The Thoughts of God - Part 1

Speaker Eduardo Elizondo discusses the importance of controlling our thoughts and aligning them with the knowledge of God. Mr. Elizondo emphasizes the need to cast down vain imaginations and thoughts that go against God's teachings. The speaker also mentions how God judges the thoughts of mankind and points to the story of Noah as an example. Eduardo highlights the significance of bringing every thought into captivity and following the obedience of Christ. Thank you, Steve. Yes, well, good evening, brethren, good afternoon, morning, wherever you are. It's great to be here with you once again. And this message is entitled, The Thoughts of God. And we're going to study about the thoughts of God. We're going to start by going to 2 Corinthians, Chapter 10. 2 Corinthians, Chapter 10, because there's an instruction here. It's a commandment for all of us of what we are to do. In 2 Corinthians 10, in Verse 4, and there is an instruction for us here. Very important. It has to do with our thoughts and really is what is going on right now. And it's going on all the time in our lives. And I want for us to think about not only the thoughts of God, which we'll get to, but first think about our thoughts and what is the instruction of God for us regarding our thoughts. Because He has wonderful things in His Word regarding our thoughts, regarding the mind. And also, we're going to see what He says about His thoughts. We're going to see a lot of different things about what we are to seek and how we are to seek that and how we are to do these things. But here the Apostle Paul, going to 2 Corinthians, Chapter 10, Verse 4. It says, For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the overthrowing of strongholds. And this is very important because these strongholds, these things that are in our minds, they have to be overthrown. And these weapons of our warfare are not carnal. If they're not carnal, they're spiritual. And we're going to see what we are to do. Verse 5, it says, Casting down vain imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ. And it's very important that we stop and think about these couple of verses. And then we'll read also Verse 6. But here in Verse 5, it says that we are to be casting down vain imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. And that goes very close together to the first of the Ten Commandments. You shall not have any other gods before me. That's what God says. So obviously first he identifies himself. He says, I am the Lord your God who took you out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage. But then it says you shall have no other gods before me. And here it's talking about those other gods before him. Those vain imaginations, those high things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God. Those things that exalt themselves in our mind. And those things that are there that sometimes it's very hard for us to detect and to understand and be aware that those things are exalting themselves. And sometimes it is against the knowledge of God. And it could be actively or passively. It could be actively with things that are directly against the Word of God. But also passively in the things that are coming against the knowledge of God because they're just consuming our thoughts. And they might not be bad things. They might be good things. Those thoughts might be okay. This one is specifically talking about those that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God. Those are obviously direct. Those are bad. But these vain imaginations, vain just means empty, nothing. That's what vain means. And then we have to overthrow these strongholds by casting down those vain imaginations. They always come into our thoughts. They come into our thoughts. And we're going to see how much that is closely linked together with the commandments of God. Because in the spirit of the law, and we're going to see that God wants that obedience in the spirit of the law, not only in the letter. So that's why these vain imaginations is just thoughts that are vain, that are empty, that don't profit anything. And we're going to see that perspective that God shares with us of how He would want for us to live and to do. And we are to cast down these vain imaginations. They're empty thoughts. They're empty things. And also the high things that exalt themselves. So there we have the indirect, those vain imaginations, and the direct things that come right against the knowledge of God. And it's not just knowledge for knowledge's sake. It's talking about knowing God. Because if we're not meditating in His Word, we're not knowing God as much as we probably could, which is the most exciting thing in this world, to get to know God. And these other things, these high things, they exalt themselves, exalt itself against the knowledge of God. Why? Because they take our thoughts. They take us to start thinking about those things. And they can become idols in our mind. They can be the things that we're pursuing, where we're putting our thoughts, our hearts, our time, our energy, our efforts. And we have to cast down both the vain imaginations and those high things. We have to focus on the knowledge of God. And we have to do that, which is then the key to bring into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ. We can't do this by ourselves. We have to have that knowledge of God. We have to be led by God's Spirit to understand how to bring into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ. And we're going to see that the key is really to do exactly as Jesus did. It's the obedience of Christ, of what Christ shown. He showed in His life. He did it. He is our model. He is exactly not only our coming King and Savior, but He's also our role model. And what He did and how He walked is how we are to be, how we are to walk. And then in verse 6, it tells us a little bit of the plan of God and having a readiness to avenge all disobedience whenever your obedience has been fulfilled, which is talking about our obedience being fulfilled. It talks about when we're at the end of our race. When we have finished that line in that race, then we will have a readiness to avenge all disobedience because let's remember that's what's going to happen. In this period after Pentecost, after the first