Calvary Bible Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan

In Titus 2, the first word of v.5 calls each of us to pay attention to our own, personal, spiritual mental health, for God's sake.

There are only two mental health providers in the Universe:

• the first One says that He came to give Life that is Abundant; and
• the other one came only to kill, steal, and destroy.

At salvation we go from the destroyer's control to Christ Jesus' life that is endless and abundant. However, we still live in fallen human bodies, in a cursed and sinful world.

Often unsaved unbelievers have no idea who is controlling their minds as they head to destruction; they do not realize that sin always pays everyone back with boredom, guilt, shame, loneliness, confusion, emptiness, loss of purpose, and finally death in the form of conscious, endless, punishment in Hell.

Equally tragic is the reality that many saved believers do not focus on the One who wants to control their minds, and thus they do not obey what God's Word tells them to do to avoid the consequences of sin that are in effect  even as a believer. Sin always pays us believers back with boredom, guilt, shame, loneliness, confusion, emptiness, loss of purpose, and most terribly-the loss of rewards.

Because of those truths, Paul was led by the Spirit of God to write the words of Titus to every believer that would ever live. God's Word the Bible declares that:

God Desires we Maintain Our Spiritual Mental Health

God is vitally concerned about your mind. He wants you and me to stay in tip-top spiritual health. Our spiritual and mental health are vitally linked. Our minds are the subject of many verses of the Bible.

Our minds are the gateway into the spiritual world and most of those verses challenge us to consider what choices we are making for the health of our minds. Often we fail to realize how deeply we impact our mental health by our personal choices.

Please open to that first word I am referring to in Titus 2:5. Of all the words designating the spiritual qualities God desires in us, this may be the most timely of all.

Paul explains to every believer in Titus 2 that we desperately need:

God-Controlled Minds

The Greek word God inspires Paul to write is sophron translated in the New Testament as "discreet, sensible, or self-controlled". The meaning of this word is vital to our spiritual lives.

The Greeks derived it from two words, which mean literally sos ("healthy or sound") and phren ("mind"). God wants all of His children to have healthy minds. Mental health is vital to our spiritual lives. All of our communication with God is spiritual (through our mind and spirit) and not physical.

So the communications pathway, the spiritual supply line and everything that has to do with God flows through our regenerated minds. This word discreet, or self-controlled, or sensible (however your Bible renders sophron), means: to keep one's mind safe and sound.

In Titus 2:5 this word describes a woman with a mind surrendered to God's control.

Her mind is surrendered to God's gracious sanctifying power; and she learns to govern every instinct and passion until each has its proper place and no more.

This safe and healthy mind is the only universal character quality of the 24 qualities we find listed in Titus 2:2-12.

In the space of just six verses here in Titus 2, Paul declares this quality God desires is stated as part of the life of godly older women (2:4), godly younger women (2:5), godly older men (2:2), godly younger men (2:5), Biblical elders (1:8), and-to every Spirit-filled and Spirit-led believer (Titus 2:12; c.f. Romans 12:3).

So as we look at this word from God, it is first of all in context to be the personal life-choice for younger women; and secondly, it is to be the curriculum on the mind of godly older women as they spend time nurturing younger women; and thirdly it is for every man in the church whether in a leadership role or not, and finally to every redeemed man, woman, and child-because it is universally applied to every believer in Christ's church.

As we delve into this verse, God's Word makes one thing perfectly clear: God wants your mind under His control.

More than anything else God wants to saturate, influence, fill, direct, dominate and control your mind.

If God has your mind - He has your body,

If God has your mind - He has your emotions,

If God has your mind - He has your appetites,

If God has your mind - He has your time,

If God has your mind - He has your money . . .

Do you see the point? The one who gets your mind gets it all. Your mind is the prize!

God Desires Healthy Minds

The immensity of the impact on our lives of our mental health is hard to understate. The constant dangers to our mental health, and the impact that the spiritual world can have on that health, is largely unknown by most believers.

The US Government National Institute of Mental Health states that 26% of American adults have some form of mental illness in 2010 (see tables at the end of this message). The LA Times this week said that Californians surveyed said that 20% of them suffered from mental health needs. So we live in a world with epidemic levels of mental health needs.

God wants to help you to keep your mind healthy; and He warns of the dangers of allowing ourselves to drift into self-induced mental illnesses.

Just as there are diseases and sicknesses that can be prevented by simple antiseptic choices, proper hygiene, and safe handling of pathogens in the physical world: there are unsanitary, unhealthy, and dangerous spiritual choices that humans can make that can rob them by their own actions, of mental health.

Those who have unhealthy or sick minds spiritually are called by various terms in God's Word: "anxious minds" (Luke 12:29; "debased minds" (Romans 1:28; "blinded minds" (II Cor. 3:14; "corrupted minds" (II Cor. 11:3); "earthly minds" (Phil. 3:19); and "double-minded" (James 1:8; 4:8).

The battle is for our minds. Satan is seeking to steal the minds of God's children. Your mind is the key to knowing God. Only a mind stayed on the Lord can have perfect peace. A mind devoted to Christ is the road to God's plan for your life!

Most often mental health is only thought of in a negative way, like someone who has phobias, paranoia and moods swings, we say they have some form of mental illness (or that they lack mental health).

