A Daily Walk

John Randall: Pornography is a growing problem in the world today, and it's having a devastating impact on lives and families. Pastor John encourages us to protect our minds. How important is it to protect our mind? Extremely important. It's death to families, death to marriages, death to relationships, death to ministry. Listen, Job declared this, Job said in Job 31, verse one, "I have made a covenant with my eyes, why should I look at a young woman?" Let’s make a covenant with our eyes. Let’s make an agreement here. Lord, I want to protect my mind.

The Psalmist said, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, oh God." And so we pause and we ask ourselves, am I guarding my mind? What are we placing in front of our eyes today?

Guest (Male): If you were to write a letter to a friend who is suffering, you might not think of including a word or two about holiness. But as we'll see today on A Daily Walk, Peter sure did, and for good reason. Pastor John Randall is about to show us how to win the battle of the mind through the power of the Holy Spirit and Word of God. We're making our way through First Peter. Let's return to chapter one. We start off with a test for you to take.

John Randall: In the book of Philippians, you may recall the Apostle Paul listed eight standards by which every child of God can test whether their mind is dwelling on that which is worthy of their consideration. Here's the test. Apply this this coming week. Philippians: "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue, if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate," or literally, "think on these things."

And if there ever was a day when we needed to gird up the loins of our mind and run our thoughts through the grid of scripture, it’s now. Not just because of misinformation, not just because of deception, which obviously that is something that we need to consider, but let me also add something to that, and that is this: the pornography industry is continuing to destroy the moral fabric of our nation, of the world really. It's accessible.

I don't know what we're clapping about. It's a bad thing. Maybe just you agree with what I'm saying. But listen for a second before we cheer. This is a deplorable thing that we need to repent of because it's not just in the world, it's in the church. I mean, this is something that is a silent killer, and the statistics for men and women are alike, and it's staggering. And the effects of the pursuit of it, actually the medical field has referred to it as toxic.

Interesting, the medical field done studies on those who engage in this and they say that the effects of it are the exact same to the addictive behavior of a cocaine user. So if you're in this and you are in bondage to it, God can free you, but I just want you to know something: you need to be delivered from it. And this is not only for adults, but it's also for children. Access to things you never would have seen without working really hard to find it. Not anymore.

It's a matter of life and death. How important is it to protect our mind? Extremely important. It's death to families, death to marriages, death to relationships, death to ministry. Listen, Job declared this. Job said in Job 31, verse one, "I have made a covenant with my eyes, why should I look at a young woman?" Let’s make a covenant with our eyes. Let's make an agreement here. Lord, I want to protect my mind.

The Psalmist said, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, oh God." And so we pause and we ask ourselves, am I guarding my mind? What are we placing in front of our eyes today? What are we placing in front of the eyes of our wife and children? What have we allowed in? What have we caved to? What have we just kind of loosened up on? It's easy to do in this culture, isn't it?

In addition to being ever vigilant with what we set before our eyes, another practical step in the right direction is to take every thought captive. Guard your mind, oh, but then when the thoughts come, take them captive. What does that mean? Second Corinthians, chapter 10, verses three through five. Make a note of this: "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."

Both Peter and Paul are describing a disciplined mind, a mind that tests every thought, every emotion by the Word of God. And the reason is because God's Word is truth. And God's Word becomes the filter for my thinking: what thoughts I entertain, what thoughts I dismiss. That's not from the Lord. And when you're going through, as they were here, a difficulty, a trial, a hardship, it's not safe to trust your own heart. Because our heart, the Bible says our heart is deceitfully wicked above all else. Who can know it? I'm not going to trust my heart. I’m going to trust the Lord. I'm going to read His Word. What is God saying?

Because what happens is the enemy comes in and that moment he tries to capitalize on it and he’ll lie. He’ll say something that's contrary to the Word of God. So when that happens, I have to run that thought through what God said. I’m asked on a regular basis, in different contexts, different people, different age groups, all the time: "Hey, I battle anxiety. What do you think I should do?" "Hey, I battle lust. What do you think I should do?" "Hey, I battle this: self-pity, condemnation. What should I do?"

This is my response every time: Read your Bible. Read your Bible. Hide God's Word in your heart, meditate on it. Why is that so important? Because the Bible helps me to fight off those things. Anxiety. Jesus said, "Do not worry." It's a command. "Do not worry, you are more valuable than the birds and of the flowers of the field. Be anxious for nothing, but everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and mind through Jesus Christ our Lord."

When you talk about I deal with this or I deal with that, well, this is what the Bible says about that. I deal with thoughts of lust. Well, do you know what the Bible says? It says that if you continue in that direction, your life will be reduced to a crust of bread, the Proverbs says. Do you want to be a crust of bread? I don't want to be a crust of bread. So I hit myself with truth, a hard dose of reality and truth in the midst of what is a lie, and I think, okay, no, that’s not for me.

