In Touch Ministries

Guest (Male): When your mind is set on the things of God, you don't have to worry about what you're going to have because God says, "Seek ye first the kingdom," that is the rule of Christ in your life, the character of God in your life, and all these things will be added to you. That is, God goes to work on your behalf and my behalf when we begin to make Him the priority of our life. He wants us to have the things in life we need. He desires it. He's promised it.

Dr. Charles Stanley: You've probably heard the saying, "You are what you eat." And how about this one: "You are what you think." Are your thoughts working for you or against you? Consider that question as today's edition of In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley, wraps up our series by focusing on Colossians chapter 3 to help us with controlling our thoughts.

Guest (Male): You and I live in a society and in a time, in a culture, where our minds are continuously bombarded by what we see on the television and the movies, things we read in the newspaper, other things that we read, words that you hear, sights that you see. Our mind is always receiving all of these things. Sometimes that's good; sometimes it's not so good. The question is, how can you and I live a godly life and think right when we live in a world that's throwing all of these things that are not right at our mind? So, I want you to listen very carefully.

Dr. Charles Stanley: What you think today is affecting your life more than you realize. Who you are today is the result of what you've been thinking all these years of your life. And what you think today is going to determine where you're going to be tomorrow and what you're going to be tomorrow. It's our thoughts that cause us to become what we are. It's our thoughts that influence our relationships, our choice of occupation, our marriage partner.

It's our thoughts that cause us to move in a certain direction, to make certain decisions that affect our finances, that affect every aspect of our life, that affect our relationship to Jesus Christ. Our thoughts are powerful mediums. Now, the problem is, how do I face these situations and circumstances and listen to these words and all the bombardment that Satan and all of his outfit throws at us day by day? How can I face that and at the same time do what He says, that is, keep on seeking Him, set my mind on Him?

Remember this: the mind is like the pilot. The mind is where the radar is. This is the captain of your life. What your mind says, you're going to do. I want you to turn to 1 Peter, the first chapter, and the 13th verse. Look at this. Here's what he says: "Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." That is, prepare your mind. I have a responsibility.

For example, let's say that you choose to sit down and watch some program on television. You heard about it and you heard it was sort of questionable. Well, you certainly have a right to decide whether it was or not. And so you sit down and you begin to watch it. What you have to remember is to prepare your mind. If you just sit with a mind in neutral, you're going to be in trouble. But you prepare your mind. How do you prepare your mind? I prepare my mind that as a child of God, I will be alert to what would lead me into erroneous thinking.

Guest (Male): I will be alert to what would lead me to want something I don't have any business having. I will be alert to what I hear, to whether it's a truth or whether it's unscriptural. I can't tell somebody else how to live. I can simply say, "Here's what God's word says."

Dr. Charles Stanley: A thought reaps an action. An action reaps a habit. A habit reaps our character. And our character reaps our destiny. When you begin to think about something, what happens? As you think about it, before long, if you agree with it, your feelings get involved. Next thing you know, your whole body gets involved and you're moving in that direction. And then if you just keep on doing that, you develop a habit.

And if we keep doing that, that habit becomes a part of who we are, so much a part of who we are it becomes a part of our character. That's who we are; it's our character. And then when we reach that stage, that's our destiny. That's where we're headed in life. And so you might think about that, write it in the back of your Bible, and remember, when you take a move in a direction as a result of how you think, remember it's going somewhere. It isn't just stagnant.

And He says our focus, our mindset, what we are seeking in life. If I were to ask you today, what is it that you are seeking most in life above everything else? Most people, more than likely, would think in terms of security, or some material thing, or some relationship, something maybe sensual, or it could be you're thinking about your education, you're thinking about your whole career in life. There's something that absolutely dominates everything else.

But think about this: when your thoughts are about Jesus, when your thoughts are about God, when your thoughts are spiritual, when your thoughts are godly, when your thoughts are thoughts of surrender and yieldedness and obedience to Him, bringing your thoughts in obedience to Christ, when that becomes the priority of your life, you know what Jesus said? He said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you," which was His way of saying this: when your mind is set on the things of God, you don't have to worry about what you're going to have.

