How do you renew your mind?

so we want to talk to you tonight I'm gonna pick up from where we left off last week we're gonna go into all new material because we really been delving into how do you renew your mind because the biggest battle we have is in our mind wrong thinking is going to produce a wrong life right thinking is going to produce right a right life so how do I get right thinking the word says that it's the washing of the word that cleanses my soul my soul is my mind my will my emotions so the more that I get truth in me the more the God's Word gets on the inside of me and mark chapter 4 says that when the word is sown immediately Satan comes for the words sake so it tells you that some of it falls on good ground about 25% then other falls along the wayside then the cares of this world eat it up and choke out the word and then the fowls of this air demonic spirits come and take the word so we know that 75% of the word it's not gonna fall necessarily on good ground because there's gonna be a battle why not against us but because this word transforms you but it is worth the fight the more you stay in God's Word the more that you hide the word of God in your heart then the more you will not sin against God which means you will not miss the mark so let's get into some very practical steps on how do I renew my mind how do I have a transformed life how do I see the promises of God come to pass so proverbs chapter 12 sorry guys seem like I'm in a little bit of feedback proverbs chapter 12 verse 25 it says anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down but an encouraging word makes it glad so anxiety those worries those stressors those trigger points those cares those burdens and isn't it when you're getting ready to do something really important and you wake up it's gonna be a great day and all of a sudden something comes to make you anxious what is anxiety it's an uneasiness that the Bible says that anxiety waves the heart down to heart in the Hebrew is love the way you feel about things the way you think about things and anxieties that state of uneasiness it's worried it's an it can be an abnormal fear it also means to take thought or being its apprehension are worried about what may happen concern about a possible future event so you get anxious about something that has not even happen anxiety is caused by trying to mentally and emotionally get into things that are not here yet and that have not already been yet they are mentally weighing on you mentally they are taking you from where you are to a place that's not really healthy that's not whole to a place and they get you into the area of either your past or your future and so it's where your mind takes you where you're stuck on something you're stuck in a situation when you went through that divorce when you are so close to losing everything or when you went through bankruptcy or you you lost someone that you loved or you got a doctor's report or it takes you into a future of something that hasn't even happened yet so what does Romans chapter 12 say Romans chapter 12 verse 1 and 2 says be not conformed to this world but be what transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is the perfect good and acceptable will of the Lord so we have to do a renewing a renovation take out the old and put in the news so tonight we're gonna work a lot about taking out the old go back and get the series from before because we've been doing this line upon line and layer upon layer and what we recognized last week is that emotions and thoughts are very closely tied to each other we sometimes hear oh I walk by faith and not by sight which is true faith is the Word of God well faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God so total trust is what faith is and my total trust comes by the Word of God getting on the inside of me remember in the beginning was the word the Word was with God the Word was God and then behold the Word of God came in flesh the word Jesus makes himself synonymous God makes himself synonymous with the word so that's why the more word I get on the inside the more of those faulty beliefs have to go and I want to talk to you about those salty beliefs because we looked at emotions now a lot of times Christian will deny emotions but God made us to be emotional being so we'll go back and review a little bit of that and that doesn't mean we're led by our emotions but they're like two indicator lights on the on the car they're not the engine they're not what's driving things your spirit should be driving things but your emotions when you're angry when you're hurt when you're sad when you're joyful when you're happy when you're afraid when you fear they're showing you something that's going on now we broke that down and we'll go back and review that but let me take you to how we get to these places in the first place because you'll find out like if you if you ever go through a lot of therapy get in the Word of God a lot and maybe you're reading a lot of books and you see like how come I keep getting the same guy in a different package why do I always get the same thing but this time he's six foot two blond hair last time he was five foot one dark hair but when you unravel them it's the same exact package because you often in your adulthood are trying to fix what went wrong in your childhood and until that mind is renewed renovated and you take out a faulty belief you're gonna keep getting some of the same situations will help me Paulo I am I'm gonna help you get on a road to wholeness tonight I'm gonna help you understand the intertwining to the emotional part and the thought part because as a man thinketh so is he it's an interesting verb right there because it says as a man thinketh so he is at last and always was so it literally means it the way that we think is the way that we are the way that we become the way that we act so I want you to write this down a B C's a B C's sounds so simple like we're going back to learning our ABCs like a is her Applebee's prefer banana no ABCs you ready I'm gonna give you something is an activator which means there was an event in your life that activated something so for me it was probably the biggest activator was my father's death when I was five years old he committed suicide then B that causes a belief now a belief came from that that my five year old mine my mother became an alcoholic she wasn't there as much she was dealing with her own demons our financial situation changed and so everyone said you're the apple of your daddy's eye well if you love me so much why'd you leave me now that