Well, again, it is a blessing to be here with you. If you were here during the prayer service, we've already talked about this a little bit, but on Wednesday night, as we were looking at the works of the flesh and just the importance of thinking biblically about those kinds of things, there was a lot of feedback, and so I decided to to address that a little further this morning, not Galatians 5, but just the importance of thinking biblically. So that's really the title of the message this morning. It's just the importance of thinking biblically. We live in a culture that is almost all feeling and no thinking. And there's nothing wrong with feelings. Feelings are the way we are created. We have emotions, all those kinds of things, but feelings are not a determiner of truth. Often feelings are really a reaction to something. when you look at the modern day idea of worship, it's almost all suited to stir you up emotionally, to get you in, affect you primarily in your emotions. You know, as we think about worship, there are times that our emotions are stirred, but we want to make sure, and I think biblically speaking, the way that this ought to be working is that biblical thinking stirs up our emotions in a way that's congruent with the joy we ought to have over salvation, the grief we ought to have over sin, and so forth and so on. So, I want to think about this in four different categories as far as why it is so important for us to think biblically and to have our minds renewed. We were here this morning, but we'll go back just to start off in Romans 12, verses 1 and 2, where Paul says, "'I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service, and be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." So this beseeching, essentially begging, really it's a commanding. that we're not conformed to the world, and the way that that happens is as we are transformed through the renewing of our mind. How is it that we're going to do what verse 1 calls us to do? That is, to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service. How is it that we can live a life that is characterized by that? Well, it's through the constant renewal of our minds. That's how you get there. I want, again, to think about four points. The first point is just pointing out where or what unbiblical thinking produces. And then we're going to go after that and look at three more points to lay out what biblical thinking produces. and hopefully try to use those four points to prop up this reality that the way that we think, the way that we process, the way that we perceive is very important to the Christian life. It's very important to God. So, first point, this is on the basis of unbiblical thinking. If you'll turn to Ephesians 4. Ephesians 4. Ephesians 4, verses 17-19. Paul says, "'This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart, who being past feeling, have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.'" Well, the passage starts out with Paul saying, commanding that the saints in Ephesus do not walk as other Gentiles walk. That is, do not fashion your life. Do not adopt lifestyles that reflect the same lifestyles or habits of life that the Gentiles adopt. That's just that ungodly people adopt. Now, just based off of that, a few things. Number one, the fact that Paul is even saying this means that it's more than possible for believers to adopt lifestyles that are consistent with ungodliness and an ungodly people and an ungodly culture. So Paul is saying, do not do this. Do not walk the way that other Gentiles walk. How is it that they walk? Well, the descriptors really just kind of rapid fire. It starts with the mind. Listen at the descriptors. In the vanity of their mind, they walk or their manner of life is lived out of the emptiness or the foolishness of their minds. We've said this before, I'm sure we'll say it again. What you think always leads to how you live. your perceptions about reality will always affect the way that you live. And he's fixing to really show that as we get to the verse 19. So they walk in the vanity of their minds. Secondly, out of verse 18, having their understanding darkened, that just really, it just simply means that They have the inability to understand or to perceive. And because of that, because their understanding is darkened, they walk in darkness. Number three, it says they are, out of verse 18b, they are alienated from the life of God. How? Through the ignorance that is in them. So unbiblical thinking produces, this is in both believer and unbeliever, it's just different. Unbiblical thinking produces, according to this text, separation from God. For the believer, really, it's separation from God's blessings, separation from God's comforts, separation from that peace and communion that comes as you walk with the Lord and as you think accurately about the Lord. But unbiblical thinking produces this. And then we get to verse 19. where in describing these Gentiles, it says, "...who being past feeling have given themselves over into lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with greediness." Okay, they're past feeling. Scripture talks about the heart or the conscience being seared. repeat a sinful action, a sinful behavior so long and so many times that eventually you do that and it doesn't affect you at all. Their past feeling, having given themselves over to lasciviousness or what we would just call shameless living. That is, their life is characterized by shameful actions and life habits, Although they are immersed in that and they're given over to that, they feel no shame. Well, how does that start? Well, again, it