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Mind Control Is My Control | Omar El-Takrori | City Light Church
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Mind Control Is My Control | Omar El-Takrori | Ci…
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Romans chapter 12, verse 1 and 2. I'm going to read it in two different versions. I'm going to read in the NIV and I'm going to read it in the NLT. Paul writes, Therefore I urge you brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice. I love this living sacrifice. That's an oxymoron. Like usually when we think that we're going to sacrifice something, we're losing something. But in the kingdom, when you sacrifice something, you actually gain something. Come on, somebody Holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Everybody say my mind then also known as you can't get this without that. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is. His good God's will for your life is good, pleasing and perfect will in your life. I'm going to read it just verse 2 in the NLT he writes it's and the. This is just a different translation. It's really just cool the way it's translated. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. If you're taking notes and I encourage you to do so. The title of today's talk is Mind control is my control. Mind control is my control. Let's pray. God, I thank you for your word. I pray that you would challenge our thinking today. Would we leave here thinking different? Your ways are higher than our ways. Your thoughts are higher than our thoughts. And so God, we just take this moment and submit whatever it is we are going through. And we lean into your word. We say, speak Lord, your servants are are listening in Jesus name. And all of God's people said a big amen. Amen. Amen and amen. A couple weeks ago, Pastor Candice and Basilio invited me to come speak at their non profit. They have this nonprofit called Redemption Community. Come on if you don't know. And that's why the masters clap. I'll tell you what's so cool that what they do is they're actually creating a place and space for young men and women who are living the worst part of towns that don't have the best situation at hand and find themselves in trouble. Maybe going to juvenile, going to jail and all this crazy stuff. And they want to just get them together and speak life into them. And they asked me, hey, Pastor Omar, would it be really cool if you came and encouraged them? I was like, cool. So then I show up to Cambridge Rec center, which I've been a long time ago, and I remembered why I don't go back there. If, you know, Las Vegas, you don't go by Cambridge. You don't. You stay away from Twain. You know, I'm like, oh, yeah, this is that area. And so I actually arrived ready to. Kind of ready to go. And Pastor Candice is like, hey, Omar, I just want to let you know. Come here real quick. Hey, so the reason why the. The cops are talking to them right now is because one of the guys pulled a gun on one of the other guys in the bathroom. And so they're in trouble right now, but we'll get you up right after they're done. I was like, okay. They took the thing, right? They took the weapon. All right, cool. And I'm just, you know, I'm in the back and trying to allow the Holy Spirit to kind of give me something to encourage them with. You know, something that really stirred my heart was, you know, something that I thought was so true that as I look at their situation, I realize it wasn't. And sometimes we can believe or get these cliches and believe them without really submitting them to truth. And something that, you know, I do believe that isn't fully true, though, is that we are a product of our environment. I can't. I can't get up in front of these guys and. And say, hey, you guys are a product of your environment. Sorry, but I begin to think they can't control their environment. They're too young. What do they have control over? They have control over their mind. No matter where you guys are, no matter what you guys have find yourself in. I know you didn't choose this situation, but I want to encourage you. Your mind is the most important and powerful thing you have. And that's encouraging because we stream to correction facilities. And I want to let you know that at your correction facility, you are not a product of your environment. Come on. Your mind can still be used. You could be transformed. Paul's saying, as we read, if you don't take control of your mind, someone else will. Everything and anything you desire to accomplish, any insecurity or offense you need freedom from, it'll all start in the mind. You know this word transformation? It's the same word as transfiguration, referring to when Jesus appeared to his inner circle in his glorified state, this is what God wants for us. He wants us to become more like Jesus. But the way we're going to become more like Jesus is by loving God with our mind. Everybody say, my mind. You know, sometimes I can make the mistake as a, as a student of God's word, as a pastor and a preacher, to overlook a detail in scripture that actually is a big deal. And you know, we, we can sometimes listen to things and phrases over time, and it gets us kind of believing that's the only way. But something we hear a lot is, love God with your heart, give God your heart, accept Jesus into your heart. And, and that is true. It's just not fully true. Matthew 22, if you didn't know Jesus would, would be teaching. And the religious leaders of the day, they were like, hey, teacher, teacher, what's the