Summer Camp 2009 - Sunday Morning
Tom Shrader draws on Colossians 3 and James 1 to explain that a transformed heart must be followed by an informed mind — one deliberately set on Christ rather than on the idols and distractions the world offers. Using the testimony of a student named Lucy as a launching point, he argues that God purposefully allows trials to produce endurance and to keep believers dependent on Him rather than on their circumstances. The practical core of the teaching is the call to interrupt temptation at the thought level — before desire conceives sin — by replacing destructive mental patterns with Scripture, prayer, and intentional focus on who God is.
“Sin will always take you further than you want to go, it will always cause you to stay longer than you want to stay, and it will always cost you more than you want to pay.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: Summer Camp
Recorded: 2009 at East Valley Bible Church
Duration: 35 min
Themes: temptation, trials, transformation, scripture memory, idols, prayer, endurance, thought life, new believer, struggling with temptation, feeling spiritually dry, teenager, young adult, doubting faith, resistant to god, student
Scripture: Colossians 3:1-5, Romans 12:1, James 1:2-15, 2 Corinthians 12:7-9
Theological Themes: sanctification, becoming holy, renewing of the mind, colossians 3, james 1, perseverance, repentance, unconditional love
Full Transcript
A Transformed Heart and an Informed Mind
How great is that? That can be your story. Some of you have a story similar to that — circumstances a little different, but the substance the same. God saved you. And others of you really connected with what Lucy was saying. You don't want to be here, maybe some more aggressively and openly about it than others, but God is called the Hound of Heaven, and He pursues His kids, and He won't let you go. I love that story — there was nothing that Lucy was doing, nothing that she was seeking. She wasn't even searching. In fact, just the opposite: she was pushing away. That's how powerful unconditional love is. That's how powerful God's love for you really is.
There's also a part of that story that kicks us into what I want to talk about today. When we started, we said we're going to talk about a transformed heart and an informed mind, and then living a radical life. We spent yesterday talking about a transformed heart. So now there's this moment when my heart has been changed. By heart, we mean my mindset — it's the testimony that Lucy talked about. I now see God for who He is. I see His love. I see my sin. I understand His forgiveness. I've come to Him.
There's this moment of repentance and faith. It's a moment maybe at a summer camp, a moment at home, a moment in an FCA or a Young Life group, or a moment at church. It's some point where you come to that realization of who He is, and that is settled. You say, "I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin — my personal sin — that was paid for on the cross."
Now that happens, and I think there's instinctively this sense that everything is going to be smooth from here. But did you catch what Lucy said right at the end? She said, "I'm in a desert right now." Not that God has moved, not that she doesn't know she's forgiven, not that she doesn't understand that heaven is her destination — but there's this moment and time where things aren't as vibrant and as fresh as she'd like them to be. That's where the informed mind comes in.
Setting Your Mind on Things Above
We're going to work through two passages of Scripture today, and I really want to make one overarching point. Open your Bibles to the book of Colossians. If you're in 2 Corinthians or Romans, move to the right — you'll pass Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and then arrive at Colossians 3. Paul tells us in Romans 12:1 that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds, and he's also writing here in Colossians to this church and to these believers.
As he writes in chapter 3, here's what he says: "Therefore, if you've been raised with Christ" — so you've been born again — "keep seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand." Here's the key, Colossians 3, verse 2: "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things of earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God."
So I'm now associated with Him. God has changed my heart. He's opened my mind. He's opened my eyes. But now there's still this struggle between the world — the world system, the world's values — and my flesh, my sin, and Satan who hates me. There's that struggle between all of that and who I really am. Paul uses that phrase over and over again: with Christ, in Christ, in God. "You have died with Him. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory."
So the two verses I want to focus on are verse 2 — "Set your mind on the things above" — and verse 5: "Therefore consider the members of your earthly body" — that's your life, your heart, your mind, all that you are — "to be dead." Then he lists some things. They're broad groupings with a great deal that fits under them: impurity, immorality, passion, evil desire, and greed, which all amounts to idolatry.
What Crowds Christ Out
Set your mind on the things above. In other words, I'm thinking about Christ, and my mind is to return to Him again and again and again in the midst of this battle as the earth pulls my mind toward it. And when we talk about a radical life, notice how perfectly this plays out in Lucy's story. She goes home, and what's the first thing she understands? My suspicion — though I don't know this to be true — is that nobody told her she had to go back and break up with this guy and find new friends. God changed her heart, and all of a sudden she understood: here are the things in my life that just aren't good for me, things God wouldn't have for me, things that are pulling me away from Him rather than toward Him. So immediately, she had to deal with those things.