starts with the way you think. It starts in the way that you perceive. It starts in the way that you process particular things. As we said on Wednesday night, if we can begin to explain away sin, as some sort of sickness, some sort of genetic predisposition, some sort of something else besides it being an offense against a holy God that results from you fulfilling the lust of your flesh, then there's no basis for anything being shameful. There's no basis for anything for you to be restrained from this, that, or the other. And so these Gentiles, these godless men and women who walk in the vanity of their mind, whose understanding is darkened, who's alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, well, this plays its way out into their lives. Again, I would just point out one more time, the way that you think will always affect your chosen lifestyle. the way that you think will always affect your chosen lifestyle. This is with everything. It doesn't matter. This is with everything. So, people who have... If we just bring it to something that's what we wouldn't call gross sin. People who have a faulty understanding of what Scripture has to say about corporate worship and being committed to the church have a lifestyle that reflects that faulty understanding. It's not a priority because the way they think, the way they understand. It's not a priority because they think something else is more important. People that have a faulty understanding of all sorts of sexual promiscuity live that out based on that faulty understanding. And we could go on and on and on and on. Now, you'll notice it's been this way from the beginning. Look in Genesis 3. Genesis 3. I want to read the first six verses. Genesis 3, starting in verse 1, It says, "'Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.' And he said unto the woman, "'Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?' And the woman said unto the serpent, "'We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" And the serpent said unto the woman, You shall not surely die. For God doth know that in the day that ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat." First sin. We see how Satan works here. Now, again, it's worth noticing the progression. Eve goes from thinking biblically or in line with God about the tree of the knowledge of fruit and evil to thinking unbiblically or ungodlike about this tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So in verses 2 and 3, we see that Eve is thinking correctly here. Whenever Satan comes and says, Can you not eat of every tree of the garden? The woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, But of the fruit of the tree, which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest ye die." So Satan comes with the temptation and really what Eve does here is reflects the same thing that Christ does as he faces temptation from Satan in the wilderness. He fights temptation with God's Word. Eve begins by fighting Satan's temptation with God's Word. She's thinking correctly from the standpoint of the day that you eat it, you will die. Now, she does add to it, don't touch it. That's not what he said, but she was thinking accurately from the perspective of the fruit of this tree will lead to death. And so she avoided it. She didn't touch it. She didn't eat it. Satan comes and tries to entice her, and she starts out doing pretty good. But then the serpent responds. Satan responds in verse 4, "'You will not surely die, for God doth know that in the day that ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. So Satan begins to replace this truth with a lie. And think about how wildly different, wildly opposite what Satan is saying than what God is saying. God is saying, if you eat this, you will die. And Satan says, no, no, no, no, no. The reality is if you eat it, then you'll really live for the first time. You'll have knowledge you've never had before. you'll have wisdom that you never had before. You'll be like God. You know, Satan could have said, you're not going to die. You might get a little sick, but you'll get over it pretty quick. You're not going to die. But it's completely opposite. And so Eve begins to look at the tree with new perceptions. Notice. in verse 6, "'And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise.'" Now, pay attention to the way that's worded. Why did she desire it? Because no longer did she view it as a tree that led to death, it was a tree that led to wisdom. It was desired because it was to make one wise. Well, then she took of the fruit. And she ate. And she gave to her husband and he did eat also. Well. You know the difference between verses 2 and 3 and verse 6. Is that in verses 2 and 3, Eve is thinking biblically. In verse 6, Eve is thinking satanically. So that's kind of a strong word. Well, what else do you call it? She's thinking the same way Satan's thinking. Have you ever thought about the fact that all unbiblical thinking is satanic? I mean, where do you think lies come from? Who's the father of lies? Who is it that is seeking to devour, to deceive, to destroy God's kingdom and God's people? And so all unbiblical thinking is really satanic thinking. And then again, we see it from Genesis 3. Satanic thinking leads to satanic rebellion every time. Satanic thinking that's not dealt with leads to satanic rebellion. How was it that Satan was cast out Well, it was through pride. He wanted to exalt himself above God. How is it that Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden, at least Eve? How is it that she was deceived? What was the deception? What did it lead to? Well, it led to