You don't have to worry about how you're going to get there. Because God said, "Seek ye first the kingdom," that is the rule of Christ in your life. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness," the character of God in your life, "and all these things will be added to you." That is, God goes to work on your behalf and my behalf when we begin to make Him the priority of our life. He wants us to have the things in life we need. He desires it. He's promised it.

Guest (Male): But it's a matter of whether my mind is set on earthly things or heavenly things. Children of God, set our mind on the things of God. We enjoy what He gives us, what He allows us to have in life. We enjoy that. We're not anxious, not worried, not fretting, not fuming, not blaming, not doing any of those kinds of wasteful things. We're enjoying living our life in the spirit of God. And so it's a choice we make, and we can't blame it on anybody else. And remember again, what we are thinking today is who we are.

Dr. Charles Stanley: And what we are thinking today is going to determine what we think tomorrow, where we go, decisions we make. And you say, well, what does it cover? It covers everything. If you start thinking, for example, let's say that I say to you, "You know what? I see you sitting out here Sunday morning, and this morning you don't look very good. Are you sick? Do you feel bad? Is something wrong?"

If I said that to you, you know what you'd start thinking? There must be something wrong with me or he wouldn't say that. And so you go home and you look in the mirror and you say, "Well, Dr. Stanley said I didn't look too good. You know what? I don't look very good this morning. Maybe I ought to go to the doctor and check me out." Well, if you go to him, he's going to tell you something's wrong with you. So, here's what happens. The next thing you know, you're just down. And the only thing that changed your attitude about yourself is somebody made a suggestion. Your mind took it, grabbed it, began to consider it, and next thing you know, you're sick.

Guest (Male): And then there are people, somebody could say that to them and they'd say, "Well, you know, you're just having a problem. I couldn't be happier in my life no matter what you think." And so it's in your mind. What you think is governing your life. And what I want you to do is simply think rightly.

Dr. Charles Stanley: You want to be happy and have joy and peace and happiness in difficult times, hard times, all kinds of times in life, a sense of security and confidence that God loves you and is going to see you through that? You start thinking the way God wants you to think, and so much of that stuff you're worried about is going to disappear. Now, so how do we do that? I want to give you three things here.

First of all, if you're going to think right and if you're going to govern your thinking because you're responsible to do that, what you have to do is this: you have to screen your thoughts. You have to screen your thoughts. I'm going to give you a list, and you're going to be sitting there thinking, "Well, I will have already thought about it and done it by the time I get through thinking about this." No. It'd be amazing how fast your mind can work. Screen your thoughts.

Guest (Male): Think about it in this way. Here's a grid on your mind, and everything that you think about has got to go through that grid. For example, when you build the grid in your life with scripture, the word of the living God, everything that comes your way that's unscriptural, ungodly, what happens? The alarm goes off and you can reject it. But at least you know what it is. The unbeliever also has a grid or a screen. And so built into his grid or her grid is, "Don't give me that Bible stuff. Don't talk about church. Don't mix politics and religion. I don't want to talk about spiritual things. I don't believe in church. I don't believe in Jesus."

So anything that hits that screen that's biblical, this is why they say when you start talking about Jesus, it's like this reaction, because their grid is so absolutely built to oppose anything that's godly. So everybody's got one. So, here are some thoughts, here are some ideas that you are to jot down.

Dr. Charles Stanley: And if you will think along this line when a thought comes to your mind, the first question is, what's the source? Where did that come from? And sometimes you just know right now that had to come from the devil. It's very evident. First of all, the source. Where did it come from? Secondly, will this get me where I want to go in life? If I keep thinking this way, where's it going to get me? Am I going to get in trouble? Am I going to be blessed by God? What's it going to get me?

The third question is this: where will it lead me? That is, if I take this step and I begin to think this way, where is this going to lead me in my life? It's going to lead me somewhere because feelings follow our thoughts, and following our feelings, our steps, our footsteps are going to go there sooner or later. The next question is, is this scripturally sound? Is this thought scripturally sound? When somebody says to you, "Well, that's okay because everybody's doing it," your conscience goes off and what happens? You know that that is not true. You know whether it is scriptural or not.

