I recently attended a seminar by a well-known psychologist, a specialist in cognitive psychotherapy. Cognitive psychotherapy is a worldwide form of psychotherapy based on the assumption that causes psychological problems and neuropsychiatric disorders of a person lie in the errors of thinking that need to be corrected. How not to recall the biblical saying here: “As the thoughts are in the soul of a man, such is he” (Proverbs 23:7). The Holy Fathers also paid great attention to the observation of their thoughts or sobriety. For the soul, filled with impure thoughts and desires, gradually loses the ability to perform bright and good deeds. By the way, according to psychology, it is our thoughts that give rise to certain feelings in us.

What I liked most about him was not so much the logic of his thinking, the ability to clearly express his thought and argue it, but his patience, endurance and benevolent attitude towards people. Imagine this situation: he explains one or another parameter of the psychological formula and how it is connected with our life, and the girl, who seems to have come to such a seminar for the first time, asks him the same thing many, many times. Although he explained it literally just now and quite clearly, with examples. And there were a few other people like her in the hall. From time to time they tried to interrupt him with questions or remarks, jumping ahead on the topic, to which he answered them with a smile that that was exactly what he was doing now. Such inattention in no way annoyed him and did not infuriate him. He just as patiently, calmly, and, most importantly, with respect, continued to explain the same thing to the questioners many times, until it became clear to everyone. And this despite the fact that someone questioned him even with pretensions.

At that moment, the thought came to me that if we were so able to patiently, sincerely treat each other, then perhaps we would not have conflicts. It is not in vain that Holy Scripture teaches us: “By your patience save your souls” (Luke 21:19). And the holy fathers also called to acquire this virtue. For example, Saint Paisios the Holy Mountaineer said: “If a person endures, then everything falls into place.” And Elder Joseph the Hesychast said this: “In all temptations and sorrows, patience is required, and it is victory over them.”

Moreover, the patience of this psychologist was not ostentatious, external, but benevolent and sincere. By the way, when at the end of the event he was asked to write a wish in the form of an autograph on his book, there were such words: “With a wish for wisdom and peace of mind.” It is worth noting: usually a person wishes for another what is significant for himself, and what he aspires to.

What are emotions

and how to manage them

Emotions are a reaction to a particular event, that is, ultimately, to information. There is the following scheme: the brain, having received this information, decides how dangerous or safe it is. Further, having assessed the degree of its danger, the brain tries to instantly choose between solving two problems, what to do: run or fight. Either running away or fighting are active actions that require resources to activate the body. The paradox is that a person often reacts in this way to an imaginary danger, for example: someone's harmless sideways glance or a spoken word. And suspicious people in their imagination can generally draw any dangerous picture. Mentally, the situation is calculated instantly, in the form of a semi-conscious image without details - this happens at the level of instantaneous information that is understandable to the brain, and even if the person invented the "danger" himself, the body still immediately reacts as if it were a real threat.

The first reaction is the activation of the resource, those same emotions. In fact, all this happens at the level of instincts and reflexes, bypassing the rational part of the brain, the mind. Accordingly, if we talk about managing emotions, then for this it is necessary to use the mind. That is, in response to the first information, when the reptilian, ancient brain will instinctively solve the problem of survival, we can see with our rational component of the brain: there is no real danger. This is exactly what happens in a huge number of cases from everyday life.

For people who react extremely emotionally, it is difficult to manage their emotions because they have one, “animal”, part of the brain that reacts to this danger, and the second - rational - is not able to balance it. The brain perceives imaginary pictures invented by the person himself as a real reality and acts accordingly. Consider a simple example - the fear of public speaking. A person begins to tremble, emotions overwhelm and so on, but you just need to analyze calmly: why is the scene dangerous? There is no danger at all: a person reacts so violently to a fictitious danger that he is not even aware of. Moreover, performing on stage is not connected with survival, it is not a matter of life and death, but an unconscious reflex response. When a person realizes that there is no threat, then it is easy for him to control his emotions. For training, you can look at different everyday situations that cause negative emotions, and see: the basis of negative emotions is fear, a reaction to a threat, which is based on a decision: to run or fight. For the brain, this is a task for survival. And emotions are the way to survive. In general, everything basically comes down to the issue of personal safety. And who is our true protector? Of course, Lord! Trust in God and sincere prayer to Him helps a person to live consciously and calmly, controlling the instinctive manifestations of his "old" person.

It should be borne in mind that an emotional person spends a lot of energy on their experiences. It can reach the point of absurdity: a person becomes so accustomed to a regime that consumes too much power that it already seems to him that a smaller amount of emotions is tantamount to something abnormal. A person accustomed to a vivid display of emotions has accustomed himself to this mode. But this is a regime of overspending, absolutely not normal and harmful both for health and even for real salvation, because in extreme situation you need to keep cool. “The prudent is temperate in his words, and the prudent is cold-blooded” (Proverbs 17:27).

Three Conditions of Suffering

Now let's look at how, while suffering, not to suffer. There are three conditions of suffering: "super-significance", "terrible consequences", "generalization".

The first condition is supersignificance. This is when we give what is happening redundant significance. Suppose a wife wants her husband to treat her more sensitively and attentively. At the same time, the woman tells herself that this is so important that without this the relationship cannot continue, and there is nothing more important in life than this. And if there is no attention from her husband, then, in her opinion, this is simply terrible - a personal disaster. This happens because a person in his heart does not put God in the first place, realizing that God always loves us - then it is easier for a person to endure the callousness and indifference of loved ones. Moreover, when a person does not believe that loved ones should behave in a certain way, he has no judgment in cases of unrealistic expectations.