But God was way ahead of modern psychiatric medicine when He instructed that Christ's Church cultivate habits that lead to mental health. The Bible's terms we pass over without really considering the implications are: "sound mind" (II Timothy 1:7);  "guarded mind" (Phil. 4:7); "right mind" (Mark 5:15); "stayed mind" (Col. 3:2); "girded mind" (I Peter 1:13); a "renewed mind" (Romans 12:2); and a "spiritual mind" (Romans 8:6). All of these express that:

God wants your mind given to the pursuit of His Kingdom, His Word, and His Christ!

God's Mental Health Guide

Please turn now to the mental health prescription God gave to each of us, Colossians 3, and stand as we listen to His prescription:

Colossians 3 (New King James Version)

1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. [Step # 1 Focus on God]

5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them;  8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, [Step # 2 Repent of all known Sin]

10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. [Step # 3 Surrender Obediently to God's Plans]

12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.18 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. 20 Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. 23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.

Pray

Take a moment to note in your Bibles God's three steps to spiritual mental health:

1.   Focus on God (Colossians 3:1-3)

2.   Repent of all known sin (Colossians 3:4-9)

3.   Surrender Obediently to God's Plans (Colossians 3:10-25)

We have now come to the universal element for every believer-as described and prescribed by God-and that is a God-controlled mind, a Word-saturated mind, a Christ-seeking mind. So we can confidently say that:

We Must Have God-Controlled Minds

The Holy Spirit of the Infinite and Unchanging God of the Universe breathed out through Paul a list of life-choices, godly character traits, grace-energized actions that please God and are useful to Him.

Do you think very often about what type of diet, rest, care, and exercise leads to mental health?

A further application of this call to a God-Controlled Mind would be: choosing to think about life through God's filter, the Philippians 4:8 grid.

The healthy spiritual mind eats and exercises with God's mental diet and avoids whatever would contaminate or pollute that mind. The only things we are to think deeply upon, fill our minds with, and make a regular diet are things that are:

Philippians 4:8 (NKJV) Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate (NAS "dwell"; ESV "think") on these things.

Sadly it seems that Satan has caught many believers off guard. While they carefully avoid many obvious doctrinal dangers, perhaps the most powerful mind-robber has been overlooked.

Beware of Mind-Polluters

Back in Haslett Junior High School in the 1960's we had a teacher who was very much against smoking. He described our lungs as delicate, wet pure white toilet paper that held every contaminate we breathed in. Then he showed us the contents of cigarette smoke. None of us wanted black, filthy, poisonous tar on our delicate white tissues of our lungs.

But our minds are so much more delicate, and infinitely more susceptible to contaminants. Satan is neutralizing the power of so many godly minds, little-by-little every day through the onslaught of the polluted media that overflows us like a raging flooded river.

Either we choose to have a God-controlled mind or a World-controlled mind.

Either we give in to a Media-saturated mind or pursue a Word-saturated mind. That was the challenge that the Lord directed Paul to place before the church at Crete in this letter to Titus, and to all of us since.

Our world spends most of their time seeing the world through the ungodly eyes of our media. Today more and more believers are finding their worldview, their values, and their guidance for life's decisions from TV, secular books, unsaved professionals, secular magazines, unbiblical commercials, and the unknown originations of much material on the web.

Sadly, many believers follow secular and ungodly guidance and direction more than God and His Word. What you choose for your mind today has consequences.

• If you choose to be entertained by godlessness--it will callous you;
• If you choose to be entertained by sensuality--it will defile you;
• If you choose to be entertained by violence--it will desensitize you;
• If you choose to be entertained by evil--it will distance you;
• If you choose to be entertained by worldliness--it will discourage you;
• If you choose to be entertained by Satan's mind--you will forfeit the blessings of having the mind of Christ.

Let's be blunt: don't say you are committed to Christ unless you are disciplining your mind for the active pursuit of godliness! 

The battle is for our minds. Satan is seeking to steal the minds of God's children.  How do we stay healthy spiritually? Gs gives us the:

Steps to the Healthy Spiritual Mind Christ Seeks

Let's look at the choices Paul taught we should make to have minds that pointed to our Holy God.

1.   Healthy Spiritual Minds make the choice to surrender to Christ's control daily. Romans 12:1-2 I beseech ("appeal" ESV/"urge" NAS) you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable ("spiritual worship" ESV) service. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (NKJV)

 

Have you started a daily renewal of your surrender? For your own spiritual health, He desires you to do so today!

2.   Healthy Spiritual Minds make the choice to focus upon the Glory of God.  I Corinthians 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ²⁰ For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

Have you started feeling the weight of God's glory upon every part of your life? For your own spiritual health, He desires you to do so today!

3.   Healthy Minds choose to resist evil influences: Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them (Ephesians 5:11).

 

Do you seek to turn away from all evil influences? For your own spiritual health, He desires you to do so today!

Our challenge this morning is: will we do our part to cultivate spiritual mental health?

We must decide this morning to break with the crowd of believers who do not focus on the One who wants to control their minds.

We must choose to obey what God's Word tells us to do, and avoid the consequences of sin even as a believer.

Our mental health is affected by sin, because sin always pays even believers back with boredom, guilt, shame, loneliness, confusion, emptiness, loss of purpose, and most terribly-the loss of rewards.

Surrender to Christ's control daily; and choose to focus upon God's glory all day long; and constantly resist evil influences by God's grace TODAY!

[1] latimes.com/news/health/boostershots/la-heb-mentalhealth-20100728,0,2495137.story

[2] http://www.mentalhealth.com/

[3] http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/the-numbers-count-mental-dis...