The next one is this: is this thought going to build me up or tear me down? And when sensual thoughts come to a person's mind, sensual thoughts tear you down; they do not build you up. Materialistic thoughts of covetousness, for example, and greed and anger and bitterness and hostility and pride—all of these are "tear me down" kind of thoughts. And you have to decide whether you're going to receive them or not.

Then, of course, it may be that you have a thought and you ask the question, does this fit who I am as a follower of Jesus? Now, somebody says, "Look, you've given me all these thoughts, one through eight, and here comes this thought. Now how am I going to hold it off and say, 'Wait a minute'?" Here's what's going to happen. Look at them again.

What's the source? Where's it going to take me? Where's it going to lead me now? Is this scripturally sound? Is it going to tear me down or build me up? Can I share this with anybody or would it make me feel guilty? Does it fit who I am as a follower of Jesus? Here's what happens: when you start thinking that way, instantly, your mind is so fast it'll calculate every bit of that and you'll know the difference.

Guest (Male): Well, the second thing, notice here, we said first of all you got to screen them and secondly, you select the thought. In other words, you decide whether you're going to accept it or not. Now watch this. You have to watch this. Here comes the thought and instantly you know what it is. And one of those things is going to pop out: "Doesn't fit who I am." What do you do? You decide to let that go on through.

Dr. Charles Stanley: You can choose not to think about it again. Once you grab it and you hold it there, Satan will throw everything he can throw at you to keep this thought in your feelings so before long, he'll have it in your steps and destroy you. You just let it go on through. And sometimes, it may not be a matter of right and wrong. It may be a matter of what is God's will and what is not His will, not some sinful action on your part.

It may be God says, "I got something better." You'll know. And so will it get me where I want to go? It may not be an immoral decision, but it won't get you where God wants you to go. And so He shows you that there's a better way. God will enable you. He has equipped you already to do what? To make wise choices, godly decisions, and to think the way you ought to think.

Well, there's one other thing I'd say, and that's simply this, and that is to cultivate those thoughts. That is, once you have a thought and it's of God, for example, if He says to you, "You need to be baptized, you need to join this church, you need to start living a godly life," well, you accept that because you know that's true. By cultivating that thought, what do you do? You start, then you grab that thought and you begin to ponder it and you begin to think about it. And what will God do? He will lead you to do the right thing, lead you into the right decision.

So turn to Philippians chapter 4 for a moment and just go back from Colossians and go to Philippians chapter 4 and listen to what Paul says. Because this is what he admonishes us to do. He's been talking about not being anxious about things. Let me just read a part of this passage right quick. Listen to what he says. He says in verse 4 of chapter 4: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near." Now watch this: "Be anxious for nothing."

When he says "be anxious for nothing," that means don't be anxious about anything. "But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Then watch this next verse: "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

Massage those thoughts. Dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Guest (Male): So what is our responsibility as he says here? Dwell on those things that are good and practice doing what? Practice living out the right decisions, those decisions that you know of God. You have the power to think the right thoughts. You have the power to reject evil thoughts, negative thoughts, ungodly thoughts, or thoughts that are not the will of God.

Dr. Charles Stanley: And remember this: who you are today is a result of how you've been thinking all these years. What you're going to be tomorrow and the years to come is a result of what you're thinking right now, if you keep thinking the same way. You don't like who you are today? You can change that. You don't like your present situation? You can change that. That is, you have the power to think godly thoughts and listen to what He said: "Seek ye first." Make it the priority of your life.

Of doing what? Of allowing Him to control your life and allowing Him to work in your life. And He says all of these things, these things that you and I need or desire in life that fit His will for us, He said they'll be added to you. So let me ask you a question. Had you rather, if you had to have a choice, had you rather have peace, joy, contentment, assurance, confidence, boldness, happiness? Or had you rather have materialism, sensuality, and all that goes with the world? Anybody in their right mind would say, "I'll take the first list."

Guest (Male): Somebody else says, "I'll take them both." Sorry, you can't have them both. You either going to live a godly life and allow God to pour into your life Himself and allow Jesus to rule and reign in your life, then all of those wonderful, awesome things can happen in your life.

