Ideas

[00:00:07] Speaker A: Welcome to the weekday podcast of Sugar Hill Church where we desire to help you know God and discover your purpose, whether you're exercising, driving, meditating, or just hanging out while you tune in with us today. Thanks. We hope these next five minutes help you feel encouraged and inspired for your day. [00:00:22] Speaker B: Hi everyone and thanks for joining me on today's weekday podcast. My name is Chuck Allen and it's a privilege to chat with you. I know Bobby feels the same way as we share these brief podcasts and thoughts about Scripture Monday through Friday each week. Today I want to talk about what is the force behind real ideas. That doesn't sound biblical, right? But stick with me. In the sixth chapter of Paul's letter to the Church In Ephesus, Ephesians 6, verse 12, it says our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places. You know, our ideas and I'm one of those people that I get the best ideas in the weirdest places, but oftentimes the best ideas I have are when I find a little solitude anyway, that our ideas are kind of not so specific models of our assumptions about reality. All right, now if you already tuned out on me, come back to it. Ideas by their very nature are kind of unspecific models of our assumptions about our reality. They're ways that we think about their ways that we interpret the stuff in life. But they are really pervasive and they are essential to how we think about and how we approach our daily life that we often don't even know that they're they're there or understand how they work. This is part of the mystery of how God created us. But the way we grow spiritually is inescapably a part of recognizing in ourselves the idea systems. Are you ready for this? Of evil, of bad, that govern our present modern day world and its culture as well as those that constitute life that is apart from God's desire for us. The needed transformation, the needed change in our life is largely a matter of replacing those idea systems that are not for our good and away from the way of God with the idea system that was embodied and taught by the Lord Jesus. And these different perspectives of if you would call them, I suppose maybe higher level ideas and forces are truly spiritual agencies that give us spiritual agency and they work with the ideas of systems of evil. That these systems are the main tool dominating humanity. This is why Paul says that we're to be a people that genuinely have a way in which we can be always searching for the renewing of our mind? How do we think about the things of God? How do systematic spiritual forces influence the ideas in our family and our work and our spiritual development and our politics and our social media? So maybe our prayer today is God, would you give me the ability to clearly be about the renewing of my mind by changing the way I think that I might have more God honoring ideas. Let our prayer today be Lord, give me eyes to see the ways in which all of the world's evil work with the ideas and cultures of the day. But remind me that the spiritual forces behind the world's ways are my enemy, not my friend. So Lord Jesus, would you shine so brightly in my life today that I might have the renewing of my mind that would be thoroughly honoring of you. God Bless you friend. Thanks for joining me on today's WE Weekday podcast. [00:04:41] Speaker A: Thanks so much for joining us today for the weekday podcast. Our prayer is that the encouragement you just heard would help you live more like Jesus today. We would love to see you at Sugar hill Church for one of our gatherings each Sunday at 9, 30 and 11, and we're always streaming live at live.sugarhill church. Thanks again for joining us today. As always, if today's message encouraged you, share it with friends and family by tapping the share button. Have an awesome day.