that's not truth that's that's not even fact and but I believe that so what did I begin to believe well then I must not be lovable I must there s be something fundamentally flawed with me so what does that create there sure see because actions caused a belief and beliefs create consequences those consequences for me was that I believed I was fundamentally flawed so that created abandonment issues now people who have abandonment issues tend to do this I'm going to push you out before you can push me out they tend to be runners they tend to escape there's all kinds of tendencies there and it's actually pretty easy to pick out like I can see in my past relationships like the first my first marriage it's very much like my father who was pretty irresponsible and I mean good guy fun the party guy my second one was more like my stepdad so I had to go through a lot of transformation to get this mind renewed and understand listen there's some faulty belief you love God with all your heart but there's still some struggles there that you've got to get over the place that you think this is your lot in life no Polly you deserve to be loved you deserve to be cared for you deserve to have a life of peace you deserve now that might sound arrogant confident but that's just God's truth and I kept reading what God said my life should look like but I kept experiencing in some areas not all areas something distinctly different so until my life comes in totally alignment with God I've got to get my mind and alignment right because whatever my mind is thinking is what I'm going to follow so how do I become whole let's let's look at what is this word wholeness because wholeness has a lot to do with my emotional my EQ so my emotional intelligence which affects I don't want to say IQ but it affects my way of thinking my belief and all behavior comes out of belief so we find ourself going why am i doing that why do I feel like that why do I think I make like I get advanced 40 feet on it get back not back 20 feet well wholeness occurs when you have a realistic appreciative loving opinion of yourself in spite of your imperfections you discern your unconditional human Worth which we're gonna get to because that's gonna be number two on our steps to emotional wholeness so in order to be healthy and home and ultimately out of that wholeness I am free to be me you're free to be you and then together we're us whether that means together is the body of Christ whether that is together in a marriage whether that is together as a father-son or whatever that is what whether it's together as a friend so this applies to all relationships so in order to be healthy and whole and ultimately love others which were commanded to do by the Word of God with the love of God then I must first know and have a knowledge of one my unconditional human Worth and value number two the love of God and number three I must continually be growing because the minute you stop growing the minute you get stagnant I mean even they say this as you age like do crossword puzzles that's one thing but then they say actually be active with it do more than just that you know be playing chess do stuff why because you're always should be learning something new you always should be activating your mind activating your body because the minute that you become stagnant you stop growing so spiritually you should be growing mentally you should be growing in every area of your life so let's examine this because remember we're gonna get into the fullness of understanding that complete renewing we're gonna do some deep excavating and I'll I'm gonna give you five principles next week on what you have to do but I've got to get you into this emotional wholeness so everyone has needs we know that I mean to deny our needs us to deny our humanity as adults we become completely responsible for identifying our own needs and for addressing them ourselves and for arranging for those needs to be met so it's important John like I have needs you have needs but you're not responsible to meet my needs I'm responsible to meet my needs and to arrange those now if that need includes it's something that is within the context of marriage the Bible gives me very specifics for you the Bible my body doesn't belong to me it belongs to you amen you should be playing some real flair on that like some hot music right there all right your body doesn't belong to you it belongs to me and so you can't deny me I can't deny you that that's a need in a human's life within the context of marriage so there's an understanding like you don't use your body as a weapon so there are certain things like I say you have needs of as emotional needs as physical needs John you're a wonderful cook and thank you for cooking for me but you don't have to cook for me you do it as an expression of love you do it because you love me but you don't have to I mean if I need to go grill a burger or do something to take care of my needs I'm responsible for that ultimately I want you to see that you are responsible for your needs because I think we put a lot of dependency on other people we think they you need to make me spiritually grow you need to make me happy you need to make me this now you have to take ownership of your life ownership of your attitude ownership of your responsibilities so emotions our bodily energies the result from some unaddressed need so when I don't have a need what do we like to do play the blame game right we like to say well it's the pastor's fault it's gotta be Michael he's not praying for me enough maybe it's Viktor you know or Lynette she's just not my assistant the way she needs to be it's gotta be John we love doing the blame game instead of looking in the mirror which the Bible says that the Word of God is a mirror and that when we read and study the Word of God we behold now if we walk right by it like if I just go by it then it's like a man that glances into it and doesn't really take a look at himself because if you read this it's gonna cut on you if you read this you're gonna go ouch everyone swell if you read it I mean really get into the word then it's going to do some course correction so emotions our bodily energies and changes from some unaddressed need that is we feel fear when we don't feel safe that's a that can be a good thing now an unfounded fear is not a good thing you know I'm afraid of the boogeyman but but if you're in a dark alley and Austin there's a big bump in the night first off I'm asking what you're doing in a dark alley but but you're immediately going to go into fight or flight because your body saying