Rick Hughes explores the pervasive challenge of maintaining a spiritual mindset amidst an assault of worldly distractions. With references to scripture and practical advice, listeners learn strategies to focus their thoughts on what is true, noble, and pure. The episode offers a refreshing take on how fear can undermine faith and how spiritual doctrines can fortify one’s mental resolve, encouraging believers to stay anchored in their faith despite external chaos.
Welcome to the Flatline with your host, Rick Hughes. For the next 30 minutes, you’ll be inspired, motivated, educated, but never manipulated. Now, your host, Rick Hughes.
SPEAKER 02 :
Good morning, and welcome to the Flatline. I’m your host, Rick Hughes, and for the next few minutes, please stick around. Just a short time of some motivation, some inspiration, some education, always without manipulation. We don’t con people. We’re not trying to hustle money. We’re not trying to ask you for membership. We’re just trying to give you some accurate information that will help you verify as well as identify the plan of God for your life. And if I’m able to do that and you would like to orient and adjust to the plan, then you can fire away, have at it. It’s up to you. It’s your life. You got decisions to make and bad decisions definitely limit future options. Let me remind you, please, if I could remind you that we rebroadcast all of our radio shows on podcasting. We use podcast menu like Apple iPod or Spotify or Breaker or Anchor. These are all free podcast venues that you can join. And if you do and you just hit the flat line, if you type it in the search engine, the flat line, you will find the radio show 24-7 anywhere in the world. That has internet connection, and you can listen to over 600, 700 radio shows right there on your iPhone or on your Android by using the iPod in the podcast venues. Again, our books are available free of charge. The latest book, Crash Course in Christianity, is a great book we’ve written. I think you’ll enjoy it, as well as Christian Problem Solving, Identifying the Ten Problem Solving Devices. And reminding you that we do have the transcripts from 2019 and 2020 in print available for you. That’s every show that we did those two years in print, in books, and you can take them home and read them and look through them. All available at no charge. Okay? Thank you for letting me tell you about that. Now, if you’ll stick with me today, I would like to talk to you about something that’s dear to me. I’d like to talk to you about your mind being hijacked. Your mind being hijacked, the hijacked mind. How in the world would Satan hijack your thoughts? Let’s start off with a verse that’s pretty clear. In Proverbs 4.23, above all else, the writer wrote, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it. Above all else, guard your heart for everything that you do flows from it. Now the scriptures, I want you to understand that they distinguish between the mind and the heart. In the New Testament, the mind is pronounced in the Greek terminology, the nous, the N-O-U-S. And if it’s the heart, it’s pronounced cardia, K-A-R-D-I-A. And we get an English word from that, cardiology or cardiac. So the scripture distinguishes between these two, the nous and the cardia. The mind is where you assimilate information. And the heart is where you store the information ready to be recalled. So if you have a well-qualified pastor, and I hope you do, a lot of people write to me constantly, where can I find a well-qualified pastor in my city? And unfortunately, sometimes I don’t know anyone I can recommend where they can go and get it on the internet and how they can have it delivered right to their home by streaming video. But sometimes I do not know a well-qualified pastor in their particular city. But the pastor’s job, whoever he is, if he’s doing his job and not trying to be some cruise ship director, then his job is to communicate the word of God to you consistently. And your job, if you will do it, is to concentrate on what he teaches. If you concentrate and comprehend the information, all of that takes place in your mind, in your noose, N-O-U-S. Now, by an act of your volition called faith, You believe it and you comply with it or you obey what he taught you. Communicated truth from God’s word is stored in your heart where it circulates into your stream of consciousness and there it’s called in the Bible wisdom, Sophia. Your biblical wisdom can in fact be hijacked if you’re not careful. So guarding your heart is the Hebrew word notsar. And it’s a verb in the Cal imperative, meaning this is a heavenly mandate. You are to watch, you are to preserve, you are to keep sin from invading into your thinking. So this verse indicates that the heart is the seat of your volition. Everything you do flows from it, Proverbs 4.23. So you have a volition. Your volition is positive, yes, negative, no. Every decision you make flows out of your heart where you have the information streaming in