resurrection, it's going to be the vials of the wrath of God. And then in trumpets, it's the return of Christ with His saints, specifically talking about this verse, with this readiness to avenge all disobedience. And we're talking about those disobedient people that rebel willingly and knowingly against God. The elites and those who destroy the earth, those are the ones that are going to be avenged. The vengeance is going to come upon them. But this tells us a little bit about the plan of God, having a readiness to avenge all disobedience. But disobedience has a lot to do, this fulfilled obedience, has a lot to do with our thoughts and to bringing into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ. Let's go to Genesis 6 because we're going to be talking about the thoughts of God. But first, we have read the instruction of bringing every thought captive. And we're going to keep this in the back of our heads because what we're going to learn is how to do this. How do we do this? What does this mean? But before we get there, we're going to go to Genesis 6 because we have to know and understand or remember, we've been told this before, that God judges the thoughts. And in Genesis 6, we're going to see that. In Genesis 6, in verse 5, where this is where it's talking about Noah. And it says, And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and every imagination, and that's the same word that we read, every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And this says man, mankind, this is everybody. And this is to a level that is to the maximum. That's why it says every imagination. It doesn't say some. It doesn't say most. It says every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. So this is pervasive. This is everywhere, in everything. Every imagination of his heart, of mankind, of everybody. And the Lord repented that he had made man on the earth, verse 6, and he was grieved in his heart. Because God did not create us with that intent or with that purpose that there would be evil or that there would be evil continually. I mean, he didn't even intend for us to have evil at all. If Adam and Eve would have chosen of the tree of life instead of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But he also did not expect that he would come to this point that every imagination, every imagination, everything that occurs to man, of the thoughts of man, of his heart, was only evil continually. And he repented. And the Lord said in verse 7, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the crawling thing, and the fowl of the air. For I repent that I have made them. And those are very, very strong words. Obviously in verse 8 it says, But no one found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And we know what happened. We know what happened. But I would like for us to think about here that he didn't say, he didn't only say, he did say it in verse 5, the beginning of verse 5 says, The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth. But it wasn't just the wickedness of man. He was then pointing at the root. And every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. That's why the wickedness was great. Because of the imagination of the thoughts of the heart. Because that's where sin begins. That everyone, every imagination of the thoughts of his heart, was only evil. So then God judges not only the actions, like it says, the wickedness, but also the thoughts. And if he sees the thoughts, he sees where we're going. He sees what we're thinking. And we're going to see something very important. Let's go to Psalm 10. Psalm 10. Because here it's talking about the evil. The evil people, the evil ones. And what happens. And this is a psalm where the psalmist is saying, he's asking the question, to God, why are you so far? Why are all these things happening? Why is the proud, you know, pursuing the poor and oppressing them? And we could say that today. About the things that are going on. But in Psalm 10, in verse 3, it says what's happening. It says, for the wicked boast of his high desire, and blesses the covetous, but despises the Lord. That's exactly what we saw in 2 Corinthians 10. It boasts of his high desire, which is vanity. And those are those high things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God. It says, blesses the covetous, direct the position to the commandments of God. Commandment number 10, that shall not covet. And it says, but despises the Lord. And that's how we can see that he exalts himself. Those are those high things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God. And it says, blesses the covetous, but despises the Lord. And that's what happens. That's what happens. If you covet, and you have a lot of things, and you're coveting, and you are with a club of people that that's what they're doing, just showing their wealth and all of this. Like, that's what happens. That's the wicked. It says, boasts of his high desire. And blesses the covetous. Oh, that's great that you've done well for yourself. You're like me. We can hang out. But what is it? That's coveting. And that's going against God. That's going against the knowledge of God. And it says, but despises the Lord. Knowingly. To a degree, perhaps. Depending on who it is and what's going on. We do not know that because we do not know the heart. We do not know the thoughts, but God does. And then it says in verse 4, through the pride of his countenance, the wicked will not seek God. They will not seek him. They're despising him. But it says, through the pride, they will not seek God. Because that pride is like, I have everything. I know everything. Or I'm self-sufficient. And there's a little saying that is very true that says, oh, everybody's a communist until, you know, they get rich. And everybody is a feminist until they get married. And then the third one is like, and everybody's an atheist until the plane starts to fall down. And that's true. When through the pride of that countenance and in all these hard desires are fulfilled, the wicked will not seek God. Until the place starts to fall down, right? But then it says in all his thoughts, in all his thoughts, there is no place for God. There is no place for God. And I think we have to ask ourselves the question, how many, in how many of our thoughts there is