We return further to the scheme of suffering: we pass to the second component - "terrible consequences". The woman begins to intimidate herself, saying: “If he does not love me the way I want, then nothing can be worse. And it's so bad that I can't take it." In general, one way or another, a person humiliates and frightens himself. Also here there is a misunderstanding of what true love is, and that no one can be "remade" for themselves.

The third component on which suffering is based is generalization. This is when a person uses such words as “always”, “never”, “everyone”, “no one” in his many hours of conversation with himself. For example: “no one loves me”, “I will never succeed” or, in our case, “no one needs me”. That is, a person generalizes everything to a universal scale and plunges himself into despondency and loneliness.

Thus, the use of these three components by a person gives rise to suffering. It is important to remember that without our participation, suffering is impossible. In essence, it is the person himself who creates his “imaginary” suffering. As Rev. Ambrose of Optinsky: “Who is languishing from what sorrows, and you and I bear sorrows of our own composition.”

All of the above can be expressed by the psychological formula: A + B = C, where "A" is an activating event, which can be any life situation: divorce, dismissal, illness. "B" means belief, starting position, principles, axioms, on the basis of which a person evaluates what happened. Simply put, "B" is an internal dialogue, a personal philosophy. "C" stands for consequences, i.e. the emotions and experiences that a person experiences. As a rule, a person experiences suffering, fear, etc., when Irrational Beliefs (IB) appear in the internal dialogue. Without going into the subtleties of cognitive therapy, I note that there are four groups of IE:

Must (making excessive demands on oneself, others and the world).

For example, a person believes that everyone owes him. And now such an individual comes to the temple for the first time. He believes that everyone there should be at least holy and righteous. And suddenly, in the temple, some grandmother returns him from heaven to earth with her remark, made in a harsh form. It is very painful when the illusions created by the duties are destroyed - a person may no longer go to the temple at all ...

Devaluation (of someone or something).

Low tolerance for not doing what is expected: “I can’t bear it.”

Catastrophizing: "The world will collapse unless something happens."

The essence of the method of cognitive therapy is to replace IU with rational beliefs (RU).

By the way, the holy fathers taught not to identify yourself with your thoughts, because they can be sent to the evil one.

So, to find spiritual balance you need:

Should be replaced by Preference instead of requirement. That is, it is a Choice, a search for an alternative.

Replace devaluation with Acceptance.

“I can’t bear it” should be replaced with an Adequate view of the world, that is: “yes, it will be difficult, but I can handle it, with God’s help, no matter what.” “I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

Such adequacy is possible for a person only if he has responsibility for himself and his life and the desire to follow the commandments of God.

Replace catastrophization with, in fact, a philosophical attitude to life. As Ecclesiastes said, "this too shall pass." That is, there are worse things, nothing is a disaster. Again, this is close to humility. As the Orthodox say, it is necessary with all humility to surrender to the will of God. The Monk Nikon of Optina wrote: “In surrendering myself and everything to the will of God, I find peace for my soul.”

Thus, we see: all the secrets of a happy, fulfilling life have long been laid down in Orthodox dogma. And all kinds of scientific and psychological methods only once again confirm this.

At any life situation, to be observant, one can notice two factors that play important role.
First: it is the situation itself, the problem.
Second: it's what you think of her.
In life, you can sometimes meet people who have had serious health problems since childhood, and yet they live an active, interesting life and achieve success in one area or another. This is largely due to the fact that they have a correct, wise attitude towards negative events and circumstances.

Victory over difficult, sometimes very painful, circumstances occurs only as a result of a change in the way of thinking. After all, any difficulty that we face in life can be looked at in different ways. And this new look can serve as an impetus in solving problems.

In order to be a winner in difficult situations, not to succumb to stress, depression, apathy, it is necessary to consciously change the way of thinking under certain adverse circumstances. Sometimes it can be difficult, but the victory, above all over yourself, is worth it. It will allow not only to optimally solve the problem, but also relieve unnecessary worries, preserve health.

It is in the power of each of us to change our point of view on a particular problem, and then it will be much easier to overcome it.

Thought Discipline

In order to think correctly and become the master of your mind, you must first develop the discipline of thinking. This is not an easy task, as it may seem at first glance, and requires effort. We must learn to control our mind and not allow useless, empty thoughts to fill our mental space. If we do not regularly clean our house, it will eventually turn into a rubbish dump. The same is true with our mind. And in order to maintain order, discipline is needed, including the discipline of the mind. The mind is by nature prone to disorder, and only discipline can change a lot.

First we have to decide to think right, but it takes practice and discipline to do that.
The discipline of thought is necessary for each of us.
If any problem arises, you need to endure the time, and then you will see this problem with completely different eyes and be able to solve it much faster and with better results.

In many situations, we cannot change the circumstances themselves, but it is in our power to change the way we think, which will positively affect the solution of the problem.

In any life situation, if you are observant, you can notice two factors that play an important role.
First: it is the situation itself, the problem.
Second: it's what you think of her.
In life, you can sometimes meet people who have had serious health problems since childhood, and yet they live an active, interesting life and achieve success in one area or another. This is largely due to the fact that they have a correct, wise attitude towards negative events and circumstances.

Victory over difficult, sometimes very painful, circumstances occurs only as a result of a change in the way of thinking. After all, any difficulty that we face in life can be looked at in different ways. And this new look can serve as an impetus in solving problems.

In order to be a winner in difficult situations, not to succumb to stress, depression, apathy, it is necessary to consciously change the way of thinking under certain adverse circumstances. Sometimes it can be difficult, but the victory, above all over yourself, is worth it. It will allow not only to optimally solve the problem, but also relieve unnecessary worries, preserve health.