a pride that said, Lord, you're trying to keep me from being what I could be. I want to exalt myself above where I currently am. So the importance of biblical thinking, number one, unbiblical thinking produces separation from God. Now again, we think about that even in line with Romans 8, where we know that nothing can separate us from the love of God, and so unbiblical thinking is not going to cause anybody to lose their salvation, but brothers and sisters, unbiblical thinking can separate you from the blessings that God has in store for you. Unbiblical thinking can keep you from, and I would say, by and large, keeps people from the peace and comfort and joy that God has for every believer. Now, let's move on to the positive side of the importance of thinking biblically. And the unstated reality is that where biblical thinking is not present, then these next three things are not present either. So biblical thinking produces, number one, maturity through sanctification. Maturity. but it's Christian maturity. Maturity through sanctification. Look in 2 Peter 3. 2 Peter 3. In verse 18, Peter is ending his letter here. And here's the exhortation. Here's the command. But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen. Here's the exhortation. Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. How is it that an individual grows in grace? I mean, that's just a synonymous term for sanctification. And sanctification is that slow but steady maturity that God works in the believer over time as we are conformed more and more into the image of Jesus Christ, so that we think like Christ, we respond the way that Christ responds, overall look, I don't mean physically, but your character overall looks more and more like Christ. Well, how do you do that? Number one, it's a growth. And how is it that that growth takes place? Well, it's through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. You see, growth is, I would say, primarily. Obviously, experience goes a long way for growth, but it has to be experience interpreted through truth or at least experience that leads toward truthful interpretations. So there are times where you can go through difficulties and realize, I've been thinking about this all wrong. And so your perceptions are aligned, your thinking is aligned with Scripture. But primarily, what the Lord is going to use to grow you and to grow me in grace is our knowledge of Jesus Christ. Or we could just say that the way that Jesus prays it in John 17, 17. Sanctify them through Your truth. Your Word is truth. It's this ongoing washing of the Word where our minds, as we said this morning, are renewed, or as 2 Corinthians 3 says, we are changed from glory to glory, one degree of glory to another, to another, to another, as we behold Him. Well, how do we behold Him? Well, it's through the Word. That's how we behold Him. Real, I don't know if deficit's the right word. One of the problems that we have in our culture and so many of the churches is that we have folks who just are really ignorant when it comes to what does Scripture say about X, Y, or Z. I mean, fill in the blame. It's sad whenever you see folks who have been in church all their life and they have no real perception, no real knowledge of what God has to say about any given topic. It's sad to see people who in the vein of Hebrews 5, ought not to be using the milk of the word. They should have moved on to the meat, but they haven't done that. And the reason why they haven't done that is because they've lived off of their emotional responses rather than every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. And so brothers and sisters, I don't have this as one of the points, but as we think about maturity and sanctification, this certainly applies. The more you mature in grace, the more you grow in grace, the greater blessing you're going to be to your church and to the kingdom as a whole. The more you mature in grace, the greater blessing you're going to be to your family. The better equipped husbands are going to be to lead. The better equipped wives are going to be to be a helper. The better equipped we're all going to be to fill those roles and responsibilities that the Lord has given us. But as that's neglected, then you see just a complete destruction of all of those sorts of things. You don't have to turn there because we were just there, but in Romans 12 to. Again, it's worth noting that your reasonable service always begins with the renewing of your mind. Now, if the importance of biblical thinking is priority, if maturity through sanctification is a priority, but think about how that relates to, I mean, it's not just that means I have to open my Bible every day, but think about how that relates to the way you view coming to worship and sitting under a message, whether it's me or anybody else. If John 17, 17 is a prayer that God answers, and we know that God answers the prayers that Christ prays, then one of the things that's happening is, slowly but surely, degree by degree by degree, you're being sanctified through the word that you receive from the pulpit if you're attentive to it. If you take it and perceive it, understand it, meditate on it, As far as this renewal of the mind as it relates to sanctification, back to Ephesians chapter 4. This is after Paul points out where the Gentiles are and how you shouldn't be walking the way that they walk. That's in Ephesians chapter 4. We're going to be looking at verse 22 through 24. He says, in verse 20, this is just the transition between 17-19 and 22-24. He says, if you're walking the way the Gentiles walk, you didn't learn that