a place for God? Are we thinking about God? Are we coming to that knowledge of God? How many? Because this is talking about the wicked. And the wicked exists in all his thoughts. Like God is, it doesn't, for them, like it doesn't exist. He doesn't exist in their minds. They deny him. Many of them are atheists or agnostics. But others, even though they may believe there is a God, they may even be part of a religious group. But how many are their thoughts in God? And how many of our thoughts have a place for God? And this is important that we think about this. Because there is something, we're going to see some things that are very, very important for us to remember when it comes to our thoughts and to be self-aware of our thoughts. Where do our thoughts automatically go? When we're not watching, when we're not purposely focused on something, we're doing something. Where do our thoughts go? Because the definition of the wicked is that in all their thoughts, through the pride of their conscience, they will not see God. And in all their thoughts, there is no place for God. And I think it's for each one of us to just think about that. Make ourselves that question. How many of our thoughts, there is a place for God. How much are we meditating on God? How much are we praying? How much are we thinking about his word and what he says? And letting us be guided by the Holy Spirit. Letting God guide us through his Holy Spirit. Let's go to Jeremiah 6. Because we're going to see something, again, that goes with what we read in Genesis 6 about God judging the thoughts. He doesn't only judge the actions. He also judges the thoughts. And in Jeremiah 6, we're going to go to verse 19. Because this is very important. When we're thinking about our thoughts and the vain thoughts, the vain imaginations that come upon, because that's the warfare that we're fighting, as the Apostle Paul says. And because there's these high exalted things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, then we have to be aware that God actually is judging those thoughts, not just our actions. Jeremiah 6 and verse 19, it says, Behold, I will bring evil on these people, even the fruit of their thoughts. Because they have not hearkened to my words, nor to my law, but have rejected it. So our thoughts bear fruit. Because what we're thinking is then what we speak or what we do. There's a fruit of our thoughts. And it says, God is saying that he's going to bring evil on these people because they have not hearkened to his words. So that is the opposite end of the spectrum. We can then hearken to his words and have those words in our thoughts. And his law, it says, not to my law, but have rejected it. That is what God really wants. He wants for us to have his words and his law in our thoughts. It's part of the new covenant that he will describe in our minds and in our hearts. And then in verse 20, it says, To what purpose does frankincense come to me from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? Your burned offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifice is sweet to me. And I would like for us to also think about this in the context of our lives now. That we're fighting this warfare. And we're going up against these strongholds and these vain imaginations and everything that excels itself. Those high things that excel themselves against the knowledge of God. All of that. And knowing that God judges the thoughts, and what he says here, your burned offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifice is sweet to me. This also can be a warning for us today. That yes, we have to keep the laws of God. Yes, we have to keep the Sabbath. Yes, we have to keep the feast days of God and the holy days and the offerings. Everything that he has commanded as we understand it. We have to. But the thoughts. Where are our thoughts? Because if we reject his words or his law, or if it's very, very little, just enough that we're not the wicked, because the wicked, no thought. There's no thought for God. But how much are we thinking about God? And that is important for us to meditate and to remember. Because the frankincense and the sweet cane and all of these things, the burned offerings, God is telling them because they reject my law, they reject my word, then those things are not acceptable. But with us, where we are to worship in spirit and in truth, and our offerings are those prayers, and our frankincense and all of that, it says that they're the praises of the saints that are before the throne of God. But also the obedience, if it's detached from our thoughts, how acceptable is it to God? If it's just outside, if it's only in the letter. But this should challenge us to think more about God and about his word and about his law. Because God knows that our thoughts by ourselves, human nature, is evil. Our thoughts are evil. Let's go to Matthew 9 to read about that. Because Jesus said this. And this is an amazing thing when we think about it, how Jesus walked and talked and doing his ministry and the things that he did. Can you imagine if somebody had the power to know your thoughts? But Jesus did. He was with the people and he let them know. He actually spoke about the things that they were saying and thinking. Not even saying, the things that they were thinking. And we're going to see that our thoughts are also evil. They tend towards evil. Here in Matthew 9, beginning in verse 1, it says that after going into the ship, he passed over and came to his own city. And behold, they brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. Then Jesus, seeing their faith, the ones that are bringing him in the stretcher, said to the paralytic, Be of good courage, child. Your sins have been forgiven you. And I love this story because it's amazing when he says that and we know he was the son of God and he had authority to forgive sins. He actually said that to the paralytic. And to see the reaction and for them to understand something about the thoughts and to understand something about the reality of Jesus Christ. Because we have to think about that. We have to think about the reality of Jesus Christ in our lives. He's our Lord and Savior. There's nobody more amazing than him and God the Father. There's nobody that has more intelligence. And sometimes you meet some people and