It is in the power of each of us to change our point of view on a particular problem, and then it will be much easier to overcome it.

Thought Discipline

In order to think correctly and become the master of your mind, you must first develop the discipline of thinking. This is not an easy task, as it may seem at first glance, and requires effort. We must learn to control our mind and not allow useless, empty thoughts to fill our mental space. If we do not regularly clean our house, it will eventually turn into a rubbish dump. The same is true with our mind. And in order to maintain order, discipline is needed, including the discipline of the mind. The mind is by nature prone to disorder, and only discipline can change a lot.

First we have to decide to think right, but it takes practice and discipline to do that.
The discipline of thought is necessary for each of us.
If any problem arises, you need to endure the time, and then you will see this problem with completely different eyes and be able to solve it much faster and with better results.

In many situations, we cannot change the circumstances themselves, but it is in our power to change the way we think, which will positively affect the solution of the problem.

Ilchenko Yu.N.

Plan:

I. Introduction

Prov. 23:7 Our life, our actions, our state depends on our thoughts. Unhappy people are always complaining, criticizing, they are constantly dissatisfied, everything is bad for them - it all happens in the mind. But God wants our life to change and we become happy people. When our desires align with God's desires, we will succeed. When we are born again, we take the first step into the Kingdom of God. Next, we have to go through the path of growth and transformation from a baby to a man of God. As we grow, our mind fills with what we put into it. The world invests its values, but we must invest in our minds God's truth, His Word (1 Peter 2:2). When we listen to the Word of God, then the words of God Himself fill our minds - it changes and transforms our lives.

II. How to become a happy person

1. Apply the principles of blessing: Ps.1:1-3"Blessed" - blessed, happy, joyful. The change in his life came when he made the decision to choose God's way and His truth. He made a choice where to spend his time. He made it a top priority in his life to be by the streams of the waters of His Word, which nourished him and cleansed his mind of all worldly debris: fears, despair, insecurities. Staying in the Word of God and delving into it, thereby changing his thinking, he became successful and fruitful. Joshua 1:8 If we abide, know (Hos.4:6) and fulfill (James 1:25) The Word of God is exactly what will make us blessed, successful, fruitful and happy. Ps.119:105 The Word of God will help us avoid the snares of the devil. (Rom.12:2)- The main battle takes place in our minds. We ourselves create the history of our life. God has done His work, He has given birth to us by His Spirit. Further, our daily work is to change thinking, to learn and live in His will. If we look for excuses, put the blame on someone, then we do not see our mistakes and our life does not change.

2. Discipline your mind

We need to learn to concentrate and focus on the Word of God, to control and discipline our thoughts. If thoughts wander, we are wasting time, getting nothing. Prov. 4:20-23 We need to learn to direct our thoughts in the direction of God's thoughts. Having won in our thoughts, we will win in life. Eccl. 4:17 We need to learn to be attentive so that we can hear God and His words.

Mark 4:3-20 1) The devil steals the word from inattentive people. But if you value the Word of God, you will be awake and attentive. 2) If you even heard and accepted the Word, but do not practice it constantly in your life, it does not take root in you, and you forget it. 3) The world is trying to attract us with different wishes. His goal is to stifle the Word of God in us so that it does not bear fruit, your thinking, your life, your family does not change. If we are passive, indifferent, do not meditate on the Word, other desires come, and as a result there is no fruit. 4) Only good soil is capable of bearing fruit, but it must be cultivated, cultivated, protected.

3. Step on the enemy.

1 Peter 5:8-9- we need to be active, awake, resist the enemy and attack him with firm faith, not allow him to infiltrate our mind and thoughts.

Luke 11:21-26 In Christ, you are the strongest. You are called to win by definition. Therefore, we should not be passive. We need to step in, drive out old unnecessary thoughts, and then guard our minds and not let them come back, filling our minds with the Word of God and changing our thinking.

Bottom line: God has done everything for us to be blessed, happy, successful and fruitful. We need to take responsibility for our lives, change our thinking, and then guard our minds by abiding, learning, and applying the Word of God in our lives. Forgetting the old, stretch forward in your thoughts.

Sermon:

Today we will continue the theme "Color your mind with the truth." God wants every person to be able to see and understand what the Lord has given you, He has given you a new life, He has given you a new creation. The Word of God calls us a new creation, we have been born again and entered into the Kingdom of God. On the last week We have a grandson. This is a wonderful creation of God, a wonderful little man, and he is still so small, but he is so beautiful. Why am I talking about this? When we are born into the Kingdom of God, we always rejoice. People come to the altar, open their hearts, and when they are born again, they become spiritual babies. Spiritual babies are all cute, like babies that have just been born, they are beautiful and wonderful, you want to look at them and admire them. But the birth of a child is only the beginning of life. When a person is born, we rejoice, both spiritually and physically, but he has a way to go.

1 Peter 2:2 "Love pure verbal milk." When a person is born, he receives food. Small children are fed day and night. When a child is born, he screams and asks to be given food, why? Because he is growing and he needs food. When we are born again, we also need to grow, we need food. We need to love the Word of God. When we grow up, our thinking is filled with something. It is filled with what is put in us by those who teach and educate us. When we were unbelievers, we were brought up by this world, and it put its values ​​into us. He put the spirit of this world into us. But when we came to God, the Spirit of God gave birth to us. We were born into the Kingdom of God and became spiritual babies. Further, we want to grow and be nourished, and for the Lord to be our Father, Teacher and Educator. When we listen to the Word of God, the words of God Himself get into our hearts, into our minds. God wants each of His children to be happy, healthy, successful - this normal desire every parent.

