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Whatever: Whatever is Noble and Right
August 10, 2026 · 31 min
Our thoughts shape our actions, habits, and character. This sermon urges us to reject toxic thinking, renew our minds with God’s truth (Philippians 4:8), and focus on what is noble and right. By doing so, we build integrity, honor God, and leave a meaningful legacy.
Series "Pastor Talks" with John Mark Caton
John Mark is the Senior Pastor of the thriving Cottonwood Creek Church in Allen, Texas, where he has served since 1995.
August 10, 2026 · 31 min · "Pastor Talks" with John Mark Caton
Our thoughts shape our actions, habits, and character. This sermon urges us to reject toxic thinking, renew our minds with God’s truth (Philippians 4:8), and focus on what is noble and right. By doing so, we build integrity, honor God, and leave a meaningful legacy. ...more Show the full description Show less Our thoughts shape our actions, habits, and character. This sermon urges us to reject toxic thinking, renew our minds with God’s truth (Philippians 4:8), and focus on what is noble and right. By doing so, we build integrity, honor God, and leave a meaningful legacy.
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In this video 0:00 The Power of Neuroplasticity and God's Whatevers9:00 Detox Your Brain: Renewing Your Mind14:00 Thought 1: Thoughts Form Your Character19:00 Choices Reveal, Habits Strengthen Character30:00 Legacy Reflects Your Character
The Power of Neuroplasticity and God's Whatevers 0:00 Man, it is so good to be in God's house. If you missed last week, maybe you're traveling out of town or something like that, we started a brand new series, entitled Whatever. Here's the shirt for it, verses on the back.0:11 If you wanna get 1, pick 1 up. Be a witness out in the workplace or at the gym or wherever you are, grocery store. We're talking about whatever, winning the battle in your mind. You know, there were there were0:23 for long seasons of, of scientific history, everybody thought, especially when you were an adult, that your brain was fixed and it couldn't change. That once you became an adult, your brain just kind of settled in0:34 and you are who you are and you think what you think and you're gonna do what you're gonna do and that's it. But really since about the 19 eighty's and ninety's and 2 thousand's, they've been doing more and more research0:45 on the brain and now we can look and actually see in the brain and your brain is more like a field. That when you have certain thoughts, you walk through a field. Now0:57 you might walk through the 1st day and it's kinda hard and you don't make much difference, but if you walk down that same path each and every day, 1000 days in a row, you're eventually gonna have a path. Your brain does1:07 the same thing. And that's what we referred to and we talked about last week as neuroplasticity. That your brain actually has the ability and you have the ability to shape your brain and1:19 give it new paths. And so maybe you're sitting here today and you go, you know man, my brain is just filled with all this stuff and I'll never get over it. Let me tell you, science now tells us that you can actually
1:30 change your thought process. So let me ask you a question. What is it that occupies your mind most each and every day? Is it anger?