they're very intelligent and you're like, wow, how do they think? How do they come up with this? Or I love the way they think, right? Like the strategy and the way and how they frame it. Or very eloquent people on YouTube or whatever. And it is amazing. You can get enveloped in what they're saying and the charisma and all of these things. Well, Jesus Christ is so much more than all of them combined. I mean, he created them. He created all of us. And when you think about how awesome is Jesus Christ and what he came and did. And let's read verse 3. It just blows your mind. It says, and immediately some of the scribes said within themselves, these men blasphemes. Said within themselves. And in verse 4, he makes it very clear. His disciples knew. They knew because they heard the reaction. And obviously they were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write these things. But he says, but Jesus perceiving their thoughts said, why are you thinking evil in your hearts? They were thinking evil and Jesus knew it. And he could know it right away. Which none of us can do. But it says, for which is easier to say your sins have been forgiven you or to say arise and walk. And it's just an amazing thing because the scribes were there and they set themselves up as the authority. The scribes and the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin are like, oh, you're guilty and the judgment seat of Moses. But to say, which is easier to say your sins have been forgiven you because that's what they did, right? They set themselves up as the authority and maybe they didn't come to this to say your sins have been forgiven you, but they declared the righteous and the wicked, the one that was right and the one that was wrong in matters of judgment. It says, which is easier to say or to say arise and walk. And it's a trick question because is it to say your sins have been forgiven you or is it to say, what is it to say? And what's easier to do? Because it says, you know, arise or to say arise and walk because the proof, and he said that in Deuteronomy, he said if there's a false prophet and he comes, you know, and he tells you a prodigy or something, and if it doesn't come to pass, it's a false prophet, you shall not be afraid of him. And he must be put to death. And here he's saying, or to say arise and walk, meaning if what you see is what is about to happen, if it happens, you have no excuse. You have no excuse. It says, but I speak these words so that you may understand, and that's in the mind, understand that the son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins. That is an amazing thing. Basically saying, by this smaller little thing, physically, I'm going to show you the bigger thing, the authority that I do have. And then he said to the paralytic, arise, take up your bed and go to your house. And verse 7 simplifies it, but it's something incredible when you think about it. And he arose and went away to his house like nothing. I mean, the miracle that he had just performed in their eyes, but that he said to him first, your sins have been forgiven, and that is part of the healing process, being forgiven and the healing. Then it says, and he arose and went to his house. Now, when the multitude saw it, they were amazed and glorified God who had given such authority to man, because they didn't understand that he was the very son of God, the Messiah that was to come. And that is amazing. Imagine if you were there. What would you have done if you'd seen this paralytic? Just arise, you know, arise, take up his bed and go into his house. After he had been told, your sins have been forgiven you. But here we come back to this, Jesus perceiving their thoughts. And Jesus perceives our thoughts too. That's a good thing because Jesus is for us. And God the father is for us. And Jesus is working in us. He is a good shepherd. And he is leading us to himself and to the father and to the kingdom of God and to new Jerusalem. That's what they're doing, both of them. But Jesus can see our thoughts because he could see their thoughts here. But we have to be careful that we are not thinking evil in our hearts. Thinking evil in our hearts. And that is something that we read in 2 Corinthians, all those things, those strongholds, those vain imaginations, those high-exalted things. So what are the thoughts of God? What does God say about that? Before we go there, let's go to Mark 7. Mark 7, verse 14. Because this is very deep. When it comes to the thoughts, very deep. And Jesus is being very, very clear. And he used this opportunity to teach this thing. And you can read the beginning of this chapter for the sake of time, we're not going to do it tonight. But this is when the disciples were eating with unwashed hands and the Pharisees were like, what are they doing? They didn't wash their hands. Well, obviously, they're ceremonially clean. Maybe they didn't wash them at all. But Jesus is explaining what happens. And here, in verse 14, he says, And after calling all the multitude to him, he said to them, Hear me, all of you, and understand. And this is for us too. We need to hear this and understand. There is nothing that enters into a man from outside which is able to defile him. But the things that come out from within him, those are the things which defile a man. And that is very important that we stop and think about it. Because we have this nature, we have this heart that is desperately wicked. That's what the Bible says. And from within are those things which defile a man and a woman, defile mankind. That's what he's saying. He says, if anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. And then, so he just said it to the multitude. Now, when he went into a house away with the multitude, his disciples asked him concerning this parable. So they didn't understand. And it's not easy to understand. What is it that comes out from within him? Because, you know, he just said it that way. And then he said to them, verse 18, are you likewise without understanding? Don't you perceive that anything that enters into a man from the outside is not able to defile him? Because what were they used to? They were used to everything ceremonially, right? If you touch a dead body, if you, you know, like all these things, all these ceremonial things could make you