Michigan Camp Meeting 2017

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Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

The Renewing of Our Minds

Jewel Um

Sung Hyun Um

1. We Are What We Think

Our Father which art in heaven, we're thankful that we can be here to be able to hear your words of encouragement in the way that we can change our lives to be more like you would have them to be.

We thank you that you truly are in charge of our lives.

We want you to do that in Thy name, Amen.

And I made a brief syllabus for everybody, just to help you to just follow along with the message that I prepared for all of you today.

Since today is the first day of our seminar, we have 5 days, you know, all together.

Since this is the first day of our seminar, today we do all the groundwork.

So it's going to, I'm afraid that I'm not giving you too much of information, but I want to give you enough data from the word of God and also from psychology in that we would make sure that we have a solid foundation when it comes to the whole topic of renewing of our mind.

I chose this topic to share this week because over the past 20 some years of counseling, you know, in a pastoral setting, I came to realize that many people, Many people struggle, struggle with the distorted thinking in their brain.

Many people struggle with the lies that they believe in.

And so I truly, truly come to realize that, you know, we need the Word of God.

We need the wisdom from God and we need all the help we can get to get to the truth about ourselves and truth about God and truth in terms of the way we need to look at things.

And so I would like to really dedicate this time to build a foundation to do just that.

And scripture that came to me is from Roman chapter 12 verse 2, right?

Let's all read that together if you're able to look at it.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Isn't it amazing that God wants to transform our lives and then the place where God begins to transformation is in our what in our mind.

Wow, you know, he didn't tell us to a change your diet even though diet is important you know I mean it's all part of God's transformation but we truly truly believe that God wants to heal us and God wants to transform us in a way that we bring rightful worship to him and that begins with our mind and that's what it means when he says let us what reason together amen So renewing of our mind is something that God desires to bring to each and every 1 of our lives so that we may not only experience freedom in our lives but also to reach to the maximum level of joy and peace and the productivity and the happiness that God wants us to experience in a way that we would be fruitful for Him.

And then the second scripture that I chose for today's topic is found in Proverbs chapter 23 verse 7.

No wonder God wants to renew our mind because how we think and what we think of, stuff that we are thinking about, our perception is the 1 that affects the way it's going to shape who I am as the person because I am what I think that's a powerful powerful statement from God's word.

Power of thoughts and perception just briefly I want to go over you have it in your syllabus Epictetus Greek philosopher says something like this really profound men are disturbed not by what things but by the what view they take of them.

Wow Men are disturbed by the way we view things.

So then the word of God becomes very powerful in that when the word of God helps us to what change the way we what view things, oh, wow, you know, God may not even need to change our circumstances.

Actually, God is less interested in changing our circumstances than the change the way we view things, change the way we are, change the way we think, the way we perceive things.

God is more interested in changing the inside of us than the what?

While we blame all we need about the things outside of us that are out of control and yet God says you know what there's something you have in control which is what has what's happening inside of you And I want to change that.

Gary Smalley says something like this very powerfully.

Okay, it is not what happens or exists that affects us it's how we look at and respond to what happens or exists oh wow it's not what happens that hurts us even It's not what happens that hurts us, but it is how we look at things, how we interpret things, how we perceive things that would hurt us and that would affect us in a way that is detrimental.

There's a theory called confirmation bias.

What do you see about you become what you think?

You need to look at what this confirmation bias says.

You see, this guy, in his brain, he's already thinking what?

In his brain, he's already thinking what?

He's already thinking cloud and therefore when he look at things he only sees what?

Clouds okay, you know I mean he already and he sees what he already saw in his brain you see that that's you see you see what you think you see what you perceive and you know the selective hearing you hear what you want wanna hear what you don't want to hear you said I you never told me that.

Even the speaker that has nothing to do with it never said that, but we end up hearing what we want to hear.

And so that's kind of goes along well with confirmation bias.

You already saw the cloud so you end up seeing the cloud.

Regardless of what we believe about someone whether positive or negative we will find evidence to support that belief.

Once you, once you, Once you think, once you determine in your mind that your husband is a J-E-R-K.

OK, Once you determine that your husband is the selfiest guy in the whole world, he's nice to other people but horrible to me, once you begin to think that way, then you will find what?

I've seen people coming to my counseling and then telling me on and on and on and on about their husband.

And then after I hear them, it makes me feel without hearing the other guy, it makes me feel like, man, he's a real bad guy.

And then the trouble is that when I met him, he's the nicest guy ever.

And then we end up seeing the things that we already perceive in our mind.

I want to tell you this on the early onset of our conversation today, unless, unless we allow our faith in Christ affects our mind.

We need to allow our faith, we need to allow our faith relationship with Christ to affect the way we think in our brain.