1:43 That you're mad at somebody, somebody did something to you and you're angry at them or maybe you're anxious, you're fearful. You wake up, you're worried about your health, you're worried about your kids, you're worried
1:53 about your family, you're worried about your job, just fear. Maybe it's lust. That is just a path that you've been down over and over again and you wish you could get rid of
2:05 it, but you don't think you can, but the reality you can't. Maybe it's bitterness. Bitterness might be a wide path that you have been hurt in the past and you are just bitter and you are angry. Maybe it's
2:17 jealousy. Maybe there's some people that are around you that they just have a little more. Everything seems to be right. And you just have this jealous heart or maybe there
2:29 are lies that you believe. God can never forgive me. If everybody knew, they would shun me. We have to remind ourselves in those lying seasons that God says,
2:41 There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Maybe you have good things going through your mind. Maybe it's truth. I'm just constantly thinking about
2:53 God's word and God's truth or it's honor or it's gratitude and it's good stuff. But here is the reality. What you repeatedly
3:04 think shapes what you repeatedly choose to do. And what you repeatedly choose to do will shape who you
3:16 ultimately become. Does that make sense? That's why Paul, long before he could look into the brain, he didn't use the word neuroplasticity, but he talked about it
3:28 because he knew how God created us in his image that regardless of where you've been in your past, that God has something new for you, but it begins right here. Because what you repeatedly
3:40 think impacts what you will repeatedly do. What you repeatedly do will ultimately shape what you repeatedly become. Let's go back to Philippians chapter 4. We're focusing on
3:52 this 1 verse, this entire series. And as I told you last week, the title of the series, whatever, winning the battle in your mind. The word whatever, the Greek wordosa in in in Greek, is used
4:03 56 times in the New Testament. 6 of those times are right here in this verse, where Paul is saying, whatever, do this. Whatever, do this. Whatever, think on this. So
4:15 here it is, Philippians chapter 4 verse 8. He says finally, brothers and sisters, everybody say that's us. He's talking to us. Whatever is true, that's what we talked about last week. We're always looking to replace
4:28 Satan's lies with God's word and God's truth. So whatever is true, this is what we're looking at today, these 2, whatever is noble, that means worthy of respect or dignified, and whatever is right. Those are the 2 words
4:39 we're looking at today. That which is noble and that which is right or upright. We're going to test it. It says, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or
4:51 praiseworthy, think about those things. Here's what Paul is saying. Your character doesn't just show up in a crisis.
5:03 It's been under construction for years by what you think and what you do when you don't think others can see. We need to understand that sometimes we
5:15 need to put our minds on a mental diet. How many of you at least once in your life have gone on a diet? 1st thing you do, you say, I'm going to cut out the junk food. Right? Well, toxic
5:27 thoughts, bad thoughts, God's lies are the junk food. Alright? And I'm gonna focus on healthy food as I give my mind a mental diet. I'm gonna focus on God's word, memorizing God's
5:39 word. I told you to basically go home and memorize this verse so you can constantly start thinking about God's word, God's truth today. We're gonna be talking a lot about our character. Alright? So Paul doesn't just say
5:50 stop thinking about the bad stuff. Instead, he says replace it with the good stuff. And again, for a long time people thought, well that's just the way they are and they would have accommodative methods.
6:02 Now we know, absolutely know that you can retrain your brain to stop thinking toxic thoughts and start thinking healthy thoughts. That's what neuroplasticity is all about.
6:14 So here's what we need to understand. Your brain can change. So whatever you've been struggling with, Paul says your brain can learn and can change new things. Now, in
6:26 Philippians chapter 4, I told you this last week, Paul tells us what to fill our minds with, those whatevers. But in Romans chapter 12, he says, here's how you do it. Alright? Romans
6:38 chapter 12 verse 1. Here's what Paul says, Philippians 4, what you fill your mind with, you don't just stop thinking bad things, you replace them with good things. Now how do we do it? He says, therefore, Paul, I urge
6:49 you, brothers and sisters, that's us again, in view of God's mercy, I love that it starts there. It starts with God's mercy. To offer your body, then there's action, alright, as a living
7:01 sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship. Then verse 2, do not conform to the pattern of this world. In other words, let's stop right there.
7:13 Now, I know no 1 in this room or online here at Cottonwood Creek knows this, but I've heard people that sometimes if you'll go to a bar or a nightclub, there's a bouncer there. I don't know that. I've
7:25 just heard. How many of you can anybody in here attest to that? Yeah. Too many raise your hands. That just means you're honest. Everybody else a liar. Alright. What does the bouncer
7:37 do? He stands at the door, looks at people and says, Yep. Yep. Yep. No. And sometimes something happens
7:49 in there that if you've seen them on Instagram, this is the funny part, they take and throw them out. Right? Hopefully that hadn't been you. But we need a bouncer in our mind
8:01 that every time a thought comes, the bouncer says, No, no, no, no. You're not getting in here. We care about what happens in here. And then there are other times the bouncer needs to roll into your brain and
8:13 take a toxic thought and chunk it out into the street. And Paul says we absolutely can do that. Now, last week I introduced a book to you that I want to talk a little bit more about.