uh-oh something's wrong you're in a you're in a bad situation we feel frustrated when our goal-directed behavior is blocked the the primary purpose of emotional energy is to provide us with the necessary power to get our needs addressed and fulfilled that's why yeah you're stronger than what you think when when you live in a place of passion passion is one of the most important emotions for you to especially be purposeful when you lose your passion for God God says God says I wish you were hot or I wish you're cold but when you're lukewarm I want to throw you up I want to vomit you out that's pretty strong verbage right there so God's like I want you to be passionate for me like you're passionate for a lover he says I want you to pursue me and when you add that passion I mean pray for it pray for it and sometimes what makes you lose passion you're just tired you're taking on too much whole whose fault is that yours football boundaries in you've got to put on healthy boundaries that you can say no too much on my plate because if I am always tired if I am always negative if I'm always complaining how can I be passionate for God how can I be passionate about wife if I'm just walking around like a zombie and I can say whatever oh it's the kids it's the dishes it's the work it's the job it's the bills it's that no it's me because ultimately I built this life that created all these things just like I layered it with stuff I can unravel it to and get myself into a healthy and a whole place so the Latin roots of the word emotion tell us the hotel emotions e means out when it's MOV ER e it's like it's a Latin word Nevada I don't know and it means to move out so feelings either flow naturally like a river or they get dammed up and when they get dammed up it's the nature of emotions to move not to get stuck when they get stuck you'll know because you wake up angry you go to bed angry you can get ticked off just like that every little thing will set you off now they're days you're gonna have that are just not great days but when every day when when all your days become not great days when every day it's that stuck place like a Groundhog Day come on we got to renew this mine because God gave us too much he gave us his son Jesus Christ to live an abundant life so this is where the enemy loves to get you stuck in a place of fear doubt confusion guilt agitation anger hurt in a place of depression in a place of despondency emotions are not bad remember that that their indicator lights but like all inner experience emotions come from us they're our response to the world around us to our thoughts to our perception to our belief to our own imaginings so we'll often say something like he made me so mad nobody can make you anything you've given them that permission you just stress me out nobody can do anything to you unless you give them that permission too so remember you're the regulator of this it's it's not what happens to you it's how you respond to what happens to you and you might say well that's so hard and that's so easy for you to get up and say no that is a constant crucifying to your flesh and it's submitting to the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit's the one that's bringing the fruit of the Spirit meekness and joy and temperance and patience all the things that God is working in you long suffering on it like that when did you long-suffering long-suffering he's working out you're like I was through with the pandemic after day one I mean you're like I'm ready I'm out I'm ready to ride it now God's working some things out remember nothing caught caught god off guard so as we look at this it's how we respond to our own perceptions in the world no one and no thing can make us outside make us feel anything we choose that so here's your seven past emotional wholeness I went boom boom boom last week now I'm going to teach you them number one emotional wholeness first leads to right thinking so renewing your mind by the Word of God brings an emotional wholeness it leads to right thinking if you're not emotionally whole if you're fragment a whole means no parts missing it means that there's no fragmentation so number one I will handle disappointment appropriately is this really important because we set up ourselves for disappointment this means to be moved appointment to be moved from what we think we should be appointed to when you have a disappointment it's a feeling of dissatisfaction again the word diss away from move so when you're dis you're moved away from being satisfied said it's a feeling of dissatisfaction the results when expectations are not realized now that doesn't mean when I say expectations that you should walk around being like I just don't expect anything like everyone in the world just stinks everything just is terrible no there should be realistic expectations but when you put a demand on another human or put a demand on yourself or put a demand on God that is out of context with his word like god I'm gonna go buy a lotto ticket and you're gonna bless it and I'm gonna win it and I'm gonna win the Powerball and be a multi-billionaire show me in the Word of God where it says that I mean just tell me where it says thou shalt win the Powerball and then you get disappointed cuz you took gold $20 out of your 200 and still paying tithe which it does say to do and you plate the Powerball and then you're upset why doesn't it ever work for me well there's reasons and I'm gonna try to help you get here it's a disappointment it's when expectations are not realized so do not be oversensitive to disappointments disappointments are part of the human experience think about when Jesus was standing at the feet and Lazarus had died one of his good friends and Mary and Martha like if you were only here he would have died or where were you and he literally he's crying because his friend is dead but he also was snorting he's grunting he's like these women come on there's resurrection life in me so it don't be oversensitive to disappointment your kids are gonna disappoint you your pastor's gonna disappoint you if they're human if their name is not Jesus or God guess what they're gonna disappoint you and it's okay because you're gonna disappoint people that's part of our human experience so be careful with expectation because we always say that your greatest expectation produces your greatest disappointment when I start putting expectations on people that are beyond what is reasonable beyond what is normal like it's one thing if you you know expect the Bible says that your husband should provide for the household all right