Paul says to set your mind on the things above, not on the things that function as idols in your life. Where do you run when you want to find comfort? What's the most important thing in your life? When you stop and take stock, what is it that you're looking to for deep relief, for escape when the pressure comes? Who are you looking to for approval? What is the thing you run to? If it's anything other than Jesus, those are the things in your life that are beginning to crowd Him out and take His place.
Setting Our Minds on What Matters
Paul says what you need to do is set your mind on the things above. I have become convinced that so much of the battle we face, we are dealing with symptoms, not the cause. Whether it is running to a guy or running to a gal, immersing myself in sports, trying to get good grades, trying to please my parents, going to church, or whatever it is — I am looking at those things thinking I am going to find approval or satisfaction there. In fact, those are just symptoms. If that is what I am looking at, it is not strong enough to keep me. It is about pleasing God. It is about beginning to respond to Him.
Turning to the Book of James
I want you to turn now through 1 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, Philemon, and Hebrews to the book of James. This is where we are going to camp for the next fifteen or twenty minutes or so. I am going to speak now not based on any conversations with you, but based on my own life. I have become absolutely convinced that God is not that concerned about us being happy. In fact, most of His plan for our life carries with it a sense of unhappiness and longing that makes us turn to Him.
I can give you all sorts of illustrations. I can talk about all sorts of different things. But since it is just us here, let us talk about mine. I do not even know if this is too honest — I was praying about this morning, and if this is too much, I hope God strikes me dead right now, which I would welcome anyway because I would go to heaven. So if this is too much, I apologize.
Most of you know Susan's situation. We have been struggling with this for four and a half years. I want to tell you something: I am so sick of this. I am so tired of this — and not even for her. I wish I were noble enough to say I am tired of it for her. I hate to see her go through it. When I took her to the plane the other day, the tears were just coming down her eyes. She said, "I don't want to go home." I am so tired of this.
God's Purpose in Our Trials
I am convinced God leaves us in these situations — this whole thing — for one reason: to keep us absolutely dependent upon Him. You fill in the blank. Whatever it is, that thing you come back to again and again, that desert in your life — God puts that in your life for a reason, for your own good, to keep you dependent upon Him. Because without it, you would not come to Him.
James Chapter 1: Joy in Trials
If you look at James chapter 1, verse 1, James is writing to the twelve tribes. These are groups of Jews who have lost everything. They became Christians, and the text says they were dispersed or scattered. They have left Jerusalem and are under enormous suffering. They have lost their families. If they had any wealth, they have lost it. They have lost their ability to do business. The moment they became Christians, they lost all social support structure, all family support. They lost everything.
Look at what James says. He is writing to them, but it speaks powerfully to you and me. Verse 2: "Consider it all joy, my brethren." He is speaking to people he loves, and he tells them to do something that is absolutely supernatural. Consider it joy — and now mark the next word: *when*. He does not say *if* you encounter various trials. If he wrote it that way, it would really change the whole sentence. If he wrote "consider it all joy if you encounter various trials," the implication would be that maybe you will and maybe you will not. But he does not say that. He says *when* you encounter various trials.
Here is what he is saying: when all of this stuff comes into your life, count it as joy. How can that possibly be? That makes absolutely no sense. How can you tell me to count this joy? The word *various* means literally multi-colored. Here is what that means: there will be trials that come into your life that are different from yours, different from yours, different from mine. There will be things in my life that are enormous trials for me and nothing for you, and things in your life that are giant trials for you and nothing for me. He does not say there is going to be a specific type of trial.
Here is what he says, and this is why it is so important. I believe this with all my heart: this is the normal Christian life. This is the way God designed it to be. Into your life come trials — things that He either causes or allows. He does not do it because He is some masochistic God. He does it for the reason He tells you in verse 3: "because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance."
Endurance for the Long Road Ahead
The vast majority of you — I read a statistic about a year ago that said if you are a girl born in the year 2008 and you do not get cancer, your life expectancy is 100. Most of you guys and gals, especially at this age, statistically are going to live another fifty, sixty, or seventy years. And do we know life changes? Sure. Remember the statistic we saw last night — in the time we watched that one video, 178 people in the world had died, and 29 of them were under the age of 20. But statistically, you are all going to live a long time. And if you want to walk with Christ that whole time, what you need is endurance.