your stream of consciousness. And that’s why your heart is the seat of your volition. Simply put it this way, the mind is where you process the information and the heart is where you perform the information. The mind is the processing facility and the heart is the performing facility. So if you store the word of God in your heart, that means you go listen to your pastor teach it. You’re filled with the Holy Spirit when he teaches it. And now you obey it and comply with it. It’s called divine wisdom. Listen to Proverbs 2, 10 and 11. When wisdom enters your heart, there’s the word heart again. Same word we had up above. Above all else, guard your heart, Proverbs 4.23. So when wisdom enters your heart, that’s the word of God you’ve complied with and obeyed by faith believed. When wisdom enters your heart and knowledge becomes pleasant to your soul, that means you actually enjoy studying the Bible, learning the word of God. Then, verse 11, Proverbs 2.11, discretion will protect you and understanding will guard you. This is how you guard your heart, discretion and understanding. You’ll have some insight that other people don’t have. You’ll see things that other people don’t see. And you’ll understand what’s going on when Satan attacks your thinking. So the command to guard your heart is an indication that the scripture you’ve stored in your heart could, in fact, be hijacked because of distractions or even forgetting. I mean, it’s possible that the rate of forgetting exceeds the rate of learning. If that’s true in your life, you’re in bad shape. You cannot allow the rate of forgetting to exceed the rate of learning spiritually in your spiritual life and your soul. So how exactly would your thoughts be hijacked? Well, by placing doubt, by placing confusion, or even being assaulted by human viewpoint thinking called stinking thinking. That’s human viewpoint thinking, not divine viewpoint thinking. And during these recent times in our country, the enemy, aka the devil, has attempted to hijack many people’s thinking, hijack your thoughts, take you where you don’t belong. That’s what happens when you get hijacked. If you’re on an airplane and it’s hijacked and you’re headed to New York and you wind up in Bangladesh, you got hijacked. You got took someplace you didn’t want to go. So when you get hijacked, your thoughts are taken where you don’t belong. And much of this hijacking is going on through social media, television, radio, and young people are specially lured into the fantasy world by social media influencers. who promise things they cannot deliver. The never-ending call to worry about worldwide pandemics, the warning of military conflict, the drama of the sexes across our nation especially, the fear of economic loss, the dread of rising inflation or political intrigue, these all serve to capture your imagination and deliver you into the fear-panic ploy. So let me tell you technically how you can guard your thoughts. The Bible has a clear answer about that. For that we need to go to the New Testament into the book of Philippians that Paul the Apostle wrote and read verse eight in chapter four. Here’s how you guard your thoughts. Finally, brothers and sisters, that’s believers, 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 on these things. Think on these things. So now we are able to guard our thoughts by concentrating on these things. What are these? These things, well, whatever’s true, the first one Paul wrote, whatever’s true, think on that. Ephesians 6.14 tells us that we should have the belt of truth buckled around our waist. The aletheos, the belt of truth. The word of God is the belt of truth. When you learn the Word of God, when you study the Word of God consistently, not just going to church on Sunday morning and maybe on Wednesday night if you’re lucky, but when you have a consistent daily routine of studying the Word of God under a well-qualified pastor, and it is possible, then you build a belt of truth around your waist to protect you. The other parts of the armor will hook to the belt, the shield of faith, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, all of this. But it all starts out with how you think. You’ve got to have truth. And there’s a lot to think. I mean, you cannot afford to think the lie, and that’s what Satan’s very good at. Because Satan attacks truth with distorted lies. In John 8, 44, Jesus said Satan is a liar and there is no truth in him. The greatest lie he does is through organized religion, telling people they’ll be saved and go to heaven if they’re good enough. That’s a lie, because the Bible says, for by grace are you saved through faith, and it’s a gift from God, not of works, lest anyone should brag about it. So Satan will lie to you in religion, and he’ll try to convince you that you should be nice to everybody, that you should put a chicken in everybody’s pot, You should feed the poor and you should do this and you should do that. And that’s the Christian thing to do. And certainly