from Christ. If so be that you have heard Him and have been taught by Him as the truth is in Jesus, that you put off concerning the former conversation, the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lust, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." This whole growth process pivots on the renewal of the mind. You want to know how God typically convicts people of sin? It's through the Word. Paul said, I wouldn't even have known what sin was had God not revealed that to me through the Word. Or he also says this, I would not have been able to detect my own covetousness had the Word not exposed that in my own heart. It's through the Word that this conviction is brought about, that this repentance is brought about, but this whole concept of a renewed mind is what all of this stuff pivots on. This is a sin. This is something that needs to be repented of. This is something that needs to be turned from and needs to be replaced with righteousness, with behavior or actions that are pleasing to God. Well, again, how do we know any of that? How will we know any of that? Let's see the Word. There are times where people bank on these different unctions from the Holy Spirit. Well, I'm not saying that the Spirit can't move in your heart. I'm not saying that the Spirit can't give you some sort of an experience that gets your attention. But I am saying this, we are commanded to test every spirit. And the only way you can do that is by testing what you think you're being moved to do, against the Word of God, where we know the Spirit has spoken. And so regardless, whatever you think about that, as far as the Spirit's moving me to do this or the Spirit's moving me to do that, the Spirit will never move you and will never grow you in an area that is contrary to Scripture. And you will never know if it's the Holy Spirit or if it's a temptation from Satan. or from the flesh, or any other worldly influence, unless you know Scripture. So, biblical thinking produces, and it will always produce, maturity through sanctification. Now, here's an aspect of that. This is point number three. Biblical thinking will always produce guidance through wisdom. Guidance through wisdom. Now, wisdom is a part of sanctification, but wisdom is something we're going to need from start to finish as far as our life is concerned. You think about what a high priority wisdom is in Scripture. You've got an entire section of Scripture that's dedicated to wisdom. I'm not just talking about Proverbs, but the collection of books around Proverbs. Biblical thinking produces discernment and wisdom. Look in Philippians 1. Philippians 1. In verse 9, Paul prays this prayer. It says, "'And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment, that you may approve things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense until the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God." Now, Paul ends this prayer with the end goal for the Philippian saints. That is, that they would be filled with fruits of righteousness that are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. But notice how he expects that they're going to get there. starting out in verse 9. He's praying that their love would abound more and more. How is it going to do that in knowledge and in all judgment? You know, rightly understood, the more we know, the more our love for God and love for others ought to grow and abound. Sometimes people make a false distinction, although we can understand what they mean, when they try to separate or make a distinction between what you know about God and your love for God. If you don't know God, love is really based on your knowledge of someone. If you don't know God, it's going to be impossible for your love to grow in any kind of meaningful way. You might be able to get yourself stirred up. You might be able to get the emotions warmed and all those kinds of things based on something, but it's the more that you know about God, about His character, it's really the more you can rest in God and in His character that your love is going to abound more and more. And how is it that you grow to know more and more about God, even in an experiential way? Well, it's through Scripture. That's how. How would you know to pray for God's faithfulness? How would you know to pray for God's mercy? How would you know when it would be appropriate to do that? Scripture. How would you know that God is concerned with all the small details of your life. You wouldn't know that if Scripture didn't tell you that. And so, praying that our love would abound more and more in all knowledge, and the word here is judgment, but the word is really discernment, that you may approve things that are excellent. Now that goes back to what we were talking about on Wednesday night. What are we approving? What are we adopting? What is it that's building the constructs of the way that we think about the world around us and the things in the world around us? Are we approving that which is good? Are we approving that which is excellent? The things that God approves? Or are we approving satanic wisdom? Are we approving, really, it's better to probably say satanic perversion? We're commanded in 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 21, to prove all things. And the word prove there could be, and it's probably more helpful to translate it as discern. To discern all things. Think about how that relates to what we were praying this morning in taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. You see, Christians ought to be a thinking people. We ought to be a discerning people. 