This can have a major impact on your relationship with your loved ones as well.

You know, my son bought a car that I never knew existed.

You know, it's a car for the surfer, right?

And then I never knew such a car existed.

When I when I saw that car, this is the ugliest car ever, you know.

But then my son wanted that car and then I bought him that car.

Ever since my son bought that car, I was driving around.

Man, there's an element, there's an element, there's an element, element is everywhere.

Why, because I began to have this what, eyesight for element.

2. Roots of Distorted Thinking

Heavenly Father, we want to thank you for this opportunity that we have to come and see how you can reach into our lives and help us that we can be step by step like you.

I pray that your spirit will be with us here this morning and that our hearts will be open to hear his voice speaking to us.

And Lord, that through all this, we can bring honor and glory to your name.

Be with Song this morning too, as this afternoon as he leads out and guide and direct him.

And we thank you in your most holy name, amen.

And I'm with the prayer center for 6 hours, and then I'm taking care of 1 of my friends who came here, and then I'm here.

And so I decided to have a Big breakfast, skip lunch, and have 2 meals a day.

The scripture for the whole 5 days of series is from Roman chapter 12, verse 2, right?

And let's all read this passage together.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this word, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Did you know that in your brain, there's a pathway?

And then someone else walk on it, and then you walk on it, and then later on you realize that there's no, there's no grass anymore, right?

And so that's how the pathway, the pattern of thinking in our brain gets created.

You know, you keep thinking, you keep thinking certain way, you keep more, you know, going about doing it and thinking it in the same way, and then there's a pathway, there's a pattern that gets created.

And then God tells us that, you know what, healthy thinking, biblical thinking is not going to happen overnight.

I mean, in other words, using psychological terms, how do you deprogram from being programmed?

You know, I had to really practice this because, you know, I've been counseling for, you know, some 20 some years.

And then when I first started out counseling, when I came home, I would come home with all those burdens of life that people shared with me.

And then by the time I got to dinner, I lose my appetite.

And I lose my appetite Because I am so what?

How can you not be so emotionally uninvolved when somebody just pour out their hearts onto you, right?

Then I came to realize that when you and I, this might be an insight for you, when you and I internalize the anxieties and worries and the problems, even our children's, when we internalize it, we're not really helping them.

Because none of our children wants to see us what?

Worrying all the time for our children, right?

And they're like, Mom, can you just stop worrying about me?

And then you decide not to worry, and then you come to realize that you have another worry.

You feel trapped and bondage and all that, right?

And so it's not going to happen overnight.

However, I learned how to deprogram myself.

So much so that it is just crazy sometimes.

And then I've been with these people for over a year, counseling.

And then sometimes I meet them later on, I don't recognize them.

But I just deprogram myself so much so that sometimes I forget that I counsel these people.

So that when I come home, when the garage door opens, what do I do?

Put all the worries and anxieties, all the stuff that I have to deal with in counseling, on the what?

On the whatever, the shop that we have in there, put it on there.

And then when I come in, I don't come in as a pastor.

But it is possible to deprogram from being programmed.

I mean we're not gonna be able to learn everything in 5 days.

Every night, I try to figure out how I can fit as much as I can in 5 days.

So I've been pushing things around, and I hope you can see that.

I'm really like, I must love you guys so much.

I'm challenged because I could come and share the stuff that I shared and then give it to you guys.

And then you present me, you know, you came yesterday and then showing me your enthusiasm and passion and desire to learn and it just fueled me and in such a way that I wanted to give you the best of the best even though best is yet to come.

I think we have this attunement, which is very important for us.

I'm going to give you just the taste of what could happen.

And I actually, if you can walk away from realizing how exciting and how insightful and how penetrating the power of the gospel is, then I have accomplished the purpose of being here.

I mean I've been working with people for the past 20-some years that I have told you and I've studied psychology for 10 years and then guess what?

Because there is nothing like the Word of God.

Every day I study, I learn new things and more things, And the word of God is amazing.

You know how you go to the acupuncturist?

3. Treating Anger-From Demands to Rest

Dear God, we're thankful that You have given us a promise in Your Word, that You bring healing to our lives when we seek You.

We choose that and we ask that the Holy Spirit will be with us to impress upon our minds that which we can use in our lives to further ourselves in the time that You've given us, our probationary time, that we can be more like You and have a wholeness that we had never before in Thy name.

It's a blessing to be here again to talk about God's healing in our lives.

And I would like to just remind you about this text from the scripture that goes in line with what we've been talking about in terms of how our brain is wired and I told you the how you know whatever the way we think whatever the way we feel it has a way of creating memories in our brain in such a way that it grows like a what?

So really our brain looks more like a tree, you know?