Christians are compassionate of needs of other people. That’s not what I’m saying. But the Christian life is much, much, much more than that. It’s learning to replicate the lifestyle of Christ by identifying with his thinking. Let this mind be in you. It was also in Christ Jesus. His thoughts were never hijacked. although Satan tried to hijack him many times. Cosmic distortion is opposition to biblical truth. Cosmic distortion is opposition to biblical truth. And that’s what the world thinks. The world will throw it at you. If you want to be happy, get married. If you want to be happy, make a fortune. If you want to be happy, have a big house. If you want to be happy, get a new car. That’s a cosmic distortion. That’s not the source of happiness. Those are pleasant things and wonderful things, but the Bible says happiness belongs to those people who hear my Father’s word and keep it. So the next passage that we saw here was whatever is true, think on that, Paul the Apostle said. And then he said, whatever is noble, semnos, the Greek word, noble, semnos. What does that mean? It means excellent or of superior quality, the highest moral principles and ideals. So we are to concentrate on acquiring the thinking of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is indeed the most noble person who ever walked the face of this earth. Isaiah 32.8 says, he who is noble plans noble things, and on noble things he stands. If you’re going to think about anything, you must think truth, you must think the word of God, and you must think nobility, concentrating on that, on you being a very noble person in your life, having high moral principles. not giving in, not acquiescing to the demands of the flesh. And then the Bible goes on to say, whatever is right, concentrate on that, diakaios, dikaios, what it means, whatever is correct or whatever is fair, whatever is equitable, whatever is fair and impartial, think about that. James 2, 1 tells you, do not show partiality. as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. You’re not allowed to show partiality. You must have right thinking. And then the Bible goes on to say, whatever’s pure, think on that. Agnos, the Greek word, whatever’s clean, whatever’s sacred, whatever’s modest. That’s what the Bible’s telling you there. It’s what pure means. Romans 13, 14, rather clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ and do not think, think, do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. That’s impurity. See, so this is where the flesh will try to hijack your thinking from you. So whatever’s right, whatever’s pure, whatever’s noble, whatever’s truth, then he says, whatever’s lovely, Think on that, whatever’s pleasing, whatever’s agreeable, whatever’s acceptable. And I’m not talking about art. I’m talking about the Word of God. I’m talking about the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ and the beauty of the truth of God. If you’ve never understood the essence of God, the beauty of the essence of God, then you really don’t know the God that you say you love because he’s sovereignty, righteousness, justice, love, immutability, veracity, omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, eternal life. Heck, he’s even got a sense of humor. Do you know that? If you don’t believe it, look in the mirror. God made you, didn’t he? He’s got a sense of humor. Whatever’s lovely, think about that. Whatever’s admirable, think about that. Paul said admirable, and that’s things of good report, things that are reputable. And whatever’s excellent, arete, whatever involves virtue, moral excellence, and anything praiseworthy, he said, worthy of praise, worthy of accommodation, worthy of approbation. These are the things you think on. Think on these things. Think on these things. Consider these things. This is a verb, logizomai, in the Greek New Testament, and it is a imperative order from God. And the present tense means you’re always to think on these things. So what does this mean? It means in order for you to keep your thoughts from being hijacked, you must think about the right things. You must focus on the right things. You must focus on truth. You must focus on nobility. You must focus on right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy. And there’s a lot I could teach right there. I just don’t have time in 27 minutes and I’m allowed to record the show to get into depth on all of these things. But my gosh, this is the extension of the Christian life. This is how you live the Christian life in your mind, what you think, because you are a product of your thoughts, not your actions. Your actions follow your thoughts. as you have impulses, as you have desires, as you have actions. You see, this is where it all starts. Your spiritual life is lived in your brain, what you think. And the Bible clearly says, let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus. I told you that. And the Bible clearly says, as a man thinketh in his heart, so he is. And the Bible clearly