2 Timothy 3, verse 16 says that the Word of God is, number one, it's inspired, breathed out by God, but number two, it is profitable, it is useful. And it gives the four categories there, but the point I want to enforce is that it's meant to help us discern. It's meant to help us, or it's meant to be used to help us think through these kinds of things. So people who are thinking biblically are being guided by wisdom. Now, I want you to think about how many people's lives are just devastated by foolishness. I mean, you just have to look around. I mean, really, we live in a country that is just saturated with foolishness from the top down. Look in Proverbs 2. Proverbs 2. Now, this is a book of wisdom. The real comparison contrast is between wisdom and foolishness. This whole book is built around that. Now, I want to read. It's a little bit of a lengthier reading. I want to read verses 1-9 of Proverbs 2, but pay attention to what's being said here. The priority of wisdom. Proverbs 2, starting in verse 1, He says, "'My son, if thou wilt receive My words and hide My commandments with thee, so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom and apply thy heart to understanding, yea, if thou cryest after knowledge and liftest up thy voice for understanding, if thou seekest her as silver and searchest for her as for hid treasures, Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom out of His mouth, cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous. He is a buckler, a shield to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment and preserveth the way of His saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness and judgment and equity, yea, every good path." Notice how Solomon is speaking to his son here about wisdom. Cry after it. Search for it. Go after it. I mean, all the ways that he is exhorting and encouraging here is go hard after wisdom. Pursue understanding and knowledge. And when you've done that, verse 5, then will you understand the fear of the Lord. You see, wisdom is a priority. But wisdom isn't gotten through what I would call shallow means. Sometimes we function and live off of just homespun wisdom may or may not have a biblical basis. Now, there's nothing wrong with homespun wisdom that's based on Scripture. That is, some sayings that are passed down or maybe that you pick up on and there's a scriptural warrant for that. But there is something wrong with homespun wisdom that you have absolutely zero biblical basis to be handing out. So think about this, what we said earlier. Unbiblical thinking is really satanic thinking, right? If it's not what God has said, if it's against what God has said, then it's satanic thinking. Now, when we're thinking about wisdom, we receive wisdom, but sometimes we also offer wise words or we seek to give wise words, direction, guidance to other people. Well, if the opposite of biblical thinking is satanic thinking, then the opposite of biblical guidance would be what kind of guidance? Satanic guidance. Do you think God cares if you're handing out satanic guidance to those that you're trying to do good to? Well, we do it all the time. We don't think about it that way. Matter of fact, there's probably a few of you here who are saying, that is way overstated. Well, if you're thinking unbiblically, it is. He says, look for it, go after it, apply your heart, cry after it. Proverbs 9. Proverbs 9. Verse 6, he says, "...forsake the foolish and live, and go in the way of understanding." You see, one of the things about Proverbs is it can be misunderstood as just a series of simplistic statements that are thrown out and said, well, who doesn't know that? But really, the book of Proverbs is full of these, they're short for sure. They've been called portable truths. Portable truths, that is, they're just these short sayings, easily remembered if you apply yourself to them. But they are packed full of wisdom. for a vast array of situations. So I could say, forsake the foolish and live. Well, of course, but I want you to think about the thousands of ways that that has been ignored and the devastating results. Think about the thousands of ways as a child that the encouragement ought to be forsake foolishness and live. Think about the thousands of ways that someone going to college could apply, forsake the foolish and live. Think about the thousands of ways that a newlywed could apply, forsake the foolish and live. Think about the thousand ways that a individual in middle age and older, and we could keep going with that and you already know what I'm gonna say, Forsake the foolish and live and do what? Go in the way of understanding. How in the world are you going to forsake the foolish and live? By knowing the way of understanding. That's how. You see, you will not detect foolishness if you don't have wisdom. If you don't have wisdom, everything looks good. Remember the book of Judges? Remember the big problem? Everyone did what was right in their own eyes. And you read that book and you're thinking, how in the world could they have done those kinds of things? Because they didn't have wisdom. Or Proverbs 23. Proverbs 23. Verse 19. Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way." Hear and be wise and guide your heart in the way. Now, sometimes, I say sometimes, I mean, this is the way temptation always works. Sometimes you can know something, you know, cognitively, and still be led astray by your desires, by being convinced that for whatever reason, this will work out for my good. This won't be that bad. We could fill in the blanks with a bunch of different things. But the exhortation here in verse 19, which is completely contrary to the world's wisdom, is if you're going to be wise, you better learn how to guide your heart in a way. That is, you better learn how to guide your heart through wisdom. That is, you better not live a life that's primarily a response to the way you feel about something. That's easier said than done, isn't it? But the path to destruction or at least one of the paths to destruction, is paved by your desires. Maybe it's resistance to what you ought to be doing because you don't feel like it. At least not yet. Maybe I'll get around to it, but not right now. Or, how could I feel so strongly, so intensely about something? that's this wrong, flat out wrong. Well, the way that works is that our hearts are so deceitful. And Satan is such a good deceiver. And outside of the Word of God, the sword of the Spirit, the helmet of faith, all those things, outside of those things, you and I are so susceptible to his lies. Because whether we want to admit it or not, Naturally speaking, we are so inclined to foolishness that we would be horrified if we really saw the real us. I mean, we just eat it up. We drink it up like water. So Solomon says, guide your heart in the way through wisdom, which is acquired through biblical thinking. Hebrews 5. Hebrews 5. Think about biblical thinking leading to guidance through wisdom. Here, Paul is rebuking the saints who were the recipients of this letter, and here's what he says in verse 12. Hebrews 5. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God, and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness." That's just the word of God. "'For he is a babe, but strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age,' or those who are mature, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." So this wisdom that we're talking about really comes through maturity. It happens over time. There's no shortcuts to wisdom. Being wise and being spiritually mature, those are fairly synonymous things. And I'm going to put it in different wording, but according to verse 14, maturity comes through having your perceptions or your judgments trained. So strong meat belongs to them who are full of age, that is, mature. Even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised. So the word senses there just means your perceptions or your judgments. Exercise just means to have them trained. So this is a repetitive thing. You've been doing this for a while, and because you've been doing this for a while, you've gained wisdom, you've gained maturity. So maturity comes through having your perceptions or your judgments trained to discern through ongoing practice. even those who by reason of use." That is, even those who have been practicing this. Now, the point that I'm trying to make is this is something that's done intentionally. It's on purpose. You're not just going to accidentally wake up one day and be wise on accident. You have to intentionally begin to think about how God's Word relates to your life. You know, I would say one of the reasons why so many people get so bored in their Bible reading and they can't make it very far is because they really look at the Bible as a sentimental book that's just supposed to stir up warm fuzzies, and if it stops doing that, once you get to Leviticus and those warm fuzzies stop because you're trying to make sense out of what's being said, then you fall off. But that's not what the Word of God is primarily meant to do. The Word of God is primarily meant to build you up, to bring maturity, to transform you through the renewal of your mind, to bring you to maturity as you grow in using it to shape your judgments, your perceptions, and to form discernment in the life of the believer. So, biblical thinking leads to maturity through sanctification, it leads to guidance through wisdom, and then the last point here quickly is that it leads to sustaining through hope. Now, we could do a whole message on this side of things, but one of the ways that unbiblical thinking is manifest so often is through doubting and discouragement through life. You realize that our discouragements in life, and we do face discouragements, but our discouragements through life so often are due to the way we're looking at and viewing our circumstances. Now, it doesn't mean, as I say that, it doesn't mean that you will look at some circumstances that currently make you sad and somehow be giddy and giggly about them. But it does mean this, for the Christian, we have reason to hope in any and every circumstance. There's not a circumstance that you and I will face. There's not a loss that we will endure. There's not a disappointment that you will face to where hope shouldn't be a reality that sustains you through. So according to Hebrews 6, verses 17 through 20, Let me just read that. It says, "...wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel confirmed by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us." which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil. Whether the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus made a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." Now, I go here just to say this about hope. Hope is based on, according to this text, Hope is based on the immutable promises of God. The immutable promises of God just means hope is based on this reality that God doesn't change. And if He makes a promise, then that promise is a sure thing. Now, if we back up a little bit more on that, hope really is a mindset or a way of thinking. that you can't detach hope from the way that you think. We've often said that one of the problems is that we tend to put our hopes in things that