Purity of Thought - Brian McCoubrey

Reading from Philippians 2, Brian McCoubrey first asked the question 'What is Thought?'. Considering ideas, opinions and attitudes he challenged the young people to have only thoughts that are pleasing to God. Of course, God knows our thoughts, therefore as Believers it should be our natural desire to ensure that those thoughts are pleasing to Him. But our thoughts have a great influence on our lives too, and so it is crucial that our mind is kept pure, whether they be the thoughts coming from within us or those which come from the influence of the world around us. Perhaps the biggest danger comes from the devil, the enemy of God and the enemy of a Christian. If the devil can find a way to control our minds, then he has found a way to control our actions. Therefore we must guard against the 'fiery darts of the wicked' as spoken of in Ephesian chapter 6. Discussing the following dangers posed to the mind of the Believer, Brian explained the need for God's power in our lives, humbling ourselves to Him and resisting the attacks of the evil one. ANGER So often we lose control of our temper, often hurting those close to us. Yet God commands us to show temperance and control in these circumstances. ADULTERY Sexual lust and immorality are all around us, making it easy to fill our minds with these thoughts. This pollutes our thoughts, damages our relationships and destroys our witness for Christ. ANXIETY The Bible commands us to 'take care for nothing'. A Christian should not worry or fear for things in life, but rather entrust all things into the mighty hand of God. ASSURANCE The devil will often seek to use our thoughts to make us doubt the Salvation which Christ has given us. But of course we can never lose our Salvation, since no-one can ever pluck us out of the Father's hand. ATTITUDE Our attitude affects everything. Thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to will damage our effectiveness for Christ, and impact on our witness for Him. Even as Christians, we are prone to sin. We will constantly battle against these matters, in our minds as well as our actions. This is where we need the Holy Spirit to guide us and to help us. We need the power of God, battling against the sinful thoughts in our minds. By making our requests known to Him, as we are taught in Philippians 4:6-7, we are promised 'the peace of God, which passeth all understanding'. This peace, this contentment, will keep (protect) our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, our Lord.