that that's a normal expectation for provision then when he asked you to marry him and he's a Christian now if you didn't marry a Christian and you went into that thing unequally low that's on you babe but if you stayed in the Word of God and you did it right and you talked through these things then that's on him to be the head of the house but don't try to strip him of his authority and being head but you want him to provide that so there you can't have a duality here in other words and if he gets fired or laid off don't disrespect him he'd be his cheerleader be like Abigail - David say nay my lord you know don't do anything stupid cuz you're too great this fool over here that was who she was married to at the time and he ends up going bye-bye so an Abigail becomes David's wife this fool over here Mabel don't don't waste your destiny because he's foolish so think about this what I'm saying to you is that when you're going through something don't put unrealistic expectations proverbs chapter 3 verse 5 trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not to your own understanding number 2 refused to equate failure with self-worth I'm probably gonna stay quite a while on this one I'm gonna try to get through it fast but this is probably the most important because if you don't have self-worth if you don't value yourself no one else is going to so it's so vitally important that you know who you are that you have unconditional human worth I want you to hear me unconditional human worth it means that you are important and you are valuable as a person because your essential core self your spirit is unique it's precious it's infinite it's eternal it's unchanging value it's good and it's created in the image of God now maybe you've done a lot of things then at the core of you are not so good just like Paul said hey you know the things I want to do I don't do the things that I want to do I don't end up doing here is a man that was a basically serial killer he wasted the church the Bible says and then he ends up writing two thirds of the New Testament so we've all done things in our life they were not proud of y'all ball had situations that we are ashamed of or we're embarrassed by are we feel guilty of but you have to understand what you've done does not define who you are so we have to go back and really dig deep to the core of our identity the essence of our nature unconditional human worth implies that you are as precious as any other person if anyone ever made you to feel less if anyone ever made you to feel ugly say take a deeper look I mean if I believed what people wrote about me I'd be crazy if I believed I mean they've said everything from oh my gosh you are the greatest you're the best you're this you're that you're an extra god has raised you up for such a time as this listen if God's using me in any way I humbly say Lord thank you and I'm grateful that they've also said you're a charlatan you're a what am i a prosperity preacher what is that I mean what like you're this you're that you're a phony you're a fake you're real you're authentic you're a woman of God you're a prophet I mean just like they said and I don't compare myself to Jesus but they said you're the son of God your prophet your teacher your Beelzebub you're Satan they didn't I mean they've said all kinds of things everyone's gonna have a different opinion of you but what's your opinion of yourself who do you tell yourself that you are because if you don't know who you are in Christ then you're gonna vacillate always you're gonna struggle because you'll be like a chameleon becoming all things to all people and not in a biblical sense for the salvation but just for the acceptance and at the end of the day why do you want man's opinion over God's judgment but God is judged and what God has said about you that you're the apple of his eye that you're fearfully and wonderfully created as a child of God you must know that you have infinite eternal and unconditional worth as a person and begin to discover that Worth and when you're born again is when that discovery begins to happen because it's only when you're born again the Bible says no man can see have revelation of the kingdom of God except for he'd be born again so you cannot even begin to understand God's royalty his rule his realm in your life who you are unless you have a real relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ so once you begin to understand that you recognize all persons are equal now watch what I'm saying and worth is not comparative or competitive so if you're bigger you know praise God for those bigger thighs if your puny ur praise God for that puny er if you got big ears God gave you big ears I mean everything about your DNA is perfect if you have a Jonel go like this to me sometimes what do you do baby like see he's like she's like a bull and he's just like he'll say cuz I just go I get very determined I am a determined person and I have to be careful not to be a bull in a china closet now but I can like I am I can be very focused I can be very determined and my personality's been like that I mean my mom said I came out of her womb tumbling doing somersaults umbilical cord wrapped around my neck almost killed her Alma killed me but I was like grand entrance baby I'm here I mean it was just like always there was always even though there was so much rejection you'd go where did she get this kind of confidence or and it wasn't an arrogance I just my mom would always say unless Jesus came down and talks to Paulo you're not gonna change her mind and it's not that I'm stubborn or sift neck it's just when I know when I hear from God like I can lock into something it's the way God created me and information nothing really formed me that way it's not like my mom it wasn't like my dad it wasn't like my certainly not like my brother but we all have traits that are the way God created us and personally I think God is a God of perfection so I think every human being is perfect you're supposed to be the ethnicity you are you're supposed to talk the way that you talk you're supposed to be the gender so many people would tell me remember guys I've been doing this for 36 years that's a long time I'm 54 years old so when you think about that so many people were like I remember when I first heard in ministry they'd say what do you play the piano it asked me that if I played the piano baby I still can't do chopsticks and I'm married to one of the best piano players do you sing John's like no she doesn't sing y'all don't even want me to start that so it was always like well then they