Pastor Doug Wilson BETHANY A PLACE OF NEW BEGINNINGS

August 21, 2016 First in a series of messages

1. It matters that we think. We are created to think.

PROVERBS 15:14 (NLTse)

A wise person is hungry for knowledge,

while the fool feeds on trash.
PROVERBS 1:5 (TNIV)

...let the wise listen and add to their learning,

and let the discerning get guidance
PROVERBS 9:9 (TNIV)

Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still;

teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.
PROVERBS 25:2 (TNIV)

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;

to search out a matter is the glory of kings.
PSALM 32:8-9 (TNIV)
8

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should
go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
9
Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.

2. It matters what we think.

MARK 2:8 (TNIV)

Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what

they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them,
Why are you thinking these things?
COLOSSIANS 1:21 (NLTse)

...you...were once far away from God. You were his

enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and
actions.
ROMANS 1 (NLTse)
21

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldnt worship him as

God or even give him thanks. And they began to think
up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their
minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be
wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of
worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they
worshiped idols made to look like mere people and
birds and animals and reptiles.
28

Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he

abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them
do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives
became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed,
hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious
behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters
of God, insolent, proud, & boastful. They invent new
ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31 They
refuse to understand, break their promises, are
heartless, and have no mercy.

3. It matters how we think.

God wants us to think like grownups, not like babies!

1 CORINTHIANS 14:20 (TNIV)

Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children.

In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be
adults.

God wants us to focus our thinking on admirable

things!
PHILIPPIANS 4:8 (TNIV)

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true,

whatever is
noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is
lovely, whatever is admirable if anything is
excellent or praise-worthy think about such things.
God wants our thinking to be under the Spirits
direction!
EPHESIANS 4:17-18 (TNIV) & 20-23 (NLTse)
17

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that

you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the
futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their
understanding and separated from the life of God
because of the ignorance that is in them due to the
hardening of their hearts.
20

But that isnt what you learned about Christ. 21 Since

you have heard about Jesus and have learned the
truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful
nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted
by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew
your thoughts and attitudes.
God wants our thinking to be shaped by His Word!
2 PETER 3:1-2 (NLTse)
1

This is my second letter to you, dear friends, and in

both of them I have tried to stimulate your
wholesome thinking and refresh your memory. 2 I want
you to remember what the holy prophets said long
ago and what our Lord and Savior commanded
through your apostles.
God wants our thinking to be influenced by His
people!
PROVERBS 11:14

There is wisdom in a multitude of counselors.

ACTS 15:28 (TNIV)

It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us...

COLOSSIANS 3:16-17 (NLTse)
16

Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill

your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the
wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And
whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of

the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the

Father.

4. It matters how we talk about what we think.

Whats love got to do with it?
PROVERBS 18:2 (MSG)

Fools care nothing for thoughtful discourse;

all they do is run off at the mouth.
PROVERBS 15:1 (TNIV)

A gentle answer turns away wrath,

but a harsh word stirs up anger.
PROVERBS 15:4 (TNIV)

The soothing tongue is a tree of life,

but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.
1 CORINTHIANS 8:1 (TNIV)

...knowledge puffs up while love builds up.

1 CORINTHIANS 8:1-3 (J.B. Phillips)

...while knowledge may make a man look big, it is only

love that can make him grow to his full stature. For
whatever a man may know, he still has a lot to learn,
but if he loves God, he is opening his whole life to the
Spirit of God.

2 CORINTHIANS 10:5 (TNIV)

We demolish arguments and every pretension that

sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we
take captive every thought to make it obedient to
Christ.
2 CORINTHIANS 10:5 (MSG)

We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped

philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against
the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and
emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped
by Christ.

PROVERBS 11:14 (MSG)

Without good direction, people lose their way;

the more wise counsel you follow, the better your
chances.
EPHESIANS 4:23-24 (NLTSe)

exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we

are accountable.
REVELATION 2:23b (NLTse)

I am the one who searches out the thoughts &

intentions of every person. And I will give to each of
you whatever you deserve.

23

Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and

attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like
God truly righteous and holy.

MATTHEW 9:4 (TNIV)

Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, Why do you

entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?

God cares about what we think!

HEBREWS 4:12-13 (NLTSse)
12

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper

than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between
soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes
our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all
creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and

ACTS 5:4 (TNIV)

Didnt it belong to you before it was sold? And after it

was sold, wasnt the money at your disposal? What
made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied
just to human beings but to God.