Category: Outline

2 Corinthians 2:11 (NKJV) 11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

-We are not to be ignorant of the enemies “devises”. Devises are carefully thought out plans, complex mechanisms, and in this case, that are used as strategies to defeat us. The devil is not just sitting around and carelessly causing trouble. He has a well thought out plan to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10). He knows you very well; he knows your weaknesses, what makes you tick. The devil knows how far you are willing to go; he knows if he can just pile up enough on you and weigh you down he can stop you.
-One of the biggest devises of the enemy is what I call the Neutralizer. Look at the word neutralize:
 Neutralize: render (something) ineffective or harmless by applying an opposite force or effect.  Webster’s: to stop someone or something from being effective or harmful.

-There are many that will not let go of their faith that God is and that God loves them but with a big enough blast Satan can neutralize them and cause them to be ineffective. He can load something on them so big, in their eyes, and so massive that it stops them and they become dazed, so to speak. Yes, they may still love God and are still saved, but their faith is waning, their emotions are all over the place, they don’t feel like they can go on. They think “this is it, this is the last straw”. They say things like “I can’t take this anymore” fear kicks in. In their eyes this is the mother of all “bomb shells”.
 Ephesians 6:11 (NKJV) Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

o Ephesians 6:11Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) put on the whole armour of God, for your being able to stand against the wiles of the devil,

o Ephesians 6:11Living Bible (TLB) Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand safe against all strategies and tricks of Satan.

o The message Bible: “And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way.”

-Satan studies you. It is not his power that we are resisting. We have to get our thinking straight. We don’t stand against the power of the enemy in the sense that we are with-standing force. We are “standing against” his wiles or his strategies. These are the plans that have been drawn up since we were born to neutralize us and to make us weak and ineffective. If all goes according to Satan’s blueprint for your life, when you start gaining ground in God all he has to do is pull the cord and “bamb” you get hit with the marriage problem you can’t deal with, or the financial situation that overwhelms you. Your emotions go hay wire and suddenly “God’s not fare”, “this is too much for me to handle”.
-If we examine our lives and look at patterns we will see the things the enemy has been using against us. What can the devil throw at you to make you stop or to slow you down?
 Ephesians 6:16 (NKJV) Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

-What are the fiery darts that get in there and start burning? They manifest as anger, rage, sorrow, panic and fear. Fiery darts change your appearance, they make your heart beat faster, they cause emotional pain or grief. If fiery darts if not extinguished quick enough they cause us to overreact, lash out or get depressed.

-Fiery darts come with the enemies thoughts. When you leave the dart in and let it burn, Satan feeds you lines and you will automatically start speaking what he tells you to say. Your thoughts become His. You start imagining the worst things happening.

-This is not God. This is the enemies attempt to neutralize you because you were on a course that stops his plan from working in your life.

In the Garden of Gethsemane:  Luke 22:41-43 (NKJV) 41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” 43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.

 Luke 22:44 (NKJV) 44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

 Luke 22:45-46 (NKJV) 45 When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. 46 Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”

 Mark 14:38 account says: “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

When Satan drops a “bombshell”

1. Stop and pray. I don’t mean a “religious” prayer. I mean stop immediately and get God’s mind on the situation. When something happens you say “alright Lord, what is your mind on this?” He said pray “lest you fall into temptation”. If you don’t stop and talk to God on the matter that fiery dart will continue to burn and you may be tempted to lash out in anger, say things you will regret, give into to fear etc. Why? “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”. -We cannot afford to make a bad decision when it seems like all hell is breaking loose. You must get Gods mind on the matter and make the right decision. Not what looks the best or feels the best or what someone else told you was the best. But follow His leading. Decisions made from the flesh will always lead to your destruction. You must make decisions from your spirit. (Works of the flesh Gal. 5:19-21).

2. Follow Gods leading. John 18:10 tells us that at this time Peter made a decision from his flesh. Peter’s whole world is falling apart. The man he devoted the last three years of his life to is about to die. The Bible says they left all to follow Jesus. Instead of stopping and praying he pulls out His sword and cuts a man’s ear off. That’s flesh. He should

have stopped and asked Jesus “what do you want us to do?” What do we see Peter eventually do? He goes out and denies that he even knew Jesus. Fear! Flesh! That is where the flesh will lead you, away from God’s will. What was God’s will? That Jesus fulfill His call, to take on the sins of the world. Peter was fighting against that and wound up in the flesh. John on the other hand stayed on the path of peace. He stayed with Jesus. He was the only one. He followed Jesus all the way to the cross. He didn’t understand it all, but he trusted Jesus. God is always working good on our behalf.