looked at well basically you're not ministering material so you mean because I'm a woman back 36 years ago it meant I either had to sing or play the piano or according to most religious tradition right I mean all of us that had ever been raised in church for that but not God God should be put in a box and say this is what I say is going to be done this way you are wonderfully and fearfully created in this His image so you've got to see that you have equal value and that you don't have to compete you don't have to compare yourself to someone else Acts chapter 10 verse 34 and 35 then Peter opened his mouth and said of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter persons but in every nation he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him so he says look do you fear Lord do you honor them then then do you work righteousness because if so you're accepted by God it's just that simple and if you're accepted by God you don't have to prove yourself to anyone else externals neither add nor diminish worth you you're not defined by the house you live in the car you drive the job that you have because life can come and life can go it rains on the just and the unjust I've had a lot of my life I've had nothing in my life I've had a lot again I've had nothing again I was born into a well-to-do family we lost it all I got cut off by my mom and stepdad was living in a trailer I mean could barely eat struggled started building businesses started building some well then I walked away from it all started a church living in we first crossed cross town Motel then we went to Dolphin Point apartments then finally got a 700 or so 800 square foot house on San Pedro I thought we'd moved on up I was George Jefferson I mean it was like I was all the way in baby and we owned that house I was excited about it and you know what then I lost everything I have lost so much and I've also gained so much but it didn't matter if I was driving that old beat there were times I didn't have a car to drive if I was taking the bus I remember I took Brad he's little and we'd go to see my mom and Memphis from Florida here and guys pastoring everything else and I'd have to buy a Greyhound bus ticket because it was like under $30.00 of course you'd do about 500 stops between here in Memphis and there's some shady characters sometimes on that bus that's like I can't believe you took me I'm like how else were we gonna go I didn't even have gas money or a car to drive up and see my mom well that didn't diminish who I was I believe then that I still was going to be a history I was gonna be a world changer in a history maker I believed that God was gonna use me to change Nations because what I had or didn't have didn't change who I was at the very most difficult time in my life when I went through a divorce and people said you're never going to be a ministry you're gonna lose everything you have I didn't know they said you're a woman women don't survive these things I had no idea but I knew one thing I remember during that year I said okay God what if I never preach another sermon well what if I never stand behind a pulpit again because so much of my life had been defined by that and I came to this realization that there were so many different ways to do ministry I could open up a Counseling Center I could start a rehab center I I could go to the streets like I'd started in there were so many different ways that I could do ministry that I realized I didn't have to preach a sermon that I could be a sermon I could be a living epistle and shared the love of God so worth is a stable and it's not in jeopardy even if others reject you when you get saved it's so important that you understand justification is an instantaneous legal act of God in which he counts our sins forgiven because of the price that Jesus Christ paid and we are righteous we are in right standing with God not because of our goodness but because of his goodness justification means to be cut to be declared righteous this does not make the Christian righteous that is what sanctification does it means that God who is a righteous God because of the finished work of Jesus Christ puts us in right standing and he declares us to be righteous when we which is not on our own basis but on the basis of the blood of Jesus Christ then I become a work in progress now that's important because what happens and this is where renewing your mind is so important people think well you got saved you should be perfectly okay are you kidding me I was still living with my boyfriend when I got saved one day I wake up and I look at him to my go I can't do this and he's like do what no I wasn't raised in church I didn't even know what the word Cendant I had no idea at the time that this was conviction by the Holy Spirit and I just looked at my eyes like I can't do this just like what am i I name him no to call it something I'm sitting right now we're doing some things that are pretty praise the Lord all right I had no idea I just I don't know I can't do this siren looked in the paper and I got a little room on the backside of somebody's house and I moved out and there was something in me that was saying to me I have something better for you I have something greater for you and now it would take me years to understand that was conviction that I was living in sin which means I was missing the mark I was separated from God but there was this process that was going in because I was getting in the word and the word was getting in me though it had not been changed here let me bring it down to you if you can roll a joint before you get saved you can roll a joint after you get saved you don't get saved and also like I don't know how did you do that now you you it's a it's a process that's dying and those are the external things I'm not even talking about the internal the real issues the real struggles the things that you don't want to talk about that the the parts that you don't want to expose but today I'm trying to help you get to that place to understand our righteousness comes from placing our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ but our sanctification comes by letting the word wash us and renew us and changing us and every day dying to those thoughts casting down those imaginations did are contrary to God's Word so simply put here's what begins to happen we have to develop a disposition to experience our self as a good person who's been forgiven through Christ and to be competent to cope with whatever challenges that we begin to face I've come to realize that the greatest trap in our life is not success it's