• Revelation  12:10-11
• Job 1:9-11
• Job 2:4

Isolation: the state of being in a place or situation that is separate from others; the condition of being isolated

• Ecclesiastes 4:12
• Hebrews 10:23-25

Intimidation: to make (someone) afraid

• John 16:31-33

Elimination: the act or process of removing something or someone

• Luke 22:31-32
• John 10:10

Inspiration: a force or influence that inspires someone

• John 16:12-15
• Mark 16:19-20

Determination: a quality that makes you continue trying to do or achieve something that is difficult

• Hebrews 10:32-39

EIGHT THINGS TO REMEMBER IN FINISHING STRONG:

1. Be consistence

• They are blessings on the other side of not giving up—

Gal 6:9-10—MSG

• There is a reason for the season—you will motivate and influence others—

Prov 24:15-16—MSG

2. Don’t compare yourself to others, and stay focus (Don’t pay attention to your critics) —

Neh 4:1-4—

3. Pace yourself—

Eph 5:15-17—MSG

4. Be a team player, we need each other—

Prov 27:17—

5. Remember you are not God, listen to His game plan—

Prov 3:5-6—

6. Practice AMNESIA often, let go of your past, forgive and forget—

Phil 3:13-14—

7. Don’t get prideful, don’t let the opponent get a foothold.

1 Tim 6:20-21—MSG

2 Tim 1:14—Guard this precious thing placed in your custody by the Holy Spirit who works in us. MSG

8. Stay committed, be determined to not give up—

Ps 92:12-14—

Heb 10:24—

Heb 10:35-36—

Heb 12:1-4 -

The Instruction Phase

Luke 9:51-56

1 Cor 11:1-2 NIV

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings, just as I passed them on to you.

1 Sam 22:1-2

1 Cor 4:16-17

The Cost Phase

Luke 9:57-62

1 Kings 19:19-21

Kissing things that gave birth to you good bye

Kissing things that you gave birth to good bye

Burning bridges

The Commissioning / Application Phase

Luke 10:1-3

Matt 28:18-20

The Evaluation Phase

Luke 10:17-20

You don’t get what you expect, you get what you inspect.

Setting a standard:

1. Pick something important

Matt 25:21

2. Involve other faithful people

3. Establish measurable requirements

4. Make the requirements visible

Hab 2:2-3

5. Set up an evaluation often

6. Have the discipline to stay the course

SPIRITUAL FAMILY

• YOU CAN HAVE OR BE A SPIRITUAL FATHER. 1 Cor 4:15-17

guardians: paidagogos (pahee-dag-o-gos’); servant who take a child to school; a tutor, instructor.

• YOU CAN HAVE OR BE A SPIRITUAL MOTHER. Titus 2:3-5

LET’S GET PRACTICAL – DEFINE WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR

TIMOTHYS (SONS OR DAUGHTERS)

• ASK QUESTIONS, LISTEN, TAKE NOTES. Acts 16:29-30
• PUT INTO PRACTICE WHAT YOU SEE. Phil 4:9
• SHOW HONOR. Rom 12:10

PAULS (FATHERS OR MOTHERS)

• BE AN EXAMPLE IN THE WAY YOU LIVE.  Titus 2:7
• TELL STORIES.  Ps 145:4, 6
• SHARE YOUR LIFE. 1 Thess 2:8

CULTURE SAYS SUCCESS IS RAISING WELL-ROUNDED, WELL-EDUCATED, HAPPY KIDS.

Matthew 16:26

Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.

Psalm 71:18

WE ARE CALLED TO UNLEASH SINGLE-MINDED, CHRIST-CENTERED, BIBLICALLY ANCHORED, WORLD CHANGERS.

IMPARTING SPIRITUAL LIFE

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

1. ENLIST SUPPORTING VOICES.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Deuteronomy 6:4

2. RAISE THE EXPECTATIONS.

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5

1 Corinthians 13:11

3. KEEP IT REAL.

Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:7-9

Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.

Psalm 71:18

You will never change your life until you change the way you think.