Those of you who are athletes understand this. They take your body and they test you. Some of you guys will be back into football before long — back into two-a-days, already working out, already in the weight room. Gals, you are getting ready to play volleyball, softball, or basketball. Maybe you are a musician. It is just a matter of practice and practice and practice and practice, and you build up endurance. When you start playing the guitar, before long all those blisters and calluses are on your fingers from holding down those strings. That is endurance.
Perseverance Through Testing
It's perseverance. Here's what God says: it's testing that gives us perseverance in the Christian life. It's not just studying the Bible — that's terrific. It's not just prayer — that's terrific. It's not just summer camp — that's wonderful. But if you want to think of it like a class you'd take at school, all of this is classroom, and then God takes you to the laboratory. God is going to take you out into the world, and He is going to allow or cause things in your life — not to tempt you, not to cause you to sin, but to allow you to see who you really are.
He is going to allow you to go through things like the testimonies you've heard so far. He is going to allow you to go through these painful times. Paul had them — the Apostle Paul. Paul tells about this thorn in the flesh. We don't know exactly what it is, but we know this: he prayed three times — "God, take this away, take this away" — and God didn't take it away.
Here's what Paul did. Paul didn't say, "That really makes me angry. That really must mean you don't love me. That really must mean there's something wrong with you." What Paul said was, "God, your grace is sufficient. Because when I'm weak like this — when I don't know if I can even get out of bed, when I can barely get by, when it's all I can do to scrub together a smile to get through a small group, but when I'm all by myself, all alone — I know I'm just a mess."
We Are All Weak and in Need
I love what Lucy said because she sets up my time with the girls tomorrow. I understand some of you are adult and all grown up. But she said it clearly: inside, you're still just little girls looking to be loved. Let me tell you something about the boys too — young little boys trying to figure out how to act. We're all the same. We hate to admit it, but we're all the same. We are weak, fragile people who desperately need to experience love and forgiveness and grace.
He says, "Count it all joy when you encounter various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance."
Asking God for Wisdom
Here is where we get to the mind, in verse 5. He says, "If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask, and God gives to you generously without reproach." All of a sudden, these trials come and your brain goes sideways, doesn't it? All those thoughts start to crowd in. "I made that profession of faith, but was it real?" "God said He would be there, but at this moment it doesn't feel like it." "That friend said best friends forever, and now I don't even know where she is." You hung together on graduation night and said you'd always be there — and it's been a month and you haven't heard from the guy.
Then there are the things you begin to experience — things you have no control over, things that happen to you in life, and things that are a result of your own sin. All of a sudden, they crowd around you, and when that happens, you lose perspective. What God says is: ask for wisdom. What He is saying is, come to Me and I'll give you not just the knowledge, but the ability to understand all of this.
Look at what He says in verse 6, though: when you ask, ask without doubting. And again, this is the perfect introduction to what Lucy said — that she can't fully explain it and can't totally understand it, and yet she has no doubt. That is the faith He is talking about. The faith He is talking about is not that God will get you out of whatever situation you're in. God may have you in a situation, a trial, a difficulty, and He is under no obligation to get you out of it.
The faith is not, "If I believe, He'll take it away." The faith is, "I believe." And in the midst of this hurt and pain and difficulty and hardship and suffering, I trust that He'll redeem the wasted years. Somehow — and I can't even see it, some days I don't even understand it, sometimes it makes no sense at all — in the middle of this thing, I know this: He's God. He's faithful. He loves me. He doesn't change. And He promises me that all things work together for good, even when I can't imagine how that's going to turn out. That's what He's saying.
Temptation Begins in the Mind
Now I want to get really practical. James goes on, and I think he senses that when tough times come, we blame God. So he says in verse 13, "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God,'" for God cannot be tempted. But verses 14 and 15 — and this is what I want to close with — address this idea of temptation and sin. This is the third time I've mentioned it this morning, and I want us to understand something.
Just because I have a moment where I am genuinely His — absolutely committed to Christ, with no shadow of doubt in my mind that Jesus is my Lord and that when I die I'll be with Him — it can seem contradictory to say that and also say that I know I am still sinning all the time. But remember what we said: it's an informed mind. Here's what I want that mind to be informed of — what Scripture has to say, the truth of what He has to say, and the power of these thoughts that start in the mind.
You pick that sin — whatever it is, it's yours, you fill in the blank right now. Whatever it is, it has some action to it, but that action is always preceded by a thought. There is a phrase that has become so real to me: don't let your mind go there. Don't let your mind go there. About two months ago, I had a couple of weeks where I was just struggling and going down and down, and I was not getting out of it at all. And let me tell you, it was not any great sin — so take the big ones off the table.