not popularity it's not money and it's not power it's self rejection because when you reject who Christ is and you when you reject yourself you're rejecting every good gift you're rejecting everything when we've come to believe the other voices that call us worthless and unlovable then that's when we begin to look for power that's when we begin to look for money that's when we begin to look for success and we look for those alternative solutions to validate us and value us let me just stop you right there you're already validated and you're extremely valuable and it would take a lifetime more than just a Wednesday night but if you can grasp that truth your life will begin to transform remember there were those abc's activators that create belief and behavior that causes consequence the number three thing well let me leave you with this scripture proverbs 24:16 adjustment falls seven times and rises up again but the wicked shall fall into mischief all right number three I will not be bound with mindsets from the past all right learn behavior and patterns have the ability to keep you emotionally bankrupt I always say people show you well Maya Angelou said it all right people show you who they are believe them and what she's saying is that people are people with patterns so when you discover a pattern in yourself or in others and you pretty much will discover the outcome to that now Philippians chapter 3 verse 13 says brethren I count myself not to apprehend it I haven't grabbed it yet is what Paul is saying but this one thing I do and you have to do this if you're gonna be emotionally whole forgetting those things which are behind me you have to let go you can't be like Lot's wife and have a longing for the past Oh do you know that I was prom queen I had all the tiara I was so beautiful honey that was 43 years ago you got so much satellite now that five Spanx can't hold it all in all right it's what it is with us was back then this is now stop living in the days of endless love Blue Lagoon your kids are go looking saying what's she talking about I know they went around in 1984 alright so Christopher Brooke they're done with where's Brooke Shields by the way I mean she's still around so so everything changes right it it's going on it's over unless you happen to be John and wrote an endless song don't stop believin every other song it's like at a time sounds like a 70s or 80s or 90s you've got to forget those things that are behind you and press you know what pressing means to resist that which would resist you you've got to resist everything that would resist you you have to become a forward thinker you have to be looking for no men having put his hand to the plow Luke chapter 2 verse 62 and looks back is even fit for the kingdom of God you're not even qualified you miss out on the royalty to rule the realm of God so whatever you're tempted to dwell in the past think of one positive thought and one action to keep you moving forward whatever it is that wants to take you backwards think of one positive thing and just focus on it number four always look at the bigger picture what do I mean by this the bigger picture includes my past but it's not defined by my past because my history tells me a lot about my destiny it's what I came out of that is often what I'm called to so the places that I bled in life are often the places that I've been broken in life are the places that I find my greatest compassion the places that God's called me to people say why do you feed the poor needy so much why do you always take care of that eh because I believe it's a biblical truth and I have a deep conviction but - you want to know why because I know what it is to be a starving child because I can feel it like it was yesterday after my father's death when sometimes we'd go days without food not because we were religious and fasting because there was absolutely nothing to eat or when my brother and I would get in a massive fight because there was a bowl of spaghetti about that big and we'd have to split it and he'd be so angry because he who was older had to split it with this little baby sister and then we'd fight and I would you know we'd end up throwing the plates and there weren't the spaghetti in the first place and I remember that shame I remember feeling like I wasn't worthy that I was that there was something wrong with me because in first grade I had two outfits he Holl overalls some oxford saddle shoes that were worn out maybe that's why I have so many shoes because I was like I'll never go back to not having that might be an issue in my life so y'all pray for my deliverance from shoes hey I haven't bought too many lately so gods interworking me but there are all those triggers that happen in our life there's reasons for things now it's not a place where I'm out of whack with my budget or it's causing some kind of chaos or some kind of problems it's not a crazy situation for me but I'm saying like honestly I can trace back to everything in my life of why I do certain things now so you've got to always see the bigger picture might not be defined by your past but recognize your history tells a lot about your destiny understanding and I want you to write that down real big understanding because wisdom starts with the fear of the Lord and understanding by departing from evil but understanding so when we talk about we talk about understanding we talk about wisdom right and we talk about what we call facts knowledge knowledge is facts but understanding is the ability to see how every event in your life relates to a far bigger picture and so like the sons of Issachar had understanding and they could tell Israel what to do if you get stuck and go well I just went through a divorce or I don't get this why did I go through 19 life crisis in 35 different events now I can say like let's look at this I went through 12 years of investigation every kind of investigation you can think of we were cleared in six months of I mean IRS criminal FBI came in six months were cleared because we'd come against pornography so hard after I went through a divorce it was just back to back to back to back went through a divorce then Grassley inquiry was never an investigation he's an inquiry a Senate inquiry crazy of six televangelist is what they said well I was lumped into that because it's the top six and it was crazy I mean we know really what had happened there and all these different things we'll all that at the time I mean I was afraid I was like I know that we were fiscally responsible I know all the money we paid for the accountants I know all the audits we