8:25 But notice what he says, do not be, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Paul is talking about renewing of your mind. Paul is talking about neuroplasticity 2000
8:36 years before he ever discovered it. Because he knew God, said anyone can renew their mind, then you will be able to test and prove what God's will is, his good and pleasing and Then you will be able to test and prove
8:44 what God's will is, his good and pleasing and perfect will. Last week I introduced you to a book, entitled Switch on Your Brain by Doctor Caroline Leaf. A lot of you, I've already heard, downloaded the book. You can
8:55 listen to it in about 4 hours. Alright? She is a neuroscientist, but she writes on a lay level that you and I can understand and she's Christian and she puts God's word in each 1 of these points. I looked at some of the
Detox Your Brain: Renewing Your Mind
9:06 points last week. In her book, she says, I have a 5 step plan to detox your brain. And so I'm going to put those 5 steps
9:18 up on the screen and here are the 5 steps that she says. And now listen, here's what you're going to do. You're going to take your toxic thought and you're going to put it through these 5. You're going to do 1
9:30 at a time. Let's say you have 6 or 7 toxic thoughts. Work work on the 1 that keeps you up at night. Alright? So, here here's here's the 5 things she says. Number 1, gather awareness.
9:42 What toxic thoughts am I thinking? Number 2, reflect on it. Why am I thinking this way? You know, the truth is sometimes
9:55 there can be incidents in our past. Maybe someone let you down or broke your trust or hurt you really bad and so you now think everybody's bad or everybody's
10:06 gonna break my trust. So ask yourself, why am I thinking this way? Here's number 3. Write it out. Can I put it into words? I think this because I think it goes back
10:18 to when this happened in my life. Write it out, put it in words. Number 4, recheck it. Is it actually true? See, I don't
10:30 know about you, but there are times that someone would come and tell me something and you're like, I don't know that that's true. I understand you could feel that way, but that may not actually be true. Have you gone and
10:41 talked to them about it? Right? Go find out if it's actually true. And then number 5, do some active research. Look in God's word and say, What truth will I choose instead? Now that's Doctor. Caroline Leaf. I'm a
10:53 little simpler. Here's Doctor. John Mark Caton's simpler 5 step plan. Alright? It just works, resonates with me a little bit better. Notice it, what toxic thoughts am I
11:04 thinking? Name it, what lie am I believing? Test it, what does God's word say about it? Replace it, I'm gonna choose a biblical truth to
11:16 memorize and insert whenever I struggle. Alright, let's say I get fearful. I'm gonna go memorize Joshua chapter 1 where God says, Be strong and courageous and do not fear,
11:28 be careful to obey all that is in the law, then you will be successful everywhere you go. You get the pattern. The truth is, I'm afraid of failure, but God says, I'm gonna memorize that scripture and
11:40 every time I'm fearful, I'm gonna say be strong and courageous. Now notice the next part, be careful to obey all that I've commanded you, then you will have success. There's nothing to fear. Alright? Here's the next 1.
11:50 So test it. What does God's word say? Replace it with, choose a biblical truth and then repeat it every day. Carolyn Leaf says,
12:02 It takes 21 days to kill a toxic thought. So you take 1 toxic thought, the 1 that dominates your mind and your thoughts and I'm going to kill
12:14 it each and every day by replacing. And once you do it for 21 days, you've developed a new pattern. Every time that thought shows up, that God's truth shows up
12:26 and you begin to beat it back. And then once you've gotten rid of 1 toxic thought, then go to your next 1. This is the next 1, 21 days. She says from time to time, remember how your brain is like a
12:37 field? And some she says some of these, toxic thoughts, they've been driven into our brain for so long, you might actually need to do the 21 day plan twice in a row for 1 toxic
12:49 thought. And now, here's what your brain does. Once you start doing something different, it actually will pick up the pavers off that toxic thought and start laying them down
13:02 on the true thought. That's what neuroplasticity tells us our brain will do. Our brain will actually do it. Our brain will start making it harder for us to go down that old toxic path. So, when we think today about these
13:13 2 words, that which is noble and that which is right. I want to talk to us today about our character. So let me give you 4 thoughts from God's word today
13:24 on building a godly character. Winning the battle for your character. Thought number 1, your thoughts ultimately form your character. Your
13:36 thoughts is actually your 1st. It's thoughts 1st, it's actions later. What you think is what 1st forms your character. Aristotle said, you are what
13:48 you repeatedly think about. You are what you repeatedly think about. Let me show it to you in 2nd Corinthians chapter 10 verse 5. Alright. So what am I supposed to do with these toxic thoughts?