 John 19:25-27 (NKJV) 25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.
-Jesus entrusted John with His mother. That’s promotion and favor. God cannot trust the ones that surrender to the flesh every time things are going hay wire. God cannot trust the ones that lash out in anger and say things and do things contrary to His plan and purpose. We must build it in ourselves that no matter what happens no matter what comes this is the process we will take. These are the steps we will follow. Building these steps in us will bring us to victory every time and cause promotion in our lives.

DOWNLOAD

Romans 12:2 (NKJV) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

-There is pressure in this world to make you like everything else around you. These are conforming pressures. We are not supposed to conform to this world’s image. We are not supposed to be like everyone else. We are supposed to be different. We are to transform into who God says we are.

-How are we going to transform. Romans 12:2 say we transform by the renewing of the mind. Though God desires to do a major work in us, it requires our involvement. God does not just zap you and you are suddenly changed. We play a big part; we choose to renew our minds.
-Your mind is being conformed to something. Whatever you spend your time thinking about, what you watch, what you listen to, what you read. All these things play a role in how you think. How you think determines what you are conforming to. God needs us to renew the mind to His word so that we can be transformed into what he needs us to be
 Transformed: metamorphosis; like a caterpillar into a butterfly.

-Have you ever noticed that you can see with your mind? If you close your eyes, you can still see. This is seeing with your mind. This is seeing the unseen. Your eyes cannot see it, people around you cannot see it, it’s not seen in this outside world, but you see it inside. How you use this sight is very important. In fact this inner seeing is more important than what you see with your eyes. What you see with your eyes is temporary; it’s subject to change at any moment. However, what you see inward is eternal and will affect this outside world.

 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NKJV) while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

o 2 Corinthians 4:18 Amplified Bible (AMP) So we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen; for the things which are visible are temporal [just brief and fleeting], but the things which are invisible are everlasting and imperishable.

-If you can see it with the natural eyes, it is subject to change. If all you see are bad things in your life; sickness, poverty, depression etc. it’s time to start seeing with your inner eyes; with the eyes of your spirit.

 2 Corinthians 3:17 (NKJV) Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

 John 8:31-32 (NKJV) 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

-If you spend time in God He will show you complete victory. As we meditate on the victorious life God desires for us we will began to see it inward and its only a matter of time before we see it outwardly.  Joshua 1:8 (NKJV) This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

-What you see in your mind is extremely important. If you see failure inside you will have it on the outside. If all you see inside is defeat, poverty or lack, that is all you will have. But, if you see a bright future, if you see victory, if you see healing, success and promotion that is what you will have. It’s important we see nothing but victory on the inside. We need to be looking at the right things. We need to be reading, listening to, and watching all the right things. If you want to stay conformed to this world then keep doing

what they do and watching what they watch. Meditating on what the world meditates on will keep you like the world.
-Worry is looking at the wrong thing. Worry is dangerous because it feeds fears. God wants to get us looking at the right thing so all we see is victory.
 How do you know you are looking at the wrong thing? Take note of how it affects you. How is what you are meditating on making you feel on the inside?

 Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV) You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.

 Romans 8:6 (NKJV) For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

-Life and peace will accompany a mind that is meditating on the right things. If there is fear, worry or dread then that means you are not meditating the right thing and you need to change what you are seeing, watching, reading and thinking about.

 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV) But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

-Change happens as we behold the right thing. You don’t see the glory of God with eyes open. You see it inside as you meditate on his word. You behold his glory and this transforms you. Use the eyes of your spirit. Meditate on God. See in His word how he is bigger and stronger than any issue you are facing. Meditate on how Moses was able to lead millions out of captivity, on how Joshua too Jericho, on how David slew Goliath. See Jesus triumph over death in the Gospels. See how Paul laid hands on the sick and they recovered, see how he spread the Gospel throughout the known world. See what John saw in the book of Revelation. See how we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.

-We can see victory after victory in the Word, or we can meditate on things that are causing fear and dread and anxiety. What you behold is what you will become.

What must we see?

 Ephesians 1:15-18 (NKJV) 15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

And:  Ephesians 1:19-21 (NKJV) 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

And:  Ephesians 1:22-23(NKJV) 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

-This is what we must see. This is a victorious church. God has put all things under our feet and has given us great power. God has given us a rich inheritance. “The eyes of our understanding” must be enlightened to these facts. If all we are seeing is defeat, it is not coming from God.
-It matters what we look at, we become what we behold.

 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 (NKJV)3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

 Jesus is the image of God.

 Genesis 1:26 (NKJV) Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

 Genesis 1:27 (NKJV) So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

 Man was originally made in the image of God.

 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (NKJV) 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

-Satan is working night and day to keep people from seeing the light of the glorious gospel. As we meditate on God, on His word, we are being changed into that Image. We are being changed into who we really are, who God created us to be.