unclean, you know, or defile you. In fact, it does say that about unclean meat. But then it says, like anything that enters into a man from outside is not able to defile him. And I'm not saying that we should not keep those laws. Obviously, God, perfect design, he created them. We have to keep those laws. I'm not saying that. What Jesus is talking about is something more, something deeper. And that's the point that he's trying to make. He says, for it does not enter into his heart. So, like, if you eat something with unwashed hands, it's not going to defile you because he says it doesn't go into the heart. It goes into your belly and then passes out into the sewer, purging all food. And again, we want to make sure that we clarify this. This does not mean that anything, anything that moves or whatever, like it's all clean to eat. That's not true. That's not true. It's purging the food that goes in. But God did design certain things for human consumptions. That's why those other things that we're not to eat and God says not to, they're not food. What he's talking about here is food. It's the things that are actually good and that God designed for human consumption. Because not everything that is around us should be eaten. But here it says purging all food, meaning cleaning, cleaning that food that is actually food. Another thing that we're not designed for food. And he said in verse 20, that which springs forth from within a man, that defiles the man. And then he explains in verse 21, for from within, out of the hearts of man, go forth evil thoughts. First thing, evil thoughts. Because all of these other things that he's going to mention come from there. They come from evil thoughts. Sin originates in the mind. It says go forth evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, guile, licentiousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. And all of these things go against the Ten Commandments and go against the commandments and laws of God. All of these things. And those are terrible, but they start with evil thoughts. Adultery starts in the mind. That desire starts in the mind. Same with fornication. Same with murder. With that hate. Same with theft. Everything. And then it says all these evils. He says all these evils go forth from within, and these defile a man. And it's important that we think about these things because these are the things that defile us as well. We have a desperately wicked heart and deceitful. And from out of there is that come out all these things that we are fighting against. We're in that warfare that we read in 2 Corinthians 10. So is the warfare. But that is the thoughts. The evil thoughts generate all of these things. It's not like, for example, guile. Or just a lie. It's because of a benefit. It's because we think we're going to get out of something. An apparent benefit. That's where it comes from. But that's a thought. That's an evil thought. You know what? I'll just lie about it to get out of this one. But that's not what God wants. These are the things that defile us. Those evil thoughts generate all of these sins and all of these evils. That's what they're called. All of these evils go forth from within. And these defile a man. And it says when he rose up from there and went into the district of Tyre-Sidon. And sorry, I think I have the wrong reference here. So all these evils go forth from within. And these defile a man. These are the things that defile us. So our thoughts defile us. And we're going to see what is... We're going to see in this example. Let's go to Matthew 16. We're going to see where they come from. Or one of the places where they come from. Obviously our nature. Obviously because our forefathers, Adam and Eve, took from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It comes from there. But we'll see where else they come from. Matthew 16. And we're going to see what God says about it. What Jesus said about these things. Verse 21. We're going to read what Jesus was telling his disciples. He says, From that time Jesus began to explain to his disciples that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and to suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be killed and to be raised the third day. So all these things he was going to suffer from the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and that he was to be killed and to be raised the third day because that was what he came to do. To give his life. It's a ransom for many. It says in verse 22. And this is... So when they're receiving these things, this is what happened. But after taking him aside, Peter personally began to rebuke him. Saying, God will be favorable to you, Lord. In no way shall this happen to you. Can you imagine? Those are good intentions. Those are seemingly good things. He's desiring that because he's the Messiah. He's going to liberate Israel. Is that right? These are good things apparently. In no way shall this happen to you. And I will give my life for you. He said that too. And he at least did it privately. But then he turned and said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan. You are an offense to me. Because your thoughts are not in accord with the things of God but the things of men. And this is an amazing thing. That he called... He knew where they were coming from. He knew they were coming from Satan. Even into one of his disciples. He was influencing him to say that. Because human nature with plus Satan is so dangerous. That's what happened here. Because human nature, well intention, well meaning, loving Jesus, one of his disciples, No, let this not happen to you. And Jesus immediately knew where that was coming from. He called him out on it. He didn't call Peter, he called out Satan. And then he said why he is the adversary. And why he is leading this war against all of us, the saints. Because he says you are an offense to me and to all of us too. He's an offense to us as well. Because his thoughts are not in accord with the things of God but the things of men. And why are our hearts inclined naturally to go? Our thoughts, they go to the things of men. Why? Because we're men. Because we're mankind. And that's what it is. They go to the vain things. They go to the exterior things. Our everyday, whether it's people or things or activities, things to do, good