And the Bible says that that we are the tree that's supposed to be planted by the what living water is that amazing and because so that we can be what rooted you know deeply as we continue to get nourished well mm-hmm so we need daily nourishing daily nurturing sunshine and water and everything so he's delighted in the law of the law love the Lord the law here is Torah, which is the teachings of God, entire Bible, right?

And on his law, he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.

How many of you desire to be like a tree planted by the streams of living water?

You see God's plan for all of us, we may go through suffering and we may go through hardship in our lives.

God's plan for all of us is to prosper and be fruitful in our lives.

God wants our lives to be fruitful in a way that you know you you you just plant 1 seed and then how much fruit you can get I mean it's just endless right?

And God wants our lives to be prosperous and be fruitful in him in that way and as much as there has been hurt and woundedness in our lives God's healing power is always greater than the woundedness amen it is greater it is greater mm-hmm and you were going to talk about it today in that you know you're gonna be just amazed at the end of the day you would be jumping for joy and you'll be dancing in the Lord.

People are dancing outside of church for no reason, but we have reason to dance.

And you need to you need to hear what I'm trying to say.

Don't quote me for it in a different way.

And let's go to our tech, our study today.

Yesterday we weren't able to finish our study yesterday, so we're going to continue our study today.

And actually, this concept that I'm about to share, which I already shared before, this concept about how self gets formatted.

In other words, formation of self, how the self is formed, is such an important insight for me and it helps me to understand how important we are to 1 another.

Because, Because I cannot discover who I am without you.

Can you imagine me doing a seminar here with nobody here except me?

I'm excited doing it for myself, by myself.

Then you would come in and think that I'm kind of what?

So there is no seminar going without what?

There is no pastor, there is no such identity as a pastor without what having perishable right there's no father without children there is no children without parents even the orphans have what once had parents in other words there is no way that you and I can find our own self identity identity without being in the context of relationship you define me who I am I need you to define me who I am I need you to build me up as much as I've been wounded by you sorry or as much as you've been wounded by me right I told you yesterday there are 2 kinds of hurts right you remember 2 kinds of hurts what is the hurt that you you feel because of you being what you've been violated hurt that you receive and there's a second level of hurt is the hurt that you experience as you experience the hurt that you render or cause in the lives of other people which is a a more mature kind of hurt second 1 right and if you and I are hurt enough to realize how much I may have been a source of hurt in the lives of other people that kind of mature hurt will start changing our lives amen you know a lot of people think that oh you know you don't understand how much I go through to live with this woman, to live with this man.

But little that person realized, little that person realized how much of a suffering that person In other words, as much as it's difficult for that person to live with the other person, the other person I'll just end there And so without we identity, there is no such thing as self-identity.

In other words, in other words, this is the important thing.

The quality, quality of we identity almost I don't like to use the word determine you know I mean yeah because I don't I don't believe in fate FAT right I believe in fate in Jesus all right so quality of we identity not necessarily determined of facts the quality of what self identity pardon influences yes yes And so we got to talk about, we got to talk about, we are, no 1 is built in vacuum.

I know, I know you feel like a kid, but follow me, follow me, okay?

So, worst thing we can do to discover ourselves is to what is to isolate ourselves All I need is God that's not going to work God says go back to the community so where did this whole idea came from so my all sense of identity my value my self-worth my even my perspective even my perception the way I think my thought system the formation of my thought system is affected by the kind of we identity that we have in our relationship to 1 another and therefore I am responsible for my spouse's health as much as she does to me.

Either we grow together or either we grow together or both of us going down the drain together.

Either, either I become a source of blessing.

What makes it really tough is that I realize that sometimes I become a source of blessing to my wife and sometimes I become a source of something else.

You give sickness as well as you give medicine.

I mean, no 1 is just, you know, continue to become a complete sense of blessing to someone else.

However, I want to tell you today that it is very very important for us to realize that's what Genesis chapter 1 verse 26 and 27 tells us that that it is we identity that we build that allow us to to have the kind of self identity that we have we carry for the rest of our lives and this is important this is important truth truth truth is formed truth is formed in the context of re-identity with God not only with God but also with 1 another in other words not only I need God and my relationship with him to discover the truth of who God is and therefore learning who I am.

I need to know who God is to know who I am.

But then to be able to know who God is I need also you to help me to discover who God is as well why because I can see the glimpse of who God is in you amen the best day that ever happened in my life, the best day ever happened in my life in our marriage after having gone through so much trouble and hardship and there was a time when I can be honest with you guys right?

You're not gonna report it to somebody else right?

Not to my wife but it's being recorded so I'm doomed already.