most important commandment? If you didn't know this, there are 613 Jewish commandments. And what they're trying to ask teacher Jesus, what's the most important one? They want the cheat code. And Jesus says in Matthew 22:37, he says this, he replies, you must love the Lord your God, with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. Everybody say, my mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. God doesn't just want your heart and soul. God wants your mind. I believe many people here actually have given their heart to Christ, but also many people here have not given their mind to Christ. Wow. And giving your heart to the Lord is beautiful. You'll actually experience salvation. You'll be saved. But I know a lot of believers who are saved, but they're stuck. But they're stuck because of their thinking, because of their mindset, because of their self talk. And God wants to get a hold of your mind and let you know that if you're going to become more like Christ, we need to give him our mind. We need to love him with our mind. Why? Why, why does God, why would God want our mind? Why? I believe because it's the most intimate part of us. Think about it like we are always alone with our thoughts. Driving to work, you get dealing with something, you're alone in your thoughts, and then you get married. And then your spouse always asks, what are you thinking, Amanda? At the most random times of the night. Hey, babe. Yeah, what's up? What are you thinking about? Nothing. As men, women here, hear me, we actually could be thinking about nothing. Hey, Praise God. Let's go, warriors. But the way I've grown in my intimacy with my wife, is by letting her into my mind, Letting her into my. Whatever God's speaking. Let her into a dream I may have let her. And me asking her, babe, what's on your mind? What's on your heart? It's because of intimacy. And I would. I'm just gonna submit this for the 1245. I don't believe most of the time we are dealing with demons on this side of the planet. Western Christians, it's not really demons, it's actually self sabotage. We think our way into a sinful life, we think our way into cheating with our spouse and thinking our way of buying a Coldplay ticket. Then thinking our way to then sit at a thing and then before you know it, you on the jumbotron. Because whatever's in the dark comes to the light. But it all starts in the mind. Everybody say my mind. So how do we love God? With our mind, number one, we regain control of our mindset. Regain control of our mindset. Did you know that you have control over your thoughts, you have control over your mind. And here's the coolest thing. If you ever don't know something about yourself and what power you have, when the scriptures tell you you have the power, you believe the scripture over what you think. Amen. So Paul says, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Renewing of your mind. This Greek word is the same, is the translation word of renovation, confession. I love hgtv. I just love a good remodel. I love a good. This is the full gut. You know, I like I'll walk into one of your guys house, I'll be like, yeah, like, I mean if we break down this wall, I think it'll create some space where we can have an open floor plan that's kind of in right now, you know, like I just love a great transformation, you know, um, but in the same way this is the word that Paul's using that we are to do with our minds, that sometimes our minds need a full gut, our minds need to be renovated. Because every kind of design, no matter when it was created, will eventually be outdated. So oftentimes you came to Christ change your life, but you still have your old thinking. And so we need to renovate what's in here. And it's a constant renovation, it's a constant renewing. There is no arrival. And the more you focus and prioritize your thought, life and your thinking and you feed it with the word of God, the more you will become like Jesus. Come on, somebody. This is very interesting because he says be Transformed, which is a very physical thing that we, you know, Optimus Prime. But I love that, that Paul doesn't say, in order for you to become like Jesus, you need to do this, you need to do this, you need to do this, you need to do this, you need to do this. He doesn't say, you need to live right before you think right. Actually, in the kingdom, you actually start to think right. And then it influences how you live. If you want to live right, just start thinking right. Because anime, as a man, thinks in his heart, so is he. This is encouraging because. Because right living leading to right thinking is simply religion. And God doesn't want religion. He wants a relationship with you. Second Corinthians, chapter 10, verse 4 and 5. It says, the weapons we fight with are not weapons of this world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments in every pretension that sets itself up again, the knowledge of God. And we take every. We take captive every thought, everybody say every thought, and we make it obedient to Christ, every thought. A stronghold is. Is a. Is a word, as the word fortress. We have this fortress in our mind that is created thought by thought, experience by experience, trauma by trauma. And when God wants to do something in your life, oftentimes he's hitting a stronghold. But the way we break down those strongholds is thought by thought. It was built thought by thought. So we have to tear it down thought by thought, because the reality is your mindset for your life and for this area that you want God to move