And I want to open again Psalm 1. There is always something most important at the very beginning. Psalm 1 tells us about a blessed person, in another translation - about a happy person. Thus, to be blessed means to be a happy person. Why is he happy and blessed? The following explains why he became such a person. God's desire is that each of His children be happy, but then everything depends on us. Why? Because God has done His work. He gave birth to us by the Holy Spirit. We are born of His Spirit, and we are born into His Kingdom. The next moment is our growth in God, this is the moment of transformation of our thinking.

Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. For what? In order that you may know the will of God." God has determined the way how we can know the will of God, how we can live in the will of God. We know that the will of God is good, acceptable, and perfect. Therefore, knowing the will of God and living in the will of God, you become good, pleasing and perfect. This is what the will of God is doing to you, it cannot be otherwise.

The man we read about in Psalm 1 is a blessed man, because he chose to direct his life in line with the Word of God, he chose to live by the waters. The streams of water are a word from God. God sends streams into our lives so that all the old garbage, old thinking is cleaned and washed. There is an expression - brainwashing. God wants to brainwash us of what brings us oppression, unbelief, doubt, fear, disappointment, despair, insecurity. All that is not of God must go. We need to uproot everything that Heavenly Father has not planted (Mat. 15:13). We need to give our mind so that God can sow, plant, and root His Word in it. What thoughts, such a person (Proverbs 23:7). Our life depends directly on what is in our head.

As humans, we often tend to blame someone for our problems, our failures, we want to find some kind of scapegoat to blame everything on. And we get so used to it that we don’t notice our problems, mistakes, we don’t notice that we need to change our thinking. It seems to us that it is easier to put the blame on someone else. It may be easier, but it does not help. How many years have you been blaming yourself: on your parents, on the one who raised you or not, on the country, on work? But because we put the blame on someone else, our life does not change. The man in Psalm 1 decided to take a different path. He decided to be by the streams of water, and he not only decided, but began to act: his will is in the law of the Lord, and he meditates on the law day and night.

When a child is born, he is fed day and night because he needs a lot of food. If you are born again, you also need a lot of spiritual food, and you will be ready to eat day and night. Is yours spiritual man must grow, it needs nourishment: “Love the pure spiritual milk so that you grow up in salvation” (1 Peter 2:2). If we want to grow, if we want our lives to change, we need to love the Word of God. This man loved the Word, day and night he was in the law of God. He became like a tree planted by streams of water, which bears fruit in due time. It is God's will that each of His children be fruitful. When we bear much fruit, we glorify God. God has redeemed us from the curse of barrenness. Our God - He is the God of El - Shadai, the God of the multitude, the God of abundance. Therefore, the more fruits in your life, the more it glorifies God.

John 15:7“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, then ask whatever you want, and it will be yours”. But we must understand that these fruits do not appear on their own, the fruits appear when we abide in Him. Therefore, being in the Word of God makes you a different person, changes your thinking. Until our thinking changes, our life will not change. Many people come to church and think that everything will change on its own. No, it won't. His will is in the law of the Lord. To read the Word of God, you need to make an effort, you need to make a decision, you need to be a strong-willed person, because we have many different things to do and concerns, many different entertainments. But it is your choice, where you will spend your time, with whom you will spend your time, to whom you will devote your time. This person is called lucky.

Often we are looking for the secrets of happiness, there are various articles, newspapers, magazines, books, the secret of female happiness, the secret of male happiness, but the whole secret is here! The man became happy because he decided to change his thinking. How to change it? Change it according to the Word of God. The devil, the enemy of human souls, has his own picture of you, and this picture is ugly and terrible, because he is a murderer, he will never give you a beautiful future. John 10:10"he came to steal, kill and destroy"- this is the fate prepared by the devil for man. But Jesus came so that we could have life, and not just life, but abundant life, a beautiful, fulfilling, happy life. When a person abides in the word by the streams of water, these streams purify his thinking and transform him, and then he bears fruit in his season and his leaf does not wither. What's happened "leaf that does not wither"? This means that this person is healthy both spiritually and physically, he does not dry out, does not fade, on the contrary, he opens up. It reveals its potential, its abilities, its possibilities are revealed. God has one goal to reveal you, to make a flowering garden out of the desert - this is the dream of God for each of His children.

Today is the first of September. We congratulated the children on the start of the new school year. Like many children, we are also lazy and stubborn, and we do not want to learn. Many understand that going to school means working. There were holidays, it was good, there was nothing to do, you could run, jump, play different games, don't care about anything. But when the first of September comes, the studies begin. Without learning, your mind does not change. I encourage all those who may not have yet decided to go to study at a Bible school or at Vision University, I encourage you to take this step towards your happiness. In fact, many people imagine what study is - it's a load, it's time. “I’m already tired, it’s hard and hard for me anyway.” But when you ask: "Do you want to be happy?" "Of course, I want to be happy, so that my children are happy, my house is happy." But this is a happy man, because he chose day and night to be in the will of God, in the Word of God. We want to become happy without laboring; without learning, to change; without making an effort to make everything work out for us - this does not happen.