went through I know what a good Stewart all of that and I'm going okay God why and at the time I didn't have understanding now I can see how all of that prepared me for the assignment that I served now how all of it was working together for the good had I not gone through what I had gone through I wouldn't a had the knowledge I wouldn't have the fortitude I wouldn't have the passion for what's right I can see that they're corrupt systems and that some people can have extreme overreach to come into your life so I wouldn't be the fighter for some of the justices that I am today so everything that you go through there is purpose to your pain there's a reason and what I'm saying is that might not all be revealed at once but understanding sees how the events fit into the bigger picture and so first Corinthians chapter 13 verse 12 for now we see only a reflection as in a mirror then we shall see face to face now I know in part but then I shall know fully even as I am fully known number five to emotional wholeness I will not waste time on unproductive thoughts you ready so you have about 60 thoughts a day don't make fifty 9999 of those negative because you will stay stuck in a groundhog day but Philippians 4:8 says finally gives everything finally brethren whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely if there be any virtue and if there be any praise think on these things so he list and I'm going to give you this list he said if it's true which means not concealed what she's saying do not think on any things that are hidden things that you are ignorant of so think about that if you've got a hide stuff on your phone what you doing thinking about it I'm not trying to get into your business I'm just trying to help you get free trying to help you get into if you've got a if you've got a little secret that wife can't know about husband can't know about if you then and it's gonna be hidden the enemy works in darkness so what's over screw if you're daydreaming about those pictures that are hidden and your app on that phone that's under lock and key with five passwords guess what that's not true so he says if it's gonna be hidden then you're thinking on the wrong thing if he if it's something that's got to be concealed you're thinking on the wrong thing because crew means loyal and in accordance with reality reality is you're married you don't need her reality is if you look on a woman and lust you've committed adultery I'm just using one thing I could pick any topic you're like I love that I'm not in the sanctuary right now all right I'm just saying I'm giving you something because all of us have something if if you were thinking hatred in your heart how can you the bible says say that you praise God and yet you speak ill will of another person you dip bitter waters and sweet waters can't flow out of the same fountain so if you're if you're saying God I love you so much but you think I wish they died then that's not true think of whatever is cru think on whatever is honest which means honorable free from fraud and deception marked by integrity so think on whatever is true think of whatever's honest think on whatever is just equitable right by principle principles are non-negotiables convictions are non negotiables so when you're driven by principles right is right if no one's doing it and wrong is wrong if everyone's doing it so they says I want you to think on that which is just I want you to think on that which is pure which means clean innocent modest I want you to think on that which is lovely which means friendly towards so you're looking at somebody gonna praise the Lord oh I really don't like you in Jesus name all right that's not very lovely whatever is friendly towards the person that you are attached to in life that brings you happiness lovely thank you on the good report which means reputable well spoken of no rumors or gossip so think about this what are you I mean pick anyone pick President Trump right now I mean pick a controversial figure pick me is it funny because what do you think about do you think about the reputable stuff cuz you're gonna find both a negative word goes to 18 people positive word goes to one person so do you think on the reputable or do you think on the gossip do you think on the rumor you know how many people come up to me and you're like well you know pastor Paulo so-and-so just said this about you and I'm kind of like like I care like I don't want even hear that my ears are not garbage cans like I don't want to hear that that's not edifying me that's not encouraging me that's not uplifting me and at the end of the day God either show them truth or just whatever because that's not my thoughts so why should I let their thoughts get into my soul why should I let what they think about me begin to affect me and that becomes the battlefield of the mind so if there's any good report think about what's reputable think what's well spoken of don't think about the rumor or the gossip then it says if there be any virtue it's funny because I I've been in ministry a long time obviously sometimes I'll get oh my gosh we got all these calls and this is going on I mean we have a media ministry that reaches literally potentially 5 billion people and so I'll drill down on it and I'll go okay how many calls did we get on that like it might be something that I'm doing that somebody don't understand or whatever anything or four people okay four people out of a potential five billion we know all five billion that watch let's just say let's take a low number let's say a million did he watch maybe a hundred thousand and five people are upset about it and I'm gonna say fire the building's burning down about to change everything over five people know what I'm trying to tell you is it so easy to focus on when there is not a good report that's what stopped the children of Israel from going into the Promised Land they saw the Giants and because of the Giants they saw themselves as grasshoppers then think on what Silver's virtuous which means valor are intrinsic excellence something that provides strength the kind of strength that gives a lift so I want you to think about what gives you a lift in life what makes you feel good like I start thinking about how I'll hear a testimony like these cards I just read to you and how when we prayed as a team for Karen and she got a job and I think you know what god I got to be a part of that I got to pray for someone I got to literally take their requests to you and make a difference so whenever there's something virtuous think on these things our praise praises a commendable