or bad, you know, everything takes up our mental space. Where are our thoughts? We're God. And then we're going to see what are God's thoughts toward us. But he clearly said the reason you're an offense is because your thoughts are not in accord with the things of God but the things of men. And here I want for us to also pause. There have been several things that we are now starting to think about and meditate and those are our homework. And this is another one. How much are our thoughts in accord with the things of God? And how much or how many of our thoughts are in accord with the things of men? Not only in time, in percentage, but in intensity, in depth. It's important to take stock of our thoughts. It's important because as we will see, we have a part to play in this. God calls us and he leads us and guides us but he expects our active participation beginning in the thoughts, in the mind, loving him actively. When you love someone, you think of that someone, you think of that someone very, very often. That's what happens. And then Jesus said to his disciples and this is no coincidence, if anyone decides to come after me, let him deny himself and let him take up his cross and follow me. What is that? Why? Why did he say that immediately after saying that the thoughts of Satan are not in accord with the things of God, but with the things of men? He said that we are to deny ourselves. We are to deny our thoughts of men. The things of men. That's what he said. That's what denying self means. Just looking after our own things. The things that we like or the things that we need or the things that we are concerned with all the time. The things that consume our thoughts. That's what we have to deny ourselves. And we have to take up his cross and follow him. And what does it mean to take up his cross? It's to walk in his example. It's to do what he did. It's to be proactive like he was. So that his thoughts would be on the things of God. And that was a diametrically opposed between the thoughts of Jesus Christ and the thoughts of Satan. On one hand we have Satan and we saw the wicked. There's no thought for God. And Satan it's the adversary and there's no thought for God. Their thoughts are not in accord with the things of God but with the things of men. And on the other extreme we have Jesus. Where his thoughts were in accord with the things of God. And he said that. And he proved it. And then that's why we are to deny ourselves. Take up our cross and follow him. And that's why it's in verse 25. For whoever decides to save his life shall lose it. If you want to be in your thoughts of man that's where you're going to end up. You're going to end up in vanity. You're going to end up in emptiness. In loneliness. You're going to be detached from God. You're not going to know him because those high exalted things rose above against the knowledge of God and you have no knowledge of God. That's what happens. That's what happens by nature to human beings. That's what happens to mankind. But he says for whoever decides to save his life shall lose it. But whoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. And that's what it really feels like. You say I'm not going to think my thoughts. I'm not going to be concerned about my work and my this and that. It's like God is saying your thoughts. Where are your thoughts? Are they with the things of man or are they with the things of God? It's like if you lose your life if you dedicate your life, if you give up your life to be dedicated to the things of God and the thoughts of God you shall find it. You shall find it is the most amazing life that could ever be. It's the closest thing to the life that Jesus Christ lived on the earth. Because that's what he was saying. Those were his words. He said that that is my meat and that is my dream. That is to do the will of my father. He says those are my brothers and my mother. The ones that are doing the will of my father. The ones that are obeying him. He said all these things. He said I do nothing of myself. I speak nothing of myself. He gave his life perfectly. Completely. That means that all his thoughts were on God. And that's exactly what God wants to do with us. He wants to show us. He wants to give us his thoughts. Let's go to Isaiah 55. It's a very familiar scripture. We cannot have a message about the thoughts of God without going to Isaiah 55. God points out big differences between the thoughts of God and the thoughts of man. Isaiah 55 in verse 8. This is what God wants us to do. Let's begin actually in verse 6. Verse 6. Because this is an instruction from God to us. And this is to everybody. Anybody that has a Bible. To seek the Lord while he may be found. Right now he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. We have to search for him. We have to call him. But it's not just calling. And it's not just invoking the name of the Lord. Because a lot of Christians invoke the name of the Lord. But they don't follow through with verse 7. It says let the wicked forsake his way. And the unrighteous man his thoughts. His thoughts. Not only his actions. His thoughts. Why? Because we've seen that our thoughts are evil. We've seen that. And we've seen that God judges those thoughts. And we've seen that we're in a warfare. And the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. They're spiritual. And they're in the mind. And they have to do with our thoughts. So, and we have all been wicked. And we have been called to do this. To forsake our way. And we have all been unrighteous. Until we were baptized. And by the blood of Jesus Christ we are cleansed. And then we have the righteousness of our Savior Jesus Christ. Not our own. But before that we were unrighteous also. And we are to continue to do this. And the unrighteous man, his thoughts. We also have to leave our thoughts behind. And let him return to the Lord. And he will have mercy upon him. But the unrighteous man needs to leave those thoughts. Those wicked thoughts. We saw. Out of the heart they come. And they come like flowing. Like a like a spring. That's our nature. It says, and to our God for he will abundantly pardon. Just like he pardoned the paralytic in the stretcher. Abundantly pardon. It doesn't even say that the paralytic asked for his sins to be forgiven. His friends wanted