God has not guaranteed. Really, all that really means is we tend to think positively about things in ways that God never promised. We tend to think things are going to work out that God never said were going to work out. We tend to think things were not going to change that God never said weren't going to change, and so forth and so on. And so our hope is rooted in God's unchangeable promises. Biblical hope, according to this text, brings strong consolation. That could be translated, it brings powerful comfort to those who lay hold of it. And then biblical hope also anchors the soul. So brothers and sisters, again, I would just say this. Outside of biblical thinking, there is no biblical hope. What do we have to hope in if we don't have a word from God? Well, the answer is nothing. What do we have to hope in that's solid, that's not going to change, that's not fleeting? But you know, God has given us plenty of words to lay hold of in times of discouragement, in times of devastation. I mean, we think of several. Number one, that hope that most of us are familiar with out of Romans 8.28. That for His people, God is working all things together for good, for those who love Him, for those who are called according to His purpose. Well, that doesn't mean all things are good. We still go through difficult things. We still go through hard things. But you know, the difference between disappointment and despair is hope. I can be disappointed. My heart can even be crushed. But I don't have to be consumed by that if I'm seeking to live off of the promises of God that speak hope into sorrow and devastation. So if we think about trials, all sorts of trials from a biblical framework, and this is not meant to be. I've used this phrase before, but it's not meant to be. Hope is not a magic eraser from the standpoint that it just erases all feelings of sorrow, all feelings of discouragement, all feelings of of pain and those sorts of things. But hope is meant to sustain us, to strengthen us, to work through the sorrow, to move through the discouragement and disappointment. So a passage like Romans 5. Therefore being justified by faith, verse 1, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we also have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice and hope the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations or trials also, knowing that tribulations work patience or endurance, and patience experience, and experience hope. And hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given to us." So Paul says, because of our justification in Christ, we can glory in tribulations. Why? because God is using every one of our trials to grow us. Every tribulation you have is an opportunity to grow. Every discouragement that you have is an opportunity to grow. And I love the way that Paul lays this out as far as his progression. And so it's tribulation, works, patience, or endurance. It just means you're not throwing in the towel. It means you're continuing by faith to move forward, grasping onto the promise that God is going to be faithful. He hasn't left me. He hasn't forsaken me. I don't know how He's going to work this. I don't know how this pain is ever going to be healed, but I do know this. God is faithful. So I'm going to keep moving forward. And that leads to experience or character That is, as your life goes on, the disappointments continue to roll, the sadness continues to come, the waves of difficulty continue to crash in, and yet, through this endurance that has come through these tribulations, your character is fortified, it's grown, so that you can look back and say, well, I've been through these kinds of things before, God was faithful then, and He's going to be faithful now. That doesn't come outside of a biblical mindset, brothers and sisters. You would never get here by following your feelings. This comes through line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little, kind of transformation that comes through the Word. And so then experience produces what? Hope. That makes you not ashamed because the love of God has been shed abroad into your heart. So it's this sustaining strength, this sustaining comfort that happens as we seek to live off of every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. And so, brothers and sisters, again, just as a recap, the importance of thinking biblically. These are just four. We could come up with a lot more. But unbiblical thinking is always going to produce separation from God and His blessings. Biblical thinking is going to produce maturity through sanctification, guidance through wisdom, and sustaining through hope. So may God bless us to stay in the fight of having our minds renewed regularly. Let's pray. Father, we thank you again that you have given us your word, that you have given us your spirit, and that we can have our minds renewed. Lord, we're thankful that You have spoken and that You've revealed Yourself and Your ways, the way of wisdom to us. And so, Father, I pray that You would bless us with endurance in Your Word. I pray that You would bless us to taste of the fruits of the blessings of being there and to be motivated to be more faithful. Lord, we're so thankful for Your mercy to us, Your faithfulness to us, that You will continue the work that You've begun in us. And Father, I pray You would bless us to take seriously the call to be a light in the world that people may see our good works and glorify You. Father, we know that that is not going to happen if we aren't being transformed through the renewing of our minds. And so we pray that would be the case. In Jesus' name, Amen.