in, or whatever that thing is, it's not going to be changed in a moment. It happens thought by thought. And. And the reality, we must know when we actually have a stronghold mindset, like, meaning, like our mind is set on something. So when somebody tries to speak to you on finances, you're like, oh, no, no, I already tried it. See, I tried it. And what happened was I wasn't able to make my bills. And. And there you go. I'm never going to tithe again. You know, it's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't let that stronghold rob you from the blessings of God. God wants to do a new thing in your mind. Amen, practically. How. How do you do this? How. How do you give God those thoughts? It's very practical. I. The way I do it is through a visualized prayer. Like, I actually see myself in my mind physically taking that thought that I had and then giving it to God. And he was. He said every thought, not just bad Thoughts. If you have a bad thought, yes, make it obedient to Christ. But if you have a good thought, make it obedient to Christ, and he'll bring clarity around that thought. Sometimes a good idea submitted to God turns into a great idea, a God idea. Sometimes a good. A good idea or a great idea, you submit it to Christ. It's like, actually, that's not a God idea. I was having a conversation with a young man who's married, who actually lives in Fort Worth, and he's, you know, planning on moving here because he got a really cool job that would use his gifts, pay him well, take care of his family. And he was like, yeah, I fasted, and I don't think God wants me to take it, but it's like, it's so. There's so much alignment. What. What are you afraid of? You know, I'm afraid six months from now, we realize that we made the wrong move. I'm like, bro, that thought is rooted in fear. That's not a God thought. That's a fear thought. And we bind that in the name of Jesus. And I'm here to tell you I'd rather move and miss God than stay in the same place and miss God. Because faith moves your mind, can keep you stuck in a place. God is calling you to leave. Any parents in here? Any parents here with me? If you're a parent. You know, I have two young ones, and I have this pressure to create. Leave an inheritance. Dang. An inheritance from. Not my. Not. Not Ruby and Russell. Rubies and Russell's. Rubies and Russell's. For. For my children's children. The Bible says a good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children. Dang. The pressure goes crazy. What are we doing? Are we doing the right thing? You know, something I found, though, is more than giving Ruby and Russell stuff and money and a home when they get older, what's even greater to leave them are values and a mindset and a way of thinking. Because what good is some money in a house without being a good steward? What good is all this stuff if she could just squander it away? Those parents. That's the inheritance we should leave our biblical values and. Amen number two. We got to rework how you respond. Rework how you respond. For the first time ever, one of my points. I'm just gonna read through the Bible and I'll be done with the point. All right, let's go. Is that because. No, I'm just kidding. I was gonna. Yeah. Get him off the Stage. Okay, here we go. Romans 12. Same, same chapter. We're just going to read the Bible and it's going to speak to us. Amen. Don't just pretend to love others, really love them. Hate what is wrong, hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. You know who's. Can we, can we. Can I get that next step. Slide up real quick. Let me show you what enthusiasm looks like. Real quick. That's enthusiasm right there. Come on. You grateful for our serve team. Now those people are serving God enthusiastically because the Bible says to do it. I want to encourage you. If you like to do what the Bible does, I would encourage you to take next steps next week. Amen. I promise, I promise, I promise it'll change your life. Anybody on the serve team would, you know, agree with me, please. Someone, somebody agree with me. All right, bet. All right, cool. All right. Verse 12. Keep it moving. Rejoice in our confident hope, be patient in trouble and keep on praying. This is our response. I prayed and I didn't get it. Keep on praying. When God's people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. Practicing hospitality. Great place to do it is on a serve team. It's crazy. Bless those who persecute you. Don't curse them. Pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other and don't be proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. Don't think you know it all. This is good Bible. I'm just reading the Bible. It's great. Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can do to live at peace with everyone. And dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the scriptures say, I will take revenge. I will pay them back, says the Lord. Instead. If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they're thirsty, give them something to drink. In this you will heap on burning coals of shame on their heads. Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. Amen. Can we clap our hands for the word of God? Great. This is great, man. I love the Bible. Number three, as the team comes up, revise how you hear. Revise how you hear. Romans 10:17, it says so then. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. And just so you know, doubt comes by hearing and hearing what everybody else has to say. Doubt and fear comes by hearing and hearing what the news has to say. Doubt comes by hearing and hearing what your feed has to say. But if you want to build your faith, we got to get the word of God in. I'll say it like you want to consolidate what you're consuming. Consolidate what you're consuming. Now, some of us, we do that. That's why we're in church right now. We want to get it under the word of God. But how come we can all hear the same sermons but hall have different responses? Because it's not necessarily just about what you hear. It's about how you hear how you hear. Jesus spoke in parables. He would tell stories that would point to kingdom principles, and he would allow. He would allow your. Your mind and your spirit and your soul to come up with the kingdom principle from the parable he's teaching. And so one time, one of his teenage disciples was like, hey, yo, Jesus, why do you talk like this? Can you tell us what that meant? And Jesus says, yeah, I'll break it down. Thanks for asking. Because ask and you shall receive. Here we go. And in this moment, this is what Jesus says in Luke 18 or Luke 8:18. It says, Therefore, consider carefully how you listen, how you listen, how you listen. How is your listening? Because you get to choose what you are hearing. If. If you're getting the word of God, man, I'm leaning in. I'm grabbing on something that's speaking to my spirit. I think as believers, as followers of Christ, we must have selective hearing. I have a young one, and they're young, so Ruby acts young. And sometimes I'll want to talk to her and tell her something. And she's getting smart. She knows when I want to tell her something to, like, help her or fix her, you know, trying to fix my kid, you know? No, not like, I don't shake her. Don't call. Don't call cgs. No, but she has selective hearing, so just nah. Yeah, yeah, no, yeah, yeah. La la la la. It's like, Ruby, listen. La la la la la la la. Because she knows what I'm saying. And that's frustrating as a parent, by the way. But as believers and Christians and people who are called by God and have an assignment and you're anointed and appointed, when you start hearing something that doesn't align with the call of God on your life, you got to put on that selective hearing and go, I know, man. God's gonna bless my business. Hey, Omar, have you seen the market rate recently? Have you seen. We're in a recession right now? La la la la la. No, God Rivers. God's gonna take care of the people that are called by him. We must have selective hearing because it's conforming us. As I end. You know, in the end of 2022, I. I started a consulting company, and I thought it'd be a good idea to hire a coach. And by the way, coaches are incredible, pastors are incredible, mentors are incredible because they can see something in you that you can't see in yourself, good or bad. So I'm processing my. What I'm. You know, what I'm thinking with my. With my coach. And they're like, omar, I realized something. This person had a background in psychology. I said, you have a schema. Schema. Did you scam me? Am I. I'm. I'm the scheme? What? No. A schema, if you. If you're a therapist or it's a schema, is something you tell yourself that isn't true. A limiting belief, a stronghold. And as they began to break down what a schema really was, what I came to find was a schema was simply an equation in my mind. That's not true. So they begin. Who told you that? Who. Who said that that was the case? Oh, no. Because of my experience, if I do this, then this would happen. They said, how do you know that? From my experience. Yeah, but how do you know that it's not the case right now? I don't. That's what we need to break. And the Holy Spirit began to show me all these occurrences on how I built up this thing in my mind that wasn't true. And I'm reminded of this scene in Matthew, chapter nine, where there's this woman who's struggling with something in her body and she wants healing. She sees Jesus in the crowd, and then she's breaking through the crowd. And I love this, that we actually get to see what she thought to herself, can I see? For she thought, if I can just touch his robe, I will be healed. That's an equation. That's faith. And she touches the hem of Jesus's garment. And Jesus says, you've been healed because of your faith. I'm here to tell you right now, we got to start switching up the equations in our mind and base it on the word of God. I'm saying this time around, it's going to be different. You can believe again. You could pray again. Try for that baby again. Try for that job again. Try. Because this time it could be different. My definition of faith would be this. And I really want you to catch this. Faith is an equation in my mind that prioritizes the truth of God's word over my experiences and default thoughts. That's faith. Something I noticed too. You know what else is an equation in Scripture? The promises of God. Trust in the Lord. Don't lean on your own understanding. Acknowledge him in all your ways and then he will make your path straight. So if you've been trusting God and it doesn't look like your path straight, I'm going to rewire this equation and say, God, you. The Bible says that to trust in you and you're going to make my path straight. We just read, be transformed by the renewing of our mind. And then you'll know God's will. You want God's will without the equation. The equation is to change our thinking. If you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth, you will be saved. God's promises are also equations. So I want to encourage you today. Let the promises of God influence your thoughts. Amen.