-Words produce images. A word means nothing unless it produces an image in the mind. God’s words produce divine images. Before God created man He first had an image on the inside of Him. God had us in His thoughts first then He created us.
-The image exists in the creator or artist before it exits in the natural where you can touch it. We existed in God before we existed out here in the natural world.
 Adam was in the mind of God before he was formed from dust. God spoke “let us make man…” then man was formed and came to be. In other words there is a picture first then a performance.

 John 1:14 (NKJV) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

-God saw it, then he said it, then the spirit of God created it out here in the natural world.
-Only mankind is like God with the ability to conceive something inside, see it with our eyes closed and choose words that are full of faith to speak that image out. We are not the Creator, but we are ruling and reining in this life. We create on a smaller scale than God almighty.
-Satan is not an equal or opposite of God. Satan cannot create anything; he can only twist or pervert what has already been made.
-Many Christians have very bad images of themselves because Satan has feed them the bad images for so long. Be careful what you are beholding. Who’s image are you conforming to?
 Thoughts are images or forms of what can be or of things to come.

 James 1:13-15 (NKJV) 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

-Image and thought play a big role in James 1:13-15.

DOWNLOAD

 Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV) 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

o Romans 12:2 New Living Translation (NLT) Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

-“Don’t be conformed to this world” is a command given to the church. We must keep in mind that Paul is not writing to the unsaved here, Paul is writing to the church. This means we can A. conform to this world or B. not conform to the world but instead be transformed. These are the only options we have. God is telling us this through Paul because there is a concerted effort to get us to conform to the world. If we are not aware of that up front than we will be easily deceived into conformity with the world.
– “Be transformed by the renewing of the mind”. We are not to conform but instead be transformed:
 How? By the renewing of the mind.  Why? That we may know the will of God.

-Many in the church are so confused about what the will of God is for them. One of the first questions people have after they get saved is what’s Gods will for me? When we get saved our spirit is made alive but the mind has already been conformed to the world and needs to be renewed. Upon renewing the mind we will be able to start discerning the will of God.
-Knowing the will of God does not come by praying, or fasting, or asking people in your church but by renewing the mind. Don’t be one of those that is always looking to do everything except what the word of God tells them.

It’s very simple: if you will begin to renew your mind to the word of God, you will begin to see what the will of God is for you.
 Renew: to renovate -Our minds need a renovation. If our minds were already ok then there would be no need to have them renewed. We need to change our thinking. The way we thought about things before is wrong. We must see things the way God sees them. This will help us understand God and why He does what He does. If we see things the way the world sees them then we will act just as the world acts. We may be saved and going to heaven when we die but we will make the same bad decisions and go through the same bad situations.
Becoming a better person
-If the way we think is changed, it will change us into another person. This is major key to becoming a better person. Many get saved and still have the same bad habits and still do the same things they were doing when they lived for the devil. They are bound because Satan still controls their minds and thoughts. When the mind becomes governed by the Word of God you become transformed in your mind which in turn transforms your habits and your actions.
-The way we think is also the key to knowing the will of God. Many Christians will never find the will of God for their lives because they refuse to think Gods thoughts. Instead they have chosen, though saved, to conform to this world and think the way the world thinks.
-If you don’t change the way you think, you will not change and will not find the will of God. Remember, you are not transformed by fasting and prayer but by renewing the mind to the word of God.
Pressure to conform
-There is a pressure in this world to conform and be like everybody else. Satan does not have the ability to hear your thoughts like God does. So if he can get everyone on the planet thinking the same evil way then his job becomes easy, he can control everyone because he already knows what they will do and how they will react because he is controlling their thoughts. God wants us to form into the likeness and image of Christ. We have to choose to let Him transform us. It’s up to us. We choose what we let ourselves think and how we let ourselves think.

Thoughts, words and actions
 Thoughts are transforming.  Words are thought capsules or containers. -The words we speak are conveying thoughts that are on the inside of us. We use our mind to think and we use our words to convey those thoughts to this outside world. If we are renewing our minds we are changing our thoughts and if we are changing our thoughts we are changing our words and the world around us.
 Genesis 6:5 (KJV) And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

-When Adam and Eve walked and talked with God, He shared with them His thoughts. Satan came down and introduced other thoughts, lying, deceiving thoughts and Adam and Eve received those thoughts. They received those thoughts and were conformed to the origin of those thoughts; they became like the devil. (Genesis 3)
-Whoevers thoughts you receive you become like. The world receives the devils thoughts and are conformed to his image and they do what he does and they talk the way he talks.
 John 8:44 (NKJV) You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

-Every thought is very significant. Thoughts are not material or physical, they are spiritual.
 Genesis 6:5 (KJV) And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

 Imagination: the word “imagination” here means a forming or a shaping as in Genesis.2:7 when God formed man from the dust. -Man existed in the mind of God before God formed him in the earth. A thought is a form, or a shape. It’s a spiritual force that can shape something out of the spirit into the physical. Things are formed in thoughts first. Every thought is endeavoring to shape or form something, first inside you, then through you into this physical world.