The truth of God's Word. "I am afraid." There's no fear in perfect love. "Oh, I don’t know that God loves me." "God has demonstrated His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." So you go back to the truth. It's there, you have recall of it. And that's how you take the thoughts captive when they come. As I bring the Word of God to bear on thoughts of fear, anxiety, insecurity, I find that I can trust in what God has said.

And that thought is now taken captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ. That thought goes against what God has revealed Himself to be and what He says about me and what He says about you, and now it's brought under the power of God, and I choose to trust God rather than to be fearful. So it's important to keep that in mind. Hey, what about temptation? Every single person in here faces temptation to some degree.

And the Bible tells us where it comes from. James chapter one says, "Let no one say when he's tempted, 'I am tempted by God,' for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone." How are people tempted then? "Each one is tempted when he's drawn away by his own desires and enticed, and then the desire is conceived, and it gives birth to sin. And sin, when it’s full-grown, it brings forth death." That's how it happens. You just stop thinking biblically and you start going in a direction and pursuing temptation rather than running from it.

But if I know the Word of God, I know that God says with every temptation, there's always going to be a way of escape, and I’m going to take the exit when I see it when temptation comes. There's a way of escape. God's Word reminds me. And it's interesting, isn't it, that your mind can be attacked many times in a day? I mean, you wake up in the morning and you're like, there it is, what in the world? Midday, lunchtime, what's going on? Later on before the evening, another attack. It just comes in waves, doesn't it? And then you lay down at night, and then you wake up in the middle of the night. It just doesn't stop.

It doesn't stop, so I have to gird up the loins of my mind. I want to protect my mind, take every thought captive. Are you taking your thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ or are you being taken captive by your thoughts? The Apostle Peter reminds us in times of testing, in times of temptation, it is imperative that we have a mind that is disciplined, girded up, being mindful of what we put in front of our eyes, taking thoughts captive that would be contrary to the Word of God. That's a practical measure: girding up one's mind.

But then there's something else to add to this, and that is this, number three: cultivate a mind of Christ. In Philippians chapter two, Paul said this in verse five, He said, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." The mind of Jesus. It's to set one's mind or heart upon something, to have an understanding to direct your mind to a thing, to seek it, to strive for it. The idea is not just to give some casual thought to something, but actually thinking that involves the affections and the will and reason.

Seek to have a mind that thinks like Jesus. We say, well, how do I find out the mind of Jesus? Right here. The Word of God reveals the mind, the mentality of our King and our Savior. That's how I find it out. So winning the battle of the mind includes guarding the mind, taking every thought captive that comes into my mind, and then seeking to have, pursuing the mind of Christ. And then in addition, this is fourth: setting my mind on heavenly things.

Colossians chapter three, verse one, Paul writes and says, "If then," better translated "since then," "you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God." And then he adds, "Set your," what? Mind on things above, not on the things of the earth. Again, this word right here "set" denotes the whole action of affections and the will and reason. It's the basic orientation or bent or thought patterns of the mind.

A sure safeguard to impede seeking the things below is to seek the things that are above. Set one's mind on things that are above. It's something that we choose to do. Think about your future with Christ. Think about Jesus. I choose to have this mindset based on the truth, based on the position in Christ. Keeping an eternal perspective can help greatly when you're in the midst of earthly problems. Have an eternal perspective. What are you setting your mind on? Are your thoughts strictly earthly or are some of our thoughts heavenly?

It's important. Peter says, "Be sober," in verse 13, resting your hope fully on the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Often when we read the word "sober," we think of the opposite of being intoxicated, under the influence of something, and certainly that word applies. But this word "sober" actually means self-controlled, a calmness, an evenness, especially under trial, to remain steady when things are uncertain when you are under fire.

If you are self-controlled, you are able to think clearly and to respond properly in a godly manner. If you lack self-control, you're going to respond irrationally, you're going to respond negatively and not godly, just because there's a lack of self-control. The self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. It's me being under the influence of the Spirit of God. A sober-minded man so that I can respond in a way that pleases God. Gird up the loins of your mind, let your mind be sharp, clear, and then it says, "resting your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

When it speaks of resting or fixing one's hope, it means to look forward with confidence to that which is good and beneficial. It is to express desire for some good and the expectation of obtaining it, reminding myself that Jesus is coming. This is so important. Commanding believers, consider their great salvation, rest your confidence that Jesus is coming, this future grace. Resting in what Jesus has already done, but also anticipating what Jesus is going to do. That's the right mentality.

And this kind of thinking, right thinking, biblical thinking, leads to biblical living. It really does. Wrong thinking leads to wrong living. Because in verse 14, here's what it says: "As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts as in your ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all of your conduct, because it is written, 'Be holy for I am holy.'" True salvation results in obedience. That's what follows. It follows.

