Skip to content Rooted: Rooted in Peace - Winning the Battle of the Mind Sep 15 · 32 min ...more
Rooted: Rooted in Peace - Winning the Battle of the Mind
September 15, 2025 · 32 min
Through the lens of recent events, Pastor John Mark boldly addressed the importance of standing firm in biblical truth while maintaining a spirit of love and compassion.
Series "Pastor Talks" with John Mark Caton September 15, 2025 · 32 min · "Pastor Talks" with John Mark Caton
Through the lens of recent events, Pastor John Mark boldly addressed the importance of standing firm in biblical truth while maintaining a spirit of love and compassion. ...more Show the full description Show less Through the lens of recent events, Pastor John Mark boldly addressed the importance of standing firm in biblical truth while maintaining a spirit of love and compassion.
Series "Pastor Talks" with John Mark Caton Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Support this leader
Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Give
Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
101K followers
John Mark is the Senior Pastor of the thriving Cottonwood Creek Church in Allen, Texas, where he has served since 1995.
101K followers
Rooted: Winning the Battle in Your Mind 0:00 Glad you're in God's house today? Man, it sounded like it. How can you not with our own Greg and Jan and Al Denson playing the piano. Man, what a, what an amazing day it is. If you are new here,0:12 a couple of weeks ago we started a brand new series entitled Rooted, and the subtitle is Standing Strong in an Unstable World. Boy, if you just look back over this week, how many0:24 of you noticed it's a little unstable? This this everybody just say this has been a week. You know, as you just look back over this week, 20 fourth anniversary of remembering0:36 nineeleven, the tragedy that took place there, the amazing loss of innocent life that took place there. And earlier in the week, a day earlier on Wednesday, Charlie Kirk being assassinated. And you know, as0:48 we look back on planning this series, in early spring and putting the dates on here's what we're gonna talk about, you know that we did this. We looked in, at all the Google0:59 searches, all the chats, all the AI. What do people in North Texas, what do people around us, what are they searching? What are they researching? And so we took those top 8 things and put them into 81:11 different topics that we're gonna be preaching about over the next couple of weeks. This week just happens to be winning the battle in your mind. Boy, we have to1:23 win the battle in the mind. When you think about what took place and here's what we also understand when we put these spiritual growth campaigns together, we ask you to treat it like an 8 week boot camp. That you would1:33 commit to be in a life group for 8 weeks. You'd commit to read daily devotions, everyday. That you would also be in worship each and everyday because here's what we know, when we make commitments we grow and we change.1:45 And so this week is, dealing with our mind. And some something happened if you look statistically over, the history of our country, something significant happened back in1:57 2010. Anxiety and depression began to go off the charts. Let me just put a graph up on the up on the screen for you. If you just look at the graph, notice as you rock and roll, if you were to2:08 move back to the 2000, the all the lines would pretty much be steady, some ups and downs, different things. But something began to happen about 20 10 and notice those who are between 18 and 25,2:20 from 20 10 to today, or when they stop this study about 20 21, the incidences of anxiety and depression went through the roof a hundred and 39 percent. But2:32 those who are between 26 and 34 went up a hundred and 3 percent. Those who are between 35 and 49 went up 52 percent. Those who are over 50, it actually went down.2:45 And you say, well what happened? Well I'll tell you what happened. Alright? I'm gonna show it to you here in a second, alright? So while you keep those graphs in mind, let me tell you, give you a timeline that fed into2:57 this. It helps us explain some of what's going on. In the 2 thousands, rapid high speed broadband internet came out. How many of you are excited for that? We can be honest, I was pretty fired up about that,3:08 right? I was pretty fired up. 2004, Facebook started. Not the Facebook you know today, Facebook start See when Facebook first started, it was you you take a picture of your dog and you post3:20 it. And you take a picture of a mountain, you post it. Take a picture of your family and you post it. If you believe they saw it or they didn't but noticed nothing else happened, then in 2006, x or Twitter started.3:32 2007, the iPhone showed up, we were excited to have those. No longer had the brick phone that you had to carry around in your car. But in 2009, all of a sudden Facebook and others began to add the3:43 like and the share buttons and the dislike button and the retweet buttons. 