christian doctrine, as opposed to contemporary theology's ability to find that truth, or indeed if the truth really matters a tool. So today what I want to do is establish truths as they pertain to the subject at hand and that is our fault to life now is salvation. This is really any mainstream denomination is a foundational doctrine is that of Scripture is important that we see you. That way, because I believe in Scripture.

And that's going spied but is the divine rule of Christian faith and practice to poorly see it that way because without that doctrine of following 10 doctrines have no foundation on which to stand. So I want to do today is to there. When looking at a full life as it is seen in Scripture and also what the church has to say about our life. The second book of Corinthians is an interesting letter of the first nine chapters of very positive. The very affirming.

Paul is often a very good place for this opening chapter 10 through chapter 14 is a shift shifting the tone of the letter and sleep. Give warnings and admonishments so it is in second Corinthians chapter 10 starting at verse three he writes this fool that we live in the world. We do not wage war is the will does the weapons we fight with the not weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and listen carefully and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ, and we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience.

Once you'll obedience is complete.

Interesting notion taking captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. What does that mean what does it mean to take captive our intentions. It doesn't mean that we ought to take captive about ability to wonder it means we take captive that is to take control of mind in its entirety as schemes or designs on life. All of these things so just as the fruit of the spirit includes self-control support is urging us to control every aspect of our minds and useful process. You might wonder how can I do this, how can I take control of every thought, I say to you sure that's part of the transformation from as being to the person Christ wants us to be, but is people who love him, and people who are obedient to him. A part of obedience is thinking as he thinks in less than through the process of sanctification that transformation that occurs through the indwelling of God's Holy Spirit is way over time become more and more like Christ. Scripture is very clear when it comes to expectations of the full process. So what of the church. How does the church look at our thought process that we are salvationist. Therefore John Wesley is very significant to history and theology in the writings of John Wesley that early leader of the Methodist movement. His writings have been found to contain four distinct sources when coming to the theological conclusions on these four sources that make up the theology that each one of us have is now known as the Wesleyan quadrilateral to the first source of the Wesleyan quadrilateral of the four things that shape our theology is that of Scripture is very very important that we put Scripture in its place. It is the overriding authority.

It is the gold breathe would that's given to us by God himself and we have to allow that to sit and be predominant of all the elements of the Wesleyan quadrilateral, John Wesley himself called himself a man of one book source Scripture as absolute so you look at the other three things Barry my nothing should go beyond Scripture. Nothing should go outside of the realms of Scripture to the second piece of the Wesleyan quadrilateral is tradition. I'm a salvationist. Therefore my tradition is that of a salvationist of listing may belong to other denominations and so therefore tradition our web denomination at church helped to form who we are, through its doctrines through its approach to Scripture and through the messages. Of course, that we hear on the Sunday morning and this experience experiences is an important one because it's all about our experience with God it short testimony in the Salvation Army.

We enjoy sharing testimonies.

We allow people to tell us what God is doing in their lives, how God is shaping them and how God is shifting or working with them when it comes to their theology. The final thing is reason and perhaps this is the scariest of all because through reason God is given us the ability to think and arable ability to think and we reference this ability with that with that quote from the Screwtape letters that ability to think… To go to places where Scripture is not to go outside of its realms. So this God-given gift could also be the greatest danger level because he lies the problem in controlling thoughts to go back if I might to the experience thing testimony. I've heard people say that on numerous occasions with people said I heard the audible voice of God, not one of those people. I've never heard the audible voice of God, but neither will I dismiss somebody's testimony. To that end.

If I look at Scripture is quite clear to me that God has spoken to people portably so therefore it happens it could happen again. It does happen again. God is no more limited now than ever.

He wants the problem is, I've also got the people saying vote. That's not been my experience.

I've never heard of the audible voice of God.

Therefore, that's crazy. That makes no sense of it. People dismissed under the testimony was a dangerous thing to do because what you've done by dismissing it of this testimony is certainly for potential summary like this is you've gone against what Scripture says Scripture talks about people who've heard the audible voice of God.

So therefore for me. It makes perfect sense, although is not my testimony. Scripture backs it up.

But for those who dismiss it. What they've done is also ignore what Scripture says about and one should question Scripture in this instance because of your lack of experience with God. You are then allowing yourself to go beyond scriptural principles to think beyond the realms of the Bible to think of things Scripture does not backup the tool when you start to reason beyond Scripture. It just opens the door to all kinds of things and suddenly you start living outside of Scripture and then what happens is because you feel living outside of Scripture because your experience is not strong tradition begins to change and suddenly different thoughts and principles and doctrines are being brought into Christian churches. Some will establish the long-established Christian churches, and suddenly we see now this reshaping of the doctrine that is not based on Scripture. The tool so throughout this series we want to look at this process of thought.

We want to ask questions such as is the life important. Does it matter to talk about our worldview when it comes to Scripture all beyond Scripture and I hope it is at the end of all of the sessions that I relationship with Jesus Christ will be renewed under the understanding of how we must control our minds will be understood.

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