It was Charles Spurgeon that said faith and obedience are bound up in the same bundle. He that obeys God, trusts God, and he that trusts God, obeys God. Jesus asked the question in Luke chapter six, "Why do you call me Lord and you do not do the things that I say?" It's a good question to ask. The difference between God's children and the children of this world hinges on obedience. It's one thing to have a Christian hope, and for this we're grateful, but we also cultivate a personal holiness, a life that follows God, that seeks to please God.

To be holy means to be set apart. And that is the question that I ask myself. Am I thinking biblically which in turn leads me to live obediently? Bible says to obey is better than sacrifice. And one of the ways to know whether or not we are walking in obedience is found in the rest of this verse. Peter says you won't be ignorantly conforming yourself to the former lusts. That's how you know. Another way to say it would be you're not going to be living the way you used to live.

You don't talk the way you used to talk. You don't go to the same places you used to go before Christ. You don't run with the same crowd that you used to run to before you knew Jesus. And sometimes you find Christians still running with the same crowd that they used to run before they knew the Lord, and they're not even bringing them to the Lord, they just run with them. And you wonder why they're not going forward, because the people they run with aren't going forward. They have no interest in walking with the Lord.

And so if you surround yourself with that kind of community and people, you're probably not going to proceed. That's why the Bible tells us very clearly in Second Timothy 2, verse 22, it says this: "Flee youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ." Running with the right people, running with those who are committed to the Lord. Now that I'm a Christian, I’m not going to go back and be what I used to be. That's inconsistent.

When the Lord calls me to be holy, that means to be set apart. Of course I'm not perfect, God’s still doing a work in me, but I'm not using that as an excuse to live the old life. "Well, nobody's perfect, you know, that's what the Bible says. So I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing because you know, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak and my flesh is weak so I just keep on." No, don't use that scripture as an excuse to be carnal. That's not what it’s there for. You misunderstand the text.

Here's what the Bible says in Romans chapter 12, verse two: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." There it is, the renewing of your mind. And what happens now that my mind is renewed, I can prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. How do I prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God? By my life. That's how it's seen. My mind, my mentality is changed. My mindset, my thinking is altered, so thus my life is altered. Formerly it was the will of John, now it’s the will of God. Two different things.

Seek to be holy in all your conduct, he says. Again, this is a work in progress. All of us are work in progress. There's not one person here that's perfect. God is working in each of us and He is faithful to complete the work that He started, and I’m thankful for that. There's so much of my life that when the Holy Spirit puts His finger on things, "Hey, this needs to go," I’m like, "Okay, Lord, let's do it. You do it. I'm here." Or He shows you this, then He shows you that.

You read like the Apostle Paul's life and at the end of his life he says, "Hey, by the way, just so everybody knows, I’m the chief of sinners." Well, if he's the chief, what does that make me? The closer you get to Jesus, the more you see there's more that He needs to do. I’m aware of that. Thankfully He’s going to complete the work. But He says be holy. Be holy for He is holy. That's what He's calling us to: a holy life.

In First Corinthians 6:12, it says this: Paul wrote and he said, "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable." He said, "All things are lawful for me, but I’m not going to be mastered by anything." There's certain things I just don't do anymore because it has the potential to master me, and I don't want to be mastered by anything but Jesus, by the Holy Spirit in my life.

In Romans 6:12, a few more passages, it says, "Therefore," listen to this, "do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you may obey its lusts." And the fact that you are able to not let it reign tells me you can fight against it. Don't let it reign. No, you have no place here. I'm not thinking that way any longer. And then Galatians chapter five, verse 24 says this: "Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and its desires." They have put it to death. It has been done. I, that person, is dead.

How important it is for us in the days ahead to have the right mentality, to guard our mind, to take every thought captive, to cultivate the mind of Christ, to set our mind on heavenly things, to be sober-minded, to also then live obediently, seeking to be holy because Jesus is coming. That's basically what Peter's saying to these believers, and this is a relevant and important word for us. So may God help us. May the Lord just renew our minds this week. In the midst of all the noise that we're going to hear, run it all through the grid. All through the grid of God's Word. And you'll know which thoughts to entertain and which thoughts to dismiss. What is of the Lord and what is not of the Lord, what I reject and what I receive.

The Bible says that we have armor, spiritual armor. You know about it, Ephesians six. And one of the pieces of armor is the helmet of salvation. So I’m going to tell you this week: tighten the chin strap down, especially this week. Just keep it on. Sleep with it on. Don't take it off. Shower with it, it's totally fine. You'll be fine. Keep it on this week.

Guest (Male): You're listening to the weekend edition of A Daily Walk, and part of a study in First Peter from Pastor John Randall. Would you like to hear the message again? Just go to adailywalk.org or look for us wherever you get your podcasts. Another convenient way to listen to Pastor John is through our mobile app. Be among the thousands that are being encouraged in their daily walk by downloading that today. Find our app by searching for Calvary South OC.

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