2010, Instagram starts. Now don't blame Instagram,3:55 alright? But also in 20 10, the smartphone produced a front facing camera. So instead of you only taking pictures of other4:07 people and other things, now you can turn and begin to post a carefully curated picture of yourself for other people to like4:19 or dislike, to share or judge. And so what happened is adolescents, really in 2011, adolescents more than anybody else started sharing selfies and self videos4:31 on social media more than anyone else. And guess what? They begin to explode. They would get a lot of likes, they would get a lot of dislikes. Guess what? What happens normally? If I get a lot of likes but I have 24:41 dislikes, what do I focus on? The 2 dislikes. 2012, Facebook buys Instagram. Do Do you think there's any correlation?4:54 Absolutely. There is absolutely a correlation. So as we think about today, and we think about winning the battle in our mind with anxiety and depression and depressive thoughts being off the charts,5:06 the idea of cleansing our mind and renewing our mind daily needs to be at the top of our mind. Look at what Paul said in Romans chapter 12. Here's what Paul said, Romans chapter 12 verse 2, we'll put it5:18 on the screen for you. He says, do not, everybody say do not. Do not conform to the pattern of this world. So here's what Paul is saying, there is a pattern in this world,The Battle Between Good and Evil 5:30 but there's also a pattern in God's word. As God's children, even though we live in this world and he's talking to believers, He says listen, if we aren't careful, we can find our minds and our lives and our thoughts5:42 and our emotions conforming to the pattern of this world. He said, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. He says, our minds5:53 are like our clothes. They might come out of the dryer clean, let me put them on, go outside, mow the yard, pick around, pick weeds in in the garden. Guess what, they're dirty, what do I need to do?6:05 I need to rewash. I need to renew my clothes. I need to refresh my clothes. And Paul says, listen, when you and I journey into the world, we leave this place, we're gonna constantly find that our mind is getting dirtied6:17 up. And so we've got to constantly renew it. He says, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. If you don't renew your mind, you're not gonna be transformed. What you're gonna do? Gonna be conformed to the6:27 pattern of this world. He goes, and then and only then will you be able to test and approve what God's will is. Listen, if you don't renew your mind,6:39 you're never gonna know God's will. If you're conformed to the pattern of this world, you're not gonna know God's will. Notice he says, then you will be able to know what and approve what God's will is. His notice, his6:51 good, his pleasing and his perfect will. Let me show you some other disturbing statistics. Starting in 20 10,7:03 when kids started spending more time online, major depressive episodes exploded. Who got hit the worst? You can say it's7:15 right there. Who got hit the worst? Girls. Girls. Boys went up, but by girls by 28 percent. Go to the go to the next slide. Emergency room7:27 visits from self harm. Girls, off the chart. What about parents?7:39 Here's the next 1. 4 out of every 10 parents, those are Cottonwood Creek parents, those are parents who are in the world, are either extremely or they are very worried7:52 about their child's anxiety and depression. So if you're in here and you're worried about 1 of your children, welcome to the family. There are a lot of people that are just that way. So, what8:03 is the response? We have to renew our mind and renewing our mind requires us telling the truth. In Jeremiah, he was a prophet of old, in his day Israel had gone8:15 off the deep end. They had walked away from God's word, they had walked away from God's way, they had stopped worshiping the 1 true God, they had stopped worshiping Yahweh, but instead they'd start following their own8:25 pattern, the pattern of the world, the pattern of those around them. And so notice what Jeremiah says in Jeremiah chapter 6. Here's what Jeremiah says, some of the darkest days in Israel. He says this, and he's talking8:36 by the way, he's talking about the political and religious leaders of his day and the educators of the day. Here's what he says, they, everybody say they, they dress the wound of my people as8:48 though it were not serious. What is he saying? He said, they're dressing the wounds of my people as though they were not serious. Wasn't a big deal. Let me tell you, what happened this week is a big deal folks. I can't8:59 come in here and say peace peace, but that's what they did. He says, peace peace they say, when there is no peace. Child of God, when we think about what took place this week and