But it all begins right here. What do you think? Do you think that Jesus will do what He said? Do you believe that? Do you think I can trust Him? Do you think I believe Him? Do you think I'm confident? Do you think I'm secure in Him? Do you think I know that I'm saved? Do you think salvation? Do you think fullness of the Spirit? Do you think the power of God, the grace of God, the goodness of God, the love of God, the kindness of God, the forgiveness of God? That is, what are you thinking? What you're thinking is what you're going to become. If you don't like who you are, God will change it if you'll begin to think His thoughts that are all good thoughts.

Dr. Charles Stanley: Thanks for listening to In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. What we allow into our minds directly affects us, either by building us up or tearing us down. Make it a priority to meditate on God's word and set your mind on truth. To listen again, click on "Today on Radio" at intouch.org and look around our website to find resources that can help you grow in your dependence on God.

If you'd like to order a copy of Dr. Stanley's complete message, "Controlling Your Thoughts," open our online bookstore. It's also included in his teaching set, "How to Release Your Burdens." Again, that's intouch.org. You can also call or text 1-800-INTOUCH. If you prefer to write, our address is In Touch, Post Office Box 7900, Atlanta, Georgia, 30357.

Are you a supervisor who accepts criticism well? If not, hear how you can just ahead in today's Moment with Charles Stanley.

The peace of God is tranquility and quietness of the soul. It is the assurance that no matter what's going on around us, everything is secure. Peace is not determined by circumstances. Neither is it a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. In a world filled with noise and uncertainty, you can discover peace that cannot be shaken. Get your new free booklet, "Peaceful and Still: A Guide to Experience God's Rest in an Anxious Age." Visit intouch.org/peaceful.

Let your time and your schedule and everything about you revolve around this: that you and I are to develop and continue to develop this ongoing, intimate, wonderful, exciting, satisfying, indescribable, wonderful, incomparable relationship with a personal God. Dr. Stanley devoted his entire life to helping us get closer to Jesus, as we all want to do. You can learn how at charlesstanleyinstitute.org.

"From the Pastor's Heart" is an in-depth teaching letter inspired by the teachings of Dr. Charles Stanley. To receive In Touch's free "From the Pastor's Heart" letter, call 1-800-INTOUCH or visit intouch.org/pastorsheart.

You're listening to In Touch. Accepting critiques from your employees can change your workplace for the better. With advice for believers, here's a Moment with Charles Stanley.

Dr. Charles Stanley: I think first of all you have to have the spirit of humility. And that is, all of us make mistakes. I have to acknowledge that. Whoever I may be responsible for and authority over, I can make mistakes. So I have to acknowledge that. And the only way for a person who has great authority to have any joy and peace in what they do, they have to acknowledge, "I do make mistakes. I'm open to criticism." Because if I'm going to grow either in the ministry, if I'm going to grow, for example, in business, I have to acknowledge that I'm imperfect, that I make mistakes, and that I'm open to hear criticism and to grow.

And to do that in the business world, for example, which is very difficult for some people, if a man or a woman in a place of authority has this attitude: "I must be superior no matter what. Must be superior, must be right because if I ever let down my guard and show that I'm not perfect, then everybody's going to attack me." Well, that's not true. What happens is the spirit of humility is powerful because it says to the person who attacks you or criticizes you, "Well, you know what? They're normal. He's not such a bad guy after all. He let me just criticize him and said, 'Thank you very much,' and he would ask God to help him correct this."

What it does, it wins, and even if their criticism is valid or invalid, they still win. And I think about people who think they have to always live with this impeccable image, which they don't have. It's just that they're defending something that's not there. It's fog, and they're living in this fog where I can't be wrong and I can't show genuine love because they'll think I'm weak. It's just a distorted view of what true genuineness is all about.

You'll find help for living out your faith at intouch.org. Do you have a story about how God's grace has touched you through this broadcast? We'd love to hear it. Next on In Touch, can you trust God in desperate situations? Be back next time to learn how to increase your faith to lean on the Lord for all things on In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley.

This program is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia, and remains on this station through the grace of God and your faithful prayers and gifts.