him to be healed. And when he saw their faith. He said your sins are forgiven. Abundantly pardon. So they saw. Like all the friends they brought him to Jesus. And we have to come to God. And God will have mercy. He will abundantly pardon. And we have to do this every day. Because that's what Jesus taught his disciples. Every day forgive us our debts. Right. Every day. He will abundantly pardon every day. We have to forsake our way and forsake our thoughts continually. Because that's the process of conversion. That's the process of cleansing that God is taking in our lives. And it's an amazing thing when we think about it. That process of understanding. But first we have to identify them. We have to identify them. We have to identify them based on the light of the word of God. His commandments. His laws. His judgments. And also the Holy Spirit of God that he has given us. So the two combine together so we can see those thoughts. Because we cannot forsake things that we cannot see. And we have to forsake those thoughts. Because we want to have the thoughts of God. That's what we really want to have. God tells us that in verse 8. For my thoughts are not your thoughts. Nor your ways my ways. But he doesn't say it as like you're over there and you're never going to be like me. No. That's not what he wants. He's just stating a fact. He's just basically putting us in our place. Saying your thoughts are not my thoughts. My thoughts are not your thoughts. Nor my ways your ways. But they should be. My thoughts should be your thoughts. And my ways should be your ways. That's what God would want. And we're going to see that. Because for as the heavens are higher than the earth so my ways are higher than your ways. He puts us in our place. But then you get in an airplane and you look down and you see that first you're a tiny little dot and then you're nothing. You really can't see a person. That is how different our thoughts are from the thoughts of God. That's how much higher his thoughts are. The thoughts of God. And that is he instructs us to seek his thoughts. And it's an amazing thing. It really is. When you think about it. Just think about the dimension of the height of heaven. And it doesn't say heaven. It says heavens. But we know there's different heavens. But he says the heavens are higher than the earth. And in verse 10 he says for as the rain comes down and the snow from the heavens and does not return there but waters the earth and makes it bring forth and bud and gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater so shall my word be which goes out of my mouth it shall not return to me void but it shall accomplish what I please and it shall certainly do what I sent it to do. Are we fertile ground brethren? Are we receiving that word? Because it will accomplish what he said. And his word is really that's what is going to give us the thoughts of God. And the ways of God is through his word is through the Bible and through Jesus Christ was the word and became flesh and tabernacle among men and he set the perfect example of how to do it. That's how we're going to do it. And it will do this. And this is one of the thoughts of God. One of the thoughts of God we're going to see is that his word will not return to him void but will actually accomplish what he pleases. The question is are we willing to give up our life? Because if so you're going to be blown away by what God is going to do in your life. In transforming you. In changing your thoughts. In teaching you the ways. In being one with him. In dwelling in you. Because that is what God has promised and that's what God desires. And these are the thoughts of God. One of the thoughts of God is it will not come back empty. It will actually do. It will accomplish but it shall accomplish what I please. He's speaking his mind. He's speaking his thoughts. He's declaring it. Those are his thoughts. And it shall certainly do what I sent it to do. The question is are we going to yield? Are we going to cooperate? Are we going to as we read we're going to deny ourselves to that point where his thoughts are in our mind all the time? Where his ways are in our heart? And that is the thought of God. And then in verse 12 it says for you shall go out with joy. This is a promise. You shall go out with joy and be led out with peace. And this is true peace. And this is in the future. It does say that. And be led out with peace. The mountains and the hills shall break out before you into singing. And all the trees of the fields shall clap their hands. Just think of this is the thought of God that the earth itself is going to rejoice at the manifestation of the children of God. How amazing is this? These are the thoughts of God. They're so much higher than our thoughts. He's judging our thoughts. And our thoughts are evil by nature. That's why we have to ask him to give us his thoughts and to give us more of his Holy Spirit. Because this is going to be incredible when we go out with joy and led out with peace and the mountains and the hills like break out in singing. Can you imagine? Have you ever heard a tree sing? It says that's what's going to happen. The trees of the fields shall clap their hands. Maybe it does happen, but we just don't hear it that way or understand it that way in our tiny human mind. But it says that's what's going to happen. It says in verse 13, instead of the thorn, the fir tree shall come up. And instead of the briar, the myrtle tree shall come up. And it shall be to the Lord for a memorial for an everlasting sign which shall not be cut off. These are the thoughts of God that he is calling us, that he is perfecting us, that he wants for us to do this. He wants, it's not only that his thoughts are not our thoughts and his ways are not our ways, he wants them to be. That's what he wants. That's why he says seek the Lord what he may find, but we first have to forsake all this other stuff. Forsake your wicked ways and forsake your wicked thoughts. And our thoughts are evil. We have to be on guard. We have to remember that that's our nature. We cannot deny it. Because this is not a religion. This is not, we don't come here and play church, right? We know that this is a true, about a true relationship with God. This is about really understanding our nature and really understanding what