not9:11 just Charlie Kirk but also 9 11, we need to understand there is evil in this world. And I want you to know as your pastor, I would rather not preach this message. Can I tell you my9:23 life as your pastor would be easier? If I stayed silent about this war and this battle between good and evil, it'd be easier.9:35 But guess what it, it wouldn't be easier for my children. Wouldn't be easier for my grandchildren. Let me tell you what, if you're gonna stand boldly and you're gonna speak up and talk about the difference9:46 between good and evil, Your life would be easier if you stayed silent, but your kids and your grandkids wouldn't. So folks, we need to be willing to stand up9:58 and tell the truth. Now here's what I know is gonna happen because of what I'm about to say here in the next few minutes. There are gonna be some people, I'm gonna get some well loving emails, say, hey pastor, you're too10:07 political. And so this isn't the church for us. Let me just cut that off right now. Don't you ever confuse prophetic for political. Because the10:19 truth is God's word is God's word. Do you understand that? When I became your pastor 30 years ago, the idea of marriage being be being between 1 man and 1 woman wasn't political. Guess10:31 what is political today? The idea of different genders other than male and female, 30 years ago it wasn't political, it's political today. So guess what? I haven't changed, God's word hasn't10:43 changed, the truth hasn't changed. That's what we need to understand. So here's what Jeremiah said, he says, they say everything is good. He says, but I say something totally different. Look at what Isaiah, same10:55 time, same Israel's going the wrong way. He's talking about they, he says they, the political and religious leaders of the day. He says, they say to the seers, see no more visions. And to the prophets, everybody say11:06 prophets. The preachers of the day, they say, give us no more visions of what is right. Boy, do we see this in this country today? That people are sitting here going, don't tell us the truth,11:18 make us feel better. Can I tell you, truth is a lot like medicine, it may be bitter going down but it heals you later? A lie is like candy, it's sweet to the taste but won't do11:29 anything good for you. And that's what he's saying, so I love this. Isaiah says, they say to the seers, hey don't see any more visions and to the prophets, give us no more visions of what is right. Instead,11:42 tell us pleasant things and prophesy illusions. Man, when you look around, we got a lot of people saying pleasant things and11:53 prophesying a bunch of illusions instead of being willing to stand up and simply tell the truth. I love what Paul said, Galatians chapter 4. He says, have I now become your enemy?12:06 Simply by telling the truth. See see a lot of people will be your friend till you tell the truth. This week, Charlie Kirk was assassinated on Wednesday.12:18 I don't know how many of you know who Charlie Kirk was, but Charlie Kirk led, started in 2012, started a ministry called Turning Point Ministry. He he's a high school grad that started this12:30 amazing ministry because he wanted to make conservatism cool again. Give God a hand for that, right? And and here's what happened, his high school graduates started12:42 holding these rallies on college campus, going into enemy territory and he held his conservative values and here's what he would do, he would go into these colleges, have a rally and he would say, listen listen, if you12:54 agree with me, stay away from the mic. If you disagree with me, come to the front of the line. And let me tell you what Charlie Kirk did. He just simply espoused biblical13:06 values, biblical values on college campuses, many of them which were enemy territory. You you say, what were some of the values that Charlie Kirk believed? Well, traditional13:18 marriage, biblical marriage. Marriage of between 1 man and 1 woman. He taught he told her like it was. He he espoused the fact that there are 2 genders, that's what God's word said at the beginning,13:30 it's still the same today. He said, We have men and we have women. Women chromosomes XX, men's XY, that's what it is. He says it's pretty clear, he rejected13:42 fake pronouns. He just did. I'm sitting here thinking, this guy sounds a lot like me, right? I mean, what do you what do you He he also, much to some people's hurt and13:54 pain, He said people don't get pregnant, pregnant women do. How many of us know that? He he could define a woman and he often times14:06 did. He he was pro law and order. He was pro strong borders. He believed in back in the blue. He went to14:17 these college campuses and espoused his pro life sanctity of life opinion. That's what he did. He he he said this, only girls should14:29 play in girls sports. How many of you agree with that? Right? This sounds pretty much like a horrible guy, doesn't it? Did I did I