Habits Start In Your Head | Help, I Have Bad Habits (Class 2)

And if you want to change your habits, you have to change your thinking. Hi, my name is Amber Lee and this is Class 2. Change your thinking in our online digital discipleship collection we are calling "built by habits." Because your life will always move in the direction of your strongest thoughts, the question isn't just what are you doing every day, it's more so, what are you thinking every day? Point 1 is this, transformation starts in the mind. Romans 12-2 says this, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Now notice what that doesn't say. It doesn't say be transformed by trying harder. It doesn't say be transformed by praying louder. It doesn't say be transformed by fasting longer. It doesn't even say be transformed by behavior alone. It says transformation happens when your mind is renewed. That word renewed means to be made new again, which tells us something. Left alone, your thinking will always default back to old patterns, old beliefs, old mindsets, and old ways of seeing yourself and the world. So, if your mind is not being renewed intentionally, it is being shaped unintentionally. Point number 2 is this, not every thought is from God. One of the biggest mistakes that people make is assuming, if I thought it, well then it must be true, but that's not biblical. Second Corinthians 10-5 says this, "We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." You don't have to accept every thought. You examine it. You don't even have to agree with every thought. You evaluate it. Because some of our thoughts, honestly, are lies from the enemy, they're leftovers from our past, or even influences from culture.

And if you don't take them captive, they will take control. Point number 3 is this, you have authority over your thoughts. Taking thoughts captive is not passive, it's active. Taking someone captive isn't a delicate process if you really think about it. It's confrontational, it's aggressive, it's in your face. It means that when a thought comes in like, "Maybe I'm not enough, or I'll never change, or this is just who I am," you don't sit with it. You don't let it linger, you call it out, you confront it, and you take it captive. Now Ephesians 4 verses 22 through 24 says this, "You were taught with regard to your former way of life to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, to be made new in the attitude of your minds, and to put on the new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." Now the thing about this is this is a process. First of all, you have to put off the old you. You have to put off your old ways and your old behaviors. The second thing is you have to realize that you are being made new. You are not that old self, you are not that old behavior, you are not the old pattern. And then that third thing is you have to choose to put on the new self, that you are the righteousness of God, that you are the head and not the tail of it, you are above and not beneath. That means you are not stuck with your current thinking, you can change it. Now point number four is this, replace the lies with the truth. Here's the key, you don't just remove wrong thinking, you replace it with the truth. Philippians 4 chapter 8 says this, "Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable. If anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. This is the filter that we should be using. Not what do I feel, but what is actually true. So when a wrong thought comes into your mind like I'm not enough, you replace it with the word of God.

Ephesians 2 chapter 10 says this, "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so we can do the good things that He planned for us long ago." Or when a wrong thought comes into your mind like I'll never change, again you replace it with the truth which is the word of God. "He who began a good work in you "will carry it on to completion." Here's the beautiful thing. If he has started something in you, he will complete it and it will be good. Truth always replaces lies. Now, point number five is this. Set your mind daily. Colossians 3-2 says this, "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." That word set is intentional. It means you choose what you rest your mind on. When I come into the house from a long day, I always set my keys in the exact same place every time so that I know exactly where they are the next time I go to leave. When I get up the next morning, I know those keys are where I left them at the night before. I'm intentional about where I've placed them. When I'm preparing dinner, I set out all of the necessary ingredients that I need on the counter so that I have everything I need before I ever even begin cooking. That act of setting requires intention.

Your mind doesn't stay neutral. It will always land somewhere. So if you don't intentionally set your mind on the truth, it will drift towards whatever is the loudest. It's important to practice setting your mind daily. Think about it like this. Your mind is like a garden. If you don't pull those weeds, they'll grow and eventually take over. If you don't intentionally maintain that garden, the weeds will grow on their own. And the same is true of our thoughts. You don't even have to try to think negative. It will just happen naturally. But truth has to be planted intentionally. Now, I wanna take a moment and I wanna go over those five points again. Be sure to take notes if you haven't already started. The first one was this. Transformation starts in the mind. The second one is this. Not every thought is from God. The third one is this. You have authority over your thoughts. The fourth one is replace the lies with the truth. And the fifth one is this. Intentionally set your mind daily. This week, I want you to identify one reoccurring negative thought. Not all of them.

I just want you to think about one. Then what I want you to do is I want you to write down a scripture that speaks truth to that lie. And every single time that negative thought comes up, I want you to replace it with the word of God. Now, if this means you need to write that on your mirror in a dry erase marker or lipstick, or even grab a post note, write it, put it in your car, or maybe even make it the screensaver on your phone or computer. Place that truth, which is the word of God where you can see it all the time. Now, let's pray. God renew our minds. Help us recognize that thoughts that are not from you, and then give us the discipline to replace them with the truth. Transform the way we think so you can transform the way we live. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Now I want to close with this. Habits start in your head. And when your thinking changes, your life changes. Get ready to live a transformed life built by healthy habits. See you next class. [BLANK_AUDIO]