You will never change the way you think until you change the way you talk. – [youversion]Matthew 12:34[/youversion]

Our words not only reveal our heart—But our words have power. – [youversion]Proverbs 18:21[/youversion]

The connection between the mouth and the mind—They work hand in hand

Which is why the Bible says… [youversion]Romans 10:9-10[/youversion]

There is a connection between belief and what you say—Because you can’t separate them—You can’t have a thinking message without a words message

Jesus taught – your words connect to your mind, heart, and your faith

[youversion]Mark 11:23[/youversion]

[youversion]Revelation 12:11[/youversion]

[youversion]James 3:2[/youversion]

James says, if you can control your mouth, you’re perfect—He’s not talking about sinless

The word “perfection” in Greek literally means “mature / healthy”

James says we need to take our words serious for three reasons:

1. My tongue directs where I go. – [youversion]James 3:3-4[/youversion]

2. My tongue can destroy what I have. – [youversion]James 3:5-8[/youversion]

Have you ever met a verbal arsonist? Destroy friendships, career, etc

[youversion]Proverbs 21:23[/youversion] GN “If you want to stay out of trouble be careful what you say!”

[youversion]James 3:7-8[/youversion]  “All kinds of animals…have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”

Greek – deadly venom – our words can be a deadly weapon

3. My tongue displays what I am thinking. – [youversion]James 3:10-11[/youversion]

It reveals my real character—

What’s the real problem? – It’s a heart problem.

He doesn’t want you to act right – wants you to be right—Jesus said what’s inside of you is what’s going to come out—Actions are just symptoms of a heart condition. [youversion]Matthew 15:18-19[/youversion]

God’s Solution

1. God wants to cleanse your past.—[youversion]Ezek. 36:25[/youversion]—a fresh start

2. God wants to change you from the inside—[youversion]Ezek. 36:26[/youversion]

3. God wants to give you His thoughts.– [youversion]Ezek. 36:27[/youversion]

If you let him cleanse your past—Make you a new person today—Give you power for tomorrow

[youversion]Proverbs 23:7[/youversion]

“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…”

Part 1

Part 2

Today

How do I change the way I think?

The secret to success is determined by your daily agenda

You’ve got to know what to do -then decide to do it

You will never change your life until you change the way you think.

The Battlefield of the Mind

[youversion]2 Corinthians 10:3-5[/youversion]  “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Our enemy is not other people – but with the devil  and his only weapon is a lie – bombarding our minds.  With negative thoughts, suspicions, doubts, fears, worries, theories

He knows our insecurities, weaknesses, fears – what bothers us most

Four areas of our thought life that we need to guard…

1. Guard your mind against lies.

• The devil will try to get you to believe things up that are not true
• He will try to get you to imagine things that you begin to believe

• Watch – guard
• And pray – ask for God’s help – do not allow us to be led
• It’s much easier to overcome sin at the thought level
• Rather than at the action level

• Bad attitudes – seeing the glass as half empty—Saying things like – “I will never”
• The devil will try to get you depressed – don’t give in to it
• [youversion]Psalm 42:5[/youversion]  “Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?  Put your hope in God…”

• Positive minds produce positive lives
• Negative minds produce negative lives negative
• [youversion]Philippians 4:13[/youversion]  “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”
• Take charge of the way you look at every day – every situation
• There is a lot in life you cannot change—But you can change your attitude

2. Think encouraging thoughts. [youversion] Ephesians 4:19[/youversion]  “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

[youversion]1 Corinthians 13:7[/youversion] Amplified  “Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person…”

3. Think grateful thoughts.

• A person who is always grateful cannot be let down—It only happens to those complain or are discontented
• [youversion]Colossians 3:15[/youversion]  “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

4. Think powerful thoughts.

• Don’t see yourself as average or a victim – see yourself as a victor
• God wants you believe Him for big things – powerful thoughts
• [youversion]1 John 4:4[/youversion]  “…greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
• Instead – too often we think why a miracle can’t happen
• Find ourselves explaining it away
• [youversion]Romans 8:37[/youversion]  “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

5. Think God thoughts.

• Reading the Bible – prayer – meditate on it
• What do you dwell on?
• [youversion]Joshua 1:8[/youversion]  “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything    written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
• [youversion]Isaiah 26:3[/youversion] Amplified    “You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.”

You will never change your life until you change the way you think.