fail to mention that he was a father of14:41 2 young children and a husband and a son and a friend of many others? He also espoused on these college campuses that only girls need to be going into girls bathrooms. He said a lot of14:53 things. A lot of people didn't like him for this, not only those biblical values that I just talked about, a lot of people didn't like him because he was pro American values. He believed that America was special.15:05 And in doing so, a lot of people hated it. They said, listen we we don't need to promote American values. I want you to know as your pastor, I am proud to be an American. Okay? I want you to15:17 know that. I am patriotic. And you say, Pastor, why are you patriotic? Well, let me give you my opinion. Because I believe in 20 or 30 years,15:29 when many of us in this room are gone, I think there's gonna be 1 of 3 political ideologies that are running this world. 1 of the choices is atheistic communism.15:42 They would love to run and rule the world. Definition of a communism is not bad. The application of it is horrible. Have you done your history research?15:53 Stalin killed 10 to 20000000 of his own people, just to make sure no 1 could stand against him. What about in China? Not anti China, alright? Listen,16:05 Mao Zedong, when when he instituted the communist Chinese party, he killed anywhere between 40 and 60000000 of his own people. He did.16:17 So I I think bad ideology, atheistic communism, never good for life. I think another 1, number 2, I think an Islam extremists. They would love to16:29 rule the world. They would absolutely love to rule the world. We just celebrated and remembered 24 years after 9 11 where the loss, amazing loss of innocent life. You know what, that could be something that16:41 our kids grow up. How many of you love your granddaughter to grow up with that? I don't think you would. I don't think you would. I think the third option, you're sitting in it right here. American values.16:53 And let me tell you what, I'll be the first 1 to say we are not a perfect country, but we're the best there is. When it comes to biblical values, when it comes to the17:05 sanctity of life, when it comes to honoring women, it comes to what we're about. None of us are perfect. So I want you to know, I'm proud that I'm an American, alright? ISeven Biblical Steps to Renew the Mind 17:17 I truly am. So as we think about renewing our minds today, how does this happen? So let let me just read a passage for you and and we're gonna see and I'm gonna give you a couple of steps. Philippians chapter 4 verse 6,17:29 says, do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition, what do you wanna do? With thanksgiving, we talked last week about the idea that with thanksgiving that it17:41 is what? That is a superpower. Being thankful and being grateful is a superpower. He says, present your request to God and he says, and the peace of God which transcends all17:52 understanding will guard your hearts and your minds. Now let me just stop you here. Why do I have to constantly share the truth? And again, don't ever confuse prophetic biblical truth for political18:05 or partisanship. Because here's the reality, biblical truth hasn't changed, but parties have. Okay? If biblical truth lines up with 1 party more than the other18:17 party, that's not biblical truth's fault. So notice what he said, he says, well guard your hearts and your mind. Why do I share things like I'm sharing today about biblical truth? Because your18:29 heart can't love something your mind doesn't know. Do you get that? Says your guard, your heart and your your heart can't love something your mind doesn't know. If your18:41 mind doesn't hear the truth and know the truth, regardless of how uncomfortable it makes you, your heart can never love it. So as we think about journeying forward, man, we've gotta deal with tough issues and difficult18:52 things. We just flat out have to. And so here's what Paul says, he says the peace of God will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Notice this,19:04 finally brothers and sisters, everybody say that's us. That's us. Notice what we're to focus on. Whatever is true, everybody say true. True. We we we can't reject19:15 truth simply because it makes us feel uncomfortable. We have to embrace truth. He says, we don't embrace truth, we're never gonna be happy. Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is19:27 right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable. If there's anything excellent or anything praiseworthy, think or dwell on these things. Last March, a book came19:39 out by an agnostic, not a Christian. He and and this guy is called the professor of happiness. He's an agnostic, he's not a Christian. And here we'll put the copy of it, you wanna go get it, you can read it. And he19:51 says the Science of 7 Lessons for Living Well came out March of last year. Alright, Doctor. Bruce, not a conservative preacher, not even a Christian,20:03 he would refer to himself as an agnostic, but he did a lot of research, compiled a lot of data and he says there are basically 7 clear scientific principles20:15 that will make you happier if you are depressed. You wanna know what those 7 are? We're gonna put them up there. Number 1, perform acts of kindness. Number 2, make20:27 more social connections. Number 3, savor your experiences. Number 4, focus on the positive. Number 5, practice gratitude. Number20:38 6, get physically active. Number 7, try prayer and meditation. I'm sitting there going, he just read the Bible. That's all he20:50 did, he just read the Bible. It shouldn't shock us, God created you. From Genesis to Revelation, he showed you how to live and he wants you to flourish21:02 and those are the 7 principles we see over and over in scripture. So, as we think about renewing our mind and heading in the right direction today, man, in in light of all that has taken place, I just21:14 want you to hear me. That, when we talk about things like Charlie Kirk, we talk about things like Biblical values, there are gonna be some21:26 again that say this is not the church for me, I'll get the email or whatever. I want you to know I can't back down from telling you the truth. When I look at the data and look at the statistics of our21:41 When I look at the data and look at the statistics of our young people that are broken and they're anxious and they're depressed, I cannot21:53 share the truth. And so listen, if you wanna say this is not the church for me because it's too political, I want you to know, just shoot me an email for once and tell me where I was biblically wrong.22:06 And and tell me because here's what I also want you to know, when I share the truth, I hope I do it with a genuineness and a brokenness and an honesty that I'm just22:17 hurting and so are we as a country. But we can't back away from telling the truth. So I'm gonna give you 7 ideas, this is what we're gonna roll through these quickly. Hopefully you have your app, because I won't be able22:29 to get through all the supporting verses at all. But let me give you 7 Biblical proven ways to win the battle in your mind. Number 1, trade taking for giving. Giving ultimately rewires your22:41 mind, did you know that? If all you are is taker, taker, taker. Listen, trade taking and be a giver. I love what it says in Hebrews chapter 13 verse 16, it says, and do not forget to do good.22:53 Everybody say do good. Do good. Hey, when you leave here today, do some good. Whoever you encounter, whoever you run into, do good and share. Everybody say share. Share with others, for with23:05 such sacrifices God is pleased. I read a study this week, it was a Harvard study, a Harvard business school study. They they they did an incredible study on money. And you know what they23:16 found? You know what the greatest joy people got out of using their money? It's when they used their money for someone else instead of on23:28 themselves. They got greater joy by spending their money on someone else, loving someone else, than they did by sharing with themselves or buying something from themselves. So number23:39 1, start by being a giver and not a taker. Here's number 2, don't build walls, build bridges to more healthy social connections. So notice I said healthy social connections. Because23:51 here's what you'll also see, if you begin to follow the data on some of the things that are are being said online, about Charlie Kirk. Some people are just man, so sad, so this. Some people are indifferent, don't know24:02 who he is. But there are a lot of people that are being amazingly vile. The world is better off with him. Should have happened earlier. Somebody has been tracking the number of24:14 professionals, not college students, you expect college and young adults especially if he disagrees with them, disagrees with their sin, you would expect them to say things. But professions that came out publicly24:26 and were glad he was shot. You wanna know which 1 is at the top of the list? Professors. These are the kids these are the people we send our kids off24:38 to. So this shouldn't matter to us folks. So as you think about number 2, look at Notice what it says. He says, don't build walls, build bridges to a more healthy social24:50 connection. Let me tell you what, being online is not necessarily healthy. All you do is game me, it's not healthy. Notice, Ecclesiastes chapter 4 verse 9. He says, 2, everybody say 2. 