Battling Temptation from the Inside Out
It had nothing to do with sex, money, or power — none of that. But my mind was going down a path I couldn't get out of. It was all in my brain. In the middle of it, I started feeling sorry for myself, and all of a sudden there was pride, there was self-pity — it was all there. My answer for all of that was, "Suck it up. Grow up. Suck it up."
It was a Saturday afternoon, and I said to Susan, "I'm going to the gym." She said, "Really? Are you kidding me?" I said, "No." So I went to the gym, punched into the cardio for 30 minutes, didn't take an iPod, didn't turn on the TV, and decided I was going to pray. The intention was to pray for 30 minutes. At the 22-minute mark, it was as though God said to me, "Tom, let's not suck it up. Soak Me in. Go back to that faith that's in James 1. Just soak Me in. Soak in all the things you know about Me. I love you more than you love yourself. I know what's best for you. You're My kid."
The Picture of Temptation in James 1
Do you see it in there? Because here is this picture of temptation. Look at verses 14 and 15: "Each one of us is tempted when we're carried away and enticed by his own lusts. And when lust is conceived, it gives birth to sin. And when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death."
He says there is something inside of us. You sang last night — those words, "God, change me from the inside out." Not outside. Changing the outside is religion. That is what the Pharisees do. That is what the people do that you can't stand — the hypocrites, the ones going through all the motions, doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons. That is why we started with a transformed heart. We understand that there is something inside us that is wrong, and even when God heals us and redeems us, there is still in us this flesh.
Here is what James tells us temptation is. The two words he uses in verse 14 are "carried away" and "enticed." "Carried away" is the picture of bait pulled in front of an animal. "Enticed" is bait used to draw an animal out of a safe place. In this world, the system — the values all around you — is constantly throwing that bait in front of you.
The World's Constant Invitation
I made a note of it from the billboards I had seen recently, the thoughts I had as I looked at them. In essence, here is what they said to me: use me, take me, try me, buy me, drink me, touch me, sleep with me, kiss me. That is what is all around us. Try it once. I'll make you happy. Nobody's going to know. Nobody's going to care. You're not going to get hurt. That is what temptation is — something that says, "Come on," and it pulls something out of you.
The Fisher Boy
Years ago I went to a place appropriately called a dude ranch — where dudes like me go, apparently. The first morning I was there, I got out to get coffee and there was a large cabinet with drawers stacked high, maybe a little wider than this. You would open the drawers and find compartments filled with fishing bait. There was a guy whose job title, as he told me, was "fisher boy." Every morning he took all different types of bait, went down and fished the stream, and came back to tell the guests what was working.
He would say, "If you're out there in the sun, use the yellow — that's what the fish are hitting on in the sun. But if you get over into the shade, it's the greens, and they're hitting on the greens. And if you go downstream where it's really still and quiet but there are rocks, it's the blues." He asked me if I fished. I said I don't even like the taste of it. But I told him, "You just gave me a great illustration of how Satan works."
That is how Satan works in your life. He is the fisher boy. He is going to throw something in front of you, and for some of you — bam — you take the bait right away. Other times he just reels it back in. It doesn't matter, because he has drawers and drawers and drawers of bait. He will come at you again and again and again. One day the blues didn't work, but the next day you're hitting on the blues. It could be a thousand things, and they are all designed to do one thing: pull you away from God. They are designed to stop you from having an intimate relationship with Him and to grab you.
Sin Takes You Further Than You Want to Go
There is an old saying — new to some of you simply because you are young, but those of us who have been around have heard it over and over again. Sin will always take you further than you want to go. It will always cause you to stay longer than you want to stay. And it will always cost you more than you want to pay.
But before it ever gets to sin, there is temptation — whatever it is for you. Maybe it is a material thing, a clothing thing, a girl thing. Maybe you just look a certain direction. It all starts in your brain. And here is what I have learned — this works, though only for a few minutes: don't let your mind go there. The moment that thing comes in — whatever it is, you fill in the blank — stop it right there.
The Battle in the Mind
That temptation comes in, and you have to do something in your brain to get it off. You are like a fish, and in comes that bait. It is designed to look like the real thing — they make it look like it, dance like it, wiggle like it. You look at it, and you look at it, and you look at it, and then, bam, you go for it. That is the same thing that happens with temptation in your life. In it comes. It looks like the real thing. It looks like it will make you happy, like it will give you some sense of satisfaction, like when you are done you are going to feel good.