What we have become is not what we have to be
-Today we are what we have become but we do not have to stay that way. We can change; we can be transformed by the renewing of the mind.
-As Christians who are called to change the world, we don’t love the way the world is we love the world in spite of the way it is. We need to change the way it is. People often say “you need to love me the way I am”. Well, not exactly. We don’t need to love the way that you are if you are acting like the devil. We can love you but hate the way you are and help you change that by the renewing of your mind to the word of God. We love people, but people need mind renewal.

 Proverbs 23:6-7 (NKJV) 6 Do not eat the bread of a miser, nor desire his delicacies; 7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.

 Psalm 92:5 (NKJV) O LORD, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep.

-When God gives you a thought it will excite you. God wants to give you thoughts that will help propel you into your destiny. These are big thoughts, good thoughts, and peaceful thoughts. Thoughts of destruction don’t come from God, only good thoughts come from Him. He wants us thinking like Him. It will take faith to receive and think on His thoughts. Don’t try to figure it out just receive his thoughts and get excited about them and don’t let other thoughts come in and shoot Gods thoughts down. Believe like Abraham.

 Genesis 15:5 (NKJV) Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

-Just receive His thoughts and cleave to them. God got Abraham thinking His thoughts. God has created us with the capacity to think his thoughts and think on them. The more you think on His thoughts the more you see into them, and it makes you excited.
 Psalm 139:17-18 (NKJV) 17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! 18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.

-We must be opened to Gods thoughts and closed to the enemy’s thoughts. The enemy’s thoughts are trying to conform us to his image. The world’s thoughts are trying to conform us to its image.

 1 Timothy 4:15 (NKJV) Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.

-Meditating becomes evident. What you meditate on will show up in the natural.
 Psalm 1:1 (NKJV) Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

 The council of the ungodly are the thoughts of the ungodly. -If you want to know the ways of God, you have to find out how he thinks. Then you will understand how he does things, and you will start knowing and understanding the will of God.
 Psalm 1:2 (NKJV) But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.

-Just like 1 Timothy 4:15, meditate, renew the mind, be transformed.
 Psalm 1:3 (NKJV) He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

-“He shall be” or “he shall become”. When? As he meditates. As he meditates, he becomes.

We can know the mind of God
 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (NKJV) 9 But as it is written:“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

-I can think the thoughts of God, I can understand Him. I can know the deep things of God, by His Spirit. God is not trying to hide them from us. He tells us how to know them, how to receive them, by the renewing of the mind, by meditating on His word, by not being conformed to this world but by being transformed.

DOWNLOAD

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23

1. Be Steadfast in Love:

Be steadfast in Love. Love is not just about feelings or an emotion that we have but rather a choice. Choice is very powerful. Making a choice to love is the most powerful weapon God has given man. 1 Corinthians 13:8 says love “never fails”. There is no weapon that can conquer love. Verse 7 of the same chapter says “love endures all things”. Did you ever feel like you just couldn’t go on? Well love says “I can do it”. Learn to love and you can get through it. 1 Corinthians 13: 7 also says love hopes all things and believes all things. Galatians 5:6 says faith works by love. Are you feeling down and defeated? Are you feeling like you will never have breakthrough? Learn to love and your faith will grow. Instead of looking at people and saying “you’re the problem”, start smiling at them and say “today is going to be a great day”.

Believers that love are not out there always trying to prove their point or make their voices heard. They are finding out how they can help others and improve others situations. The enemy hates this, he wants everyone down and depressed. But the enemy is powerless against it he can’t stop a Believer who has chosen to love others no matter what.

2. Have Mercy:

Matthew 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

Jesus is speaking here about the last days. We all have many opportunities to be angry at someone or “go-off” on someone. Maybe getting cut off on the highway or someone is giving you a bad attitude at the store. I know for me sometimes I watch the news and you see all the injustice in the world and you just get mad and want someone to pay. God needs us to have mercy. Not just out spoken mercy but in our minds and hearts. We need to think along the lines of mercy.

Yes there are many evil things happening out there but we are still called to take a deep breath and see the world through God’s eyes. God’s mercies never come to an end. God’s mercies are new every day. That means you can mess up and mess up and mess up and God will forgive and forgive and forgive.