Thought 1: Thoughts Form Your Character
14:00 2nd Corinthians chapter 10 verse 5, Paul tells us and he uses battlefield language. And so if you're sitting there with a toxic thought, this bad past, something happened, here's
14:12 what Paul says to do. He says we're going to demolish arguments and every pretension. You don't have to believe everything you think. How many of you know that? And I would encourage
14:24 you not to believe everything you think. Test it. See if it's right. And so notice what Paul says, we demolish. We're not playing around, Alright? I'm gonna run up the score on them. I'm gonna
14:36 demolish any argument and any pretension that sets itself up against what? The knowledge of God. Let me tell you how that happens today. The world says, oh come on. You Christians,
14:48 everybody's doing it. But our knowledge of God says everybody shouldn't be doing it. Now why does God say no to certain things?
15:00 Because not everything's good for us. See if God created us and created us in his image, he knows what's good for us and he says, Man, there's a good path, have all of it you want, but stay away from
15:11 here. Go back to the garden, remember? God told Adam and Eve, you may enjoy anything in the garden except for that 1 tree. That's what God said.
15:24 Over there is joy, over there is fun, over there is happiness, over there is success, over there is this, over but stay away from that. See, there are certain things that we need to understand that anytime something sets
15:35 itself up against the knowledge of God, we need to demolish it. If Satan comes to you and says, You're a loser. You're this. You're that. No. No. No. God said, You are more than a conqueror. I'm a child of
15:47 God. That's what I'm taking those thoughts and those pretensions that set themselves up against the knowledge of God and I'm gonna demolish them. Then notice what else he says. He says, and we
15:58 take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Think of it
16:10 this way. Some of your thoughts need to be considered, some of them need to be captured. How many of you know what I'm talking about? There are sometimes I'm thinking just great things and good things and I'm like,
16:22 that's awesome. And then all of a sudden a thought will fly through my mind and I'm like, no. I've got to shut that down. Well, you've heard this. When we think about our character, our thoughts ultimately shape
16:34 our character. You've heard this before. He said, you have to sow a thought, reap an act, sow an act, reap a habit, sow a habit, reap a character, sow
16:46 a character, reap a destiny. Where did it start? With a thought. That's why it's so, so important that we set our minds on good and godly
16:58 things. That which is right, that which is noble and that which is true. Look at Proverbs, I love Proverbs. Proverbs chapter 4 verse 23, it says, above all else,
17:10 guard your heart for everything you do will ultimately flow from it. What is he saying? That which is that that is on the inside will
17:22 eventually flow to the outside. But notice he says, Guard your heart. Everybody in here How many of you have a phone? How many of you have a password on your phone? How many of you have
17:34 a good password on your phone? How many are like me, it's just 1 1 1 1. Right? But we have passwords on our phones. We have passwords on our computer. We
17:46 have cameras in our house. We have locks on our house. We can watch what's going on. When the Amazon delivery comes up, there's a camera that shows them throwing it down there or throwing it down there. We've seen that.
17:58 We have passwords on everything, but we don't seem to have a password on our mind. What's the password? Is it true? Is it noble? Is it right?
18:10 And if it's not those 3 things, it is a no. We need to say absolutely not. I love what Jesus said in John chapter 6. Now notice the pattern. Paul said demolish them.