says, guard your heart. Don’t let your thoughts be hijacked. Through the day, it’s very easy. You assess a lot of information on the radio, on the television, social media, Facebook, Instagram, whatever you’re looking at. This can hijack your thinking, and before you know it, you’re lured into the world you don’t need to be into. 24-7, there is an assault on your mind to capture your thoughts and to hijack your thinking 24-7. I don’t care if it’s a movie you watched. I don’t care if it’s a show you listen to. I don’t care if it’s a computer you’re on. It’s always an attack to get you out of fellowship, to get you to give in to the lust of the flesh, to get you to give in to the lure of the world, or to get you to buy into the lie of Satan. You must guard your thoughts. Now, how can you guard what you don’t possess? That’s impossible. If you’re not learning God’s word, you don’t possess anything. If you don’t learn it, you don’t possess it. So you’ve got to comply and concentrate on the scripture. The pastor’s job is to communicate the word. You concentrate on it. You comprehend it. and you comply with it, as I told you. If you’re not concentrating and comprehending, you’re not growing, you’re not learning anything. The Christian life is a life of mechanics. It’s a life of protocol. You must learn the mechanics of the Christian life. I don’t know about you, but it took me a couple of years before I even realized what the filling of the Holy Spirit was. Nobody told me that. Took me a couple of years till I learned what it means to grow in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I had to learn as a young Christian, I had to grow up and learn and I was distracted and defeated on many occasions because I didn’t pay attention. Listen, in order to keep your thoughts from being hijacked, focus on the right things. Now there is something that will eliminate your focus and that’s called fear. Fear eliminates your thinking. So if we go back to all this stuff that’s going on today, trying to distract you, trying to get you out of fellowship, all the pandemic talk, all the military conflict thought, all the drama thought, economic loss, dread of inflation, political intrigue. If you’re afraid, then you’re not living the Christian life. And that will eliminate your thinking if you get into fear. So the Bible says in Colossians 3, 2, set your mind on the things above, not on earthly things. Now, I guarantee you social media is rarely talking about things above. On our Facebook page and our Instagram page, we do give social media influencers an opportunity to see scripture and we give the word of God and we link it to our podcast. But very seldom will you find anything on social media talking about the things above. It’s always about something else, always luring you into a place that you don’t belong. so we are colossians 3 2 set your mind concentration thinking on those things that are above not on what’s on the earth and then first john 2 15 don’t love the world and don’t love anything in the world that’s a warning to you because that’ll disappoint you that means that you’re looking for happiness in all the wrong places Why would God tell you don’t love the world? Well, listen to 1 John 2, 17. The world and its desires will all pass away, but whoever does the will of God will live forever. Now, that’s a great question. What is the will of God? John 6, 40. This is the will of the one who sent me that you believe in me whom he has sent. It’s simply Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Occasionally I’ll get letters from people that want to debate this and want to argue with this or tell me what they think about this. And so they come up with some solution that they think nobody’s ever thought of it before. Oh, they thought of it. Well, what if a person believes in Christ but then goes and lives in the world? Is he really saved? Listen, this is what the Bible says. It’s clear that Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. So concentration is the key to you guarding your heart as a Christian. If you don’t concentrate on what you’re doing every day, you’re easily dissuaded, easily sucked aside, easily distracted into the world. Isaiah 26.3 tells you, You, that’s God, will keep him, that’s you and me, in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you because they trust in you. So there it is. No fear when you are concentrating on the word of God, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, learning those problem-solving devices and living by them. because we trust him. Trust, that’s an act of our volition. What is trust? It’s faith in action. Trust is your faith in action. So if you trust God or you have faith in what God says, then it eliminates fear in your life because no one is called to live in fear or intimidation. My pastor once taught me these things, and I’ll quote some of his notes to you here. Fear is a representative emotional sin. Therefore, fear is negative in the spiritual life of the