Of course we should pursue justice and allow the law to take its course. But Romans 12:21 says “we overcome evil with good.” Find ways to overlook all the small petty stuff and the big stuff kick into prayer and let God handle it. Don’t dwell on it; don’t get caught up in anger. Remember what Jesus said while hanging on the cross? He said “Father forgive them…” Let’s live a life where mercy is our attitude and not condemnation.

3. Be Faithful:

Luke 16:10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much

Be faithful with what God has given you and where God has put you. God is looking for faithfulness. When the Holy Spirit speak to you don’t say “yes I will get to that one day”. Get to it now, be faithful to him now. Lamentations 3:23 says great is God’s faithfulness to us. We need to have great faith towards Him. We need to major on faith and being faithful. Luke 18:8 says that God is looking for faith on the earth. Hebrews 11:6 says without faith its “impossible” to please God. Our faithfulness means that we trust Him, but it also show that He can trust us.

1 John 5:4 says that “faith is the victory that overcomes the world”. Is this world dragging you down and causing you to feel defeated? Put your trust in Him. Put your faith in God and let Him help you overcome.

Lamentations 3:22-23 speaks about God’s steadfast love, His unending mercy and His great faithfulness. We need to be imitators of our Father. Let’s not just sit back and reap the benefits of how good God is to us. Let’s become like Him. God knows the way to victory and he wants us to follow in his footsteps so that we can be victorious and have the same success.

DOWNLOAD

Romans 12:2 New Living Translation (NLT) Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

-We are changed by letting God change the way we think. We must let God change us. God does not force change, we become like Him because we will it. You can look around the world right now and see whole societies of people who are forced to become something. How well is that working out? God is smart; forcing someone to become something He wants is a bad idea. We must be able to choose. If we are able to choose, we are free and our choice is authentic. The love we have for God is manifested in our hearts decision.
-The World wants to force you. The world wants to conform you to its image whether you want to or not. The world is like this because Satan is the God of this world (2 Cor. 4:4) and it’s in his nature to force and push you. He does not ask, he does not care. Satan has one goal in mind, to make you think like him. That’s why the world is full of societies who want to force its citizen to be what its “rulers” desire, instead of finding out what its people want.
 Romans 12:2 (NKJV) 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

-Our thoughts are not meaningless, they are where everything we see and touch started. Thoughts have substance. Thoughts are the framing of what is to come. Our thought life is a big part of what makes us who we are.

 Psalm 10:4 (NKJV) The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts.

– A Godless thought life produces a Godless life. A Godless life means you are void of His love, power and peace; you have removed God far from you.
-Switch your thoughts to God’s word. Let his word lead you and settle the issues you are facing now.

 Ephesians 5:26 (NKJV) that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,

-Today many Christians are stuck in tough situations because they have removed God from their thoughts. They are not allowing his word to change the landscape of their minds. They believe in God, are saved and going to heaven when they die but God has no part in their decision making.

-Another issue may be that what they think about God is not correct.

 Psalm 50:21(NKJV) These things you have done, and I kept silent; you thought that I was altogether like you; but I will rebuke you, and set them in order before your eyes.

-We are changed as we pull our thinking up to Gods level; as we think like Him. If we get saved and just keep thinking the way we have always thought we will continue down the same roads we were on before we got saved.

-Lots of people think wrongly about God. People think things about God that are not true but they are so stuck in what they believe. They were taught one way maybe by their parents or a denomination, and they firmly believe it, but is it scriptural? Is this really God? They heard so and so say this so that’s what they think. They assume things. We need our minds renewed.
-We need to have a willing heart and immures ourselves in His word night and day. Then we will become like minded with God. This is what will transform us into another person.
 Meditating Gods thoughts has the power to transform our thinking so we think like Him.

 Luke 8:35 (NKJV) Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.

-How does a person get out of their mind? Thoughts, wrong, perverted, distorted thoughts. What happens if you think on perverted or evil things night and day? You will conform to what you imagine all day.

-When you get in your right mind you get close to Jesus and you have peace. Don’t try to change so much on the outside. Renew your mind, get your thoughts in order and you will change.
 Romans 12:2 GOD’S WORD Translation (GW) Don’t become like the people of this world. Instead, change the way you think. Then you will always be able to determine what God really wants—what is good, pleasing, and perfect.

-If anyone is changing, it will be you and I, not God. We come up to His way of thinking; He does not come down to our way. His way is the right way. Our understanding of Him is very limited so we must learn of Him.

