Mastermind #4

And from a Roman prison, he wrote this very meaningful, encouraging, letter of joy to the believers in Philippi, and this is how he was ending his letter

Philippians 4:6–9 ESV

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

THE PEACE OF GOD

How many of you would say that you occasionally, or maybe even often, have runaway thoughts?

You worry about things. You have fear, at times, some anxiety. Why do we do this?

One time… frog kicker

Our minds can so easily run away from us. Let's talk about worry and the mind.

Your life will always move in the direction of your strongest thoughts.

Why is it that our minds often compound itself with fear?

I'll try to answer the question. We've been talking a lot about the brain that God designed.

In our brains, there's a little almond shaped portion of the mind that's known as the amygdala. Whenever you're afraid, the amygdala is in full gear.

The amygdala is a very helpful part of the brain that's wired for survival. It's wired to make us afraid so that we run away from the things that could be harmful or dangerous to us.

It's the part of the brain that's responsible for fear.

The amygdala is responsible for your survival for fear. The problem is, the amygdala is not objective. It's got one role, one function, and that is to protect.

Your brain, the amygdala, is hardwired to protect. That's why this little almond-shaped, portion of the brain, needs help from the prefrontal cortex. This is the logical part of the brain. This is the part of the brain, that speaks up whenever the amygdala goes out of control.

For example, it's the middle of the night, you hear a noise somewhere, your amygdala says,

"You're gonna die!" The prefrontal cortex kicks in and says, "No, that's probably the cat."

This is why God gave us the logical part of the brain, to work with the amygdala that is pre wired for survival. Without the prefrontal cortex, the amygdala, it responds according to programming.

Many of you, because of the way you've lived, your brain has now been pre-programmed to respond to triggers that take you in an unhealthy zone of worry, fear, and anxiety.

You see something, you experience something, and it triggers a response that leads to fear or unhealthy thinking. Let me tell you very clearly, what scripture does not say. Jesus, our savior, did not say, "Let your hearts be troubled." He didn't say that. Jesus said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled."

Paul did not say, "Be anxious about everything." But while under house arrest, wanting to be anywhere else at all, Paul said this: He said, "Do not be anxious about anything."

When you're financially burdened, when you're battling with an addiction, when you're fighting against a marital challenge. "In every situation, by prayer "and by petition with thanksgiving", what do you do? You, "Present your requests to God. "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding"

English Standard Version Chapter 4

6 rdo not be anxious about anything, sbut in everything by prayer and supplication twith thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And uthe peace of God, vwhich surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Don't be anxious about anything, but in everything, with prayer, we present our requests to God. And this supernatural peace from heaven will guard our hearts and our minds. Notice,

How do we achieve, how do we find, how do we experience, this heavenly peace from God?

We experience it through the pathway of prayer; talking to God.

The problem is, for so many of us, prayer is the last resort. Have you ever heard somebody say, "Well, all we can do now, I guess, is pray."

God hears your prayers. You do not have because you do not ask.

not only does prayer move the heart of God, but prayer also changes the chemistry in your brain.

Praying to God helps renew your mind.

Our brain is constantly changing. It's evolving. It's rewiring itself as we think thoughts, or as we experience experiences, our brain is rewiring itself through a process known as neuroplasticity.

There's another term that I love to study about, known as neurotheology. Theology. What is theology? The study of God. It's also known as spiritual neuroscience. What is this? This is the study of the relationship between the brain and a belief in God. This is the study behind what happens to a human brain through prayer, and what happens, let me give you the spoiler. Are you ready for it?

Prayer changes your brain.

Not only does prayer touch the heart of God, but prayer changes the chemistry of your brain. A book called, Switch on Your Brain, and Dr. Leaf says this: She says,

“It has been found that 12 minutes of daily focused prayer over an 8-week period can change the brain to such an extent that it can be measured on a brain scan.”

— Dr. Caroline Leaf, author of Switch On Your Brain

Prayer, on the other hand, it heals the brain, it renews the mind, and this is why, in Romans 12, Paul said this, he said, "Do not be conformed "to the patterns or the thought processes, "or the ways of this world, but be transformed, "be made different."

How are you made different? He said,

"By the renewing of your mind." God's word renews your mind, and prayer to God transforms your mind.

Why do we worry, then? Why do we get so freaked out? Why is it that we stay awake in the middle of the night, and we're anxious, and why do we get so on edge? Why are we so uptight all the time?

There's a lot of different reasons, but one of the reasons is, we're experiencing what's called the amygdala hijack. The amygdala takes over and says, "Panic! "Survive! "Save yourself! "Prepare yourself for the worst case scenario! "It's bad! "It's gonna be worse! "It's too late to pray! "Survive! "Forget everybody else! "Save yourself!"

Paul would tell you from a theological position is this: He would say, "Your mind is dominated by sinful thinking."

What is worry? You can define worry this way: Worry is the sin of distrusting the promises and power of God.

What is worry? Worry is saying, God, I don't believe you're good enough to cover this. God, I don't trust you with this. The amygdala hijack, or, letting your mind being dominated by sinful thinking.

He'd say, "Instead of letting "my sinful nature control my mind, "I want to choose." And here's what I love about this:

I'm gonna let the logical part of my brain choose that which is spiritual, because I believe that which is spiritual is eternal, therefore, I'm going to logically choose to believe what God says is true.

I'm gonna let my brain choose the truth of the spirit, therefore the spirit can direct my brain.

Romans 8:5–6 ESV

5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

That's why we take every thought captive. If there is a thought that is inconsistent with God's word, we take that thought captive, and we make it obedient to Christ.

We choose to follow God's truth. We choose to follow his spirit, which leads us to not anxiety, not to stress, not to fear, not to panic, but it lead us to life and peace.

How do we do this?

You got a box full of worries. Oh, I got this coming and that coming. So, in a moment of faith, you take whatever's worrying you, and you say God, I give this to you! Take it, Lord! Take it! God, if you haven't done anything with it, I'm taking it back!

Why do we do this?

Why, in the middle of the night-- God, I don't think you can handle it. The problem is, your God is too small. Your worries are too big. It's time to get a bigger God..

Practical - to get a box. It could just be a shoe box, and put God's name on it, symbolically, and every time you've got a worry, a burden, a concern, your mind races, write down what that worry is. Whatever it is. Write it down, and put it symbolically, in your God box, and say, God, I'm trusting you with this person. I'm trusting you with this situation

What are we told to do? We're told to cast all of our cares on him, because he cares for us. We don't just take our worries and put them with God. We take our life, and we become hidden with God in Christ Jesus. We give it all to him

I'm gonna do what I can do. Then, what I'm gonna do, is I'm going to give God what I can't do. I'm going to do what I can do, then I'm going to give God what I can't do, and ultimately then, I'm going to trust God no matter what.

What I want you to know, is that is possible, and it's also a choice. It's a choice of where you let your mind go.

Conclusion

I confess Jesus is first in my life! I exist to serve and glorify him! I am disciplined. Christ in me is stronger than the wrong desires in me. I confess the truth. I am growing closer to Jesus every day. Because of Christ, my family is closer, my body is stronger, my faith is deeper, my leadership is sharper. I am creative, innovative, driven, blessed by the power of the Holy Spirit, because he dwells within me. My words, thoughts, and imaginations are under the power of Christ. I take all thoughts captive, and make them obedient to Christ.

Do what I can do.

Give God what I can’t do.

Trust God no matter what.

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