Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb19991212.htm

FUNCTIONING BY GOD'S POWER FOR BASIC DAILY LIVING NEEDS
Part I: Gaining And Sustaining One's Mental Health By The Power Of God
(John 14:16-18; Galatians 5:16-23; Psalm 1:1-6)
  1. Introduction
    1. Life is a mixed bag of ups and downs! When its downs become too awesome for one effectively to handle, a party can crumple under the weight of life's demands, suffering poor mental health.
    2. Scripture states all we need for life and godliness is given to us in Christ, 2 Peter 1:3. Sustaining one's mental health in all that life pushes at us is indeed workable providing we operate God's way as follows:
  2. Gaining And Sustaining One's Mental Health By The Power Of God.
    1. Part One - One must believe in Christ as personal Savior to start insuring his sustaining good mental health:
      1. Jesus told His disciples that He would ask the Father to send them the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to indwell them so that they would not be (literally) "as orphans," John 14:16-18 NIV.
      2. By such a statement, Jesus revealed we need God's daily living assistance or we suffer all the insecurity, fear, confusion and defeat that parentless children face in a cold, cruel world! This fact is reaffirmed with what 1 John 5:19b reveals: the whole world lies in the control of Satan, a murderer of men (Jn. 8:44)! One then flirts with complete mental and eventual physical decline if he drifts from God's help!
      3. Since Christ's gift of the Divine Parent, the Comforter is only for believers acc. to Romans 8:9b, it is imperative that one receive Christ as personal Savior from sin to receive the indwelling Spirit, Jn. 3:16.
    2. Part Two - Through Paul, God revealed that even believers must depend upon the indwelling Holy Spirit as a way of life to sustain good mental health and not be defeated in mind and spirit, Galatians 5:16-23.
      1. It is a fact that the Christian is either TOTALLY controlled by his pre-salvation sin nature or by the Holy Spirit of God at ANY instant in his earthly life, Galatians 5:17 in light of 1 Corinthians 3:1-3.
      2. Well, living by the sinful nature produces all sorts of neurotic and psychotic tendencies, i.e., immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, substance abuse, orgies, etc., Galatians 5:19-21 NIV.
      3. However, life by the Holy Spirit produces mentally healthy frames of mind and behaviors like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, Galatians 5:22-23 NIV.
      4. Accordingly, once one is saved, he must depend upon the indwelling Holy Spirit for mentally healthy thinking and behavior control through (a) confession of sin for preparation for such control (1 Jn. 1:9) and (b) dependence by faith on the Spirit of God to function above any neurosis, Gal. 5:16; 1 Jn. 2:2-6.
    3. Part Three - A believer's focusing on Scripture's teaching keeps his mind directed toward God's frame-of-reference, thereby sustaining his dependence on the Spirit and maintaining his mental health!
      1. It is possible for one's mental mindset to DRIFT from God's thinking unto the world's or the devil's, resulting in very destructive, chaotic living, cf. Israel's experience in Isaiah 8:19 -20, 21-22 NIV.
      2. What counters such a subtle, trouble-producing mindset DRIFT is the application of the critiquing, discerning, guiding and illuminating Word of God, Ps. 119:130, 105 in view of Isa. 8:20; 9:2, 6.
      3. Accordingly, Psalm 1:1-6 reveals that when a believer meditates on God's Word as a way of life (day and night, 1:2b), he discerns what not to think and do (1:1) as well as what to affirm [in thought and deed] so that he becomes persistently productive 1:3d. Even when others fail (their foliage falls in the harsh seasons of life, 1:3c) his foliage not only does not fall, but he comprehensively prospers.
Lesson: To function in consistent good mental health, (1) one must believe on Christ to receive the indwelling Holy Spirit (2) and DEPEND on Him for thought and behavior control through confession of sin, faith and obedience to God's Word. (3) As a PREVENTION against failing mental health, he should MEDITATE on Scripture as a part of LIFE to KEEP aligned with God's thoughts.

Illustration: Christian Psychiatrist, Frank B. Minirth, reports in You Can Measure Your Mental Health, p. 14, that psychological tests show the ONLY group of believers who show NO significant mental pathology (mental problems), AND are ALSO mentally MATURE, are those who spend time DAILY in Scripture! We do well t o heed Scripture and science and use God's Word DAILY!