 1 Corinthians 13:9 (NKJV) For we know in part and we prophesy in part.

 1 Corinthians 13:10 (NKJV) But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

 1 Corinthians 13:11 (NKJV) When I was a child, I spoke as a child; I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

-We should not just take what we hear and what we think sounds good and build our life on them as truth. We should examine every thought with the word (Eph. 5:26).
 Proverbs 14:12 (NKJV) There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

-There are things that seem right to us but can be deadly. Satan presents us with things that seem right so we receive them but they are actually holding us captive in our minds. Satan has been around a long time, he knows every trick in the book and he waits and is patient (1 Pet. 5:8). He is waiting for us to take the bait; in this case he is waiting for us to take the thought. When we take a thought that is wrong and begin to ponder it and meditate on it, it starts to shape our opinions and helps us make our decisions.
 Proverbs 14:15 (NKJV) The simple believes every word, but the prudent considers well his steps.

o Proverbs 14:15 New International Version (NIV) The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps.

-Don’t always believe the first thing you hear. If it rubs you the wrong way stop and evaluate it. Talk to God about it. Don’t go off on a tangent and get bent out of shape. Believe the best in people. Don’t let the enemy build evil thoughts or judgmental thoughts about others. Remember, we only know in part.
 You can always find something to be upset and grumpy about or instead you can find things to be happy and excited about, it’s our choice what thoughts we take and what we think on.

 Proverbs 18:17(NKJV) The first one to plead his cause seems right, Until his neighbor comes and examines him.

-Don’t be so quick to believe something bad about someone; it may not be the truth. Don’t always be so quick to believe the report on the news; the media is full of “one-sided” reporting.
 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 (NKJV) 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;

-Don’t be so quick to believe bad things about God; the enemy is crafty and is constantly spreading lies to get you to believe wrongly (John 8:44).  Proverbs 19:2-3 (NKJV) 2 Also it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge, and he sins who hastens with his feet. 3 The foolishness of a man twists his way, and his heart frets against the LORD.

-Satan is working overtime trying to feed you wrong thoughts especially about God. He will even provoke feelings to back them up.

 Acts 14:1-2 (NKJV) 1 Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed. 2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren.

Talking about Paul:  Acts 28:4-6 (NKJV) 4 So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.” 5 But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

-How you think determines how you treat others. If we think badly about someone we will treat them that way. We see this all over the place. People are treated differently based on race, gender, financial class, you name it and there is some type of division in our society and in the church, over it. People’s minds have been poisoned against one another. We are held responsible for how we think about each other in the Body of Christ. We should think Gods thoughts about and toward one another.
 Proverbs 16:3 (NKJV) Commit your works to the LORD, And your thoughts will be established.