Maybe someone thought: “I will come to church, and here everything will be like a pike, that is, in the name of Jesus Christ, everything will happen and everything will be wonderful and beautiful. I entered the church as Ivanushka the Fool, and Ivan Tsarevich, the royal priest, came out. There is a lie in the fairy tale, but there is a hint in it: “Yes, there will be a transformation.” But even Ivanushka the fool needed to jump into the cauldron. This is not a topping, this is a complete immersion - baptism. And we need to be baptized into Jesus Christ, immerse ourselves in the Word of God, know His depth to the very bottom, breadth and longitude. Even Ivanushka had to dive in and then emerge. Are you ready to dive deep? Are you ready for this new academic year? Do you want to be happy? Many people want, but do nothing for it. But was this person doing something, doing something, or did it come automatically, by itself? No, his will is in the law of God. It was his decision, his faith, his diligence - he worked day and night. You need not only to want, you also need to do something, then you will be blessed.

When we look at some blessed people, sometimes we think: “Lord, why did You bless him and not me?” We must understand that there are principles for how blessings work, and these principles are for all of God's children. You can proclaim: “I, Sidor Ivanovich Ivanov, am blessed, because I do not go to the council of the wicked, and I do not stand in the way of sinners, and I do not sit in the assembly of corrupters, but my will is in the law of the Lord, and I meditate on His law day and night. And I will be like a tree planted by streams of water." This is your decision and these are your actions. We so want someone to do it for us, so many people have not come to where they should have come. The words "to come to something" mean that you have to go there. If you can't walk, you have to crawl. If you can't crawl, at least try.

What happened on the cross was what God did. He said, "It's finished," now He says, "Believe in Me." Do we want our life to change? Yes, we want. But it all starts with a change in our thinking - what thoughts are such and life. happy thoughts - happy life, negative, scary, funeral, unsuccessful and the same life, because we ourselves will color our lives. Here are the colors - the Word of God. Be a creator, start creating the story of your life. We want to change everyone, but as Leo Tolstoy said: "We must first change ourselves." It's easier to change someone. It's easier to teach someone. It's easier to talk to someone. But how difficult it is to do it yourself. But it is our life that speaks of our thinking.

Think what you think. “Whatever I don’t think about. Whatever comes into my head, not the head, but the house of councils. You can check a person's history on the Internet: where he went, what pages, what websites he visited. You look where he just didn’t wear, that only he didn’t visit! Why was he there? These are his thoughts, he thinks about this, that's why he goes there, that's why he watches it. We have a certain history of our thinking. The main battle takes place in our minds, and the enemy of human souls knows this very well, because for all these thousands of years he knows the weak points of man. He knows how to catch you, into what traps, and how to lure you into those traps. The Word of God is our lamp. If we do not have a lamp, then we will not notice these traps. We will easily fall into these traps, then it will be very difficult to get out. But this man is happy and blessed, because he was guided by God, and he walked in the path of God's thoughts. He directed his thoughts in line with the way God thinks. Why the blessing must come because the price has been paid. Legally everything is paid for by Jesus Christ, but practically it depends on each of us, on our personal faith.

Hab. 2:4 "The righteous will live by their faith." Each of us has our own faith and our own head. And God said how to be happy. How? To abide in the Word of God, to know the Word of God and to fulfill that Word. You don't believe in it? We believe, but we don't do it yet. Many people have already become experts in the Word, but they do not live by this Word. Knowing the Word and living by that Word are the two main things that must be established in our lives. Know the Word, as the people perish due to lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6) and fulfill the Word (James 1:25).

I also want to remind about attention, that we learn to focus, concentrate on the Word of God. This problem exists for many people. The inability to concentrate is inattention. Many people in school suffered from inattention. The teacher often asked: "Where are you?" because he saw the faces of some students, who mentally clearly were not there. And many people come to church, start listening to the preacher, they really want to listen to him, but after 5-10 minutes they are somewhere else. Sometimes it happens with varying success, it seems to be listening, then a failure, then he returned and listens again, and after a while the focus went away again. Such a mind cannot focus, concentrate, everything is vague. Those who photographed know that it is necessary to sharpen, otherwise the picture will be smeared. Therefore, when you go to the ministry, you need to pray, captivate your thinking, because there is something that opposes the knowledge of God. But when you have this ability to concentrate, then you get what you were supposed to get. If your thinking constantly wanders, swims, walks, wanders, wanders in incomprehensible places, then you leave here empty. The way you came, the way you left, received nothing - not a word, not a blessing, nothing has changed with you. You come and try to listen, but you hear nothing. Therefore, I would like to say once again that we need to learn to discipline our mind so that we learn to control our thoughts. It will be a great blessing to you, and not just here in the church.

Many also catch crows at work. The leader gives them an order, comes at the end of the day, but nothing is ready, there was not enough time. "What have you been doing all day?" "I thought". "What were you thinking?" "About Miscellaneous". We tend to think about different things, but not about what we need. When people don't know how to concentrate, time flies away, there's no use. Only the ability to concentrate, discipline your thoughts, manage them, will make you a blessed person both in church and in your work.

Many people read the Bible but don't remember what they read. I read with my eyes, but my head was in a different place. Did you notice it? Well, when you have read a chapter, ask yourself questions: what did you read? What did you understand there? You can read for show, but what is left in you? You read with your eyes, but your mind was absent. You weren't connected to what you're reading, you weren't there, you didn't enter into that Scripture, you didn't delve into it. So many people come into the service and leave with the fact that they didn't get in where they were supposed to be.

It's all a matter of training. You need to train yourself with attention, concentration, and if you don’t understand or miss it, take the discs and listen to the sermon again. When you listen again, you will catch what God wanted to give you. Because many things pass by ears. You can go to meetings, but all the water of God's Word runs off you like water off a duck's back and doesn't enter your heart. So God really wants us to learn to be considerate.

Proverbs 4:20-22 “My son, pay attention to my words, be attentive, and incline your ear to my words”. At the moment when your attention is scattered, you must say to yourself: "I will be attentive, I will tune in to listen attentively." Often we pretend to listen, but in reality we don't listen and we don't get what we should get.

