January 23, 2011
[youversion]Proverbs 23:7 NKJV[/youversion] “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…”
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
January 16, 2011
[youversion]Proverbs 23:7[/youversion]
“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…”
You will never change your life until you change the way you think.
Part 1
What’s on your mind?
Where bad thinking comes from.
Part 2
Last week
Choosing the Right Thoughts.
To show you what good thinking looks like.
Today
How do I change the way I think?
1. Changed thinking is not automatic.
- A change in thinking doesn’t happen on its own
- Your thoughts will never change until you allow God to change them
- [youversion]Psalm 10:4[/youversion]
- Changed thinking won’t just happen – there has to be a game plan
- Otherwise – you’ll just end up at the same place next year
- [youversion]Ephesians 4:17-18 [/youversion]
2. Changed thinking takes effort.
- It’s not automatic
- and it’s not going to be easy
- Change is a renewal process
- *But this is for your quality of life on earth day by day
- [youversion]Ephesians 4:21-24[/youversion]
3. Changed thinking will change my life.
- Some are convinced that happiness is determined by your circumstances
- Peace is something God gives you when you think Godly thoughts
- [youversion]Philippians 4:8-9[/youversion]
The secret to success is determined by your daily agenda
You’ve got to know what to do -then decide to do it
1. Find a plan to control your thoughts.
The Bible offers a plan…
Key Word: Bible
[youversion]Hebrews 4:12[/youversion]
- The Bible counteracts the negative input we receive all day
- Get a plan
- highly recommend One Year Bible
- online devotional
- youversion.com/reading-plans
2. Find a place to think your thoughts.
Key Word: Prayer
You’ll never change your mind until you get away from distractions
We all need time for solitude – organize and settle your thoughts, Filter them with what God thinks–Prayer will give you clear thinking
- Find a place
- every person is different
- park, shower, car, office, etc.
- [youversion]Luke 5:16[/youversion]
3. Find a person to stretch your thoughts.
- [youversion]Ecclesiastes 4:9-10[/youversion]
- Expose your ideas to the right people
- Be careful about being around the wrong people
- They will tell you ”you can’t do it”
- negative people
4. Find a purpose to land your thoughts
- [youversion]Ephesians 2:10[/youversion]
- God not only wants to give you positive thoughts
- But He wants to give you ideas to make a difference
5. Find a power to fuel your thoughts.
[youversion]Isaiah 55:9 [/youversion]
Two Key Words: Holy Spirit
- He wants to empower you with supernatural thoughts
- He wants to enlarge your capacity
- God not only wants to help you control your thoughts, but He wants to take your thoughts to higher heights
[youversion]Ephesians 3:20[/youversion] NKJV
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”
January 9, 2011
[youversion]Proverbs 23:7[/youversion] NKJV “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…”
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
2. Guard your mind against fear. - [youversion]Jeremiah 6:24[/youversion]—“We have heard reports about them, and our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor.”
3. Guard your mind against temptation. [youversion]Matthew 26:41[/youversion] “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
- 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
4. Guard your mind against negativity.
- 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…”
Choosing the Right Thoughts
The thoughts you choose will affect… Your body, emotions, marriage, job, friendships, success
Five thoughts that can change your life…
1. Think positive thoughts.
- 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.”
January 2, 2011
Thinking For A Change
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
December 19, 2010
[youversion]Titus 2:13[/youversion]
“…while we wait for the blessed hope–
the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Christmas is all about Jesus coming to rescue US
I don’t know what people do without the hope of eternal life–
Because earth always fall short
[youversion]1 Thessalonians 4:13-15[/youversion]
One of the reasons why people are so hopeless
[youversion]2 Timothy 4:18[/youversion]
* Looking for hope on earth
* God will give you some peace on earth
* But it’s not the ultimate peace
[youversion]Colossians 3:2[/youversion]
“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
What about Heaven?
Unfortunately heaven has had some bad press
Heaven is a real place. [youversion]John 14:2 -3[/youversion]
Heaven is a right place. [youversion]Revelation 21:4[/youversion]
A place of righteousness
A place where things are made right
1. Relationships
2. Bodies
3. Life
because evil is absent
Heaven is a relational place. [youversion]1 Thessalonians 4:17-18[/youversion]
You will recognize people in heaven–
God wants you to be with them
Heaven is a rewarding place. [youversion]Revelation 22:12[/youversion]
What Now?
The most important thing you need to know about Heaven-how to get there?
To have the “blessed hope” – do these three things…
1. Remove your doubts.
A. Remove the doubt of it’s existence
B. Remove the doubt of whether you’ll go there or not
Hell was never intended for people
1. God doesn’t send people to hell
2. A place where people pay for their own sins
Jesus wanted you to live forever in heaven
2. Replace your anxieties.
[youversion]2 Corinthians 4:18[/youversion]
Life is tough –
but life is short
Heaven is forever –
focus on that
3. Refocus your energies.
[youversion]Matthew 6:19-20[/youversion]
When you truly understand heaven
- We live differently
- Invest more
- Pray more
- Share Christ more