If you want to change your life —Start by changing your mind

The difficulty with thinking for a change is escaping the old mindset

Sources of stinking thinking…

1.  We let our mental self image define us.

Some of us grew up around negativity and we let it define us

Before he was a king – no one believed in David—#8 in a family of 8

Psalm 22:6  “But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.”

We can’t let our own view define us –Don’t see yourself the way you see yourself—See yourself the way God sees you

2.  We let our past program us.

Your past has become your programming – your operating system

Psalm 13:2

Isaiah 43:18

3.  We let the world infect us.

Many of us don’t realize how the world is polluting our minds

2 Corinthians 6:14-17

4.  We let the devil accuse us.

The devil’s number one target is your thoughts

John 8:44

Revelation 12:10

Why Good Thinking Matters

Proverbs 23:7 NKJV  “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…”

5 reasons why good thinking matters…

1.  Everything begins with a thought. - God wants to give you another way to think – about yourself, life

Romans 12:2

2.  What we think determines how we feel.

Did you realize that your mind can affect how your body feels—You will speak, act, and react as the person you think you are

Philippians 4:8-9

3.  Our thoughts determine our destiny.

If you see yourself as a victim you tend to let people victimize you—On the other hand, if you see yourself as successful  then you tend to repeat successes that you’ve had in the past

Romans 8:5-6

4.  Successful people think differently than others.

Jesus was successful because He did not see things as they are He saw things as they could be

Mark 10:27

Don’t reduce God down to the size of your brain—We need to think with a mind of faith – possibilities.  Otherwise you will limit yourself and God

5.  We can change the way we think

Hebrews 4:12

It’s decision time…

Deuteronomy 30:19  “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.”

Dr. Charles Cooley is the Dean of American Sociology—He says this, “Your self esteem, your self worth or image is determined to a large degree by what you think the people or the person that matters most to you thinks

Christmas is all about Jesus coming to rescue US

One of the reasons why people are so hopeless

What about Heaven?

Unfortunately heaven has had some bad press

What Now?

The most important thing you need to know about Heaven-how to get there?

1. Remove your doubts.

Hell was never intended for people

2. Replace your anxieties.

3. Refocus your energies.

Without hope – your heart gets sick

How do you know if you’ve lost hope?  Symptoms:

A.  Disoriented.

You lose sight of where you are – feeling of being lost

When you’re hopeless – you really don’t know what to do

In the Bible – Job – lost it all – family – possessions – health

[youversion]Job 17:15[/youversion]

B.  Drifting.

When you’re hopeless – you’ll find yourself away from home base

You start drifting – you start trying other things  – Going your own way

[youversion]Isaiah 53:6[/youversion]

C.  Despair.

This is the ultimate in hopelessness – you give up

[youversion]2 Corinthians 1:8[/youversion]

The human spirit needs hope to survive and to thrive

What is Hope?

Let me show you what hope it’s not:

1        Hope it is not wishful thinking

2        Hope is not blind optimism – good to be optimistic—But that’s not hope

3        Hope is not ambitious dreams – good to have goals

Hope is a confident expectation based on something solid.

[youversion]Hebrews 11:1[/youversion]

For most people, hope is something they do.  But Biblical hope is something we have.

[youversion]Psalm 71:14[/youversion]

“What do I have to do to get hope?”

1.  Hope requires trust. [youversion]Rom. 4:18[/youversion]—”Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed . . . “

[youversion]Psalm 42:11[/youversion]

2.  Hope is anchored to something unseen.

Anchors go under the water – attach to something unseen

Hope is found in the unseen world

If you’re going to make it – must embrace the unseen

[youversion]2 Corinthians 4:17-18[/youversion]

[youversion]Titus 2:13[/youversion]

3.  Hope is found in a relationship with God.

Hope in and of itself has no power—The only way hope has any real power—Is when it’s anchored in the God who has real power

[youversion]Romans 15:13[/youversion] GWT  “May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace through your faith in Him.  Then you’ll overflow with hope…”

How will you know if you have hope?

The whole world around you is going crazy  And you have rest – peace

[youversion]Psalm 62:5[/youversion] “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.”

[youversion]Isaiah 40:31[/youversion]

November 2010 Newsletter