18:23 Solomon said guard your heart for from it flows what comes out of your life. Now notice what Jesus says to reinforce it. Luke chapter 6 verse 45, Jesus said, a good man
18:35 brings good things out of the good that is stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart, for the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
18:47 Your mouth just becomes a window to your soul. Jesus says, Listen man, what you speak is what's stored up in your heart. What's going on in your
18:59 mind. We want to live in such a way that I understand my thoughts will ultimately shape my character. Here's the 2nd thing, your
Choices Reveal, Habits Strengthen Character
19:11 choices just reveal your character. Your thoughts create your character, your choices are what reveal your character. I love what Micah
19:22 told us, talking about God's word and God's way. Here's what Micah said. He said this, He has shown you, oh mortal, talking about us, what is good and what does the Lord require of you?
19:34 I think a lot of us, we want to know what does God require. And God essentially says, Listen, work on your character and your reputation
19:46 will take care of itself. A lot of times we work on our reputation and we don't focus on our character. But notice what God says, here's what builds your character in a godly
19:58 way and notice, Micah doesn't use nouns, he uses verbs. We're gonna see it. So what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy,
20:11 to walk humbly with your God. Did you get that? Start acting justly. Do the right thing, even when it cost you.
20:24 Say the right thing, even if it might hurt you. Be merciful. Man, don't judge somebody based on what they
20:36 did 10 years ago or 15 years ago on the worst day of their life or the worst season of their life. Man, show them grace. Show them mercy. And then walk humbly with God.
20:50 You are God, I'm not. God, you want you to lead me in the right way. I love what James, the brother of Jesus said. Pick it up. James chapter 4 verse 17. Here's what James says. So
21:02 If you think about 1st of all how you live it, now notice he says just do it. He says if anyone then knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them.
21:14 He says, knowing is not enough. Child of God, knowing what you should do is not enough. See, our choices
21:27 reveal our character. So if you know what to do and it's the right thing to do, it's the true thing to do, it's the noble thing to do, then we have to follow it up and do it because not
21:39 doing it, it becomes sin to me. So James is saying the brother of Jesus, let's get after it for God. Let's move forward. So here it is. Know what you believe. Live what you believe.
21:50 Keep your word, even if it hurts. Do the right thing as much as you can, even when it costs you. And if you and I will just do that, knowing what we believe and then do it,
22:02 our character will begin to develop. You ever had someone come up to you and say, Man, I just had a conversation with so and so and they just blew up. Has
22:14 anybody ever told you that and you go, Well, that just seems out of character for them. How many of you know what I'm saying? They had a bad bad moment. Everybody can have 1 of those. Hey, trust me. Follow me around.
22:22 You'll find a bad moment. Okay? But there are also times anybody ever come up to you and say, Man, I had a conversation with so and so and they just blew up. And you go, Yeah, that's them.
22:34 Right? See, we want to walk mercifully so when someone has a bad moment, a bad season, a bad day, we show them grace. Because at the end of the day, what they do over and over and
22:45 over and over again will really reveal who they are. So thought number 1 on your character, we're going to win it. Our thoughts shape my character. My choices
22:58 reveal my character. My habits strengthen my character. Alright? In other words, the more you go down the same path, the wider the
23:10 path gets, the easier it gets to go down. So you want to have good habits that support the way you want to walk and the way you want to talk. Had this thought this week and thinking about this point.
23:23 Our habits are casting votes every day for the person we are becoming. You get it? Every day, your
23:35 habit is casting a vote on who I'm gonna become. Some of the votes are good, some of them are bad. Some of the habits
23:47 that lead me to who I want to be, man, I want to develop habits that lean me that way. Those that don't, every time I have a habit, they're moving me towards something.
23:58 So so look at what Jesus said in Luke chapter 16 verse 10. I think a lot of times we think, you know, well, if God would just call me to preach or call me to be a this or do something big in my life, then I would say yes
24:10 to God and I would clean all this mess up. Notice what Jesus said, Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.