 Proverbs 3:5 (NKJV) Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

 Proverbs 3:6 (NKJV) In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths

DOWNLOAD

Isaiah 53:1 (NKJV) Who has believed our report? And to whom has the
arm of the LORD been revealed?
-This is a very powerful statement. The arm of the Lord is the manifest
power of God. This is one of the great mysteries hidden from the eyes of the
world. Many don’t believe because they don’t see. God says believe and you
will see. In other words the arm of the Lord is revealed to those that believe
the report. Faith is the key to seeing the manifest power of God. Romans
1:17, Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38 all declare “the just shall live by
faith”. Before in the old life we needed to see before we believed, now we
believe and then we see.
 Mark 4:24 (NKJV) Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear.
With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to
you who hear, more will be given.
– How is it that you can have two people sitting in the same room hearing
the same message and one is listening intently and the other board out of
their mind? How we hear is extremely important. This is not talking in terms
of volume; this is referring to how we receive the message. Do we value it
and esteem it or do we think it’s a waste of time? If we esteem the message
it will be measured
 1 Thessalonians 2:13 (NKJV)For this reason we also thank God without
ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard
from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in
truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who
believe.
 John 12:37-41 (NKJV) 37 But although He had done so many signs
before them, they did not believe in Him, 38 that the word of Isaiah
the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “Lord, who has
believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the
LORD been revealed?” 39 Therefore they could not believe,
because Isaiah said again: 40 “He has blinded their eyes and
hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest
they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should
heal them.” 41 These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and
spoke of Him.
-Preaching the gospel must be a directive from the Holy Spirit.
 Romans 10:13-17New King James Version (NKJV) 13 For “whoever
calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” 14 How then shall
they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall
they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall
they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach
unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet
of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of
good things!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For
Isaiah says, “LORD, who has believed our report?”17 So then
faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
-Paul was not sent by his parents or a school or a committee but under the
directive of the Holy Spirit. Everything we do pertaining to the gospel must
be conducted in this manner including the preaching or we can get off and
start preaching everything except what the Holy Spirit needs us to preach. It
is not the preaching of politics, news, personal opinion etc. that set’s men
free but the preaching of the gospel.
 Isaiah 53:2New King James Version (NKJV) 2 For He shall grow up
before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He
has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, There is no
beauty that we should desire Him.
-If you were to have met Jesus just walking down the street you would have
thought nothing of him other than he was just an ordinary man. There was
no glow about him or a halo. He appeared natural and ordinary to everyone.
 Isaiah 53:3-4 (NKJV) He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid, as it were, our faces
from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely
He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed
Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
-Death by crucifixion was for the worst criminals. When Jesus died on the
cross it was not a noble scene. Only the scum of society died on the cross, it
was a shame for your family if you died that way. The Pharisees mocked
him. Mostly everyone around the cross thought God had judged Him. The
cross was not a place of honor.
 Isaiah 53:5(NKJV) But He was wounded for our transgressions, He
was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our
peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
-Jesus is the Great Substitution. What they saw happening on the cross to
Jesus was the punishment that was reserved for us.
 Isaiah 53:6(NKJV) 6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
 Isaiah 53:7-9 (NKJV) 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He
opened not His mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from
judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off
from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people
He was stricken. 9 And they made His grave with the wicked—But
with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in His mouth.
 Isaiah 53:10-12 (NKJV) 12 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering
for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the
pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. 11 He shall see the
labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous
Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall
divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul
unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He
bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
 Isaiah 52:13-14 (NKJV) 13 Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently;
He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. 14 Just as many
were astonished at you, so His visage was marred more than any
man, and His form more than the sons of men;
-Isaiah is seeing in the spirit. While many gathered around the cross and
watched they saw the physical sickness and wounds but in the spirit it was
much worse. God was pouring out the punishment for our sins. The spiritual
consequences of sin manifested as physical sickness and pain.
 Isaiah 53:4 (NKJV) 4 Surely He has borne our grief’s and carried our
sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and
afflicted.
 The same word for grief’s here in Isaiah 53:4 is also translated
20 different times in the KVJ as sickness.
 The same word for sorrows in Isaiah 53:4 is also translated as
pain in other parts of the bible.
-We are seeing Jesus here take on the sins of the world, and as the
punishment for sin comes it is manifesting as sickness, sorrow, pain and
separation from God.
o Isaiah 53:4 Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) 4 Surely our
sicknesses he hath borne, And our pains — he hath carried them,
And we — we have esteemed him plagued, Smitten of God, and
afflicted.
o Isaiah 53:4 New English Translation (NET) 4 But he lifted up
our illnesses,he carried our pain; even though we thought he
was being punished, attacked by God, and afflicted for
something he had done.
-Start confessing and meditating on Isaiah 53:4, your faith will grow and the
arm of the Lord will be revealed to you. Refuse to be a carrier of what Jesus
has already carried for us.

DOWNLOAD

 Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV) 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and
perfect will of God.
o Romans 12:2 New Living Translation (NLT) Don’t copy the
behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you
into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will
learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and
perfect.
-You change yourself by changing the way you think. So much time,
money and energy is spent in this world on all kinds of programs, therapy
sessions, and medications by people who are trying to change themselves.
God said changing ourselves is done by the renewing of the mind. There are
many Christians today who don’t even like the way they are. God says “be
transformed” not by prayer and fasting or by hanging around the right
people, but by “the renewing of the mind”.
-Knowing the will of God for your life is connected to renewing the
mind. How are we going to know Gods will for our lives? Not by asking other
believers or by prayer and fasting but by renewing the mind to the word of
God. If we learn to tune our thoughts into Gods thoughts, we can know and
understand His will for us.
-We are not to conform to this world. We are not to try and blend in and be
like everyone else. I hear many people say “they just want to be real” or
“down to earth” so others won’t think they are weird. That’s a trap of the
enemy. Our job is not to conform, but to be connected to God. We want to
pull people out of this world not keep them bound. The truth is people are
looking for a way out. We as Christians need to be connected to God so we
can help them up and out.

 Conform: To fashion alike; fashion to the same pattern
-Don’t conform and don’t make an apology for not conforming. The world is
being led down the wrong path. We are here to connect them to God. Also
we are not here to “Westernize” the world but to spread the Gospel.
Christians need to separate the word of God from Christian tradition or
Christian culture.
 Romans 8:10(NKJV)10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead
because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
-After we get saved our spirit is alive unto God, but the mind needs to be
renewed because it’s been learning the ways of the world for so long. It’s
been connected to thoughts of darkness and death. We have to retrain it.
We now need a continuous diet of the word of God, feeding Gods thoughts
into us. When a wrong thought shows up we are to reject the wrong way of
thinking and embrace Gods way of thinking. If we do this the word tells us
we will be changed into another person. We will be more like Christ.
-To be transformed is to be different, to change into another form. God
wants us transformed but He will not transform our minds for us. It’s our
mind and we have to make a decision to go His direction. God will not
control you. Satan wants to possess and control, but God will not. God gave
us a will and he honors that will. Also, the fact we have a will shows what
powerful beings we are. Our lives are in our hands. We can choose to fulfill
Gods will for us or not, it’s up to us.
-The same word transformed in Romans 12:2 is the same word used in
Mark9:2.
 Mark 9:2-3 (NKJV) 2 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and
John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and
He was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became shining,
exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can
whiten them.