God is doing in our lives. If you haven't heard the message from Fred, I would highly recommend the message that he gave this year, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, to understand our wickedness, because that's what we're talking about here. The evil nature of our thoughts and then in comparison to the thoughts of God that are good and righteous and perfect. And that we are to seek all the time. To seek the thoughts of God. To forsake our thoughts, to forsake our ways and to seek his thoughts and to seek his way. Let's go to John, John 15, because that's what we just read. It says that his word that goes out of his mouth shall not return empty. And in John 15 Jesus talks about that. Talks about specifically those things. It says in verse 7, if you dwell in me and my words dwell in you. The same one that he said, my word will not return to me empty. It will not return to me void. It says if you dwell in me and my words dwell in you, you shall ask whatever you desire. Why? And he says and it shall come to pass for you. This is not like just a magic formula or something to be. No. It really is the fullness of forsaking those evil thoughts and those wicked ways. The fullness of that and wanting the mind of Christ and wanting the thoughts of God and understanding that. Because if it says if you dwell in me and my words dwell in you. If his words dwell in us and that's what we're speaking and that's what we're thinking and that's what we become. Because you shall ask whatever you desire. Why? Because you will be. It will be. Just as in the moral prayer, thy kingdom come first thing second, your will be done. Your will be done. You shall ask whatever you desire because we're going to desire exactly what God desires and says and it shall come to pass for you. This is not to satisfy our own desires. Because those are evil thoughts. Those are those vain imaginations. That we want more health or more money or more this. Like obviously we all wouldn't enjoy those things. But that's not what God has in mind. What he has in mind is the mind of Christ in us and that is absolutely priceless brethren. There is no comparison to having the mind of Christ. The mind of the creator himself. Nothing like that. Nothing. Just sit and think on that for a moment. That we are to have the mind of Christ now and at the resurrection perfected. Complete. Where our thoughts are gone but we have to desire that. We have to desire our thoughts to be gone. Our evil ways to be gone. All these things that defile us to be gone. Completely. And that implies an abhorring of self. Another time we'll talk about that. But we have to abhor ourselves because our nature is evil. The bible says that. Our nature is evil. But it says if you dwell in me and my words dwell in you you shall ask whatever you desire because those desires will be the desires aligned to the will of God. Aligned to those thoughts that are higher than the heavens from the earth. They will be the thoughts of God if his words dwell in us. And if we dwell in Jesus Christ like it says in here and he will come to pass and he will not be for our glory and it will not just be for our benefit. It will be to the glory of God the father in Jesus Christ because they have done all things. And it will not return to him void. He will accomplish what they send it to do and all the credit and all the glory will go back to God. And that's an amazing thing. And it says in verse 8. And this is my father glorified that you bear much fruit so shall you be my disciples. And these are the thoughts of God. God wants for us to dwell in Jesus Christ and his words to dwell in us. And to want what they want. And to think like they think. And to speak like they speak. They really want that. That's the goal. The goal is nothing short of that. We are not going to be kings and priests just, you know, just because. Or just because it's better than what we have today. Well, it certainly will be. No. He wants that because we will be transformed to the very image of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And these are the thoughts of God. That in this the father will be glorified. You see the thoughts of Jesus Christ where they were in this my father glorified. That's all he was seeking. He was seeking to glorify the father. He was seeking that his disciples would bear much fruit. He was preparing. At this time he was probably just tilling the ground. They didn't even have the Holy Spirit within them. It was with them but not within them. But he was tilling the ground and preparing it. To bear that seed and to give much fruit. And look at all the things that the disciples accomplished after that. Amazing. But it was only for them. Because he prayed in John 17 for us too. For those who will believe through their word and through their example. And these are the thoughts of God. That the father would be glorified. That's all Jesus cared about. How much do you and I care that the father be glorified? And that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is glorified. And he's praised. It says, so shall you be my disciples if we bear much fruit. And that's what we are to do. Those are the thoughts of God. And there's so many more. Next time we'll continue with this topic because we only got about halfway there. We have to talk about how do we actually do this in practice. And we're going to see these thoughts of God in more detail. There's many other scriptures that talk about the thoughts of God. And we're going to study them together next time. But it's an amazing thing when we think about the thoughts of God and what God has for us today. Not for later. Today. To start or continue giving us his thoughts. He has already given us his laws, his commandments. He's called us. We've been baptized. We've been able to see more. We're growing in grace and knowledge and understanding. But that will never finish in this life. And who knows if it will ever finish. Because it even says that Jesus Christ by what he suffered he learned obedience. And he was God in the flesh. So we don't know if this learning process never ends. Because God will never cease to amaze us. Never. Forever and ever he will have the glory. And his thoughts will be accomplished like he said. His word will not return void. Those are the thoughts of God.