Eccl. 4:17 "Watch your foot when you go to the house of God, and be more ready to listen." When you go to the house of God, you must be attentive and ready to listen. We know that faith comes from hearing the Word of God. But in order for our faith to be strengthened, we must not let anything pass our ears. Or as they say: it went in one ear and out the other. It is no coincidence that God gave us two ears so that we can listen carefully and hear.

Let's read the parable of the sower. The sower went out to sow the word. Every Sunday I prepare, I collect good, choice seeds to go out and sow. I sow, I try, but it turns out that only a very small part of people learn this word. When the sower went out to sow, there were people who were by the road.

Mark 4:15“Those sown by the wayside are those in whom the word is sown, but to whom, when they hear, Satan immediately comes and snatches away the word that was sown in their hearts.” Do you know that Satan comes to the church? “What do you mean, pastor, don’t scare me, I thought Satan comes to night bars, he comes to where some kind of criminal, terrible things are happening. And who let him in here, how could he come here? But why does he come? To whom does he come? For inattentive people. For what? To steal a word Therefore, if the word is precious to you, you will not fall asleep. If you have some kind of jewel, you will be awake and you will look who is sitting next to you. You will hug this jewel because you are protecting this jewel from being stolen. If you value the Word of God - you are attentive, if it is precious to you, then this jewel will make you happy, successful and blessed. But who is easy to steal from? Who is sleeping. Therefore, we must be vigilant in the service.

Mark 4:16 “Those sown on a rocky [place] means those who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy, but have no root in themselves and are impermanent; then, when tribulation or persecution comes for the sake of the word, they are immediately offended.”. They do not practice this word. If you do not practice the word constantly, the word does not bring results or fruit. A happy person stayed in the word day and night, practiced this word in life. Why does the enemy want to steal the word so badly, take up arms against this word? Because this word will bring victory into your life, make you a person of faith, happy and successful, a complete believer. When he sees that he failed to steal, then he wants you to have persecution and sorrow. Therefore, when we have some problems, you can immediately see what is in your heart, what word comes out of your mouth.

Mark 4:18 “Things sown among thorns means those who hear the word, but in whom the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and other desires, entering into them, choke the word, and it is without fruit”. This world offers and attracts us with different things. Other desires are many different desires, the purpose of which is to stifle the word so that it does not bear fruit, so that changes do not occur in you. If your thoughts don't change, your behavior doesn't change, your life doesn't change. We all want changes in our lives, we want our home to change, our children to change, our ministry, work, business to change. But all the changes are in the Word that you listen to.

Mark 4:20 “And that which is sown on the good ground means those who hear the word and receive it and bear fruit, one thirtyfold, another sixty, another a hundredfold.” There is no good soil in nature, it is cultivated, created, stones are removed, thorns are removed, everything that prevents growth is removed. We shield our minds from what is not needed, so notice that you are listening, who you are listening to, how you are listening, what enters you, what fills you.

Many have a passive, indifferent attitude towards life. The enemy always wants to make us indifferent and passive. He will show you a word in the Bible to tell you not to do anything. Cast all your work on Him and stay at home. The Lord will do everything Himself. Of course, the Lord Himself will do it, but why did He create you then? Why are you here, if He Himself will do everything?

But if He created you to be like the image of His Son, then you must do something here. We are co-workers with God, therefore there is His part, and there is our part. Our part - to believe, to make decisions, to go to the Word of God, to obey God - all this requires our activity.

Capture every thought in obedience to Christ, who will do it for you? Who will captivate your horses? Who will go round them? And to whom is it written to be sober and vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour? Who will do it for you? Who will be sober and awake? Who will resist him with firm faith, who will do it? Passive, indifferent, inactive believers play into the hands of the enemy of human souls. Many people are waiting and waiting for something, they are not in the mood to read the Bible, they are not in the mood to go to church, they are not in the mood to worship, and there is no end to this.

God tells us, "Take an active position." A body that does nothing is a dead body. But the harvest is plentiful, and many laborers are needed. And our body means that it is alive, healthy, it moves. Why is the church called a body and not a log? Just as God breathed the breath of life into Adam, so too is the church born of the Holy Spirit. When He breathed the breath of life into Adam, he became a living soul. In the same way, the Holy Spirit gave birth to you, you became a living spirit. The life-giving spirit revived you, so you must move, be active.

Luke 11:21-22 “When a strong man guards his house with weapons, then his estate is safe; when the strongest of him attacks him and defeats him, then he will take all his weapons, which he hoped for, and divide what was stolen from him. Here is the strongest and the strongest. What does the strongest do? He attacks, this is an active life position. We need to attack, attack all the enemy force. If you do not advance and attack, you will be in captivity. The one who attacks, he wins. What weapon does the enemy have? This disbelief, doubt, lies, fear - this is the weapon with which he manipulates people. Jesus Christ defeated the enemy, and the strongest lives in each of us. God made sure that we were active. Activity is the opposite of passivity, indifference, inactivity. If you are not active, you cannot do anything. But the strongest lives in you.

Luke 11:24 “When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and, not finding it, says: I will return to my house from where I came out.” We are fighting, driving out unclean spirits, unclean thoughts, and they want to come back again. He has lived in you for many years. You kicked him out, he looked like, looked like and decided to come back again. Some people say: "Here, I got freedom, but it comes back again." But it will come back, that's what Jesus says. But it is your responsibility to take care of guarding your home, guarding your thinking. You banished those unholy thoughts, lustful, strange, terrible, but they want to come back again.