-Spiritually shallow Christians are Christians who know nothing about mind
renewal. How spiritual we are depends on how much we meditate on the
Word of God and think God’s thoughts. In other words, our spirituality is
dependent on how much we have renewed our mind to Gods word.
-One of the biggest problems in the church today is people not taking their
thought life seriously. The music, the movies and books we read, everything
we consume mentally we need to ask “where did the inspiration for this
come from?” What spirit is behind what you are consuming? Are these the
enemy’s thoughts or Gods thoughts? Is this demonically inspired or is this
God inspired? Remember one good way to tell, outside of the witness of the
Holy Spirit, is it killing, stealing or destroying something in me? Or is it
bringing life, joy and peace? Is it building my faith or is it making me more
fearful or worried? Satan came to kill steal and destroy, Jesus came that we
would have abundant life and peace.
-Satan is taking the world to hell with window-dressing. Let the spirit of God
lead you regarding art, movies and music. Don’t just consume it because it’s
popular or because someone said it was good. Watch what you are putting in
your mind. Find out where it came from and who or what is behind it.
WHAT IS BEHIND A THOUGHT?
Thoughts are obviously not physical. So what are they? Thoughts come from
the spirit, into the mind, then from the mind into this natural world. To think
is to form, shape or mold images in your mind. Everything starts with a
thought. Everything we use and have first existed as a thought in someone’s
mind. Cars, chairs, telephones, lamps, you name it; it existed in someone’s
thoughts first. This means it existed before we could see it with our natural
eyes. Where did it exist? It existed in the mind as a thought.
All of creation and nature existed in the mind of God first. The world
was a thought of God. Genesis 1 tells us God “said” and it came into being.
That means God spoke the world into existence. We have established in
prior teachings that words are mere thoughts expressed. When you speak,
you are expressing a thought. God spoke and the image of what He had in
His mind came to being.

 Hebrews 11:3 (NKJV) By faith we understand that the worlds were
framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not
made of things which are visible.
 Genesis 1:26 (NKJV) Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image,
according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the
sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth
and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
-God is The Creator; man is made in His image and likeness, thus mankind
creates. Mankind creates in the same way. We form thoughts and images in
the mind, apply faith and perseverance, and we bring those thoughts and
images into this natural world. We think up a chair, we crate the chair. We
think up a house, we crate the house.
 Genesis 11:3-4 (NKJV) 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us
make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and
they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let us build
ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make
a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the
whole earth.”
 Genesis 11:5-6 (AMP) 5 Now the LORD came down to see the city and
the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 And the LORD said,
“Behold, they are one [unified] people, and they all have the same
language. This is only the beginning of what they will do [in rebellion
against Me], and now no evil thing they imagine they can do will be
impossible for them.
 Genesis 6:5 (KJV) And God saw that the wickedness of man was great
in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart
was only evil continually.
-What we think on, what we give our minds to we will manifest, we will bring
forth. Spiritual battles are fought in and over the mind. If Satan can get his
image in your mind, he can get you to manifest it in this natural world.

-If God can get His image in you, then he can manifest His will in you
and through you. If all we meditate on is death, darkness and sin what do
you think we will bring forth?
 Romans 8:5-6 (NKJV) 5 For those who live according to the flesh set
their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to
the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death,
but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
-We must take responsibility for the thoughts we think on. We are the ones
that “set” our minds. The phrase “set their mind” in Romans 8:5 means to
think on, ponder, observe; direct the mind to think about.
 The phrase “set their mind” in Romans 8:5 means to
direct the mind to think about
-We are held responsible because it’s our mind. Satan may be a tempter, he
may help introduce wrong thoughts to us, but we are the ones who make
the decision what we think about, ponder and meditate on. Therefore we are
held responsible. Our hearts can choose to reject evil thoughts and images
or we can receive them and ponder them and let them grow in us.
We all have bad thoughts
-Your mind belongs to you. Think very hard about what you let stay in your
thoughts. We may be a very good person, nice to everyone around us, but
inside we allow evil thoughts to exist.
 Bad thoughts come to everyone on the planet; it’s what we do
with the thoughts when they come. Do we let them stay, do we
think on them and meditate on them? Or do we get rid of them
and kick them out?
 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (KJV)4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not
carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth
itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity
every thought to the obedience of Christ;

DOWNLOAD