But anyway having gone through all the troubles in our marriage, looking back of my 32 years of ministry and of 32 years of marriage 1 thing I can tell you is that much of the illness in our marriage of course not only stemming from me but stemming from total ignorance either ignorance or stubbornness and you stubborn being ignorant and not only that you try to persuade others with your ignorance whoa how does that work you know what I'm talking about you know your wife is telling you the truth but you know what you can't take it so you use everything you can to manipulate right Woman has about 40 different kinds of manipulation tactic that they learn starting from Eve.

But women are like, okay, if it doesn't work, I'll try that 1.

Let me ask my friends, and they have a few more.

And that's why they go to church to get some ideas.

Some people ask me, how come Pastor Ram, you do this counseling, you do this marriage seminar, you do this dealing with these people with problem and extreme situations and chaos and all that.

How do you do that for the past 20 some years?

How do you do that and still continue it?

If you understand what I'm talking about.

And human stupidity goes beyond the point of like you know being like ugly And when you get to the level where you go really deep into it and figure everything out, then you can almost like laugh.

And I think that's how angels been able to endure us.

Because we're fighting each other as to what?

4. Treating Worries, Anxieties, and Guilt

We're thankful once again that we have so many here, and I know you'll be blessed.

Dear God, I pray that you'll bless Pastor as he speaks to us again.

We want to be rebuilt through your grace and through your Holy Spirit, through him in thy name.

We have quite a bit to cover because, you know, as you might have noticed, that there's a lot to talk about in terms of the kind of healing that God wants to bring in our lives on the level of our minds.

And as we have mentioned, as much as there's brokenness in our emotions, which is in a limbic system, we talked about yesterday, As much as there has been a damage been done in our brain in terms of our emotional brain and therefore when our emotion is wounded then our thought patterns are wounded as well, right?

So all of those woundedness and brokenness are on an unconscious level.

And then it's almost like I said, it's almost automatic.

We don't have to think a certain way, which is like automatically think certain way and then act certain way and then feel certain way.

And that's what makes it very, very difficult.

And so then what we're called to do, which is not an easy thing to do, is to bring the stuff that are on an unconscious level to the what?

Stuff that we may not be aware of, we need to bring it to an awareness in our lives.

And that's why Eating healthy, eating well is very important.

Because if our minds are dulled by eating ramen all the time, or by eating kimchi all the time, if our minds are dulled, then we're not going to be able to think straight.

The problem with the medications, some of you may have to take medications.

But unfortunate thing is that some of the issues with medication, like depression, all kinds of medications, I'm not against the medication in terms of what it can do for our body.

If you have a choice between bad and worse, you have to choose medicine sometime, and you have to live with that.

But the problem with medication is that sometimes, it does, you know, the side effect is like, we can't think straight.

And actually, you know, it kind of works for some people because, you know, some people think too much.

Therefore, medication comes in and then makes them not to think too much.

Problem is that when the medication comes in in such a way that not only we're not able to think straight, but our mind is not functioning well, then really, you'd be in a very debilitating kind of situation.

And that's really, really disheartening for me to witness, especially in the lives of young people.

And so then our goal ultimately is to get on a journey where we will be free from medication.

Pastor told me to take off the medication.

And so we've got to use our mind, and therefore, If you don't like to study, if you don't like to study, you're in trouble.

You know, somebody told me that, can I study the Bible by just watching the video on the Bible, about the Bible?

We are the people of the books, and God wants to come into the realm of our mind in such a way that our thoughts and minds would be what?

Ladies are so thoughtful that God's like going crazy, right?

And then women's been thinking all night, all day.

Some ladies can go on thinking without sleeping for the next 10 years and still function okay.

So women are given with an amazing amazing ability to to you know recover and restore, but we cannot abuse it.

And so the trouble for me conducting this class, I must tell you, trouble for me as I continue to go on with this class is that my struggle is like, oh, man, I need to talk about the theology of self-care, but I have no time for it.

So there's so much to cover and I can only do so much and I'm hoping, I'm hoping, it is not about me.

I'm hoping that this kind of class will be a beginning of something that God wants to do with all of us, amen?

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Series

The Renewing of Our Minds

1. We Are What We Think

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

The Renewing of Our Minds

3. Treating Anger-From Demands to Rest

1h 17m

The Renewing of Our Minds

2. Roots of Distorted Thinking

1h 16m

Healing of a Broken Heart

57m

Seminars

The Reach of Faith

1h

What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You!

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From Breakdown to Belonging

56m

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How to BioHack your Health

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Rethinking Mental Health In Evangelism

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Reasons for Hope: The Case for Faith in a Secular Age

Reasons for Hope: The Case for Faith in a Secular Age - Part 4

1h 12m

InVerse 1st Quarter 2025: Renewing the Mind

05 Overcoming the Strongholds

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Restoration 2024: The Message of Healing

The Cosmic Conflict

1h 7m

Sound Doctrine