24:23 And whoever is dishonest with very little also is dishonest with much. He says, Listen, it's the little things that matter. Don't wait for that 1 big
24:34 grand opportunity to reveal your character. Jesus says, Your character is not shaped by the big things, it's shaped by the little things that happen
24:46 each and every day. Look at Proverbs ten:nine, whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever
24:58 takes crooked paths will be found out. Integrity isn't a minute, it's a manner of life.
25:10 When I walk securely with integrity, that means that mostly what I say I believe and how I want to live is how I actually live. That's integrity.
25:22 But have you ever known someone that they say something but then they live this way? That's not integrity and it says, they walk insecurely if they lack integrity. They walk
25:34 securely if they have integrity. Man, you ever just there is nothing like it. It's so awesome. Just say, hey, you can look and find some bad stuff in my life, but when I
25:46 roll in here, I kind of am who I say I am. That's what I am. Alright? It ain't all that in a bag of chips. It just is. That that is where you want to be and that is so freeing.
25:58 When you get there, some of you are going, man, but I've got these secrets pastors. Yeah. I get it. I get it. No one's perfect. Everybody's got secrets. Everybody's got these bad habits that reveal our
26:10 character. However, when you begin to change them and if you can just picture in your mind and God created your mind this way. Now what if I could get to a place where I didn't
26:22 have all these hidden things there? Man, you enjoy life so much because I'm not hiding things. Man, I'm owning it. When I drop the ball I go, Oops.
26:34 That was on me. Totally on me. I misread what you said. I thought you meant, but now I know Man, I I apologize. Then what happens? We become a witness. Look at it.
26:46 1st Peter chapter 2 verse 12. Child of God, he says, live such good lives among the pagans that, by the way, don't call them pagans, alright? But you know what he's saying. You
26:58 pagans. I'm going to do that next week. Just walk around. Bunch of pagans going to grocery store. That feel good too, by the way. Got to be
27:10 a little 15 year old boy running around in that noggin right there. That's not in my notes, by the way. 9 AM didn't get that. Just live such good lives among the pagans that though they
27:21 accuse you of doing wrong, they may instead see your good deeds and glorify God. Man, they're watching us. What I want to do is I want to have habits in such a way
27:33 that when they see my habits and see my good life, though they may mock you for a while because you don't do that, you say no to this and no to that, they would then turn around and say,
27:46 but God's clearly blessing them. Or someone might just say, You know what? I want what you have. I want what you have.
27:58 So our thoughts create a character. Our choices reveal our character. Our habits strengthen our character. And here's number 4. Your legacy
28:11 reflects your character. Come close for a 2nd. The greatest thing you will leave when you die
28:23 is not something you own, It's who you are. Did you get it? We do all these trust and wills and let me tell you
28:35 what, who gets the house and who gets the car and who gets the tools and who gets the toys. The greatest thing you and I will ever leave is not
28:46 something you bought. It's who you were. Because what you think becomes what you choose. What you choose
28:58 becomes what you repeat. What you repeatedly do becomes who you are. Who you are determines the legacy you leave.
29:11 Best thing we can give to the people who follow us is to live with character. When we drop the ball, own it.
29:25 When I say the wrong thing, apologize for it. If I'm thinking bad thoughts, begin to take care of it. Because at the end of the
29:36 day, we want to stand in front of the father and have him say, well done, good and faithful servant. Can I be honest with
29:48 you? We kind of want others to say that about us too. And our celebration, well done. We're gonna miss
Legacy Reflects Your Character
30:00 you. Character matters. God, thank you so much for this day. God, thank you for whatever.
30:13 God, my prayer is there's some people here today in this moment, this season, gonna start shaping their character by shaping their thoughts. God, as kids go back to school or back to college or wherever they're gonna
30:25 be, and those educators in the room. God, thank you. They're gonna shape hearts and lives. Let us do it as well. In Jesus name we pray. Amen and amen.
John Mark Caton99.9K followers