Luke 11:25-26“When he comes, he finds him swept, cleaned. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more evil to himself, and having entered they dwell there. And sometimes for a person the last is worse than the first. His goal is to return to your life again, to make you a slave again, a prisoner of sin, to make you think again with carnal thoughts, which are enmity against God. Therefore, we must guard our minds.

Proverbs 4:23 “Keep your heart above all else, for from the heart are the fountains of life.”. The heart is your spirit, your thinking. You need to keep your mindset, and don't let your weird old neighbors go in there again. That's why we say: "think about what you think." "I do not think. They themselves come. They tell me themselves." Imagine if your house was open: “Come in, all sorts of people. Take what you want. Live how you want. Whatever you want, do it." What would be in your house? You would grab your head: “What have I done. What have I done. Therefore, we put constipation, alarms. For what? To protect your home from uninvited guests. We do not allow everyone to enter our house. We keep our house from various strange people, from robbers, murderers. Why? Because you think, “Oh, if I don't close, I'll be sleeping and someone will come in and choke me or scare me. Therefore, I closed everything, lay down and calmed down.

But, for some reason, we don’t think about our head that way. For some reason, our head is open to all winds, whoever wants, he comes in, what he wants and tells you. Why don't we think and keep our head? And then we ask: “Why do I have such a mess in my life?” or “Why is my head in such a mess?” Of course, there will be a mess if all sorts of unnecessary "comrades" come and bring seven more evil ones with them. It is not for nothing that Jesus says about this: “I cleaned you out, swept everything away. But look, they'll want to come back, so keep your mind, keep your mind." God wants to give us a lot of good things, but because our head is often full of the old, there is simply no place for the new.

Often people say: "I could read books, novels in volumes, but I open the Bible and try to see something, understand something, but it's so difficult." Did you notice it? Why? Because there is opposition, therefore we take captive every thought into obedience to Jesus Christ. And we must love the pure Spiritual milk. Love! Your right thinking will lead you to the right life, the right actions. We must understand that there is a certain order: thinking, changed thinking, changed life. New thinking - new life. Blessed thoughts - blessed life. Happy thoughts, happy life. Successful thoughts - successful life.

Ephesians 4:22-24 “Put off the old image of the old man, which is corrupted in deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man, created according to God in righteousness and holiness”. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind. That's where it all is. But if you don't want to do anything, if you just lie on the couch, nothing will change. But you can make an effort and your will and change. Many people say, "Well, pray for me, pastor." You will soon be bald, how much we pray for you. It's not that prayer doesn't help. Prayer helps when you renew your mind.

For example, a person struggles with lust (it can be not only lust, but any evil). He asks: "I'm fighting lust, pray for me." Okay, pray. After some time, he comes again: "Well, I felt better for a while, and then she came again." I read him a scripture Matthew 5:27 : “You have heard what the ancients said: do not commit adultery, but I say that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” The word "lust" means a strong, passionate desire in the sense of sexual attraction. He commits adultery, that is, he commits adultery in his heart. Thus, a person who wants to be free must free his thinking. Jesus says if you look at a woman with sexual desire, then you have, in fact, already committed adultery. If a person wants to fight his lust, but there are pornographic films, different pictures in his mind, he will never be able to get rid of it. If he does not clear his mind, then this movie will constantly spin and spin for him.

Jesus Christ tells us very clearly and clearly that he accomplished everything on the cross. In order for us to be free, He paid the price. But to actually be free, you need to watch what you look at in your mind, what you see, what pictures, what websites you visit, how and where you look. Notice that you are listening, but also notice that you are watching. God wants to bring freedom. And He wants to give freedom to every believer, for this believers must be active in their faith.

Phil.4:13 "I can do all things in Christ Jesus who strengthens." I can - this is our activity. I can act in faith. Faith that doesn't work is dead faith. Our faith must be active. You resist the devil with firm faith (1 Peter 5:9) and faith comes from hearing the Word of God. Therefore, we must listen to the Word, be attentive, be focused, and gladly receive the word that we hear.

We often underestimate the importance of changing our thinking. But I want you to see that your life will only change when your thinking changes. What thoughts, such is life. We can be unhappy, not because we have an unhappy life, but because we have thoughts that we are unhappy, that no one loves us, that no one needs us, and we feel so sorry for ourselves. This pity will not change your thinking, because you like to feel sorry for yourself. But God wants you to change so that you become happy child God's. So in your thoughts you should say, “Lord, I am happy because I am saved. I am happy because the blood of Jesus Christ cleansed me. I am happy because I am Your son, I am Your daughter. I am happy because you prepared a future for me and gave me hope. I am happy because You are the value of my life, You are the center of my life. I have Your Word, Lord, I have Your truth, and I will abide in You, I will be the happiest person on this earth.”

When it is in your mind, it will be in your life, so take these happy colors and color every day. Every day you have to color like children's coloring books, they are black and white, and you have pencils and paints from the Word of God. How will you color this day? How you paint today is what you will have tomorrow. We can't do anything about the past. The past, as it was, is what it is, nothing can be changed. But we can change the future today, and our future starts now, it starts today. Therefore, what you do today will reflect on your tomorrow. If you don't do anything today, you won't do anything tomorrow. What a man sows, that he will reap. These words of happiness, words of joy, words of blessing. God says, "I want you to blossom." The desert must become a garden. Without God, we were a desert, it was empty, there was no Jesus Christ. But God has come into our lives, and we must see this treasure and rejoice in this treasure and proclaim the Word of God - do not get tired of doing it.