thing a story that brings God praise so start thinking about all the stories all the good things in conclusion you've got to surround yourself with positive people think of the guy in mark chapter 2 remember he was a paralytic and his friends cut the hole in the roof that's the kind of friends you need you need some people who are gonna cut know they'll wreck arute just to get you to Jesus they will absolutely change things because your success is not only in your ability to work with others but who you choose to work alongside there's so much I could talk about here but who you around you become the product of the five people that you hang around and you have to audit your relationships you have to balance them out because there's negative those that take away there's positive those that add there are those that divide and there are those that multiply and you really have to do an audit and say if every time you leave Church every time you leave the the Word of God or hearing it and you talk to someone and they're bringing you down you need to reevaluate that thing and say wait a minute maybe I should fellowship with or maybe I should like maybe I should minister to them but they're not in the fellowship category they're not in the one that I should connect myself because sometimes the drainers need to be severed in your life because everyone's going to take I'm not saying that you shouldn't minister to people because we minister to everybody but if you have constant naggers and depleted and drainers you you've got to reset that thing you need some coaches and mentors and pastors and people in your life that are saying you go you need an Elizabeth that says to Mary you go you've got your Jesus I've got my Mary you know I got my John come on God's doing something big you go I believe in you you can do this God's gonna take your voice to the world so important because Matthew 18:19 if any two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that you ask it shall be done for them and then in conclusion you're ready number seven and we are all done you have to guard your heart proverbs 4:23 keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life to keep Mesa guard to protect with diligence means to guard as in a guard watching over a depository the root of it means to hedge to be aware of to look narrowly or to take heed for out of it flow the issues the source or your breakout or your breakthrough your break forth so listen if you don't guard your heart the way you think about something the way you feel about something then you're not gonna be able to break out you're not going to be able to break forth but in the name of Jesus I declare to you to break a behavior pattern you cannot continue to rehearse the same sickening thoughts that led you there in the first place you've got to guard your heart I'm not gonna have negative thinking I'm gonna begin today to anchor my identity in Christ and what the Word of God has to say about me and what the Word of God says I can do I can do what it says I can do I can have what it says I can have and I can be what it says I can be if God said so then I'm gonna start changing this mind so no matter what I'm feeling cuz fear means that I'm healing and it means that I'm dealing so my feelings are just indicator lights they naturally move I might feel anger the Bible even says it's okay be angry and sin not be angry but don't miss the mark be angry but don't do anything stupid it doesn't say stay angry it said you're gonna have all these feelings Paulo that's part of it your human experience but I want you to get a renewed mind that you can identify what's triggering that anger you can identify depression what I'm not talking from a clinical standpoint but what's causing you to have suppressed anger you can identify what's making you feel insecure you can identify what's causing you to be hurt identify those things because I want you to be able to quickly identify them cut them off and replace them with what Sobers right what's over is just if there be any virtue anything honest if there be a good praise report I want you to think on these things I hope you got something out of the word we're gonna come pray over you right now I pray right now that your mind is renewed let every stronghold let every mindset that is resistant to the Spirit of God be broken off of you right now in the name which is above every name the name of Jesus Christ I pray that all depression is lifted off you all anxiety any uneasiness any thought that it's taking you too far in your future or too far back in your past let it be gone in the name of Jesus God I ask that you would put the pieces back together again that you would wrap your arms of love around us for perfect love casteth out all fear so let fear be gone from you for God has not given you a spirit of fear but of love power and of a sound mind in the name which is above every name the name of Jesus I declare that God is doing a work in you and behold he's doing a new thing even before the end of this month let it spring forth he's making a way in the desert and in the wilderness he'll make streams in the middle of nowhere in Jesus mighty name I declare Philippians 2:5 says you had the mind of Christ and to hold the thoughts and the feelings of the Messiah Isaiah says he will keep you in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon thee so right now to have peace let you have the mind of Christ you let your thoughts be anointed thoughts let them be holy thoughts let them be righteous thoughts let them be good thoughts let them be worthy thoughts let you see yourself how God sees you let your perception change you are not a product of your past you're a product of an Almighty God who loves you unconditionally and says you are valuable you're the apple of his eye I want us to pray together I'm gonna ask Michael and Viktor to come on up remember why don't you honor God with an offering why don't you give Tim generously and liberally make sure that you go to city of destiny us go to Paul white org some of you need to take a sacrifice and lay it down at the feet of Jesus you need to honor God because sometimes we're held up by our last act of disobedience and I believe so much in giving that giving opens up things because a giver can only do it out of loving and loving changes everything because God is love

Channel: Paula White Ministries

Views: 19,266

Rating: 4.7243695 out of 5

Keywords: paula white, new destiny christian center, church, paula white ministries

Id: EyDfykx1918

Length: 59min 35sec (3575 seconds)

Published: Wed May 20 2020