2 are better than 1. Let25:02 me tell you what, isolation, it's the incubator for depression. Do you get that? Isolation is the incubator for depression. That we need to be the kind of people that we're looking to build healthy25:14 social connections that we're actually with them, because they have a good return for their labor. Look at verse 10, if either of them falls, 1 can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no 1 to25:26 help them up. In that book, I thought Bruce Hood, he had a quote. Science of happiness. He says, you know we all want to25:38 be happy. How many of you would like to be happier? I do. I I'm a pretty happy guy, But I I could always stand to be a little happier, I'd take it. We all wanna be happier. But our brains often get in the way. Man, my25:49 brain gets in the way a lot of things, right? How many of you know that? Don't say amen on that, okay. When we're too stuck in our own heads, we obsess over our own inadequacies. Compare26:01 ourselves to others, with others and fail to see the good in our own lives. The key, listen to this, to happiness, is not self care. Oh, that's26:13 not your preacher saying that. It's agnostic. The key to your happiness is not self care, but connection. That 2 are better than 1. Why?26:25 They have greater return for the reward reward, but more importantly, when 1 falls down, the other can help 1 live. Here's number 3, collect memories and not just stuff. Collect memories and not just26:37 stuff. Boy, as we think about it, man, I I want to have experiences with my kids, with my friends, and with my family. Man, if all I ever do is spend my money on just some more stuff for26:49 me, this is ultimately not gonna be that fulfilling. Here's number 4. We always want to spotlight the positive and stop camping on the negative. But there27:01 was a lot of negative this week, but we have to learn to spotlight the positive. Positive, I hope, is out of this week that on our college27:13 campuses, there'll start being a thousand Charlie Kirk's or 5000 of them, or 10000 of them, or 20000 of them, or 30000 of27:24 them. That's my prayer. My prayer is this this wakes some people up. Maybe some young or college university students, that that they know when they would stand at the mic,Standing Boldly for Truth 27:38 they know they were lying. That a guy is saying he's a girl. They know in their hard hearts, But the truth can set them free. So my prayer is that27:49 we can spotlight the positive and stop focusing on the negative. Here's number 5, we want to celebrate small blessings. Child of God, gratitude is God's antidepressant.28:03 Just walk out of here, say I'm grateful for this and I'm grateful for that, I'm grateful for this. Number 6, move your body more. Man, just go for a walk. Go28:15 workout. Just move your body more. Number 7, get on your knees. Prayer ultimately calms the storm. Sometimes it's the only28:27 thing that can calm the storm. If you saw earlier this week I shared it, say pastor how did you respond to the assassination?28:40 I was broken and I was angry. 24 years ago at 9 11 I was broken and I was angry.28:53 So as we leave here today church, here's what I want you to know about this. We are going to share the truth. We're not gonna shrink back from it. I'm not gonna be 1 of those29:06 prophets or preachers that Jeremiah talked about. It says he says there's peace, peace, but there is no peace. I'm not gonna be 1 of those prophets that29:17 Isaiah talked about that you ask me only prophesy good things that make me feel good, pastor. I'm not gonna be that guy, but I'll tell you what I hope I am.29:29 I hope I'm the guy that will share the truth even when it hurts, because God's word is ultimately the only answer. Jesus said,29:41 I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life. No 1 comes to the father but through me. So here here's the, Jesus said29:53 I am the way to get to heaven. I am the truth, there is truth. But he says I am the life. He says anyone who believes in me has eternal life.30:05 So that's who I want to be. Let me tell you who I want our church to be. I want our church to be filled with people that will stand with biblical conviction on that which is right and that30:17 which is wrong. Give God a hand for that. That's what I want our church to be. But I want you to hear me. I want us to do30:29 it with the sweetest, gentlest, loving spirit possible. So if someone rejects us in our church, they don't30:41 reject us, they reject the truth. Let's pray. God, thank you so much for an opportunity to get with our people and worship.30:52 For many like me this has been a week of brokenness and anger, but God as we gather together with your children we sing, we heal, we grow, but we also leave here with a boldness to love each other more31:04 and love our world more. God we need answers and as a church we're never gonna shrink back from that. God we pray that we would always be reminded.31:18 Truth for us and others, bitter for a moment but heals in the long run. In Jesus name we pray,31:30 Amen.In this video 0:00 Rooted: Winning the Battle in Your Mind5:21 The Battle Between Good and Evil17:12 Seven Biblical Steps to Renew the Mind27:26 Standing Boldly for TruthComments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
Comments
Keep it kind. Comments are public.