Proverbs 4:20-22 "My son! listen to my words, and incline your ear to my words; let them not depart from your eyes; keep them within your heart: for they are life to him who finds them, and health to his whole body.”. You need to find the words of life, keep those words, proclaim those words, and your thinking will change. And when your thinking changes, your life changes, everything will be different. The Lord says that you are His co-worker, He has prepared this plan for every child. He wrote down this future and this hope, but now He says that you must take responsibility for yourself, not be passive, but be an active painter-artist. We must actively engage in repainting, restructuring our thinking, not to waste time, but to act. Many people say: “Soon I will make repairs. I have already bought the wallpaper and I have the paint, but somehow my hands do not reach. One year these rolls lie, the second year, the paint has already dried up, the rolls have already dried up, and you are still going: “Yes, I still have time, I already have everything.”

The same thing happens in the spiritual life. I bought a new Bible in a leather cover, but you just can’t delve into the Word, you can’t apply it in life. All in your hands. God has given you the Word, God has given you this seed, God has given you this weapon: "Go ahead and you will be a blessing!" Not only will you yourself be blessed, but you will be a blessing to others because this is God's plan for us. Are you ready for this repair in your head? Are you ready to clean up everything old? Throw away everything old from your favorite closet, from your pantries? Many people have a lot of pantries, and they store everything there, they don’t wear it for a long time, they don’t need it for a long time, but it’s all there, and suddenly it will come in handy. Also in the head. Unbelief and doubt will never be useful to you, fear and despair will never be useful to you either. You will need faith, hope and love. This is what you need, this is what you keep. Everything else you can throw away. Faith, hope and love - that's what should be in your head. You can delete the rest, clear your mind of everything else.

Prayer.

Dear Lord, I love you. I thank you that you love me. You have a wonderful plan for me, a wonderful life, a wonderful future, a wonderful family. You have prepared for me a wonderful husband and wonderful children. You have prepared for me a wonderful ministry and a wonderful work, because everything that You have prepared for me is the best, and I want, Lord, to be a co-worker with You. I want to change, transform, renew my thinking together with You, Holy Spirit, obeying You and being guided by Your Word. I will not conform to this world, I will not conform to this age, but I will transform my thinking day and night, day and night, day and night, until the results are evident. I will sow, maybe with tears, because I feel sorry for throwing out old junk, rubbish, with tears I throw out my self-pity, my fears, depressions, misfortunes, but I will rejoice when I see the harvest. I see the harvest, I see this harvest in my life, I see faith, hope, love. This is what comes from You, Lord, this is what brings blessing and joy. I thank You that I have the mind of Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

What are the thoughts in his soul(human) , so is he". (Prov. 23:7)

Is there something preventing you from getting closer to the Lord? Maybe you are tired of searching for yourself in Christianity? Is everything not as you would like? - You can change it!

** Our thoughts are the engine of our life - they are the root of our affairs.

First, the thought takes root in us, then the thought acquires a concrete content in words; and later, our beliefs push us into action.

Words are living thoughts. " but what comes out of the mouth comes out of the heart - this defiles a person» (Mat. 15:18)

Our embodied thoughts have power and authority : « for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned". (Mat. 12:37)

Those. our thoughts have a direct impact on both the future and the present. " Above all things, keep your heart, because from it are the sources of life.(Prov. 4:23)

It is important to observe purity of heart - i.e. accept and hold positive thoughts.

The task is quite clear and at first glance - simple. But, life shows that not everything is so simple. And if in most cases we don’t get to the point, then through materialization in words, we cannot hold back the breakthrough of negative thoughts. " because we all sin a lot. He who does not sin in the word, that man is perfect, able to bridle the whole body". (James 3:2)

** The most interesting thing is about to begin - how can one really cope with the flow of thoughts that need to be removed from oneself? After all, thoughts are constant internal processes that must be mastered.

- The battle at the level of consciousness over negative thoughts is the main task of a person who wants to succeed in all areas.

If you give access to the negative in your life, then such thoughts first kill all the strength and desire for achievements in you; then they are led into a state of despondency, which develops into despair - and now, from the impulse of movement in faith, there is no longer a trace.

** Destroying the root of our offenses, carnal aspirations, rebellion - we get out of any crisis of faith. Look at the root - and all actions (and everything connected with them) have a thought as their beginning.

-I want to say that we will leave the methods that we tried and did not bring success to those who spend time gaining control over themselves - modern lawyers.

Many people understand this passage of Scripture in different ways:

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God to destroy strongholds: [with them] we cast down thoughts and every high thing that rises up against the knowledge of God, and we bring captive every thought to the obedience of Christ ”(2 Corinthians 10: 3-5)

However, the text itself tells us that we have a way to deal with negativity that has its origin in the spiritual world and brings real results. Self-control - could not change us without Christ and does not change anyone for the better.

**Our weapons are spiritual, given to us by the Lord. Therefore, let us pay attention to what is given to us: (Eph.6:11-18)

1. Fill yourself with Truth. Do what your desire to please God tells you to do.

2. Evangelize: tell people how to be saved and through whom.

3. Study the promises. Always keep them ready; for example - (Rom.8:28)

4. Be confident in your salvation – Attend services, practice what you hear.

5. Deepen Your Word - it will actively participate in the process of your reflections.

6. Pray constantly not by memorized expressions, but by the fact that on this moment on the heart.

The best way to protect your consciousness is to allow the Lord to dominate your consciousness.

By filling yourself with prayerful study of the Word, you can keep yourself from thoughts that lead to defeat. You will not need to “keep everything under control” - let the Holy Spirit take care of this, Who in due time will tell you where, what and how.