Let's talk about the Internet. Think about the very first time you went online and you knew you were going to look at something you should not be looking at. Your hand is shaking as you move that mouse. Your heart is racing. You know it is not right. And you start a click, and you start another click, and then there is one more click, and you click it and you look. Because it is the first time and you are nervous, you get right off the site fast, and then you go in and erase the history. But that image is so drilled into your brain you cannot get it out the next day, or the next day, or the next day. And there you are, back on that Internet, starting the whole process again and again and again.
Here is how you stop it. You have to stop it in your head. Do not let your mind go there. You have to replace it with something. Scripture — that is terrific. But for me, sometimes it is more than that. It is thinking about baseball, music, Seinfeld, anything. Get anything into my head and onto something else. I am telling you, it works. It may only work for a minute or two, and then you have to go through the process again and again and again. But when we talk about an informed mind, that is what we are talking about. That is where the battle is raging.
Remember what I said? It will always take you further than you want to go. Here is the other thing: it will always keep you longer than you want to stay. And all of a sudden there is this incredible guilt, and yet you go and do it again. Whatever it is — pride, we talked about pride, I still wrestle with it — whatever that thing is.
A New Heart, a Transforming Mind
God has created you with a new heart. You are a new creature. Your mind is transforming. And God fills it, not with that junk, but with ideas and thoughts of who He is. That is what is so powerful.
What is on your iPod? What are you listening to? I can tell, because when I am listening to certain songs I have a whole different sentiment than when I am listening to other songs. If you are listening to junk all day, that stuff gets into your brain and you have to fight like mad to get it out. I took a walk the other day down the beach in Coronado. I walked as far down as I could until the Navy told me they were going to shoot me if I came over the fence, and then I turned around and walked all the way back the other direction. The whole way down and the whole way back, all I listened to was Chris Tomlin. The entire walk was different. The ocean was bluer. I barely noticed, hardly at all, the girls that were laying there. All that to say — and I mean this — we are all screwed up. But there is a different kind of screwed up. We are screwed up with hope. We do not have to act this way. You do not have to behave this way. And the whole game is going to start in your mind.
Where You Lose the Battle
Let me give you a silly illustration. A woman came to me in one of my studies and said, "Will you pray for me?" I said, "Sure, but you had better tell me what it is so I can pray for you right now." She said, "Will you pray that I don't eat a box of turtles?" You know what turtles are — with ice cream and a brownie, that is the world's greatest thing, a little fattening. I said to her, "Where are the turtles? Do you have them in your purse?" She said, "No, the turtles are at home in my refrigerator." I told her I would pray for her. And then she walked away, went home, and ate the turtles — I am sure of it.
Where did she lose that game? When she bought the turtles. You do not buy turtles, put them in your refrigerator, and then ask God to keep you from eating them. If they are in there, who is going to throw away turtles? At the very least you are going to say, "I'll eat this box, but no more." The time to stop clicking is not when you are already into the site — it is when you are on your way to the computer. If what you are looking for are scores, turn on SportsCenter. You have to get control of the mind and the behavior, and you have to do it early on.
The Power You Already Have
Here is the deal: you have the power. You have in you the Holy Spirit of God, who gives you power. Paul says it this way — we have the power of the resurrection, the power of the new life. It is not a power that says you are going to live perfectly, but it is the power that says you can overcome these things, and it is Him who does them in you. And even when you fail, there is this great guilt, and you confess and say, "God, we are going to do it again — not based on me, but based on You." A transformed heart. God does that.
God's Sovereignty and the Changed Heart
You couldn't have a better picture of God's sovereignty, election, and salvation than the one that Lucy gave you. You don't want it. You're trying to get to the back of the room. You're in the back of the room. You can't get any further away. You're up against the wall in the back. That's as far away as you can get from what God is doing. And He finds her there. Before she knows it, she raises her hands — not in some formal way — and it is a picture of God changing her heart.
Now, the battle is not over. The victory is won, but the battle is not over. That battle is going to take place right in your mind. An informed mind. Now, a radical life.
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You. Thank You for this truth. I know it is true — not because I experience it, though I do, or because Lucy experienced it, or Stephen, or Whitney. I know it is true because the Word says it is true.
And I know this: we are all the same. Some of us are a little bit different. Some of us hide it better. Some of us have honestly grown a little more. But all of us are desperately in need of You. You are our God.
Father, thank You that we can sing these words, and thank You that they are true — that You are a refuge. That means You are a place where we hide, not from the world, but we crawl up into You, just like a little child who crawls into a mother or father's lap and feels their love around them. God, You are a refuge. You are a shelter. You wipe away tears and pain, and You restore all the things we have broken. God, thank You for it. We pray in Christ's name, Amen.