church age. If you’re afraid, you’re out of fellowship with God. Most people don’t think about fear being a sin, but it is. So you’re not called to live in fear. Fear and the function of your spiritual life are totally mutually exclusive, different. Fear and faith are not compatible with each other. It’s simply fear is you assuming an unassigned responsibility, someone once said. So the negatives of fear are this, it’s a result of no adult spiritual life. The fear virus in your soul represents your emotional arrogance and your distraction to your spiritual life. I’m gonna say that again, I hope you caught it. The fear virus, not the coronavirus, not the Omicron virus, the fear virus in your soul, in your thinking, represents emotional arrogance. Fear feeds off your emotions, and arrogance is you justifying why you have the right to be afraid. These are a distraction to your spiritual life. That’s why I’m telling you that fear can hijack your faith because you will start looking at the problem and not see the solution. You must look at the solution, which is faith, and not buy into the problem, which is fear. Does the Bible say anything about that? Oh, absolutely. Psalm 56, verse 3, what time I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. Bingo. There it is. It just nailed it right there. What time I’m afraid, I will put my trust in you. So fear is an indication that your emotions have replaced your thinking, and that’s bad. I mean, if you go to buy an automobile, they want to get you emotional. Take a ride. Take a ride in it. Oh, don’t those seats feel good? Look how nice it rides. And your emotions override your thinking, and you forget about, oh, we can get that payment down to $300 a month, brother, for the next 12 years. You’re out of your mind. Quit thinking like that. So you have to think. Fear is an indication your emotions have replaced your thinking. Don’t let your emotions run the show. Caution, on the other hand, is not fear. Caution is careful consideration. So your mental attitude will determine your happiness, I promise you. Your mental attitude is a function of your human thinking. Your mental attitude is what you think at any given time in your life, any given day, any given hour. Consequently, thinking is the battlefield of your soul. The life of every believer is in his mental attitude. The life of every believer is determined experientially by two principles, what he thinks and what he does. So this system of thought called Bible doctrine produces a mental attitude of divine viewpoint, the mind of Christ. And the content of this divine viewpoint is the infallible word of God in your soul that gives you trust because it acts on your faith. So the greatest battle we have in life is a battle in the soul. Therefore, the importance of problem-solving devices we call the flood line, flood line in your soul. Good changes in history are made through what you think, and the content of your thinking is the most important thing about you. And sadly to say, most believers today are kind of confused in their thinking, especially when it comes to the spiritual life, because very seldom are they taught accurate information about it So if you allow your thoughts to be hijacked, then you will enter into self-induced slavery. You’ll have associated guilt, you’ll have bitterness and hatred, and especially hating yourself for what you allowed yourself to become. The solution is always simple for the believer, you and me, and that’s for us to rebound. If we confess our sin, he’s faithful and just to forgive us and to purify us from all wrongdoing. We must confess the sin of fear. We must confess when we buy into the lure of the world of the lust of the flesh and not allow these things to take over our thinking. Of course, anyone who’s not a believer in Jesus Christ has no alternative but to think what the world offers. The solution for him is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. You will be changed. If any man’s in Christ, he’s a new creation. Old things are passed away, and all things become new. Thank you for listening. Thank you for tuning in. Pray for me that we’ll be back next week, same time, same place. Until then, this is your host, Rick Hughes, saying thank you for listening to The Flatline.
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Thank you for listening to The Floodline with your host, Rick Hughes. If you’d like to contact Rick, please write to him at P.O. Box 100, Cropwell, Alabama, 35054, or online at www.rickhughesministries.org.
Rick Hughes explores the pervasive challenge of maintaining a spiritual mindset amidst an assault of worldly distractions. With references to scripture and practical advice, listeners learn strategies to focus their thoughts on what is true, noble, and pure. The episode offers a refreshing take on how fear can undermine faith and how spiritual doctrines can fortify one’s mental resolve, encouraging believers to stay anchored in their faith despite external chaos.
